Chapter 14: Just a Call

The warmth enveloping my body naturally lifted my mood. The sensation gently caressing my whole body occasionally filled me with elation. Sometimes the temperature rose so high that I couldn’t help letting out a gasp the moment it touched me.

To experience such sensations without a single layer of clothing, in a place where others were present…

Indeed, showers were absolutely essential.

I spent all day sitting in a chair studying non-stop. This was especially true during exam period, so naturally my body wasn’t in great shape.

Of course my whole body felt stiff from sitting frozen in the same position for hours. Sometimes my back and neck would even start aching.

And that wasn’t all. Stress built up from fear of falling behind in the competition. Fatigue accumulated from fighting off unstoppable drowsiness while trying to concentrate.

All these pains were washed away by the warm water in the shower room just before lights out.

Staring blankly at the flowing water made me wonder if there could be anything more blissful. Though I hated wasting time, this was the one moment I allowed myself to relax for tens of minutes.

Worries and concerns completely dissolved, replaced by the most trivial random thoughts.

After that weekend when we unexpectedly studied together, So-yul hadn’t tried anything couple-like.

She only sent occasional KakaoTalk messages asking what I was doing. Even those conversations didn’t last long. Thanks to her consideration in telling me to go study.

Morning classes were the same. When she arrived at school, she’d just secretly wave hello. Though even this was dangerous enough, well, we hadn’t been caught yet so it was fine.

Anyway, I was glad one distraction had quieted down. I hoped nothing heart-racing would happen until midterms were over.

With just a few days left, I really hoped things would stay quiet during this time…

“Hey, Min Woo-jin. You in there?”

As I was lost in these thoughts, a voice called from outside the shower room.

Though muffled by noise, it sounded like a friend from my floor.

“Yeah, I’m here. What is it?”

“Nothing much. Your phone’s in your locker cabinet, right? It’s been vibrating non-stop. Come out and answer it quick.”

“Really?”

I tilted my head without realizing.

Who could be calling at nearly midnight? Friends would all be awake but had no reason to call. Maybe something happened with Mom, but surely not.

I couldn’t figure it out. After running through possibilities in my head, I spoke:

“Hey, I’m not done showering yet. Sorry, but could you check who’s calling?”

“Sure. Hold on.”

After their reply, shuffling footsteps followed. They seemed to have entered the changing area where we kept our clothes.

Then my friend asked:

“Which cabinet number?”

“Mine? Twenty…”

Just as I was about to give the number.

A sudden premonition struck me.

No way… could it be So-yul calling?

Maybe she was calling because she couldn’t do fake couple things lately? If that was her train of thought? What if she kept calling back until I answered, thinking I was deliberately ignoring her?

And what if my friend saw the name ‘Han So-yul’?

An ominous feeling began welling up.

“Twenty what?”

“…”

My friend pressed for the rest of the number. But I couldn’t tell them. What if it really was So-yul calling and my friend saw it? There’d be absolutely no way to explain that.

I hurriedly turned off the shower and grabbed a towel.

Though it was sad to lose my happy time, I had no choice. I’d quickly dry off with the towel and go check my phone myself…

“If you can’t remember, forget it. I’ll just open the ones where I hear vibrating since it’s noisy.”

“Wait a second.”

“What do you mean wait?”

The sound of cabinets opening and closing repeated several times.

Bang, bang, bang. With each loud sound, my heart seemed to pound just as heavily.

“Hey, hey. Just wait a bit.”

I said while drying off the remaining water with my towel. I just needed to finish drying and go out. If they could just not find it until I got there…

“Ah, here it is.”

“Hey! I’ll check it!”

I couldn’t wait any longer. I threw down the towel I was holding and sprinted to the changing room. At my life’s fastest speed.

In the changing room I rushed to, breathing heavily, stood my friend with their hand reaching for the cabinet handle.

My friend stopped their hand and looked at me with an incredulous expression. Taking advantage of that moment, I quickly approached the cabinet, yanked it open, and snatched my phone.

The whole sequence took less than a second.

Through my dripping wet vision, I checked the screen.

As expected, the name ‘Han So-yul’ was displayed.

“Huff, hah, huuh…”

I caught my breath while savoring the relief rising from deep in my chest.

I was proud of myself for avoiding crisis thanks to my quick judgment and swift action. I’d nearly been caught for real. Who knows what would have happened if I’d been discovered.

A deep sigh dispersed through the changing room, mixing with my rough breathing and dripping water sounds.

And my friend was watching this whole scene with an expression that suggested they’d witnessed something they shouldn’t have.

“What are you doing?”

My friend asked as if they’d seen a complete lunatic.

Well… I’m not sure what I was doing either…

◎

After this disaster, when I returned to my room and called back, the call connected almost immediately.

And all she said was:

“Why didn’t you answer the phone?”

That was it.

“I was busy trying to hide the fact I nearly got caught because of your call.”

“Really? Be more careful next time.”

You’re the one who should be careful.

I wondered if she even knew what I’d just been through. Though if she knew, that might be scarier.

There was no point in explaining anyway since she wouldn’t listen. I knew that well enough, so why waste time? Better to get straight to the point.

“Why did you call?”

“Why? Just because. Does a girlfriend need a reason to call her boyfriend?”

“We’re only fake dating though.”

“So what? Doesn’t being fake still make you my boyfriend?”

Doesn’t it not?

So-yul seemed to be stretching or something as she let out a “hmm” sound, then:

“Plus we haven’t had many chances to talk lately. That’s why I called. It should be less disruptive than long KakaoTalk messages.”

“Yeah. I figured as much.”

It was almost surprising how predictable she was. I wasn’t sure if that made me impressive or her.

A flopping sound came through the phone. Though I couldn’t be sure, it sounded like So-yul had fallen onto her bed.

I leaned back in my chair like I was lying down. The fatigue that had been relieved by the shower seemed to have completely returned from that one incident. I was too exhausted to even move my mouth.

As I lay there half-dead, So-yul continued:

“And lastly, one tiny tiny reason is…”

She paused briefly and let out a soft breath. Even just the sound made my ears tingle.

Then:

“I just felt like calling.”

“What kind of feeling is ‘feeling like calling’?”

I asked flatly, wondering what she meant.

Her answer came surprisingly quickly.

“A lonely feeling.”

Her unexpectedly honest reply caught me off guard.

“Lonely?”

“Yeah. A little. I left school alone after first period, performed alone, arrived at the hotel alone. I felt bored and lonely.”

“…You left school early today?”

“What? Don’t tell me you didn’t know?”

No. I didn’t.

I kept quiet, feeling this was a bit too much. Of course, staying silent was the clearest answer. So-yul let out a disbelieving laugh and shot back sarcastically:

“Oh my. You were so excited about being fake boyfriend and girlfriend, but you don’t care at all.”

“I wasn’t that excited.”

“Hang up. I’ll think about what to do to you when I get back tomorrow.”

“I’m sorry.”

I apologized, even bowing my head though she couldn’t see it. This seemed to appease her anger as So-yul chuckled and continued:

“Actually, I had a performance request from outside today. Studying for exams is important, but it was hard to refuse since it was my dad’s friend asking…”

By dad, she must mean her famous composer father.

So-yul continued explaining:

“So I snuck out of school in the morning, traveled alone by car, ate alone, waited alone, then came to the hotel alone after it was over. So… I felt a bit lonely, and couldn’t sleep well.”

“You called because of that?”

“Let’s say it was about 0.1% of the reason.”

I see.

Well, I wasn’t unfamiliar with feeling lonely. I sometimes get hit with that feeling too. Like when returning home for breaks.

Though I never called anyone when I felt lonely, people are different. Some might find comfort in hearing voices.

However…

“If you’re so lonely you can’t sleep, why did you only keep calling me? If I didn’t answer, you could’ve called someone else.”

If she needed to hear someone’s voice, why did it have to be mine?

Even just in the classroom, So-yul was always surrounded by people. She probably had several times more friends than me. She surely had others she could call openly.

After a brief silence, So-yul finally replied with a “hmph.”

“It would be inconsiderate to call other people this late at night.”

“Then why call me if you know that?”

“Even if it’s fake, you’re still my boyfriend. You should answer.”

Oh boy, we’ve come full circle back to this. Well, the whole point was probably to act like fake lovers anyway, so what was the use in arguing? I decided to give up and keep quiet.

Taking the baton, So-yul asked:

“What are you doing now?”

“Talking on the phone.”

“What will you do after hanging up?”

“Study.”

“And after that?”

“Sleep.”

“Hmm~”

These obvious questions were almost refreshing in their simplicity. I snorted and asked the same:

“What are you doing?”

“I showered and got in bed. My whole body feels soft and fluffy right now.”

“Didn’t ask.”

“Ah, you just imagined it, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t.”

“Come on.”

She wouldn’t believe that I didn’t. Who does she think is the pervert here? Feeling wronged, I flicked my phone.

“Ugh, that’s loud.”

“I flicked it.”

“Do you know how precious ears are to a pianist?”

“How would I know when I don’t even know piano?”

“Just wait. I’ll counter-attack with a forehead flick.”

“Okay.”

I stayed still as instructed. Soon a dull impact sound hit my ear. Then came So-yul’s voice complaining of pain with an “ooow.”

“My finger hurts…”

“Aren’t fingers precious to pianists too?”

“I thought you said you didn’t know about piano.”

Her tone was full of spikes. She was the one who said she’d hit me, and she was the one who did it, so why was she mad at me?

Of course, this didn’t last long either. So-yul let out a “hehehe” laugh then sighed with relief.

“I guess I really needed to hear someone’s voice. I’m getting sleepy now.”

“Seems like you’re not lonely anymore.”

“Yeah. Talking on the phone helped. It was kind of fun chatting like this too.”

“We only had pointless conversation though. What was fun about it?”

It was a completely uninteresting conversation. It’s amazing she could find enjoyment in talk that contained no meaning or substance.

To my curious question, So-yul answered with just one word:

“Just because.”

As always, a completely non-specific answer.

“I’m going to sleep now. See you tomorrow.”

So-yul’s voice was already heavy with sleep. She must have been quite tired. I had no desire to stay on the phone longer either, so I gratefully took this chance to hang up.

But I couldn’t forget to say goodbye first.

“Sleep well.”

When I offered this farewell while hiding my awkwardness, I sensed her pause momentarily.

But only briefly. Soon a slightly breathy reply came through the phone:

“…Yeah. Sweet dreams to you too.”

What’s this? I didn’t know So-yul could be this kind.

Finding it somewhat unexpected, I couldn’t help but smile.

“Yeah. Got it.”

“Mhm. Even better if you dream about me.”

“Wouldn’t that be a nightmare?”

“What do you mean nightmare, dummy.”

So-yul clicked her tongue at my playful comment. I hoped she wasn’t going to do something weird tomorrow because she was upset…

With this typical bickering, our sudden phone call came to an end.

I tossed my silent phone onto the bed and stretched in my chair.

That unexpected call nearly caused a disaster. I’d been in danger of my relationship with So-yul being discovered. And in the end, there wasn’t even any real reason for the call. I wondered if there could be a more meaningless phone conversation.

But well… it had provided a bit of a breather, so maybe it wasn’t completely useless.

Anyway, with the distraction gone, it was time to get back to studying for exams.

I straightened my back, adjusted my posture, and turned on the desk lamp.

In the mirror on my desk, I saw my reflection wearing a faint smile.