TGMND 64

“It’s sweltering hot.”

Despite it being evening, the sun was exceptionally blazing. He hated summers because the days were so long. Yeo-woon was particularly sensitive to heat, inevitably falling severely ill at least once every summer. To make matters worse, the bus wasn’t due for another 20 minutes, and there was an old man puffing away on cigarettes on the bench next to the bus stop, making him nauseous.

Damn, littering smoker! This isn’t even a smoking area. Has he gone senile…? Could be. Yeo-woon silently wished him longevity before starting the trudge home.

“Excuse me, are you okay?”

“Ah, I’m fine. Thank you.”

After buying cold medicine at the pharmacy, he felt his condition worsen rapidly. The concerned look on the pharmacist’s face as them asking his condition indicated he must have looked terribly ill to others.

He had been sweating profusely from the heat earlier, but now this sweltering warmth suddenly felt cold. He had caught the so-called summer cold that dogs didn’t even get. It was a mystery why colds that never affected him in winter always managed to find him in summer.

He had no recollection of how he crossed the crosswalk. When he came to his senses, he was near the swimming pool and saw a familiar person approaching from a distance. His eyes widened in delight.

It’s Ji-gu! Yoon Ji-gu, who was looking at his phone while walking, noticed him belatedly and looked up. His sharp, cat-like eyes widened slightly in surprise upon seeing Yeo-woon.

“Are you going to the swimming pool? You’re early today.”

“…”

“Ji-gu-ssi?”

As Yeo-woon called his name, Yoon Ji-gu, who had been frozen with a ‘why am I meeting this person here’ expression, flinched and nodded his head.

“Oh, Hyu-…no!”

“What?”

Hyu-… What? I think I was just about to say something, but then I startled myself and yelled, so I forgot.

“…Fil, I’m going to be a filial son…”(Ji-gu was gonna say hyung, and the it have the same first syllables(in korean).)

“…?”

Yoon Ji-gu pursed his lips. Thinking he should respond somehow, Yeo-woon gave him a thumbs up.

“Oh, yeah…. That’s cool.”

He didn’t understand the context, but seeing someone honor their parents was commendable. Perhaps because of the heat, Yoon Ji-gu suddenly pressed his lips tightly together and let out a small sigh. The nape of his neck had also flushed a faint red.

“Well, I’ll see you later!”

Before Yeo-woon could ask if he might be sick too, Yoon Ji-gu casually threw out those words, and then sprinted towards the swimming pool, vigorously swinging his swimming bag.

“Later? But I’m not going swimming today.”

Yeo-woon belatedly realized he hadn’t been able to properly tell him that he couldn’t go to the pool today because of his cold. But he also thought he probably wouldn’t wait for him since they practiced in different lanes and he didn’t even look his way in the locker room.

“He was probably just saying it out of courtesy…”

Arriving at his door, Yeo-woon tilted his head at someone making rustling noises by the mailboxes while wearing the black hoodie he had seen before.

The man was fiddling with mailbox of room 902, Yeo-woon’s house, checking to see if anything was stuck deep inside. Yeo-woon stared intently at the scene before approaching the man and snatching the mail from his hands. The man looked up at him in surprise.

“Give me your contact information.”

The man’s mouth fell open at Yeo-woon’s words as he held out his cell phone. Unable to say anything, he moved his lips with a confused expression.

“Huh?”

“Your contact information, please.”

“…Well, that’s a little…”

The man, slightly shorter than Yeo-woon, cleared his throat awkwardly and lowered his head. And seeing him trying to slip away like a loach as he had before, Yeo-woon grabbed his wrist.

“I said give me your number.”

“You crazy bastard! I can’t give it to you! I’m not gay…!”

“I don’t care if you’re a former resident, it’s a little annoying that you’re going through my mailbox.”

“…”

“Tell me what you’re looking for. I’ll let you know when it arrives if you give me your number.”

“Alright.”

The man looked Yeo-woon up and down with a grim expression.

So, you’re just going to keep rummaging through my mailbox? Yeo-woon looked down at the man’s wrist he was holding tightly. Maybe it was the fever, but his mind wasn’t working clearly. The man was trembling. Why was he so anxious? …Wait a minute.

“Hey, are you the guy who used to live in room 902?”

“What? Yes, of course.”

“Your name was… Choi Cheol-gang, right?”

“Um, yes. That’s right. I’m Choi Cheol-gang….”

“No, it was Min Yong-gi.”

“…I changed my name.”

“So your parents’ surnames changed?”

Based on his reaction, he definitely didn’t seem to be the former resident of the 9th floor.

…Oh! Is he a burglar? A criminal scheme Yeo-woon had seen on television flashed through his mind. He thought about burglars who target homes left unattended for long periods. His neglected mailbox, full of overdue mail, had become a target. Compared to other mailboxes, his was overflowing with bills and advertisements. “You shouldn’t live like that.”

“What the hell are you saying? You’re crazy!”

The impersonator shook off Yeo-woon’s arm and hurriedly turned to flee the building. Who would have thought he’d encounter a burglar. You see all kinds of things in life. Thinking he should gather evidence to report it next time or empty the mailbox regularly, Yeo-woon took the elevator.

“I can’t log into the game today.”

“I’m sick….”

Yeo-woon informed Earth Star, who would keep sending chats until he got a response, about his condition. After entering his home, he collapsed onto the floor and began opening the mail one by one.

Most of the accumulated mail was just junk. Half-asleep, when Yeo-woon opened the last remaining piece of mail, he paused at the Daehan University emblem in the center and then realized from the name printed in the top left corner that it wasn’t his.

“…?”

Upon closer inspection, Yeo-woon realized it was Yoon Ji-gu’s college report card for this semester. Although he didn’t really want to see it or intend to, the grades he inadvertently saw were a mess. Either Yoon Ji-gu wasn’t attending properly or just not doing the work, because every course had a D grade next to it, with one 3-credit class outright failing with an F. How could anyone get grades like this? Yeo-woon stared at the paper with an incredulous expression and shook his head.

“…He’ll probably get mad if he finds out I saw this.”

Yeo-woon muttered as he refolded the transcript and put it back in the envelope. They had just become a little closer, but thinking Yoon Ji-gu would be wary of him again, he could only sigh. Yeo-woon checked the time on his phone. Looking at the time, Yoon Ji-gu would be getting out of the pool soon.

She’ll give it to him face-to-face in the evening and lie that she only accidentally opened the envelope. She can’t give away that she’s seen the contents. Yeo-woon vowed to herself that she must not sleep at all when she thought about delivering the report card to Yunji.

And within a minute of that firm determination, Yeo-woon started nodding off.

「Earth Star: ?」

「Earth Star: Suddenly sick?」

「Earth Star: Where does it hurt?」

「Earth Star: Hyung」

「Earth Star: Hyung?」

「Earth Star: Where are you?」

It was just a little past 8pm, a faint message notification sounded from the phone in his hand, but each time Yeo-woon only twitched his eyes in response.

What finally disrupted his shallow sleep was the loud ringing of his doorbell. Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong. The noise was so loud it woke him up. Yeo-woon sat up with a heavy body, his head throbbing and feeling feverish all over. Only then did he realize he had forgotten to take the medicine he bought, and stretched his legs off the bed.

Ding dong ding dong!

“Ah geez, who is it…”

His head pounded with each step he took. Yeo-woon leaned against the wall to make his way to the door and opened it.

“…?”

As soon as he opened the door, he was greeted by the faint smell of sweat and a wide embrace. …What? Yeo-woon realized that Yoon Ji-gu had caught him as his legs gave way. Yoon Ji-gu’s hair smelled of soap, with a faint undertone of sweat. Yoon Ji-gu muttered in a flustered tone:

“Why, why are you like this?”

A large hand gently poked Yeo-woon’s cheek. It too smelled of soap.

“Cold…”

“A cold? Did you take medicine?”

Yoon Ji-gu was panting heavily, catching his breath. Did he run straight here after swimming? …But why was Yoon Ji-gu at his place? Yeo-woon wondered hazily, then remembered that he had Ji-gu’s transcript.

It’s probably a ghost. There was no way he would know….

Yeo-woon turned to go get Yoon Ji-gu’s transcript from his room but suddenly felt dizzy and stumbled against the wall.

“Hyung!”

Hyung? He felt a firm arm around him as he drifted into unconsciousness.

“…They say even dogs don’t catch summer colds.”

A mocking voice faintly reached his ear and gently dispersed. His vision went black and his memory cut off.