SMNTCERR, Chapter 12 <10> #5.
Sangwoo had a friend to hang out with for the first time. Originally, he thought they would go straight to the store and spend thousands of won. However, as Jihye suggested, they went for a walk first, which wasn’t a bad idea. Although he did some morning exercises to strengthen his muscles, it was necessary for maintaining good health. Walking in daily life is essential.
“Oppa, can I ask you something?”
“Is that a question?”
“No, just a preamble to my question. When you were a kid, your nickname was ‘Sangchu [1]’ right?”
“…How did you know?”
Jihye chuckled and thought ‘That’s right.’ She even clapped her hands and mentioned that ever since she heard his name for the first time, she had been thinking about it repeatedly. She almost blurted it out several times, but she managed to stop herself from laughing.
“If I call you ‘Sangchu Sunbae’ will you get mad?”
“No.”
However, Sangwoo has been called that way his whole life. Even if he tells everyone not to call him that, it’s pointless. He has been giving in for a long time. Moreover, there is no logical reason for it, starting from the moment
Jihye insisted on calling him “Oppa.” Even though they are not real siblings. And people like to use wrong terms according to their own feelings. If you pay attention to every little thing, it becomes exhausting. For example, even though some people have a hostile relationship with me, they still call me “Sangwoo-ya” as if I were a family member.
As he thought about it, a red down jacket suddenly appeared from behind the building, catching him by surprise. Jang Jaeyoung walked with two male students, and they glanced at each other for a short time. Then Sangwoo turned around.
“…Oppa?”
“I’m going that way. See you.”
“Yes! Have a nice walk!”
Sangwoo quickly passed by Jihye who was standing there waving goodbye, learned something, and enjoyed a delicious meal. Even though he didn’t drink coffee, he still went for a walk. But when he saw the color red, he immediately felt upset. Now Sangwoo really hates the color red.
After walking for a while, he sneakily looked back. Jaeyoung had separated from the group of friends without him noticing and was ten steps away from
Sangwoo. Seeing this, Sangwoo’s legs moved before his brain ordered him to.
‘I won’t get caught.’
He ran away following his instincts, his world remaining stable no matter who threatened or used force against him. During high school, he used the power of the teacher, and as an adult, he used the power of government officials. But then mistakes crept into the fair system he had protected all along, an ERROR that occurred suddenly without knowing the cause, rendering the program unable to function.
Since being released from duty, there was nothing that required him to run. But simply because he didn’t want to see Jang Jaeyoung’s face, Sangwoo exerted all his energy to run. He ran past the Faculty of Natural Sciences, student clubs, and convenience stores that blurred into a haze, passing numerous students whose faces were indistinct, until he arrived at the main gate without realizing it. Sangwoo turned back, thinking that he might have escaped.
‘Why are you running so fast?’
Then he had to scream in his heart.
“Hey, take a breath first. Wait, me… Do I have to run at this age? I’m not wearing running shoes, jesus…”
Sangwoo sat staring. Although he wanted to escape from Jaeyoung who was catching his breath, he ran at full speed throughout the long distance.
Now he was out of breath. Sangwoo distanced himself about one meter from Jaeyoung and sat down on a block of pavement, taking a water bottle out of his bag. Then he took a sip to moisten his throat.
“Are you crazy? Why did you run like that?”
“To run or not to run, why are you chasing after me?”
“Well, it’s weirder, I saw you running and still ran after you without thinking.”
“That’s even weirder.”
They exchanged strange conversations while gasping for breath. Then there was a moment of silence.
After resting for a while… Sangwoo got up and walked. He had to go get his bicycle parked in front of the library. Jaeyoung got up with an annoyed face and followed closely beside him. If he accelerated, Jaeyoung would accelerate too. If he slowed down, Jaeyoung would slow down. Continuing like this might turn into a footrace. Sangwoo lost interest in that side and maintained a normal speed.
“She’s pretty, huh?”
“I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“And the friend who ate with you earlier, what’s her name?”
“Min Jihye.”
“Which department?”
“Philosophy… I think?”
“Last name Ryu, first name Jihye, she’s half-French.”
Sangwoo was focused on walking, so he responded robotically, but when he heard that, he paused and turned to look at Jaeyoung.
“Is it true that you’re investigating my relationship, sunbae? She’s a good kid and has nothing to do with me at all!”
Upon hearing that, Jaeyoung smirked mockingly.
Investigate something, didn’t you guys used to come to the store where I work? You brainless idiot. Back then, I saw your student ID card. It’s not surprising that I can’t remember your name.
Sangwoo evaluated the words of the other party and continued walking.
“Hey, do you know my name?”
“Do I gain anything by knowing?”
“What’s good about it? Can’t you remember a three-syllable name?”
“An efficient brain deletes unnecessary information.”
“You are making me upset again.”
Jaeyoung grabbed Sangwoo’s shoulder to make him stop, and the other party’s hand touched his body. Sangwoo instinctively turned his face away.
“Homework, compose a three-line poem using my name.”
In addition, Jaeyoung said something strange, and Sangwoo removed the other party’s hand from his shoulder.
“The reward is that starting tomorrow, I won’t provoke you anymore.”
Evaluating that statement was difficult for Sangwoo. He pondered for a moment before speaking.
“Question: If I do it, will you go away, sunbae? Do you even have the boundaries for teasing?”
“Answer: At least listen if it is with artistry, then I will accept it. As for the boundaries, it depends on you.”
Sangwoo thought carefully, finding the phrase “listen with artistry” confusing, but he liked the condition that he could set the boundaries of teasing himself, so he agreed.
“Just say the words.”
“You have to be the person who spoke, you jerk.”
Sangwoo understood that normally the listener would be the one to say the words when playing the three-line poem game, but judging from Jaeyoung’s reaction, it seemed that wasn’t the case. So he opened his mouth to speak.
“Monitor [3.]..Suddenly, heavy rain is so annoying.”
While he was speaking what he thought, Jaeyoung hugged himself and boasted with a proud expression. After seeing that face, Sangwoo continued the next paragraph automatically.
“Monitor …Suddenly, heavy rain is so annoying.” The red down jacket shimmered in the sunlight.
“Yo… It would be better if you don’t show up again.”
Jaeyoung’s painted face was difficult to read, his forehead slightly wrinkled.
At the same time, the corners of his mouth seemed to form a small smile.
Sangwoo thought he could compose a three-line poem without any trouble,
but he couldn’t know what Jaeyoung was thinking. On top of that, he was also an arbitrator. Therefore, during the period when he closed his mouth and remained silent, it was quite tense.
“Results of evaluation.”
Jaeyoung spoke with a condescending tone.
“Accuracy, full 10, given 10.”
“Oh…”
“Sincerity, full 10, given 10.”
“More generous than I thought.”
“Literary value, full 10, given 3.”
“Is that so?”
“Plot relationship, full 10, given 1.”
“…”
“Uniqueness, full 10, given…”
“If this question receives a 10, is there any hope for a score?”
“0 points.”
Sangwoo almost blurted out a curse word and cursed Jang Jaeyoung to death.
“Total score 50, received 24. We’ll see each other again tomorrow…
Sangwoo-ya, goodbye~.”
‘I guess so.’
Sangwoo left Jang Jaeyoung standing there and walked away briskly. In the end, it turned out like this, he couldn’t believe those hesitant words were wasted. Jang Jaeyoung didn’t follow after him, but he could still hear the other side’s words chasing after him.
“It seems that I misunderstood, and now I know how to walk away from you.”
“Am I an electrical appliance in your house or something?”
“I thought you were similar.”
Those words didn’t warrant a response. In Sangwoo’s mind, he thought about everything in the store a thousand times since they had lunch— unlocking his bicycle, mounting it, and pedaling quickly past Jaeyoung.
________________________________________.
[1] Sangchu, derived from the first name of Sangwoo “Sang.” + surname “Chu”, is ‘Sang Choo,’ which corresponds to the word “sangchu” “lettuce” in English.
[2] Oppa, in this context, refers to an older brother that is commonly used by women to address their older brothers. Normally, it is used to refer to someone within the family or someone with whom they have a close relationship, or when given permission by the person themselves. In cases where the other person is an older classmate at school, university, workplace, etc., it is more common to use the term “sunbae” “senior”.
[3] A three-line poem based on the name Jang Jaeyoung, as it is not possible to construct a sentence using the name “Jang Jae-young” in Thai.
The translator, therefore, used letters from each syllable instead, such as “J-JY.” while trying to preserve the original meaning. That is, “Suddenly, heavy rain is so annoying” another meaning is misleadingly cursing Jaeyoung as “heng sri” he escaped forever.
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