COAC 39

“Is this some kind of high-level humblebrag? No, Hyeonjun isn’t like that. I really don’t want to go this far, but just grab anyone off the street and ask who looks the most haggard among the three of us. If you ask ten people, all ten will pick me. But I’m really being treated unfairly.”

“Why are you exaggerating so much? Are you still not sober? You’re being extra dramatic today.”

He gave a perfunctory reply and took a spoonful of the bean sprout soup. The hot and spicy broth soothed his churning stomach. Kim Chayeon, sitting across from him, also tasted the hangover soup. In front of the steaming bowl, Kim Chayeon looked comfortable. It was an expression he never saw in that house.

“It’s just that I’m relatively overshadowed because I hang out with you two, but I’m pretty popular myself. I even got a girl’s number at a group blind date the other day…”

“Hey, hey. Seo Jeong. Hurry up and eat your hangover soup. You know we have three consecutive hours of class today, right? Don’t regret it later, save up your energy.”

Before Seo Jeong could finish his sentence, Do Hyeonjun hastily cut him off.

Seo Jeong went on a group blind date? When? While he was taken aback by this news he was hearing for the first time, he couldn’t help but be more concerned about Kim Chayeon. Wouldn’t he freak out, or be shocked… what if he got hurt? He worried about all sorts of things internally as he observed Kim Chayeon’s reaction. Contrary to his expectation that he would be greatly surprised, he was surprisingly calm.

“Jeong, you’re going to drink coffee, right? Don’t have it on an empty stomach, fill up first.”

Did he not hear what Seo Jeong said? Was he deliberately ignoring it? Or maybe, he just couldn’t bring himself to react sharply to Seo Jeong. Yes. That’s the most likely possibility. Reaching the most plausible conclusion, he finished the rest of the still-warm bean sprout soup.

“Did I say anything crazy? I drank faster than usual, so I don’t remember much.”

“You just slept quietly.”

“Really? But why did you two drink so much? Both you, Hyeonjun, and Chayeon usually stop at a reasonable point. I was so surprised when I saw the empty bottles earlier. At first, I seriously thought you’d just poured it down the drain.”

“I have my meeting soon too. I was worried, so I ended up drinking sip after sip. Oh, but. Have you started the New Media assignment? New Media is tougher than the class you bombed because of your assignment.”

New Media and Narrative. The class, shortened to ‘New Media,’ was a core lecture that made every third-year in the Broadcasting and Video department nervous. This class graded students solely on assignments without any written exams, and the professor in charge warned from the very first class, ‘If you can’t handle this class, you won’t be able to handle your graduation project next year either.’

Do Hyeonjun himself had just barely gotten his project plan approved after going through weekly presentations and feedback. Now that he thought of it, he should contact the friend who was supposed to help with the assignment. He pressed the call button and waited for a moment before the other person answered.

“Jo Seowon. It’s me. How have you been? I haven’t heard from you lately, so I called. It’s nothing, just about the assignment I mentioned before… Huh? What?”

The longer the call went on, the darker Do Hyeonjun’s expression became. By the time it ended, it was so serious that Seo Jeong, who had finished eating and was playing a game on his phone, asked what was wrong.

“The guy who was supposed to help with the New Media assignment suddenly took a leave of absence. It was a one-sided favor I asked, so I can’t even be mad.”

“What the heck. Why is he telling you now? It would have been a disaster if you hadn’t asked. Is there anyone else who can help?”

“Midterms are just around the corner.”

He had barely managed to get Jo Seowon, the person who was originally supposed to help, to agree. Would he be able to find a replacement when midterms were approaching? It wasn’t an easy assignment either.

“I need to make an object. I have to film it starting out intact and then smashing it at the end. So I can’t use a store-bought prop.”

“That professor includes the props in the grade, too. It would be a bit much to change the plan itself, right? It would mean starting over from scratch.”

“First, I’ll look for someone else, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll have to make it myself.”

He had a feeling this was going to be a difficult road.

The ominous premonition finally became a reality. He asked not only his department classmates but also people in his club to find someone who could create the object, but he had no luck.

As time passed, his anxiety only grew. It was a project plan that the strict professor had rarely praised, so he wanted to proceed with it somehow, but did he have to give up like this? He ran grade simulations for the case where he made the object himself and the case where he changed the plan. Either way, it was a struggle.

“Anyone would think you messed up an important assignment or something. Why are you sighing like that?”

Hearing the familiar yet unfamiliar voice, Do Hyeonjun looked up. A man with light brown hair was smiling as he looked down at him.

“Uh, Lee… Dojin sunbae-nim?”

“Wrong. So close. It’s Lee Dojae.”

“I’m sorry.”

“If you’re sorry, give me a chance to buy you a meal.”

Lee Dojae sat down in the seat next to him with a smile, acting naturally. He had unconsciously come to the art college building to avoid running into Kim Chayeon, only to run into someone else. This is why a person’s subconscious is so scary.

“Shouldn’t it be me offering to buy you a meal?”

“Hey now. Can a sunbae let a young junior like you buy him a meal? Mr. Hyeonjun is the same age as my second-youngest brother. Though their looks are worlds apart. I can’t dare compare my second-youngest brother to a handsome man like you, Mr. Hyeonjun.”

It was an embarrassing compliment. Do Hyeonjun lowered his eyebrows, smiled, and shook his head.

“You’re too kind.”

“Not at all. He’s a total farmhand. He’s coming out for his 100-day leave soon, so you’ll see then. You’ll see if I’m right or wrong.”

“Didn’t Somi mistake me for your brother?”

“That was at dawn, so our Somi saw wrong. Even dogs step on their own tails sometimes. No matter how smart our Somi is, he makes mistakes. The conclusion is, Mr. Hyeonjun is a handsome man, and my second-youngest is a bandit.”

Hearing his playful tone, it seemed he was quite close with his brother who had enlisted. Come to think of it, including himself, Kim Chayeon, and Seo Jeong were all only children. What would it be like to have siblings? Would they be able to give advice on a daunting assignment like this? The thought of the assignment made his vision go dark again, and a sigh escaped him.

“Is something really wrong? Our Somi would be really worried if he saw you with such a serious expression. Tell me what’s wrong. Who knows? Maybe it’s something I can solve.”

It wasn’t something he needed to hide, so he explained the situation as it was.

“I think I can do that.”

Then Lee Dojae, who had been listening quietly, actually offered a solution.

“I’ll make it for you. The object.”

“What? No, really?”

The conversation, which had started as a complaint, took a sharp turn. Lee Dojae asked if he didn’t know what his major was, wearing a confident expression. What was Lee Dojae’s major again? He felt like he’d heard it, but he couldn’t quite recall. Noticing his expression, Lee Dojae scratched his eyebrow.

“Mr. Hyeonjun, you seem to be the type to not remember things you’re not interested in. I’m in the sculpture department. I’m someone who carves and molds materials to give them form. Isn’t that what you need most right now?”

“That’s true, but… did I tell you the theme of my assignment?”

“The collapse of emotion, you said. Smashing a completed sculpture to bits.”

Lee Dojae laughed out loud, saying, “Smash.”

“Would that be okay? I mean, Dojae sunbae-nim’s work would be completely destroyed.”

He had already gotten permission from Jo Seowon for that part. It was because he owed him for doing most of the group project by himself last year in an elective class when he had fractured his leg.

But the real problem was Lee Dojae. He would surely not be pleased about his work being destroyed.

“Sometimes I break my own work in the middle of a project if I don’t like it. Ah, don’t worry, I’ll of course make Mr. Hyeonjun’s piece properly.”

Lee Dojae pushed back against Do Hyeonjun’s refusal, insisting he would repay the favor for playing with his Somi.

“Still, if you really feel bad, then you can do me a favor too, Mr. Hyeonjun. For the record, I’m not talking about the chance to buy you a meal. That’s separate.”

He ended up talking with Lee Dojae about the assignment for quite a while, so he was a little late for class. It was an elective that Kim Chayeon, Seo Jeong, and he were all taking together. Just as he arrived at the classroom, his eyes met Kim Chayeon’s. How did he know he was here? His efforts to enter quietly had been in vain. Subsequently, Seo Jeong, who had spotted him, patted the empty seat next to him. But at the same time, the professor came in, so Do Hyeonjun couldn’t move and sat in the back.

[Seo Jeong]

[I saved you a seat ㅠㅠ]

1:03 PM

[The professor came in]

[Look forward. You’ll get caught.]

1:04 PM

In truth, he could have squeezed in there somehow if he wanted to. He just didn’t want to.

It was because Kim Chayeon’s words, ‘break the imprinting,’ were still stuck in his chest and wouldn’t go down. It was even more miserable because he could feel, however small, a trace of concern for him in that resolute tone. How great it would be if he could break the imprinting right now. For both himself and Kim Chayeon.

Perhaps because of all the worrying lately, his head was throbbing. He couldn’t even remember the last time his condition was good.

His headache worsened as he watched the two of them, forcing himself to cram in the lecture content that wasn’t really sinking in.

All of Kim Chayeon’s kindness, which had once seemed to shine, now became sharp shards of glass, stabbing him in the chest.

He lowered his gaze from their backs and wrote in the group chat that something important had come up and he couldn’t have dinner with them tonight.

At the same time he pressed the send button, Kim Chayeon checked his phone. Having read the message, he tilted his head.

It was an angle where their eyes could have met, so Do Hyeonjun pretended to be taking notes.