Sim Seowoo deliberated and headed toward the science library. It seemed like the two he’d just met were coming to this school for the first time, and guiding them to a construction site felt unsettling.
Though he didn’t know why they tried to go to the science library late at night, perhaps they visited to obtain books that were only stored there because it was old? Maybe it was such an urgent matter that they wandered through the forest at night searching for that place.
The more he considered their circumstances, the faster Sim Seowoo’s steps became. He was also worried they might get into danger by entering the library during demolition.
[Aaaaaaaaaaahhh—!]
However, just as he got close to the library, he heard a strange sound.
A high scream like scraping down a blackboard burst out from the dark library. Yet though it clearly seemed to be one person screaming, the sound echoed in several overlapping layers. The tearing sound was unfamiliar, making Sim Seowoo hesitate.
Following that, a very strange sight entered his vision.
Something crawled out of the library. A pitch-black mass moved slowly outside the door, but before it could get far, it was dragged back inside with a swoosh. It looked exactly like someone being pulled by their ankle.
“…?”
A scream burst out again from inside, but much quieter than before. It felt like ‘it’ was deliberately dragged inside to prevent causing a commotion outside.
However, before he could listen carefully—thud—the noise cut off.
The space fell silent in an instant.
Sim Seowoo approached the library questioningly. He wanted to confirm what exactly had just happened, and happened to discover an existence coming out of the building.
“It’s done.”
A man walking out while sweeping back his jet-black hair.
Hair long enough to slightly pass his chin scattered smoothly down between his straight, extended fingers. The face fully revealed as he swept back his hair boasted handsome features even though it was unclear in the middle of the night.
Sharp jawline and prominent nose bridge, and the pupils within his refreshingly extended eyes held a mysterious ashen gray color. Two moles sat below his left eye, and his upturned eye corners gave off a somewhat sharp air. A cool and sensitive atmosphere.
However, the man captured attention not just with his face but with other elements too. He wore a black tee that fit his slender body perfectly, with a dopo carelessly thrown over it—outer fabric dark gray, inner lining deep red. A black cord wrapped around his neck like a choker, and earrings dangled plentifully from his ears.
The combination of modern piercings mixed with traditional earrings that might be seen in a museum was unique. Various shaped rings were stuck on each finger of his hands, and he even had bracelets filling his wrists. Though it seemed not to match the neat and elegant hanbok, it surprisingly suited his atmosphere remarkably well.
“Whatever. Getting lost is because you guys are stupid, and I’ve handled things, so I’m leaving first.”
The man spoke indifferently as if talking to someone through the earphone in his ear. He tilted his head briefly as if listening to what the other side was saying, but soon pulled out the earphone as if judging it not worth listening to.
“…”
Sim Seowoo stared at him blankly. It seemed like he was seeing unusually many unique people late at night today, and among them, that person captured his gaze most intensely.
The man standing crookedly in front of the library arranged his disheveled clothes as if he’d just come out from a rough battle, then raised his head with a huu— sigh.
His face looking up at the rain-pouring sky was calm.
He’d been indifferent the whole time he came out of the building and talked on the phone, but now he looked at the rain with an endlessly sunken atmosphere. It was as if his pupils were soaked and wetly submerged in the summer rain.
Following that, the man extended his hand outward. He quietly received the rain as if wanting to gather and hold rainwater in his palm, then soon laughed with a piseuk.
At the self-deprecating laugh that fell, Sim Seowoo, who had been watching him from beyond the bushes, deliberated and then moved his steps. Thinking he might be troubled because his feet were tied by the pouring rain, he wondered if he should give him an umbrella to his destination.
Step—
“There was a hidden bastard—”
Though it was a very small sound that could be buried by the rain, the man reacted immediately. His expression instantly became fierce as he whipped his head around.
Their gazes met precisely in the air.
For a moment, Sim Seowoo thought the man’s shadow squirmed. Something violently surged as if to thrash about, then hastily quieted down. Did he see wrong? He wasn’t sure since it overlapped with the shadow of the corridor.
“…Why.”
The man spat out with difficulty, in a tone as if his throat was being strangled.
“Why are you here?”
His ashen pupils trembled faintly. An emotion that couldn’t be explained simply as being flustered by the sudden approach rippled thickly. The man’s gaze glanced behind himself.
At the look that seemed to check his shadow, Sim Seowoo happened to recall the two people who had acted similarly just before. After all, the reason he came here in the first place was because of them.
“Ah, I had something to check briefly—”
“It’s dangerous to come to a place like this alone late at night.”
Cutting off his words abruptly, the man warned stiffly. At the attitude that seemed to have no intention of hearing an answer after asking first, Sim Seowoo tilted his head slightly. His behavior was absurd, but the content of the warning was even stranger.
Wasn’t he himself alone in a place like this?
As if the question was conveyed through expression alone, the man raised the corner of his mouth crookedly. It was a smile that suited his crooked stance very well.
“Well, I have a job that requires going to dangerous places.”
…A construction worker?
Though the expression was somewhat unique, seeing him boldly enter the building despite a large sign at the library’s main entrance saying ‘Entry restricted due to construction in progress,’ the possibility wasn’t entirely zero. Maybe he was a construction site employee who came to inspect the site.
Sim Seowoo blinked slowly and asked,
“Excuse me, this is our first time meeting, right?”
“…So, what about it?”
“Then why are you speaking informally?”
Speaking informally at first meeting, out of the blue. He’d deliberately pointed out the situation clearly, but the unchanged attitude was absurd. No matter how he looked at it, the man seemed younger than himself.
The man let out an empty laugh. His expression said why does that matter in this situation, but soon he quietly mulled over “First time…” and laughed with a piseuk.
“I just never had anyone teach me.”
Sim Seowoo closed his mouth. Responding like this, he had nothing to say. Well, if that’s the case, it could be, he thought while nodding his head, when the man warned again.
“Anyway, if you’re in your right mind, don’t wander around places like this alone at night.”
It seems like he’s attempting an out-of-body communication style again.
Just as Sim Seowoo was wondering whether to raise an objection, the rain stopped. As if it was a shower as predicted, the rain suddenly thinned in an instant and quickly became quiet.
Drip, drop—.
When Sim Seowoo, who had looked up at the sky where dark clouds were retreating, lowered his head again, he could already see the man had suddenly moved far away to the other side. Though he hadn’t even felt any sign of him leaving, he’d moved in an instant.
“…”
He quietly watched his retreating figure being swallowed into the darkness.
It felt like a dream.
Sim Seowoo generally took the stance of “that can happen” toward everything in the world. He was the type who didn’t readily show interest in things and didn’t try to approach others. As long as they didn’t harm him, he was indifferent to whatever others did.
But just now, he’d approached the man first to give him an umbrella, and even raised a question about the informal speech.
Was it just that he wanted to help because people wouldn’t come to a construction site like this? Still, he could have just let the informal speech go, so why did he find fault with it…
It must be because of exam period.
Recalling the most plausible reason, Sim Seowoo pressed his brow firmly. They say during exam period, everything except studying becomes interesting—it seems he’s experiencing that symptom too.
Let’s not think deeply.
It was Sim Seowoo’s motto. Don’t worry about incomprehensible things and don’t pay attention to them. Concluding that he should save his mental energy since he didn’t have it to spare and was actually quite poor in that regard, he folded up his thoughts along with his umbrella.
***
The next day.
Sim Seowoo came to the library early in the morning. He moved early to secure a good spot and finish the studying he couldn’t do at dawn yesterday, but somehow the library was chaotic.
As they entered the second day of exam week and got closer to vacation, had everyone’s minds floated away? Even while buying coffee at the library café, he kept hearing murmuring sounds, but Sim Seowoo paid no attention and just added syrup to his drink.
However, just as he was leaving the café with his sweet coffee, someone greeted him.
“Hey, Sim Seowoo!”
“Wow, Maeng-seo. You came early in the morning? Though you’re spacey, you’re the top student of the department after all.”
“Hi, Seowoo-ya.”
It was Park Dongju and his girlfriend So Dahyeon. As classmates from the same department, So Dahyeon found Seowoo’s spacing out funny and gave him the nickname ‘Maeng-seowoo.’ And her best friend Yang Gayeong also waved her hand in greeting from beside them.
Sim Seowoo rarely participated in department life, so he only occasionally saw them through Park Dongju. As soon as he responded lightly with an eye greeting, Park Dongju asked in a serious voice,
“Hey hey, you said you were at the library until late yesterday, right? Nothing happened?”
“What should have happened? Um, there was a shower around midnight.”
“…Seeing you say it like that, you seem to have no idea at all.”
Shaking his head saying it was his own fault for asking, he said,
“You know that library yesterday. The science library. They said strange sounds were heard from there!”
Dopo (도포) – Traditional Korean outer robe/overcoat
Maeng-seowoo (맹서우) – Nickname for Sim Seowoo meaning “spacey Seowoo” (맹하다 = to be spacey/dazed)
yooo ML is gorgeous