Chapter 19

“Class president?”

huh. I nodded to Woo Min-jae and looked at the clock. 10 minutes before 6:00. He had to get up soon because he had to get home before he collapsed.

“I think I know Taek-in. As soon as he saw Taek-in, he frowned and glared at me like I was going to kill him. I think there’s something there. Taek-in’s reaction was…”

I looked down at my hands, which didn't stop shaking for a long time afterwards. When I looked up, Woo Min-jae was waiting for me to speak.

“It was a very unpleasant reaction.”

“Okay. I’ll find out.”

thanks. I muttered and avoided eye contact. Actually, it wasn't easy to bring up the topic of class president. I insisted that Woo Min-jae was the only one who could wake Taek-in, but I thought that maybe something related to the class president would wake Taek-in up. It wasn't clear yet, but it was clear that this bastard was at least one of the reasons why Taek-in committed suicide.

“Then what I’m doing now might not work.”

“What are you going to do? Yo?”

He answered lightly, as if asking if there was anything special.

“Holding hands.”

“Do you want to do it again?”

“You have to do it. You can’t keep going to high school like this. I won’t be there for the second semester either.”

doesn't exist? I wondered if this was why I went to the principal's office today. He added softly, as if my expression revealed his true feelings.

“As per the contract, I only end up teaching one semester.”

“If there was no problem and you still want to teach in the second semester, wouldn’t you still be hired?”

“I guess so.”

"..."

“But even if it’s not class president work, I have no intention of continuing. Teaching children is fun, but I don’t think it’s my job.”

“Have you decided what to do?”

1. He shook his head. Still, he paused to answer, wondering if he had anything in mind, but then just shrugged his shoulders.

“It hasn’t been confirmed yet.”

You're not going back to Canada, are you? I was about to ask before I knew it, but I swallowed it right on the tip of my tongue. I suddenly felt depressed.

“Give me your hand. I have to try what I have to do.”

"no."

I shook my head and stood up. I looked at my watch and pretended to be busy.

“We have to go home quickly before Taekin collapses.”

I guess it was strange that the person who had previously asked me to hold his hand actually refused. Woo Min-jae asked with uncharacteristic worry.

“Are you okay? Is it because of your class president?”

“Yes. I think that bastard is the reason why Taek-in ended up like this. So, no matter how much you hold his hand or sincerely worry about him, it’s useless.”

The real reason why I felt depressed lies elsewhere, but I believed that this was the real reason. What does it matter whether Woo Min-jae goes to Canada or not?

“Now I’m accepting that fact.”

"what?"

“I told you. I might not be the solution.”

“Why are you showing off like that now?”

“It’s partly my fault. I should have clearly said it wasn’t me from the beginning.”

From the beginning?

“You knew it wasn’t you? How could you?”

“Taekin’s feelings were similar to Andy’s.”

He casually brought up Andy's name, but I was nervous when I heard it. With Andy?

"The way Taekin looked at me was similar to when Andy first saw me. Even though Andy said he loved me from the beginning, in my eyes it was just a yearning. I'm an athlete. Among the people who support me, there are people who show interest beyond fans. Yes. Plus, Andy is gay, so he must have firmly believed that it was love.”

The tone was indifferent, as if talking to someone else. However, for a moment, the eyes staring into space darkened and sank.

“But in the end, you loved me too.”

"well."

The answer I hated the most came out, but this time I wasn't angry, just embarrassed. Are you saying you loved me or not? no. Of course, because you loved each other, you suffered from betrayal and couldn't forgive, right?

“Andy...”

I blurted out his name, but like Woo Min-jae, I couldn't continue speaking. I had a lot of questions. Aren't you worried about Andy? She didn't contact him? You haven't met her? She hesitated, unable to ask a question, but he answered on his own.

“I moved to my dorm.”

“Have you met?”

“No. I left a note.”

what? He didn't answer right away, but opened his mouth a beat later. It's like choosing only the necessary content from the message and answering it.

“I’m sorry and I won’t let you run into me again.”

“Why don’t you say something about me?”

“Do you have anything left to do with Andy?”

No, what should I see... I asked him, giving a vague answer.

“Aren’t you sorry Andy?”

Why should I be sorry? I expected this kind of reaction. But unexpectedly, the guy nodded his head.

“I’m sorry. But now is not the time to apologize.”

I felt like I knew how he was feeling, but I also felt like I didn't know. Anyway, he seemed more comfortable than when we first met and talked about Andy. He changed the topic back to the original topic.

"That's exactly how Taekin looked at me at the beginning of the semester. He probably admired the authoritative teacher, the adult who could do anything, and the tall and physique that was different from his own. He blushed when he saw me, but he liked idols. "I was no different from a female student. Of course, the object of admiration plays an important role in life, but I don't think it is a decisive role."

“If you thought that from the beginning, why didn’t you say it?”

“Even if I tell you, I don’t think you will accept it.”

I had nothing to say because it was true. Still, I frowned and pursed my lips, but he added lightly.

“It was fun to see you always say polite things.”

“I knew that. Fuck.”

“Look, you’re speaking informally.”

“Then why don’t you speak informally to your friend? Who speaks respectfully to your friend? Shiba, are you the king?! Should I just bow my head at your feet? Considering that I spoke respectfully to you because of you…”

“I was going to let you play one more game of soccer if you continued to be polite.”

"what?"

“No games this week?”

"... there is."

"where?"

"...FC Kimjang. ...Yo."

“Can I go to the place I went last time by 7 o’clock?”

"... yes."

“Wake up. I’ll take you home.”

“Thank you, teacher.”

There was no response to Taekin's new SNS account on his phone for several days. Taek-in didn't have his number saved on his phone, so there was no one to add as a friend. If Taek-in contacted someone through this, he would just add them as a friend first and wait for them to contact him. But he didn't have much expectations. Judging by the fact that the app was deleted, it must have been because Taekin didn't need it. The class leader was more concerned about this than this. The guy who glared at me as if I was going to kill him yesterday after losing dodgeball still had a hard look in his eyes the next day. However, perhaps because he knew that he had to take care of himself because of the incident with Woo Min-jae, he never started an argument or harassed him in any small way. That bastard is not someone you can just ignore. How on earth do your brother and Taekin know each other? I wanted to ask him outright, but there was no way he would answer.

“Be careful. What if you stare at me like that and get caught and hit like before?”

I turned my attention to the voice of my partner quietly giving advice next to me. that's right?

“When did you get hit?”

“Before you get hurt.”

“Did that bastard beat me at school?”

My partner warned me in surprise, fearing that the class leader would hear.

“Lower your voice. Do you really think you would yell at school? It would be the end if the teacher caught you. You came home with a really bad injury, and the day before, you were glaring at the class president like you are now. I don’t know what’s going on, but the class president also called you and had an argument. After you got hurt so badly, you completely "I was so discouraged that I didn't say anything and couldn't even complain to the class president. From then on, the class president started harassing you and telling the kids that you were gay."

be careful. The partner warned once more and turned around. But I didn't stop glaring at the class president despite my partner's warning. He was already so mad about that guy's mom that he hit Taekin? I'm upset by the second round. I lifted the chair and forced myself to look away to avoid hitting the class president on the back of the head. Let's calm down. This is not my body. When Taek-in comes back, he will have to deal with my actions. I barely suppressed my anger until the end of class, and I thought it would end without incident. But it wasn't just me who tolerated it.

“My homeroom teacher told me to go first because he was going to be a little late. He told me to post notifications in the group KakaoTalk room, so he told me to read them and then leave a confirmation.”

After the class leader said this, everyone quickly packed their bags. As I was packing up my few belongings to go home, I heard the class leader continue.

“If you’re an asshole who can’t check KakaoTalk, don’t whine about not seeing the notification later.”

My hand stopped. I'm probably the only person who doesn't use KakaoTalk. I deleted the app because I didn't want to see the harassing comments sent by the class leader. I slowly turned my head. The class leader was looking straight at me.

“What are you looking at, you idiot?”

The surroundings suddenly became quiet. As I just stared at him, the class leader laughed as if it were absurd.

“Aren’t you going to turn a blind eye? You idiot, I’ve been watching you for a while now, so where are you trying to climb up?”

“Did you see it? It’s not because you were too busy being an asshole?”

The smile disappeared from the class president's face. He came down from in front of the teacher's table and approached me. He looked down at me as he sat down and raised his fist.

“You bastard, are you crazy about wanting to die?”

"Is it okay for a class president who is good at studying to punch at school? Even if you drive outside without a license, hang out with a girl at a club, drink a lot, and get caught by a girl's boyfriend and run away through the back door of the club, get caught and get beaten like a scallop. ."

The class president raised his fist and his eyes widened in surprise. How do you know that? I kindly added an explanation to the questioning face.

“Yes, it can be scary. Still, it’s a bit weird to kneel down and beg them not to hit you in the face when you’ve only been hit a few times as soon as you get caught. It’s not like your face is going to be a big problem if you get hit at all.”

The class president was now beyond shocked and even turned pale. He seemed quite surprised. But when he noticed me whispering around, he quickly threatened me.

“Fuck, where are you talking nonsense?”

“Shall we bring the person who hit you and ask him directly?”

omg. The class president took a deep breath and was clearly surprised. It was proof to anyone that what I said was true. He felt this too and looked around in confusion. When he saw that the class' expressions were not good, he attacked me again.

“Bring it here, fuck. Where are you from, you idiot, telling lies… Fuck, even your mouth is filthy, the filthy bastard who spreads her legs for a man. Didn’t I tell you before? Even studying in the same class with a faggot like you makes me spit up. Your mouth is full of lies. Are you going to leave? But then you pretend to have amnesia and get away with it? Who do you think would want to study with you, the dirty guy? Do you know what you'll do to us?"

I couldn't stand it anymore and tried to stand up. However, the moment I put pressure on my leg, someone said something as if they were annoyed.

“Hey, stop it. Kim Taek-in didn’t do any harm to us, but you’re just doing it for no reason.”

Someone helped me. When I turned around in surprise, it was our team that had received my advice when playing dodgeball yesterday. The class president frowned and opened his mouth to him.

“Hey, if you don’t know anything, be quiet.”

“Class president, just be quiet. There’s nothing wrong with what he said. You and Taekin don’t like it, it’s okay with us anymore.”

Another child said. I was just as shocked as the class president. I should have bought you a hamburger right away!

“Amazing. Are you all fagots? Are you going to spread your legs and suck each other’s dick?”

The class president sneered at the class and bowed his head to me.

“Kim Taek-in, no matter what I do, I will make you go to school on your own feet. I see that your stone head still doesn’t remember, should I call my brother and make you remember again?”

brother? I was startled, pushed the chair and stood up.

“What did your brother do to me?”

“How did you do it? I’ll call your brother, so ask him directly. It would be so funny if you cried out of fear after being bullied by my brother, right?”

He laughed and grabbed my collar. Then he lowered his voice and whispered.

“You too will soon become my brother’s toy, idiot.”

thud. For a moment, my heart beat loudly as if I had received a huge shock, and then I fell to the floor. And a familiar feeling of dizziness swept through my mind like a whirlwind. He felt his body collapse and it turned into cancer.

Flashing. As soon as I opened my eyes, I looked at the clock. 4:18. The second hand moved vigorously, as if to let me know that the clock in my store was not broken. I sat down and placed my hand on my chest, which still seemed to be in shock. But my heart, not Taekin’s, was beating normally. I rummaged through my pockets with my hands, as was my habit, and realized I didn't have my cell phone. It was in the body of Taek-in, who was still at school. shit! I came out of the store to run myself. And while I was running to the entrance of the market, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

You can check with the store phone first. I went back to the store and picked up the phone, panting. Where should I call? But then he dialed my cell phone number. The only number I memorized was mine anyway. However, no matter how many times I called, there was no answer. When I called again, thinking it was the last time, the call connection tone was cut off and I heard a voice.

[yes.]

“This is a call from student Kim Taek-in, right? How is Kim Taek-in’s condition right now?”

[Kwon Hee-chan?]

The other person called my name. Only then did I realize that the voice was familiar to my ears.

“Huh? Minjae Woo, is Taekin next to you right now?”

[As expected, he went back.]

“Hey, how’s Taekin? Are you okay?”

[Moved to the nurse's office. I happened to see him and he was next to me. But what happened?]

“I don’t know. All of a sudden, I just…”

Suddenly, yes, but not just. I stopped talking and remembered the moment Taekin collapsed. He was obviously shocked by the class president's words. Did he say he was making it out of his brother's toy? What does this mean?

[Did you remember something?]

“I’ll tell you later. Taekin said he was in the nurse’s office, right? I’ll pick you up.”

[it's okay. Now that I know the situation, I will take Taekin to your house first. Wait at home.]

I hung up the phone and looked at the clock again. It's been a long time since I stood in a store outside of 7 PM. I kept looking at my watch out of awkwardness. I should be happy that the time to return to my body is faster, but why am I so anxious? I felt anxious, as if something was wrong.

I thought that Taekin’s sudden decrease in time might be temporary. But the next day, Saturday, when I was still there at 9:30 a.m., I started to doubt. Isn't there a problem? Instead of decreasing little by little, it suddenly decreases by several hours like this. It was just after 10 o'clock that I opened my eyes in Taein's body. I opened my eyes and the first thing I saw was a worried face watching me.

“Taekin, are you okay?”

Taek-in handed his head with one hand, with his mother holding his hand.

“Let’s go to the hospital with Mom. I heard you collapsed at school yesterday?”

“How did you know?”

“I called in the morning and told you that you couldn’t go to school, and I heard from your homeroom teacher. Let’s go to the hospital now, Taekin.”

1. I shook my head loudly.

“You may be surprised by my increased sleep, but I’m doing this to get back to normal. It’s true.”

"but..."

​

 

"I don't have any pain other than sleeping. In fact, my body feels refreshed after sleeping more. So don't be surprised if you sleep longer and longer. I think I'll wake up completely sane and completely normal after sleeping for a whole day. Trust me. yes?"

"...."

“Don’t you have to go to work?”

I looked at the clock and shook my head, wondering if Taekin was my mother.

“You can just call me and say you’ll be late.”

“Go quickly. They say if you are late, you will be fined and a lot of money will be deducted from your salary.”

"still..."

“I’m fine. It’s actually getting better, right?”

She still looked at me in disbelief for a while, but eventually she asked:

“Really? It doesn’t hurt anywhere, does it?”

"sure."

I nodded, confirming my lie. But when Taek-in's mother left, a silent sigh came out. It's hard to get better. Continuing from yesterday, anxiety overtook me. As the time Taekin was awake was decreasing, it felt as if the probability of him returning was also decreasing. I wanted to see if this feeling was right. Fortunately, there was someone to ask.

In front of the store stood a notice board that had never been seen before.

'The place where the 2nd prize winner of Lotto xxx came from.'

Before, I would have been tempted and bought a lottery ticket as soon as I entered, but now I couldn't see such boasting.

“You’re back again?”

A woman who used to be a fortune teller, but after practicing silent meditation for several years to understand the ways of the world, came down to the secular world and became the owner of a lottery room, recognized me.

“Boss, let me ask…”

"Shh."

She held up her hand to block my mouth as I got straight to the point. And she glanced at Woo Min-jae, who followed me into the narrow lottery room. That's right, I came with this guy. Taek-in called me after finding out he wasn't at school, so I told him my plan. Then he told me never to go alone.

‘What if time is delayed again? Do you want to fall down on the street alone?'

That's what I heard and saw. Since it was Saturday, Woo Min-jae came along as my guardian after finishing early. But he brought me here for no reason. The lady's eyes lit up as she looked at Woo Min-jae, and she suddenly took out a piece of paper and a pen and handed it to him.

“Please sign.”

"yes?"

Woo Min-jae glanced at me in confusion and took the paper and pen. he asked, signing the paper familiarly.

“Have you ever seen my match?”

“No. Do you exercise?”

Woo Min-jae’s hand stopped signing. He glanced at me. What is this lady? I also wanted to answer.

“Boss, why did you ask me to sign an autograph out of nowhere when I don’t even know who he is?”

“I want to receive it in advance. How do I know if I will be dead later?”

What do you mean in advance? Me and Woo Min-jae looked at each other and looked back at her aunt at the same time.

“Are you saying he’ll have to sign autographs in the future?”

"well."

I never thought I would hear this unpleasant word here. I frowned and asked Woo Min-jae.

“Are you going to enter the entertainment industry? Are you good at singing?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. That will never happen.”

“Boss, look. I heard he’s not a celebrity. But what kind of autograph does he need to sign?”

When I protested, the lady shook her head as if it was pitiful.

“Only celebrities sign autographs?”

“That’s not true... Anyway, this guy is going to become famous.”

“I don’t know.”

I was angry. Did this lady get hot? My blood pressure rose, making me feel hot, but the lady ignored me and advised Woo Min-jae.

"There's only one road, so if you feel desperate, turn around. Then there's a new way back. Just take a few steps and you'll reach a fork in the road. It's very close. You might think you won't be able to go back because it takes a long time to walk down the single road, but that's not true. You can just turn around. Well, it's a waste. It's not long. It's a pity. If you feel like you have to crawl, you can keep going, but it's not a bad idea to take a different path. In fact, that path you never thought of could end up being the path you take until you die. Do you know what? If you go down that path, you'll sign up for others. Will I become a person?"

Woo Min-jae did not respond and stood with a stern expression. Well, it must be ridiculous because that woman suddenly says something strange. I went ahead and sorted it out.

“We didn’t come here to chat.”

“It’s been a while since you told me something important.”

“What’s important? At the crossroads, just follow the navigation.”

“... You too, please sign here.”

“Why? Will I also be someone worth signing in the future?”

“No. I was just trying to see if I could write your name correctly.”

"..."

I had a snowball fight with the lady for a while. Woo Min-jae stopped me and made me sit on an old chair in the store. You have something to say, right? While paying attention.

“Taekin doesn’t feel well.”

How strange is this? She had the right to ask, but she just looked at me. I spoke quickly out of frustration.

“Suddenly, the time Taekin spends in his body is decreasing. It’s not at regular intervals, but for hours at a time. Of course, the time it takes for him to return to my body is longer, so it’s a good thing for me, but I don’t feel that way at all. Taekin "I feel like there's a problem with this guy. What happens if time continues to decrease like this? You know, boss, right?"

“How much?”

“How long is Taek-in in your body? I don’t know, about six hours?”

“There are only a few hours left.”

“So you’re asking. Is this a bad thing…?”

“If that’s how you feel, that’s the answer.”

The reason I kept quiet wasn't because I had nothing to say. The look in her eyes when she looked at me changed. There was sadness in her sunken eyes, and she realized that what she was seeing was Taekin.

“I thought you could hold out longer, but did you encounter anything scary?”

​

 

It's scary. I recalled the threat the class leader had mentioned. Yes, after all, that bastard is the cause.

“What happens if time keeps decreasing?”

“I’m going to sleep.”

“Then how do I wake you up?”

“I can’t wake you up. Forever.”

The worst I expected came out of her mouth.

“Taek-in can only be awakened when you are in his body. You can only be awakened when you are in contact with his soul.”

“Why, why didn’t you tell me from the beginning?”

“Who do you like?”

She asked coldly and then sighed.

“You are worried about Taekin now, but if you had told me from the beginning that Taekin’s time would be reduced, you would have just waited without doing anything.”

She couldn't refute it. To be honest, I still don't have those feelings at all. This will end if I just wait for my body to return completely, right? There was a sweet temptation, but it was small enough to be ignored. Now I couldn't leave this high school kid alone. I finally realized that he didn't commit suicide simply because of bullying, but I couldn't let him sleep here forever.

There were lots of clouds in the sky. Evening came earlier than usual, dark with dark clouds blocking the sun.

“They say it’s going to rain a lot until tomorrow morning.”

“I can’t play soccer.”

Chungyeon's voice as she answered Jiyong was filled with regret. At first it started out as a bit forced, but now it seemed like it was a bit more fun. On Saturday evening, Myeongmok gathered at my house to discuss soccer, but his interest was actually elsewhere.

“President Kwon, you don’t know how many days are left in Taekin’s body?”

yes. I nodded and looked at the clock. Woo Min-jae was right. Today, when I went to the lottery room, I unexpectedly returned to my body again. About 30 minutes earlier than yesterday. Sometimes it's a few tens of minutes, sometimes it's a few hours. Who knows, maybe five or six hours will be cut short like this?

“The boss said that once Taek-in completely leaves his body, he will never be able to wake up... That’s a bit scary.”

Jiyong said worriedly and looked at my expression.

“Is that why it’s always low pressure?”

“There’s that, and I keep getting caught up in what Woo Min-jae said when I came.”

I didn't say anything the whole time he drove me home. He also deliberately kept quiet out of consideration for me, but before getting off, he spoke.

'I had doubts from the beginning.'

'What?'

'The reason you hate Taek-in is because of the method of suicide he chose. He suddenly jumped into the car and hurt other people. I don't know Taek-in well, but he was a quiet and considerate person. So much so that I even clean up after my teaching materials during PE class by myself. Of course, this may be to impress me, but your homeroom teacher said you are sincere. He said he has never been scolded for putting off homework or other tasks. However, as you said, it doesn't seem right to commit suicide in a way that causes harm to others.'

“What is it? What are you talking about?”

I added, conveying what Woo Min-jae said.

“But it was clearly a suicide, right? I saw him jump with his feet in front of the car.”

Chungyeon nodded at my words.

“That’s right, I saw it too. Suddenly, a person passed in front of the car and I was so surprised. I even had a dream.”

“I couldn’t see it because I was sleeping.”

Jiyong muttered and then shrugged his shoulders.

“Then Taek-in didn’t mean to commit suicide by jumping into our car. Considering that he passed in front of our car.”

Chungyeon and I blinked and then looked at each other. Is that what you mean? But are there people who try to commit suicide? A question arose, but this time I just brushed it off. Somehow I just passed it by.

“What happened to leaving your laptop with your friend?”

“I contacted you anyway, but he only came back from his business trip yesterday. He said he would resolve it this weekend and contact me tomorrow.”

I wasn't expecting anything special from the laptop, but I was in a hurry so I wanted to check it out quickly. I was in a bad mood because I was afraid that the mistake of saying Woo Min-jae was the answer and not trying to find another way would be repeated this time.

“If you have any thoughts about the accident, please tell me.”

The two looked at each other, and Jiyong spoke first.

“I was asleep at the time, so I don’t know anything. Our car hit the tree by itself, and the two other cars crashed into each other while trying to avoid it, causing chaos around the area. Me and Chung-yeon couldn’t pay attention to anything else because the boss wasn’t awake.”

"That's right. At that time, CEO Kwon was bleeding from the head and passed out, so there was no time to worry about anything else. Even if a tow truck came, the owner of the car made a fuss and said he couldn't move the car until the police came, so rush hour traffic was a mess. Oh, by the way, the car that was in the accident at that time was so busy that it just drove away.”

“What car?”

“Hey, I don’t remember that.”

Chungyeon shook his head and added that something had occurred to him.

“By the way, Taek-in found the bag late at that time, right? Remember? Thanks to that, we couldn’t believe President Kwon’s words even more. I found that strange. The hospital was the one who contacted me about the bag, but the hospital also said that the bag showed up late. "

“I guess the bag appeared in the corner because I was out of my mind.”

Mr. Chungyeon tilted his head at Jiyong’s words.

“But then it’s even weirder. They found a bag in the corner without anyone knowing Taek-in’s identity. How did they think it was Taek-in’s and contact them?”

Neither I nor Jiyong could answer. There was silence between the three, and Jiyong also added a word.

“Now that you’ve mentioned it, I’m also saying it. There’s nothing on Taekin’s phone, right? There’s only a basic app and nothing else other than family contact information to contact. It’s not even locked.”

“Isn’t that so that someone else can verify your identity after you commit suicide?”

“I thought that too at first, but you have a student ID, right? You wouldn’t want someone to see your phone, like a computer, so it was strange that it was unlocked. That’s just it.”

Silence fell between the three again. As I gathered together things that may not have been that special, I began to wonder if there really was something there.

Chungyeon finished with a smile and encouraged me.

“It could have been a simple suicide as originally thought. It could have been caused by depression. In that case, no matter how hard President Kwon tries, it would be difficult. It is difficult to change even a living person with his eyes open, so how can you change the mind of a sleeping person?”

“I can do it. I met Taek-in a few times in my dreams, or rather, through dreams. But back then, I was like an idiot and didn’t know anything, so I just called him by his name.”

So there is no way to look back. Actually, I don't feel any responsibility towards Taek-in. It's not like I was telling a complete stranger to commit suicide. But since I decided to wake him up, I want to do it until the end. I didn't even want to think about the bad consequences. I will definitely wake you up. Fuck, I'm going to have to beat him up to wake him up.

At the bar I went to after receiving a call from Woo Min-jae, the staff at the door politely asked my name and guided me to my room. It felt more like a luxury restaurant in a hotel than a bar. When I entered the room, Woo Min-jae was with a man in his mid-20s. Just looking at him, he had broad shoulders and a good body like Woo Min-jae, as if he had been exercising.

"sit down."

Minjae Woo pointed to his side. While I was sitting down, my companion looked at me curiously with his mouth half open.

“Maybe you’re a celebrity…”

“I do business at the market.”

He answered right away and asked Woo Min-jae with his eyes who he was.

“He’s my junior at university. He’s also my junior at our high school.”

You invited me to come and then suddenly you asked me to hold an alumni meeting? I felt like I had already roughly explained who I was to my junior. He greeted me cordially.

“Hello, senior.”

“Tell me who your classmate is.”

When Woo Min-jae gave instructions, he immediately gave the name.

“Hong Han-young.”

Who is that? I looked at Woo Min-jae, hoping for an explanation.

“It’s Hong Seon-gyu.”

“Who is Hong Seon-gyu?”

“... You’re the class president.”

"Ah! Huh? Uh huh!"

"okay."

​

 

Woo Min-jae confirmed it and told his junior to explain. My junior looked at the two of us curiously, and when I suddenly turned my head, he straightened his posture.

"I was in the same class as Hanyoung in my senior year of high school. We weren't close friends, her mother goes to church xx and my whole family goes to that church. So we knew each other before we were in the same class. We were just friends who said hello whenever we met. "

He stopped talking and asked Woo Min-jae.

“But what did he really do?”

“I don’t know anything, just repeat what you told me.”

He looked very curious, but he seemed to be quite scared of Woo Min-jae, so he immediately followed orders. You said you were a junior in college, are you on the same sports team?

“Looking from the side, Hanyoung doesn’t have the personality to cause trouble. Even at church, she said that her brother was good at studying and was polite. Her mother is also kind.”

Are you talking about the guys I know? I couldn't believe my ears.

“So, actually, there is only one thing to say about Han Young. There is one incident she caused when she was a senior in high school…”

He frowned slightly, as if he felt uncomfortable saying it again.

“I don’t remember why he did that, but he got into a fight and there was a fight. I think Iljin hit Hanyoung outside after class. A few people in the class saw it. Well, they didn’t hit him too hard, so everyone was paying attention. A few days later, the police came to the school. Ha-yeong was then called to the teacher's office. It turned out that on the day he was hit by Iljin, he assaulted a first-year middle school student who was walking down the street. You know, when you're a first-grader in middle school, you're still a kid. After being hit by Iljin, you are still a kid. Since he couldn't resolve it, it seemed like he took out his anger on someone weaker than him. Her mother came to school that day, and wow, this was my first time seeing Hanyoung's mother scream and raise her voice like that. I happened to pass by the teacher's office and heard it, but I thought it was someone else. . He really had a soft voice and was a very cultured person.”

I was sure it was from someone I knew.

“So you just let it go without incident?”

Her junior nodded.

“They said they had reached an agreement. And since I was a senior in high school, there shouldn’t be any problems going to college, so I went to school without any problems. But.”

He frowned again. It seemed like things he had been reluctant to talk about were now coming out.

“Later, a rumor circulated that what Hanyoung did to the middle school student was not just hitting her... she was doing something perverted.”

“What are you doing?”

“Well, Mr. Ah, he put all the writing utensils in the child’s pencil case into the back of the middle school student’s anus... But that was just a rumor.”

He emphasized the last word. It seemed hard to believe that a good friend of mine who went to the same church would do something like that.

"When I entered college, I didn't go to church often, so we rarely ran into each other, but that's right, there was one time when a younger brother I knew at church complained. He said Hanyoung ignored the poor kids. Other than that, I didn't hear anything bad about him. same."

They say they ignore poor kids. I looked at my junior and asked.

“Is your family rich?”

“Huh? Ah, well, it’s kind of like that.”

He smiled and pointed at Woo Min-jae.

“But I can’t even show my business card in front of Senior Woo.”

Woo Min-jae scolded me and asked me to stop talking nonsense.

"okay?"

“Yeah. He’s a fucking guy who only pretends to be strong to the weak.”

Woominjae also nodded his head as if he agreed with my opinion. The junior looked at the two of us in turn, as if puzzled.

“What happened to Han Young?”

“I said I didn’t know anything.”

"sorry."

The junior immediately bowed his head to Woo Min-jae. I felt really motivated.

“Go ahead, I’m going to talk to my friend.”

After Woo Min-jae finished his errand, he mercilessly helped his junior to his feet. He also got up immediately, as if he had no complaints at all. Then he bowed at 90 degrees and spoke.

​

 

“Senior, please take care of my father’s work.”

As soon as he left, he asked Woo Min-jae what those words meant. He answered lightly, lifting the glass of water on the table.

"not a big deal."

“Are you saying there is nothing free in this world?”

As if my guess was correct, he glanced at me while drinking water.

“He just asked me to meet his father. That’s it.”

“Why? Can’t we just meet?”

You look at me like a fake.

“Do you want a drink?”

He avoided the topic and lifted the liquor on the table. He wanted to drink. However, I didn't think I would get drunk with the strong foreign liquor that was filled in my glass. I picked up the glass, drank it down in one go, and got up.

“I will live there, let’s go somewhere else.”

The alcohol is soju. cancer.