LCL 54

“You two will break up soon.”

It was like a bolt from out of the blue.

“What?”

I immediately questioned her unexpected statement.

“This is a card of separation or suffering.”

“Isn’t that…holding a sword?”

Isn’t a sword supposed to represent strength? Like a strong pioneer forging ahead.

Whoever pulls this sword shall be king,’ that kind of thing. Why does it mean separation for me?

“Take a look at the weather on the card. Is it sunny?”

“No…”

“Is this person smiling brightly?”

“Not really…”

“If this had come up in the past, it would be fine. If the order was reversed, it would mean you overcame past trials and are doing well now and will continue to do so in the future. But somehow the order ended up like this…Are you experiencing a rut in your life at the moment?”

I didn’t expect her to ask so directly.

“Are you really in a rut?”

I waved my hand at my classmates who asked in surprise.

“No, no. I’m experiencing no such thing We’re getting along well…”

“Then maybe your partner is in a rut.”

“…”

I shouldn’t have come here. I didn’t hear a single good thing and came out. Getting my fortune read was just a waste of money. As soon as we came out, I grumbled needlessly. As if wanting for everyone in line to hear.

“I don’t think this place suits me well.”

“It suited me fine. They said I could date this year.”

“…I don’t think I’ll be able to date.”

“Wow, are you putting everything down just because the fortune teller said you’re in a rut?”

We bickered as we walked through campus. Even though we were arguing, it looked like the whole school was excited about the festival.

There was the smell of delicious food along with unobtrusive music. We bought chicken skewers from a food truck that was there. My mood wasn’t great, but the chicken skewers were delicious.

After filling our stomachs moderately, we headed to the department pub.

The large field right next to the main gate already had all the tents set up. They were proper food cart tents. The area was divided by college, and the School of Business was right next to the main stage.

The Economics Department pub was located at the very center of the Business School area. There were also outdoor tables prepared, so there were quite a few seats available. I lifted the tent flap and went inside.

“Hello~”

The seniors who had finished preparing were sitting on chairs that had been casually pulled out. Classmates in the executive committee and student council greeted us warmly. In fact, they seemed to welcome the drinks we bought from the convenience store more than us.

“Hey, why did you buy this stuff?”

“We bought it for the seniors.”

“Hahaha. Quit joking.”

It wasn’t a joke. When I put on a serious face, pretending to be sincere, I got a playful punch on the shoulder. I wonder if it was okay to get hit this hard just for a little joke.

“Ow, that hurts.”

I rubbed my arm, exaggerating the pain. I put the drinks down on the table. The chairs and tables were all prepared, but I couldn’t see where the cooking was being done.

“Where do you cook?”

“Back there. We cook outside. It’s cramped enough as it is, plus there’s the smell and smoke.”

“Ah, I see…”

I looked around, pretending to search for the kitchen. Lim Dae-han wasn’t inside the pub. He wasn’t at the outdoor tables either.

Pretending not to care, I rolled my eyes around. Where on earth is Lim Dae-han?

“Young-hyun. Sit down, sit down.”

A senior pulled out a chair with their foot. They were clearly different from the awkward freshmen who were experiencing the festival for the first time. Unlike my classmates who were all dressed up, regardless of gender, the seniors were all dressed casually, even more so than usual.

Even after sitting down, I kept looking around. Did Lim Dae-han go on an errand? The senior I had been somewhat friendly with asked, “What have you been up to, Young-hyun? You don’t have classes today, right?”

“We just got tarot reading done at the central plaza.”

“Really? There’s a tarot booth?”

“It’s the club Hee-jung is in. Was it the black magic club or something?”

My friend, who had gone to get his tarot cards read with me, had been saying it was accurate, but now he was throwing out disinformation. My classmate got worked up and raised their voice.

“Geez, what black magic? I told you it’s the film club.”

“The film club does tarot readings? Isn’t it a club for making films?”

The senior asked back, seemingly puzzled. My classmate tried to change the subject.

“No…It’s a club that mainly watches cult films. The members are a bit…unique.”

“So what did your tarot reading say?”

The senior asked in a tone that made it unclear whether they were really interested or not. My classmate boasted as if they were a tarot reader themselves.

“They specialize in love readings there, so they only do love readings. It’s the most popular daytime booth. We waited in line for 30 minutes to get in.”

“I think it was accurate for me. They said I’ll definitely date within this year.”

“…I don’t think it matched well for me.”

I quietly raised an objection from the side. My classmate glared at me, and I immediately turned my head away. I didn’t believe in things like tarot readings anyway.

Originally, life was what you chose for yourself. My classmate, seeming displeased, stuck out their thumb and pointed at me.

“Ki Young-hyun is just like this because the fortune teller said he’d break up with his girlfriend.”

“What? No, I’m not…”

“Why, why? Why did they say Young-hyun would break up?”

“They said Ki Young-hyun is in a rut currently.”

“What? Young-hyun is in a rut?!”

Because they raised their voice unnecessarily, even the attention of the department members who were each having their own conversations turned to us. 

“No, I’m not! What rut?!”

No matter how the cards explained it, why insist that when I already said that wasn’t the case? I waved my hands vigorously and put on a thoroughly wronged expression. And when I lifted my head…

“Ki Young-hyun, are you really in a rut?”

Lim Dae-han, with the most surprised face among all of us, lifted the back tent flap and entered.

Ah…so he was in the kitchen all along.

I wasn’t in a rut. This much I could be certain of. Even now, seeing Lim Dae-han coming in through the tent flap made my heart flutter, so how could I be in a rut? They were talking nonsense.

This might sound perverse, but Lim Dae-han was dressed neatly. He had rolled up the sleeves of his short-sleeved T-shirt to his shoulders and tied a white towel around his head.

I wanted to drag him out right in that outfit and plant a kiss on his lips. I even wanted to bite his sweaty, glistening neck hard enough to leave teeth marks behind.

Am I really a pervert? Lim Dae-han often said so.

Lim Dae-han, with his eyes wide open, asked again.

“Ki Young-hyun, are you in a rut?”

“Sigh…”

I exhaled a long breath through my nose. I felt my insides boiling more and more. I decided to blame the seniors and classmates. How much must they have exaggerated and spoken loudly for even Lim Dae-han, who was outside, to come running in? In the end, I lost my temper.

“I said I’m not!”

I knew that yelling angrily wouldn’t have any effect. But still…

“That’s what the tarot reading said, but I don’t believe in that stuff. Really. Go back and check. Check!”

The nostrils of the senior sitting across from me flared. The more I shouted, the more it seemed to provoke them. Only Lim Dae-han kept staring at me blankly with a surprised look on his face.

Unable to contain my frustration any longer, I abruptly stood up and stomped my foot with a bang. The senior who had been trying hard to hold back laughter played dumb.

“Young-hyun is going to destroy our department’s pub.”

At that nonchalant remark, only I felt my insides boiling even more. I wanted to pound my chest like a gorilla, while they were all condemning someone who was in a good relationship as being in a rut. Huh?!

“I’m not in a rut. I’m really happy right now. Seriously!”

“Hey, nobody’s saying you can’t be happy. Even I…”

That senior usually just accepted greetings, but now that he was caught in something, he was really latching on. I didn’t want to become a laughingstock, but that was exactly what was happening.

Frustrated, I thumped my chest hard. Just once. More than that and I would end up getting hurt.

“No, I’m serious!”

I wondered if I would ever express my affection this openly in front of Lim Dae-han again. I expressed my love while flailing like a child throwing a tantrum.

“I’m going to get married.”

“Wow, I didn’t know Young-hyun was the type to talk about marriage!”

“I’ve never seen a guy who doesn’t mention marriage while dating.”

As soon as the senior finished speaking, my classmate chimed in.

“When are you planning to do it?”

“Right after graduating college.”

“That’s at least 5 or 6 years away.”

“Hey, hey, let’s see how long you two can date.”

Though I spoke seriously, I was met with cold indifference. I glared at everyone, senior and classmates alike. Do they think I’m like them?

Other people might talk about marriage every time they date, but I wasn’t like that at all. Do they think marriage is that easy? Have they all been married before? Why are they looking down on me like this? Feeling indignant, I wrinkled my nose.

“I won’t invite anyone to my wedding.”

“Sure, do that. Do you really have to get married?”

The senior scoffed. Fine. I don’t need any of them. Unable to suppress my anger, I plopped down hard on the chair. I thought I heard a slight cracking sound, but I just held my head in silence.

“Ha!”

Suddenly, Lim Dae-han burst into loud laughter. “Ha ha ha!” 

I was startled because I’d never seen him laugh so boisterously before. Not just me, but everyone in the pub turned to look at Lim Dae-han in surprise.

Lim Dae-han was grinning from ear to ear. Then he strode over and unexpectedly put his arm around my shoulder.

“Isn’t Ki Young-hyun so funny?”

He sought agreement, but no one said yes. The situation might be amusing, but I wasn’t the funny one. Only Lim Dae-han was calling me funny.

Lim Dae-han gripped my shoulder tightly and tilted his head back. The bandana on his head made his neckline particularly prominent. His large Adam’s apple bobbed.

“Ah, this is really too funny.”

“What’s so funny?”

The senior asked, seemingly unable to understand.

“Just, ah, that I find Ki Young-hyun the funniest. Isn’t he funny? Seriously?”

Everyone exchanged confused looks. So, objectively, I wasn’t particularly funny. But with Lim Dae-han going on about how funny I was, the atmosphere became even more awkward.

Somehow, the mood that had lightened up by making fun of me became tense again. If he hadn’t praised me by saying I was hilarious, it might have been a little better. But Lim Dae-han just kept chuckling, seemingly oblivious to the atmosphere.

* * *

Ye-jun hyung: [Young-hyun, the festival starts today, right?]

Ye-jun hyung: [Can I come and hang out? Lol.]

If Ye-jun hyung came, Ki Young-han would surely come too. He’d probably just nag me. In the end, I didn’t want to be embarrassed in front of my classmates and seniors. I sent a curt reply.

Me: [Yeah.. But is our hyung coming too?]

Yejun hyung: [Yeah, Younghan told me about the festival]

He didn’t keep in touch with me much, so I wondered how he knew about the festival.

Me: [I’ll probably just be at the pub.]

Me: [I have to work.]

Ye-jun hyung: [I’ll talk to Young-han first and let you know when we’re coming.]

Ye-jun hyung: [See you later if we can~]

Me: [Okay haha]

After sending the reply, I shoved my phone into my pocket. I puffed out my cheeks and then deflated them. My face was burning hot.

With both hands in my pockets, I looked up at the sky. I’m so embarrassed because of Lim Dae-han. He laughed so excitedly by himself that the atmosphere became really awkward. At the end, one of my classmates said, Young-hyun isn’t particularly funny. I really don’t understand why you say he’s funny.”

Let’s forget about it…I just stared blankly at the sky.

Fluffy white clouds floated across the clear sky.

“Move over a bit.”

I turned my head at the voice and found Lim Dae-han suddenly beside me. He pressed the Sprite in his hand against my cheek. It must have just come out of the ice box because it was cold enough to jolt me awake.

There are plenty of seats, so why does he want me to move over…?

Grumbling internally, I made room for him. Lim Dae-han hunched his back and looked at the festival booth that was currently busy with preparations. The good thing was that we were close to the main stage.

Famous celebrities were supposed to come all three days, but we’d be lucky if we could even see them from afar while manning the pub.

“Ki Young-hyun.”

“Yeah?”

“Will you marry me?”

At the sudden question, I jerked my slouching body upright. I tightly closed my lips and turned my head. He, who had been staring blankly ahead, slowly started to smile. 

“Ahem,” he cleared his throat.

“…I’m not sure.”

“Wow, you said you’d marry me earlier.”

“That was because the seniors kept teasing me.”

“So are you in a rut?”

“Ah, I said I’m not! Why are you doing this too?!”

I shouted, jumping to my feet. When I kicked out in frustration, Lim Dae-han lowered his head and laughed again. I glared at his shaking back before standing face-to-face with him. After giggling to himself for a while, Lim Dae-han finally caught his breath again and straightened up.

“You, stop telling others I’m funny.”

“But you are funny.”

“I’m telling you, you’re the only one who finds it funny. Didn’t you read the mood of the room earlier?”

“Everyone else just has a terrible sense of humor.”

Says the odd one out.

Lim Dae-han patted the seat next to him again.

“Sit down. I’ll open a soda for you.”

As soon as I sat down, he pulled the tab on the can. I took the soda he handed me and drank it.

“…Thanks.”

“You’re good at accepting and drinking things while grumbling.”

“…You don’t want me to drink it?”

“I’m joking. Just drink it.”

Lim Dae-han patted my back. Actually, it was closer to a thump than a pat. My body lurched forward.

I almost spit out the soda. I barely managed to compose myself and looked at him. Lim Dae-han caressed my cheek as if I was truly pitiful.

“Why are you so weak? So thin and small.”

I didn’t say that he was just exceptionally strong, big, and powerful because I had my pride as a man too.