WWBU - 11

“What?”

“You tutor me twice a week, don’t you? This is for those tutoring sessions.”

“The tutoring was just something I offered to do for free. Don’t force this on me.”

“Why is this forcing anything? You think it’s okay for you to give me money, but not the other way around?”

Guk wore an expression that suggested he’d heard every excuse in the book. The slight furrow of his brow revealed his fatigue from the argument.

“You’re really something, you know that?”

For some reason, those few words made her heart ache.

“And what about you? Don’t you think you’re being too rigid?”

There was no response. Only the intermittent chirping of crickets could be heard in the surrounding silence. Poor Han, caught in the middle, struggled to gauge the situation.

The envelope was still extended toward Guk, but in the end, he didn’t take it. Instead, he placed a hand on Han’s shoulder and firmly said,

“Han-ah, return it.”

After the envelope came the next item. As Hyun-soo watched with trembling eyes, Han reluctantly pulled out the snow globe from her bag, clearly reluctant to part with it.

“Why are you returning this?”

“Hyung told me to…”

Han’s voice quivered as tears welled up in her large eyes.

Wasn’t this going too far? Did he really have to draw such a hard line?

In that moment, Hyun-soo felt an indescribable surge of emotion rising within her.

“Hey! That was a gift I gave to your younger sister!”

“Why?”

“What?”

“Why did you give it to her?”

As ridiculous as the question sounded, it left Hyun-soo at a complete loss for words. The truth was, there was no real reason. Flustered, she stammered before blurting out,

“Why? Just because! She’s cute, so I gave it to her, okay?!”

“You know that’s a meaningless reason, right?”

Guk’s emotionless face stared back at her. At this point, Hyun-soo became curious. Why was he being so unbending? Had he ever been on the receiving end of someone’s pity?

“Do you always have to be so rigid?”

“…”

“Doesn’t it bother you when I say I feel hurt?”

“Yes.”

His short, decisive reply cut off all further questions. It rendered everything else meaningless. Even in a relationship less than friendship, one would usually show some consideration for the other person’s feelings. But if he wasn’t willing to do even that, then there truly was nothing between them—absolutely nothing.

After staring silently at Guk for a moment, Hyun-soo turned to Han.

“Han-ah, that snow globe is a gift from your unnie, so no matter what your hyung says, you can keep it. And…”

The gentle smile that had blossomed on Hyun-soo’s face like flower petals faded completely.

“This is up to you. If you don’t want it, throw it away.”

Without hesitation, Hyun-soo grabbed the envelope and flung it at Guk. The white envelope hit his chest and fell to the ground.

Guk, who had been standing with his hands in his pockets at an awkward angle, stared intently at Hyun-soo. Unfazed, she turned around and walked straight into the house. The sound of the front door slamming echoed through the quiet night air.

“…”

Left alone, Guk stood motionless for a while, staring at the closed door with an indifferent expression. The white envelope on the ground slowly grew damp from the evening dew.

---

Contrary to expectations of a cold war-like standoff, Guk saw Hyun-soo again early the next morning. As he stepped out of the annex to deliver newspapers for his part-time job, he spotted Hyun-soo crossing the garden.

Exercising? He thought she seemed surprisingly diligent. At first, he didn’t think much of it. Plugging in his earphones and pulling up his hoodie, he quickened his pace.

But as he drew closer to her, Guk’s steps gradually slowed. He removed his earphones one by one.

“…”

Creeeak. The gate opened, and Hyun-soo stepped outside. Watching her, Guk snapped out of his thoughts and quickly followed behind.

“Hey.”

“…”

He called out from behind, but there was no response. Barefoot and wearing pajamas, Hyun-soo shuffled along slowly, seemingly without any particular destination in mind.

With an exasperated sigh, Guk finally stepped in front of her to block her path. Only then did Hyun-soo stop walking.

“Where are you going?”

“…”

“Hey.”

“…”

“Kim Hyun-soo.”

Hyun-soo had been staring blankly at his chest. When Guk called her name, she slowly raised her head. In that moment, he realized: Ah, she’s not herself right now.

Her vacant eyes and emotionless expression said it all. She was sleepwalking, having wandered outside unconsciously. Guk was somewhat familiar with this—he remembered his younger brother, Han, experiencing somnambulism when he was little.

After a brief pause, Guk turned and began walking back toward the house.

“Follow me.”

“…”

But Hyun-soo remained rooted in place, unmoving. Perhaps it was only natural.

Clicking his tongue, Guk returned, grabbed her arm, and gently pulled her along. Only then did Hyun-soo start to follow.

Tap tap tap. The sound of her bare feet hitting the ground tickled his ears. Without looking back, Guk guided her forward. After walking for a short while, he stopped abruptly, turned around, and took off his sneakers.

“You’re really inconvenient, you know.”

Muttering to himself, Guk knelt down on one knee in the chilly early morning street. He lifted each of Hyun-soo’s feet and slipped them into his oversized shoes.

“…”

“…”

Once he finished, Guk stood up, grabbed Hyun-soo’s arm again, and opened the gate. Creeeak—the sound of the gate opening shattered the tranquil blue dawn.

Climbing the stone steps, he paused for a moment, gazing at the entrance of the main house. Everyone was likely still asleep at this hour. But with no better options, he knocked on the door.

Knock knock knock.

As expected, there was no response—everyone was still asleep. Guk glanced back at Hyun-soo standing behind him and knocked louder.

Knock, knock, knock.

Not long after, a light flickered on in the master bedroom. His parents, still groggy from sleep, shuffled into the living room and approached the door. Moments later, it swung open.

“What is it?”

The gruff, metallic voice belonged to Hyun-soo’s father, Kim Hyun-sung. His brows furrowed deeply as he eyed Guk standing at the door like a looming figure.

“What’s this racket so early in the… Oh, isn’t that the eldest son of the A-san family?”

Behind Hyun-sung, Hyun-soo’s mother, Young-ae, emerged, adjusting her robe. Her face mirrored his irritation as she looked over Guk, who was dressed in casual clothes instead of his school uniform.

“A-san’s eldest son? Eldest or youngest, what time is it to wake people up? What’s with all this banging?!”

“Lower your voice! You’ll wake the kids!”

“Your voice is louder!”

Guk observed the bickering adults with little interest. All he cared about was the clock behind them—he couldn’t afford to be late for his part-time job.

Still gripping Hyun-soo’s thin wrist, Guk pulled her in front of him. Seeing their youngest daughter suddenly appear from behind Guk’s towering frame left her arguing parents speechless.

“What… why is Hyun-soo here?”

“Kim Hyun-soo, hey! Why are you out here instead of sleeping?”

“…”

Given the circumstances, Hyun-soo didn’t respond. Her parents, noticing her blank state, fell silent. They seemed to realize something was off with their daughter.

“I found her wandering outside.”

Guk casually tossed out the explanation, fully aware of the embarrassment her parents felt about their daughter’s condition being exposed.

“Well then, we’ll take it from here.”

Hem hem. Clearing his throat, Hyun-sung grabbed Hyun-soo’s arm and dragged her inside, still half-asleep. Young-ae hastily removed Hyun-soo’s shoes and tossed them aside before rushing after them.

Flap flap. The sound of birds taking flight in the garden marked the return of dawn’s silence.

Left alone at the entrance, Guk inexplicably chuckled to himself. He didn’t know why.

Still sock-clad, he picked up his discarded sneakers. There was no time to waste laughing—he might lose his job if he was late.

As he prepared to slip his feet into his shoes, he suddenly noticed a red stain smeared across the white soles. Blood.

“Kim Hyun-soo.”

It seemed Hyun-soo’s bare feet had sustained cuts while she wandered around the neighborhood in her sleep. And yet, she hadn’t even realized it.

Without giving it much thought, Guk slipped on his shoes, opened the gate, and stepped back out into the early morning streets. With earphones in both ears, his walk felt no different than usual.

Then it occurred to him: Hyun-soo’s parents hadn’t thanked him once. Though he hadn’t expected gratitude, it bothered him that they hadn’t acknowledged his effort. Yes, that irked him. That was all.

---

As the blue hue of dawn faded and the vibrant sun rose, Hyun-soo, who had suffered fairly deep cuts on her feet, received treatment and had them bandaged.

“I’m heading out.”

Creeeak. Clunk.

Walking slower than usual due to her bandaged feet, Hyun-soo exited the house and unexpectedly ran into Guk, who was standing by the gate with his bicycle.

“…”

“…”

Their eyes met, but neither exchanged greetings. Expecting him to comment on her injured leg, Hyun-soo was surprised when Guk simply mounted his bike and rode off ahead of her.