Seokjin and the Heirs of the Korean Miracle - BOOK 1 ✔

Chapter 2 : Be grateful!

Seokjin was always the last student to leave the school. All the other young students were waiting for a luxury car driven by a private driver to pick them up to take them to their evening classes and then take them home, but as for him, he was not expecting anyone and he had no evening classes. His wealthy sponsor hadn't paid for evening classes, only school, which was already a lot, he knew.

In the evening, he just waited for the middle school to empty so he could go out without being humiliated by others. Mr. Choi, the school guard was still waiting to see him go through the school gates alone before locking everything. The poor boy made him sad. He found him too kind to attend the same school as these wealthy, hard-hearted heirs.

During his early days in middle school, Seokjin hadn't been careful enough and didn't hide that he didn't have a wealthy and influential family unlike others. It wasn't something that could hide forever anyway. Initially, it didn't matter, because he had two wealthy friends who were protecting him. Then, one of them had moved away from him, he had even become his enemy and the other had left the middle school, leaving him to be the prey of the other students.

Left helpless in this world of wolves, the poor lamb had been targeted as the boy everyone could kick. This was what Seokjin had endured without complaining for nearly three long years. He had forbidden himself to complain, convincing himself that he had no right to do so: he had been given an opportunity to get by in life and if that meant putting up with the contempt and hatred of the other students towards him, so be it.

It was raining that evening when, after the last car had left the middle school compound, Mr. Choi saw Seokjin emerge from under a porch and prepare to run home, protecting his heavy school bag to that his clothes get wet as little as possible.

"Seokjin, come here, my boy!" he shouted from the porch of his gatehouse waving his hand, catching the attention of Seokjin who ran up to him, glad to see him after spending the day with unfriendly people.

"Good evening Mr. Choi," Seokjin greeted him politely when he joined him, bowing with a warm smile because he knew that when the guard called him, it was always to have a friendly chat that lifted his spirits at the end of the day.

The old man reminded him of his grandfather and he would have liked the two men to meet. They might have become friends if Seokjin's grandfather agreed to leave his precious garden some times. Now, Seokjin had the impression to see Mr. Choi much more often than his grandfather did.

"Good evening Seokjin, did you have a good day?"

"Yes, it was good thank you," Seokjin replied with a smaller smile than before and Mr. Choi saw that he was lying but the boy always pretended that it was okay, it was like a second nature to him.

"They played a bad trick on you again, huh?" He said, with a sad smile, "you know you can tell me, I will believe you."

Seeing that he couldn't hide the truth from the shrewd guardian, Seokjin changed his strategy: telling the truth but making it lighter.

"They tried to get me fired again today, but it didn't work," Seokjin laughed lightly, "I told them I'll hang in there until I finish middle school and I'm going to keep my promise. I don't have long to hold on and I will for sure!"

"Yeah, I remember that's also what you promised me too the first time we met," the old man said wistfully.

He recalled the first time he had met little Seokjin in first grade, then 12 years old. The boy had taken refuge behind his caretaker's lodge to hide from his classmates who were looking for him. He had just been abandoned by his friend who had allowed others to humiliate him in front of his entire class and that day, Seokjin cried.