Chapter 125: Chapter 125
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“Um…”
“You guys also drank, didn’t you… that would be the only reason why you’re not asleep. Oh, I’m thirsty.”
Yoo Chun Young then heard a rustling noise in the background as if Donnie was getting out of bed. He waited for a while quietly but held the bal.u.s.trade in surprise when a short scream suddenly came over from the phone.
“What’s wrong?”
“I mean…”
Her voice sounded bitter. It looked as though she saw something unbelievable.
“Holy shoot! When I opened the door, someone walked on all fours out of the blue.”
“Walk in all fours…?”
“Yeah. Oh, I thought I was watching the Exorcist. What’s up, anyway? If you’re calling me 2 in the morning, is there an emergency?”
“I just… wondered if you’re in bed.”
“Uh-huh, I just got up. I’ll go back to sleep after drinking some water.”
Her voice revealed how drowsy she was. After the call, she would definitely go back to sleep immediately. It made Yoo Chun Young a little nervous while thinking, ‘before she hangs up, I should say something…’
Such an outlandishly silent darkness pressed him down. Inside his head, something seemed to fly around chaotically, but at the next moment, he felt like blanking out. He was about to say something meaningful. However, nothing came out in the few utterances that were coming out of his lips at all. After a prolonged silence, Yoo Chun Young broke the ice.
“I have a question.”
“Uh-huh.”
Fortunately, Ham Donnie’s voice sounded cheerful. Yoo Chun Young spoke slowly.
“If what someone said about me keeps popping in my head…”
“Yeah.”
“Does it mean that the person was right?”
“Hmm… well, it could happen when the words they said left such an impressive mark on you. Oh, maybe it hit the right marks, which made it memorable. So, you may be right.”
“I see,” Yoo Chung Young replied shortly while pouting his lips.
Rather than an actual answer, he felt fine just by listening to her voice for quite a while. When Yoo Chun Young was about to hang up the phone in consideration of Donnie’s drowsiness, she asked back, unexpectedly.
“Who said what to you? It’d also be different depending on the person.”
“Who said what…” Yoo Chun Young fell into thought for a second then soon responded, “Yi Ruda.”
“Good night.”
Ham Donnie’s voice darkened immediately. ‘What’s wrong? Is she feeling tired now?’ While Yoo Chun Young had those thoughts in mind, Ham Donnie hung up the phone. It happened in a flash that he didn’t have any chance to say goodbye.
He returned to the room and dropped his gaze at the phone for quite a while. Still, he couldn’t understand what Ham Donnie meant at all.
Article 13. They Say It’s a Confession Trip Rather Than a Retreat? (Part 2)
The next day, I brought the kids, who walked on all fours out of their minds, to the cafeteria. There, I witnessed a rare sight. As if what Yoon Jung In said was true, no one inside here could barely open their eyes properly. Even a kid started to retch while getting his food, which made everyone around him step back out of astonishment.
‘What a mess,’ I thought as I found an empty table to sit with my girls. Someone then came closer and sat beside me. Looking at the empty hand without a tray, I raised my head to see who it was.
The person who grimaced as if he still had a hangover was none other than Yoon Jung In. ‘Whoa,’ as soon as he came into my sight, I asked with a smile.
“Dude, I heard you weren’t human last night?”
“What? Who says that?”
As if he understood clearly while having a hard time pulling himself together, he furrowed his face even more before answering. I shrugged and pointed across the table with my chin.
s.h.i.+n Suh Hyun, whom Yoon Jung In had a savage gaze at, showed no signs of fear on his face. He swallowed the food in his mouth, then said nonchalantly.
“How’s your conscience doing?”
“What? What about me? Why am I not human last night?”
“Geez, don’t you remember how you were yelling and singing loudly on the boy’s floor and calling me noona?”
“…”
Yoon Jung In grew silent for a moment then turned his head to look at Kim Hye Woo, beside him.
“Did I?”
“Yeah.”
“For real?”
“You also did something truly exceptional too. Do you want to hear it?”
s.h.i.+n Suh Hyun intervened and continued his words. Lee Mina, who was sitting across, burst out laughing so hard that she couldn’t swallow her food. Kim Hye Hill was staring at Yoon Jung In with serene eyes.
Yoon Jung In rolled his eyeb.a.l.l.s twice in perplexity.
He asked, “Wh…at… did I do…?”
“You lost your phone yesterday and asked people where it was. As you searched for it all over, someone found and gave it to you saying, ‘Here’s your phone.’ But do you know what you answered back?”
“What did I say?”
“This ain’t a phone. You kept saying that, so I asked you what it is if it’s not a phone.”
“So?”
“So, you said, ‘Magic Hole~’ with a bright smile and fell back. That was when you fell asleep. Don’t you remember?”
“…”
Magic Hole was the model name of Yoon Jung In’s flip phone. As I quietly dropped my gaze at his phone, he carefully put it in his pocket.
Yoon Jung In, who shoved his phone in his pocket, suddenly laughed out loud.
“Guys, bon appet.i.t!” he shouted.
“…”
His voice was so loud that even the kids, who were filling their trays with tipsy eyes around him, looked at us. The overall situation reminded me of something. I glanced around the cafeteria.
Since Yoo Chun Young called me at 2 in the morning, the other boys might have drunk together; however, I couldn’t see any of their fancy hair colors around. While I chewed the food in my mouth, Yi Ruda came to me from the side.
“Hey, Donnie.”
“Good morning.”
Her face looked brighter and fresher in the morning. Her wet, golden hair tangled on her forehead, and her smiling eyes were s.h.i.+ning pure and blue. Among the kids with sunken eyes, her refres.h.i.+ng face looked so delightful that I welcomed her more warmly than usual.
As soon as Yi Ruda patted my hair with a grin and walked away with other boys, Yoon Jung In, who was right beside me, leaned his body toward me. He whispered like a tease.
“What a sweet couple from early in the morning. Any phone calls last night?”
“Nope.”
“Well, who knows if he surprises you with a love confession on the stage today?”
“Oh, come on. We’re nothing like that.”
“Maybe not to you, but he looks pretty obvious. Hey, are you saying that seriously?”
Yoon Jung In’s question made me shut my mouth in awkwardness. ‘He looks pretty obvious? h.e.l.l, yeah…’ The phone call with Yoo Chun Young last night came across my head. At the same time, something like damp air and bright lamplight seemed to entwine and rose before me.
I thought about his voice that rang around my ears and scattered away. It sounded cold as usual yet prudent enough.
‘Yi Ruda.’
I took out a spoon of rice from the bowl then soaked it in the bean sprout soup in a grimace. Yi Ruda, who was beside me, asked in surprise.
“What an appet.i.te from early in the morning!”
“Yeah, I’m hungry.”
“Other kids don’t even feel good.”
I did too; however, I had to shove the rice inside me to get away from this subdued feeling.
Things that were happening around them were, for me, like a storybook, and I already knew the ending even before I opened it. I, therefore, didn’t want to flip the pages. I didn’t feel curious. Regardless of what I felt, some d.a.m.n thing wouldn’t let me take my hands off of this storybook. I closed my eyes with a sigh. I felt nauseous.
As if it was a given sequence, I had an upset stomach. Doing some outdoor activities seemed okay for me to feel better, but I was wrong.
I was utterly wiped out, at last, around lunchtime, so I just sat on the cafeteria table without eating anything. Yi Ruda asked me in surprise while walking pa.s.s me by.
“Are you okay?”
“Um, no. I’m just not feeling good.”
“Can you be on stage?”
“I should. What else can I do? I’m not the only one on stage.”
When I replied that, Yi Ruda furrowed her forehead then tapped my shoulder to comfort me.
The same thing happened at dinner. I couldn’t eat anything at all. This time, I didn’t go downstairs to the cafeteria. Instead, I leaned against the wall inside the empty room, which was darkening alongside the sunset. There, I sat on the floor and texted a few messages.
Sent by: Eun Ji-G.o.dd.a.m.n-ho
You’re not the leading role on the stage? Then do it ASAP and take a break.
To: Eun Ji-G.o.dd.a.m.n-ho
Actually, I’m the lead.
Sent by: Eun Ji-G.o.dd.a.m.n-ho
What a joke
Gosh, this sun of a beach! I tapped the keyboard in rage.
To: Eun Ji-G.o.dd.a.m.n-ho
For real, stay tuned!
Eun Jiho didn’t reply to me for quite a while. Perhaps he would be moving to the auditorium with the instructor. With that thought in mind, I put my phone back into my pocket.