LCL 41

Let’s not worry about it. Judging by how he can’t do anything because he’s afraid of Lim Dae-han, he’s probably not much of a threat. I shook my head and turned to look at Lim Dae-han standing behind me.

Let’s go down now. Soon it will be the end of class time, so the convenience store will be packed. I was about to pretend nothing happened, but seeing him standing there blankly, I firmly closed my lips.

Lim Dae-han looked at me once, then at the direction Moon Ji-woo went up, alternating before meeting my eyes.

“I’ve never seen him before.”

Moon Ji-woo is a really strange person. He would appear suddenly and disappear like the wind. Not only his whereabouts but his personality was also hard to grasp.

It was the same now. If Lim Dae-han was beside me, why greet me, why act like he knows me…

Unlike me trying to brush it off as nothing, Lim Dae-han turned his head once more towards where Moon Ji-woo disappeared. It seems he’s concerned since it’s a face he’s seeing for the first time. He asked in a voice different from when we’re playfully bickering.

“Who is he?”

I had no proper response to his low, flat-toned question. Of course, there were clear words to explain Moon Ji-woo.

‘Oh, he’s the one threatening me right now. He seems to have somehow seen us being intimate. And now he’s seen us together again. That guy, he can’t say a word in front of you and only comes to harass me. He’ll probably follow me later when I’m alone and nag again.’

There was plenty of gossip to share, but realistically, I couldn’t say such things. If I did, I couldn’t even predict how Lim Dae-han would react.

I was more cautious because I remembered how he mercilessly threw punches at the jerk who bullied me in high school.

He probably wouldn’t throw punches now that we’re college students, but it’s only been three months since we graduated high school. We could enter bars with our ID cards, but we were still too young to be called adults.

I changed my mind. For now, let’s speak lightly, lightly. As if it’s nothing. I clicked my tongue as if it was no big deal.

“I met him by chance. He says he’s a senior in the Business Department.”

“By chance?”

“Just… the other day at the central library.”

“Central library?”

“Yeah.”

I tried to speak as nonchalantly as possible, but it didn’t seem to resonate with Lim Dae-han. He quietly looked once more at the path Moon Ji-woo had taken.

I pretended to be distracted while secretly observing. I scratched my philtrum with my index finger. Is he that concerned? Unnecessary worries followed.

Could it be… is Moon Ji-woo Lim Dae-han’s type? Moon Ji-woo didn’t say anything particularly strange to us, but Lim Dae-han standing still and tracing Moon Ji-woo’s trail with his eyes was a bit suspicious.

Honestly, just looking at his appearance, Moon Ji-woo wasn’t bad. He had a clean appearance, was taller than me, and was handsome.

“Why do you keep looking back?”

I asked Lim Dae-han, who kept glancing back. Lim Dae-han said it was nothing and started walking down the stairs. I followed him.

We walked down the stairs in silence. I was curious about what he was thinking, but I couldn’t ask. I didn’t want to show Lim Dae-han that I was concerned about Moon Ji-woo.

On the way to the snack bar, we met a classmate. It was the guy who said in the group chat that class would end soon and he’d come quickly. He was closer to me than to Lim Dae-han.

“Dong-hee!”

When I called his name, the classmate who was about to pass by quickly turned around startled. Thankfully, it wasn’t Park In-gong. If it had been Park In-gong, he would have surely made a fuss.

Why are you two together? Since when were you two so close? I could already imagine his sarcastic remarks without hearing them.

“Oh, Ki Young-hyun.”

The classmate who approached touched my shoulder and greeted me.

“It’s so damn hot today, isn’t it?”

He replaced the obvious greetings with talk about the weather. When I nodded, the classmate also slightly raised his hand to greet Lim Dae-han.

“Lim Dae-han, hi.”

It was a bit funny because I knew it was the kind of greeting guys give when they’re not close. Lim Dae-han acknowledged the greeting by slowly blinking his eyes. 

I wanted to tease him, asking if it would kill him to say a word, but I held back. Still, the atmosphere wasn’t awkward. The classmate changed his direction and followed me and Lim Dae-han.

“Where are you two going?”

“Downstairs. To the convenience store.”

“Oh- Let’s go together. I need to buy something to drink too.”

Since classes were still in session, there weren’t many people at the convenience store and the tables in front. Only a few students were scattered about, killing time before their classes. As soon as we entered the store, we dispersed.

I intended to buy drinks and snacks, but once in the store, I felt hungry. I picked up a roll of kimbap and a pear drink for a quick meal. The classmate who came with us was quietly looking at the drink refrigerator.

I wonder where Lim Dae-han is and what he’s doing. I craned my neck. A familiar voice came from nearby. Following the sound to the counter, I found Senior Seong-hong and Lim Dae-han standing with instant noodles. Lim Dae-han was tapping the bottom of a water bottle with his palm.

“What happened to your hand? Did someone bite you?”

“Ah, my lover did.”

“You’re living under someone’s thumb, I see.”

Lim Dae-han smiled silently and covered the back of his hand with the hand holding the water bottle.

“It’s better than pretending to be tough trying to gain the upper hand.”

“Are you talking about me? Huh? I didn’t know better back then, I was young.”

Looking at their posture as they chatted standing askew, it was hard to tell who was the senior and who was the junior.

“Ki Young-hyun.”

Lim Dae-han called me with a hand gesture from where I was standing at a distance. Only then did the senior turn his head, his face filling with welcome.

“Oh, Young-hyun.”

He was being unusually friendly today, when normally he wouldn’t care if I was there or not. Why is he acting like this? As a coward, I had a habit of being wary.

I approached awkwardly, unfamiliar with the situation. I gave an awkward greeting.

“Ah… Hello.”

As I dragged my heavy feet closer, Lim Dae-han snatched what I was holding and thrust it into the senior’s arms along with his share of water.

“This too.”

“Hey, you never come when I tell you to, but you’re always happy to mooch off your senior like this?”

“What do you mean ‘happy’, Sunbae?”

Lim Dae-han wasn’t having a conversation, he was extorting. He was blatant about it, probably because the other was his senior.

“I could pay for it myself…”

Even though I muttered to myself, Lim Dae-han just gave me a look. The senior quietly chewed out a curse, “Aish, sh-.” Still, he didn’t seem entirely displeased.

“Lim Dae-han, do you even have a conscience, really? Seriously think about it. Aren’t you just a straight-up thug?”

Senior Seong-hong kept nagging, but he somehow seemed happy.

Lim Dae-han had always gotten along better with older people than his peers. Teachers also secretly liked Lim Dae-han, and the nutritionists and meal helpers would welcome him with open arms whenever he appeared.

But it was a bit unexpected that it worked on male seniors too. My brother… come to think of it, he didn’t seem to dislike Lim Dae-han that much either.

I quietly watched Lim Dae-han teasing Senior Seong-hong by bringing chewing candy to the counter, asking if he should buy it or not. While the senior was holding out his card, the classmate who had been quietly choosing at the drink refrigerator also approached the counter. He was holding a jar-shaped strawberry milk.

“Hello, Sunbae.”

“You too. Put it out. I’ll pay for it.”

The senior ended up paying for the strawberry milk too. We each came out carrying what we had chosen. When we said, “Thank you for the meal,” the senior waved his hand half-heartedly. He came back after pouring hot water into his noodles. We gathered at the round table in front of the snack bar.

Having at least some conscience about getting free snacks, we sat at a four-person table. Lim Dae-han needlessly picked on the senior.

“Are you trying to hang out with freshmen?”

“Hey, I bought it for you, do I need permission to sit too?”

The senior grumbled unnecessarily and stuck the half-opened wooden chopsticks into the cup noodle opening. I barely managed to peel off one layer of the kimbap wrapper and just rolled my eyes.

“Why is college life so overwhelming? I work my butt off, but the juniors don’t even try to get close to me.”

“How can they get close when you’re always so uptight?”

“Am I uptight? Am I? If I did, would you be able to do this, huh? When the senior students come for the festival this time…”

The senior shook his head. Then, even though it hadn’t been long since he poured water, he pulled out the chopsticks he had fixed and stirred the noodles. The chopsticks, now stained red, returned to their original place, still far from being cooked.

I opened my kimbap without saying anything. While I was nodding my head to show some courtesy, Lim Dae-han opened the can tab of my drink.

‘Thanks.’

I mouthed. Lim Dae-han just shrugged, and Senior Seong-hong, oblivious to our eye conversation, continued with his own words.

“You know the festival is coming up soon, right? Dong-hee, you’re on the executive committee so you must know.”

“Yes.”

“I don’t usually say this, but I’d like Young-hyun and Lim Dae-han to attend all three days of the pub. That is the bribe.”

The senior pointed with his chin at the kimbap in front of me. The way he smiled, revealing his teeth, was like a beast. I’ve never seen such a cheap bribe.

When I hesitated to answer, the senior changed his approach. He was now almost begging, a far cry from when he was boldly mentioning bribes earlier.

“Guys, I’m not asking for much from you. Just having good-looking guys like you in the pub will attract more girls. Then the pub atmosphere improves too. Huh? That’s how it goes, you know.”

“You’re asking for a lot. To join the executive committee, the student council, to come to the MT. That’s why I even joined the department club.”

Lim Dae-han always had to talk back even when he could have just said, “Yes, that’s right, sunbae.” In a way, he seemed to be enjoying it. Senior Seong-hong immediately reacted to his backtalk. He glared right away.

“Don’t talk back, you little punk.”

Senior Seong-hong acted quite senior-like, but Lim Dae-han didn’t even pretend to listen. I chewed on my kimbap with one cheek bulging out.

I bit into the kimbap, moving my lips. Lim Dae-han left his share of water untouched and drank the pear drink. I decided to let it slide since Lim Dae-han had opened it for me anyway. After swallowing all the kimbap in my mouth, I asked the senior.

“Don’t the others do all three days?”

“Usually they do two days, or just one day if they really can’t. Honestly, I only ask the current students, I can’t ask the older ones. Do you guys have part-time jobs? I know Lim Dae-han doesn’t.”

“I don’t either.”

“Then, please? Help me out just once.”

I’ve seen the senior beg Lim Dae-han many times. But it was the first time I’d seen him do this to me too, so it was awkward. A university festival. I hadn’t thought about how to spend my first university festival yet, but honestly, working all three days seemed a bit disappointing. One or two days would be fine.

Hmm- I let out a sigh of perplexity. Meanwhile, the senior stirred the now-cooked noodles. He focused on eating in earnest.

He seemed to be trying his luck without much expectation. But an unexpected response came. Lim Dae-han, who had been sitting quietly with his arms crossed, nodded his head.

“I’ll do it.”

My eyes, Senior Seong-hong’s eyes, and my classmate’s eyes all turned to Lim Dae-han. The senior stared blankly at Lim Dae-han, not even breaking off his noodles, then grabbed his throat.

“Cough…!!”

He choked and spat out the noodles he was eating.

“Cough, cough, cough, water, water!”

Ignoring our senior’s painful groan, Lim Dae-han and I exchanged silent glances. I was just as flustered. Three days? Staying at the pub for three whole days?

The senior let out a scream.

“Ah, someone give me water!”