Unfortunately, the weekend had nice weather. Hongdan’s plan to gauge an angle to postpone the schedule by complaining that the sky was too gloomy turned to bubbles. In the end, he had no choice but to follow Seonha without complaint.
“You’re really looking forward to it too, right?”
The bastard had been unable to hide his excitement from the moment he opened his eyes. Even if a downpour had come and a cold wave warning had been issued, looking at those sparkling eyes, it was clear he wouldn’t be able to say “let’s just stay home.” Hongdan silently turned his eyes away from him and shifted his gaze out the window.
“Do you think it changed a lot in ten years? Hongdan, did you go to the school after graduation?”
Seonha asked innocently. In contrast, Hongdan’s answer was as blunt as his firmly turned head.
“No. Why would I.”
“Then this is your first time going since then? That’s great too!”
It was as if a filter had been applied to Seonha right now. Whatever it was, everything seemed to look beautiful and sound sweet to him. Maybe something like a gold leaf flower pollen filter.
Was high school like some amusement park to him? A bright laughter that would only suit a child on Children’s Day was flowing out.
Hongdan briefly considered asking him to act his age when they were outside since it was embarrassing for the neighborhood, then soon shook his head. Seonha wouldn’t listen properly in the first place, and if he started whimpering like a wet puppy after hearing his nagging, that would also grate on his nerves.
They’d arrive at their destination in just five more minutes anyway. This level of patience didn’t even amount to a speck of the charity he’d bestowed for three whole years.
“It’s hard to park the car here, so is it okay if I drop you off here?”
Around the time the large signboard with “Yeonhwa High School” written vertically flashed by, the taxi driver stopped the car. It was a distance requiring crossing about two crosswalks to reach the front gate. This was thanks to those gentlemen who lived off prestige alone establishing a school in the middle of Gangnam’s precious land without a second thought. Even during his school days, on days when he occasionally rode to school in Seonha’s car, they always got off around here, so Hongdan opened the car door without concern.
“Yes. Thank you, driver. Drive safely.”
“Yes. Looks like students came to meet a teacher after a long time. Nice to see.”
“Haha… something like that.”
The purpose the driver roughly guessed was quite different from the truth, but he didn’t bother to correct him.
Partly because it was tiresome to explain at length, but honestly speaking, the biggest reason was that he wanted to quickly look around. Even though it was an outing he hadn’t been particularly moved about, now that he’d actually come to a place steeped in old memories, he became curious about the scenery.
Hongdan carefully closed the taxi door while looking around.
The school and its surroundings coexisted in both strangeness and familiarity, as if they had and hadn’t changed in ten years.
He saw stores that were still holding their ground, their signs only slightly more worn compared to those days, and he also noticed new places selling things that were supposedly trendy these days. The sidewalk blocks had also changed to a different color only where Hongdan was standing now, while in front of the school, yellow and teal-green still alternated across the pavement. The street trees lining it somehow seemed to have grown a bit more.
“Still, it was good to come.”
“Huh? Oh, yeah.”
So absorbed in that landscape, Hongdan had forgotten even Seonha’s existence at some point. His feet, which had been firmly fixed as if someone had nailed them down, finally began to move little by little.
In the end, he too had become a little excited like Seonha.
Not wanting to be caught, Hongdan deliberately created a firm tone.
“Let’s go back before dinner. We can’t even go inside the school anyway.”
“Should we eat dinner here before going back? That instant tteokbokki place you like is still there up ahead.”
“No. I’m not into tteokbokki for a while.”
Thinking of the vomit he’d spewed just two mornings ago, Hongdan shook his head. Fortunately, Seonha didn’t particularly want to insist either, as an “okay” answer came back right away.
Before crossing the first crosswalk, just like back then, Seonha stood on Hongdan’s left side waiting for the signal. And also just like back then, Seonha complained quietly to Hongdan.
“Looks like they still haven’t made this a scramble intersection here. I was hoping this at least would’ve changed.”
Then, naturally, an afterimage of memory also rose in Hongdan’s mind.
‘Fuck, seriously. Just drop me off right in front like I asked.’
‘You want to run over all those kids going to school? Don’t just think about what’s convenient for you right now, look around, around.’
‘It’s annoying having to wait for two signals, that’s why.’
He really was a kid who grew up pampered—he’d thought there were so many things to get angry about.
Back then, if he got angry over something so trivial, he wouldn’t have the resourcefulness to endure a life dozens of times harder than that. So to Hongdan, even such petty irritation just sounded like luxury. On the other hand, he also envied Seonha who could grumble freely like this.
“Hm? Hongdan. You find it inconvenient too, having to cross two crosswalks, right.”
And it seemed the same was true now.
Looking up at Seonha still saying the same thing to him, Hongdan felt a similar longing.
“There are many inconvenient things.”
But he immediately turned his head forward.
Even at this moment, the fact that he had to wait for two signals didn’t seem like a problem to Hongdan. No, honestly, if Seonha hadn’t pointed it out, he would’ve passed by this time too without thinking.
Even during his school days, when Seonha didn’t come pick him up, he had to walk twenty-five minutes to get to school. He had to pass crosswalks twice as long as this, wait for five signals, and walk on roads quite different from this neatly arranged sidewalk. To Hongdan’s eyes, two crosswalks that wouldn’t even total 10 meters combined couldn’t possibly look bothersome. Rather, he was grateful if anything.
This gap between him and Seonha still remained. Just like those old stores he’d seen earlier. The edges of their signs had worn down a bit due to unavoidable time, but wasn’t their essence ultimately the same?
“Let’s go. The light changed.”
Just then, the traffic light turned green. Hongdan deliberately took larger strides, walking two or three steps ahead of Seonha. It wasn’t for any particularly great reason—he just wanted to create a different scenery from the old route to school.
“Hongdan, why are you suddenly walking so fast—”
‘You crazy beanpole bastard! I told you not to live your life centered around you! Walking with you, I feel like my crotch will split!’
‘Then run.’
‘Ah, don’t run. Okay, my legs are fucking short. Hey, I’m admitting I have short legs, okay? Ah, I said don’t run!’
“Ah, why are you running again—!”
Before he knew it, Hongdan was running like Seonha had on those many days. Having gotten far ahead and looking back, Seonha had fallen so far behind that they could barely communicate without shouting.
Hongdan muttered as he watched Seonha sprinting toward him.
“Right. I was also curious why you did that. This is fun.”
Naturally, he didn’t slow down his pace. Rather, he went even faster. Until Seonha called Hongdan’s name four more times while complaining, Hongdan just kept running forward.
Yeon Seonha, who would often flail his long legs running around to tease Hongdan, actually had no talent for running. So his nape would always get caught in Hongdan’s hand before long. But this time, Hongdan was far ahead. This midday run would reach a slightly different conclusion.
Fulfillment rose up tightly.
For the first time while being with Seonha, Hongdan felt as if something had been placed in his hands.
It could simply be reins, or perhaps one end of a relationship’s knot he hadn’t fully tied. Whatever it was didn’t matter. What was important was simply the fact that he’d finally obtained it.
And at that, something that the current Yeon Seonha seemed to long for so desperately.
His heart, already excited from running, swelled even larger with joy. Yet he didn’t particularly feel out of breath. For the first time since reuniting with Seonha, a smile bloomed brightly on Hongdan’s lips.
“You’re so fucking slow! How can you exercise that much but still can’t run!”
Seeing that, Seonha just laughed along.
“Hongdan! Is teasing me that fun?”
“Of course! I feel like I could fly!”
Footnote
1) A scramble intersection: An intersection where the signal is uniformly switched to pedestrian-only so that pedestrians can cross in all directions including diagonally.
