HYUNG 1

“Hyung. You like me, don’t you.”

“…Huh?”

I was clutching my head, which was throbbing from a hangover, when I turned my gaze toward the unfamiliar voice. My eyelids felt heavy, my ears were ringing, and my head was spinning. Where am I? Right, the studio. Just how much did I drink yesterday that I couldn’t even make it home and ended up falling asleep here?

“It’s true…. Hyung, you really do like me….”

I blinked several times as the hangover made everything blurry, but my disoriented mind wasn’t going to clear up that easily. It’s a face I’ve never seen before… is he a junior? Does he know me? Do I know him? If he were someone I knew, there was no way I’d forget him. Out of all the men—no, all the people—I’d ever seen, he was the prettiest.

His fine, thin curly hair, his long and large eyes, and his fair skin were quite striking. I wondered how a guy could look like this. However, no matter how much I searched my brain, I had no memory of him. Perhaps because the hangover was kicking in, my mind felt numb and nothing came to surface. Ugh…. Is it because of the alcohol? My stomach hurts….

“Let’s go grab something to eat.”

After peering at the boy for a moment through squinted eyes, I slowly stood up. Seeing as he’s in the studio, he’s probably a junior in the same department, so I’ll be seeing him around anyway. For now, I just wanted to go to the student cafeteria and eat some ramen.

Ugh, that jerk Hwajung. Just yesterday, at the farewell party for Hwajung who is going to study abroad in France, I ended up drinking way too much. He must have been so excited to leave Korea because he didn’t give me a single moment to let my glass stay empty.

“Are you not feeling well?”

“I drank too much yesterday…. Thank you.”

I tried to pick up a plastic bottle rolling around on the hallway floor to put it in the trash, but bending over suddenly made my stomach churn even more. Ugh! Stupidly, I stumbled, but thanks to the man catching me, I managed to avoid falling.

“Shouldn’t you be resting?”

“No. Today is the first day of classes, I should at least go to the orientation.”

“Hyung, you’re taking Professor Elisa Kim’s 2D class too, right?”

“Yeah.”

He must be a junior after all. I don’t remember, but I guess we must have greeted each other at some point. But what was his name? Come to think of it, we’re going to eat together and I don’t even know his name. I stole another glance at his face. Still, I really don’t know who he is. I can’t exactly ask “By the way, what’s your name?” now after having a conversation so naturally…. Maybe I can find out when they call attendance later.

Since it was lunchtime, the student cafeteria was crowded. I stood at the back of the long line in front of the kiosk. I wanted ramen, but once I smelled the food, I started wanting the daily special too. While I was debating what to eat, the long line disappeared and it was my turn.

“What do you want to eat? It’s on me.”

“I’ll pay for mine.”

“No. It’s fine. I’m buying. You can buy next time or something.”

I didn’t actually intend to have him treat me. Even if I didn’t know his name, it wasn’t a big deal to buy a meal for a kid who calls me hyung. I looked at the kiosk screen. Of course, they had the usual pork cutlet and ramen, and the daily special was….

“It’s braised spicy chicken today. It looks good. Do you want to eat this?”

“I can’t eat chicken.”

“An allergy?”

“No. When I was little, I had a really bad case of indigestion after eating it…. I’ll have ramen like you, hyung.”

The boy reached out and pressed the ramen button. Ah, I was going to eat the chicken…. Nothing can be done. I pressed the ramen button too.

After handing in our meal tickets, we sat at a nearby seat and waited for the ramen to cook. The guy whose name I still didn’t know sat across from me, stared at me intently, and then blurted out something random again.

“Hyung, was it love at first sight?”

My head was already killing me, and I wondered what kind of nonsense he was talking about. When I slightly furrowed my brows, the guy turned red under his eyes for no reason and fell into his own thoughts. He was folding and unfolding his fingers while mumbling something to himself, and I had no idea what he was doing. Is he a bit crazy? He looks perfectly normal, though.

“The ramen is out. Eat up.”

Leaving him be, I got up and brought the ramen over. Following behind me, the guy sat across from me again. I took a spoonful of the broth. Ah, this harmful saltiness. It was a good choice to order ramen instead of the chicken. As expected, ramen broth is the best for a hangover. I grabbed my chopsticks and was about to start eating in earnest when someone suddenly waved from over there. They were waving so hard that I couldn’t possibly ignore them. Sigh. I put down my chopsticks and waved back.

“Hey! Ye Hwanoh! Are you back at school?”

“Haven’t you graduated yet?”

It was Ahn Yeyoon, whom I’d become close with while taking a freshman foundation class at the College of Fine Arts. We used to drink together quite often back in our first year. What was her major again? Ah, Industrial Design. If I remember correctly, she had long hair, but I almost didn’t recognize her because of her short, cropped hair.

“This is my last semester! What year are you in now?”

“I’m in my second semester of sophomore year. I just returned this term.”

“Right. Language study, the military…. Hasn’t it been almost three years since you’ve been back?”

“That’s right.”

Right after my first year ended, I went to the United States for about a year for language study. After that, I went to the military, and by the time I returned, I was already twenty-five but still a sophomore. Returning to school, rather than meeting familiar faces, the school itself felt foreign thanks to the construction going on all over the campus.

“Anyway, it’s good to see you after so long. Keep in touch often. Let’s grab a meal. Do you have my number?”

“I still use my old phone, so I should have it.”

“Then call me. Let’s eat at least once before I graduate. My treat. I can’t leave without buying a meal for our junior, can I?”

“Yes, sunbae-nim. I am deeply moved and thankful.”

“Anyway, eat your food. I’m heading out.”

“Yeah. Go on.”

Ahn Yeyoon patted my back a couple of times and walked away with a wave. I waved back for a moment and was quickly turning around fearing the ramen would get soggy when I locked eyes with the guy who had a dissatisfied look on his face. He was gripping his fair, pretty hands tightly and was practically glaring at me.

“Hyung… hyung… you like me….”

He was trembling and muttering something as if he were indignant. I couldn’t hear him well, but for some reason, he looked like he was in a bad mood, so I moved the sausage from my bowl to his side dish plate.

“I haven’t touched it.”

It was a gesture to eat quietly. It was just a cheap sausage, but the guy looked startled and the skin under his eyes flushed red. Only then could I eat in peace. Ah, the ramen is good. This skill remained the same even after coming back after a long time. After silently sending praise toward the kitchen, I went back to eating heartily.

Even after finishing a whole bowl, I wasn’t full so I even ate some rice, but I still felt like something was missing. I walked to the cafe next to the student cafeteria to see if the drinks there still tasted the same.

“What do you want to drink?”

“Can’t I buy this?”

“No. You can’t. How much could that ramen have been?”

The guy rushed over to try and stop me, but I quickly dodged him and stood close to the counter. I didn’t want to be the kind of person who gets treated after buying a meal that didn’t even cost as much as an Americano at a franchise cafe. Besides, I was going to eat something expensive and heavy right now.

“I’m… going to have an Oreo shake and a white macadamia cookie. What do you want? Don’t order an Americano or iced tea just to be mindful of the price. That’ll hurt my pride.”

“I like Americanos, though….”

“Do you not eat sweet things?”

“I eat them well.”

“Then I’ll order the same thing? Two Oreo shakes, and yes, plenty of whipped cream please. And two white macadamia cookies as well.”

Will he not eat the whipped cream? He probably will. Since the cafe had no seating, I finished the order and leaned against the wall near the counter while waiting for the drinks.

“I’m buying this because I’m thankful you ate with a fossil like me, so just eat it.”

“…I’m only one class year behind you.”

So it’s only a one-year difference. I thought he had just entered college because he looked so fresh-faced. If he’s only one year behind but using the same sophomore studio as me… it seems he’s already been to the military.

“Did you enter school right after high school? Ah, I spent a year retaking the entrance exams.”

“Yes. Right after high school.”

“Then… are you twenty-three?”

“I entered school early, so I’m twenty-two.”

“Wow, there’s a three-year difference between us. You’re really young, aren’t you?”