EAR Ch 8

In one corner of the classroom, a voice that had been murmuring since morning was clear.

“Didn’t he come?”

Right after the first class ended, Seungpyo barged into another classroom, demanding where Ryu Jaemin was, his voice fierce like frost. The strength drained from Seungpyo’s voice when the students in Class 2 nodded in response to his counter-question.

“Why didn’t he come? Is he coming late today too?”

“We don’t know.”

The atmosphere among the students was also somewhat awkward. They had only recently started to get close to Ryu Jaemin through playing basketball together, and they realized they hadn’t heard anything personal about him at all.

Seungpyo didn’t get a wink of sleep. The impact of the eye assault he had endured in the resource room was that strong. Back at home, Seungpyo tried everything to erase the lingering image of that perverted guy from his mind and retina.

He did a hundred push-ups and ran outside for thirty minutes in the winter cold. Even after exhausting his body to the point of sweating, Jaemin’s face wouldn’t disappear. Thinking exercise wasn’t the answer, he searched online for meditation techniques to clear his mind and tried them out.

He found a coloring book his brother had bought long ago for some reason and never opened, and tried coloring like he did when he was a kid. Using the half-peeled crayons he couldn’t even remember buying, Seungpyo colored for a bit but gave up after less than five minutes, throwing everything away in frustration.

Even though his eyes were looking at the pictures in the book, his mind kept seeing Ryu Jaemin’s face, grimacing while panting heavily, and instead of clearing his mind, his thoughts overflowed, making it unbearable. At one point, he even put his head in the freezer to cool down, only to be kicked in the thigh by his brother for using up too much electricity, grumbling as he returned to his room to lie on the bed.

There was no solution.

He had no choice but to meet the guy tomorrow and vent his frustration by cursing him out. How dare that madman perform such perverted acts without permission? Here’s a problem: What’s the difference between a flasher who suddenly strips in the street and Ryu Jaemin? Answer: There is no difference.

Oh Seungpyo had never imagined he’d be on the receiving end of a pervert’s antics, and this realization made his head boil with humiliation. It was true that he had provoked first by daring Jaemin to masturbate in front of him, but how long ago was that? Past is past, present is present, why bring up old words to justify his perverted actions now?

Grinding his teeth since morning, planning to half-kill Ryu Jaemin, Seungpyo stormed into Class 2’s room right after the first period. But the news he encountered was the same as yesterday: Ryu Jaemin hadn’t shown up by the end of the first class.

“But why? You were looking for Ryu Jaemin since this morning yesterday too.”

To a student’s question, Seungpyo answered dismissively without relaxing his furrowed brows.

“I have something to get from him.”

“Did you lend him something?”

“Something like that.”

Seungpyo made up an excuse and left the classroom. As he trudged down the hallway, he met the Class 2 homeroom teacher coming from the opposite direction.

‘Should I ask?’

To find out what was going on with Ryu Jaemin and why he kept missing the first period, asking the homeroom teacher would be the quickest and most accurate way.

But the idea of asking another class’s homeroom teacher about someone’s private life didn’t sit well with him. There was a time when Ryu Jaemin was just a name on the exam scoreboards, and now, here he was, wanting to know why he was missing the first class.

Maybe he would come to school from the second period like yesterday. Even if something happened today, he would probably come tomorrow, and the impatience of not being able to wait that time wasn’t pleasant.

“Oh, Seungpyo.”

Before he could sort through his jumbled thoughts, the Class 2 homeroom teacher called out to him first. Seungpyo, who had only planned to give a nod and pass by, responded as if he hadn’t thought about anything.

“Yes?”

“It’s good that I ran into you. I had something to ask you.”

“Me? What is it?”

“Do you know Ryu Jaemin from our class? Do you have something lost to get from him?”

Seungpyo blinked without answering immediately.

How did the Class 2 homeroom teacher know about that? Ryu Jaemin had told him just yesterday that he lost his phone and couldn’t return it. To suddenly hear this private matter from another class’s teacher, Seungpyo couldn’t fathom how things were unfolding.

Seungpyo hesitated for a moment about what to say but then nodded. The teacher asked again to confirm.

“A phone?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Alright, that’s confirmed. Jaemin called from home. I’ll get it and pass it through your homeroom teacher.”

He said he lost it, but now he’s going to give it to the teacher?

Seungpyo was completely confused. He urgently called out to the teacher who was about to go back into the classroom after finishing his business.

“Teacher.”

“Hmm?”

“Is Ryu Jaemin not coming to school today?”

“Oh, Jaemin decided not to attend the supplementary classes from today.”

“What?”

Seungpyo’s eyes widened at the teacher’s response which surpassed his expectations. The teacher continued in a nonchalant manner as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“He wants to study at home until the new semester starts. It would be better if he attended with everyone, but if he has something he wants to study, there’s nothing we can do about it.”

It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence. While the school recommended attending supplementary classes during the holidays, it was only advice, so some students did skip them. Since it didn’t affect attendance for regular classes, many students who ranked high in the school preferred to attend special holiday classes or private tutoring at famous academies instead of school supplementary classes.

Teachers tried to secure as many participants for supplementary classes as possible, but since they couldn’t force attendance, if a student or parent strongly insisted, they would back down without further pushing.

“They can also drop out in the middle like this?”

“Well, if there’s a reason, it can happen.”

Seungpyo’s tone became curt, and the Class 2 homeroom teacher looked at him curiously.

“Do you have some issue with Jaemin? Is it because of the basketball match?”

“No, that was days ago.”

It had been two days since the match ended. Seungpyo bowed and left before the teacher could say more. He walked briskly down the hallway without a clear destination, eventually stopping in front of the resource room door.

If everyone knew what Ryu Jaemin did in this small room where old study materials lay quietly, it would turn the whole school upside down.

‘This bastard, to the end.’

When he was acting like a madman and flaunting his genitals in front of him, now that he thought about it, he must have felt embarrassed. But to skip school and run away, that was something only a real coward would do. Seungpyo was also aware that he wasn’t acting like his usual self because of this cowardly guy.

With a sullen expression, Seungpyo returned to his classroom and looked for one of the guys he often hung out with. He wanted to talk quietly via message, but he didn’t have a phone to use at the moment.

“You said you go to the same academy as Ryu Jaemin, right?”

“Vacation special classes? Yeah, we take the same class.”

“Did he come yesterday?”

“How would I know that? How can I remember?”

Why wouldn’t he remember that? Isn’t that guy exceptionally noticeable? Seungpyo refrained from shouting and kept silent. The classmate asked back with curiosity.

“Are you going to start attending an academy too? You never go to academies.”

“Now that we’re moving up to second year, my brother says I should go if there’s a good place.”

“If you’re going to sign up, want to go together today?”

At that, Seungpyo coughed and looked away, regaining some composure despite his earlier impatience.

“There’s no need to rush.”

“Then forget it.”

The classmate quickly lost interest and returned his attention to his phone game. Seungpyo quickly grabbed his shoulder.

“Shouldn’t we go before the vacation ends?”

“Right? It’s a special class, after all.”

They made an appointment to go to the academy together after school, and Seungpyo returned to his seat.

The last time Seungpyo had gone to an academy was when he was little, for fun with friends, or because, like most kids, he found it hard to stay at home alone after school. Those academies were supplementary schools, taekwondo studios, or art classes. 

When his friends from the neighborhood, who used to hang out in groups of three or five, began to leave taekwondo or small tutoring centers to register for prep academies for college entrance exams, Seungpyo chose to spend his time at home or play games or basketball with friends who had more freedom. He thought studying was something he could cram for without needing to spend time at an academy, and his grades were good enough when he did.

That was before he met Ryu Jaemin, though.

“You’re going to Osung Academy?”

“You’re going to an academy now? It really feels like we’re moving up to sophomore year.”

Some students, knowing that Seungpyo had relied solely on his natural smarts, looked at him with a distant, nostalgic expression like old men reminiscing about the passage of time. Seungpyo replied awkwardly,

“I’m just giving it a try.”

He wasn’t interested in the academy classes. He was only going because he had some scores to settle with the disgraceful guy who did something unforgivable and then hid away.

‘If I knew this would happen, I wouldn’t have needed to apologize first.’

Now, it was Seungpyo’s turn to receive an apology from the pervert. Although he felt like slapping him, he decided to avoid physical violence since the situation was complex. He was also curious about how the supposedly lost phone ended up with the teacher.

In any case, Seungpyo’s goal was to clean up this messy connection before entering his second year, returning to the way things were at the start of their freshman year when they only recognized each other’s existence as names on the grade posters.

The ‘academy’ he visited after years was nothing like the neighborhood study rooms or various art and sports classes he remembered from his childhood. 

Unlike the places in his memory that were more like playrooms than academies, the atmosphere here was serious from the moment you entered. There was a counter staff managing consultations and attendance at the entrance, and his friend stood there with his phone on.

“Why the phone?”

“You need to check in with the app.”

Seungpyo clicked his tongue inwardly. Unlike school, even the hallway here was quiet. Seungpyo whispered to his friend,

“You can’t even attend if you don’t have a phone.”

“You can check in with an attendance card.”

It was thorough. He couldn’t even use the excuse of losing his phone to skip. While Seungpyo was looking around, his friend explained to the counter staff that Seungpyo was there to register for the vacation special class. The staff guided them through the curriculum, and Seungpyo explained his situation.

“I don’t have a phone right now. I’ll use a card for attendance until I get a new one.”

“That’s fine.”

Seungpyo quickly filled out the simple personal information on the form given by the counter staff and then looked around busily, clearly searching for someone.

“What are you looking for?”

“Nothing. Can we go in now?”

“Yeah.”

They entered the classroom. Unlike a school classroom, the seats in this large lecture room were densely arranged. His friend placed his bag on an empty desk and said,

“You can just sit wherever there’s an empty seat.”

Seungpyo, like his friend, placed his bag on an empty desk and kept looking around. The seats were mostly taken, but there was no sign of Ryu Jaemin.

Among the students in the classroom, some had already started self-study, while others were quietly chatting. Seungpyo felt a bit out of place in this atmosphere.

“I’m going to the bathroom for a bit.”

“Okay.”

He stood up. He thought it would be somewhat similar to school, but since it was a place where only students focused on studying gathered, both the classroom and the hallway were oppressively quiet. Seungpyo, who usually walked confidently, found himself stepping softly.

He silently searched the corridor and other areas, wondering if Ryu Jaemin might be there, and accidentally passed by the closed instructor’s waiting room. Voices came from inside.

“He’s not coming from today.”

“Does he have a problem with our class? He was the top student of the first year at Ilyang.”

Seungpyo stopped abruptly at the concerned tone. Sadly, there was only one person who could be described as the top student of the first year at Ilyang Boys’ High School.

…Could he not be coming to the academy either?

“That’s what they say, but I’m not sure. It doesn’t seem like he would say he’s not coming, and parents can be quite varied.”

“It’s worrying. He was doing well here.”

“Should we have reported it when he was late for self-study a few times? But self-study isn’t even a class…”

Seungpyo listened carefully, but there was no more mention of Ryu Jaemin. Sensing that people were about to come out, he quickly moved away.

The bathroom was just an excuse; he had left the classroom to look around, and his feet had led him back to the entrance with the counter.

For some inexplicable reason, his heart was pounding, and he wanted to leave this place. As he stepped into the lobby and neared the elevators, the doors opened, and a student in another school’s uniform stepped out. His eyes widened upon seeing Seungpyo.

“Oh Seungpyo?”

“Kang Jiseon.”

“You attend here? It’s been ages.”

The student who got off the elevator was Seungpyo’s middle school classmate. Kang Jiseon had always been the second in their class, somewhat akin to Seungpyo’s current position.

There was one significant difference, though. Unlike Seungpyo and Ryu Jaemin, who would scowl at each other upon meeting, Jiseon and Seungpyo had been quite friendly during middle school. In front of the vending machine next to the elevator, they picked up drinks and caught up for the first time in a long while.

“You never showed interest in academies or tutoring before. Did your grades drop in high school?”

“…Did yours?”

“At first, they did, but now I’m just maintaining them.”

Jiseon took a few gulps of her drink before asking,

“Have you been in touch with Suhyun?”

“Jeong Suhyun? I heard she’s not going to school regularly these days. She always said she’d be a singer, so maybe she’s really going to be an idol. But why are you asking me about her?”

Jeong Suhyun and Kang Jiseon lived in the same apartment complex and had attended the same school from elementary through middle school—they were childhood friends. Naturally, they were very close. Their paths diverged when they entered high school; Jiseon went to a prestigious girls’ high school known for college entrance exams, and Suhyun became an idol trainee at an entertainment agency right after uploading a group dance cover video with her high school friends which went viral.

Even though they were in different schools, Seungpyo thought they would still be close, so it was odd that Jiseon was asking him about Suhyun. As Jiseon threw away her drink can, she replied,

“I haven’t been able to meet her much lately; she’s been busy. We don’t talk much either.”

“I haven’t been in touch with her for a while either.”

They wanted to talk more, but then a door opened, and one of the academy instructors peeked out, giving them a stern look.

“Class is starting. Get back in.”

“Yes.”

You can’t even talk freely here. Seungpyo went back into the academy. Jiseon was there to attend a different subject class, so they had different lecture rooms.

“Take care.”

“You too.”

Seungpyo returned to the classroom. He gave a vague answer to his friend who asked where he had been and sat down, scanning the room, but Jaemin was nowhere to be seen. The ‘top student’ the instructors were talking about must have been Ryu Jaemin.

‘If I knew this would happen, I wouldn’t have registered.’

Now he was stuck attending the academy until the start of his second year. Since he had registered today, maybe they would allow cancellation and refund if he spoke to them immediately, but he had already asked his brother to withdraw money from their living expenses account for the academy fee, promising he would study hard. If it was known that he canceled the registration the very next day, his brother might tell their dad.

Nothing was going his way. Today, everything felt frustrating for Seungpyo. He couldn’t find Ryu Jaemin, who he needed to confront about yesterday’s events; there was clearly something going on that he didn’t know about, but he had no one to ask; he couldn’t cancel his hasty academy registration, and he couldn’t have a long conversation with his middle school friend whom he met after a long time.

Since things had come to this, he decided to seriously listen to the classes Ryu Jaemin attended, supposedly to skim through famous instructors’ lectures. But as he watched the young instructor delivering an eloquent lesson, Seungpyo ended up with a completely different thought.

Ah, I want to grow up quickly.

📚

The next day, Seungpyo visited the teachers’ room because he was called by his homeroom teacher. The teacher opened a desk drawer and pulled out an item, handing it to Seungpyo.

“Is this yours?”

“…Yes.”

The phone was neatly placed inside a transparent zippered bag as if it were evidence of a crime. It was an absurd packaging. Seungpyo looked at it with a dumbfounded expression, and the homeroom teacher explained awkwardly.

“I didn’t put it in there; it was like that when I received it.”

“Okay.”

“Go on.”

Seungpyo slightly bowed in greeting and left the teachers’ room. He removed the ridiculous zippered bag and checked the condition of his phone, which he hadn’t seen in a while. It was in perfect condition, with no scratches or damage.

The battery must have been charged because the screen lit up as soon as he pressed the power button. He was greeted by a photo of the distant Pacific Ocean, which he hadn’t seen in a long time. While standing in the hallway looking at the screen, some passing students rushed up to him.

“Oh Seungpyo! Did you finally buy a new phone?”

“Huh, no? This is the one I was using before.”

Seungpyo replied expressionlessly.

“I found it.”

“How?”

“Someone who picked it up returned it.”

“Wow, just now? They could have returned it sooner.”

That’s what I’m saying. Seungpyo retorted to himself while stuffing the phone into his pocket. One student suggested, with a somewhat sharp look, that the person who found it might have tried to sell it secretly but didn’t succeed, so they returned it.

Back in the classroom, sitting at his desk, Seungpyo took out his phone again. He checked the messaging app where hundreds of unread messages had accumulated, opened the internet app for a bit, and then tapped on the gallery. As he quickly scrolled through the album, which had stopped a week ago, he stumbled upon a photo he had taken and forgotten about. His thumb, which had been moving swiftly, stopped abruptly on that picture.

Come to think of it, he had taken this.

It was a photo he had secretly kept to fuel his motivation to study by looking at the face of that annoying guy. After seeing all sorts of unpleasant things, the only thing left in Seungpyo’s hand was a side profile of Ryu Jaemin, looking off into the distance.

Staring at the emotionless face on the screen, Seungpyo put down the phone with a sour expression. His feelings of frustration, which had been bottled up since yesterday, showed no signs of relief. Looking out the window, he saw a few pine trees, but otherwise, the bare trees and the dry sports field made the scene even more desolate. His already stifling mood turned bleak.

The supplementary classes wouldn’t last much longer. After spending the remaining vacation time, March would come, and both Seungpyo and his friends would be sophomores.

Could he beat Ryu Jaemin next year?

Seungpyo asked himself, slightly furrowing his brows and resting his chin on his hand. His mood was getting stranger. The more he thought about how much he disliked him, the more he found himself thinking about him.

Why like this,

“Everyone, sit down quickly!”

I miss him.

The noisy sound of students rushing to their seats scattered his incomplete thought. As the teacher raised his voice, telling everyone to hurry up and get their books out, Seungpyo straightened up from almost slumping over his desk. He was already bored.