LCL Ch 3

“Ah… it’s cold.”

I tucked my hands in the pockets of my padded jacket and shrugged my shoulders. The thick padding jacket rustled. Despite wearing a thick knit sweater underneath, the wind seeped in through the loose gap because I put on Lim Dae-han’s padding jacket. I clenched my fists, pulled the sleeves, and hunched my shoulders like a scared turtle, burying my chin.

Even when I crouched down due to the cold, my body temperature kept dropping. On such a freezing day that I felt like I might die, I didn’t understand why I had to be outside like this.

“When is he coming?”

Being alone made me mutter to myself. I grumbled while sticking out my lips. No matter how much I looked around, I didn’t see any familiar faces.

If the appointment was originally made in a hurry, shouldn’t the person involved show up sooner? Should I call him? I grabbed my cell phone in my pocket.

“Hey, Ki Young-hyun!”

A high-pitched voice was heard from among the crowd. I quickly scanned the people. The moment I found the source of the sound, I lowered my chin and opened my mouth, forgetting about the cold.

Is Jung Ji-pil crazy?

A guy wearing a peacock-like colorful coat strode through the crowd. It was truly a flamboyant coat. He looked like an idol appearing at an end-of-year awards ceremony.

With each step he took, the fur swayed. Even the fur flying around was visible from here. It was bound to attract attention from people.

Wow, this is embarrassing.

I try to calm my mind. Jung Ji-pil is a good friend… Jung Ji-pil. He was a good friend who spent the first and second years of high school together…, a good friend.

“What’s with the coat?”

As Jung Ji-pil approached, I questioned him. I felt so embarrassed. People passed by, snickering at Jung Ji-pil. Even here in Seoul, where many people wear unusual clothes, he was too much.

I tightly closed my eyes. Jung Ji-pil, who doesn’t know my feelings, just grinned.

“I got myself one outfit. Aren’t we in college now?”

Yeah… we’re in college now. I guess I’ve accepted that I’m a college student now. Jung Ji-pil had been back and forth until now.

Having gone back and forth about attending the vocational school, repeating the college exam, and shouting that academic achievement wasn’t important…, it seems like now he’s finally decided to give it a proper try. But that aside.

“You’re 20 minutes late from our appointment time. Why are you so late?”

On a day so cold that my cheeks felt stiff, my voice came out rough without me realizing it. The guy who approached me without any sign of apology grabbed my wrist and pulled me along.

“Young-hyun, did you miss seeing this hyung?”

“I don’t want to see you, Jung Ji-pil, it’s just that you’re late…”

“Yeah, yeah, let’s just go for now. I’m freezing.”

Before I could even finish my sentence, he interrupted me. I was held by the guy’s hot hand and made my way through the crowd. I didn’t want to look like I was being dragged along by him.

Let go! When I shook off his hand, Jipil Jung finally let go.I gestured for him to go his way. Let’s go separately, each of us.

Jung Ji-pil put on a defiant expression before obediently looking ahead and walking. The price tag that hadn’t been torn off from the coat shook with each step he took.

“When did you buy this coat?”

“Three weeks ago? Ah, but the delivery was late so it arrived today.”

I bet he was late because he waited for the delivery. I didn’t know much about clothes, but I did know that the clothes Jung Ji-pil was wearing right now were really flashy. Why did he choose to wear it today of all days?

He probably wanted to show off wearing this outfit and suggested meeting me before our evening appointment. What’s there to show off to me? Anyway, Jung Ji-pil. I inwardly rolled my eyes.

“You’d get criticized if you wore that outfit in front of the others.”

“Hey. Do you know how much the others have been waiting for this outfit? They went crazy when I sent them photos.”

I wondered if Jung Ji-pil was being bullied.

“If you guys have time, just come today as well. Have a drink or something, huh? What are you two doing alone like isolated kids? It’s a waste to spend your twenties like this. Here, I’ll treat. Let me enjoy my twenties for another year.”

“…Never mind. We have separate plans for tonight.”

“Then forget it. Let’s go to a cafe and relax. It’s been so long since just the two of us hung out, right?”

Jung Ji-pil continued to nag. There was a hint of joy in his voice. He was right; usually, it was the three of them together with Lim Dae-han, so meeting just the two of them was indeed rare.

Also, it was my first time seeing him since I graduated. We exchanged phone calls and messages, but we stopped seeing each other after we graduated from school. Well, at least it’s been about two weeks.

In the midst of seeing each other every day, meeting once every few weeks, and even then having to schedule a separate time to meet, felt strangely unfamiliar. They were definitely becoming adults.

I straightened out my twisted feelings. Since it would be even harder to meet after starting university, they should see each other more frequently until then. I quickly walked after Jung Ji-pil, who was heading towards the cafe, pushing through the crowd. It wasn’t so bad.

* * *

“I thought I wouldn’t see you at all before I entered college.”

Jung Ji-pil said as he took off his coat. He carefully folded the coat, which looked expensive at a glance, and placed it neatly on the seat next to him. He held the cup of warm citron tea carefully.

The temperature was such that it was steaming. I managed to soothe the cold in my hands and looked at him instead of answering. Even if I didn’t respond, Jung Ji-pil kept babbling on by himself.

“Is Lim Dae-han coming later?”

“Yeah, to pick me up.”

“Hey, overprotective much? Do you have to be together all the time just because you’re dating?”

It had been a while since I heard his grumbling voice. It wasn’t meant in a mean-spirited way. 

Jung Ji-pil rolled his eyes at the smile that spread across my lips.

“Who would have thought that you would go to college together? While I. I don’t get it.”

“Well. He did study hard.”

“Wasn’t it because he funded the college? He’s from a rich family.”

“It’s not like that. I guess he spent some money on tutoring?”

“Haa… Some people couldn’t get tutoring because they didn’t have money.”

“Hey, you got caught using the money your parents gave you for tutoring. Don’t you remember that you called my house too?”

“Let’s leave the past as the past?”

Naturally, the topic of conversation turned to Lim Dae-han. As I listened to Jung Ji-pil’s grumbling, I remembered the calluses on Lim Dae-han’s fingers.

Lim Dae-han studied so hard day and night that he would fall asleep as soon as he laid his head down. While others might not know, I’m aware that he studied like crazy.

Lim Dae-han got into a better university than I had expected. Honestly, I would have been relieved if he just went to university, but somehow, we ended up in the same university and the same department.

After Lim Dae-han’s college entrance exam scores became known, there were many students in school who were making a fuss. I hate to say this to my partner, but Lim Dae-han wasn’t exactly diligent in his school life.

He skipped classes, hung out with friends, practically owned a sofa at the snack bar, and made the classroom atmosphere rough. While he didn’t make it to a prestigious university like Korea University, he still got into a decent one, Yunhwa University, where he can easily find some dislikable people.

But still…

“What’s the point of criticizing Lim Dae-han’s hard work? ”

“Don’t take sides. Huh?”

“I’m not taking sides, I’m telling the truth…”

“Hey!”

Jung Ji-pil immediately raised his voice. He said it was nice to meet me for a moment, but then he got angry when he mixed things up a bit. All eyes scattered throughout the cafe turned towards us.

“Oh, you surprised me.”

I thought my heart would stop. I grabbed my chest. The uncomfortable feeling of the knitted fabric lingered in my palm.

Why was he getting annoyed at Lim Dae-han for studying hard when he hadn’t studied at all? I was boiling with curses, but I held them back.

Jung Ji-pil seemed to realize he had overreacted, as he only shot me a glance without saying anything. With such a bad temper, who would want to be friends with him? It was fortunate that there was someone like me in high school, but…

After a brief silence, Jung Ji-pil lowered his voice.

“Anyway, are you going to spend your time at your university like this?”

His unexpectedly serious tone made me raise my eyebrow involuntarily. Spend my time at university? What about it?

I tilted my head at the guy who was just saying things I didn’t understand. Jung Ji-pil lowered his voice and acted serious. Seeing him like that made me realize we were genuine friends.

“When you two are together, it’s so obvious you’re a couple. You have no idea how hard it was for me in high school. Whenever you two stuck together, I… Hey, didn’t I even take you to the cherry blossom festival in spring?”

I tightened my jaw. I rubbed the rounded wrinkles with my fingers. It wasn’t wrong. When we went to see the cherry blossoms in our senior year of high school, it seemed less strange because Jung Ji-pil was with us.

Even after the trip, when I said that the three of us had come to see the cherry blossoms, everyone just nodded their heads and didn’t say much, except for some strange questions like, ‘Are there many pretty girls?’

But that wasn’t entirely untrue. That’s right, but… Well, isn’t there a friendly relationship between friends? Shouldn’t we look at it that way? At the same time, it became even more serious for me.

“Originally, you didn’t even intend to tell me that you two were dating. But then you got caught doing such tacky things near the library.”

It wasn’t long after Lim Dae-han and I started dating that Jung Ji-pil found out. According to Jung Ji-pil, I had my hand on Lim Dae-han’s… butt. Honestly, I hardly remember it now.

It’s almost been two years, how could I remember? The truth is, I didn’t know until Jung Ji-pil told me. It was an unconscious action.

What Jung Ji-pil said wasn’t entirely wrong. Even when we were in school, there were several awkward situations because Lim Dae-han had a tendency to favor only me. But now that we’re in the same university, in the same department, there’s no guarantee that such situations won’t arise again. Surely, it will be the same in college.

College is different from now. Many people will gather, and I’ll encounter various types of individuals. If high school was like a frog in a well, then college might be more like a lake…