SMNTCERR, Chapter 19 <100> #1.

   Jang Jaeyoung is really strange.

   The severity of the harassment that Sangwoo used to torment me had gradually decreased and eventually became nonexistent. However, this doesn’t include the underlying stress of having to sit together in class or other stress caused by being near him.

   On the second Monday of the week, more than avoiding me, Jaeyoung started offering help. During the Chinese language class where we had to practice conversational dialogue with the person next to us, Sangwoo intended not to practice with Jaeyoung and approached a female student sitting on the left instead. However, she rejected him, stating that she already paired up with another female student. While wasting time, other students started practicing with each other. Sangwoo had no choice but to pair up with Jaeyoung, who appeared to smile mockingly but insincerely.

   “Cong zheer dao shouer zhàn duō chang shíjiān?”[1.]

   Sangwoo asked in Chinese first, “How long does it take from here to Seoul station?” When Jaeyoung heard it, he replied with one word.

   “Your language skills are not that great.”

   Sangwoo ignored that remark, thinking that practicing with one person would be enough, and immediately moved on to the next conversation.

   “Wo Men Ming, Tian Yi Qi Qu, Dian Ying Ba Camp?”[2.]

   Jaeyoung sat still and listened as Sangwoo asked, “Shall we go watch a movie together tomorrow?” He smiled strangely and quickly responded.

   “Hen Hao, Kan Shen Metian Ying?”[3.]

   “That’s not the sentence.”

   Sangwoo frowned. It was written in the book that ‘I couldn’t go because he didn’t have a clear schedule’ but the other party replied with something strange. This person never jokes around, will he die one day?

   “Did you hear it correctly? What does it mean?”

   “I’m saying ‘Okay. Then I’ll ask which movie we should watch.’ Just follow the book.”

   “That’s right. You’re good at reading, writing, and listening, but speaking you are considered mediocre.”

   “I read according to the book.”

   “Language. If communication is not understood, it has no meaning. Each country has different ways of speaking, but you don’t seem to try to approximate the original, right?”

   “What’s his problem? Is he pretending to be a teacher or something?”

   Sangwoo initially felt resistance, but it was followed by painful memories from Year 1, Semester 1, where he received an A0 grade[4] in the subject ‘Introductory Chinese Language.’ He was alone, surrounded by friends who achieved A+[5] and the main reason for his deduction was pronunciation.

   “Try reading this.”

   Sangwoo intentionally read the long, narrow sentence, pointing it out fully. When Jaeyoung heard it, he used his hand to cover his mouth and suppressed a smile, but when he saw Sangwoo’s expression, he stopped laughing.

   “I read it correctly. Why did you tease me, sunbae?” “I didn’t tease you…” He spoke hesitantly.

   “Just stop for a moment. The first sound you made just now was good, but extend it a bit longer.”

   Jaeyoung demonstrated the sound. Then Sangwoo imitated it.

   “Very good. The two sounds should have a rising tone, you see? It’s like a plane taking off.”

   Jaeyoung raised his arms diagonally and gradually lifted them like an airplane. This time, Jaeyoung spoke first, and then Sangwoo followed.

   “Like that. You did well when I taught you, right?”

   Jaeyoung lightly tapped the back of Sangwoo’s hand without realizing it, brushing against it a few times and then withdrawing, leaving a strange feeling in that area. Sangwoo was startled to the point of forgetting how to breathe for a moment. He had learned that human bodies evolved to prepare for various forms of attack by nature, and it seemed as if his body regarded  Jaeyoung’s hand as a threat, causing tension to spread throughout his body.

   Jaeyoung didn’t look at Sangwoo; he moved his hand with a serious expression, as if he was focused on his own teaching.

   “Listen to the third sound. It should have a descending tone, like scooping rice. Then lift it up again, give it a try.”

   “…Oh, alright then.”

   “Huh? It went back to the same as before. Then try making the second sound again.”

   “Nei-ee.”

   “Just a moment ago, it was fine. Why did it turn out like this all of a sudden? Did the machine malfunction? If we can’t get through this, there’s no way to present it perfectly, is there?”

   At that moment, Sangwoo picked up the folded sign nearby and waved it in front of his face, while Jaeyoung reached into his bag to pick up something, turning his back. When he turned back, he handed Sangwoo a piece of paper.

   It was a paper filled with abbreviated Chinese characters. When read, it turned out to be a scripted conversation tricking people into sending money via telephone during the era of the dynasty merchant. Sangwoo’s eyes widened because not only was the content well-organized, but it also had the pronunciation spelled out completely. When he tried reading it carefully, he realized it wasn’t just a series of example sentences put together, but included sentences that were contextually relevant and had no gaps. If he were to do it alone, he would have to spend a long time searching on the internet, and even if he tried his best, there would still be some incomplete points.

   When both of them met each other’s gaze, Jaeyoung smiled.

   “Don’t you have any compliments?”

   “You did remove all the swear words, right?”

   Jaeyoung replied that he did, but Sangwoo didn’t believe him. So he called the teacher who was passing by in the vicinity and told him that the script had been fixed and asked the teacher to review it. The teacher took the script with a puzzled expression before sweeping his gaze over it and slowly raising the corners of his mouth. Then he burst out laughing loudly. Jaeyoung tapped his pen and asked.

   “How is it, teacher?”

   “I’ve seen several drafts before, and they were full of profanity, but this one is good. It smells like a masterpiece. Did you bring a video camera with you?”

   “Sangwoo did it all.”

   “You, on the other hand, always say things like ‘Sangwoo did it.’ How can he know so many insults? I’m not sure if it’s him and not you.”

   “Oh, I feel like you are using the word ‘insult’ for your student. You’ve gone too far.”

   The teacher placed his hand on Sangwoo’s shoulder and said calmly.

   “Well, I am waiting to see the results next week, both of you.”

   Sangwoo frowned. Something strange and unbelievable might have happened, but now he had no choice but to accept it.

   Well, the Error named Jang Jaeyoung… has improved.

   Return 0;

   After the end of the second class, Jaeyoung quickly stood up and hurriedly left. He mumbled to himself while walking lazily. Even lying down straight with his legs stretched out during class, ‘Algorithm.’

   “It’s time to eat.”

   Now even walking with the other party in the engineering building corridor, Sangwoo was starting to get used to it. Going down the stairs together, including going to the cafeteria together and sitting down to eat, but today Jaeyoung stopped Sangwoo in front of the engineering building.

   “Sangwoo, I have an appointment today.”

   That was unexpected. Moreover, it was a strange situation. They didn’t make plans to have lunch together again, but Jaeyoung acted as if Sangwoo was waiting for him. Sangwoo pretended to be happy to correct the misunderstanding of the other party.

   “Wow….”

   Sangwoo clapped five times, mocking and smiling. Jaeyoung took out a canned coffee from his bag before raising his hand and placing the can down. Then he made a facial expression as if sympathizing with his grandmother looking at her grandson.

   “Drink until full. Then drink water, don’t let your stomach get upset.

   And don’t follow strangers, understand?” He spoke as if he felt sorry.

   “I often wonder if sunbae, you are crazy.”

   Jaeyoung smiled with his eyes, his hand touched Sangwoo’s shoulder, then he withdrew without giving him a chance to avoid it.

   Before Sangwoo could decide what to say, Jaeyoung walked away slowly.

   ‘Is the machine broken?’

   Sangwoo recalled what Jaeyoung said during the first class, which was more worrying than criticizing his poor Chinese pronunciation. He also mentioned that if it continued like this, he wouldn’t get full marks. He didn’t know when Jaeyoung started being overly close, and Sangwoo, who wasn’t used to it, would temporarily stop thinking, as if the engine was malfunctioning.

   ‘If you do that again next time, I’ll really be angry.’

   Sangwoo felt worse than he should, perhaps because he was so angry that it made him out of breath. He kept his anger hidden inside as he walked on campus.

   Jaeyoung, who had walked far away, stood in front of a bench, accompanied by a male and a female student. Jaeyoung said something, and the female student laughed and hit his back hard, while the male student laughed so hard that he almost fell on the ground. When Jaeyoung grabbed his arm and wrestled, he laughed even louder.

   ‘I feel good.’

   Sangwoo diverted his gaze from them and pondered in his heart. He felt good. Originally, he thought they would have lunch together, but Jang Jaeyoung suggested separating, so he could eat without worrying about being disturbed until he was full.

   The time spent eating lunch was extremely peaceful. Apart from one female student, there was Sangwoo sitting quietly at an empty table, then getting up after finishing, taking the tray back to the counter. The clock showed 12:28 PM, just right.

   He left the cafeteria at the usual time after several days and opened the canned coffee that Jaeyoung gave him. It had a familiar taste, a familiar atmosphere, and the act of strolling while sipping coffee made him feel refreshed. When he finished walking around the promenade, it was 12:41 PM.

   Sangwoo threw the coffee can into the second bin in front of the Natural Sciences Faculty and headed to the library.

   ‘I feel good, really good.’

   Today, in the library, there were fewer people than usual, so there were no distractions. After registering the books and scanning the new ones, he borrowed the newly released programming book and went to sit down.

   ‘Will I finish reading this book?’

   Lately, with only studying his major subject, the schedule was unusually packed, making him curious. Nevertheless, he kept the thick books in his bag. Then he picked up the textbook he was going to read this time. There was no other student at the table where he sat. Sangwoo looked at the empty seat before returning his gaze to the book.

   Condensers, capacitors, inductors, direct current, alternating current… His eyes were not fixed on the book itself. He was deciphering the meaning of symbols, but no matter how many times he read it, he couldn’t understand.

   “So, how does it work?”

   After silently complaining in his heart, Sangwoo felt startled. His mind had never rejected studying before. But no matter how much effort he made, the content remained closed to Sangwoo, allowing only surface-level understanding. He couldn’t grasp the concepts. Yes, it must be because he studied in a classroom without truly understanding.  return 0;

   Time continued to pass regardless of how bad his condition was, and daytime turned into nighttime. And then, nighttime turned into daytime again.

   Sangwoo started a new day just like before, but not everything was the same. The table next to him only had a bag placed on it, and twenty minutes had passed since he started studying. The seat remained empty. When the owner wasn’t present, he could move that bag to another place and sit there, but Sangwoo felt uncomfortable for some strange reason when there was no one disturbing him as there should be.

   Jang Jaeyoung walked in with a sense of confusion, just as Sangwoo’s digital watch changed from minutes to 22. The gaze of the professor who taught the subject ‘Embedded System’ seemed to shoot laser beams as he looked at the newcomer who arrived late. And to top it off, he suddenly dropped onto the table, emitting a strong alcohol smell. Sangwoo wondered if he had been drinking with someone yesterday.

   “Why are you late?”

   But the question he asked softly turned into another question. Moreover, it was a question he already knew the answer to. So, it was pointless. Jaeyoung raised his head slightly from the small table and looked at Sangwoo.

   “Why do you think so?”

   “Because I drank until late.”

   “You know well.”

   “With whom?”

   Sangwoo’s hidden curiosity couldn’t help but escape from his mouth. Although he didn’t raise an eyebrow in surprise, Jaeyoung’s eyes still flickered with agitation.

   “Who did you go drinking with?”

   “I’m just curious who would be crazy enough to go drinking with you sunbae.”

   “If you want to go drinking with me, just say it.”

   “Are you crazy? Me?”

   Sangwoo wanted to apologize that ever since Jaeyoung arrived, he hasn’t been paying attention to his studies, but the truth is he hasn’t been listening to anything even before that.

   ‘I don’t understand what the teacher is teaching.’

   This group always makes Sangwoo feel strange. At the same time, he feels like he’s being pulled away from familiar feelings. Plus, his head covered in dark brown hair constantly distracts Sangwoo from the book. He has a hunch that he won’t get any work done today.

   The class is over, but Jaeyoung is still asleep, weakly slumped over the desk.

   “Senior.”

   Sangwoo could have left the other party there and walked to the next classroom, but he called out.

   “…Sunbae.”

   Jaeyoung didn’t raise his face, he reached out with his left arm and held onto Sangwoo’s arm tightly, causing Sangwoo to feel suffocated.

   “Ah… it feels like I’m suffocating. I can’t take it anymore.”

   Jaeyoung then said while grabbing both of Sangwoo’s arms, he pushed himself up, picked up his “Black Hole” from his bag, and placed it on the table. Then he walked out, leaving only a solitary coffee can on the desk.

   Sangwoo put the coffee in his bag and walked to the next classroom.

   ________________________________________.

[1]            How long does it take from here to Seoul Station?

[2]            Let’s go watch a movie together tomorrow, okay?

[3]            Great, what movie should we watch?

[4]            Grade, A0, equivalent to approximately 3.60-4.00 GPA.

[5]            Grade, A+, equivalent to approximately 4.10-4.50 GPA.

[6]            The Chinese language has four tones, namely Tone 1 “Neutral tone”, Tone 2 “Rising tone”, Tone 3 “Falling-Rising tone”, and Tone 4 “Falling tone”.

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