SMNTCERR, Chapter 77: <1001> #5.

   Tuesday, May 29th.

   Although sleeping for five hours is a short period of time, it made Sangwoo feel much more relieved. When he woke up, he felt much better and was able to distinguish between the strong remaining problem and the small problem. He decided to solve the problem in front of him first. Sangwoo thought that today, no matter what, he would drag Jaeyoung out and ask him why he was angry.

   [Can you tell me Jaeyoung’s address? _9:51.]

–     [Choi Yoona, Graphic Design: I don’t know _11:23.]

–     [Choi Yoona, Graphic Design: Why? What happened??? _11:40.]

   [I don’t know, just asking. _12:01.]

   Even though the first attempt failed.

   Sangwoo intended to wait until half past six, which was the scheduled meeting time. If Jaeyoung did not show up, he would go to the faculty office to ask for the other party’s whereabouts. However, if the information was not provided due to privacy concerns, he would go to the Faculty of Fine Arts and Drama Club and ask everyone he met.

   Sangwoo encouraged himself and picked out the clothes that Jaeyoung bought for him to wear, wearing a white hat on his head. He thought he looked strange reflected in the mirror in the bathroom, but he couldn’t help before he was ready. He thought he had to wait for Jaeyoung to come. If he wore clothes that the other party liked, it was highly possible to impress positively.

   Although he bought these bright-colored jeans just right without trying them on, they were more attached to his body than regular clothes, so he had to be careful when riding a bike. The white T-shirt itself had a sharp-cut neck, giving a refreshing feeling.

   Although he felt unnatural, he could adapt quickly. He attended two classes, ate, read books at the library for two hours, and headed to the office. By then, he had forgotten about the new outfit.

   Jaeyoung’s seat was still empty today, but someone he didn’t know was searching for Yoona’s whereabouts instead. Sangwoo thought that the other party was not a thief, so he let it go like that. If it were a thief, he would have been surprised and would have run away as soon as the door opened. The woman in the long pants and navy suit turned her head to look before widening her eyes.

   “Uh…what’s with you today? Why are you so cool?”

   “Who are you?”

   The woman with black hair tied in a ponytail.

   “Chu Sangwoo, you’re doing too much.”

   Sangwoo knew someone with a similar way of speaking and tone of voice, but the appearance of the woman in front of him did not match her.

   “What are you looking at? Am I beautiful?”

   The woman’s hair color, hairstyle, and clothing were all different, but above all, the lack of black eyeliner made them seem like completely different people.

   “…Choi Yoona?”

   “If you call me sunbae, will your mouth tear?”

   The other party made a gesture like a villain and lightly touched Sangwoo’s arm, ending his suspicion. If it wasn’t her, no one would behave so rudely anymore. Sangwoo retreated and spoke.

   “Please be careful about physical contact, and I already have an older sister.”

   “Everyone calls older women unnie. That’s it.”

   “But I don’t. I only use family terms with family members.”

   “It’s funny, Jang Jaeyoung… you still calls him ‘hyung-nim’.”

   “…”

   Yoona smirked and laughed at Sangwoo. Sangwoo trembled and thought seriously to find a reason to refute the argument of the other party, but there was no reason that he could use, because the contradiction was within himself.

   This was the first embarrassing defeat.

   “Do you know where the person sitting here is?”

   “How can I know where your hyung is?”

   ‘No need to ask.’

   Sangwoo gritted his teeth and picked up his notebook, judging from Yoona’s frequent fidgeting. It seemed that she knew about their inappropriate relationship, and it was lucky that she just let it go. He didn’t insult or mock her, he just opened his game and focused on starting to work. The other party started chatting him up.

   “Did you go shopping?”

   Although his appearance looked more polite, his inner self did not change. The woman thought that the T-shirt was beautiful and flipped over to look at the brand label on the back of the shirt.

   “Oh, we both spend money well. I thought of something and bought a new shirt.”

   “What are you talking about?”

   “You dress better than before.”

   “Wow, very much.”

   “Then it’s considered a success.”

   Yoona hugged her chest and smiled, although her makeup style had changed, her smile remained the same.

   “Are you doing this to look good in someone’s eyes?”

   “Who else? You already know why, why ask again.”

   “…”

   Yoona sat down quietly in Jaeyoung’s seat and remained silent for a while. Sangwoo picked up his mobile phone to check, but there was still no contact from Jaeyoung. There was only a message from his sister asking for a laptop recommendation that was good, cheap, lightweight, and weighed only about one kilogram. He opened and read it, then evaluated it. There was no email from his designer in the inbox.

   Sangwoo stared at the door, as if doing so would make Jaeyoung walk in.

   “Are you two doing well lately?”

   Yoona’s question made him lose his concentration. Sangwoo’s gaze shifted from the door to the email box that had no new emails.

   “Not really.”

   “Really? I thought you will get along fine.”

   “No, failing is not an option.”

   As he responded like that, he could feel the anger and stress that had been brewing inside him for several days becoming more apparent. Sangwoo raised his hand to cover his face, feeling it twist.

   “I thought it had to be like that, and what? Should I scold him?”  “That’s funny. You don’t even know the address for real.” Sangwoo mocked Yoona in his mind.

   “If you’re tired, just contact me. I can treat you to a meal.”

   “I don’t need any help.”

   “Not just that, I mean while we’re eating, I can help you curse and relieve stress in various ways.”

   “I don’t want anything like that.”

   Sangwoo turned to the side before meeting Yoona’s gaze, which seemed to pity him, even though he didn’t know where she was, but the other party had a close relationship with Jaeyoung. Sangwoo thought of one thing he could ask the girl for help with.

   “If that’s the case, please tell me about the person Jaeyoung dated during his first and second year, if you know anything.”

   Violating privacy, secretly investigating behind the scenes, collecting personal information. Sangwoo no longer cared about those things. Anyway, he stepped onto the path of immorality since he kissed Jaeyoung while “he thought” he was asleep.

   “You’re too obsessed with this. Knowing that won’t do you any good.”

   “If you want to predict the future, you need information from the past. It’s necessary for me.”

   “Um…”

   Yoona hesitated for a moment before starting to tell him that she passed the university entrance exam on her third try and didn’t know anything about Jaeyoung’s first and second year.

   “It’s okay if it’s not complete. Just tell me what you know.”

   “I understand.”

   She raised one finger with a puzzled expression on her face.

   “When I first came in, they were a couple from the Faculty of Fine Arts. The other party was two years older and they had been dating for about three months.”

   Then she raised her second finger.

   “During the hot season, I heard they broke up. Then he got a new girlfriend who was a dance major from Myung-Song University, about… two months ago? This person is also older, and they often quarrel. When he was punched in the face in the middle of a fight and left, he was relieved. When the fall season came, he had a new girlfriend again, who was an air hostess… I saw her when she came to the university, she was really beautiful, like… really beautiful.”

   Yoona held up three fingers and painted her face as if she were in a dreamland.

   “They broke up when he entered the military… which is like being together for only three months, you know? I’m not sure because we didn’t really keep in touch after he enlisted.”

   “Go on.”

   “I dropped out of school for a long time. When I came back to study, Jang Jaeyoung was already here. And then, about a year ago… he dated his tutor for a while. I heard she was thirty years old, but it seemed like it was only for a short time. Then he dated a law student for about four months? This girl was also very beautiful, even though she had already graduated… As far as I know, she was the last one.”

   Sangwoo analyzed incomplete data from all five and concluded that most of them mean Jaeyoung dated women in the arts, service, and language fields who were older or the same age for an average of less than three months, amidst data pointing in the same direction. Only Sangwoo, who was in the science and engineering field, younger, male, and in a same-sex relationship, was the only exception, so there was nothing to refer to.

   “Why did they break up?”

   “It seems like he was bored. He didn’t really think about dating anyone seriously from the beginning. Plus, he wasn’t really affectionate. Not sweet at all, which makes his girlfriend sad.”

   Finally, Sangwoo got some useful information from the girl’s words. It seemed that Jang Jaeyoung was bored with him because he cut off all contact like that. Yoona looked at Sangwoo and continued.

   “But as far as I can see, you have the winner.”

   “What do you mean?”

   “Looking at the people he used to date, most of them would be the adult and sexy type, right? But you… how should I put it… simple? Younger, male, and the fact that he is doing something he has never done before means that you are special, right?”

   ‘Because I’m not his boyfriend.’

   Sangwoo muttered to himself, but because of that, Sangwoo was confident that he could change the other’s mind, and their relationship was linked by their bodies. Sangwoo knew well that just kissing him was enough. Jaeyoung is hard now. Even though he learned from the internet, there were still techniques he hadn’t tried with the other person, but even if he tried to change the other’s mind…

   “It’s useless, because it’s probably over anyway.”

   The ending had been predetermined from the start, he was just foolishly lost in his love and didn’t prepare himself to deal with anything like a fool.

   Yoona’s eyebrows dropped, she spoke with a face that reminded one of a pouting puppy.

   “I understand that feeling well…”

   “…”

   “But even so, there is still time left, isn’t there? At least you can be together to the fullest before letting go, so you won’t have to regret it later. I myself have been in a similar situation, and all we did was argue until it ended badly.”

   Yoona took a painful breath. Sangwoo thought the other person was funny, even though it wasn’t about himself.

   “How’s Jang Jaeyoung treating you these days?”

   “He’s just as terrible as ever.”

   “Meeting the face but feeling like not seeing the person you are looking for, difficult to contact, right? Just keep drinking and ignoring phone calls, leaving me waiting. On weekends, they say they’re tired and want to rest, avoiding answering my questions. Only come when they feel like it, is it fair?”

   Well, it’s not just like that, but the fact that the other party disappears is worse than all of that. As soon as she saw Sangwoo’s face, Yoona’s pouted and crossed her arms over her chest.

   I’m really annoyed, I see it as some kind of death and don’t care at all.

   Really. Never mind, I’ve already thought of something good. Just stay quiet…

   Suddenly, the other person approached without explaining anything. Then she grabbed Sangwoo, took off his hat, and threw it on the table.”

   “What are you going to do?”

   “Just stay still, I will take care of it myself.”

   She searched for Jaeyoung’s lip balm with an excited face, picked up a round container the size of her palm, opened it to smell it, and then walked towards him.

   “Don’t tell me you’re going to put it on my hair.”

   “Yep.”

   “Oh. No, thank you. Just go far away.”

   “Come on! Who said he wanted to look good, let’s do it a little harder.”

   “Wait a minute.”

   Although Sangwoo tried to resist, Yoona’s determination was strong, and she plunged in and messed up his hair, making Sangwoo have to give in and sit quietly. As he sat there feeling hopeless, the young woman hummed a song and styled his hair.

   “You have handsome eyebrows.”

   “Eyebrows are just eyebrows. How can they be made to look good?”

   “So how can they be made to look good? You wear a cap every day…”

   Yoona complained to herself and took a rectangular box from her own table, making a rattling noise. Then she took something that looked like a small toothbrush and pretended to poke Sangwoo’s eye with it when he looked away. As Sangwoo turned his face away unintentionally, Yoona grabbed his chin with her hand and pulled his face closer to her.

   “Are you a child? Just stay still for a minute.”

   “That’s not a knife, right?”

   “Shh, be quiet.”

   The metal touched the edge of his eyebrow and moved little by little, making a grating noise. Then it moved to the other edge of the eyebrow, and Yoona looked serious, as if doing something very important. Sangwoo even held his breath in fear of an accident happening.

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