PCL Ch 69

Everything changed when you were in your third year of high school. Everything in the ‘school’ used to feel custom-made for the third grader. In the third year, the air conditioner that didn’t turn on even when I was in the first and second years could be turned on as much as I wanted. It wasn’t even central heating, we could turn it on and off as we pleased. Furthermore, the teachers didn’t care how we dressed in our school uniforms.

The students were also categorized into 3 groups: crazy, sensitive, or studying a little more than usual.

To be honest, I was the second. It wasn’t that I’d become more sensitive as if mentally I were on a knife-edge, but my body was the first to feel. It was a moment when I realized what the teachers had been saying all along that we needed to take care of our physical strength.

Tuk. A rough finger stabbed my back. I turned around while clutching my stomach and saw Lim Dae-han with his head tilted and staring at me. He swung the pencil in his hand around with one hand.

“Ki Young-hyun, are you sick?”

I shook my head in response to the question, but my already wrinkled forehead revealed how sick I was. Another thing that changed in my third year of high school was that I would sit next to each other without a deskmate. Lim Dae-han and I have initially seated a few rows apart because the numbers were assigned in name order, but after the national combined academic evaluation in June, we changed seats again, and fortunately sat back and forth.

Sitting back and forth with Lim Dae-han had its advantages and disadvantages. Lim Dae-han, who has seen everything I haven’t seen, could sit comfortably behind me. It was also nice to sit quietly, and having him behind me was psychologically comforting. I was busy before because I had to look after him repeatedly just in case he was sleeping.

The disadvantage was that if I had to choose, there were times when my body stiffened because of him. I couldn’t sleep on my stomach because I needed to study hard, but the other reason was that I was afraid of being seen from behind wearing a T-shirt with a childish pattern under my summer uniform. In fact, I couldn’t say it was a disadvantage at all. Anyway, it was not as great as it was.

Even as I was listing the advantages and disadvantages of sitting back and forth by myself, I couldn’t stand the pain in my lower or upper abdomen. It seemed that even a cold sweat was seeping out.

“Urgh…”

Lim Dae-han ran his tongue across his dry lips as I unconsciously let out a small groan. Then he grabbed my forearm with one hand. A warm, hard hand touched my arm. His voice was directed to one position because it was self-study time without a teacher.

“Class leader.”

The class leader, who wore round glasses, turned to face Lim Dae-han. Not only the class leader but also some of the other students looked at him. The class leader, who had not yet properly spoken to Lim Dae-han, looked at him with a puzzled expression. Lim Dae-han pointed with his chin at me.

“I’ll take him to the infirmary.”

Then, as he got up he didn’t let go of my forearms. I was dragged up like a fish caught on a fishing line, and I had no choice but to follow Lim Dae-han. It was as if I had entered a steam room when I opened the classroom door and exited. Lim Dae-han closed the classroom door after turning around and confirming that I had followed him. Lim Dae-han and I were the only ones in the corridor.

We walked without saying anything. He still had my forearm in his grip. The force of his grip was so strong that just his holding hurt my body. It felt like a laundry that had been squeezed out.

Eventually, I stopped at my step.

“Dae-han… My arm hurts.”

Lim Dae-han let me go as soon as I said it. A tingling pain lingered in my forearm, which he clutched tightly.

“… It left a mark.”

Lim Dae-han smiled bitterly and gently touched my exposed forearm under the sleeve before moving away. Perhaps he was apologetic, as he avoided my gaze.

I quietly followed Lim Dae-han to the infirmary without saying anything. The teacher who always locked the infirmary door and did everything he could to gossip in other places wasn’t around today. Lim Dae-han went to the principal’s office and got the key after telling me to wait.

“They gave me the key when I said it was you who was sick. You can take the medicine on your own.”

“Okay.”

I’ve been here before, and the medicine the teacher gave me each time was the same. Lim Dae-han inserted the key he had brought into the lock and turned it. Click. With a sound, the lock was opened. Lim Dae-han retrieved the key and unlocked the door. Fortunately, there was no dust in the air.

I grabbed a couple of pills while Lim Dae-han was getting water. Lim Dae-han’s large hand held a small paper cup. It was a little funny, and I laughed a little.

I could feel Lim Dae-han’s staring gaze, but I needed to live for the time being, so I ate the medicine with water. I lay down on the bed because I couldn’t get the effect right away. Lim Dae-han came to the bed where I was lying and sat down after controlling the air conditioner with the remote control on the wall.

“…”

“…”

Then he stroked my hair gently. I closed my eyes tightly every time he touched me. Lim Dae-han, who was stroking my hair with his rough hand, placed his hand on my stomach.

“You didn’t even eat lunch.”

“…Yeah.”

“Do you want me to buy you some bread? You might be hungry later.”

“It’s okay.”

Even if I was okay with it, I know he’ll go to the kiosk. Lim Dae-han will buy bread or instant porridge for me and feed it to me. A hand on my stomach gently patted my stomach. His hands were rough, but I got used to them. The passing time was rewarding.

“Go to class. You should study too.”

“My grades have improved a lot.”

Lim Dae-han said playfully with an innocent expression. Still, I was pretty pleased with him, so I raised the corners of my lips as well.  I was really proud of him. Lim Dae-han lived up to his name. His grades improved because he studied vigorously.

In a state where there were a lot of students who came to their senses in their third year, the teachers joked that they should call a reporter when they go to University and interview Dae-han. Of course, whenever he heard such words, he frowned openly and pretended he didn’t hear it.

Lim Dae-han worked extremely hard in his studies. If he couldn’t memorize it, he wrote it down on a piece of paper, made it dense, and forced it into his head. He began memorizing 200 English words per day in his second year and continued the practice in his third year. His mathematics was a little weak, but he memorized and applied the entire problem. Lim Dae-han could memorize anything.

Maybe, if he could keep up the good work… Maybe we can go to the same university.

Lim Dae-han hesitated in front of me. He sat on the bed and touched my stomach, making me wonder if it was an excuse to go out together, then touched my cheek outside the blanket and swept my hair. There must have been something he wanted, but when I looked at Lim Dae-han, who was acting strangely, he quickly turned his gaze away.

I looked out the window and realized that it was already June. Time flew by in an instant. I couldn’t believe there were only 5 months until the entrance exam. All I have to do now was wait a little longer. If I worked a little harder, I could choose a university based on the results of the final exam grades in the first semester of the first, second, and third grades, but for Lim Dae-han, everything was decided with just one day of the CSAT. However, there was no sign of concern. I had no idea how he felt.

My heart swelled like a well-ripened dough before being placed in the oven. I quietly drew my hand from under the blanket and placed it on Lim Dae-han’s hand. Lim Dae-han’s gaze returned to me after it had wandered away while looking out the window.

“Lim Dae-han.”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Are you nervous too?”

When I asked him, he looked away for a moment. Instead of responding, he smiled.

“Won’t you be nervous then?”

“…”

Well, Lim Dae-han was still a human.

I stretched out my arms towards Lim Dae-han.

“Kiss, hug, and go to class. Because I’m okay.”

Lim Dae-han lowered his head gently as if he had never ignored me. He lifted me up and hugged me with the blanket after a short kiss. I was lifted up helplessly and I had to be held tightly in Lim Dae-han’s arms. It was fine at first, but when my heart began to feel stuffy, I had to forget about my stomachache and say it as if I was begging to let me breathe.

At my words, Lim Dae-han loosened the grip that was holding me tight. I was flat on the bed as the strength of his support faded. Of course, Lim Dae-han did not immediately return to the classroom. He kissed my cheek, lips, and forehead repeatedly, and I also finally let him go after biting his lips a few more times.

***