Chapter 12

7 am.

Saturday. At any other time, I would have been excited to have a day off today, but my mood was quite the opposite. That means you have more time to study. Still, when I opened my eyes in Taekin's body, I washed up and prepared to go out. When Taek-in left the room with his bag, his mother was standing in front of him. This is why I go out even on weekends. It was difficult for Taek-in to be with her mother. He has to keep lying because I feel like a sinner. So I can't even make eye contact properly. This time too, there was rice on the table. I sat in front of her and ate as if inhaling, and as usual, she sat in front of me and watched me eat.

“The test is next week, right?”

"Kkulkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk..."

I heard a case. Taekin's mother was surprised and patted my back and brought me water. After drinking the water I gave her, she calmed down for a while and saw the grains of rice I had scattered on her table. As I stretched out my hand to pick it up, she first brushed away the dirty grains of rice that had popped out of her mouth with her bare hands.

“Are you still having trouble keeping up with your studies?”

"...yes."

I glanced at her and opened her mouth to add. I was definitely going to come in last place, but I thought it would be better to tell them in advance rather than be shocked when my grades came out.

“Look, I don’t remember anything I studied so far…”

“You don’t have to study too hard. All you have to do is be healthy, so don’t worry too much about the exam.”

"...yes."

"I'm sorry that she can't take care of you because your mom is working. You're not even normal yet... Her mom should be by her side."

"..."

“By the way, an electric oven for display was brought out cheaply at the place I work. Should I buy it? The one I have at home is old. Isn’t it difficult to control the temperature? Right?”

As Taek-in asked the question, her mother's eyes were particularly sparkling. As if he wanted me to cheer. You're not spending my money, so do you really need my permission? If you can't control the temperature, buy it.

“If you want to buy it, buy it.”

“What about you? How are you?”

“I don’t really have any thoughts.”

“...Okay. Then I shouldn’t buy it.”

She seemed particularly disappointed. Did it come out very cheap?

“Well, if you’re having a hard time, don’t go to the library and do it at home. Are you uncomfortable with your mom being at home?”

“No. I decided to meet my friend at the library.”

Taek-in's mother's expression brightened when she heard that he was her friend.

“Really? Then let’s buy something delicious together.”

Just like last time, she put a 50,000 won bill in my hand. As she was quietly looking at the money, she heard a question.

“I have an orange that you like. Would you like to change it into juice? Do you want to take it?”

​

 

“Yes,” I answered, and she excitedly took out the blender. She told me to drink with her friend and forced myself to finish my meal while watching the juice fill two large water bottles.

HE was determined to achieve his goal, and things were about to ...

About to next... Ah, turn hus way. After reading the text over a hundred times, her hands now moved before her head. I still don't know what it means. All I know in the sentence is he, was, his, and, things. Of course, I am familiar with about and to, but after a week of experience, I had to use an unfamiliar word because it had a different meaning when paired with the previous word. But anyway, I memorized the entire text. I continued to use the rest of the back without any hesitation, but then stopped again. As I was thinking about what was next, I heard a voice interrupt me.

“Not yet?”

"Wait."

I was so anxious that my hand, which had stopped moving, moved again. After finishing everything, I handed out the paper. However, Woo Min-jae did not take the paper and just looked at me.

"I'm done."

Only then did he take the paper and ask as he was passing by.

"What's going on?"

“No. Why? Yo?”

“Because it’s different than usual.”

What's different? He added as if explaining.

“You didn’t have a single complaint when you came here. You didn’t do anything else in between and just studied.”

Are you dissatisfied even if you study hard? However, as he said, instead of complaining, a blunt answer came out of my mouth.

“Because the exam starts tomorrow.”

I could feel him staring at me, but I pulled at the vocabulary worksheet he had made.

“Do that later.”

"why?"

“Aren’t you eating?”

  Only then did I realize that it was already close to 1 o'clock. For some reason, I felt a little hungry.

“I didn’t know you would forget your meals and be so absorbed in your studies.”

“I didn’t know either.”

“Something has happened. What is it?”

"..."

“You have to tell me about Taek-in so that it can be effective when I join hands again.”

That said, these are my feelings, right? It was ambiguous. I didn't want to talk, but there was someone waiting for me, so I had no choice but to open my mouth.

“It’s nothing, yo. It’s just that Taek-in felt a little bad hearing her mother worry in the morning. yo.”

“Taekin said the situation is similar to yours, right? Because it’s like seeing your mother?”

“...Well, that’s right. Yo.”

I want to stop talking about that. I looked at it with a frown, but it had no effect when the high school student's face was red again. I didn't really want to talk about my high school days. My family was always depressed, and even if I was a voluntary bully, there was no way I would have a good time as an unhappy high school student. No, this doesn't matter. I don’t regret the actions I did back then. Except one thing. Because of that one thing, this is a time in my life that I don't want to remember. Fortunately, Woo Min-jae changed the topic.

"What do you want to eat?"

“What is being delivered? Yo?”

“You can eat whatever you want.”

“What if I want to eat Gwamegi seaweed wrap? What do I do?”

Suddenly, Woo Min-jae picked up the hotel phone.

“Yes, please bring the gwamegi seaweed wrap here. ... Yes, please bring the 30-minute snack. And dessert, please wait a moment.”

He took off the phone and looked at me.

“Do you want anything for dessert?”

"..."

“If you don’t have it, I’ll take care of it. Hello, for dessert, it’s fruit or something that isn’t sweet these days…”

“Hey! Wait! That’s enough, I’m not eating that!”

It was only then that I realized that this was a real situation and I stopped him. He glanced at me, canceled the order, and hung up.

“Do you want something else?”

“What’s wrong with you?”

"what?"

“What are you going to do? You’re unusually kind!”

I shouted excitedly, but the guy looked at me as if I was strange.

“What’s kind about ordering what you want to eat?”

“But, I didn’t know that you would order Gwamegi Jinja...”

“Gwamegi is no big deal.”

...okay? Did you mean to be sarcastic and say that it was food that wasn't available at the hotel?

“Don’t be mistaken. Gwamegi is a common food that is found in every home like kimchi.”

...really? You mean it was that popular? I have to go to Pohang, where my mother’s family lives, to eat? However, the man's firm and cold words did not seem to be lies.

“If you don’t understand, just think it’s because I want to impress you.”

“Gwamegiya is a side dish for the entire nation.”

I understood right away.

“Still, the gwamegi is enough, just order the pork rice bowl.”

"..."

"why?'

“It’s more delicious... no.”

He stopped what he was saying, picked up the phone, and ordered again. He hung up the phone and asked seriously.

“What did you eat at work last night?”

yesterday? Yesterday... I was thinking about what I ate yesterday, and the person I saw in front of the store also came to mind. Now that I think about it, that's what happened. I frowned without realizing it. Woo Min-jae caught my expression sharply.

“Why? Did you eat pork rice bowl yesterday too?”

“Huh? No. Yo. Pork cutlet.”

I asked the guy who answered and his expression hardened for a moment.

“Are you sure you don’t want to try again with someone named Andy?”

His eyes became completely cold.

"doesn't exist."

“You have no intention of stopping me from stalking people around you?”

It hasn't been long since I started meeting Woo Min-jae in earnest, but there's one thing I learned about him. He's so perceptive that it's surprising.

“Did Andy visit you yesterday?”

“He didn’t come to see me, but he came because he wanted to see if you would come. He went and told me you weren’t coming. He was worried because everyone could see that he was secretly watching other people. He said he heard about it from you because he knew he was doing it.”

​

 

"and?"

“He asked me if I liked you.”

From this point on, my heart began to beat slowly. This wasn't Taek-in's body reacting, it was me, who was nervous, moving Taek-in's heart.

“What were you doing?”

What should I say? Yesterday I sent a person named Andy and thought about it several times. The best answer was to just tell the truth. Woo Min-jae is interested in me, so what does it matter? Just throw it away. Because Woo Min-jae also said this to his partner. He didn't need to tell me about my condition. There was no need for him to hurt someone he didn't know very well. What makes me uncomfortable is not his despairing expression or his limp, unsteady steps. It's me who said something he shouldn't have said.

“Kwon Hee-chan.”

“I told you the truth. My heart trembles when I see you.”

He looked into my eyes, leaned back against the back of the sofa, and asked.

“How do you feel? Does your heart flutter every time you see someone you don’t like?”

“Sucks. Yo.”

"but."

He replied lightly and checked the text I handed him with a red pen. Is this the end?

“Aren’t you curious how he reacted to what I said?”

"not really."

"..."

“I asked why I let that guy stalk me? It’s not worth it. I don’t even want to waste the energy of getting angry and telling that guy not to hang around me. He’s not the kind of guy who will listen to me once I tell him anyway.”

“Isn’t it annoying? It’s always in your field of vision.”

For me, what happened in high school was a moment in my life that I wanted to cut out, but for him, what happened in Canada was like that. I don't know how much he was hurt and how difficult it was, but when he talks about that time, Woo Min-jae's eyes usually change like this. He was bleak, cold, and empty.

“I’m used to it. And I can’t stay in Korea forever. Ignore you too.”

“I was thinking that too...”

I frowned and looked away.

“I feel bad because I feel like I’m hurting a good, good person.”

“How do you know whether Andy is a good person or not?”

“You’re the one you chose, yo.”

"..."

“Why Andy did something wrong to you or why he did such a crazy thing is none of my business, but at least when you dated him, you dated him because he was a good person.”

He looked at me with a strange gaze. Sometimes I feel uncomfortable when he looks at me like that. And I hate this. When Taek-in is in my body, my heart beats especially fast.

“So he doesn’t like lying and hurting people like that.”

“I’ll give you 2 hours of free time after eating.”

“I will do my best to get rid of the stalker.”

No matter how good a person is, he or she has to overcome some wounds, cancer.

Knock knock. Someone tapped my shoulder very lightly.

“Student? Um, student?”

Before I even turned my head, I had already half-frozen at the sound of the voice I heard. I looked around and, sure enough, a man named Andy was standing there with a nervous look on his face.

“Oh, hi.”

"..."

“Are you surprised when a stranger suddenly greets you?”

What's surprising? I saw it in the early morning too. Of course, this would be the first time that person was talking to me while Taek-in was there.

“Hey, I… um… I know Minjae over there, and I have something to ask the student. Now, can I talk to you for a moment?”

"no."

Ah, another wounded face. The other person's eyes changed as if they were going to cry at any moment.

“I have to go now. Woo Min-jae... the teacher will be out soon.”

Since it was almost 7 o'clock, Woo Min-jae took me home and I was planning to come back to the hotel in my own body right away. I was waiting outside the villa first, and Woo Min-jae was still inside.

“I see... Then when you have time, would you like to talk to me? I’m staying in the villa right next to it.”

right beside? He was a stalker with some money. Well, if it's enough to chase me all the way from Canada...

“If you want to eat anything, I’ll buy it for you.”

I was shocked. By the way, do I look like the kind of person who would fall for something delicious?

“That’s right, I just ordered pig’s feet. Do you want to eat it together?”

"!"

Without realizing it, I followed him for a few steps and finally came to my senses. it's okay! I can order that pig's trotters too. When I stopped walking, he looked back with an excited look on his face.

“It’s spicy pig’s feet, but it’s really delicious. It’s my first time eating here and I order it every day.”

gulp.

“But it’s not spicy and the sauce is sweet, so I ordered one for my middle son and ate it all by myself. Hehe~ Today, I ordered for my godson.”

“...Do you also have steamed eggs?”

“Yeah, well! The rice balls came too.”

Then, just eat three points... No, wake up, it's almost 7 o'clock!

“No. I’m sorry.”

"...okay."

He was disappointed, but he didn't look as hurt as before.

“Be sure to come later. Anytime. Huh?”

“Then Woo Min-jae, the teacher will hate you.”

“Minjae... did you talk about me?”

Just roughly. After some hesitation and hesitation, I added. I have no choice but to become toxic in return for two hours of rolling around and sleeping.

“Don’t think that just because you look good to me, I will talk well to Teacher Woo Min-jae. Even if something like that happens, he won’t even listen to me. He told me the exact same thing. I won’t see him again.”

“Yes, I know.”

He nodded his head surprisingly calmly. You said you knew everything, but what were you trying to talk about with me? The answer came out of his mouth.

"I'm just wondering how Minjae is doing. I'm wondering if he's eating well, what he does after school, he was a practice bug but he can't exercise, so I'm worried about what he does during that time... I wonder if he's still having trouble sleeping. Just “I want to hear your story. Minjae has had a very difficult time.”

"..."

"Of course, I'm relieved that he seems to be doing better than I'm worried about, but I still want to know more. Considering that Minjae is a teacher, is he a student? Seeing that we meet separately even on the weekends, I guess Minjae is a good teacher."

“That’s absolutely not the case.”

I corrected the facts with a straight face. While the other person was blinking in confusion, I said exactly what I wanted to say.

“Forget it. Don’t even wonder. If you’re doing this just to try again with teacher Woo Min-jae, don’t get your hopes up.”

He just smiled bitterly at my words. Then he looked behind me and quickly lowered his voice.

“I don’t have any other intentions, so come and have fun, okay?”

And then he looked behind me with a nervous face.

“Minjae.”

Before I could turn my head, a strong force grabbed my arm. And without even looking at the person who called him, he dragged me away and pushed me into the car. With a bang, the car door closed and Woo Min-jae glanced at me as he drove.

“I will completely finish memorizing the text today.”

​

“Aren’t you curious about what that person was talking about?”

"at all."

At this point, I couldn't tell whether it was this guy or him that was amazing. How much love can it take for someone to hate one person like this and love the other like this after breaking up? Their love seemed to have depths I couldn't even imagine. I felt a little jealous, perhaps because of the feeling of never knowing. Even though I know it's not like me, I just felt that way.

“Hey. Make sure you know this one thing.”

I felt Woo Min-jae's stinging gaze on my face as I stared straight ahead. However, I had no desire to add this letter.

“I’m going to order pig’s feet for a late-night snack. Spicy pig’s feet for sure. Special, special.”

I usually sleep during the day, but I stayed up all day studying, so I ate a late-night snack and fell asleep before I knew it. I guess the pressure to study for the first time in 30 years was quite great. At some point, without even realizing it, English! He opened his eyes brightly. I quickly got up from my seat and was dazed for a few seconds to calm my startled mind. English... English! Yes, I need to study English. I stood up shakily and wiped the saliva from my mouth.

I remembered that Woo Min-jae said he would take a paper test in an hour, so I memorized it hard. But I guess I just fell asleep. I looked at the clock and two hours had passed. Why didn't you wake me up? Is this kid sleeping too? As I came out of the small room where I was lying and walked down the narrow hallway, light streamed from the living room. It was coming from a big TV. A badminton match was in full swing on the big screen. I stood for a moment and watched the TV screen. It wasn't even our country's game. But why are you watching it at 1 in the morning?

I thought he was sleeping with the TV on, but when I turned around on the comfortable high-backed sofa, I saw him sitting there. I wasn't sleeping. But I wasn't even watching TV. I was just staring into space. The expressionless face looked more empty than ever. He didn't look like Woo Min-jae at all. There was no one who was unlucky, didn't smile, and made me lie flat on my face. Maybe it's because of the TV's colorful but dim lighting. It looks like a person who is completely injured and can barely breathe.

"hey."

He turned his head. The dangerous and dangerous atmosphere I felt a moment ago disappeared in an instant.

“When you wake up, bring me paper and a pencil. I’m going to take a paper test.”

I called you for no reason. I woke up and couldn't remember a thing. I hid my embarrassment and sat down next to him. He opened his mouth before mentioning the paper test again.

“Were you a badminton player?”

"..."

“Do you think Canada is good at badminton?”

Well, shoulders are important when playing badminton. I looked at the guy who didn't answer and then met his bewildered eyes.

“Well, I’ve never played badminton with Canadians. And now, stop asking. It doesn’t matter what sport I played in the past, right?”

“I don’t mind, but you don’t. That was your job.”

“I don’t care. I’m trying to forget that that was my job.”

“So are you watching badminton?”

He watched TV when I told him to. He watched TV as if he was seeing it for the first time, as if he hadn't been looking at the screen at all.

“Just any sport doesn’t matter. As long as it’s not that bad.”

He leaned back on the sofa as if to relax and muttered.

'Shall we try badminton?'

“You can’t do that. They say how important your shoulders are in badminton.”

"..."

"why?"

“Shouldn’t you cheer me on? Yes, try it. You can switch to a different sport. You can do it.”

I was so dumbfounded that I burst out laughing. Are you kidding me?

"It's my future career path, so how can I unconditionally support it without properly researching it? There's nothing more irresponsible than telling me to cheer up and say it's not my business."

“Then speak responsibly.”

“If you are honest, I will give you responsible advice. What is the condition of your shoulder? Is it in a state where you will never be able to exercise?”

The guy's expression became cold. He was trying to forget about the exercise he did before, but it seemed like he was angry that I had brought it up. Heh, I'm not scared at all, kid. I added it intentionally.

"The thing you want to do most is the sport you used to do. Since you can't do that, you're just watching badminton and dying alone. If you really want to forget, instead of ignoring it, force yourself to look at it and accept that you can't do it anymore. That's the real way to forget and get rid of it. ."

The guy was looking at me silently, but he wasn't as angry or glaring as before.

“I don’t like that.”

no? I gave some advice…

“What you really want is not to forget.”

"..."

“Be honest? If I take your word for it, I’ll really let it go. I don’t like that. This is the truth. I still like it. I’m going to leave because I like it.”

His voice sounded low and monotonous. He was so emotionless that I wondered if he was lying. But strangely enough, my heart sank heavily as I listened.

“The doctor said that if you get hurt one more time, you won’t be able to even lift a spoon. But you will definitely get hurt. It’s my job to get hurt and bump into things. Now that I told you the truth, give me advice responsibly.”

he asked, turning towards me.

“Would it be better for me to do that job again even if I become an armchair? Would it be okay to trade my whole life for something I can only do for a few months, or 1-2 years at most?”

“...Hey, the question is really difficult.”

He seemed to be laughing. However, the screen was dark so I couldn't see it in detail.

“You are the first to say that it is difficult. Anyone who knows my situation said that the rest of my life is important.”

“Do you know when a person will die? If the remaining life is less than a month away, how will you close your eyes because you feel unfair when you die?”

"..."

“I’ve never experienced something that I really like and want to do, so I’m just jealous of you.”

I was really jealous. This guy's life seemed to be full of passion that I had never experienced, to the point where I looked shabby.

“So you’re not going to Canada?”

“Do you want me to go?”

“I’m not going to Canada just because I can’t exercise. I’ve lived there for a long time, and all my friends will be there. This is just my feeling.”

I stared at him.

“I think there are reasons other than exercise for not going to Canada.”

"... no."

Or not. I lifted the remote control and looked away.

“Are you going to keep watching badminton? If you can’t sleep, I’ll show you something good. I guarantee you, you’ll be able to sleep right after watching it.”

I pressed the remote control hard, hold, hold, and chose to watch again. Then I found what I wanted and pressed 10 times. The title appeared on the screen and it started right away.

“I do it, I do it. Hey, check this out. It’s really fun.”

"drama?"

“Yes. An old drama. My mom, who is fond of re-watching all dramas, recommended it.”

On TV, suspenseful music played from the beginning and the final part of the full story came out. There was a close-up of her shocked face after seeing someone on the set of the broadcast station where the straight-haired heroine works. Bbabambabam~ Nervous music played.

“Oh, I saw it! I saw whose wife that woman was.”

"What are you talking about?"

Without taking my eyes off the screen, I began explaining with all my passion and sincerity.

“The main character is a woman with straight hair. She used to live happily with her professor husband and daughter, but her husband cheated on her. That woman! With that curly-haired woman! The heroine was good at decorating her house, so she put a lot of effort into her house, but the husband cheated on her. The only thing that caught me was that my husband slept with a woman with curly hair in that house. Because of that, they divorced. Anyway, before that, the heroine asked the curly-haired woman to break up with her husband, but she behaved very unluckily. Moreover, the curly-haired woman was a natural. “I wasn’t seriously dating the professor.”

“I guess we met casually because he’s a married man.”

“Hey! Then it’s even worse! I met the professor seriously.”

“The professor is also a fucking bastard.”

Damn you. I nodded at her and added.

​

 

"But he's also an asshole. He didn't even think that the other person was playing with him, so he fell in love with the curly haired man and ended up getting divorced. Then, he happily went to the curly haired man and got dumped. He said he was a complete threat. But curly hair divorced a married man and became the female lead. After breaking her heart, she went to America to pursue the man she liked. Then, a few years later, she ended up returning and marrying that man. That's right!"

I created tension and pointed at the screen as the male protagonist's face appeared.

"That's him! The male protagonist, the producer, originally liked the female protagonist, who was a married woman. But after being rejected and hurt, he went to America and married a girl with curly hair. Then, when he returned to Korea, he met the female protagonist, who was his first love, and they started working together. . At first, he behaved unluckily, but now the misunderstanding has been resolved and he is very good. Moreover, I still like him. The funny thing here is that all three people do not know each other's relationship. But now, right now! The female protagonist says that the producer's wife has curly hair. He knew! He knew that his enemy Cheolcheon had become the wife of the man he loved!

How fun is that? Are you feeling tense? But his reaction did not meet my expectations.

“Then now all three of us can figure out our relationship with each other and sort it out.”

“Hey! So does the drama make sense? There are still 10 episodes left! Normally, if there is a secret, it comes out in 1/3 parts for each episode.”

"why?"

“Because it’s fun that way. And it has to be done slowly so the curly hair feels happy when it gets punished.”

But he didn't really sympathize.

“There is no law that says you have to be punished for doing something bad. There are many people who are better off.”

“So, it’s a drama. Even if you don’t earn your own money in real life, it definitely comes true in a drama.”

“...What did you say just now?”

“Even if self-employment is not possible in reality...”

“Are you self-employed?”

When listening to the contents of the drama, the guy's eyes, which had been bored, suddenly became tense.

“You just said, ‘I’m self-employed, I’m self-employed,’ right? It’s not something like, ‘I’m self-employed, I’m self-employed,’ etc.?”

I looked at him seriously, holding the remote control in his hand.

“Hey, you… you’re really stupid.”

Wiggle. The guy moved his eyebrows and showed shock, but as a friend, I had no choice but to tell him the truth.

“A self-employed person? Two self-employed people? If you go somewhere and say something like that, you’ll be laughed at, man.”

I patted his nervous shoulder.

“I’m telling you this because it’s me. You may be good at English, but I think you’re weak at idioms. Don’t use them in the future.”

This is what a true friend is. I felt proud and focused on the drama. And for some reason, he continued to explain the situation of the drama to Woo Min-jae, who was frozen, and worked together with the main character.

“Huh? Hey, look at that. The producer is throwing away his wife and chasing the female protagonist!”

I exclaimed excitedly, pointing at the screen. As the curly head felt anxious as if it had sensed something, the background music of babambam bam played.

“When that music comes on, it means there’s a crisis.”

“It appeared in the beginning too.”

A voice that seemed somewhat annoyed retorted.

“That’s right. Appears every time.”

“Every time?”

“Yeah. It’s a crisis every time. Isn’t it awesome?”