DP Episode 71
by BrieDeep Pivot Episode 71
A cool autumn breeze poured through the open window. The students’ uniforms had already changed from summer to autumn wear.
Due to having spent some time confined to a safe house and a hospital room, Yeon-woo had lost his sense of the seasons, but today, he was wearing a gray hooded zip-up over his autumn uniform, which he had worn for the first time in a while.
Refer to Example 1.
Choose the appropriate pair of words for ⓐ from Example 2.
Today is the day of the last mock exam before the college entrance exam. For Yeon-woo, who had received a guide rating and no longer had ties to the college entrance exam, it was a troublesome day.
⓵ Animal – Puppy
⓶ Big – Small
⓷ Friend – Buddy
⓸ Wide – Narrow
⓹ Pretty – Cute
The tip of the water-based sign pen stopped at one point on the example, staining it red.
‘Yeon-woo, your face is pretty.’
Suddenly, a voice that had lowly resonated in the humid bathroom came to mind. The sensation of wet lips touching the corners of his eyes and lips as well.
“….”
In the middle of the day at school, and in a classroom where an important exam was in progress, it was an inappropriate scene to recall. However, having returned after spending unrealistically happy days with his beloved, Yeon-woo still couldn’t get out of that time.
As he got to know Seo-joon better, his feelings grew uncontrollably. His side profile while watching a movie was more handsome than the actors in the film, and his figure sitting and reading a book with a side lamp on looked like a painting.
Even his habit of biting the edge of a paper cup until only the size of his mouth was left unfolded, and his inability to wake up easily due to being a heavy sleeper, were all so cute and lovely that it was unbearable.
When such a person desired him…
Tap.
The end of the homeroom teacher’s pointer lightly tapped the edge of Yeon-woo’s desk. It seemed the teacher misunderstood that he was dozing off since he had been stuck on one question for a while. Yeon-woo quickly came to his senses, checked the answer, and turned the test paper over.
Even though he no longer needed to take the college entrance exam, he would still get scolded if he solved it too poorly. Yet, the questions hardly caught his eye. Time passed meaninglessly, only recognizing the white paper and the black text.
“Hyung, can I borrow your phone for a moment?”
Except for Yeon-woo, who had to be on call at any time, the other students had submitted their cell phones before the exam. A few students, arguing over whether the answer was number 1 or 5, gathered around him.
Yeon-woo handed over his phone willingly.
“See? It’s number 1.”
“Oh, hyung. You have a message.”
A student, looking at the phone screen, said.
“Ji Seo-joon?”
Yeon-woo, who had little interest in whether the answer was number 1 or 5, hurriedly took back his phone when he heard the casually mentioned name.
Ji Seo-joon
[Did you do well on the test?]
2:26 PM
“Oh no, I got a 4-point question wrong. They say the October mock exam scores are like the actual college entrance exam scores. What are you going to do…?” The noise around him suddenly faded away.
Cha Yeon-woo
[No]
[It was difficult]
2:26 PM
Despite sending a message with a crying emoji, a smile spread across Yeon-woo’s lips. After a brief moment of hesitation, he continued typing. Since Seo-joon contacted him first, asking this much should be okay.
Cha Yeon-woo
[Lieutenant]
[What are you doing today?]
2:27 PM
A black dot flickered in Seo-joon’s message box. It was the most exciting moment in the world for Yeon-woo.
Ji Seo-joon
[I’m thinking of]
[going to see you today.]
2:27 PM
[What time do you finish?]
[Let’s have dinner together after the test.]
[I have something to give you.]
2:28 PM
“Hyung, who are you texting that makes you smile like that?”
Only then did Yeon-woo, who was biting his lip to suppress his smile, manage his expression.
Cha Yeon-woo
[I finish around 4:40 PM]
2:29 PM
Ji Seo-joon
[You finish early?]
2:29 PM
Cha Yeon-woo
[I don’t take the second foreign language test]
2:30 PM
[But I need to stop by home]
[to change clothes]
[Can you wait for me?]
2:31 PM
Ji Seo-joon
[Then I’ll come to]
[your house by 6 PM.]
2:33 PM
“Hyung, did you get a girlfriend?”
“No way. It was a guy’s name, though?”
Yeon-woo lamented that only the third period had passed. The time remaining until 6 PM felt like an eternity.
Cha Yeon-woo
[Okay]
2:33 PM
“I really want to see you soon.” The final message wasn’t sent and ended up being deleted. After a bit of hesitation, Yeon-woo replaced the unsent words with a smiling emoji.
Cha Yeon-woo
[See you later, Lieutenant]
2:34 PM
It’s been a week. After a whole week, he would finally meet Seo-joon. Although there were still more than three hours left, his heart had already started racing. Mentally, he had already finished the fourth-period exam and rushed home to shower and change clothes.
Since Seo-joon suggested dinner, it must mean it’s okay to hold hands.
Holding hands… must mean it’s okay, right?
His heart grew increasingly excited. His empty palm felt itchy for no reason. Without much effort, he could already feel the warmth naturally intertwining through his fingers.
Ji Seo-joon
[See you later, Yeon-woo.]
[Good luck with the remaining exams.]
2:36 PM
Yeon-woo quietly bit his lip, trying to contain the smile that kept spreading.
Unfortunately, his excitement didn’t last to the end. The plan to immediately shower and change clothes upon arriving home couldn’t be fulfilled.
An unexpected guest was at his house.
✽✽✽
As the afternoon set in, the sun dipped rapidly. The shorter days compared to summer had already cast a twilight glow over Yeon-woo’s neighborhood.
Stepping into the old villa now tinged with the red sunset, Yeon-woo paused on the stairs.
“…”
The glass door, which had been hastily sealed with packing tape, was broken again. It seemed like someone had forced their way through the entrance. Yeon-woo’s expression instantly hardened with tension.
He knew exactly who the intruder inside was. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the time.
Cha Yeon-woo
[Lieutenant]
5:34 PM
He began typing out an apology, planning to cancel his dinner plans. However, the text message stopped mid-sentence.
“Cha Yeon-woo, what are you doing? Aren’t you coming in?”
The shattered glass door squeaked open, followed by the sound of sniffing.
As Yeon-woo quickly put his phone back into his pocket, he turned to face the person he hoped would never show up. Why does reality have to deliver what you dread most so often?
“…Hello.”
It had been a year since he last saw that face, but the man looked as familiar as if he had been visiting daily.
“What’s with that expression when your old man comes to see you?”
Cha Kyung-soo. The father of Cha Yeon-woo and Cha Jeong-woo, the person who had taken the most from their lives.
Yeon-woo’s gaze shifted to the clothes his father was wearing.
“Hey, it seems you’re living well these days, huh? Wearing such expensive brands.”
Feeling Yeon-woo’s gaze, Cha Kyung-soo chuckled, brushing off the loose-fitting training pants. They were the ones Yeon-woo and Seo-joon wore together while in the safe house.
“You.”
His father, with his sleeves rolled up haphazardly, looked Yeon-woo up and down with a smile. He sniffed habitually and continued speaking.
“I heard you are a guide?”
“…”
“They say raising a kid is useless.”
Yeon-woo’s hand clenched his phone tighter in his pocket. He took a small step back but couldn’t fully turn away, his foot stopping awkwardly halfway up the stairs.
“If you had such good news, you should have immediately told your father.”
“How was I supposed to tell you when I don’t even know where you are?”
A slight crack appeared in Cha Kyung-soo’s smiling face. The constant sniffing made half of his face twitch. As the smile slowly faded, he muttered curses.
“You’re earning a bit of money, and now you’re back-talking me.”
You’ve grown up a lot, Cha Yeon-woo, huh? The crooked smile on his lips was a clear sneer.
“Ah, why aren’t you coming in? Are you just going to stand there?”
Sniff, sniff. It was a sound he had heard endlessly during the two years they lived together as a child, and it only worsened during these unannounced visits.
Clicking his tongue, he stared intently at Yeon-woo, his nose wrinkling.
“When you see your father, you should welcome him properly, you arrogant brat.”
Yeon-woo stared at the hand resting on the door handle.
As a child, he was beaten countless times by that hand. Once, it had been large enough to cover his whole face; later, it could only cover half. Now, compared to Yeon-woo’s hand, it looked small and insignificant.
Yet still, Yeon-woo feared that hand.