When four or five freshmen running at the very tail passed by Sangho, giggling joking voices could be heard.
“Hey. Did you guys also smell it?”
“Smell what?”
“You smelled that sweet scent when entering the wrestling arena, right?”
“Didn’t some bastard eat something and spill it?”
“Then it would smell rotten. Usually it only smells like sweat and athletic equipment.”
“Then it must be your smell, you don’t wash, you bastard.”
“Want to die? I only smell like a super strong alpha.”
“Idiot. A guy who gets beaten by a beta.”
“Fuck you. Didn’t I beat you two more times?”
“The guy who wins last is the real winner.”
“Oh, I smelled it too. I think it’s been there for a few days.”
It doesn’t smell because I cleaned it. Muscle idiots.
At the pointless conversation, Sangho snorted and headed to the 2nd floor.
The Indoor Gymnasium Janitor
Ah. It’s Han Kyungoh.
After quickly finishing cleaning the lower floor and climbing up to the 4th floor, Sangho suddenly lifted his head as if realizing something. He recalled the identity of the man he’d encountered in the athletic storage last night and bumped into in front of the gymnasium. Han Kyungoh, who was the ace of the wrestling team, was a diligent man who trained until the latest every day and came to the training ground the earliest.
He’d forgotten because he’d been living quietly just cleaning for the past two months, but he suddenly realized he’d entered the comic world. So, around this time, Han Kyungoh would meet Jang Wonha, who came for variety show filming, for the first time. An obvious story about their bodies touching during a wrestling experience and developing feelings. Come to think of it, the cleaning supervisor had been threatening him to pay special attention to cleaning the gymnasium recently. It must have been because filming was coming up soon.
That variety show, which was popular with the entire nation, was produced for only one episode as a Korea University special, but gained huge popularity due to Wonha and Kyungoh’s ‘chemistry,’ so the special continued throughout the semester. The ‘stalker’ Lee Sangho, who gloomily followed Wonha around, seemed to have started showing his obsession with Wonha in earnest from that time. ‘Stalker’ Sangho knew the facilities inside Korea University well and even had Wonha’s schedule down pat, so he gradually circled around him and even caused an incident of attacking Wonha.
I absolutely don’t want to get involved now.
Sangho, who roughly organized the cleaning tools in his hands, snorted while rolling his stiff shoulders.
Suddenly, the athletic storage with various equipment mixed in a mess caught his eye. It was a space he hadn’t bothered to touch because students frequently came and went. It would be a bit better if it was organized by the equipment used. That thought occurred to him. Glancing at the clock, there were still about 20 minutes left until quitting time. Since I’m at it, let me organize a bit before leaving. Thinking that, Sangho picked up the broom again.
***
The weekend finally came, but Sangho was sick for two whole days. The part where his shoulder and arm connected started throbbing painfully, and Sangho, who couldn’t even prepare meals and groaned in pain, barely went to the pharmacy to buy a ton of pain relief patches and stuck them all over his shoulder.
By Sunday evening, Sangho started worrying. He’d been lying down without moving all weekend, so his shoulder had recovered somewhat, but it seemed impossible to ride a bicycle out at dawn on Monday. But spending the night in the athletic storage again was also reluctant. Because it was a place where he’d already encountered Han Kyungoh once.
After worrying a bit more, Sangho finally packed simple luggage and left his studio apartment past 8 PM. He thought about just sleeping at home and taking a taxi at dawn, but his living expenses were tight because of the computer he’d recently purchased. Though they’d briefly met, Han Kyungoh didn’t seem like a bad person. Even if I get caught, I’ll just make up an excuse that I was cleaning, Sangho thought.
Korea University, arriving on the evening bus, was quiet. Perhaps because it was a weekend evening, there were hardly any people on campus, just a few flying insects. Sangho, who went straight to the gymnasium, looked around the nearby trash area, then fumbled in his pockets. A box with a few cigarettes left rustled in his bosom.
“Haah…”
Sangho, who lit a cigarette, took a deep breath and exhaled long. The thin cigarette burned quickly with a fierce color.
“Could you lend me a light too?”
Suddenly, at the voice heard from behind, Sangho’s shoulders flinched dramatically. Sangho quickly waved away the smoke and lowered the cigarette from his mouth, then turned around to see a tall man with light brown hair bowing his head politely. When the friendly smile, slightly downward-curving eyes, and white, transparent skin came into view, Sangho’s heart beat like crazy. He already knew that pretty face, having seen it dozens, hundreds of times.
Jang Wonha.
As his whole body started tensing up, Jang Wonha tilted his head with a puzzled expression. Ah, he asked to borrow a light. Come to think of it, the previous stalking photos seemed to occasionally contain images of Wonha smoking too. With a reluctant expression, Sangho fumbled in his pockets and stuck out the lighter to Jang Wonha, then tapped out the cigarette that wasn’t even half-burned.
“Ah, you’re not going to smoke together? It’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”
Sangho hesitated at Wonha’s words as he received the lighter with an awkward expression.
“Pardon?”
“You didn’t come to the fan signing this time either. I was worried something happened.”
Saying that, Wonha lit his cigarette with the lighter. Then he held out the lighter again and said.
“Finish smoking. I feel like I’m taking your spot…”
“No, no. I was worried you’d be uncomfortable.”
At the troubled eye-smile, Sangho unknowingly quickly took back the lighter. Sangho, looking at the lighter with a complicated expression, brought the cigarette that wasn’t fully out back to his mouth and inhaled. It was a waste to throw away the remaining cigarette, and hurriedly leaving the spot seemed like it would look even stranger. Instead, Sangho awkwardly kept his distance from Wonha and quickly burned through the remaining cigarette.
So, were ‘Sangho’ and Wonha acquainted in that comic? It definitely didn’t seem like that. But for Wonha to act friendly and familiar with him was somehow strange.
He said I didn’t come to the fan signing. Maybe he just thought of me as an ordinary fan?
“Um, how was your recent work? It was an independent film, so it had some difficult aspects.”
“Ah, uh. Independent film.”
In the meantime, Wonha attempted small talk with a good-natured face. It seemed ‘Sangho’ and he were at least acquainted. Well, he’d stalked Wonha so much he might have been noticed, but he wondered if he was really at the level of discussing works with a super rookie celebrity. With a flustered face, Sangho stammered an answer.
“Um, I got a job. I’ve been busy with work, so I haven’t watched it yet.”
“Ah…”
When Wonha smiled with an embarrassed face, Sangho’s movements became stiffer. It felt like he was making the atmosphere strange somehow. It seemed like he should say something more, but his head seemed to be spinning. Had ‘Sangho’ watched all of Jang Wonha’s works and talked about them whenever they met? Looking at how he mentioned not coming to the fan signing earlier, it seemed he’d attended all public events.
But he really didn’t know much about Wonha. Getting more entangled with Wonha also felt somehow unpleasant. With an anxious heart, Sangho inhaled the cigarette faster, took the last breath, turned his head and exhaled the smoke. He felt like he needed to get out of the smoking area quickly.
“I’ll definitely watch it next time.”
“Ah, wait a moment!”
When Sangho, who quickly finished the cigarette to the end, nodded his head in greeting, Wonha urgently stopped him. Wonha, fumbling in his bosom, firmly pressed a business card into Sangho’s hand. When Sangho looked up as if asking what this was, Wonha grinned and said.
“I opened an art studio near Korea University. You gave me courage last time, so I’m trying various things. I’ll buy you a meal, so please come visit.”
“…Yes.”
Glancing down at the business card pressed into his hand, a card with only an address written on a black background came into view. He wanted to throw it straight into the trash can, but Wonha was looking at him with expectant eyes. With a reluctant voice, Sangho roughly stuffed the card into his pocket and left the smoking area with quick steps. Wonha was staring intently at Sangho, who disappeared from view in an instant while holding his remaining cigarette.
An art studio? Why is he showing interest in me?
Sangho, who quickly hid inside the gymnasium after turning the corner, scratched the back of his head with a confused face. Crouching in a corner for a moment, Sangho started reviewing the comic content, which was now hazy.
In the comic, there was almost no description of ‘Sangho.’ Wonha and Kyungoh just grew close through variety show filming, and as the Korea University episode lengthened, Wonha became entangled with Nam Dohyun too. Wonha, who was conflicted between the cold, handsome man and the pure macho, grew rapidly close to Dohyun through the ‘janitor stalker’ incident. Sangho himself was an extra character who wasn’t given any narrative, just there to add weight to the three people’s love triangle. Though for an extra, he met his end in quite a terrifying way.
Since this is reality for me, I guess there are stories filling in the parts that weren’t depicted.
“Ngh…”
Sangho grabbed his hair and made a painful sound. He thought if he just quietly lived while cleaning, he could live without much contact with the main characters, but unexpectedly he’d already met Han Kyungoh and Jang Wonha. Moreover, Jang Wonha already knew him and acted quite friendly.
