JKA 26

“If you mean him… yes.”

“Yeah. The demon.”

Hearing the word demon come from Hanbyeol’s mouth somehow made it feel more like a dream, and Jiwoon needlessly looked around. He was worried someone might hear and think Hanbyeol was a strange person. On top of that, with someone like him sticking around, they might think it was even stranger.

“To be completely honest, I was a little suspicious ever since you talked about it while you were drunk. I’m really sorry to you, but… it’s been a while since he attached himself to me.”

“Uh, how long?”

“About… I think it’s been half a year.”

“That long?”

Jiwoon was so surprised that he unknowingly raised his voice, then quickly covered his own mouth and ducked his head. Hanbyeol burst into laughter at the sight of Jiwoon, whose ears had turned beet red in an instant as he watched his reaction.

“It’s strange that you believe me so easily. I thought I’d never be able to tell anyone this kind of story until the day I die.”

“…”

“I’m sorry, too. I’m sure you worked up the courage to say it, but I just thought about it however I wanted.”

“About that, like I said earlier…”

“Well, just think of it as an example to roughly explain how you felt. Like that man said yesterday, I knew you weren’t good with words. I didn’t misinterpret you. I think you’re a decent person.”

Hanbyeol said, his expression looking somewhat relieved. At this, Jiwoon let out a sigh of relief. Then he needlessly smoothed his shortened bangs with his hand.

‘When you’re talking to someone, you look them in the eyes.’

Jiwoon recalled 1129’s words. He was right. He didn’t want to admit it, but 1129 had never really said anything wrong. He often gave rather extreme examples, but ultimately, he always said things that were for his benefit.

It was the same now. How many thoughts had run through his head the moment he saw his hair being cut? To be honest, even just today, he had thought about pretending to go to school and just running away. But he just couldn’t ignore the fact that a demon was attached to Hanbyeol, and that he might die if left alone.

If such a good person were to die, how many people would be sad? His own mother and father, and also the faces of the friends who came on the day his brother died. Jiwoon clearly remembered the moment their empty eyes, as if they had lost the world, held an indescribable sorrow.

It was something he couldn’t forget no matter how hard he tried. The atmosphere of that time, the expressions of those who tried to hold back their tears but finally burst out crying, often lingered in Jiwoon’s mind. The faces, whose names he didn’t even know, younger than he was now, still flashed before his eyes like a panorama. And if Hanbyeol were to die, he too would surely make the same expression as them back then. Perhaps even more so than he had been able to at the time.

Right now, it was difficult for Jiwoon to look directly at him, but he kept checking Hanbyeol’s expression. Just as 1129 had said, checking not just his words but also Hanbyeol’s expression at the same time made him feel more certainly that he was having a conversation with him. It might just be a guess, but he felt like he could understand a little of what he was feeling right now.

It was a frightening matter, but it felt okay to Hanbyeol. It was partly because he liked him, but also because Hanbyeol’s eyes and expression continuously matched the words he was speaking. This person was being honest in front of him. Therefore, there was no need to doubt him or rashly judge the parts he didn’t know.

“I’ll help you.”

“Huh?”

“It might not be much he-help… but still, I can, uh, understand, you know? What you said earlier. Who would believe a story like this… you said you thought that.”

“…”

“I was the same. It’s obvious I’d be treated like a crazy person if I went around talking about angels or whatever. But I would never think that about you. Because I’m also… similar to you.”

Jiwoon said this and found himself smiling for some reason, before quickly biting his lip hard. He shouldn’t be smiling. His situation, with an angel attached to him, and Hanbyeol’s, with a demon attached, were perhaps as different as heaven and earth. But thinking that he had found common ground with him, he couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

“Sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?”

“F-for laughing when it’s not a laughing matter.”

“It’s okay. I think so too. And it’s a relief that the man attached to you isn’t a demon.”

“…”

“The one attached to me does strange things all the time, so it’s really troublesome. An angel wouldn’t do that, right?”

Jiwoon blinked at the words ‘strange things’. Strange things… could it be what he was thinking? If it was that kind of thing, then he and 1129 were probably doing it a lot more.

“You should have seen him. He really makes things difficult for a person. I worry he might be seen by someone else, though I doubt that would happen.”

“…If it’s that, uh, strange thing.”

“It’s probably what you’re thinking.”

“…I’m really sorry.”

Son of a b**ch, like a demon. Jiwoon cursed himself inwardly. Crazy b**t**d, so I did the exact same thing as that demon b**t**d. If that demon was making sexual advances as Jiwoon thought, then how was he any different from himself, who had babbled on about balls and whatnot?

“Don’t apologize. The feeling is different.”

“…”

“The reason he does those things to me is because he has a separate objective. It wasn’t like that from the beginning. But since I’m not doing as he pleases, he’s resorting to all sorts of ridiculous acts…”

Hanbyeol trailed off, as if recalling something. An objective, right. Just as 1129 had come to him with some sort of objective, the demon must also want something from Hanbyeol. It probably wasn’t a simple sexual objective. If so, what did the demon want from Hanbyeol?

“C-can I ask?”

“…Hmm.”

“W-why the d-demon is doing that to you, of all people.”

At Jiwoon’s question, Hanbyeol let out a long breath and leaned his body heavily against the back of the chair. Seeing him with his arms crossed as if in thought, with no words, Jiwoon thought he had made a mistake and quickly waved his hands.

“If it’s difficult, you d-don’t have to say it. It must be a p-personal matter. I just w-wanted to help.”

“Did that man tell you to get your hair cut?”

Hanbyeol asked out of the blue, and Jiwoon affirmed it.

“Uh, yeah… he cut it for me.”

“I see.”

“…”

“It’s a bit of a long story to tell right now, but if you have time after class, should we get something to eat? We didn’t get to eat properly last time.”

“Ah.”

At Hanbyeol’s natural question about getting food together, Jiwoon hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement. The lecture was definitely about to start soon, and there was probably something going on with Hanbyeol that couldn’t be explained in just a word or two.

“Then can I ask you something too?”

“What?”

“Why an angel came to you.”

“…”

“Besides things like wings, there must have been a reason you really thought he was an angel. I’m curious about that.”

“…It might be k-kind of a heavy story.”

To explain how 1129 came to him, he would have to bring up events from the very distant past. Even if he were to pick out and summarize a few of them, it would by no means be a short story. Besides, it might be a story he wouldn’t want to hear.

“It’s the same for me.”

“…”

“A demon suddenly appeared before my eyes, how could it be a good story?”

Just then, the time was up and the professor entered, and the lecture hall, which had been noisy with everyone chatting amongst themselves, fell silent in an instant. It was the same for Jiwoon and Hanbyeol.

Episode 17

After a simple meal, they walked around and around the school park, each holding a cup of coffee. It wasn’t the kind of story they could have sitting down in one place for a long time. They would be talking about things like angels and demons, things that others would easily call crazy if they heard, so it was better to converse like this.

When their legs started to hurt, they would sit and rest on a bench, or talk while sitting on the steps. They repeated the cycle of moving whenever a crowd started to gather, and a couple of hours flew by. Around the time it passed 5 in the afternoon, Hanbyeol was the first to get up from his seat.

“It’s already time for me to go to my part-time job.”

At those words, Jiwoon shot up from his seat to follow him.

“I think I k-kept you for too long.”

“I had a lot of questions too, so that’s why it turned out this way.”

He nonchalantly put on the bag he had set down. Jiwoon, who had packed his bag following Hanbyeol, asked him.

“A-are you working at the barbecue restaurant today?”

“Yeah. The pharmacy during the day when I have no classes and on weekend lunches, and the barbecue restaurant on other days.”

“Then w-when do you rest?”

“On weekend evenings. I was originally supposed to only work at the pharmacy on weekends, but I occasionally go in to work during my free days too. I don’t work for long, just three or four hours.”

“…Isn’t it tiring?”

“The pharmacist and the barbecue restaurant owner are very understanding of my situation, so it’s fine. Rather, I feel like I should be working more, but I can’t, so that’s what worries me.”

Hanbyeol added that he could increase his working hours if he wanted to, but his younger sibling was still in elementary school, so he was anxious about leaving the house empty for longer. Since his sibling didn’t go to an academy, they came straight home after school and were alone with their sick mother, which meant the sibling was also helping care for their mother, and that weighed on his mind.

He added that his sibling was kind and brave and said it was fine, but Hanbyeol and Hanbyeol’s mother didn’t feel that way. He also said that he felt a strange sense of guilt for making his sibling stay at home at an age when they should be playing and learning, so he didn’t like it. Listening to this story as they headed towards the bus stop, Jiwoon was lost in his own thoughts for a moment before he suddenly looked up and spoke.

“W-what if you worked from home?”

“Huh?”

“Actually, it’s n-not that different from working outside… It takes some time and all, but if you could work while staying at home, wouldn’t that be a b-bit better?”

“That would be a bit better, but.”

“I-I’ll introduce you to something!”

Jiwoon said this, thinking of Seungyoon. He remembered how his editor had said one of their editors had quit and they were looking for a replacement, and had piled a ton of work on him, asking him to do it just until then.

“I-it’s video editing, and it’s the same as our major, so it’s w-worth a try.”

“But I’ve never done it properly besides for assignments.”