TGMND 38
by SpringlilaYeo-woon sniffed as he roughly looked through the white paper with precautions and pool rules written on it. Then the manager looked up at him and said.
“You know you can’t swim yet if you have a cold, right?”
“Yes… I’ll come back after I get better.”
“What time would be convenient for you? If you are an office worker, this time might not work for you.”
He crossed out all the times that overlapped with normal work hours and circled the times that seemed possible.
“5 a.m., 6 a.m., 7 p.m., 8 p.m.”
Morning seemed tough, and around 7 p.m. seemed most suitable. It would be convenient to stop by after work, or it was a manageable distance to come out after stopping by home.
“I’ll go for 7 o’clock.”
“Yes. However, during this time slot, you may be the only male member in the beginner’s class, Mr. Yeo-woon. Since there are more female members, some men feel pressured and end up quitting.”
“Oh… that’s okay.”
“Everyone says that at first, but once they try it, they usually change their minds. If you have some basic skills, you can register directly for the intermediate class. Younger people catch up quickly.”
“But what if I can’t float in water?”
“Everyone floats in water.”
“…”
Yeo-woon closed his mouth. That’s what other people say, but he really couldn’t float… The manager, noticing his perplexed expression, circled the beginner’s class on the form. It was obvious that putting him in the intermediate class was out of the question.
“So, are you okay with the beginner class?”
“Yes.”
For now, he needed to learn how to float. He had been teased by his friends during outings to the valley, unable to swim while others effortlessly floated around with tubes. The sound of the pen scribbling on the paper felt strangely comforting. After completing the membership registration and presenting his card for payment, he watched as the manager inserted his card into the reader and finalized the transaction.
“…Huh?”
Meanwhile, Yeo-woon saw a noticeably tall man coming out of the men’s shower room. A strange sense of familiarity filled his mind.
‘What. Isn’t he the person next door? Does he also go swimming?’
As soon as the man came out, he tilted his head to one side, bouncing with excitement as he stared intently at his phone. Then, after staring blankly at the phone for a while, he chuckled softly. It seemed like he was reading something amusing. Yeo-woon asked as he accepted the card and receipt handed to him.
“Didn’t you say I’m the only male member at this time?”
“Yes?”
The manager turned her head in the direction of his gaze, then immediately understood his implication and replied,
“Just for the beginner’s class. There are male members in the intermediate class, but that member is in the master class.”
“So he learns somewhere else?”
“Yes, the lanes are different.”
Right. Yeo-woon nodded his head slowly. The man, tapping his phone with his large hand, walked over, and when he noticed Yeo-woon’s stare, he raised his head slightly.
“…!”
Hello? Yeo-woon raised the corner of his mouth and slightly raised his hand. Since they had exchanged greetings last time, it should be okay…. However, instead of returning Yeo-woon’s greeting, the man grimaced and quickly ran out of the pool area as soon as their eyes met.
“…”
His raised hand felt awkward. Yeo-woon lowered his hand and followed the man out of the pool area. The man had already sprinted to the stadium and was now running rapidly across the footbridge in the distance. He couldn’t understand why he was so guarded.
Suddenly, a bus arrived in front of Yeo-woon. It was a bus that would drop him off right in front of his house. Although it wasn’t far, risking worsening his condition due to the cold was only a matter of time.
Yeo-woon boarded the bus and pressed firmly on the app notification floating on the top bar with his thumb. As the Holblue app opened, a chat window with Earth Star appeared on the screen.
「Earth Star : What time are you logging in?」
「Earth Star : Please go through the event dungeon with me today>_<」
「Earth Star : The Nas skill speed and cooldown have been nerfed, so I need to get new equipmentㅠㅠ….」
「Tsk tsk」
「The hero got buffed though haha.」
It was a record of his reply to a message from Earth Star a couple of hours ago. Below that, Earth Star was sending another message.
Beneath Yeo-woon’s speech bubble, Earth Star recently sent text was displayed, and it wasn’t just one or two messages; the scroll seemed endless. Moreover, in the preview window, ‘ㅗㅗㅗㅗㅗ’ kept appearing endlessly.
…What’s going on here?
「Earth Star: The next victim could be you.」
「Earth Star: Are you laughing now?ㅠㅠㅠ」
「Earth Star: Ah, seriously…. Just because I touched one thing, all my skills are messed up now and I’m screwedㅠㅠ!」
「Earth Star: Don’t you feel sorry for me? ㅠㅠㅠ」
「Earth Star: ㅠㅠㅠPlease!! Earth Star’s wish!」
「Earth Star: ?」
Normal messages ended here. And below was a feast of unidentified characters.
「Earth Star: .,.,.,….ㆍㅏㅣㅏㅑㅑ」
「Earth Star: ㅁㅁㄴㅁㅋㅁㅁㄴㅁㅁ」
「Earth Star: ㅗㅗㅗㅗㅗㅗㅗㅗㅗㅗㅗㅗㅗㅗ호ㅗㅗㅗ」
“…”
There were countless ‘ㅗ’ listed below that. Yeo-woon couldn’t believe he even plastered it all over the place like this. He must have been very upset by the news of the downgrade…
「I know… You just have to return it.」
「Earth Star: ㅗㅗㅗㅗㅗㅗㅗ」
「?」
「Earth Star: ㅗㅗㅗㅗㅗ」
Even after sending a reply, he continued to give him the middle finger.
“…What does he want from me?”
Yeo-woon shook his head in frustration and swiped up to close the Holblue app. Just as he did, the bus stopped in front of Yeo-woon’s house. After tagging off and hopping off the bus, he saw the man running towards the building. It seemed like he had been running hard all the way from there to here.
“He’s fast….”
Exercise again after exercise. It seemed like he really enjoyed exercising. As Yeo-woon walked slowly towards the building, the elevator arrived on the first floor. Ding, as the door opened, the man took a deep breath and entered the elevator.
“Hello.”
“…Ugh!”
Yeo-woon greeted the man as he followed him into the elevator. The man, who was catching his breath while flapping his sweat-soaked T-shirt, looked up in surprise at Yeo-woon’s voice.
“…”
His eyes widened and he started pressing the elevator open button. But the door had already been closed a long time ago. As the elevator began to go upwards, the man sighed openly and turned around.
“Why, why do you keep following me?”
Yeo-woon was a little glad that he spoke first, and kindly answered the question.
“Because I live next door.”
“…”
He pursed his lips as if he had nothing to say. And then, as if he was desperately trying to find something to say, he let out a deep sigh again.
“Ah, seriously… And again. I ran all the way here, how did you get here so fast? Are you using superpowers or something?”
“I took the bus?”
“Huh?”
“The town bus.”
“…”
“Number 10. If you get on that, it drops you off right here.”
“…Haa.”
He nervously brushed his still damp hair aside and gave Yeo-woon a stern look. Yeo-woon felt a bit intimidated, but he looked him straight in the eye, afraid that avoiding his gaze would make him think even more strangely of him.
“Why haven’t you been going to the café lately? Did you quit?”
“Don’t talk to me.”
“I ju—”
“I said, don’t talk to me!”
Yeo-woon’s attempt to ask if he goes swimming was cut off before he could speak. What’s with him? Yeo-woon muttered under his breath loud enough for the man to hear.
“Well, you said it was okay to say hello last time…”
“When did I?”
Oh, so he even forgot what he said the other day… Yeo-woon sighed internally, marveling at the man’s memory. Since things had already come to this, Yeo-woon decided to ask honestly.
“Why do you keep avoiding me? Do you hate me?”
“Yes.”
He answered without even the slightest hesitation. Yeo-woon felt a little offended by that answer.
“Why? Why do you hate me?”
“I don’t have any particular reason to like you. Is that enough?”
“…”
Although they weren’t particularly close, hearing that he didn’t like him made Yeo-woon feel unnecessarily hurt.
‘I should have moved out after all.’
When Yeo-woon slightly frowned in frustration, the man turned around as if he did not want to interact with him anymore. When the elevator reached the top floor and opened, he hurried out as if he had been waiting.
Watching his retreating figure, Yeo-woon carefully took out the macaroons that Assistant Manager Kim had handed out at the company from the bag. Then, he put his hand into the hood pocket of the man who had been pressing the door password with determination.
“… Ack! What’s this!”
The man was startled and looked back. His large hand swatted Yeo-woon’s hand away. Yeo-woon took a step back from the wary man and raised his hand.
“Do you like sweets?”
“…Yes?”
“These are macarons. Go inside and have some.”
“…”
“Strawberry flavor.”
The man twitched his closed mouth as Yeo-woon timidly added the words. He gently pressed his hand on the pocket and made a crunching sound. He was expecting a response telling me to get away with it, but Yeo-woon was internally relieved to see a more limited response than expected.
“Are you going to move out?”
“Why me?! If there is someone who should move, it would be you. Why would I move out?”
The man grunted.
“Well, we will see each other often in the future.”
“Excuse me. Why would I… with you?”
“Because you keep avoiding me, even at the front door. I can hear you hesitating outside. What’s so scary about riding the elevator together?”
“…Ah, no, that’s not it! It’s not me?!”
His voice grew louder. There was no doubt he felt stung.
“That’s all I have right now. I bought it from a nice bakery.”
Not him, but Assistant Manager Kim…
“And if there’s no reason to like someone, you can make one. Isn’t that so?”
“…”
Without responding to his words, the man stared blankly at me for a moment, then firmly pressed the last digit of the door password and walked into his apartment. Still, since he didn’t return the macarons, it seemed he did want to eat them after all.
‘That guy next door is really weird.’
Yeo-woon chuckled softly and turned back, heading toward his house.