HYUNG 22

When I got home, showered, and came out, it was well past 11:00 PM. I was rummaging through my bookshelf and desk to find the book cover I had ordered online while buying books, when my phone rang. Ah, found it. I ignored my phone for a moment and slipped the book Ham Dowon lent me into the deep green cover. Just as I felt a sense of satisfaction because it fit perfectly, I turned off the main room light, leaving only the dim lamp on, and checked my phone. My hair, which had dried in the meantime, felt a bit frizzy.

[Hyung, you have a presentation tomorrow. I have something to ask about it; can you talk on the phone by any chance?]

It was a text sent 24 minutes ago. It wasn’t even that important of a presentation, so what was the big deal? He’s probably already asleep.

[What do you want to ask?]

I sent the reply first and tossed my phone onto the bed. Where did I put the hair dryer? Ah, on top of the microwave. I left it in such an odd place. This house is just too small, no matter how much I think about it. I really have to move…

“Weren’t you sleeping?”

When I picked up the phone that was vibrating noisily again, the three characters of ‘Ham Dowon’ appeared. I switched the phone to speakerphone, placed it on the table, and sat in the chair.

— Yes. I wasn’t sleeping.

Perhaps because it was night, Ham Dowon’s voice was a bit small and mixed with the sound of his breathing. It was almost as if he was whispering. I turned up the volume.

“What is it you wanted to ask?”

— Well, Hyung. About that tattoo drawing work. I don’t think I got to ask you about the intention behind the piece. There was no explanation in the presentation either…

“Did I not write it? I thought I did… It must have been omitted. That. Honestly, it’s nothing much. A friend of mine is interested in tattoos and had many interesting ones on their body, so I just drew them. A tattoo is a work drawn using human skin as a canvas. If you transfer and reproduce that onto a canvas again, it’s a portrait but also a kind of imitation of a tattoo design, so I guess you could say that point is interesting. Maybe it’s because I’m sleepy, but the words aren’t coming out right. Do you get what I mean?”

Ah, I had written it very long and in detail; that must have disappeared. It was a waste, but I spoke while recalling my memory as best as I could. I felt like my mouth was stiff because I was so sleepy I was on the verge of yawning. I don’t know if he understood.

— Yes. I think I know.

“Then that’s a relief.”

Ah, I’m sleepy. I should quickly dry my hair and go to sleep. As I leaned on the table and stretched my back, I accidentally bumped into the diffuser. Fortunately, it didn’t fall. I just let out a “Whoops!” sound.

— Hyung, is something wrong?

“No, I almost dropped something… Is there anything else to ask?”

— Uh, hold on a second…

While Ham Dowon trailed off, I was so sleepy that I lay down on the bed without even finishing drying my hair. With the phone next to my pillow, I blinked my eyes. He’s working really hard on this, even though it’s not a presentation that affects our grades. Maybe it’s because only the stand was on, but it was dark, and I felt like I would fall asleep just like this. Ah, I’m sleepy… Staring at the turned-off fluorescent light and blinking, I closed my eyes without realizing it. Right. Let’s just keep my eyes closed until Ham Dowon talks to me again.

— Hyung?

“Yeah…”

— What are you doing?

“Just, a bit…”

But even by the time Ham Dowon threw out that short question, my eyelids were still down.

— Just a bit?

“Lying down… What about the question?”

— Ah. The question. Just a moment.

Like someone squeezing out a question, Ham Dowon only made sounds like “Uh…” or “Hmm…” and didn’t say a proper sentence. However, the feeling of that whispering voice gently tickling my ear felt okay—no, rather, it felt languid, and my body went limp. Hurry up and ask the question. At this rate, I’ll surely… fall asleep…

— Hyung?

Hearing that voice was the last memory I had before falling asleep.

‧₊˚♪ 𝄞₊˚⊹

When you wake up from sleep, isn’t there a morning that is exceptionally bright and refreshing? A time when you’ve slept so deeply that you can’t judge what time it is, and you can’t distinguish whether it’s reality or a dream. As always, that situation meant only one thing.

“…I’m going crazy.”

No matter how much I pressed the phone’s power button, the dark screen wouldn’t turn on, so I slowly crawled to check the tablet PC I had put in my bag. I had an 11:00 AM class, and the time was 10:45 AM. I’m losing it, seriously! Since I had set the alarm times for each day according to the lecture times, the phone should have been screaming at 10:15 AM today. Jumping up, I quickly washed my face, threw on some clothes, and pulled a hat down low. I stuffed my laptop, the dead phone, and my tablet PC into my bag, grabbing whatever was within reach.

I ran toward the classroom like crazy. I thought of all sorts of curse words internally. Today is the day the classes start in earnest, and not only is attendance reflected, but there is also a presentation. With the thought that I must never be late, I ran hard and arrived in front of the lecture building elevator. Catching my breath, I looked at the phone screen of the person next to me, and it was 10:59 AM. As expected of a time close to class, there were too many people waiting for the elevator. In the end, instead of waiting for the next elevator, I climbed the stairs two at a time, arrived on the 4th floor, and flung open the door to lecture room 403…

“Um?”

“…Ah, I’m sorry.”

I got confused and opened the front door. My eyes met the professor’s. All the students sitting in the tiered seats were looking at me too. This is crazy. Am I cursed with embarrassment today? Ignoring the students who started snickering, I sat in an available seat, and of all places, it was in the middle of the very front row. The place closest to the professor.

“Then, since it seems everyone who’s coming is here, I will call roll.”

To make matters worse, because my student ID number was low, my name was called early. I’m going crazy.

“Then we will end today’s class here. Everyone have a delicious lunch and see you next week.”

The tablet PC battery was on the verge of dying, but fortunately, I was able to keep the PDF open and take notes properly until the class ended. I had spent too much energy since the morning, so I was quite hungry. If I just grab a quick lunch at the school cafeteria and go to the next classroom…

“I’m going crazy, seriously…”

I didn’t have my wallet. Usually, it was fine to just carry my phone without a wallet, so I had forgotten it. No matter how much I searched my bag, I didn’t have a phone charger, let alone a portable battery. Even if I wanted to buy a charger, I needed money… This is just…

“Today’s luck is just great.”

Searching my bag diligently, I found a single 1,000 won bill that I didn’t know when I had put there… Setting aside the fact that I don’t eat triangle kimbap, I don’t even know if I can buy one with this money. I don’t want to eat convenience store food. …I should just go to the classroom early and read a book. I’m not a child; I can manage to skip a few meals.

When I came out into the hallway, I was pushed by the crowd coming out of various classrooms. Even without walking, I was being pushed forward bit by bit by other people, when I suddenly turned my gaze at a familiar scent brushing the tip of my nose. I immediately saw Ham Dowon, who was a head taller than the others. And my eyes met his as he was staring intently at his phone with a look that was somehow not good.

“Hyung!”

Ham Dowon, who pushed through the people, frowned even more and suddenly hugged me tight.

“…What is it?”

“Because you kept ignoring my texts, Hyung… I was worried. Truly, so much…”

What is with him? Why is he so desperate and sorrowful by himself? Is he filming a drama behind my back? Is this a hidden camera? Did it turn out I was the protagonist in a movie? Ah, this must be Ham Dowon’s work. Something like imitating scenes from movies or dramas suddenly in daily life to denounce the illusion of the media…

Of course, that couldn’t be it. It meant that it was so absurd and confusing that I was imagining ridiculous things. I saw a woman who was being pushed to the side looking up at Ham Dowon with annoyed eyes, then looking back and forth between him and me, and then quietly averting her gaze. I felt like I could roughly hear whispering voices saying, “What’s with those people?”

“Hey, you’re really being ridiculous.”

“Right. It is ridiculous. To think I even imagined such things… There’s no way. You… to me…”

I tried to push him away, but there wasn’t enough room to even step, so I couldn’t. I pulled the arm hugging my shoulder away and walked a step ahead, leaving behind Ham Dowon, whose face had turned red all by himself. In the meantime, some people had cleared out, so there was some room around us.

“When did you hang up the phone yesterday? I fell asleep with the phone on, and the battery died.”

“At 12:54 AM. I told you that you could just hang up if you were sleepy or wanted to, but since you didn’t hang up, Hyung… I thought you were still listening.”