─I really wanted to go, it’s so disappointing. Ugh, cough cough…… Kheuk, haa, haa. Ah, don’t worry about it. I’m really much better now.
Sunmin, who was already thin to begin with, had collapsed from a pneumothorax a while ago and was hospitalized. He was also very disappointed, but there was no helping it.
“Sorry, Mom got me a seat for a really famous instructor’s class in Daechi-dong. The whole family stood in line all night to get it for me, so I really can’t skip it. I think I have to go home this weekend!”
Hanju whined and clasped his hands together pleadingly.
And so, two out of four club members dropped out. Hakyoung’s expression was troubled, as if experiencing a college group project early.
Yumyeong’s expression became troubled as well.
Just the two of us…… Only us two!
Yumyeong somehow felt drained. The scorching afternoon sun hitting the top of his head was already annoying.
Making a hand fan, Yumyeong looked up at the sky and squinted his eyes at the bright sunlight as he asked.
“Hey. Should we not go either……?”
When he asked tentatively, Hakyoung shook his head mercilessly.
“Even with just two, there’s no problem with the schedule.”
“I’m not really in the mood……”
“Mood?”
Hakyoung’s sleek face turned toward Yumyeong silently. It seemed like ‘Mood???’ was written on that face.
“……”
“Let’s go.”
Hakyoung dismissed it and prepared to leave first. Yumyeong had no choice but to follow him.
Wondering what he thought of him trudging along silently behind, Hakyoung added.
“Timing is important for celestial observation. We have to consider the weather and atmosphere. In a little while, mosquitoes and bugs will be swarming and it’ll be harder. They say today’s the only good day, so yeah. Today being the only good day is celestial observation.”
It sounded like he was making excuses, so a laugh escaped despite himself.
“Okay, okay.”
As Yumyeong answered with light chuckles, Hakyoung, who had been walking ahead, stared back at him.
“This area is originally famous for being good for stargazing.”
“Really?”
Yumyeong, who had no knowledge of celestial observation anyway, just silently followed Hakyoung.
The destination was closer than expected. The place Hakyoung selected for the practical session was a mountain not far from school. Actually, in this area, unlike Seoul full of exhaust fumes, you could always see the stars as long as there was no fine dust. Thanks to that, Hakyoung seemed to sometimes go out to the veranda from the dormitory to observe the sky. Unlike me who was depressed that my parents had dumped me in this Gangwon Province mountain valley, Hakyoung seemed satisfied with the environment here.
The departure time was around when the sunset was just beginning to set. Then they could arrive just in time before it got completely dark, he said.
The place reserved this time was a pension, and Hakyoung had originally been looking into a campground. However, Teacher Choi, the supervising teacher, said that a campground could be dangerous for students and didn’t permit it. Thanks to that, the two ended up staying at a fairly nice pension. And with people dropping out, just the two of them alone at that.
The two took a bus for about 20 minutes. The surrounding scenery changed quickly and the mountain terrain gradually became rougher.
On the way to the destination after getting off the bus, the road was full of restaurants selling things like soft-shelled turtle soup and roasted sparrows. Although it was around sunset, the early summer sunlight was very hot. Occasionally seeking shade, the two boys silently moved their legs. However, after walking uphill for a while, they gradually began to run out of breath.
“If I’d known it would be like this, I should’ve eaten more dinner. Are we a hiking club or an astronomy club?”
Yumyeong, who was clinging to and leaning against a tree trunk, panted and whined. Hakyoung looked back with cool eyes. Just when it seemed like his expression was telling him to shut up, he soon rustled around in his large backpack and threw something at Yumyeong. What hit his forehead and fell was a small chocolate bar.
“This won’t even reach my liver……”
As he said this, Yumyeong tore open the chocolate bar wrapper and put it in his mouth.
“Why did you book such an out-of-the-way place? Is it really a pension? Isn’t it a mountain lodge?”
When Yumyeong grumbled, Hakyoung answered briefly.
“You have to get away from the lights to see the stars better.”
“Of course.”
As he said this, Yumyeong glanced at Hakyoung’s back. Unlike himself who had only brought enough daily necessities for exactly one night, Hakyoung had shouldered various equipment. He didn’t show any sign of struggling, but small beads of sweat had formed on the nape of his neck.
“Hey. Let me have it.”
Hakyoung looked back with eyes that said ‘What?’ A bead of sweat hanging on his chin dropped. Yumyeong thought the water droplet on Hakyoung’s neck didn’t look like sweat but somehow looked vivid and cold.
“The bag. Let’s share carrying it.”
“It’s fine.”
“Isn’t it hard? Let’s rest a bit before going.”
“I have to unpack before the sun sets.”
“What’s wrong with resting for a moment?”
“Seeing you keep asking, you must be the one who’s struggling?”
At Hakyoung’s provocation, Yumyeong got irritated. Even when worried about him, he always talks like that. Only then, seeing Yumyeong shut his mouth and diligently move his feet, Hakyoung secretly smiled.
When they arrived at the pension, the sun was setting at just the right time. The red sun beyond was setting toward the city center lower than their view.
“Wow, this place is really nice.”
The pension they arrived at was more impressive than expected and had almost hotel-grade facilities, so Yumyeong quickly got excited. The bathroom had a bathtub, and the bedroom ceiling was made of glass so you could see the stars even while lying down.
“There are lots of beds. Can I sleep here?”
“Do as you like.”
The two unpacked and had a meal with simple instant food. Then they spread an outdoor mat outside. Finally, Hakyoung turned off all the lights inside the pension and came out.
“The easiest way to do celestial observation is to see with your own two eyes. When a person’s eyes get used to the darkness, they can see more stars than usual.”
As he said this, Hakyoung lay down first to show him.
“That’s it?”
“Yeah.”
“The astronomy club…… Isn’t this completely a free ride?”
At those words, Hakyoung’s eyes narrowed. It seemed like he was glaring, but lying down doing that, he only looked adorable. Yumyeong flopped down beside him and said.
“It’s nice that we just have to lie down.”
“The atmosphere is good today. We’ll be able to see many stars.”
Hakyoung’s profile as he said that seemed to sparkle with anticipation. Yumyeong had no interest in watching stars, but he was the type who thought that if it was something someone liked enough to be captivated by, it was worth participating in.
The two lying side by side watched the scenery in silence for a moment. A breeze blew and cooled their sweat.
Just watching the sky change to blue-green moment by moment without doing anything brought peace of mind and body.
“Do you do this often?”
“Sometimes. When I was in the US, I deliberately went around looking for famous spots.”
“America…… That’s nice. Where in America?”
“The West.”
“I see. I almost went to America too.”
“Almost?”
“My father used to say at the end of every sentence that I had to graduate from an Ivy League school until my ears were worn out.”
“With your current grades…… would that be possible?”
Hakyoung asked back calmly. It was a cruel statement of fact. Though it stabbed a painful spot, Yumyeong answered indifferently.
“I can’t go anyway.”
“Why? Try hard from now on.”
“No. I can’t. My father no longer……”
Yumyeong frowned.
Should I say it or not?
After worrying like that, with a ‘the hell with it’ feeling, he let it out.
“I was originally supposed to go to high school in America too. If I couldn’t go, I was going to go to at least a special purpose high school or foreign language high school in Seoul…… But when it actually came time to advance, he dumped me here. Now he doesn’t even say I must go somewhere.”
“……”
“He has no interest in my life.”
“That’s probably not it.”
“How would you know?”
“I thought the exact same thing. When I was forced to go to America, I thought my parents were dumping me in America. I really didn’t want to go. Even what others call complaints of the well-fed, if you don’t want it yourself, you come to interpret it that way. You’re just like that too.”
“I guess……”
Though the situation didn’t change with consolation or anything, Yumyeong felt his heart become comfortable. It might have been because Hakyoung unexpectedly opened up about his own story.
Yumyeong wanted to repay Hakyoung.
“Hey, shall I tell you some good news?”
Hakyoung looked at Yumyeong with curious eyes.
“You know Lee Sunmin?”
“……What.”
“He hasn’t kissed yet.”
Yumyeong whispered in a very low voice. He had fully expected the reaction of an innocent virgin, but what came back was Hakyoung’s dumbfounded and dismissive look.
“So what.”
At his pathetic expression as if asking what was important about that, Yumyeong was puzzled.
“Isn’t that good?”
“Let’s not talk.”
“Why are you reacting like that?”
Hakyoung didn’t even respond and just lay back down using his arm as a pillow. It was clearly good news, but his reaction was completely incomprehensible.
“Hey, I didn’t ask this time. I asked before.”
“……”
“Where is there better news than this?”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“Why doesn’t it? If you do it right, you could win his first kiss.”
In the meantime, Yumyeong, who had propped himself up halfway by leaning on his arm, looked down at Hakyoung. Hakyoung frowned in the darkness, but to Yumyeong, only sparkling black pupils were faintly visible. It was pitch dark around them so he couldn’t distinguish what expression he was making.
Yumyeong established a hypothesis in his own way about why Hakyoung’s reaction seemed lukewarm.
First, he’s embarrassed to chat about this topic.
Second, he doesn’t want to associate with a promiscuous(?) guy regarding such topics.
“Don’t tell me you’re shy?”
If not that…….
There was only one remaining problem.
“Do you think there’s no possibility?”
“……”
“Hey, have courage. You’re pretty handsome.”
Yumyeong patted his shoulder as if to encourage him.
