Transmigrated as the Side Top used as an Emotional Trash Can

“I made eye contact with them, but they didn’t move.”

“Wow, fuck, this is driving me insane? Those bastards looked like they were all on drugs or something. You’re going in? I’m staying here even if I fucking die!”

“If the classroom showed up again, I think that means there’s something we need to resolve in the classroom.”

“There’s no fucking thing like that! You go in!”

Kwon Jayoon flew into a rage.

Seeing that, I decided there was no point trying to have a conversation with him in his current state. I didn’t particularly want to waste any more time exchanging unproductive words either.

“Alright. I’ll go by myself and come back.”

I left Kwon Jayoon behind and went into the classroom.

I could hear him muttering something behind me, but the door closed quickly, so I couldn’t make it out. I wouldn’t stay dead anyway, so if worse came to worst, I’d probably revive around here.

“What were you guys doing?”

I spoke to the kids who only stared blankly at me, standing frozen like a paused screen without making a single movement. I wasn’t expecting an answer, but surprisingly, one came.

“We were contemplating the plunderer.”

“He should be beheaded and displayed in the square. Indeed.”

Here we go again with this weird theatrical production.

Just like when I had left, the kids were speaking with exaggerated projection and strangely chosen words.

“Why are you guys talking like that?”

“Hoh, what an ignorant fool you are. I am displeased to have suffered theft, so why don’t you begone at once!”

I looked at the kid who had scolded me for being ignorant. From what I gathered, he seemed to be the victim of this theft.

“You got robbed? Your sneakers?”

“Indeed. My precious leather shoes, my Balenc*aga Triple S, have vanished.”

“Did you see Kwon Jayoon stealing them? He wasn’t holding anything.”

“Who among us other than that wretched fellow would dare commit such a bold act?”

I thought wearing shoes that expensive to school was the bolder act. But blaming the victim wouldn’t be good, so I asked a different question.

“Were you wearing them before they were stolen? Since this morning?”

“I removed them briefly to play ball. I left them on top of the lockers.”

“In the classroom? You were playing ball?”

He nodded proudly.

Only the way he spoke was solemn. The actual content was exactly like the high school boys in our class that I was used to.

“Did none of the others see his sneakers?”

When I asked the other kids too, some said they had seen them on top of the lockers, while others said they hadn’t. That meant someone had taken them during a very brief moment of confusion.

“Did you ever consider that the culprit might not be in our class? Are you sure it was Jayoon?”

The more I heard, the more I thought Kwon Jayoon might not be the culprit. The context made Kwon Jayoon look guilty, but if I only looked at the circumstances, he wasn’t much different from the other kids.

“How dare you defend the sinner?”

“Who stands on the side of the sinner.”

A low, ominous voice rang out.

At one kid’s remark that I was defending him, the axe-wielding executioner who had been staring into empty space the entire time turned his head toward me and spoke.

“Are you the sinner?”

The weapon in the executioner’s hand reflected rough flashes of light whenever its angle shifted, pressing down on me with its menace. But the thought that it didn’t matter if I died gave me courage. Because of that, I was able to speak to the executioner without much difficulty.

“I’m not. But you guys aren’t even sure. What are you going to do if you kill the wrong person like this?”

“That too would be God’s providence and that person’s karma. If theirs is truly an innocent soul, He will surely extend a hand of salvation.”

“Oh… Um… Wow… Okay….”

So this was the site of a twenty-first-century witch hunt.

If they were guilty, they were a bad person. If not, they were just unlucky.

“Kwon Jayoon stole it.”

“A thief worse than a dog.”

“A criminal lower than filth in the street.”

“He deserves death.”

At first, I thought they were angry on behalf of the kid who had been robbed, but looking again, it seemed like they simply wanted to execute someone. Anger for the sake of being angry.

I watched them for a moment, then opened the door again and went back out to the staircase where Kwon Jayoon was.

Click.

“I’m back.”

“…….”

Kwon Jayoon simply clenched his fist and stared down at the floor without moving much.

“Did you hear everything?”

“Yeah.”

“Everyone says it was you. Was it really you?”

“Fuck, you think it was me too, so why the fuck are you asking?”

Yeah, I also thought Kwon Jayoon was more than capable of stealing. His attitude looked like it, his behavior looked like it, and rather than being a good person, he felt more like someone who simply hadn’t had the opportunity to commit wrongdoing yet.

“But shouldn’t anyone get suspected in a situation like this?”

At my answer, Kwon Jayoon gave me a dumbfounded look. Then an even more dumbfounded response fell blankly from his mouth.