Class 3 of Year 2 was noisy since the morning due to the appearance of a classmate who had been absent for a week. Jaegyeom shook off Yoon Taehee on the way to school and was just entering the classroom. Cho Youngwoo, who was quietly studying on his own, dropped his sharpie as soon as he saw Jaegyeom and ran to him, and the classmates also acknowledged him as if they knew him.
“Jaegyeom, are you okay?”
Cho Youngwoo grabbed Jaegyeom’s hand and asked how he was doing. Jaegyeom made a puzzled face, wondering what he was talking about. But before he could ask anything, some kids who had been hovering around slipped in and filled him in on the news, saying what happened while he was away.
“At break time, the kids in the next class always came to visit you.”
“That’s right. It was rather fortunate that you missed school.”
“Don’t worry, we said we didn’t know anything.”
Jaegyeom had not yet opened his mouth about the circumstances of his absence. However, the children, including Cho Youngwoo, acted as if they already knew. It seemed that it was an established fact that it was because of the celebrity uncle who was involved in controversy. Since it was his nephew’s school, the ‘Jeongju disappearance incident’ became a hot topic.
“The homeroom teacher also told me not to ask anything when you come.”
“If anyone asks, just ignore it. They forget everything later anyway.”
“Huh? Ohh…”
Jaegyeom nodded with a puzzled face.
The classmates recklessly comforted Jaegyeom without asking the circumstances. It was a situation where ridiculous speculative rumors were going around about the reason why Jeongju disappeared, and among them there were rather malicious contents. As a rule of thumb, the classmates were concerned that Jaegyeom, who was a family member, would be hurt. From Jaegyeom’s point of view, there was no reason to deny their concerns. Rather, it was better than being bothered to ask about this and that.
This morning, Jeongju saw off Jaegyeom on his way to school and said that it would be better not to let anyone know that today was his last day. Jaegyeom agreed after thinking about it. If he said anything, it was obvious that he would only get annoying questions, and Jeongju would take care of the procedures anyway, so there was no reason to make a fuss.
From the beginning, It was a school life that was supposed to only last for a month. It was just that it ended a little earlier than that, but there was not much excitement in the fact that he was leaving. However, when he came to the classroom, seeing many faces besides Cho Youngwoo, as well as friendly chattering around him, somehow made Jaegyeom feel restless.
For example, something lukewarm, like a feeling of attachment.
A sense of unfamiliarity and familiarity swirled in the back of his mind. He just scratched his cheeks without saying a word. A feeling that’s just about to stick, if you scratch it, it’ll come off right away.
***
When it was lunchtime, Jaegyeom and Cho Youngwoo headed to the cafeteria side by side. Today, as usual, the cafeteria was noisy, and as usual, Cho Youngwoo moved his portion of stir-fried pork to Jaegyeom’s plate.
All the guys sitting around looked sideways at Jaegyeom and whispered something. However, he, not paying attention to others, was busy moving his chopsticks diligently.
“Jaegyeom-ah, is it good?”
Jaegyeom nodded quietly. Seeing him eat well as always, Cho Youngwoo put a spoon in his mouth and smiled. The heaps of rice and side dishes were steadily decreasing. Then, at some point, Cho Youngwoo, remembering something he had forgotten, waved his palms toward Jaegyeom.
“Jaegyeom. Jaegyeom.”
“Mm. What.”
Jaegyeom nodded nonchalantly,
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.
“I’m leaving early after the 5th period today.”
‘Qtja?’ Llr fsfr klvfcfv ja atf kbgvr atja obiibkfv.
“Sjgis? Qts? Kbvjs?”
“Tfjt, abvjs lr atf vjs P ub ab atf tbrqlaji.”
Xblcu ab atf tbrqlaji? Ajfusfbw’r fsfygbkr oeggbkfv.
“… Qts atf tbrqlaji?”
Jtb Tbecukbb cbvvfv jcv jcrkfgfv fjgcfrais.
“P ufa gfueijg mtfmxeqr fnfgs akb wbcatr, abvjs lr atf mtfmxeq vjs.”
“…”
Jaegyeom lowered his gaze and muttered to himself.
“Then we can’t go back together today…”
“Yeah. My mother is coming to pick me up later.”
Even though Jeongju gave him money to buy him dinner. Unfortunately, today did not seem to be the day. It was ironic that luck and timing are so misaligned at the end. The reason why Jaegyeom came to school though he didn’t have to come was because of Cho Youngwoo. He was about to discourage him, but then decided to just give up, it couldn’t be helped. After all, he only came here to see his face anyway.
“Well, okay.”
Judging from his past experience, it was easier to assume that it wasn’t meant to be at a time like this. It would have been the same even if it wasn’t today, if it was to the extent that it was so obviously misaligned. It was an idea he had been keeping to himself anyway. For Cho Youngwoo, who had no way of knowing that, it was all good.
“Hey. It’s a bit out of the blue, but…”
Jaegyeom, who was silent for a while, hesitated and opened his mouth.
“Look down at their feet when you meet people in the future.”
As he predicted, he really left him a sudden remark. instead of a goodbye.
But for Jaegyeom, who couldn’t honestly say anything, this was the best. Anyway, as time passed, Cho Youngwoo would naturally come to know, but he was a weak and fragile guy, so he was worried inside, and he wanted to leave him at least some words like this.
Soon, Cho Youngwoo’s world would change, and he might have to go through hard times for a while. But one day, there would definitely come a moment when he accepts himself and the changes that have happened to him as they are.
“Huh? Feet? Why suddenly feet?”
Cho Youngwoo, who did not know that Jaegyeom was saying goodbye as best he could, just put on a puzzled look at his words whose context was unknown.
“Oh, that. I mean…”
Jaegyeom, a little taken aback after he said it, averted his eyes.
“If you’re lucky, you might be able to pick up the money someone dropped.”
He wracked his brain and a very silly excuse came out. Cho Youngwoo burst out laughing.
“… Why are you laughing, dude?”
Well, if you do pick up real money that way, it was indeed a windfall…
Jaegyeom, slightly embarrassed, mumbled and looked away. At that moment, in the distance, he could see several teachers walking while chatting. It seemed that they were on their way out of the staff cafeteria after an early meal. Jaegyeom made a face without even realizing it. It’s because there was a face that he didn’t like to see every time.
“Jaegyeom-ah, what’s wrong? Did you chew a stone?”
“Uh, no. Never mind.”
Evading it, he tried to turn his head and pretended it was nothing, but just in time, his eyes met the man’s. Invariably, the other person’s eyebrows raised. “Hang on.” The other party excused himself from the teachers in the party, and then approached the table where Jaegyeom was sitting.
Meanwhile, Jaegyeom eagerly ate, keeping his eyes fixed on the plate. Then, the other person politely knocked on the table. At that, Cho Youngwoo, who was sipping soup, looked up and his eyes widened, ‘Uh? Why is the librarian here? Were the two friends… ?’
“Jaegyeom—”
“Ah,” Yoon Taehee, who just opened his mouth, suddenly paused and lowered his eyes with a thoughtful face for a moment, then slightly corrected the address.
“Nari-ya.”
“Pft, cough, cough!”
Shortly after swallowing the food, Jaegyeom spat out a loud cough. Cho Youngwoo doubted his ears and looked up at the teacher with a puzzled face. It was a intimate address that gave goosebumps to the male high school students who were clueless. The reaction of the other children sitting nearby was also similar, and a fussing chatter at the table in front and on either side died down at once, and a strange hum erupted.
“See you after class.”
‘What? Did you just hear that?’ Buzz buzz… ‘Isn’t that Kim Jaegyeom?’ buzz buzz…
“Nari said he doesn’t want to have dinner, so let’s meet in the library…”
When Yoon Taehee opened his mouth regardless, snorts of laughter erupted here and there. Puzzled, he looked around, raising one of his eyebrows. Just in time, the two people sitting in the back laughed and called out.
“‘Teach! Why is Kim Jaegyeom called Nari?”
Yoon Taehee glanced at Kim Nari, no, Kim Jaegyeom, and he replied calmly.
“It’s just a nickname. Why?”
“It sounds like you’re calling some girl!”
“Oh, I was wondering what’s up…”
Yoon Taehee laughed and murmured.
“What era are we in… Shush and eat.”
Yoon Taehee, who neatly cut off the conversation, lowered his head to look at Jaegyeom. Cho Youngwoo, who had been stiff in a daze, came to his senses belatedly and stood up from his seat and said, “Jae- Jaegyeom, I’ll bring you tissue, a- and water!”, and scurried to the water fountain.
Then, Yoon Taehee took the chair where Cho Youngwoo was sitting without permission. Jaegyeom, who choked, was coughing for a long time. His head was lowered, so his expression could not be seen, but both ears were noticeably flushed.
“Will you come? The library.”
He was going to tell him that in the morning, but he ran away first. Yoon Taehee covered his mouth and whispered covertly. Jaegyeom raised his head slightly and glanced sideways for a moment. After looking around, he responded in a small, barely audible voice.
“Hey. Are you fucking with me right now?”
His eyes were fierce as he glared at the librarian.
“Please. I’m not such an indecent bastard.”
Yoon Taehee leaned over and whispered with a serious face.
“You said not to call you by name without permission. If I called you ‘friend’ like before, you would get angry again. But I can’t call you ‘my lord’ in front of the kids. So I said it casually as if I were calling you by name… you don’t like it? Oh, because the kids made fun of it?”
Yoon Taehee added politely, with a hint of laughter in his voice.
“It’s because I don’t have anything in my head, so please understand.”
“…”
Jaegyeom gritted his teeth. He thought it was intentional to piss him off, but after hearing that, it sounded strangely agreeable, which made him feel even worse.
“Or, what other address do you want?”
Yoon Taehee tilted his head cheekily. It was just a casual gesture to ask for an opinion, but in Jaegyeom’s eyes, it seemed provoking.
That day Jaegyeom saw Yoon Taehee in pain for breaking the taboo, he felt no sympathy or pity. But he understood. The pain that was like death. Jaegyeom knew very well what that pain was like. Because he had been through it a few times too.
It was for this reason that he deflected the arrow. Even if it was really just a ‘trick’ to buy favor on the other’s part, he thought that that level of effort was quite commendable. Of course, it was only possible because Mesani was safe. But it had no other meaning. And at this moment, Jaegyeom bitterly regretted the choice he made that night.
Should he have killed him… ?
Just when Jaegyeom grabbed the spoon and glared at Yoon Taehee, the sight of Cho Youngwoo running from the drinking fountain with a water cup caught his eye. He hurriedly shot at the man opposite, “Talk later. Scram”. Yoon Taehee stood up obediently, “So you’re coming to the library?” However, Jaegyeom just ate, pretending to not hear him. Seeing his silent evasion, a playfulness rose from Yoon Taehee’s expression.
“…”
He cleared his throat, then put both of his hands to his mouth, forming them into a trumpet.
“Nari-ya~! I’ll be waiting in the library…”
“Ah! I get it!! Yo!”
In the end, Jaegyeom sighed and threw the spoon away.
Tq 4 d update
Lmao I love how they bicker like an old married couple, the one in which husband tries to calm down his wife and listen to him! 😂😂😂
Thank you for chapter (づ￣ ³￣)づ♡
I believe Yoon Taehee’s purpose of existence is just to annoy Jaegyeom on a daily basis until he gets white hair, becomes bald and his immortality disappear.
Thanks for the chapter 💕