episode_0062

“Ahh!”

Soyeong woke up sweating from a dream where a ghost chased her, tears of blood streaming down. Reciting a prayer instinctively, the looming fear gradually subsided.

“Another one of those dreams?”

It was a nightmare she started having since hearing that a ghost was still by Maengho’s side. While she hadn’t been plagued by nightmares when occasionally meeting Maengho, not seeing him for the past two weeks during his finishing camp made the nightmares torment Soyeong continuously.

Normally, she could brush it off as nothing, but today felt more unsettling than usual.

“Has it been so long since we last met?”

It seemed like nearly 20 days had passed since she last saw Maengho. Even then, meeting Maengho would keep the nightmares at bay for a while, but…

With thoughts of Maengho, Soyeong’s heart began to race.

“Why is my heart racing like this?”

The fluttering feeling in her chest when thinking of a man. Soyeong was taken aback by this unfamiliar sensation and soon, surprise turned into astonishment.

“Could it be that I like Maengho? Well, he is good-looking, but…”

Come to think of it, her heart always raced whenever she met Maengho. And now, just thinking of him made her heart flutter.

“Really…?”

Truth be told, it was natural for Soyeong’s heart to race every time she met Maengho. After all, they were discussing ghost stories in eerie places late at night, where ghosts might appear.

However, Soyeong had never loved a man or even harbored feelings of affection, so she failed to realize the nature of this fluttering sensation. Memories with Maengho flooded her mind.

From the moment she heard the ghost’s name to eventually uncovering its identity and pondering how to exorcise it together.

During their last encounter, she learned the ghost’s name was “Vesley Ricky.” And during Maengho’s camp period, she managed to find the person who used the name “Vesley Ricky,” seemingly related to eyesight issues.

“Vesley Ricky, a former head of the Cardinals and Dodgers in the early days of Major League Baseball, who recruited the first black player to the Major Leagues.”

To uncover this, they joined hands, ending with an embrace. Embarrassing memories resurfaced – Maengho’s inflated self in the abandoned building piercing her body, witnessing high schoolers engaging in questionable activities… memories she struggled to suppress came flooding back.

“Oh no, what am I thinking!”

Blushing with embarrassment, she tilted her head, catching sight of her reflection in the mirror.

“This is my face…?”

Her face flushed red as if about to burst. The bewildering feeling of seeing her own face for the first time in her life only added to her confusion.

Q: My face turns red and my heart races when I think of him. Is this love?

As she questioned her own heart, the answer came quickly.

A: Yes, it is love.

In a situation where anyone, unless perverse, would blush if a foreign man touched them, Soyeong, already convinced it was love, couldn’t entertain such a thought.

Remarkably, the human brain tends to solidify beliefs as truth, a phenomenon known as confirmation bias.

Driven by this bias, her heart’s flutter evolved into trembling. Memories with Maengho flooded Soyeong’s mind in a jumble.

During the physical test, the effort he put in to impress her.

“He was so gentle and cute.”

When she was surprised that the ghost was still following her, the comfort he provided.

“And so reliable.”

Locked in the abandoned building, shivering, the moment he willingly offered his leg.

“After the accident, he was also considerate.”

And various other things happened.

As Soon as she began to believe that her feelings were love, each of Maengho’s actions seemed pleasing. She could even understand the aspect of him revealing a bit about himself.

“Yeah, men are naturally like that. Grandfather was like that, father was like that too. Besides mother and grandmother, they all had secrets to keep.”

Soyoung took out her phone. Today happened to be the last day of the finishing camp, and she missed Maengho whom she hadn’t seen for two weeks.

-Me: Maengho, did the finishing camp end today? Can we meet?

“Should I send it? Or not?”

The text was already composed, but since she hadn’t sent a text first, Soyoung hesitated for a moment. After some contemplation, she decided to send the text.

“Sending…!”

After sending the text, Soyoung realized something important.

“Oh right! It’s still early morning, isn’t it?”

It was too early to send a message right after waking up from a nightmare. Could this text disturb his training? She started to worry.

“Thankfully, 1 hasn’t disappeared yet.”

She definitely hadn’t checked it yet. Thank goodness. That thought lasted only briefly.

“When is he going to check it, anyway? Could it be that he’s ignoring me? It’s probably time for morning exercise to start…”

Soyoung, who had never experienced such a situation before in her life, was bewildered by this new experience.

“Come to think of it, there have been many firsts with Maengho….”

Identifying a ghost for the first time, being comforted while crying by someone other than family for the first time, and embarrassingly, being touched in that place by a man for the first time. …And thinking of Maengho made Soyoung’s face flush again.

“When does he actually check his texts…!”

She redirected her embarrassment into a slight resentment. And that small resentment gradually turned into anticipation. And that anticipation wasn’t so bad.

At twenty-five, it was a late first love.

*

-Cheon Soyoung: Maengho, did the finishing camp end today? Can we meet?

Why did I send such a text out of the blue? Checking the time she sent the text, it was dawn. A text like this at dawn—could it be because of a nightmare?

Suddenly, she remembered when Soyoung mentioned having nightmares about ghosts before coming to the finishing camp.

“I feel slightly sorry. Is she having those dreams because of me?”

She didn’t have these nightmares until I brought up the ghost stories.

“Why are you suddenly worried about a girl like her?”

“Huh? Well….”

Hyuna, Hyejin noona, and Joeun liked her a lot, but they didn’t evoke these emotions in them.

“Maybe it’s because she’s special?”

The reason why Soyoung was different from them. No matter how much I thought about it, that seemed to be the only explanation. My own woman, not shared with Rosby. …And she was my style. Of course, just because I liked Soyoung didn’t mean I would give up on other women.

This is this, that is that.

“You trash, wasn’t our agreement about sharing sensations during sex? Although I didn’t think a lowlife like you would keep a promise.”

“Again, again. Jealousy? Nunu said, male jealousy is pathetic.”

“…You monkey bastard!”

“Instead, when you meet other women, you enjoy a lot, right? You’ll have more to feast on, so please refrain from jealousy. Nunu said, male…”

“Shut your mouth. You freaking yellow monkey bastard!”

Now, hearing Rosby’s racial discrimination if absent, I composed a text to send to Soyoung.

-Me: Sorry for the late reply, where should we meet?

-Cheon Soyoung: Can you come to my house? I’ll send you the address. It’s just that I’ve been having recurring nightmares, so don’t misunderstand, there’s no other meaning behind it.”

Soon after sending my reply, Soyoung’s response arrived in less than a minute. Seems like she was waiting for it.

– Me: Don’t worry about any misunderstandings; just send me your address.

– Cheon Soyoung: Jamsil-dong, Songpa-gu …………

– Me: I’m departing from Ichon now, so I should arrive around evening, is that okay?

– Cheon Soyoung: It’s fine, I’m still at work.

After finishing the conversation with Soyoung, I realized that Woogwanhyung had already disappeared, having packed up all the luggage. I guess I should send him a message too… Hmm, he’s in his forties, should I text him? After contemplating, I decided to send a text in the end.

– Senior, this is Jimangho. Here’s my number. Thank you for suggesting training together. Let me know what I need to prepare. I’ll strive to be a senior who also supports juniors in the future. Thank you.

This should suffice, right? Anyway, he’s the top member of the team, so I should be as respectful as possible.

“Where did that boldness from the interview go?”

“That was at Rossby’s request! And isn’t speaking to reporters different from talking to the top member within the team? Anyway, we’ll see each other for a few years.”

“Tsk, lacking boldness.”

Rossby clicked his tongue as if unamused. Even though I may live thoughtlessly, I’m not a fool in front of the top member of the team! More influential within the team than the coach was Woogwanhyung of AT Thunders.

“You’ve grown a bit. Boringly.”

“…Aren’t you supposed to be moved when your student grows?”

“Heh, that depends on the student. Watching your foolishness was entertaining.”

Ugh, being one of the world’s top five adults, I have to endure this. With such wicked thoughts, I was sure to end up in hell even if I attained enlightenment. Still, Mr. Rossby, don’t worry, I’ll rescue you from hell someday! Because I’m one of the world’s top five adults!

“…Idiot.”

*

“I thought you lived in a nice apartment because you’re wealthy, but you were living in an officetel? Well, it still looks better than our place.”

The exterior of the officetel looked neat, and in the parking lot, I saw Soyoung’s car that we often rode in, along with a few other foreign cars.

“You here?”

Waiting in the parking lot, Soyoung approached wearing a comfortable hoodie. Hmm, even though I’m not interested in fashion, I could tell it was a high-end brand hoodie. As expected of a foreign car owner… envious.

“Were you waiting for me?”

Hiding my envy, I greeted her as usual.

“Yeah….”

What’s going on? Today, Soyoung seemed off. There was a strange tension in the air unlike usual. Because of that feeling, she seemed more awkward than when we last met.

“It’s here, your home? You seem elegant, I thought you lived in a nice apartment, like Tower Palace or Lotte Tower, something like that.”

“E-elegant? Th-thank you.”

Why is she stuttering like this? Clearly, she seemed a bit distressed due to the nightmare. If it had been a usual nightmare, she wouldn’t have contacted me first. Thinking this, I looked at Soyoung’s face again, which was noticeably flushed.

“Your face is red. Are you feeling unwell?”

I instinctively placed my hand on Soyoung’s forehead. After engaging in exorcism activities, this level of physical contact had become familiar, so Soyoung naturally accepted my hand.

“I’m not running a fever.”

“…R-right! Let’s go inside first. There are things to discuss.”

“Yes.”

Following Soyoung inside, the house appeared cleaner than expected. Everything was well organized and gave off a tidy vibe.

“Shall we sit down? I’ll bring some tea.”