DI Ch 107

Originally, it was mainly Park Kang-woo who chattered away while eating lunch, and Kwon Jung-hyuk was the one who gave a reaction. Lee Hyun-wook and I would eat quietly and then be the last to get up. The two guys who couldn’t handle boredom would often get up first and head outside to play soccer or visit the snack bar.

Since we had never had a conversation while eating lunch together when only the two of us remained, I thought we would talk after finishing the meal. However, Lee Hyun-wook put his spoon down on the table before he finished eating.

“You.”

I was a little surprised when he spoke first, but since he had actually asked to meet me like this, I thought he might have something to say to me. Seeing him trying to speak, I followed suit and put down my utensils, then washed my mouth with water.

While waiting for the next words, Lee Hyun-wook asked calmly in a slow tone.

“Still don’t remember?”

That’s what he said after taking a moment. I was speechless for a moment and responded by nodding my head. He usually kept his distance and retreated, so I thought this was the end of the conversation. However, unexpectedly, he asked again.

“Really, not at all?”

“…Why are you asking?”

I responded with a defensive attitude without even realizing it. In fact, it wasn’t that I had no memories; it was just that the contents had been swapped, so it’s not wrong to say that I’m lying at every moment. It was a strange and uncomfortable situation.

His silent gaze was strangely persistent. It seemed like he had something to say, and the fact that he had abruptly suggested a meeting like this made me think he must have something to talk about. Unable to understand what was going on in his mind, I scratched my cheek in discomfort.

“Under the same circumstances.”

It was around that time that Lee Hyun-wook started speaking incoherently.

“If you could start over from the beginning, what would you do?”

His tone was very slow as if he was choosing his words as usual. But was I mistaken in thinking that he seemed to be testing the waters?

Start over from the beginning, he said. I couldn’t figure out why he was asking such a question. I gently squeezed the cup with water droplets on my fingertips and opened my lips.

“… Like a game?”

“A game? That sounds like something Park Kang-woo would say. No, there are no games in human life. It’s all real.”

It was a profound statement. Moreover, it wasn’t the kind of thing to discuss with a friend I hadn’t seen for over six months. For a moment, I wondered if he had gone abroad and gotten involved in some crazy cult. Just as I started to worry, he brought up another surprising topic as if it were nothing.

“When I was young. My father beat my mother every day?”

“What?”

“Then, she became deaf from getting hit somewhere, but my mom didn’t show how hard it was for her, so I didn’t know she was suffering. Oh, no, I pretended not to notice. I’m confused because it’s an old story.”

The restaurant was definitely a nice place. The food was appetizing and it was well-known as a great place, yet it wasn’t noisy and had a perfect level of quietness for conversations. However, the somewhat heavy and hard-to-guess story didn’t quite match the atmosphere.

Feeling a little uneasy, I looked at Lee Hyun-wook’s complexion. If it wasn’t a cult, I was suspicious that he ate something strange there. As expected, the incoherent story without any introduction and the look on his face that seemed to indicate that he knew something, ignited my suspicion.

I heard that crazy people often talk strangely with clear eyes, but I wondered if this person had really become crazy. What kind of sane person would say such things? Could his shock have been too much when his father, who had gone missing, returned dead?

“She committed suicide right after I graduated. For my sake, holding onto life beside my father was forced upon her. I never expected her to cling to life like that, sacrificing herself for me. I never knew she’d leave because of me.”

“…I don’t understand what you’re saying. Your mother is alive.”

In my bewildered response, he faintly smiled.

“Yeah, she’s perfectly alive. My mother.”

The loud noise from the restaurant became oddly pronounced and then distant. Hyun-wook stared at me expressionlessly, seemingly searching for something in my eyes. If this wasn’t a delusion, then it was undoubtedly the gaze of someone seeking information. However, I had nothing to offer him. I wasn’t that close to him to begin with.

As I fiddled with my fingers in the uncomfortable silence, the guy said something strange again.

“Thanks to my mom, I got hit less often, but even after entering high school, I continued to get beaten. By my father.”

This was also an unbelievable statement. Lee Hyun-wook’s father had gone missing when he was in elementary school, and his mother had raised him without remarrying. I remembered this because he had personally shared this information with me.

“You really don’t remember telling me, ‘I was beaten by my father too’?”

“… Well, he is a good person. That, my father.”

“Ah, yes. So, your father is a good person too.”

The incoherent conversation felt strange and uncomfortable, but there was also an unsettling feeling. Had Seo Seungwon’s father ever been violent towards him? It seemed unlikely. There was no such indication.

There was something elusive, hovering on the edge of conversation, and he didn’t provide a clear answer.

“I don’t know.”

The oddly behaving guy suddenly let out a short sigh.

“I thought we had a good life ahead of us, but why are you sick? There’s definitely a connection between what happened to us. But I don’t know what it is, and I really don’t know what to do about it on my own.”

The eyes I met were unable to hide the restlessness and seemed burdened. The guy who had always been indifferent and emotionless, whether Park Kang-woo was making a fuss the day before the college entrance exam or when the accident happened, now appeared tormented.

“What happened to me, no, to us, is too unrealistic.”

Unrealistic, I immediately thought of Woo Ji-min. He was the protagonist of this inexplicable world. However, Hyun-wook didn’t seem to be talking about him or considering him. I couldn’t figure out the intention behind his words and was about to ask when shadows fell across his face.

When I looked up, I saw Park Kang-woo and Kwon Jung-hyuk, pretending to hold back their tears and making ugly faces.

“How… ”

Lee Hyun-wook quietly responded to my bewildered expression by scrubbing his face dry without even glancing back.

“As expected, I thought would be a good idea to hang out before you’re leaving.”

The guy’s expression was slightly crumpled after he finished speaking like that.

“I didn’t expect you to come.”

“Wow. Are you going to say that to a friend who rushed over for you?”

“Why did you come? I’m leaving in a few hours anyway.”

“Because we’re friends. Friends have time to spare. I’ll take you to Incheon Airport. In the meantime, let’s have fun!”

“It’s your exam period, isn’t it?”

In response to Lee Hyeon-wook’s indifferent scolding, Park Kang-woo danced his shoulders and said, “Are you crazy, where in the world is there a person who studies for exams during the exam period?” Kwon Jung-hyuk sat down next to me after avoiding him as if embarrassed.

“It’s crazy. It’s been a while since the four of us gathered like this.”

He mumbled while stealing the remaining food. My heart skipped a beat as if knowing it. We stepped outside at his urging. Lee Hyun-wook suggested taking a tour of the campus, but we ended up circling the campus like taking a stroll. Despite not doing much, the sunset came in a blink of an eye. Lee Hyun-wook checked the flight time and took the lead, saying that even though it was early, we should eat dinner first. Although it hadn’t been long since lunch, he seemed still hungry since he suggested eating again.

It had been a while since I took off my high school uniform, but I felt like I was back in high school. Nothing had really changed. Park Kang-woo, who led various conversations, Kwon Jung-hyuk, who spoke sharply, and Lee Hyun-wook, who spoke casually, had all remained the same. Instead of an unknown past, we each shared our stories. It had been a long time since I didn’t feel alienation or discomfort in their conversation.

However, I felt strangely uncomfortable, so I got up and excused myself to the bathroom. It was at that time that I received a call from Woo Ji-min.

[Can we meet now?]

“Hello,” he asked abruptly before I could even answer. I looked at the time and saw that it was time for him to get off work. Let’s meet. I was hesitant because he had never asked to meet separately after his part-time job. Woo Ji-min appeared to interpret the silence as a refusal and spoke awkwardly.

[Oh… never mind. It’s nothing.]

“No, let’s meet. Where are you now?”

Sensing that something was going on, I quickly asked his location and pointed to my phone in response to the attentive gaze.

“Can I… call someone I know for a second?”

“Yeah, sure, it’s okay.”

Overruling the other two, Park Kang-woo gives his approval. Kwon Jung-hyuk looked at the guy as if he was dumbfounded, but didn’t say anything special. I hesitated and sat down again, but Park Kang-woo, who was next to me, gave me a knowing look and shrugged his shoulders.

“Is it today?”

… Today?

“I always expected it, but it finally happened. Well, it’s good to get introduced when we’re all together. It gives a bit of peace of mind.”

“What are you talking about?”

Today, everyone seemed to be talking in a way that was hard for me to understand. I furrowed my brow and glanced at Lee Hyun-wook. We should talk separately before the flight time. I’m not sure what to ask, but it feels like something I have to do.

I received a message from Woo Ji-min saying he was nearby. I quickly got up and went outside. He was standing in the middle of the street with an indifferent face. Sensing an uneasy atmosphere, my feet moved first.

“Sunbae.”

Woo Ji-min lifted his head when I lightly patted his shoulder. When he met my eyes, he covered his mouth and rubbed his face.

“I’m sorry.”

“What’s wrong?”