MW 10

Dohae raised his hand once again and slapped Yijae’s already swollen cheek. As if his anger hadn’t subsided, Dohae continued to vent his frustration on Yijae to his heart’s content, only stopping when he saw Yijae’s tightly shut mouth.

Even for Dohae, it was annoying to have to beat him like this every time, wondering how many more times he had to be hit to come to his senses. He took his wallet out of his pocket and tossed a few bills onto Yijae’s face as if giving alms.

“I have no intention of going to school with you, so use this to get there on your own. I’ll tell Mom you left first. Got it?”

The madam told me to go with Dohae……. Yijae, who had been blinking and cautiously watching him, noticed Dohae’s fist starting to clench and hurriedly nodded his head.

Kicked in the stomach with a command to get lost, Yijae was eventually forced out of the front door. His steps seemed more weary than ever as he guided his unusually heavy body out the main gate.

Alone outside, Yijae walked the streets with aimless steps, wondering how to get to school. Still, it was a relief that he had money, thanks to Dohae. Yijae rubbed the crumpled thousand-won bills, folded them neatly, and placed them carefully in his pocket.

Hooo…….

As he breathed out into the not-yet-fully-warm weather, a misty breath scattered into the air. He pulled his loose-fitting coat tighter, barely managing to block the cold wind from seeping into his clothes.

He curled his toes against the chill that pierced through his old summer sneakers. It seemed it was true what they said about it not being too far from the school. Thankfully, when he reached the nearest bus stop, the name ‘Hangang University’ was written on the route map.

Yijae finally felt relieved and warmed his cold hands with his breath. It seemed like no one took the bus, as Yijae sat alone at the empty stop, waiting. Just then, a green bus appeared in the distance.

“Ah, excuse me, d-does this go to Hangang University……?”

He had stuttered like an idiot. Biting his upper lip in shame, he received a nod from the bus driver in response.

“Thank, you.”

He managed to say it without stuttering this time. With a trembling hand, he pushed the wrinkled bill into the machine, collected his change, and sat in an empty seat.

‘It’s amazing…….’

Yijae focused on the bus routes disappearing one by one and the announcements, taking in the sight of people appearing one after another outside the window.

It was the same scenery as when he went back and forth to the hospital, but today felt different. As time passed, buried among the people crowding onto the bus, he was just as busy as everyone else. Realizing this, Yij-ae’s heart pounded uncontrollably.

[The next stop is Hangang University. The stop after is…….]

When he got off at the bus stop, it was packed with people wearing identical jackets. The numbers on their shoulders were different, but the words ‘Hangang University’ written on their backs were all the same.

Can I belong there too? Feeling a warmth slowly spreading in his chest, Yijae followed them.

This time, he was able to reach the main gate without getting lost. The memory of what happened with that unknown man that day still made his heart drop with fear, but unlike that day, seeing the wide-open main gate and the many people coming and going, Yijae squeezed his eyes shut and took a step forward.

“Ah…….”

Feeling the gazes from his surroundings, Yijae lowered his head. His eyes, fixed on the tips of his toes, trembled rapidly, and he shrank into himself.

What do I do……. I must look weird. I-I must smell…….

Always dirty. You stink. He remembered Dohae, who would say such things with a frown, and his face flushed beet red. Yijae moved quickly, his feet taking him to some unknown place as if he were running away.

Just as the stares on his face began to fade, Yijae belatedly realized he had no idea where he was.

He took out his phone, but he knew nothing; what to search for, or where he needed to go.

‘What should I do…….’

Panicked, his eyes darted around as he chewed on his poor lips.

At that moment, a man who spotted Yijae standing at the entrance of a building, unable to do anything, approached and asked.

“Freshman?”

So startled by the person suddenly speaking to him, Yijae sucked in a breath and bit the inside of his cheek.

“You’re obviously a freshman. Lost? Want some help?”

‘What should I do. Would it be better to just go home now? No. I’ve come all this way…….’

As Yijae fidgeted with a pale face, the man, worried he might be sick, extended a long hand.

“Are you oka-.”

Yijae squeezed his eyes shut and curled up at the unfamiliar touch approaching his body. He was terrified, as if that hand was about to strike him. Just as tears began to well up in his tightly closed eyes.

“Seo Yijae?”

Hearing his name, Yijae lifted his head. A woman he had never seen before was staring at him, tilting her head. Then, she let out a small “Ah!” of realization and walked over to him.

“You’re a freshman in the Business Administration department, right?”

The woman, who approached with confident eyes, turned to the man next to her and said, “I think he’s a freshman in our department. I’ll take him,” and grabbed Yijae’s hand.

In the sudden situation, Yijae looked up at the woman with a dazed expression, but seeing her stern face, he found himself following her steps.

When he glanced back, the man was still staring at Yijae with a look full of lingering regret. Just as he felt that their shared gaze was somehow strange, the woman who was holding his hand tightened her grip and spoke.

“Don’t look back, just look forward. That bastard is famous for being a total pervert psycho.”

At those words, Yijae’s body tensed. A pervert. He had almost gotten involved with another strange person. Swallowing dryly, Yijae hurried to keep up with the woman’s long strides.

After leaving the building entrance and heading down a secluded street, they ended up back on the street he had just fled from.

“Hah, hah…….”

“You need to work on your stamina. What’s a guy like you going to do if you get tired this easily?”

The woman burst out laughing, patting the back of the panting boy. She waited for Yijae to catch his breath, and once he had composed himself, she held out her hand.

“Your name is Seo Yijae. Right?”

He thought he might have misheard earlier because he was so surprised, but now he was curious how a woman he’d never met knew his name.

With wide eyes, Yijae looked at her as if to ask how she knew him. Staring back at his face, the woman hummed, then slowly closed and opened her eyes before speaking.

“You’re even cuter up close. That’s why I remembered you even after seeing you just once. You were the only freshman who missed the entrance ceremony and the orientation, so I remembered you. I’m a teaching assistant for the Business Administration department.”

Yijae habitually bit his lip and quickly bowed his head.

“Were you sick or something? You didn’t join the group chat or come to school, so I thought you were planning to retake the entrance exam.”

He didn’t even know such things existed. Because no one had told him. From the start, his class schedule and even the major he applied for were all decided by Chairman Gu and Madam Lee. So there was no way Yijae would know anything they hadn’t told him.

Is he just really shy? The woman chuckled at Yijae’s lack of response and spoke.

“You’re really quiet, aren’t you?”

At her words, Yijae felt like an idiot. How dumb must he look, unable to even speak properly. Once again, the corners of his eyes drooped into a sad expression. Then, suddenly feeling a hot gaze on him, he tucked his lips into his mouth.

“It’s okay. You’re handsome.”

Handsome……. He had never once thought of himself that way. Yijae fumbled to raise a hand and rub his own face, but when he saw the woman burst out laughing, he realized she must have been joking with him.

“Anyway, it’s March, so everyone’s so passionate already. Yijae, are you interested in any clubs?”

Clubs…?

“They’re promoting their clubs right now. They would’ve pounced on you like hyenas if you looked like a freshman. You didn’t know?”

The TA clicked her tongue as if she were tired of it and pointed to the two long rows of booths.

“They’d like you even more since you’re handsome. If there’s a club you want to join, you should apply.”

Startled, Yijae gripped the edge of his sleeve and shook his head from side to side.

“You really are super shy, huh? You’re an I, right? That doesn’t mean you’re going to skip the general meeting, does it? You’ll really become an outsider if you do.”

I……. General meeting……. Outsider…….

Yijae’s mouth clamped shut once again at the words he couldn’t understand at all.

Still, hearing that people weren’t staring at him because he was weird, the tension in his face relaxed, and he managed a faint smile.

“You should be careful when you smile, too. And you definitely need to be careful of that bastard from before. Especially don’t be alone in secluded places like that.”

In truth, he hadn’t even seen the man’s face, so his impression of the man the TA was warning him about was blurry, but Yijae obediently nodded his head anyway.

“Your second period is Professor Kim Sangjoong’s elective, right?”

Nod, nod.

Yijae followed the TA to the Sociology department building where his next class was. Charmed by how Yijae, like a true freshman new to the school, didn’t know his way around, she spotted room 211 and pointed with her fingertip.

“It’s over there, room 211.”

If he hadn’t met the TA, he would have wandered around and been late for class. Yijae secretly let out a sigh as he looked around the building’s interior, a place he would never have reached on his own.

“Like I said, the business school building is right over there, the main library is there, and the student cafeteria is on the 2nd floor of that blue building. For more details, there’s a campus map on the school website, so it’d be good to check it out.”

Nod, nod.

“And……. Aaack!”

Screaming that she just got a call from a professor, she began to speak rapidly, as if rapping.

“I’ll post notices in the group chat I just invited you to, so check it often. If you have any questions, come to the department office. Oh, my name is Lee Seoyoung!”

He wanted to say thank you, but the words wouldn’t come out. In the end, Yijae just bowed his head deeply toward Seoyoung, who was running down the opposite hallway.

“Hoo…….”

With a nervous expression, Yijae stepped into the classroom and, seeing everyone already gathered in small groups and chatting, he took a seat in the back corner.

He pressed a hand over his pounding heart and kept his eyes on the desk, until a voice from the podium made him lift his head.

“Hello. I am Professor Kim Sangjoong, and I will be teaching ‘Understanding Proper Dating and Marriage.’ There are no particular difficulties in this class.”

He was diligently taking notes on the lecture content that appeared on the PowerPoint as soon as the class began. That’s when Yijae flinched, his body stiffening at the feeling of someone sitting down next to him. In that moment, a cool scent on the breeze wafted into his nose. He felt like he had smelled this scent somewhere before.

‘……Too close.’

The man next to him was so much bigger that it felt like their shoulders were about to touch. Worried that he might have a strange smell, Yijae held his breath and curled his body up as small as possible.

“Huh?”

Yijae, who had been conscious of the man next to him and kept his eyes fixed on the desk, slowly turned his head at the questioning voice directed at him.

“Seo Yijae?”