Baek Iseon pushed off from the wall and blocked the path of the three people. Baek Iseon looking down at the three was clearly smiling, but somehow he felt cold. Everyone was silent. Even Choi Yeonho kept his mouth shut and read the atmosphere. Students still passing by glanced at them with interest. Jang Juwon found this attention burdensome. So he finally opened his mouth first.
“Let’s talk outside.”
“Good.”
Jang Juwon took the lead and walked first. Baek Iseon followed behind him. Choi Yeonho looked at the backs of those two people with concern.
The two stood facing each other in a secluded spot at the back of Engineering Building 1. Jang Juwon wanted to end this situation quickly. Facing his face was definitely not a good choice for him. Because Baek Iseon kept stirring things up just when he was about to forget, his heart had no time to recover. The scene he’d witnessed that day kept coming back to mind. The unfamiliar man who had affectionately stroked his head and Baek Iseon who had been smiling brightly at him. Not this cold expression looking down at him now. So his words came out harshly.
“Why did you come?”
“You blocked me.”
“Was there more to say?”
“Yeah.”
Baek Iseon raised his voice slightly. Jang Juwon turned his gaze away to avoid his eyes.
“Is…… what you said true?”
“What? About the emoticons being fucking shit?”
“Damn it, Baek Myeongseon……”
Baek Iseon muttered something quietly and roughly ran his hand through his hair. His face seemed a little red.
“What?”
“No, nothing.”
“If it’s nothing, why did you come looking for me?”
Baek Iseon looked at Jang Juwon with an expression of frustration.
“Do you really not need me?”
“……Yes.”
“Did you really…… not want to see me?”
“Yes.”
“Stop lying.”
“I’m not lying.”
“You……”
Baek Iseon paused for a moment. He’d held back until now. He’d waited. But he had no intention of opening his mouth first to the very end. So Baek Iseon decided to talk about a certain fact that he’d been aware of all along.
“You like me.”
“……!”
Jang Juwon’s eyes went wide. It seemed impossible for human eyes to get any bigger. His flustered body rattled. His mouth opened on its own and his heart pounded. Adrenaline pumped out and all the muscles in his body began contracting. And what this meant was clear.
“N-no I don’t?!”
Thud. Jang Juwon’s foot kicked right into Baek Iseon’s shin. The sound of Baek Iseon groaning quietly could be heard. Jang Juwon turned around and ran forward with all his might.
“Haa, haa.”
Jang Juwon could only stop after his breath had risen to his chin. As his tense body relaxed, fatigue suddenly washed over him.
‘How did he know.’
His heart was still pounding.
‘So that’s why, that’s why he contacted me so easily. Knowing that I like him, so…… he thought little of me.’
Jang Juwon stood there and bit his lip hard. He was resentful that he had ended up liking such a piece of trash.
Meanwhile, Baek Iseon was staring blankly down at his stinging shin. He’d been kicked by Jang Juwon. Completely, at that.
“Haah…… I guess I should have waited a bit longer after all……”
Baek Iseon raised one hand and grabbed his own face. A sigh came out naturally. He really was a difficult kid to handle. This was the first time someone had given him this much trouble. Moreover, he couldn’t even figure out the reason, so he couldn’t solve the problem. He felt like he’d done everything he could. He couldn’t think of any other methods now.
‘I need to let him go……’
It was a waste of all the time and effort he’d put in, but he felt like it was really the end now. Baek Iseon stared blankly in the direction Jang Juwon had run. The sparsely filled parking lot somehow felt empty. Was this regret? Or was it simply a feeling of waste? Or……
The sound of cicadas crying hit his eardrums. Summer would begin in earnest soon. In other words, summer vacation. That also meant he wouldn’t run into him even by chance for a while.
‘It’s over.’
But if, just if, he happened to run into him again by pure coincidence, could he think that it wasn’t over yet then? However, once he arrived at the thought that such a thing wouldn’t happen anyway, Baek Iseon lightly dusted off his shoulders and left.
**4. Summer Vacation**
After finishing their last exam and with the end of the semester approaching, three third-year students gathered at their regular bar to celebrate the vacation. When was the last time they’d played like this? The three people, fully excited, quenched their thirst with alcohol to their heart’s content. Jang Juwon was in a good mood today. He’d even done quite well on the exam. Even if not as well as the midterm, he thought he’d get a decent score. His hard work had paid off. He felt proud.
“Hey, hey. What are you guys doing during vacation?”
Shin Jisu asked the two. Choi Yeonho answered first.
“I have to go help my parents with farming.”
“You know? Sending corn.”
“Ha. Pay up now, you bastard.”
“But I’m paying for drinks today!”
“Shin Jisu! Shin Jisu!”
Choi Yeonho cheered at Shin Jisu’s exclamation. Jang Juwon also grinned while chewing on dried snacks.
“Jang Juwon, are you working part-time this time too?”
Choi Yeonho asked.
“Yeah. I’m taking summer classes in the morning and working part-time in the afternoon.”
“Jang Juwon, Jang Juwon! Can I visit the studio again this time too?”
At Jang Juwon’s answer, Shin Jisu immediately asked with sparkling eyes. Even though she had not even a speck of interest in photography, Shin Jisu would come to observe at the studio where Jang Juwon worked part-time every vacation, using boredom as an excuse.
“Probably? I’ll ask the artist.”
“Yeah, yeah!”
Jang Juwon picked up his phone and contacted his employer. That photographer would readily allow one or two students to observe as long as they didn’t get in the way. Soon a reply arrived, but Jang Juwon’s expression hardened as he checked the screen.
“Uh…… the artist says not this time.”
“What? Why!”
Shin Jisu complained.
“Well……”
Jang Juwon scratched his head. He thought he knew the reason, but if he said it out loud for no reason, Shin Jisu would make an even bigger fuss. So it was better to avoid a tiring situation.
“Isn’t it because you were hitting on him last time?”
“……”
But clueless Choi Yeonho butted in and ruined things. Shin Jisu’s face was growing cold.
“Jang Juwon……”
Shin Jisu called his name in a low voice. Jang Juwon’s body flinched, sensing the storm.
“Please…… Can’t you do something? We’re friends!”
But contrary to expectations, Shin Jisu pleaded with Jang Juwon with a momentum that seemed like she might prostrate herself on the floor.
“Phew, you want to come that badly?”
“Yeah!”
“I’ll try asking one more time later……”
“Jang Juwon, I love you!”
“Get away!”
Jang Juwon hurriedly pushed away Shin Jisu’s face, which looked ready to plant a kiss on his cheek.
“Don’t get your hopes up.”
“Okay!”
But her face was already full of expectation.
* * *
“Juwon-ah, welcome!”
The artist holding a large camera greeted Jang Juwon with a bright smile.
“Hello. It’s been a while, Artist-nim!”
“Yeah, have you been well?”
“What, Juwon came?”
“Juhee noona!”
Several staff members who recognized Jang Juwon came to greet him.
