When he came back out to the living room, Kwon Yunsu was lying spread-eagled across the veranda and living room, waving his hand toward Lee Euishin. Did you sleep well? Lee Euishin sat by Kwon Yunsu’s head with the towel sprawled on the living room sofa. When he rubbed his hair with blunt touches, Kwon Yunsu quickly straightened his shoulders and sat up, sticking his head out. Do it. Do it well. He wants a lot.
“Where, in Seoul? Ah why, just wait until after April and see Lee Seongjun together. In the neighborhood. I don’t want to, I want to go down. I want to eat hamburgers in our neighborhood!”
“Loud.”
“Hey… Euishin is scolding me. And I have to eat quickly and go out so I’m hanging up. But if Euishin’s going to see them too, let’s meet in the neighborhood. Hanging up—”
“When did I say that.”
“You have to go to the first alumni gathering.”
“Do I look like someone who cares about that stuff?”
While snorting, Lee Euishin had a premonition that he would end up unable to resist Kwon Yunsu’s nagging and go to that countryside together. Because he remembered in a row all the guys who gazed wistfully at Kwon Yunsu, who was taking pictures here and there with such a carefree face on graduation day. Kwon Yunsu suddenly got up and picked up the laundry basket he’d tossed aside. Lee Euishin kicked away the towel that had slid down to the living room floor.
“You going out?”
He asked while following Kwon Yunsu, who was finishing hanging the laundry and heading to the kitchen. Next weekend, Kwon Yunsu was going to that fucking club MT. He thought he’d be stuck at home this week.
“After lunch. Yeah, I have a liberal arts group meeting, and then….”
“And then?”
While putting a bowl of rice in Lee Euishin’s hands, Kwon Yunsu continued.
“I’m playing bet basketball.”
“With who?”
“Shin Jaewoo.”
A name he was hearing for the first time. Had this country bumpkin expanded his reach again?
“Who’s that? Your major? Club?”
“No, he’s in Materials Science. Doesn’t do clubs. But he’s from our region. Last time when I brought bungeoppang, Song Taesu called him to the meat restaurant. He’s Kim Wonwoo’s high school friend, and Kim Wonwoo said his middle school friend went to this university, so somehow it worked out—totally amazing.”
This was like, I’ll just throw it at you so catch it and eat it yourself. He decided to just accept it. Kwon Yunsu had food in front of him. When the guy was eating something, it was better not to attempt serious conversation. Instead,
“Does the landlord always guard the house while you’re always running around?”
He could say what was on his mind as it was without consequences.
“You go out and have fun too.”
“I’m bored.”
“……”
“I said I’m bored.”
“Want to join the soccer club?”
“……”
These days he was seriously thinking about it. But if he immediately said yeah, let’s do it here, he’d look ridiculous. Lee Euishin tried to make a face like he was having serious reservations. The problem was that Kwon Yunsu wasn’t watching that meticulous performance and was just shoveling rice. What could he expect, really.
“Make sure to do the dishes.”
Every time Kwon Yunsu put on his shoes, he said that. He wondered if forgetting to install the dishwasher had been a good thing. Kwon Yunsu didn’t forget his duty as a lodger, and Lee Euishin was the type who hated mess, so even with two guys living together, the house was always on the clean side.
“Instead of saying that, at least go home and visit.”
“You too.”
“I talked to Dad on the phone yesterday. Noona came last time and bought me food too.”
Going home would be worse than staring at walls all day.
“If you’re not going home, at least do your assignments.”
Kwon Yunsu reached out and patted Lee Euishin’s shoulder. Swatting that hand away and stroking the guy’s head, the back of his head was still slightly damp.
“Dry your hair before you go.”
“I have to go now.”
Kwon Yunsu, who had coldly opened the front door, suddenly turned his head and stared intently at Lee Euishin’s face, then abruptly asked,
“…Should I buy bungeoppang?”
These wordplay-like conversations, what’s so special about this kind of thing…. He should just stay quietly stuck at home.
Lee Euishin reached out toward the front door Kwon Yunsu was holding. Just like that, he covered Kwon Yunsu’s hand and opened the door for him, then lightly pushed the guy’s back. Get lost, country bumpkin.
“Buy it.”
At the cold answer, Kwon Yunsu smiled brightly. And he walked away with light steps like an elementary schooler going on a field trip. Lee Euishin closed the front door. Looking at the clock, it was 12:30. As warned several times, now Kwon Yunsu didn’t wake him up early in the morning, at least on weekends. Even so, the day was long enough. When alone, he never turned on the TV, only accessed the internet when doing assignments or errands, and didn’t even look at his phone because he hated useless contact.
“Shin Jaewoo?”
While burying himself in the sofa, he repeated the name that had newly entered Kwon Yunsu’s territory. The name was annoying and not good. What was he trying to mess up by including that mouse-dropping-sized guy in a bet?
In high school, Kwon Yunsu had been stuck by his side all day. The school that maintained stuffy traditions recommended supplementary classes and self-study even while saying it wasn’t mandatory, and Lee Euishin forced the same on Kwon Yunsu under the pretense of tutoring him. He fed him food carefully prepared by his grandmother sent down from the main house and made Kwon Yunsu sit next to him to study.
The guys who already knew each other before he transferred schools were unavoidable. But new guys never stayed by Kwon Yunsu’s side for long. Just sitting next to the guy and merely propping his chin and staring intently with alien eyes was enough to create distance. Isn’t it a bit difficult when those two are stuck together? Lee Euishin knew that the dull and innocent guys said such things behind their backs.
Thinking about high school made him feel irritable and sentimental. What old story is this, when just one season ago…,
“……”
…Should I have grabbed his leg and knocked him down right then?
If he had, wouldn’t he have run away scared of his mom, forgetting about studying and all that crap?
In any case, once a time had passed, it inevitably left regret, and longing for days that had been fairly peaceful, Lee Euishin smacked his lips.
The time to repair the net had come faster than expected.
***
“Idiot.”
“……”
“How could you forget something like that?”
“……”
“Hey, why are you walking alone? Did you forget you’re in the middle of a conversation with me too? Are you stupid?”
Normally, from the first attack he would have bravely fought back saying ‘What the fuck, you little shit?’ but Kwon Yunsu walked silently looking only ahead. He had nothing to say. He deserved to hear those words. How could he forget to submit a report that made up more than half of his grade proportion? How could he so completely forget that task that should have been completed by email transmission until midnight last night?
But if it was this out-of-his-mind self, it was possible. The week before last, he came back from the club MT and spent the whole week fluttering around in a good mood, and just last weekend he came back from the department joint MT and lay sprawled out like a bottle all day yesterday.
“…Hurry up.”
Why did that important fact have to pop up the moment he saw that guy’s face?
On his way running to the main building to meet Euishin-nim who was going to buy him bean sprout soup, Kwon Yunsu thought as he saw the guy making a bored expression from afar. Geez, whose kid is so elegantly handsome like that? He’s super popular and studies freaking well. Never wrote on the wrong line of an OMR once and does homework leisurely and perfectly… regularly without fail…….
‘…Don’t I have something to do?’
‘How would I know?’
To Kwon Yunsu’s question as anxiety rushed in for a moment, Euishin replied incredulously, and,
‘Aaaah!’
The next moment, Kwon Yunsu reached a realization that made him bite his tongue.
And now, what to do about this, he was wandering around campus like a lost soul, and Euishin was following him around throwing irritating words at him.
“Let’s just get some food.”
“Food right now…”
“You threw up from drinking yesterday, ate one spoonful of steamed eggs, and slept the whole time. You skipped breakfast too.”
“As if the professor would care about such a sad story…”
“If the professor finds out about that, won’t they dock your attendance points for being cheeky and completely wreck you? What’s so cute about a kid who doesn’t study and goes out partying all the time, getting drunk.”
Kwon Yunsu turned toward Lee Euishin.
“Hey buddy, you seem to be in a really good mood, huh? Huh?!”
