# Chapter 63
“How long are you going to stay cooped up at home? Aren’t you going to go out?”
Bel looked at us as she spoke.
“…Us?”
Woosang folded the newspaper he’d been reading and looked at Bel. I was reading the newspaper with him and waited curiously for their conversation.
“Yes. You and Teo.”
“Out? We just went out an hour ago.”
“I’m not talking about those brief outings. I mean a summer vacation.”
Summer vacation? That’s right, that was a thing.
Neither Woosang nor I had ever had occasions to take time off according to specific dates, so I hadn’t thought about it. Besides, I wasn’t in the mood for it in our current situation.
It had been almost a week since we started staying at Bel’s place. Wondering if she was uncomfortable with our presence, I carefully asked:
“If it’s uncomfortable for you, we can go stay at a hotel…”
“No, that’s not it. It’s just that you’ve been staying here for almost a week, and you’re not even going out properly.”
“When are you going on vacation? We’ll return to Paris before that.”
Woosang said as he reopened the newspaper. The newspaper we bought from the supermarket for 2 euros was densely filled with difficult German. When I’d peek at it out of curiosity, Woosang would briefly translate the content for me, so I looked at the newspaper again.
At that moment, Bel casually took the newspaper from Woosang’s hands.
“I’m planning to go to the seaside. How about coming along?”
“No. That’s fine.”
Woosang firmly refused. The silent battle between Woosang, who avoided eye contact, and Bel, who persistently stared at him, only grew longer.
As I sat upright and held my breath, Woosang looked at Bel and sighed softly.
“Vacations are for working people. I’ve been resting all this time, so I don’t particularly need to go.”
“What about Teo then?”
“Me?”
Since I hadn’t given any thought to traveling, I had nothing to say to this sudden question. But if Woosang had no intention of going, I had no reason to go either.
“I don’t really…”
Bel shook her head, apparently dissatisfied with my answer. As Woosang said, we weren’t even doing any particular work and were just staying at home, so I wondered if we really needed a separate vacation.
Besides, our Swiss trip from a few months ago had ended terribly, so I didn’t feel like going anywhere.
Of course, once things stabilized, we could go anywhere. A place where it snows, or somewhere endlessly warm.
“Then how about swimming at a nearby lake? It’s summer, so it’ll be cool and nice.”
“My arm is like this, so I’d rather not…”
Woosang raised his bandaged arm and waved it. Bel seemed annoyed by his attitude, but she didn’t raise her voice.
“Teo and I can swim. Do you know how to swim, Teo?”
“Swimming? I know how.”
Just in case, I remembered what I had learned before. But so much time had passed since then, I wasn’t sure if I could still do it skillfully.
“Teo, do you know? Germans pee and poop in lakes. If you go there, you’ll get sick.”
“Ah, Yun Woosang, you…!”
Woosang retrieved the newspaper from Bel’s hands as if asking what the problem was. At this point, I felt like I should take Bel’s side.
“How about a swimming pool then? Wouldn’t that be okay?”
“…”
At my words, he closed his mouth. He didn’t seem very pleased. Still, we had imposed on her for a week, so it seemed right to do as Bel wished.
Finally, Bel’s expression softened, and she began to make plans.
“Alright. So we’re going to a swimming pool at least?”
“…Fine.”
Woosang answered reluctantly. Bel, as if having accomplished what she wanted, got up from her seat and prepared to leave.
“I have an appointment, so I’ll be back later. See you tonight.”
“Okay.”
Unlike her, Woosang was still cold and didn’t even say goodbye. I greeted her instead and stayed by his side.
After the door closed completely and her presence disappeared, I whispered to Woosang, who still hadn’t taken his eyes off the newspaper.
“Why did you speak so firmly?”
“…Because we can’t keep imposing on Bel.”
So that was it. It was certainly true. Lately, Bel had been canceling her other schedules and staying at home because of us.
Suggesting a vacation was clearly a ploy to get me and Woosang out of the house.
He folded the newspaper and looked at me.
“If Bel suggests doing something together, decline politely. She’ll probably start practicing soon anyway, so she won’t be able to be with us all the time…”
“I see. Then you’ll be practicing together too, right?”
“Yes. Though it’s only about two weeks… I didn’t tell you.”
Two weeks. Woosang would stay in Berlin for about two more weeks. Hearing this, somehow the things I needed to do seemed to organize themselves in my mind.
“Then I’ll go to Paris ahead of you. I’ll clean the house… things like that.”
He looked surprised, as if he hadn’t expected me to leave early. But soon he said he understood and added that he would keep in touch.
Life in Berlin was good. There were places so complex it gave me a headache, but there were also quiet places where people seemed to have disappeared.
And it was clear that this was a city where Woosang and I could find stability. It would be nice to come back here someday.
Woosang stood up and looked down at me.
“Since she’s telling us to go out… shall we go out too? It is a bit stuffy in here.”
“Sure.”
With a strangely bitter expression, Woosang got up and prepared to go out. As the weather had gotten warmer, our attire had become lighter, so all we needed to take was our wallets.
“Where shall we go?”
“Let’s just take a walk nearby.”
Bel’s house was next to downtown, near a large zoo and park. Because of this, we would take a walk in the morning every few days or sit quietly on a bench placed in the park.
Walking in the breeze like that would temporarily clear away the complicated thoughts I had.
With their practice starting soon, it wouldn’t be long before I’d no longer be lingering around this house and its surroundings. Not knowing if I’d be able to visit this place again, I carefully observed the house.
Following Woosang outside, we entered the park. Perhaps because it was still before lunch, there weren’t many people around.
A moderately cool breeze traveled across my arms and circled my entire body. After walking silently for a while, I noticed Woosang staring intently at something.
“…Damn it.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I just saw a familiar face.”
A familiar face? I turned my gaze in the direction he was looking. On an empty path, a man was running energetically.
With earphones in his ears, the man was focused on running, breathing heavily, and didn’t give us a single glance.
When the man approached us, Woosang subtly hid behind me.
“Is he someone you shouldn’t meet?”
“Not exactly, but it’s a bit awkward.”
Given his attitude, I stood in a way that would shield Woosang, trying to prevent the man from seeing him.
However, contrary to our intentions, the man glanced our way and unnaturally stopped in his place.
After swallowing a few breaths, the man asked in a suspicious voice:
[Aren’t you Woosang?]
[…Hello.]
As if intending to speak formally, the man took out his earphones and addressed Woosang in English. The man, with a somewhat displeased expression, seemed unhappy with the brief greeting.
Woosang came out from behind me and extended his hand to the man with a composed expression, as if he had never hidden. After a light handshake, the man spoke in a mocking voice:
[Why are you here? I guess you came to see Bel?]
[Well, yes. How have you been?]
[I’ve been doing well. I had a hard time because of you, but it’s not bad.]
Woosang answered adequately in a voice stiffer than usual. Judging from their conversation, it seemed this person was someone related to dance. Then the man glanced at me and openly frowned.
[So where’s Bel? It’s not a lie that you came to see her, right? Looks like you have a lot of time for other things?]
With such visible hostility, I didn’t know how to react.
[I can’t be with Bel all the time. I’m sorry about before. I had something bad happen.]
[What happened?]
Woosang sighed deeply as if he had been waiting for this, stroking his injured arm. He seemed to be presenting his wound from a week ago as if it had happened months ago. The man seemed to be trying to assess the situation by looking at Woosang’s arm.
I began to wonder what exactly Woosang would say.
[…What? Did you have an accident or something?]
[Something like that.]
The man softened his angry tone and took a breath. And soon after, he patted Woosang’s shoulder. With the atmosphere suddenly relaxing, I just rolled my eyes.
[You’ve had a tough time too.]
The man, quick to forgive, immediately continued speaking.
[Well, if that’s the case, it can’t be helped. But if you disappear without a word like that again, we won’t let it slide next time. You know that, right?]
[Yes. Thanks for understanding. Let’s work together next time for sure.]
The man didn’t push as hard as I expected and responded positively to Woosang’s words, saying he’d see him next time.
I watched as the man walked away. Everything had happened so quickly that I couldn’t grasp the situation properly.
“…This is why I shouldn’t have come to Berlin.”
He muttered.
“What happened?”
“…Nothing.”
Woosang, seemingly upset, brushed off his shoulder where the man had touched him, venting his frustration. But soon, he returned to his usual indifferent expression.
It felt like I had glimpsed various expressions of Woosang today that I hadn’t seen before.
Since he rarely showed emotions like this, I couldn’t guess what had happened.
“It wasn’t anything serious. It’s just that that guy liked Bel, and since I was always with her, he was jealous and spread bad rumors. Plus, he canceled a contracted work, so he was going around talking badly about me as if he was thrilled.”
“…”
“It’s funny how he brazenly acts like he knows me. And then he gets angry by himself and forgives by himself…”
With a measured smile on his lips, he looked more intimidating than anyone.
It was amusing that someone who usually wouldn’t bat an eye at any story was showing signs of annoyance. The idea that there was a way to crack his composure was intriguing.
Glancing at my expression, Woosang muttered lowly, apparently displeased about something.
“You look excited for some reason.”
“No, I’m not.”
“What do you mean you’re not?”
“I just thought that Woosang is good at acting.”
Only then did he seem to recall his actions, as he closed his mouth and walked ahead.
Following behind, I thought of Woosang talking with the man. Encountering aspects of him that I didn’t know excited me more than anything else.
I liked everything I was learning as time passed. It was as welcome as a breeze passing through the heat of summer.
