“By the way, how old are you, friend?”
Jaegyeom’s face hardened at the sudden question.
“…”
As he tried to regain his composure, Jeongju’s words came to mind. He had given him some advice to prepare for this kind of situation. According to Jeongju, modern people have fixed conventional knowledge, so he said that they would understand his age if he just said his grade, even if he didn’t say how old.
Jaegyeom said with a casual expression.
“I’m in my second year of high school.”
The young man asked again in a laughing voice.
“Mhm. So how old are you?”
“I mean age, not grade.” The young man kindly added, accepting the book Jaegyeom gave him. Then, for an instant, the heavy hand felt empty. Jaegyeom and Yoon Taehee were staring at each other clearly. As if they were having a war of nerves, a strangely tense yet sharp air current flowed between the two.
“…”
Jeongju’s prediction that he could just say his school year was wrong. Jaegyeom, momentarily speechless, was silent for a moment. Fortunately, at first glance, his expression was not much different from usual. The young man never let anything pass him by. He thought it was enough, but he always went deeper than that. Yesterday, and today too.
In a fleeting moment, Jaegyeom, who had suppressed his agitation, asked a question in reverse.
“H- How old is someone who’s a second year of high school?”
“Hm… Normally eighteen.”
Jaegyeom, who had been wracking his head for a moment, lifted his chin.
“Then I’ll go with that too.”
“…”
Jaegyeom’s confident reply made Yoon Taehee blink his eyes a few times, and soon let out a dishevelled laugh. ‘Then I’ll go with that too’? It’s not like choosing a menu at a Chinese restaurant…
“What.”
“You said it’s usually eighteen? If you know that, why ask?”
“Yeah, no matter how I look at it, you don’t look like a normal person, friend.”
The words seemed to mean something. Jaegyeom frowned slightly.
“What do you mean?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Tbe rffw ab yf nfgs ojwliljg klat Jtlcfrf mtjgjmafgr.”
Tbbc Kjftff weaafgfv lc qjrrlcu jr tf qea atf ybbx lc tlr tjcv lcab atf ybbxrtfio. Jtlcfrf? Qts Jtlcfrf jii bo j revvfc… Ajfusfbw’r fsfr, atlcxlcu bnfg atf sbecu wjc’r kbgvr, revvfcis aegcfv ab atf ybbxrtfio. 冠村隨筆. Ktf alaif bcis mbcrlrafv bo ijguf Jtlcfrf mtjgjmafgr klatbea jcs Bbgfjc mtjgjmafgr mjeuta tlr fsf.
“…”
Oops. For a very brief moment, a sense of frustration flashed over Jaegyeom’s eyes like a flash and then disappeared.
“These days, Chinese characters must be quite unfamiliar to people, but my friend understood ‘chi’ and ‘cun’. So maybe he’s really old, or older than he looks, or something.”
Yoon Taehee said in a lighthearted, joking tone as he took a last look at his overcrowded bookshelves. The cool Jaegyeom silently watched the meticulous hands arranging the books. Did that mean he knew something? Whatever it was, it would be beneficial to keep the pretence. Jaegyeom stuttered and opened his mouth.
“You don’t have to be… old to know Chinese characters well.”
“Is it really so?”
“Everyone who can speak foreign languages must be a foreigner.”
As Jaegyeom muttered, Yoon Taehee turned his head and met his gaze.
“…”
It was a look that caught him off guard. Somehow, it seems strangely persuasive. When their eyes met, Yoon Taehee raised one of his eyebrows.
“That, teacher, you too… You’re also a modern person and you know Chinese characters, don’t you?”
Yoon Taehee stared at Jaegyeom in silence at his words. Well, in hindsight, it was true. Jaegyeom, who had been staring at him blindly, finally turned his gaze away and a bland smile hung on Yoon Taehee’s lips. It was a face that readily accepted Jaegyeom’s point.
“That’s right…”
Yoon Taehee brushed the dust off his hands. Then he walked over to the desk and opened the drawer from which he had taken out the bandage the day before. After hearing a rustling sound, He pulled out several wet tissues and handed them to Jaegyeom.
“I was just saying.”
Yoon Taehee sat down at his desk and began to thoroughly wipe his hands with the wet tissue. The white wipes quickly became dirty. There was more dust than expected from the books that had been neglected for a long time. Jaegyeom, who had been quietly watching Yoon Taehee’s eyes, followed suit and flicked the wet tissue. The moderately moist wet tissue felt refreshed and cool.
“What does age matter? Anyway, it’s just a number.”
“Well… Yes.”
“It doesn’t matter how old you are.”
“…”
Jaegyeom wanted to get out of here quickly. More precisely, he did not want to be with the young librarian. Everything the young man said to him seemed to make him feel uncomfortable. The young man always showed interest in Jaegyeom and gave him a favour. But the more he did, the stronger but unfounded feeling welled up that it was not good to be close to this person.
Cho Youngwoo was in the same class and sat right in front of him. But the young man was kinder than necessary, and suddenly narrowed the distance at an unexpected moment. Jaegyeom found it very burdensome and awkward. Besides, he lent him a tie first and now he was asking for help…
Anyway, the debt has been settled, so he wouldn’t have anything to do with him in the future. Now that there were no books left on the tray and the bookshelves were finished, there was no reason to be in the library anymore.
“Are you done asking for help?”
“Yes, thank you for your hard work.”
Jaegyeom roughly wiped his hands and put the soiled wet tissue into a nearby trash can. He also took out the tissue paper that had been blocking one side of his nose and threw it away. Finally, after slinging the bag on his shoulder, he turned to Yoon Taehee, who was sitting on a high desk as a chair. He finally remembered to return the tie.
Jaegyeom put his hand around his neck to loosen his tie. At that moment, Yoon Taehee pulled the hem of his tie one step faster. Jaegyeom, who was standing a step away, hesitated at the sudden pulling force and was dragged closer. The smell of his cologne hit him, and the distance got closer. Jaegyeom’s eyebrows went up immediately.
“They say age doesn’t matter when it comes to being friends.”
Yoon Taehee, whose eyes were lowered because he was sitting at his desk, stared at Jaegyeom.
“The old and the young can be friends with each other if it’s right.”
“Yes?”
“I’m a lot older than you, I’m a hyung to you, friend. But we can be friends too.”
“So?”
Yoon Taehee smiled and whispered.
“Shall we really be friends?”
Jaegyeom’s face hardened strangely.
“… Why?”
“Why? Because I want to be friends.”
“So why do you?”
“Because I want to be close.”
“…”
“I don’t know anyone at this school, and it’s been a while since I came here, so I feel very lonely.”
Yoon Taehee muttered as he lowered his eyes. The tie was still gripped in his hand. Jaegyeom, speechless for a moment, took a careful look at Yoon Taehee from head to toe. Somehow, he ended up standing between the legs of Yoon Taehee, who was sitting at the desk. The distance was that close.
“I don’t want to.”
Jaegyeom frowned and slapped the back of Yoon Taehee’s hand that was holding his tie. Yoon Taehee widened his eyes and looked at the back of his hand. Jaegyeom stepped back, gaining distance again and immediately loosened his tie. The tie flopped unceremoniously over its owner’s shoulder.
“… Why?”
Just like Jaegyeom asked before, Yoon Taehee asked this time. Jaegyeom calmly opened his mouth with a face as if he was asking something so obvious.
“Why? Because I don’t want to be close.”
***
After Jaegyeom left, Yoon Taehee, who was left alone in the quiet library, was deep in thought. He sat loosely in his chair, long legs crossed, and his body swayed. Each time, the chair was also slightly tilted gently and then returned to its original position repeatedly. The sunset through the window was dyeing the interior of the library a scarlet colour.
Yoon Taehee suddenly lifted his head and checked the clock hanging on the wall, got up and headed to his doorway. It was long past the time to get off work. He locked the door to the library. Then he rummaged through his bag which he had put on the corner of his desk. Deep inside the bag was a pouch of fine silk.
He immediately opened his palms. He carefully took out the contents from the pouch onto his hand. Inside was a bead bracelet. The beads hung were the size of a fifty-won coin, and it was black pearls that had a reputation as a very rare and expensive jewel.
The black pearls were emitting a brilliant light even in the midst of pitch-black darkness. The colour of the black pearl took on a strange colour every moment. There was a red light, then a yellow light, and at some point, it just glowed white.
Yoon Taehee was not interested in how expensive the black pearls were. What was important was not the black pearls, but what was inside it. That was Yoon Taehee’s treasure. He put the bracelet on the centre of his palm with his expressionless face and closed his eyes. Concentrating his senses in his hand, he began to count each black pearl calmly, as if he were rolling his a prayer bead.
At some point, a soft breeze flowed into the library. A cool wind swept through Yoon Taehee’s hair. However, the windows, doors, and all entrances leading to the outside were blocked. His bangs, which naturally flowed to the side, began to rise into the air. It was then. Yoon Taehee stopped moving his hands and opened his eyes fiercely.
“Found it.”
His razor-sharp eyes snapped. He found the energy he wanted from one of the black pearls dangling from his bracelet. From the outside, they all look the same, but inside they are all very different, so it took quite a bit of concentration. Yoon Taehee kissed the black pearl that had just touched his fingertips.
“Saero.”
He muttered in a low voice as he pressed his lips to the black pearl. Then, the wind that had risen inside the library stopped at once. The airflow also subsided calmly. Yoon Taehee, who was dazed for a moment, removed his lips and turned his head to his side.
Where his gaze went, someone was sitting on one knee with his head bowed. Yoon Taehee looked down at the person who appeared in the library without presence or sound. The appearance of the one called ‘Saero’ was quite unique. His short hair was curled all over as if it had been permed, and the cardigan he wore over his tattered T-shirt was intricately embroidered with intricate patterns and even rainbow-coloured.
He was the same as always. Yoon Taehee greeted him with a smile.
“Saero, hello.”
“I’ve been waiting for you to call.”
The sunset light poured in like paint from the large windows. The dark sunset light slowly swallowed Yoon Taehee, who was standing with his crooked posture and looking down at Saero, and Saero, who was looking up at Yoon Taehee from the lowest seat. Suddenly, a long shadow was cast on the floor by the glow of the setting sun. Only one shadow crossed between them.
“Intelligent ghost, Saero, has arrived. Taehee-nim.”
Yoon Taehee brushed his dishevelled hair.
Thank you!
Damn, Taehee is ready to risk it all💀
Imagine if some random person had been hiding in the library and witnessed this scene? The new librarian grabs a student by the tie and tells them age is just a number so they should be friends. That just … doesn’t look good at all. 😂
HAHA if anyone does this, run away kiddos
Thnx 🧡🧡🧡