ASIAH 16

Even after that day, I made time to consistently go to the club. I think I was stressed from having to pretend I wasn’t good at something I was good at, with the University Sports Festival coming up. It’s not that I want to be praised all the time, but being treated as a useless guy while getting cursed at by my classmates is practically causing frustration. Even if I’m not amazing, aren’t I the big man of our club?

I don’t go out drinking, nor do I, sadly, engage in much otaku activity, so my schedule isn’t severely packed.

I dunked the ball and hung on the rim for a moment, then got a hard kick to my butt.

“Are you going to fix the basketball hoop if it breaks? Don’t your hands hurt?”

“They do.”

“You’re showing off because you’re big, you jerk. Your safety is an issue, but if you crush us with that body of yours, one of us is going to break a bone. It’s not a real game, so take it easy.”

While being scolded, I briefly wondered if I could make a basketball hoop. What’s the material? I think I could make the shape itself. But as Professor Yoo said, an artisan’s body is their most important tool, so I have to be careful.

Anyway, as the club president said, because I’m big, if I play a little aggressively, the other members could get hurt. I came here to relieve my frustration, but they’re telling me I can’t run wild and have fun. If it were Hyun Jaekyung, he would be fine even if I ran at full speed and tackled him.

There are no interesting comics these days, and nothing really grabs my interest, and now even basketball is lukewarm. The most intense my emotions have been lately was probably when I was lashing out at Hyun Jaekyung. My boring life. If it’s this boring already, what will I do when I’m older?

Just as a pine caterpillar must eat pine needles, I can only live by finding interesting comics.

I was contemplating whether to shower here or go back to my place to do it. An engineering hyung, who was also a club member, handed me a plastic bag that was in the corner.

“What’s this… drinks?”

“Yeah, they seem to be yours.”

The bag was full of cans and small plastic bottles with various labels. There was even a note attached to each and every drink.

For the person wearing the headband♥

For the tallest person♥

For the person who looks good in a headband♥

For the most handsome person♥ (The person who didn’t come today)

The rest of the notes were mostly similar.

“Who gave these? My name isn’t on them.”

“We don’t know who gave them either. Do I really have to say why they’re yours…?”

The club president, who was changing next to me, also chimed in.

“We collected the ones that were left one by one after practice. They were there even on the days you were absent. There were a few chocolates too, but there were no notes on those, so it’s okay to eat them, right?”

“I’m so jealous, Jooyoon…. Look at the notes, even the handwriting is pretty.”

“But I think Jooyoon’s fangirl has a bit of a lack of sense. If it were me, I’d discreetly put in some for other people too, so as not to cause jealousy.”

The last guy who spoke quickly added.

“I’m not saying I’m jealous of you!”

“……”

“Honestly, I’m jealous…”

“Are you going to drink all of that by yourself?”

“Well… I can drink them over time.”

“Ah, a can would be perfect right now.”

“These are lukewarm, so please get a cold one from the vending machine.”

“That, that…. I’m sure that Jooyoon guy doesn’t have a girlfriend, even though he looks like that.”

No comment, you people.

The brands of the drinks were varied, but perhaps because they were prepared after seeing us exercise, they were all sports drinks. Suddenly, Hyun Jaekyung came to mind. Wasn’t he a guy who was quick-witted and seemed to remember my every move better than I did? And yet, he had asked me anew what kind of drink I liked.

But why am I thinking as if… Hyun Jaekyung has to know everything about me?

Feeling awkward, I first shoved the drinks into my bag, and the sports headbands rolling around here and there in the club room caught my eye.

“But hyungs, you all seem… different from the beginning of the semester.”

“What does.”

“It feels like your attire is becoming more standardized. Did you hand out headbands to all the other hyungs too?”

“No?”

“Gijun hyung, didn’t you say only idol trainees wear headbands?”

“You got a problem with that?”

“Not really…”

The club president tapped my bag, and the drinks clinked against each other.

“You don’t know? The number of spectators on the basketball court has been increasing because of you. They kept asking where you were when you didn’t show up for a while.”

“What does that have to do with your clothes…”

“At first, we did a group order. We saw you wearing a headband and thought we’d look cool if we wore them too.”

“But, sir, that’s Jooyoon-.”

“…is what it was. And then, they all threw a fit, saying the drinks with the notes saying they were for the person wearing a headband were theirs, but in the end, they didn’t drink them and left them. Now, do you see how cool these hyungs are?”

“Do you know who gave the drinks?”

“The owner of cherry-like lips, about 158cm tall, with long wavy hair.”

“…is what he seems to be. He’s just imagining it.”

“Why, what. I can feel it from the handwriting. She’s probably super cute.”

“We’ve never seen her leaving them, so we thought she was a ghost.”

Well, it’s not the first time this has happened. I took care of what was bothering me first.

“If anyone asks who I am, please keep it a secret.”

“I want to say you’re full of yourself, but I’m pissed off. Who would I be doing a favor for by telling them?”

“We don’t know anything more about you other than that you’re in the sculpture department and your name.”

“…Thank you.”

I’m in the Metal Arts and Crafts department, though. If rumors were to spread, it would cause a major disruption in my daily life, so this is actually a good thing. I feel sorry for the girl who gave me the drinks, but I hope she stops at a reasonable point. I can’t just throw away what she gave me, so I’ll have to drink them gratefully.

❊

Perhaps because it was a daily routine that did not allow for wasting time, the days felt quite fulfilling lately. The roses, a specialty of the university, also burst into bloom one by one. They say it’s a season for youth to be joyful, but I still haven’t found my love.

My otaku love, that is.

I realized much later that Hyun Jaekyung’s injury had an effect on more things than I thought. That guy, besides being an attention seeker, was also a work-study student, so he was called to many places. Wasn’t he also scheduled to participate in all events at the University Sports Festival? When his classmates worried, Hyun Jaekyung declared heroically.

“It’s not broken, it’ll heal by the sports festival.”

“Without Hyun Jaekyung, I don’t think we’ll even pass the preliminaries.”

“Seongsu hyung and the sunbaes have a lot of good players too. Anyway, I’ll be back for the sports festival. Look forward to it at the MT.”

“Look at that passion.”

Right, the MT is also just around the corner. It’s not for the entire college, but just for our department, and since the number of people per year is small, it’s not even at the level of a school trip. Even then, the upperclassmen mostly don’t attend, and with the sports festival ahead, the schedule also included practice for those events.

Hyun Jaekyung, who is still walking around with a bandage a week after the hike, says he’s going to show off his skills there. I decided to be nice to him until he gets better, but it seems he’s planning to never get better.

When it was time for class and Professor Kang entered the classroom, the classmates who were gathered in a huddle scattered. Professor Kang had a smile on his face from the moment he entered and then looked at Hyun Jaekyung and me.

“Do you two like hiking?”

“…Yes?”

“I told you to go to Guunbong Peak, but you climbed Cheonhabong Peak, which is twice as high. I can’t give you extra points, but I will praise you, Cheonhabong Brothers.”

When I looked towards Hyun Jaekyung, the guy was waving to his classmates like an actor at an awards ceremony. Then, just as our eyes were about to meet, he averted his gaze.

You son of a bitch, are you kidding me…?

I tried to believe him, thinking of all sorts of things, but he was this kind of guy all along. I should have known, and there’s nothing to be newly disappointed about. In the first place, if Hyun Jaekyung hadn’t lied, if he hadn’t smoked, he wouldn’t have had to get hurt, but in the end, it was his own fault, and I had brainwashed myself into thinking I had benefited from it.

No, the more I thought about it, the angrier I got. Why did he tell a lie that was so obvious it would be found out? Am I that much of a pushover? Was it fun to watch me stupidly climb the mountain, sweating profusely? He even pulled out a cigarette just to annoy me.

Actually, it’s not that I didn’t suspect him at all. I believed him because it didn’t make sense from a common sense perspective for it to be a lie.

It seemed Hyun Jaekyung had no intention of making an excuse until I confronted him. The guy, who normally doesn’t even concentrate in class, was looking at his book so intently that it seemed he was about to enter the book itself. Then, as soon as class ended, this was what he said.

“What do I do? You already disliked me, and now you won’t even talk to me.”

Honestly, I was so dumbfounded I couldn’t answer. If I were in the same situation again, I would tell him to shut up first.

I tried to text Hyun Jaekyung but gave up. I felt like an idiot, and I couldn’t ask him directly because I was afraid I would just want to hit him if we were face to face.

…But what if he just believed Eunha noona’s information? What if Eunha noona just happened to say that on the last April Fool’s Day?

With that thought, I wanted to stop by the department office, but I saw Hyun Jaekyung through the ajar door and gave up. What if I ask and she says that never happened? Hyun Jaekyung is that kind of bastard, so there’s no need to confirm it. It’s tiring to be disappointed any further.

A moment ago, I was angry, thinking he brought it upon himself, but it’s true that he got hurt instead of me. Didn’t he not go to the clubs he frequented as if they were his own home because of his injury? He loves attention and exercise (including sex) so much, but he always misses not only his daily life but also sports festival practice.

And what if Hyun Jaekyung… was a little sincere when he said he would try to become friends with me?

Although, after spitting out those words, he immediately stood up and went to the bakery as if he was disgusted with himself.

Then, does Hyun Jaekyung like bread? He definitely likes cheesecake. Does he drink all kinds of alcohol well? He drank dongdongju well….

What was Hyun Jaekyung like at the welcome party? I should start a conversation with something Hyun Jaekyung likes and hear his story about his intentions. Wouldn’t it work if I tempted him by saying I’d buy him bread?

Thus, my tremendous effort not to hate that guy became a vain endeavor that afternoon.

“Hey, Hyun Jaekyung is flying!”

“As expected, it’s a huge difference with and without you.”

Hyun Jaekyung was playing footvolley with a bandage on one ankle, and whenever the ball came his way, he would do a windmill kick like a member of a traditional Korean music troupe. In the middle of it, he even seemed to get annoyed by the flapping, untied bandage and took it off and threw it away. It seems he has no intention of even pretending to be hurt anymore.

What the hell am I supposed to do with this bastard?