NILWM - 4

“Ye-seo, why are you doing that to Jeong-woo?”

“Mom, it’s not like that...”

“He can make a bit of a mess while he’s here alone. I’m not saying anything, so why are you nagging your brother? Huh?”

The usually bright tone was sharply edged. Let someone try to harm my son, I won’t stand for it! Her mother’s inner thoughts seemed to be audible.

“Stop it. Your brother came to Korea after a long time. Just let him be at ease for at least a day, okay?”

As Ye-seo only sighed soundlessly, Pharmacist Lee went a step further and ordered,

“If you’re going to treat your brother like that, then you leave. Next time Jeong-woo comes, you go stay somewhere else, whether it’s a gosiwon or whatever. Then there won’t be any trouble!”

Tears welled up. Even though she thought her mother couldn’t possibly be serious, she felt her throat constrict with sorrow. Ye-seo bit her lip tightly, trying to compose herself.

“Okay. I won’t do it again...”

“Hand the phone to your brother.”

As if on cue, the bathroom door swung open, and Jeong-woo came out.

“Mom wants to talk to you again.”

When Ye-seo handed him the phone, he glared and snatched it. But that was only for a moment. Whatever Pharmacist Lee promised to buy him, Jeong-woo’s face instantly brightened, and he went into their mother’s room, closing the door behind him.

Ye-seo sighed and began picking up the trash scattered around the living room. Laughter occasionally leaked from behind the closed door. They sounded like lovers having a sweet, affectionate conversation.

The two had always gotten along well. There probably wasn’t a mother-son relationship as close and unreserved as theirs. Ye-seo always felt a sense of exclusion whenever she saw them. She felt like an outsider, unable to blend in naturally, always floating on the surface like oil and water.

Our Jeong-woo. Our son. My precious child.

Had she ever heard the words, Our Ye-seo, our daughter? If her memory served her right, her mother had never once said that.

________________________________________

________________________________________

The spring campus had a festive atmosphere. A different kind of air, distinct from the usual excitement and anticipation of a new semester, swirled around the Business Administration building. This warm, spring-like atmosphere emanated particularly strongly from the second and third-year female students.

“Did you hear Senior Ju-hyeok is back? Oh my god. I actually reversed my decision to take a leave of absence this time. I’m so glad, sniff, sniff.”

“Hey, are you taking Marketing Management this semester? I had put that aside to take in the fall semester, I should have registered! Senior Ju-hyeok is taking the Marketing Management class! I’m so jealous of the kids taking it with him...”

“Really? He didn’t take it in his second year, I guess? Crazy, but there’s a group project instead of an exam for that, isn’t there? We have to get into the same group as him somehow! They say the Marketing Management group project is super tough, but Senior Ju-hyeok entered as the top student overall and has never gotten a grade lower than an A+ or A.”

“Will it be that easy? Everyone will be desperate to be in the same group as him, so it ultimately depends on his choice... I’ll just be satisfied with feasting my eyes on him.”

Admiration was admiration, but there was also ambition to utilize him to their greatest advantage, and a sweet sentiment that simply breathing the same air and gazing at him was enough. The department lounge was filled with a hazy, bubbling excitement like a spring mist. Ye-seo was one of them, but hers was a little different from her classmates’.

Good. I’ll return the 9,900 won this afternoon.

She had even put nine 1,000-won bills, one 500-won coin, and four 100-won coins into a small ziplock bag and carried it in her purse. She had intended to give it to him directly if they met on campus, but she hadn’t seen him once in the four days since the semester began.

After lunch, when it was time for the Marketing Management class, Ye-seo entered the lecture hall alongside her friends. Han Ju-hyeok was sitting at the very back, surrounded by people. Although he himself seemed uninterested in anyone, with his gaze fixed on his iPad, the senior and junior students conversed among themselves, yet never left his side.

“Senior, what kind of graph are you looking at so intently? Oh my, it’s all in English.”

“Isn’t it stocks? If it’s a blue-chip stock, let us know.”

Yet, if someone tactfully spoke to him, he surprisingly didn’t frown or show any sign of annoyance. He would occasionally respond, never taking his eyes off the screen.

“Hey, the moment a blue-chip stock is known, it’s already too late. Just do simulated stock trading when you’re a student.”

As another student who had returned from a leave of absence cut in on Han Ju-hyeok’s answer, a second-year junior abruptly asked, his eyes filled with admiration for him.

“Senior Ju-hyeok. What are your plans after graduation? What will you do...”

“What do you mean, what? I’ll go to the military and then get a job. I don’t really plan on studying any further.”

This time, Han Ju-hyeok himself answered and added,

“Do you think I’ll go some specially different path? It’s all the same.”

“Th-that’s true, but...”

The male junior awkwardly smiled, but quickly scanned Han Ju-hyeok from his head to the watch on his wrist. The watch, engraved with the A. Lange & Söhne logo, clearly showed signs of age, just as he had said it was his maternal grandfather’s heirloom.

His black sweatshirt, pants, and bag were all domestic mid-range brands. His phone and laptop were also old models from several years ago, and he didn’t even drive a car. While his handsome looks weren’t something you could choose to be born with, he certainly didn’t seem ordinary no matter how she looked at him. There was definitely a scent of someone from an incredibly wealthy family... but his appearance didn’t match.

“Now go to your seats. The professor’s almost here.”

He indifferently looked around at the classmates who surrounded him. They all reluctantly got up, but didn’t forget to say something.

“By the way, if you don’t get a group project, do it with me, senior. I’ll really work hard. Please?”

“Me too! I already reserved him since his return. Ju-hyeok, you really can’t abandon me. Got it?”

“Oh, I asked Senior Ju-hyeok even before he went on exchange!”

Han Ju-hyeok let out a small laugh, as if dumbfounded, watching them squabble among themselves with him at the center. At that moment, Han Ju-hyeok looked towards Ye-seo, and their gazes met directly.

“......!”

Her heart thumped, feeling like it dropped, and Ye-seo unconsciously whipped her head away. Her earlobes must have turned red because the sharp spring sunlight happened to stream through the window. Ye-seo tried to calm her still-pounding heart and focused her attention on the professor who was just entering the lecture hall.

________________________________________

________________________________________

She tried to return the money during the mid-class break, but it wasn’t easy. Han Ju-hyeok was leaning casually against the hallway windowsill, talking on the phone with someone. Even if she tried to put it on his seat, his classmates from earlier were still surrounding the empty chairs, so there was no clear opening.

Just as she was about to ask for their understanding and squeeze through, Park Sung-jun, who seemed to be the closest to Han Ju-hyeok, entered through the back door of the lecture hall, apparently returning from the restroom.

“Um, senior. This... could you please give this to Senior Ju-hyeok? He didn’t take his cash change when he bought coffee at the cafe the other day. I wanted to give it to him directly, but he’s on the phone.”

“Oh, really? Okay. I’ll give it to him.”

Park Sung-jun readily accepted the small ziplock bag and slipped it into his jacket pocket.

“Now that I think about it, Ye-seo, it’s been a while. I think the last time I saw you was with Chae-rin late last year. You don’t work part-time at the cafe during the semester, do you? Did you get a new tutoring gig this time?”

“Yes, Chae-rin introduced me.”

“Right. There’s really no second-year student as diligent as you.”

The professor entered through the front door again, ending their conversation there. At any rate, she was relieved that the 9,900 won would be delivered to Han Ju-hyeok through him. Ye-seo set down a small burden in her mind and tried to concentrate solely on the class again. This particular class had a lot of notes to take.

So, she didn’t feel the gaze occasionally directed at the back of her head from diagonally behind her.

________________________________________

________________________________________

One day, well over a month and a half after the semester began, Ye-seo woke up in the pre-dawn hours with chills. Even though it was April and she was still using her thick winter bedding, her entire body trembled.

Did I catch a cold...?

Perhaps it was because she had overexerted herself since the semester began, with her tutoring part-time job, helping at the pharmacy for at least two or three hours a day, and even writing at night. She tried hard to get up, but her body wouldn’t obey. It was fortunate that she didn’t have tutoring today, but she had important Marketing Management and Financial Management classes in the morning.

She tried hard to wash her face and compose herself, but she couldn’t move easily. Even standing for a short while made her desperately want to lie back down in bed. Ye-seo groaned in bed for a long time, then finally stirred when her 7:30 AM alarm went off and she heard the sound of her mother’s door opening. By rights, it should have been time for her to open the pharmacy instead of her mother.

“Mom...”

“Oh my! You didn’t open the pharmacy? What time is it?!”

“I’m sorry. I think I have body aches and chills, I really can’t go out. If there’s some medicine...”

“No, what if all the morning regular customers leave?! If the door is closed for just one day, they’ll go somewhere else!”

Pharmacist Lee first shrieked, then clicked her tongue when she saw Ye-seo, pale and swaying.

“That’s what happens when you stay up so late... You’re not a child anymore, you should take care of yourself. Are you even going to be able to go to school like this?”

“I don’t think I can go to morning classes...”

“I’ll leave out some medicine for you, so take that, and if there’s no rice, order some porridge or something. Since you didn’t open the door, I have to leave quickly.”

Her mother rushed out of the house, barely bothering to do her makeup in the bathroom. Ye-seo stared blankly at the bag of medicine on the dining table, then stumbled back to her room. At least her mother was a pharmacist, so she could get medicine.