SMNTCERR, Chapter 55 <1000> #2.
“L13, L14.”
“That’s good.”[1]
Jaeyoung glanced at the movie ticket and walked into the dark theater, as it was the last show and late, there weren’t many people. Besides the elderly couple sitting at the end of the row with them, there was no one else.
The advertisements continued to play on the screen as. Jaeyoung said. Once they settled into their seats, Sangwoo took out his phone, turned it off, and put it back in his shirt pocket. As he leaned back in his seat, Sangwoo felt more relaxed, blinking slowly to drive away the restlessness.
Just as he started to feel thirsty, Jaeyoung handed him a bottle of soda as if reading his mind. It was unclear why there was only one straw when he intended to drink alone. Sangwoo, who was about to complain, had to close his mouth again.
‘Why think too much about such a simple matter? We’ve already kissed.’ Because he knew what the other party would say in response.
Sangwoo quietly sipped the soda. When he handed the glass to Jaeyoung again, the other party immediately turned to look and quickly sucked the black drink through the transparent straw.. Sangwoo wondered why the other party had to stare at someone else while drinking.
The flickering light inside the dimly lit venue caused one side of Jaeyoung’s face to change with the alternating brightness and darkness, the shadow of his nose bouncing on his cheek. Even though he had just taken a sip of soda,
Sangwoo felt his mouth dry, and his eyes, which hadn’t blinked, began to sting.
Who would be the winner in this long-lasting staring contest? It might be Jaeyoung because when the light from the screen went out, Sangwoo closed his eyes and leaned closer to the other person’s lips.
Although he pulled away due to the sudden scream of “Help!” accompanied by the sudden brightening of the surroundings,. Sangwoo still felt embarrassed. At first, he thought the other party was asleep, then he claimed it happened because of being drunk. As for the other times, they happened with mutual consent and willingness. But this time, he did it without permission while the other party was still unaware, and while closing his eyes with embarrassment, he missed the first half of the movie.
‘It’s over.’
Sangwoo doesn’t like that at all. When he turned around to look for the root cause of his deception, he found that the other party was just staring at the screen with a blank expression, fingers resting on the armrest naturally like a spider. Sangwoo forced his body to turn back and look ahead.
Fortunately, the story’s content is simple enough to understand without any problems, even if you missed the beginning. The story involves extraterrestrial humans who can fly at the speed of light. They have skin that is resistant to all physical damage and harness solar energy as a power source. In brief, the story revolves around a superhuman from another planet who must thwart the plans of enemies who intend to use his weaknesses against him.
Sangwoo feels conflicted for two reasons. First, there are many aspects of the movie that he doesn’t understand. Second, Jaeyoung keeps moving his hand, appearing calm amidst the darkness, with a hand that reflects white light, never staying still. When. Sangwoo accidentally taps on the armrest, the other side extends his fingers as if stretching a string, sometimes flipping his hand up to reveal it. Sangwoo intentionally avoids looking at Jaeyoung’s face throughout the two and a half hours, so he doesn’t know if the muscles on his face move as well, but he only sees his hand, which makes him feel disconnected from his own body and self-awareness.
After the movie ends, they quietly walk out of the theater. Then they take the elevator down to the ground floor. When they step outside, their arms touch the warm air, the night sky is dark and serene, and the walkway is gray. Time passes unnoticed until it’s past one o’clock, and the bustling streets near Jongno-dong are empty.
“How was the movie?”
After nine minutes of silence, Jaeyoung speaks up, his right hand casually reaching into his pocket.
“Should we consider superhumans as animals or plants?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Well, he said they use air and sunlight as an energy source. Although their physical structure is complex like humans, when they live by photosynthesis, they should be classified more as plants than animals, shouldn’t they?”
“Um… I don’t know.”
“And in the movie, there’s a scene where he says he wants to shave his mustache. How does he shave? Even if it’s exposed to the explosion of a supernova, it wouldn’t burn, right? Ordinary razors made of steel probably wouldn’t work either.”
“Hmm…”
“It’s kind of pitiful that he lost to kryptonite.”
That was the only scene that Sangwoo watched and felt immersed in the movie. It was a scene where the superhuman, who was invincible, was defeated by a piece of jewelry from his home planet, simply by bringing the green gem close to his skin, which became as vulnerable as a regular human under the influence of uranium radiation. Sangwoo felt a warmth inside him, as if it were his own story.
“It’s the Death Ex-Mach of the superhero series.”
“What is that?”
“Simply put, it’s a cheating formula. If you’re too good, it’s not fun, so there has to be some crypton to make Superman vulnerable. Even though in the end he can easily win and seem useless.”
“Oh…”
“Most superhero movies are like this. People focus more on the action scenes than the storytelling that is already familiar. No one cares about the synthesis of light and beard shaving, what matters is that Superman is super handsome, super strong, on the side of humanity, and wears different tight suits.”
Jaeyoung waved his left hand, drawing a complex circular pattern in the air, and when he finished speaking, he grabbed the front of his shirt that he was wearing and fanned himself to cool off. Sangwoo looked at the side profile of the other person’s face, which seemed to have gained some special knowledge today.
“I didn’t know before that you are also smart like me.”
“What do you see me as?”
Human cancer, jigsaw puzzle, mental illness, sadness, garbage, but now many things have changed, and he himself is uncertain. Sangwoo shifted his gaze from Jaeyoung and looked straight ahead, seeing both sides of the road lined with tall trees.
“Where are we?”
“Jeongryun Park.”
“Why did we come this way?”
“Shortcut.”
Sangwoo frowned. If this is a shortcut, why didn’t we take this way earlier?
Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been late. While he was thinking about that, Jaeyoung reached out and flicked the brim of his hat. When he turned to look, his eyes met the brown eyes of the person in front of him, causing his vision to blur.
“So, is it fun not?”
“Is it fun?”
“Yes, after watching a movie, you must have some feelings, right?”
“Um… I don’t know. It’s a strange movie.”
Sangwoo wanted to know the other person’s opinion, he asked back, “And what about you, hyungnim?” Hearing that, Jaeyoung, who had been walking and looking straight ahead, turned to meet Sangwoo’s gaze and replied.
“I think it’s fun.”
“Which scene?”
“I don’t know.”
“How can you not know?”
“Because I’ve been staring at your face and haven’t watched the movie.”
Sangwoo was speechless and stopped in his tracks without knowing the reason. Jaeyoung walked ahead. Meanwhile, Sangwoo remained motionless, staring at the back of the person in front of him.
Duk-duk-duk.
His heart raced, feeling both uneasy and exhilarated at the same time. While Sangwoo was trying to calm his mind, the distance between them gradually widened, revealing a contradiction in the words of the other party. Sangwoo shifted his feet again and quickened his pace until they were walking side by side.
“It doesn’t make sense. You said you didn’t watch the movie, but you said it was fun. This means one of them is a lie.”
“That’s true for both of us.”
“How can you feel entertained if you didn’t watch the movie?”
“Try using your imagination, Samchun.”
As soon as he heard the somewhat vague answer, he immediately understood. Sangwoo’s futile attack had backfired, and he bowed his head and continued walking.
After leaving the park, they came across a long straight wall that was a famous landmark in Seoul. Sangwoo had been here before with his ex-girlfriend when they were still together, and he remembered how crowded it was, making him annoyed. But today was quiet and deserted, not even a single soul in sight, and that might be the reason why he felt excited and overwhelmed.
They continued walking without saying a word, only looking straight ahead. However, in the corner of his eyes, he could see Jaeyoung’s left hand, even though his right hand adjusted his coat, touched his neck, or slipped into his pocket. The left hand remained abandoned by his side, and it only twitched and jerked since they left the cinema one minute ago. Two minutes passed. Three minutes passed. Until Sangwoo felt uneasy. At that moment, he looked down at his watch and realized it was almost two o’clock.
‘Who said it was a shortcut?’
Although it had been two hours since he last slept, his mind remained clear. Moreover, he felt more awake than usual. Sangwoo prepared himself for any teasing from the other party, silently observing everything from their breathing patterns, hand movements, to the wrinkles on Jaeyoung’s pants.
“Jaeyoung Hyung.”
“What?”
It was somewhat embarrassing to ask if they could hold hands. Sangwoo didn’t know what to say.
“Is it still far until we reach the parking lot?”
“We’re here.”
It felt like waves of turmoil were surging in his chest, and the trapped beast was urging him to quickly hold hands. Otherwise, who knows what might happen. Sangwoo tightly closed his eyes, extended his hand forward without any choice.
The tips of the fingers naturally passed through Jaeyoung’s swinging hands. Without realizing it, both of them coordinated without knowing. Sangwoo secretly took a light breath, his hand holding on to the swinging hand, giving him a strange feeling as if an electric current was flowing throughout his body.
“Hyungnim.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
But it didn’t end there. Even though they were holding hands with the other party, the beast within Sangwoo stirred and demanded something more. Even though he tried to say no, to help maintain appearances, it didn’t listen.
“Hyung.”
“What?”
“Just calling casually. There’s nothing.”
He endured the tormenting urge until they finally reached the parking lot, his hands soaked in sweat. If it could be wrung out like a wet cloth, it would probably fill a bucket. He had no idea how he had managed to live a life like a normal person for twenty-five years with such intense desires. Sangwoo just couldn’t understand.
“You’re funny. Normally, you can say whatever you want, right? So, what’s up today?”
At that moment, he looked up and saw Jaeyoung’s face, trying to avoid eye contact as he walked. Sangwoo lost his composure, the overwhelming desire tightly packed in his chest. Sangwoo felt that the hand they were holding had a detrimental effect on him, so he let go and blurted out his response.
“Today, I feel strange. Isn’t it true that at the movie theater you didn’t put anything like that in the cola, right?”
“I used to think you were a person without imagination. I guess I have to rethink that.”
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[1] “That’s good.” Korean cinemas have seating rows arranged from top to bottom, starting with the letter L and descending to A. Therefore, the row ‘Land’ is the best row.