episode_0004

As the tension eased, Ji-won let go of my hand.

“Are you calm now?”

In response to my question about being calm, Ji-won nodded.

It’s not that surprising to have a girlfriend, so I don’t understand why he’s acting so rashly.

After calming down a bit, Ji-won looked at me and spoke.

“So, did you have sex?”

I didn’t know how to respond to Ji-won’s question.

Is he trying to turn the conversation around with that provocative statement?

Have you had sex?

Thinking like that, I gazed at Ji-won.

“No, I haven’t.”

That was the only thing I could say at that moment.

Upon hearing my denial, Ji-won seemed relieved and started to look at me as if reassured.

“Thank goodness. This guy hasn’t gone all the way yet.”

Although I felt like killing him on the spot, I decided to hold back for now.

It was getting late, and I couldn’t keep Ji-won here for too long, so I decided to send him away for now.

“Why? Can’t I stay a bit longer?”

Ji-won asked if he couldn’t stay longer, but I firmly said no.

He started to argue with me, asking why I was being like that.

“My girlfriend is coming over.”

Upon hearing my words, Ji-won grabbed my collar again and started to get angry.

After calming Ji-won down, I finally managed to get him to leave so I could be alone at home.

Feeling somewhat relieved by the sudden quietness, I lay down and looked at my smartphone.

Perhaps it was because of the overwhelming events or maybe because of dealing with Ji-won today, I unknowingly closed my eyes.

Just sleeping like this wouldn’t be so bad, I thought.

**

What does it mean to be ordinary?

A life without anything lacking.

Friends who are neither too close nor too distant.

Parents without any shortcomings.

Can that truly be considered ordinary?

I began to wonder if living an ordinary life was right for me.

Even in a life without lacking, thoughts about sexuality and future career paths lingered.

I spent my life pondering what I could become.

While my parents reassured me every day, advising me to pursue what I wanted in terms of my career, thinking about it tormented me daily. I yearned to be free.

The child entered high school.

Preparations for college were necessary, but I also deliberated on which major to choose.

My friends suggested we just pick a major we somewhat liked.

But I didn’t want to decide too casually.

It made me think deeply every day.

As I pondered about college for a while, that guy appeared.

Kang Ji-hoo. What would he grow up to be?

While contemplating what I could become, a voice interrupted.

“Hey!! Move!!”

Above me, I saw a guy flying towards me, as if soaring freely through the sky. He landed next to me and hurt his leg.

Looking at me with a flustered expression, he quietly got up from his seat.

Wondering what he was doing, he said, “Why are you staring? Mind your own business!” and limped away step by step.

Assuming he sprained his ankle, I decided to take him to the infirmary.

Looking at him, I couldn’t help but think, “Who is this crazy person?”

**

At the infirmary, I applied red ointment to his injured leg.

The school nurse seemed to be out for lunch, so I ended up applying the ointment myself.

“Oh. Thanks.”

The guy thanked me and then stood up, reaching out his hand to me.

“Let’s go eat.”

Extending his hand to me, he suggested we grab a meal together.

I hadn’t gone to lunch yet, so there wasn’t an issue with going now.

As I was heading towards the cafeteria, I asked that guy,

“Why did you jump earlier?”

In response to my question, he looked at me with a puzzled expression and said,

“I just jumped and then stopped.”

What’s up with this guy?

The reason was simple.

The problem was too straightforward, making my head spin.

I thought he got hurt for such a simple reason.

It wasn’t a small gap, and it had been almost half a year since becoming a first-year student. Did I not realize how high that gap was?

I felt like I shouldn’t get too close.

Thinking that way, we just had lunch together and called it a day.

“Hey, what’s your name by the way?”

When I asked for his name, he replied, “Kang Ji-hoo.”

After exchanging names, we had lunch and returned to the classroom.

“Which class are you in?”

“I’m in Class 1.”

“Class 1 is damn far away.”

Saying that, Ji-won went into Class 8.

Quite a distance…

I thought that meeting Ji-won was the end of it.

Certainly, I thought so.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

The next day, Ji-won came into our class as he pleased and started talking to me.

I thought yesterday was our last meeting.

Was it a mistake to show him the classroom?

During break time, he started coming to our class every day to find me.

It became annoying each time, making me wonder if it was bothersome.

I didn’t know how to respond to Ji-won’s words.

Still, I thought having someone beside me was quite nice.

All the hustle and bustle… It’s nice.

**

After that, we became close friends in our senior year.

I asked Ji-won what he planned to do after graduation.

“Well, I want to be independent right away.”

Ji-won expressed his desire to be independent.

I didn’t say anything in response because not going to college wasn’t my path.

I just accepted it and moved on.

With that in mind, after graduation…

Ji-won left the area where I lived and moved to Daegu.

Since it wasn’t the area where I attended university, I decided to relocate.

By chance, the area where my university was located was also Daegu, so I ended up staying in touch with Ji-won, occasionally visiting his house.

Ji-won’s place was a small two-room apartment.

It seemed too vast to live alone, and Ji-won himself seemed comfortable living there.

At least for a month.

One day, he texted me:

– Our water isn’t running due to unpaid utility bills.

– The boiler won’t turn on because of unpaid gas bills.

– The power is out… Damn.

Most of the issues stemmed from not being able to pay bills.

Although I could afford the rent, when it came to living expenses, there often wasn’t enough left after calculations.

I thought this couldn’t continue, but unknowingly, I ended up paying Ji-won’s utility bills.

I thought it would only be once, so I paid, and the next day Ji-won thanked me, saying,

“Can’t you buy me a meal just once?”

Nothing had changed about him.

Not even as an adult.

Strangely, I couldn’t just leave him.

Eventually, I agreed to buy him a meal, and after having sundae gukbap with Ji-won for the last time,

He disappeared for two months.

During that time, he confessed to a girl.

They became a couple and moved in together.

Because his girlfriend wanted to live together in a two-room apartment, they moved, even though it was a bit of a stretch, and arranged their belongings.

He even bought women’s underwear for the apartment he used to live in alone.

“Oh.. I just wanted to try that once. I really didn’t know how to do it.”

I was a bit taken aback by his words, but I thought I just didn’t know well enough.

We were still dating.

Even after two months of dating, one thought lingered in my mind.

Could I truly become the perfect boyfriend?

The alarm on my smartphone started ringing.

It was Jiwon. As I checked the message wondering what could have happened after two months of no contact.

– I got screwed lol

At the sudden mention of being screwed, I didn’t know how to respond.

However, somehow, rather than talking to my current girlfriend right now,

I thought it wouldn’t be so bad to talk to a friend like Jiwon.

I told her I would come over to Jiwon’s place.

I don’t know what crazy thing she might be up to, but…

I should go hang out with her once.

**

And when I went over, Jiwon had turned into a girl.

I was truly shocked.

Something feels too quiet inside the house today.

Can a house that was just noisy moments ago suddenly become this quiet with one person gone?

As I looked around the now quiet room, I decided to finish the game I was playing earlier.

While playing the game. Wasn’t this game boring like this originally?

Ah! I wasn’t good at games anyway, right?

I turned off the game console and started organizing the controllers.

I should just clean up and get ready for school tomorrow.

Thinking that, as I was cleaning the house.

– Ring!

With the vibration on my smartphone, the alarm started ringing.

Who could it be? Someone texting me now…

As I checked the message, it said it was from Jiwon.

Wondering what could be going on, I checked it.

Jiwon’s text left me flustered.

– Something big happened.. My v*gina hurts..

What the hell is this supposed to mean?