SMNTCERR, Chapter 10 <10> #3
The next day, which was the second day of the new semester, finally arrived.
Sangwoo left his apartment an hour earlier than usual and rode his bike without hesitation. Normally, he would get a full eight hours of quality sleep, but today he woke up abruptly due to a nightmare, so he only slept for four hours, leaving him physically drained. In the dream, there was a red fur coat.
When he unzipped it, he discovered sharp teeth that were about to bite him.
Even though he felt ridiculous after waking up, the dream was so scary that he had to run away.
‘Just endure for two weeks.’
Sangwoo gnashed his teeth, feeling that his peaceful life was crumbling. It was an inexplicable anxiety that often overflowed, so he had to keep calm.
He had no backup plan. Changing courses was not an option anymore (and Jang Jaeyoung followed him) And dropping out of school wasn’t an option either because bad luck didn’t work that way.
When he entered through the main gate and looked down at the time, it was now 8:24 a.m. He arrived at the university earlier in the morning to reserve a seat. Not like yesterday. Sangwoo locked his bicycle in front of the library and headed towards the engineering building for today’s classes.
As soon as he opened the classroom door, he was met with disappointment because there was a leather bag on the far-right desk of the fourth row. He didn’t know what time the other person reserved the seat, so he hurriedly went to examine the bag up close, but he still didn’t know the truth.
‘Or was it placed here since yesterday?’
Sangwoo thought about the possible outcomes, realizing that person didn’t seem diligent at all. Instead of saying they woke up early to bring their bag, it would be more reasonable to say they left it behind since yesterday.
Nevertheless, today Sangwoo felt defeated again. He had to sit farthest from that spot, where he couldn’t help. The classroom heaters hadn’t been turned on, so the air was cold like outside. He sat down without taking off his down jacket and scarf. Then drowsiness crept in. Well, because he didn’t get enough sleep last night, he opened a book to read and prepare for the lesson, but the words on the pages were blurry throughout.
‘It’s definitely worse if you’re sleepy during class.’
So it would be better to doze off before the class started. He closed the book and used it as a makeshift pillow for the first time, pressing his cheek against the textbook and closing his eyes. Soon, his consciousness faded away.
“…30 points for homework, and another 20 points from the final exam. My office and email are in the course compilation document, right? Students who need consultation can go to the assistant professor or send me an email directly. Alright, now let’s take a look at the exam paper.”
When Sangwoo raised his head once again, he heard a smooth voice and saw a red color obstructing his vision. He was confident that he was sitting at least one seat away from the reserved spot, but Jang Jaeyoung was sitting there, smirking.
Sangwoo quickly straightened his upper body and checked the time on his wristwatch. The class had started 14 minutes ago.
Looking around, he noticed that other students were looking at a piece of exam paper, each with their own sheet. Jaeyoung was fiddling with an A4 paper sandwiched between his fingers.
“That crazy guy…”
Sangwoo glanced at other students but couldn’t find any leftover exam papers. It would be difficult to catch the professor’s attention and ask for another sheet. He felt uneasy that he had been silent until now. Sangwoo gritted his teeth, extended his hand towards Jaeyoung, and spoke softly.
“Give it to me. My sheet.”
“Throw it away or something. Here, take mine.”
“Why aren’t you attending class, sunbae?”
Jaeyoung looked down and flicked a few pieces of paper at the end of his fingers. Sangwoo reached out hoping to catch them, but Jaeyoung pulled the sheet behind him, preventing him from touching it.
Jaeyoung folded the paper in half, then folded it again. Sangwoo watched anxiously as the other party acted restlessly.
“If you want something, you should ask politely, shouldn’t you?”
Jaeyoung, wearing a red shirt and displaying an untrustworthy demeanor, spoke softly. He looked like a demon as he folded the sheet that Sangwoo wanted into the shape of an airplane and held it between his index and middle fingers.
“Just give it to me, please.”
“Be more sincere than this.”
“Just give it to me.”
“The deadline is approaching.”
While the teacher turned to the students to write on the board, a paper airplane gracefully glided out of the slightly open door.
Sangwoo suppressed his anger that surged and stood up from his seat. He muttered, ‘Well then, asking Jang Jaeyoung for anything would be foolish.’ He pushed the tightly packed desk forward and grabbed a sheet from the stack on the front classroom stage. Just as the teacher turned back with a cool expression.
“What are you doing, student?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t receive the document, but I was afraid of disturbing the class, so I didn’t inform you.”
“It’s not like you have been asleep since the first period, right?”
The teacher clicked his tongue and rubbed his face in frustration.
“Go to the restroom first.”
“Sir?”
“Restroom.”
Sangwoo took the sheet and walked out through the front door without understanding the situation. Although he wasn’t a student who received love from the teacher by raising his hand to answer in class or visiting the research room, he performed well and scored high on exams. By the end of the semester, he had gained the trust of the teacher through his diligence. This was the first time he had been appointed as a class representative since the first day. Furthermore, Teacher Cha Weoyang was an important faculty member who taught most of the subjects for fourth-year students. That was another reason.
When he entered the restroom, Sangwoo almost screamed. The reflection of his face on the mirror looked strange and eerie. A dark black mustache was drawn under his nose. He hastily turned on the faucet but nothing changed.
‘I have to hurry back in…’
Sangwoo lathered soap in his hands until it foamed, then rubbed it over the stained area above his upper lip. The black lines gradually disappeared bit by bit, but it was still too slow. Sangwoo couldn’t believe that he would waste time studying such meaningless things.
“As a child of sin, you’re venting your frustration through painting. Beast.”
19 minutes flew away into thin air. When he finally returned to the classroom, he found that there were only 5 minutes left. Now, all that awaited him was being scolded by the teacher.
‘What did I do wrong, huh?’
Suddenly, Sangwoo felt a surge of unfairness. He had to handle everything by himself and could only tell the teacher the truth. Jang Jaeyoung might not think it was unfair for himself, but when you carefully examined the situation, it was clearly an undeserved fate for someone who hadn’t done anything wrong to have to sit outside the classroom like this. It was truly cruel.
“Hey, ERROR, you fucking ass!”
Sangwoo uttered the most offensive words he could think of Error. There are several types of errors. If it’s just a typo or a formatting mistake, it can be easily corrected. But if it’s an Error in logic, even if you’re confident that the code is complete, it still remains an Error. And even if you go through the entire code to find the mistake, you won’t find this Semantic Error, just like Jang Jaeyoung who suddenly appeared and disrupted Sangwoo’s daily life.
When the class ended, the students dispersed. Sangwoo walked to his seat to pick up his bag, glancing to see a red duck feather jacket, but he didn’t care and left the classroom. Jaeyoung’s goal was to make Sangwoo angry, so he didn’t want to show any reaction to the other side.
Losing one’s composure is like playing the game Jenga[1]. You pull out a piece, causing it to collapse completely. In class, an algorithm. Sangwoo sat in the far-left seat in the second row, obscured by a pillar, making it difficult to see the professor’s face. He sat there absentmindedly throughout the class. It would have been better not to attend rather than sitting in this place. But he couldn’t do that because this was a computer science class, and he wanted to sit as far away as possible from Jaeyoung, who took the best seat.
After that, his life went on as usual. Sangwoo went to the cafeteria to get food and sat at a table in a secluded corner. Meanwhile, Jaeyoung walked past many seats and sat right next to Sangwoo, eating his meal in silence.
He picked up his food tray with a feeling as if the food wasn’t digesting. Then he went to the convenience store, but of course, they didn’t have the coffee that Sangwoo wanted. As for going out for a walk, it was also ruined because of those drama club people.
Finally, he managed to sit at the reserved seat in the library. Sangwoo was exhausted. The teasing had only started two days ago, how would he endure the mental attacks from that madman for two weeks?
“Today, I’m determined to study, hubae.”
Jaeyoung appeared with a borrowed book. Today’s novel was a fantasy. He just sat there, without any regard, and quietly opened his book. But Sangwoo couldn’t take his eyes off him. Just seeing the other person’s face made his heart boil with anger.
“Where can I file a complaint?” [Charge:
– Wearing a red shirt improperly (Not illegal.)
– Occupying a seat (Not illegal.)
– Sitting next to someone (Not illegal.)
– Shaking legs (Unclear offense.)
– Swinging a pen (Unclear offense.)
– Causing coffee to sell out (Not illegal.)
– Offenses of filling a trash can full (Not illegal.)
– Offenses of not providing sheets (Not illegal.)
– Offenses of writing on the face (Guilty.)
– Offenses of existing, (Not illegal.)
– ……..]
The more offenses the other party counts, the more Sangwoo feels agitated, like a villain with a brain who doesn’t speak rudely and doesn’t use force to get caught. The fact that the other party revolves in Sangwoo’s thoughts is not a big deal for others, but he chooses to do only things that Sangwoo dislikes and makes Sangwoo frustrated.
‘Hey, what a freaking bug [2].’
Sangwoo read his book, glancing at Jaeyoung who laughed and made gestures. The other party leaned back comfortably, propping one foot on the knee, playing a big gesture. Sangwoo desperately wished to end it by throwing the dice hidden under the red hat with all his might.
He was so focused on Jang Jaeyoung that he didn’t do anything for a while, but as time passed, the situation improved. The opponent who sat reading suddenly raised his head and accidentally hit his elbow on the water and snacks placed nearby. Luckily, the other party woke up peacefully. No growling. No biting or snapping.
While the other party was sound asleep, his supposed friends came to laugh and secretly took pictures. Some female students walked around whispering, but they didn’t disturb anyone, which is why Sangwoo partially accomplished his purpose by going to the library.
Two hours passed. Sangwoo packed his books and put the pencil box in his bag, being careful not to wake up Jaeyoung, but the moment he pushed back his chair to stand up, the other party woke up and accidentally spilled water on the snacks that someone had placed there.
Sangwoo pretended not to know the other party and walked out of the library. He hurriedly walked down the stairs but was caught up instantly. From then on, the situation turned into a race, and they ran down to the first floor.
“Sangwoo, are you annoyed?”
“Sunbaenim, I don’t want to hear you’ voice. Please don’t try to talk to me.”
“You’re the one who started it.”
Sangwoo strode out of the building towards the bicycle parking lot.
“I didn’t do anything wrong. Sunbae, you just act stubbornly and do things even elementary school kids wouldn’t do. I…”
“Are you saying you didn’t do anything wrong, and I’m the crazy one? Shall we talk about that again?”
Hearing that, Sangwoo felt that letting it pass wouldn’t work, so he stopped walking immediately.
“What is my offense then? If you’re going to say it’s because I removed your name from the slide…”
“Stop.”
Jaeyoung cut his lines. Sangwoo turned around and found that the other party was standing closer than he thought. He thought that the other side would distance himself reluctantly, but what he saw was a serious face that he didn’t expect. Sangwoo’s eyes collided with Jaeyoung, who was wearing a red beanie against a dark and cloudy backdrop.
“It may be hard to believe, but I want to get along with you.”
Sangwoo closed his mouth abruptly. This wasn’t the first time he had looked at Jaeyoung up close like this, but he had never noticed before and hadn’t cared that the eyes behind the glasses were slightly lowered. Whether in formal attire or trying to look like a makeup artist, the nose remained straight, and the eyelashes and hair weren’t pitch black.
“Humans are emotional creatures. If you don’t ignore me like that, I won’t pay attention to the slide presentations issue.”
“Well then, if I apologize, will you stop?”
Jaeyoung’s face turned incredulous, and he burst out laughing.
“Are you crazy or is it because you’re an AI robot that you don’t understand human emotions?”
“Sunbae, what are you talking about?”
“If it’s such a simple problem, has it come to this point?”
The veiled words of the other party felt more suffocating than any problem he had ever solved, as if looking into endless darkness. All Sangwoo heard were floating words.
“Don’t talk to yourself like that. Sunbae, you are just a cancerous being, clown, and sadist.”
Hearing that, instead of getting angry, Jaeyoung’s face brightened.
“So, I heard compliments from you and I feel happy.”
“Are you insane?”
“Yes. You should go home too.”
“You nerve-wracking jerk.”
Sangwoo muttered under his breath and pedaled his bike, quickly riding away without looking back. return 0;
________________________________________
[1] Jenga is a tower-building game or block-stacking game. It involves using wooden blocks to build a tower, and players take turns removing one block at a time from the tower and placing it on top, without causing the tower to collapse. It can be played by multiple people, and whoever causes the tower to fall is considered the loser.
[2] Bug or a flaw, a problem that occurs with a program due to the instructions within that program itself, causing the program’s operation to be incorrect. It has errors or is not as smooth as it should be. Apart from problems related to the program, it may also be a problem with the machine itself.
Leave a Reply