episode_0119

After leaving the bathroom, before going back into the room.

-Why is he here?

Choi Do-hyeon’s voice was heard in front of the door that was slightly, very slightly open.

Moon Jeong-woo paused for a moment while reaching for the doorknob.

When I looked around, there was no one.

Her parents seemed to have gone out somewhere, and her older sister’s door was closed.

-who? Jeong Woo?

The sound of conversation coming out the door began to pierce his mind.

-uh. They say they come to visit without notice… kinda, that’s right.

Choi Do-hyeon’s voice is full of frustration.

Wouldn’t Ye-eun rebut his words?

I expected a little bit.

Because they were always the best of friends.

I’ve known you for a long time that can’t be compared to anyone else, and I will continue to do so… because we were two.

-Why are you acting like this, you’re my friend… Don’t be like that.

Words heard faintly.

He cried out in joy.

He thinks as he hears her voice protecting him from his words.

After all, she is his best friend.

They say that no one like Choi Do-hyun can touch their bond.

She defended herself against Choi Do-hyeon’s words and made him feel a sense of superiority.

The corner of my mouth twitched.

-But, wouldn’t it be better to be alone with me?

Choi Do-hyeon’s words continue leisurely.

That attitude, as if he wasn’t even the slightest bit embarrassed, was disgusting.

This time too, I hoped she would refute his words for Moon Jeong-woo’s own sake.

I sincerely prayed that the feelings he had for her and the feelings she had for him would be the same.

-..That’s right.

The next words broke his heart.

The corners of his mouth that had been rising stiffened, but soon began to fall to the ground.

-Still, among friends – hehe!

Her words were interrupted by a rustling sound.

As if something was blocking my mouth, thud.

‘…uh?’

For a moment, Moon Jeong-woo’s brain hardened.

Even harder than the stiff expression before, as if it contained hard stones rather than soft body tissue.

I wanted to open the door.

However, my body instinctively refused to open the door.

My hands were shaking.

At the same time, a strange feeling of heat rises.

anger? Humiliation?

After a while.

The brain began to function properly again, and the hands began to follow its commands.

Suddenly.

When I opened the door, the two were separated.

What flows in the room is a bit of heat, a mysterious air current.

I couldn’t see what was happening, but I felt like I was falling deeper into a swamp.

In a slick, dark, wet and cold swamp.

Thick muddy water seeps into my clothes, and I want to get out, but I can’t.

There is no one passing by, and you can only feel yourself slowly suffocating.

Clothes become heavy, body becomes sluggish… such a swamp.

An even more frightening feeling that came at the same time as discomfort.

I felt helpless.

Her face was slightly red, and her breathing was somewhat heavier than before.

Even his clothes look a little disheveled.

When I looked at her like that, those feelings arose.

A slight sense of superiority that I had enjoyed just a moment ago.

It disappeared in an instant without a trace.

Like a sand castle after low tide.

“Why are you like this, Jeongwoo…? Come and sit.”

She said with a smile.

It was a smile that seemed to be trying to hide something.

It was not the smile of pure joy and joy that I had seen for over 10 years.

“…I’m going now.”

“Huh? already? Well… it’s dinner time now.”

There was no regret to be found.

-huh? already? Let’s play together a little more, okay?

This is what should have continued.

That’s what I expected.

This is something I have been hearing for the past several years.

“Well, then I’ll just go.”

“Huh? Dohyun… just a little more…”

“It’s late.”

“Heeing, then will you take me there? Let’s go together.”

“Only up to the crosswalk. You know our neighborhood is dangerous.”

“Okay.”

The emotions he wanted were directed to Choi Do-hyun.

A complaint mixed with regret about wanting to spend a little more time together.

Just like that, the three of them went out the front door at the same time.

It was not late in the evening, but the sun sets quickly at this time.

It gets dark in an instant and street lights light up the road.

“Then, Jeongwoo. Go in well. I’ll just go there with Dohyeon and come back.”

“I, too.. I’ll go with you.”

“Huh? It’s okay…”

“When you come, you come alone. Dangerously…”

A comment I made while thinking about its own sweetness.

Jeong Ye-eun, listening, nodded with a puzzled expression.

never ending effort.

‘A little score… Still, do you want to get it…?’

It was a thought that made me feel shabby, even to myself.

In fact, she was clinging to Choi Do-hyeon and smiling, not even thinking about herself walking next to him.

I couldn’t be bothered by the hand lightly placed on my arm or the gaze.

‘…Yes, but if Choi Do-hyun goes, it’s only the two of us left.’

It was a privilege I could enjoy as a childhood friend living nearby.

In the end, Choi Do-hyeon, who lives far away, has to leave.

The way back will be entirely theirs alone.

In front of the crosswalk.

The time that Moon Jeong-woo had been waiting for has finally arrived.

“Go. Go in carefully.”

“Yes! Goodbye, Dohyun! See you tomorrow!”

“Okay.”

He walked away one step at a time.

“..Yeeun!”

Moon Jeong-woo gathered his courage and called her.

“Huh? Why, Jeongwoo? Did you call me?”

“Hey… Do you want to buy a cake?”

The cafe they always went to.

Near the crosswalk, very close.

“Ah! Was there that cafe around here?”

She smiled happily.

“Yes! How about it?”

A smile towards myself that I haven’t seen in a long time.

Moon Jeong-woo’s mood improved.

Even the smallest movement shook his heart heavily, like the footsteps of an elephant.

“Dohyun! Wait a minute, come back!”

Then, she shouted at him as he crossed the crosswalk.

“Uh…? Why is Choi Do-hyun…?”

“Thanks for letting me know, Jeongwoo! I forgot for a moment… I was going to buy you a cake!”

“Ah, ah…. Did you mean to buy it for him…?”

“Yes! You’ll like it, right?”

From afar, I could see Choi Do-hyun coming back, and I could see the distance getting closer little by little.

Every time he got closer, she smiled expectantly.

I imagined the happy reaction and thought of saying thank you.

Laughter leaked out little by little.

Moon Jeong-woo’s mood as he looked at those scenes was becoming more and more miserable.

I feel like even my last memories have been trampled on.

Choi Do-hyeon kept intruding into places that should have been left as memories for just the two of them.

“What, why?”

“Yes, I’m going to buy you a cake over there! It’s really delicious… You bought it for me last time.”

“No, it’s okay.”

“Come quickly.”

She naturally grabbed his wrist.

Even that spot, every single one.

Moon Jeong-woo is vividly experiencing the feeling of being taken away until the very end.

I wish I was the one holding my wrist.

If only I were the one who received her smile in that cafe seen through the window, if I were the one who looked at her with those eyes…

I keep thinking about it.

Choi Do-hyeon headed home again, holding a small paper bag with a cake in his hand.

Moon Jeong-woo watched him leave with his own eyes.

‘But, from now on, for real…!’

Mentally weak, like a crumpled piece of paper.

Still, I endured everything with the determination that we could talk alone on the way back.

Now, at this time –

“Yes, Dohyeon!”

‘what….?’

When I turned my head, I saw her holding the cell phone to her ear.

-I’m going to see you again tomorrow anyway, so why did you call me again?

“Chii, is that why you hate it?”

-no.

“Hee hee. Enjoy it! Never give it to someone else!”

The sound of the phone came through.

Even if you don’t want to hear it, it happens automatically.

“Hey, Ye-eun…”

“Uh, sorry, Jeongwoo. wait for a sec. Let’s talk later.”

No matter how much I tried to talk to her, she seemed to have more fun concentrating on the phone.

“..I’m going.”

In the end, unable to have any conversation, he had to break up with her.

“Uh, yes! I’ll contact you later, Jeongwoo!”

Shout out one word.

“Yes, yes, so. Really?”

And then, a voice full of laughter follows.

Toward the other person on the other end of the phone…

He let his shoulders slump and trudged towards his house.

“Jungwoo, what’s going on?”

“Oh, I don’t know!”

…The anger went to the wrong place.

**

A few days later.

Choi Do-hyeon finally had his cast removed.

And, he was still sitting in the corner of the club room.

“Rest a little more! Even if the cast is taken off, you never know… just for about a week.”

“…But do you really have to rest like this?”

“What?”

Lim Chae-won was sitting on his lap, as he sat with his legs spread out.

“No, wouldn’t it be a hindrance to exercising?”

“I’m the manager, well.”

“It’s an abuse of power.”

“The power is there to be used in times like this.”

Min Ji-seong glares at them as usual.

And the rest of the members looked on happily.

“If you feel uncomfortable, ask. Ga-yeon! If we do this, will we be disturbed?”

Lim Chae-won asked a female member.

She trudged over, smiled, and said:

“No? Our Chaewon stopped growing so long ago that I wondered if someone would take her away… It’s nice to see, but what? I feel like my daughter has become independent.”

“What? hey! Am I big enough? You’re not even that big – ”

Choi Do-hyeon’s hand went to Lim Chae-won’s head.

“Calm down.”

“Hehe, yes.”

A member called Ga-yeon stood up and rejoined the movement.

After a while, Lim Chae-won, full of smiles, also followed her.