***
And it was the next evening.
There wasn’t anything like a talent show, but the drinking session flowed similarly to yesterday, and today I came out alone quietly.
That was because I wanted to check my phone, which I’d kept turned off since last night for a whole day. After passing 24 hours, I couldn’t hold back anymore.
“Ah, right.”
Now that I think about it, I promised to buy Seyeon ice cream yesterday.
Before checking my phone, as soon as I saw the store, I headed straight there. I bought two ice pops and was heading back when I saw Lee Gyeongho’s face.
“Gyeongho-ya!”
Today I’d been wearing a big windbreaker all evening, and fortunately my wallet and phone were still safely in the inner pocket. Thanks to that, I could pay back my debt to my friend right away.
But… which card did I use when I bought the ice cream?
“Oh, Hajin. What’s with the ice cream?”
I’d spaced out for a moment, but that voice brought me back to my senses. Lee Gyeongho, who had trudged over, was now looking at the ice cream with a welcoming face.
“Huh? Oh, sorry, give this to Seyeon. They said they wanted ice cream earlier, so I bought some but I don’t see them.”
“What, what’s your relationship with Park Seyeon? Can’t I eat it?”
“No! This is a debt I owe. Make sure you give it to Seyeon. And it’s not what you’re thinking.”
“Hehe, okay. Okay.”
After handing over the ice cream to Lee Gyeongho, I went to find a quiet spot like yesterday.
Actually, I was a bit scared yesterday, so I didn’t want to go in front of that pavilion. But when I headed the opposite way, I ran into a couple embracing.
I, who had been walking with an ice pop in my mouth, stopped dead in my tracks.
“……”
The beginning-of-semester MT is where love blooms. For everyone except me……
After that, I had no choice. I had to leave them to their privacy.
“Here again?”
The place I ended up arriving at was in front of that gloomy pavilion from yesterday. I looked around sulkily.
Going farther seemed like it would make my heart shrivel up. I glanced at the gloomy pavilion and felt a chill down my spine, so I quickly turned my head away.
I deliberately didn’t look toward the pavilion and squatted down on the path like yesterday.
My lips felt numb from holding the ice pop in my mouth since earlier.
“Phew.”
I sighed for a moment, then took out my phone that I’d kept in my pocket all day.
When I turned on my phone, which I’d kept off since yesterday evening, it vibrated like crazy with a buzzing sound. It was such a loud vibration that it could wake up my dazed mind.
You have 17 new followers.
There are new comments on posts where Lee Hajin is tagged.
And below that, notifications from my high school group chat.
Yoo Jeongyeon
Got a video of Lee Hajin dancing ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
(Link)
(Photo)
For some reason, I’d been in a really good mood since earlier. So seeing those laughing characters made me grin. What Seyeon posted must have reached Jeongyeon too.
“Hehe.”
Everyone laughing because of me—I’d never made people laugh before, so I felt kind of proud.
But this wasn’t the time to be laughing.
I was scrolling down the group chat filled with ‘ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ’ with a grin when I discovered a shocking message.
Yoo Jeongyeon
I should send this to Mom, Dad, and hyung too ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
“No!”
I quickly moved my fingers. My hands were slow contrary to my will, but my mind was fast and precise.
Yoo Jeongyeon
Liked by yxxn.terin and others
weekyeon07x.x Hajin saved our department today (applause)(laugh)
#VictoryEnglishLit #CenterIsLeeHajin #HankookUniversityxx
Please absolutely don’t show Jeongyeon-ah I’m seriously begging you please don’t
After sending the message I’d typed by pressing hard on the keyboard, I checked the other notifications.
Actually, there was a specific notification I wanted to check. Just one message from one person would be enough……
My hand, which had been fiddling with my phone here and there, stopped. I, who had been standing near the pavilion, squatted down in dismay.
Nothing. There wasn’t a single contact from hyung-nim. Sighs came out on their own.
“Hajin-ah, why aren’t you contacting me? Hyung-nim will come find you right now… something like that, nothing?”
I can’t even understand my own feelings. There were times when I thought hyung-nim’s teacher-like behavior was too much, but for the most part, I liked hyung-nim’s control.
So I eagerly checked my messages hoping for even a scary message. But no matter how much I scrolled through the notification window, the name I wanted didn’t appear.
No matter how much I scrolled, no matter how much I looked.
“Not a single one.”
A dismayed voice came out on its own. Hyung-nim’s last contact was a message yesterday afternoon telling me to have fun.
So I deliberately opened up an innocent contact.
“Hyung-nim is too much. Hyung-nim is really too much.”
Yoo Jeongwoo hyung-nim
I glared at it, thinking maybe a call would come if I stared at the contact.
“Yoo Jeongwoo hyung-nim is the most too much person in the world.”
I muttered like a parrot.
I hate this whenever it happens.
“I really hate it. I hate hyung-nim the most in the world.”
And that’s when it happened. The phone screen turned black, and my hand started vibrating again. Staring blankly at the screen, I moved my hand.
Yoo Jeongwoo hyung-nim
Tap. Pressing the green button with my finger was a reflexive action.
And I was still a parrot.
“I hate Yoo Jeongwoo hyung-nim.”
– Why do you hate me?
“Huh?”
Hyung-nim?
I froze with my eyes wide open.
My mouth, which had been letting words flow out carelessly like a parrot, became quiet as if blocked by hyung-nim’s voice. And that’s when it happened.
– Hajin-ah, you hate hyung?
“Hyung-nim!”
I jumped to my feet and hurriedly put the phone to my ear.
– You drank a lot, huh?
Wow.
The familiar voice tinged with laughter was really hyung-nim. My heart, which had been sunken until just now, was suddenly beating on its own.
“I-it’s not a lot, just a little. Hyung-nim, weren’t you sleeping? It’s past midnight……”
I couldn’t contain my happiness.
“But, you know, hyung-nim. By any chance, did I call you just now?”
Maybe because I was excited, the words tumbled out quickly before waiting for hyung-nim’s answer. This was probably because of the alcohol.
“Or could it be that hyung-nim called me?”
– Yeah, I called. It looked like you bought ice cream.
“Ice cream……?”
It felt like I’d gained a great realization.
Even now, I had a half-eaten ice pop in my hand. How did hyung-nim know about this?
– What other reason would there be to suddenly use your card late at night?
“Aha. So you saw the card notification and called me?”
– That’s right.
“Huk.”
I see. If I’d known this, I should have bought something yesterday too. Now that I think about it, it was similar when hyung-nim first called me when I was at school. It was a call asking why I wasn’t using my card even though it was lunchtime.
– It’s not for any other reason, I’m just curious what flavor you’re eating.
“Ooh.”
With this, I learned one method to use in the future if I want to get a call from hyung-nim.
Hyung-nim’s voice continued after that. I put the ice cream in my mouth with a pounding heart. My ice cream was chocolate flavor. So this is what hyung-nim was curious about.
– Also, looking at the price, it seems like it wasn’t one ice cream but two.
“Ooh.”
– It doesn’t seem like you bought two ice creams and ate them by yourself there.
“Ooh.”
Was it because I was drunk? I gained an inexplicable confidence.
Somehow it felt like the push-and-pull I’d intended had succeeded a little.
To think that Jeongwoo hyung-nim actually called at midnight, using the card notification as an excuse as if he’d been waiting.
And to think hyung-nim had such curiosity about the card I’d used without thinking.
– Hearing your voice, it seems like you’re more than just a little drunk.
“Hehe.”
I felt so good. Because it seemed like hyung-nim was paying a lot of attention to me. I got excited somehow and sucked on the sweet ice cream again. Making a slurping sound.
– Hajin-ah.
But I heard a slightly lowered voice in my ear. I answered with the ice cream still in my mouth.
“Eh?”
– Is someone next to you right now?
……Someone next to me?
I looked at the secluded pavilion next to me.
“Next to me……?”
– Yeah.
“N-no one’s here. Why?”
Looking at the dark and secluded wooden pavilion made my spine feel chilly again.
I won’t keep looking at it. I averted my gaze and shook my head. I felt like I’d sobered up a bit momentarily.
– Then are you eating two ice creams by yourself? That’ll give you a stomachache.
“No. I gave one to a friend, and I was just taking a walk alone for a bit.”
– Ah, I see.
“Yes.”
After that, a brief silence flowed.
– I was wondering if it was okay to call while you were with a friend, so that’s why I asked.
Even though I hadn’t asked for a reason, hyung-nim added another explanation.
