SMNTCERR, Chapter 13 Green.
Jang Jaeyoung teased Chu Sangwoo to the fullest for two days. He booked a place where the other party usually sits in advance and made a noisy scene in every class, following him everywhere and watching Sangwoo get angry until he trembled.
And this is the success of the past two days.
Jaeyoung received six derogatory nicknames, namely, (1) Stalker, (2) Trash, (3) Mental illness, (4) Human cancer, (5) Sadist, (6) Joker. This means that he has firmly embedded himself in Sangwoo’s memory. Although the nameplate given to Sangwoo may not be very cute, it’s better than having no name at all. Jaeyoung is a graphic designer who knows how important branding can be.
Forget the phrase “When I call his name, he comes to me, and he turns into a flower [1].” It can go away. It’s not a sweet cartoon scene where rich people with good looks chase after girls, splash water on their faces, and then run away. Negative emotions are stronger than positive ones because of marketing tactics like Noise Marketing [2] which is why it’s popular. Moreover, it could be considered an honor for crazy guys who have never given anyone a name before to be called by six different names.
Jaeyoung sought revenge with extreme vengeance. It was a feeling that spun around, refreshing and fizzy like drinking soda. While destroying Sangwoo, who was so meticulous, he felt that the feeling he had lost had been compensated.
He enjoyed teasing Chu Sangwoo rather than pitying him. Instead of sympathizing, he felt good seeing the twisted face of the other party. He was so happy that he could endure the torment of having to wake up early every morning. Is that sadistic? He had never thought about it before, but sometimes he might have that side.
Jaeyoung planned to follow Sangwoo for as long as two weeks until the withdrawal period ended, but he began to think that it was time to stop. Because Sangwoo seemed more miserable than he had imagined, he even thought that the other party might drop out of school altogether. Jaeyoung just wanted to tease Sangwoo a little. He didn’t really want to ruin the other party’s daily life.
Besides, he was already an easily bored and annoying person. Giving orders for his junior to carry his bag was not an easy task. He had to attend classes that he didn’t understand, and sitting in the library for just one minute made him itchy all over. Moreover, eating tasteless food in the cafeteria with people whispering around was really difficult. There was no way he could do it for two weeks, and anyway, Jaeyoung just wanted to find a way to pass the time.
These days, Jaeyoung really doesn’t have much to do.
‘Sangwoo, why are you doing this?’
After attending the class on “Hankuk University Student Personality Test.” Jaeyoung immediately felt disgusted with Sangwoo. The classroom was overcrowded, making it difficult for the professor to control everyone, so some students skipped attendance. It’s unknown how many of those people have been suspended or expelled. If Sangwoo is someone who overlooks things that are not right and lets them pass like an ordinary person, then Jaeyoung must be sitting quietly, listening to a world-class designer teaching in America.
It’s not a course on etiquette.
But no matter what, it’s just a meaningless assumption. He should be sorry that he himself is in a worse situation than secret inspectors, having done poorly last semester and being closely watched by professors this semester. Jaeyoung sits dejectedly at the back of the room, borrowing paper from the person next to him to doodle.
Once outside the building, the air feels great. The season of autumn leaves, the season of love, is approaching. It’s been half a year since he broke up with his last girlfriend. He hasn’t been with anyone for a long time either, but he thinks about that while walking among other students. And then he sees
Sangwoo in the distance, whose attire doesn’t stand out but catches the eye. Sangwoo is walking quickly toward the cafeteria with a group of female students in green outfits.
‘Hey, that guy is good with girls.’
It’s surprising that when they reached the restaurant, he came with another girl. That kind of behavior doesn’t seem popular among real girls. He imagines that Sangwoo must not have a girlfriend.
He was suspiciously led to the crowded cafeteria. Sangwoo looks across the empty tables and sits at a table full of people, looking enchanting.
‘One punch hit.’
He laughed as he saw the other party slide and sit directly at an empty spot, which also has a charming angle. As for the girl in the green outfit, she sits down beside him. Upon closer inspection, the other party is none other than Ru Jihye, who is sitting there with Sangwoo.
After eating a ridiculously unappetizing meal, they leave the cafeteria. Jaeyoung thinks that he should be satisfied now. He can’t stand eating this kind of food anymore, even just one meal. He bought sixteen cans of coffee, which he just noticed at the convenience store. When he tried to taste one can, he realized that he can’t go on drinking it, so he threw it away. He left the remaining fifteen cans in the club room, but no underclassmen drank them either.
While walking towards the smoking area with others, he happens to come across Sangwoo and Jihye crossing the street from the opposite side.
‘They’re about the same height. Looks lively, huh? They match well, don’t they?’
Jaeyoung’s heart sank as he complained bitterly in his mind like a sullen person. Today, Sangwoo wasn’t teased by him, so he appeared more alive, paying attention to Jihye. Jaeyoung thinks that the other party will walk past him like that, but it’s strange that even though they are far away, the other party remembers Jaeyoung. Even though their eyes met briefly that day, Jaeyoung still can’t remember why it feels strange that Jaeyoung is in a strangely good mood.
Sangwoo turned around and immediately started running away, but Jaeyoung was still half-walking, half-running after him, thinking of catching up with the other side. When they were about ten steps apart, Sangwoo turned to look with a worried face before widening his eyes. He knew that the other side would be surprised, but he didn’t expect their reaction to be running away with such force. Jaeyoung himself quickly emerged as if he were a consecutive killer, chasing after the other party.
‘Hey, why the hell am I running?’
Who would have thought he was crazy… Jaeyoung didn’t understand himself, but his feet kept moving automatically. Sangwoo ran very fast because his determined expression made him think that the other side probably didn’t have much strength left. However, even though Jaeyoung ran as fast as he could, he still couldn’t catch up with Sangwoo, who was running while carrying a backpack.
Suddenly, he realized that they had reached the main gate. Since he stopped working, this was the first time he had run such a long distance, after sitting on the floor to catch his breath. Jaeyoung also became aware.
‘It is said that human greed knows no bounds.’
When he saw the image of the other side running away in front of him, he understood why he was chasing after them. He used to playfully think of making Sangwoo remember him, whether it was through useless things like Noise Marketing, just to achieve success. But for Sangwoo… Jaeyoung was just a low-quality product. He might feel good for a moment when Sangwoo looked surprised at seeing him, but that couldn’t fill his satisfaction. Jaeyoung wanted to be an excellent sunbae, someone capable and interesting for Sangwoo, just as he was for other junior members.
‘Is it true that you’re investigating my relationships, sunbae? She’s a good kid and has nothing to do with me at all!’
He couldn’t stand seeing Sangwoo getting close to anyone else. He created conflicts with the other side, which led to his reputation as a good person being transformed into something like an unwanted fruit that no one could reach.
As for Ru Jihye, he had investigated her. Her SNS posts were easy to find, including her name, major, student ID, and there was nothing difficult. From briefly looking at her posts, she didn’t seem like an outstanding person like Sangwoo, but she appeared genuine and sincere. The day they went to the restaurant together, she posted:
[Looks a bit scary, but doesn’t seem like a bad person. Is there a chance to meet again? #weird person, #first meeting, #feeling expected.] It was obvious that she was talking about Chu Sangwoo.
[Ru Jihye – Good-natured.
Jang Jaeyoung – Stalker / Garbage / Mental illness / Human cancer /
Sadist / Joker.]
Ru Jihye was an angel in a green outfit, while Jang Jaeyoung was a redtongued demon from hell. Jaeyoung didn’t like these contrasting elements of good and evil.
It seemed that Sangwoo still didn’t care about Jihye since he didn’t know her last name or her major. But even so, men with such a clear and honest demeanor always easily passed through when they did good deeds. Leaving it like this, they would have to date within three months for sure. Jaeyoung took the luxury brand watch given by his grandfather as a graduation gift, just in case.
Jaeyoung felt insecure. He felt that on Chu Sangwoo and Ru Jihye’s wedding day, about eight years from now, he would have to hold hands with the bride who was remembering how Min Youngjae, who hadn’t graduated, had come roaring in with rude methods. It just so happened that Jihye was always there, which allowed the rudeness to pass by. Although he didn’t remember the face of human cancer, he remembered that rude person always wore a red duck feather jacket wherever she went, something like that.
“I can’t bear to see that scenario at all.”
Jaeyoung’s goal has changed. Or should I say, leveled up?
What are the conditions of being a good sunbae? At least for now, there is no hope for him at all. The only thing that he express at this moment is his own identity. At least Chu Sangwoo can correctly remember his name, and it has become a driving force. And now he seems to know how to deal with the other side a little bit. But first, Jaeyoung feels that he has to do something about the equal value between ‘Jang Jaeyoung = red color = bad guy = Joker = garbage.’
‘I don’t know why I have to do something so tiring, but… well, I have plenty of time.’
He started to consider what clothes were in the wardrobe.
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[1] “When I call his name, he comes to me, and he turns into a flower.” It comes from a verse called “Flower” by Min Chun-soo, which says, “When I call his name, he comes to me, and he turns into a flower.”
[2] Noise. Marketing, a Korean-style English word “Konglish”, refers to marketing that stimulates consumer curiosity and interest by bringing up issues to promote product sales, regardless of whether it adversely affects the brand image or not. It is similar to Word-of-mouth marketing “WOMM”, but mouthto-mouth marketing presents a much better image.
[3] SNS, Social Networking Service.
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