HYUNG 19

Ham Dowon, who had responded quietly, suddenly turned back toward me and spoke in his usual slightly bright tone. Right. The book. It is nice that your noona bought it for you. That is all well and good, but… the expressions on those people over there are quite bad. Does that not bother you? Huh?

“Have you read that one too, hyung?”

“Uh, no. Not yet…”

“Shall I lend you mine?”

“I truly appreciate the thought… but it looks like those people over there have business with you.”

Unable to watch the intense glares directed at Ham Dowon any longer, I gestured toward them with my eyes. Ham Dowon simply shook his head with a smiling face.

“My only business is with you, hyung.”

“Hmm, but it seems they do not think the same way.”

Ham Dowon suddenly wiped away his smile and furrowed his brow. He shot me a look as if he were dissatisfied with me constantly paying attention to other things, then let out a deep sigh and turned toward the group still standing there.

“What is it?”

“Wow, this brat… There is a limit to how many times we can let things slide just because of your mother, you know?”

“My mother? She is probably sleeping right now. She tends to sleep in.”

Ham Dowon added this unsolicited information for my benefit. Right. It is good to hear she is sleeping well. It is good, but… I do not think that is what is important right now. The boy’s face crumpled menacingly.

“Hey, Ham Dowon!”

“Ah! Hearing that voice, I think I know who you are now. You are sunbae Kwak Min-yong, who used to smoke near the academy all the time and got scolded by my mom every single time, right? It was you, sunbae. You smelled so strongly of cigarettes that I used to avoid you every day… I remember now. Did you quit smoking? I did not recognize you because I do not smell cigarettes anymore.”

Ham Dowon blinked his wide eyes twice. Then, pointing his index finger at the boy, he shouted “Ah!” and laughed as if he were glad to see him, while saying things that were not welcoming at all.

“Didn’t you eventually get kicked out of the academy once because you smoked too much? So you wrote a pledge saying you would never skip class to smoke, but then you got caught again and moved academies, right? That is right. I remember now. You attend our school too, sunbae. I did not know how your entrance exams went because you moved to a different academy.”

“…Ha.”

“Since then, my mom gets disgusted whenever she sees students smoking. She tells even the long-term exam repeaters to quit smoking if they can. She told me if I smoke, she will kick me out of the house. You have quit, right, sunbae? Smoking is really bad for your health.”

Perhaps Ham Dowon blindly believes in the proverb that you cannot spit on a smiling face? Does he think people will accept everything if he says it while smiling prettily? No, maybe he truly has no ill intent. The face that tilted its head and replied, “You still haven’t quit? Did you switch to electronic cigarettes? I heard those are bad for your body too. But they say it is a bit better, at least,” was truly nothing if not pure and innocent.

“I remember you too, sunbae. I do not recall your name, but… I think I saw your face at school and the academy. You moved academies together with sunbae Kwak Min-yong, right?”

Judging by how he smiled brightly while pointing at the girl standing next to the boy named Kwak Min-yong with an uncertain expression… maybe he really is not doing this on purpose… It was a complicated feeling where I felt like I understood why Ye Hwanyoung was worried, yet also felt like I understood even less. When there was no response from the two standing still, Ham Dowon, who had been blinking, now turned his body completely toward me.

“Anyway, hyung. Since orientation ends today, shall we go somewhere a bit far for lunch once class ends early? I brought my car today. I know a place that has delicious gnocchi. Do you like gnocchi, hyung?”

“…Yeah. I have had it a few times. It was good.”

“Ah, what a relief! Their pizza and pasta are delicious too! They put fresh basil and basil pesto on the pizza, and I love basil. Do you like basil too, hyung?”

“Yeah. I eat it well. Is there a place to park?”

“Yes. There is a free parking lot nearby. I have been there a few times.”

“Okay. Let’s go later.”

Since I did not want to be the one worrying about those people whose faces and names I did not even know, I simply participated in the conversation with Ham Dowon. It was uncomfortable and awkward, but I felt it would not be right to ignore his excited face asking to go eat a delicious meal. There was no need to refuse since gnocchi and pizza are tasty anyway.

Even though Ham Dowon clearly said he did not know them, they were the ones who acted rudely first by calling out “Hey, hey,” so I figured Ham Dowon’s behavior could not be seen as that bad… Since he is a very strange and unique kid, he probably did not have any ill will. Even Ye Hwanyoung said it. That Ham Dowon gets misunderstood a lot.

Ah, has it only been a few days and I am already taking his side? I do not know. I did not want to think too deeply about it, so I just took a sip of my americano.

“By the way, is your mother a teacher?”

“Yes. She teaches students at an academy.”

“An art academy?”

“Yes. She just runs an academy in the neighborhood. Do you know Bitkkul Art Academy?”

“Yeah. That is a national chain. And if it is in your neighborhood… the Hongdae main branch? The one that recently moved into a newly built building?”

“Yes. Do you know it too, hyung?”

“Of course. Who wouldn’t know that place…”

Among the kids doing entrance exam art across the country, there would be no one who did not know Bitkkul Art Academy, the most famous place in the entrance exam art world. It was a famous franchise academy with branches all over the provinces. There was one in my region too. Furthermore, as long as one was an instructor at an art academy near Hongdae, it was impossible not to know it. Most academies in that area are old with dated facilities, but I heard that Bitkkul Art Academy built a new building, and the number of students moving there because the facilities are good has increased. Because of that, even the director of the academy where I work was a bit worried. But to say she just runs an academy in the neighborhood… someone hearing that would think she was running a small tutoring room.

“So that is why you draw so well. I guess it is genetic.”

“I do not even draw that well. My noona has been hearing the word ‘genius’ ever since she was little. Mom always said that because I lacked natural talent, I would have to work very hard.”

Even though there is a significant age gap with his noona, it seems he was compared to her often since childhood. I felt a bit concerned, wondering if this guy, who always seemed so overflowing with confidence that his ego appeared bloated, had such a past.

“I do not know what your noona’s drawings are like, but I still like your drawings. I think you draw really well.”

I said this while staring straight into Ham Dowon’s eyes. I was truly sincere. His drawings were to my taste.

“Hyung, hyung… aren’t you saying things like that too casually?”

Ham Dowon, whose face turned red as if catching fire, clumsily covered his mouth with both hands and fumbled his lips before eventually burying his face in his palms.

“What do you mean, casually? I am sincere. I like your drawings very much.”

“Really, truly… this is the first time I have heard something like this…”

“Stop making that stupid face and turn your body toward the front. The professor is here.”

The professor, wearing a black T-shirt and a long skirt, was just walking in, so I tucked my phone into my bag and turned on my pad. When I opened the note app, the syllabus for the History of Modern Art, which I had downloaded in advance, immediately appeared on the screen.

‧₊˚♪ 𝄞₊˚⊹

“Hyung, where are you going now?”

“I am going to the library.”

I had been a bit intimidated by the massive list of reference materials after seeing only the syllabus for the History of Modern Art, but fortunately, she said she would upload the lecture materials so there was no need to buy a separate textbook. Still, I planned to read through those reference materials one by one to better understand the class. There were many overlaps between the books mentioned in the painting class that just ended and the reference list for the History of Modern Art. When I searched for the book that interested me most and that the professor emphasized the most on the school library page, it showed as available for loan.

“Are you staying at the library the whole time?”

“No. I have to go to my part-time job. There is a bit of time before then, so I am going to read at a cafe nearby.”

As we left the smelly studio and headed for the elevator, Ham Dowon kept talking to me.

“Do you work a part-time job, hyung?”

Ham Dowon made a face that looked slightly disappointed. I do not know why he is like that.

“Yeah. An academy instructor job.”

“Where?”

“Near Hongdae. You know it. That place lined with academies. It is there. Your mother’s academy is in that area too.”