SMNTCERR, Chapter 22 <100> #4.
At the end of March, the weather, which had been good for a while, began to cool down as the coldness of early spring approached. Although the body had a down jacket to keep warm, when cycling around, the face still felt the cold wind hitting the skin. Sangwoo arrived at the College of Humanities with flushed cheeks after putting his backpack in the classroom. He reviewed all three lines to make sure he remembered them well ‘because there was no guarantee that Jang Jaeyoung would attend class’. Once he was sure that his memory was complete, he picked up his suit and wig and went to the bathroom, the right-hand bathroom marked as ‘out of order’ so he went into the left-hand bathroom.
Sangwoo changed his clothes and came out of the bathroom within four minutes, with enough time for one final rehearsal. When he opened the door and entered the classroom, he found Jaeyoung sitting with his head bowed and his eyes fixed on his phone, wearing a yellow suit and not wearing his wig properly, so his real hair was visible.
I really can’t predict anything. I have no idea where this is heading. Jaeyoung yesterday and Jaeyoung today are not the same. Moreover, he likes to twist his own tongue. He’s an error, a malicious one, but it seems that Sangwoo is getting used to it without realizing it. He’s someone who is both a joker, sadist, trash, and human cancer. Sangwoo must be intoxicated beyond measure to not despise such a person.
Jaeyoung raised his face before bursting into laughter. Even though he was in the same situation himself. The other party pointed a finger at Sangwoo, laughing as if he had seen the funniest thing in the world.
“Why are you here so early?”
“I’m an assistant professor.”
“Oh, I see.”
It’s true that he had never been an assistant professor before, but he spoke confidently. Sangwoo kicked his right leg straight into Jaeyoung’s path and sat down beside him, resting his hand on his chin and examining the lines. At the same time, Jaeyoung picked up his phone to take a selfie. Sangwoo closed his face with an annoyed expression.
“Don’t take a photo, please.”
“I wear this outfit every day. It suits you very well.”
Jaeyoung checked the photo he took and smiled widely. Then he raised the camera again. “Sangwoo.”
“Yes?”
“Do you want to take a selfie?”
“No, thank you.”
Suddenly, Jaeyoung pulled a chair and sat next to Sangwoo. The phone screen of the other party showed a picture of two people wearing silly masks. Sangwoo thought that taking a picture once would be enough, so he reluctantly sat still.
“Just smile a little, kid.”
But he didn’t feel amused at all. It’s not something he would force himself to smile for. Jaeyoung quickly took three photos, changing his facial expression in each one. In the first photo, he smiled; in the second, he stuck out his tongue; in the third, he did something strange, making a face that looked disgusting.
“This picture came out really good.”
Jaeyoung showed the slide with the pictures. Sangwoo looked at it and felt the same way. Plus, they all looked weird.
They spent the remaining time on their lines. Jaeyoung listened carefully to
Sangwoo’s pronunciation. If there was any part that wasn’t good enough ‘almost all of it’, he would order him to practice again and again.
Then other students came in, some pointing and laughing at Sangwoo and Jaeyoung, some even greeting them. The Chinese language teacher arrived slightly early. When she saw them, she almost burst out laughing, and while teaching, the corner of her mouth twitched every time she caught a glimpse of them.
Teaching ended in forty minutes, with the last ten minutes allocated for three rotating groups to present. The first group presented a dialogue titled “What is that?” or “That’s the Eiffel Tower.” portraying a Chinese couple on a trip to Paris. The second group discussed Hankuk University and recommended it to their Chinese friends “sometimes eavesdropping on Sangwoo’s ideas”. And then it was their turn.
“Next, Jang Jaeyoung and Chu Sangwoo will come forward to present.” Jaeyoung stood up, feigned laziness, and looked at Sangwoo with a smile. He had a confident and determined expression, as if he was about to go on a picnic. Jaeyoung picked up a small grape, a phone, and a bottle from his bag, then walked out. Sangwoo followed empty-handed. When they came out and stood in front of the class, their fellow students applauded. Some raised their phones to take pictures. However, the problem was not with the students but with the teacher holding a video camera.
When everything was ready… Sangwoo began his first sentence, a sales pitch. Then Jaeyoung, who had been hiding behind a post, strutted in arrogantly, casually playing with the grapes on the table. He asked for the price.
Sangwoo exchanged glances with the other side. Those eyes seemed to say that everything would be fine. They were creating something exciting.
Sangwoo didn’t mind the exhilarating feeling that everything could go well.
Jaeyoung was better prepared than Sangwoo had anticipated. He had prepared some props and even played the sound of a waiting call and an incoming call on his phone. When it was time to change roles, he took advantage of the short time Sangwoo spoke alone on stage to change into a different costume behind the classroom stage and then reappeared. His acting skills were on par with those of a theater club member. His lines were different from those in the script, but the meaning remained the same.
Although there were ad-libbed lines that were not appropriate, like asking
Sangwoo if he was a robot, apart from that, he performed better than anyone else.
The audience’s reaction could be described as laughter. There was one video camera and five mobile phones recording the performance. In addition, there was a loud shutter sound at intervals. The teacher couldn’t stop laughing and dropped his pen on the floor. Although what Sangwoo did was just recite the lines, memorize them, he still received applause and cheers of delight. This short play, Jaeyoung was the “carrier” as he had always claimed.
After the performance ended, he high-fived Jaeyoung who reached out his hand. At that moment, Sangwoo forgot the bad feelings he had previously had towards the other person and felt like they were friends.
“That was so much fun, both of you! The best short play I’ve seen in ten years.”
Class ended earlier than scheduled, and the teacher raised his index finger and walked over to them. She looked at Sangwoo and said,
“Sangwoo… you still need more practice in pronunciation, but you memorized the lines well. You’re great.”
“Thank you.”
“Would you like to be the assistant for this subject?”
“Ergh?”
“Generally, there’s not much to do. On the day when I ask, you just have to come early and distribute study sheets and documents. Then, take care of the answer sheets during the mid-term and final exams, and collect homework for the next assignments that I will assign. At the end of the semester, I will give extra points. And will treat you to a meal once.”
At that time, Sangwoo understood what the other party was talking about, and he looked at Jaeyoung. While Jaeyoung looked at the teacher with a displeased face.
“By the way, Jaeyoung recommended that you take your place.”
During the withdrawal period where you could drop courses without any consequences, there was only a two-week window. He already knew that Jaeyoung would withdraw from all the courses before the start of the third week. He waited for that day throughout, and now it’s the second week, leaving only two days.
“…Alright, I’ll do it.”
When Sangwoo nodded, the teacher conveyed his gratitude through his eyes and turned to Jaeyoung.
“You must be tired… Jaeyoung. Thank you for helping your younger hubae until the end.”
“It’s nothing, Teacher. It’s embarrassing. Even though I said I would be a true assistant, I ended up dropping out in the middle.”
“What are you saying? Having good opportunities should be something to be happy about. You should show your excitement in advance, shouldn’t you?”
“Even if I submit another application, there’s no guarantee that I’ll be accepted.”
“No matter what, you have to give it a try.”
Sangwoo finished packing his bag but didn’t leave yet. He continued to stand and listen to their conversation, and the teacher asked what they would do next. Jaeyoung replied that he would prepare to study abroad and take a break for a while. Then they talked about the university where Jaeyoung would continue studying.
“Teacher, when I think about going back to study, I envy you.”
“Come visit me then.”
“You’re teasing me again. I still haven’t passed the exams for real.”
“When the teacher said you passed, you must have passed.”
The atmosphere was good, but Sangwoo didn’t laugh. An inexplicable sadness was rising in his heart.
“Shall we go together?”
After finishing the conversation with the teacher, Jaeyoung turned to him. At that moment, Sangwoo regained his senses, bid farewell to the teacher, and left the classroom with him. Sangwoo hurriedly changed clothes in the restroom and handed his suit to Jaeyoung.
In the next class, something unexpected happened. There was no blue backpack as it should be. Sangwoo widened his eyes and looked at Jaeyoung.
The other party raised his face and grabbed the phone. Jaeyoung followed Sangwoo’s gaze and quickly sat down beside him, making a call to someone.
The sound coming out of the phone was clear and loud through the speaker.
[Hey, senior!]
“Hey, nerd, are we playing around? I told you to reserve it two weeks ago, why didn’t you do it?”
[Oh, speaking like that isn’t fair, sunbae. You didn’t give me the bag yesterday.]
“I didn’t give it to you?”
[It’s not in the locker. It’s not in the lab. I thought we didn’t have to do it anymore.]
Jaeyoung remained silent for a while, raised his hand to cover his mouth, and seemed lost in thought.
“Well… yesterday, you got so drunk you didn’t prepare it. Hey, who took it?”
[I won’t do it again, okay? It might seem like a small matter to you, bro, but it’s really annoying. And seriously, why did you make the reservation?
Don’t you go to class sometimes?]
“You talk too much, sunbae!”
[Hey~, are you angry? Oh, by the way, come to the club room at noon. Choi
Ji said he missed you. Order some pork with sauce…]
The comical tone of voice continued, with every sentence ending in “bro” without fail. Jaeyoung put his phone back in his shirt pocket, a faint smile hanging on the corner of his lips.
“Didn’t succeed in fooling you today, huh?”
At that moment, Sangwoo realized that he was being played.
“Sangwoo.”
Sangwoo raised his head and looked at Jaeyoung. The other side chuckled.
“This subject is like an alien language, I can’t bear listening to it anymore.
Plus, the teacher looks like a clown. I almost burst out laughing several times.
From now on, you’ll be comfortable studying alone.”
The other side requested a gentle example and explained the reasons.
Sangwoo remained silent without saying anything. “Isn’t today’s lunch in the cafeteria?” Sangwoo paused again.
“And if I say I want to treat you to something else, will you refuse?” He paused and nodded again.
“Okay, then let’s have something delicious.”
Done talking. Jaeyoung placed a canned coffee on Sangwoo’s table. While Sangwoo was distracted, he was touched lightly on the head again, and the vague touch quickly disappeared. Sangwoo took a while to realize. Just as he was about to say something, Jaeyoung walked to the back door… Sangwoo felt slightly annoyed at himself for only complaining about what had happened before… If they meet again next time, he will have to tell the other party not to touch him because he is very unhappy.
While Sangwoo was upset alone, with no one to talk to, the class began, and today he felt that the teacher looked particularly like a penguin.
He returned to his seat and thought he could focus on studying, but he experienced the same symptom as the previous class, ‘algorithm.’ Although the subject, ‘Engineering Mathematics 2,’ was a subject that Sangwoo read additional books in order to keep up, now his mind was blank and couldn’t take in any information until the class ended.
Sangwoo went to eat alone with a heavy heart. What’s the problem? What is the problem? What is the real problem? The starting point is Jaeyoung’s provocation, the problem is that he came to sit beside him and kept disturbing him during class, but now he doesn’t disturb Sangwoo anymore. The cause of the problem has disappeared, but why is everyday life not as smooth as before?
Sangwoo checked his phone while eating and found that he received a message.
[NonPaddler 3: (photo) Well done_11:03.]
His index finger hesitated above the answer key. Sangwoo didn’t have anything to say, so he put his phone in his pocket because he was just thinking without meaning. He walked around the university twice.
Even though he had arrived at the library, nothing had changed, and the feeling of oppression and suffocation gradually increased until it became an angry fire, but he couldn’t do anything. Moreover, he had never felt like this before, so he didn’t know who he was angry with, why he was angry, and what he should do to make it go away.
“Haven’t you gone home yet?”
Sangwoo was considering bringing his things home, but when he heard Jaeyoung’s voice, that thought disappeared.
Jaeyoung picked up the notebook that he forced Sangwoo to sell and held the pen from Sangwoo’s pencil case. Then he leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, opened the notebook, and placed it on one knee. Then he started writing.
At the same time, something strange happened to Sangwoo. The feeling of irritability and restlessness that had disappeared suddenly resurfaced, and his emotions became clear again, and the words he used to read became clear once more. Sangwoo began reading the book again while feeling amazed.
“How terrible.”
Now having Jang Jaeyoung by his side seemed like a default value, Default[2]. It must be because the error had buried itself too deep, causing confusion with normalcy. People think that the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, where the nuclear power plant explosion occurred in 1986, is a land of death, but the truth is that the abnormal level of high radiation-resistant hawks is growing naturally.
Just like animals adapting to radioactively contaminated areas. Sangwoo himself was adapting to the disaster called Jang Jaeyoung.
Jaeyoung was silent. Although he heard the sound of a pen scratching on paper from time to time, it didn’t bother him as much as before. Sangwoo felt good for several days while reading the content he missed in class. This was the first time Sangwoo had focused on studying this much since Jang Jaeyoung came and intervened in his daily life.
He didn’t know how much time had passed.. Sangwoo felt a sense of satisfaction as he laid down the pencil for a moment. At that moment, he felt the gaze directed towards his side face. Jaeyoung used Sangwoo as a model for drawing again.. When their eyes met, Jaeyoung smiled faintly and spoke softly.
“The hat is crooked.”
The other party grabbed his head and adjusted the hat, signaling in advance. Sangwoo had no excuse to say that the other party, sitting quietly, acted as if nothing happened. The problem was that the other party’s hand refused to leave his head. Moreover, it gradually pressed down with more weight.
“Sangwoo, I have something to tell you…”
The library was already very quiet, allowing him to hear the sound of the other party exceptionally well. He felt the weight of the hand pressing on his head more than it should be. He should have said to the other party to remove their hand, but his mouth refused to move. It felt like time stood still, the atmosphere became heavier, and his nerves became more sensitive.
Sangwoo examined every corner of Jaeyoung’s face with his eyes. If he looked closely, he might even see the stubble of the other party.
The faint brown-eyed gaze sparkled unnaturally. If his eyes could measure depth, how deep would it be? Although Sangwoo was familiar with the structure of the eye, he still came up with foolish questions. Jaeyoung’s eyes blinked slowly, and the shadow of his eyelashes flickered briefly before becoming longer again, where there should have been grass on the horse’s face.
‘Today, is it like that day, lying on the grass again.’
Sangwoo reached out and brushed away the stray grass without realizing that he would do such a thing. Jaeyoung raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth, revealing a slightly reddish tongue that attracted his gaze. The tongue slowly licked along the edge of his lips from the right corner of his mouth to the left. Sangwoo felt that this strange moment lasted longer than necessary, and he was experiencing the theory of special relativity [3] by himself.
[ERROR, ERROR, ERROR.
Abnormal responses, abnormal responses, abnormal responses.] ________________________________________.
[1] Pororo, a character from an animation series, mischievous penguin, world mischief-maker.
[2] Default. In computing, it refers to the default or preset value in a program. For example, Microsoft Word sets the default paragraph indentation to 1.27 centimeters.
[3] Theory of Special Relativity. It is related to systems with constant velocity or non-accelerating systems, meaning when we feel that everything is at rest or moving at the same speed, we cannot tell what is actually moving, such as the Earth rotating on its own axis and around the Sun. We still feel that everything is stationary but in reality, what we perceive as being stationary is actually in motion.
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