SMNTCERR, Chapter 89: #7. 

   “Please line up, line up!”

   One person shouted loudly, while the students were organizing tables to sell tickets, and the line was so long that it curved three times. On the large black poster hanging on the wall next to them, it displayed the names of the actors along with their photos. When Sangwoo saw the picture of someone placed in the front, he ran in immediately.

   [Special Chapter ‘The Famous Pirate’ Francis – Jang Jaeyoung.]  

   Inside the rectangular frame, approximately the size of a card, was Jaeyoung in the make-up section of the pirate, looking proud, wearing a tilted hat and a fake beard.

   “…”

   Sangwoo stood still like a person stuck to the floor and stared at the photo for a moment before walking calmly to the end of the line. Then he felt like he had become a fool, but he had no other choice.

   The line slowly shortened. Sangwoo walked forward step by step, enduring amidst the crowd screaming like monkeys. As he waited continuously, he reached the queue of the person in front, a young woman buying six tickets.

   Then the two students who were selling tickets high-fived each other.

   “Wow! It’s the real exam period, but it still ended within thirty-five minutes.

   You’re really something.”

   “See? I did a good deal by putting it in front.”

   “But he’s not the protagonist. The advertisement is too exaggerated, he might be criticized.”

   “He appeared first according to the representation. Well, what about next semester?”

   Although Sangwoo was seen standing patiently, they kept talking without stopping until one of them noticed Sangwoo.

   “Sorry, the tickets are sold out.”

   “Why?”

   “Huh? I said it’s sold out.”

   “So you mean to say it’s sold out right in front of me, huh?”

   “Yes.”

   Considering the number of seats and the length of the waiting line, Sangwoo felt like he was hearing disappointing news after calculating the chances of the tickets being sold out before his turn.

   “Don’t you sell online? Is there any other way to watch?”

   “On the show day, if you buy tickets that people return, you can enter.”

   ‘I really want to watch it…’ 

   Even though Sangwoo was still standing in front, they have started collecting things. People in the back of the line complained and dispersed with regret, but Sangwoo didn’t move anywhere.

   “Is there really no other way?”

   “I’m sorry. They don’t have standing tickets at the theater.”

   “Are there really none?”

   “Yes.”

   “Think about it again, there really isn’t any other way.”

   “…He seems to be a fan club member of ours. At least give him a poster.”  Drama club members unwound the posters on the wall and handed them to Sangwoo with a pleading face.

   “You have to come quickly. Usually, it sells out fast because of the actors joining. Next semester should be better.”

   “There’s nothing to watch next semester. This kind of performance.” Sangwoo accepted the poster with a reluctant expression.

   On the way back home, Sangwoo felt intense stress. Even though the weather was sunny, his shoulders drooped as if being soaked with rain and he felt weak like a defeated person.

   ‘I need to…study, but…’ 

   Sangwoo parked his bike before pushing the glass door with a feeling of disappointment. He noticed a mailbox with the number 402. A flier came out. Although he had previously stuck a note saying, ‘Please do not insert flyers,’ it was useless. It used to be Sangwoo’s habit to check the mailbox every day, but today he felt so bored and annoyed that he left it alone like that.

   He unlocked the door and entered the dark and chilly room, a space that used to be peaceful and familiar, but now made Sangwoo feel uncomfortable.

   ‘What a fuck up!’ 

   He took a deep breath and carefully removed the rolled-up poster stuck to the side without causing any damage. In the picture, Jaeyoung looked so good that he overshadowed the other actors, but Sangwoo still didn’t understand why he felt a sharp pain in his chest instead of feeling good.

   After examining the small rectangular piece of fabric in each corner, this corner, and looking closely, he touched it with his fingertips before sticking the poster on the wall. He turned on his phone camera and focused on taking detailed pictures in case the poster got damaged. While he was about to take the shot, the phone screen changed.

   [Incoming call, model: Hyung Jang Jaeyoung, graphic design.] 

   Sangwoo was so startled that he almost dropped his phone. He tightened his grip on the phone and his eyes quickly wandered. After telling the other party through a text message to separate and only talk about projects, they never contacted each other again. He didn’t know if the other party had something important to do, or if they were dissatisfied. Or was it about the event? Or maybe the other party was in a dangerous situation?

   The moment he decided to listen to what the other end had to say before deciding whether to call back, the call was disconnected.

   “Oh, how nice…”

   Sangwoo let out a sigh of relief that he had been holding back at the corner of his mouth. There was nothing satisfying recently. While he was considering whether to call back or not, there was a notification on the phone screen.

   [Hyung Jang Jaeyoung, Graphic Design: Can I have your ID card number _14:22.] 

   Sangwoo frowned.

   [What for? _14:23.] 

   [Hyung Jang Jaeyoung, Graphic Design: I am applying for an adult website _14:23.] 

   [Hyung Jang Jaeyoung, Graphic Design: It’s about the budget. Hurry and send it _14:23.] 

   “Budget? What budget?”

   They agreed from the beginning of the project that they could manage the initial expenses and had never discussed the budget before.

   [Hyung Jang Jaeyoung, Graphic Design: Hey, I don’t have time anymore. _14:24.] 

   Sending text messages back and forth with the other party was also worrying. Sangwoo reluctantly gave his ID number, but even then, there were settings to alert him if it was stolen and used. If Jaeyoung actually used it to register for a real adult website, he would know right away. Sangwoo now wanted it to be enough, but Jaeyoung continued to bother him.

   [Hyung Jang Jaeyoung, Graphic Design: Do you have any certifications? 

   Like the Korean history knowledge test, backhoe license, ***TOEIC*** 

   _14:26.] 

   [Engineering technician license, certification, OCJP[1], Linux Master certification[2] _14:27.] 

   [Hyung Jang Jaeyoung, Graphic Design: No TOEIC? _14:27.] 

   [X _14:28.] 

   [Hyung Jang Jaeyoung, Graphic Design: You’re always doing something, that’s why you haven’t taken the TOEIC _14:28.] 

   ‘What’s the big fuss?’

   Sangwoo felt like throwing his phone.

   [I’m not a graduating student. Why should I take the TOEIC? And why are you asking? _14:29.] 

   [Hyung Jang Jaeyoung, Graphic Design: Seems like there’s a field to fill out when submitting the app for verification _14:29.] 

   [That’s not possible. _14:30.] 

   [Hyung Jang Jaeyoung, Graphic Design: No, I saw it _14:30.] 

   [Capture it and send it over for me to see. _14:30.] 

   [Hyung Jang Jaeyoung, Graphic Design: I’m busy, don’t bother me right now _14:31.] 

   Suddenly, Sangwoo wondered why Jaeyoung, who seemed really strange, would want to know other people’s identification numbers and be curious about certificates. He really couldn’t figure out what the purpose was. ‘But he didn’t just start acting strange.’ 

   Sangwoo took a deep breath and replied that he understood.

   He waited for three minutes, but there was no other message. Sangwoo didn’t immediately lock his phone or scroll to read the message again. He naturally slid his finger down to reveal the previous message. He carefully reread the detailed conversation between the two without realizing it. [Jaeyoung, ㅅㅂ♨:

   You appeared in my dream yesterday _3 a week ago.] 

   [Jaeyoung, ㅅㅂ♨: You were completely naked _3 a week ago.] 

   ‘You psycho.’

   [NonPaddler 3: Waxed _5, a week ago.] 

   [NonPaddler 3: When I asked for Americano _5, a week ago.] 

   ‘Lazy person.’

   [NonPaddler 3: Please call me. _4 a month ago.] 

   [NonPaddler 3: Are you the group leader?? I said let’s talk, how? _4, a month ago.] 

   [NonPaddler 3: No response, huh? _4 a month ago.] 

   “It’s beyond remedy to come back and read it again.”

   Sangwoo read back until he reached the first message before calmly putting his phone down.

   “Don’t space out too much, is your finger broken or something?” A bitter smile crept up on the corner of his mouth.

   return 0;

   Today is the day of the performance. On the Friday of the last week before the exam, the library was crowded with people almost exploding. But the entrance of the Cultural Center was still bustling with students who came to watch the semester performance of the drama club. Sangwoo arrived two hours before the show, leaving his number with the drama club members and asking them to contact him if there were any ticket returns. However, he couldn’t trust the other party, so he decided to stay nearby.

   There are still thirteen minutes left before the show starts. Although some students came and asked if there were any tickets left, there was no hope that anyone would return their tickets.

   ‘I have to buy that ticket.’ 

   Sangwoo held onto his groundless belief and looked at the line waiting to enter the meeting room to see if anyone would change their mind. He even sent out a wave of thoughts ordering them to return their tickets, even though he didn’t believe in such things anymore.

   There are eight minutes left before the show starts, and Sangwoo’s heart was beating fast and uncontrollably. Now, the club members are checking the tickets of the people in line and allowing them to enter the meeting room. When they saw the torn black background tickets, Sangwoo’s hope was also torn apart.

   ‘Why are there so many tickets, but none of them are mine?’ 

   Although Sangwoo thought that among those people, someone might return a ticket, everyone just kept talking to the person next to them with hopeful faces and walked into the meeting room.

   There are three minutes left before the show starts. Sangwoo is still restless. Nothing he wanted to do so badly in the past could be achieved, even though he had tried. This time, even though he lacked information and couldn’t buy tickets in advance, a miracle had to happen in the final second.

   ‘I want to watch, we must watch.’

   Sangwoo’s eyes kept looking at the first picture on the cast list. He had seen it so many times that he could draw it with his eyes closed. But he still kept the image of the other party with a messy wig, beard, and slanted pirate hat in his mind, with a mischievous glance and a slightly revealed tongue in their eye.

   Meanwhile, three minutes had passed, and the people who lined up to enter the meeting room were gone. As for the staff, they started collecting their belongings and taking down the posters on the wall. Sangwoo went to find one of those people with a feeling of disbelief. When the male student saw Sangwoo, he burst into dry laughter.

   “Haha, you haven’t left yet. Sorry, but no one returned their tickets.”

   “Really? None at all?”

   “Yes.”

   “Really? None at all?”

   “Yes.”

   “Really?”

   “…Okay.”

   No matter how many times he asked, the answer remained the same. Sangwoo stood there, blinking his eyes, his mind aware that it was because he wasn’t prepared ahead of time and missed the opportunity to enter and watch.

   But his heart wasn’t like that.

   “Hyungnim is performing inside, so why can’t I see him?”

   The cultural center building that he normally didn’t notice in the least seemed so vast and towering. Sangwoo had no way of entering, and even when the theater club members finished their performance and left, he remained where he was, without any hope, with only the darkness of the night left.

   He returned to the library and rode his bike parked in the lot. It was just a phenomenon of the changing amount of sunlight converging, but Sangwoo thought the darkness was frightening. He shot into the darkness and it triggered his anxiety and made his hair stand on end.

   ‘I should have bought tickets beforehand.’

   ‘At the very least, I should find ghost tickets.’

   ‘I should ask everyone who goes in to sell tickets at five times the regular price.’

   Sangwoo felt an overwhelming sense of regret for what had already passed.

   He couldn’t stand how pitiful he was, missing what he wanted while letting go.  When he entered the familiar alley, he hit the brakes to lower his speed. Sweat dripped unknowingly from his body, causing his black T-shirt to stick to his back. After locking his bike in the bike parking area, he walked into the building weakly. There were more advertising flyers inside than just a few days ago, torn at the entrance.

    “Damn it, didn’t I say not to put these here?”

   Sangwoo forcefully pulled the tightly stuffed flier out, and after doing so twice, he found some utility bill payment notices and bank debt statements inside. Sangwoo pulled out those documents at once and held them up as he climbed the stairs.

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[1]      OCJP, “Oracle, Certified, Java, Programmer.” Certification of skills and knowledge of programmers in the language Java, divided into 5 levels, including Oracle Certified Associate (OCA), Oracle Certified Professional (OCP), Oracle Certified Master (OCM), Oracle Certified Expert (OCE), and Oracle Certified Specialist (OCS). 

[2]      Linux Master. Certification from a comprehensive assessment of overall ability in using the Linux system. Certification is only valid at the national level and the examination is conducted by the Korea Association for Information Promotion and Communication. 

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