21 – Haerin Kang (21)
Haerin Kang (21)
“Mr. Penelope?”
Five minutes before the start of the lecture, I turned around in surprise at the sudden wind blowing into my ears.
And I was twice as surprised.
“Look at your expression. Pooh.”
Park Se-young put her face in a position less than 20 cm away and her eyes were wide open.
Her clear eyes and dimpled cheeks were just as impressive as when I first saw her.
“Ah, Park Se-young, look at what you’re doing.”
“Chief Park, let’s behave like a public official?”
Hwang Ji-young and Kim Yoon-ah spoke loudly to her.
“But what about Penelope?”
They asked Park Se-young.
“You guys, don’t you know Odyssey?”
“Ah, that wise mother?”
Park Se-young sat to my right as usual, put a hand on my shoulder and said to my friends on my left.
“The good wife waited until the hero Odysseus returned, repeating unraveling and weaving. It’s a symbol of the highest order.”
I’ve become quite close with her in the last two weeks.
I don’t think I have rational feelings, but looking at my dumbfounded expression, I wonder if it’s similar to what Kim Eun-hye liked.
Of course, compared to Kim Eun-hye, Park Se-young was cute.
“But why is the senior Penelope?”
“Your senior is also waiting for a girlfriend.”
“Ah, it was. Then the male version of Penelope?”
From nob le mt l. co m
Jiyoung Hwang and Yuna Kim looked at me.
“Senior, haven’t you forgotten, Mr. Kang Haerin?”
“He is my ideal type. A lone wolf-like man who is loyal and loves only one woman.”
Park Se-young listened to his classmates and laughed as he took out a print and writing utensil from his bag.
Uncharacteristically for me who suffered from social phobia, it was a great development to become close with them recently.
My sister was happy, and I was also satisfied.
Her advice did have some effect.
Haerin Kang didn’t come back for more than two weeks, and in the end I got sick because I was worried.
My older sister said while taking care of me.
‘It’s just your delusion to say that Mr. Kang Hae-rin is a character in a novel. I didn’t want to say it this far, but it’s just that I’m taking a girl with the same name seriously for no reason.’
It hurt a little because I had never seen my sister speak so loudly to me about delusions and all.
But thanks to that, I accepted the reality.
I thought Kang Hae-rin’s appearance in front of me was like a midsummer night’s dream and passed it on.
Occasionally I dreamed that she would come and stand next to me or kiss me on the lips, but this too would heal over time.
Also, as my sister said, it might be a delusion.
If I hadn’t been the only witness to Kang Hae-rin, I would have been admitted to a mental hospital on my own feet.
That’s how my daily life seemed to be restored.
Of course, he wasn’t so brazen that he re-published 『Journal』 just because Kang Hae-rin disappeared.
Anyway, I have to write a new work.
It wasn’t easy to come up with a new idea.
When I turn on my phone, there are still dozens of comments from readers saying, “Please come back.”
‘Writer, are you feeling well?’
‘I want to see how the preparation for the new work is going. Isn’t it easy because 『Journal』 is such a masterpiece? Don’t stress, please discuss with me.’
Everyone said thank you.
But apart from that, it was rather exhausting.
Kang Hae-rin was someone who had never been by my side, but when she was gone, it was as if a part of my life had collapsed.
I didn’t know why I felt this way either.
After a while, the professor came in.
The ‘novel creation’ class was scheduled to be conducted for the next few weeks with a focus on consensus.
All of the students submitted their work in batches.
“As I said last time, those who did not submit this time cannot participate in the joint evaluation.”
said the professor.
I looked at the empty seat.
It was Kang Haerin’s seat.
In fact, she hadn’t attended a ‘novel creation’ class since the beginning of the semester, so it was strange to feel that place was hers.
One more absence in the future, she was F confirmed.
It’s not even my grades, but I have a bitter taste, like my son has been getting failing grades.
According to the set up, Kang Hae-rin was able to get an A grade if she wrote it properly.
I have never described the details of the novels she wrote in my novels, but she must have great writing skills.
“brother.”
Park Se-young whispered from the side.
Her title had been changed back to ‘Brother’.
“huh?”
“A web novel club, don’t you want to try it?”
“Ah, um…”
“You don’t have to worry. Would you like to just observe? There are a lot of kids who want to come in when oppa comes in now, so I’ll use it. yes? lol. Yu-Ram unnie also told me to tell my brother to come in again.”
“… me? why?”
“Because your brother is handsome?”
Park Se-young said lightly, as if she was not embarrassed.
The reason Park Se-young tried to recruit me at first was because he suspected Kang Hae-rin as the writer of 『Ilji』.
Now that she’s gone, there’s no need to ask me to come in, but to invite her to join again.
That word sounded like a serious joke.
When I was in middle school, it was the same comments I made when the older sisters from a nearby girls’ high school s*xually harassed me by calling me ‘handsome’.
There’s no way someone like me could have been handsome.
But I was troubled.
Lately, thinking about Kang Hae-rin has been a headache the whole time, and even when I’m alone, I feel depressed.
I can’t write a novel about Kang Hae-rin, so I have to write a new one, but I don’t have any ideas about it.
I don’t know if the web novel club is a research class or a creative class, but I felt like I could be stimulated by something.
Besides, minimal social relations were necessary for me.
My sister also strongly recommended it.
“…I wonder if…”
“Really? Oh yeah-“
Park Se-young took a small fighting stance.
“I’ll call you to attend.”
The professor’s attendance check has begun.
“Kang Haerin-?”
I was waiting for my name to be called, but that name was called first, probably because it was in alphabetical order.
won’t come back anymore
The professor said while checking the attendance sheet.
“Isn’t Haerin Kang here? Sup, that’s weird. If you are absent this time, the next one will be the last…”
he asked again.
“Does anyone know the contact information for Haerin Kang? I sent you a great novel this time too, but why didn’t you come?”
“……”
In an instant, my heart skipped a beat.
You sent me a novel?
Kang Hae-rin had to know the contact information of the class president of the creative class and the deadline date in order to finish the novel.
“Class monitor?”
The professor said to the class president.
To put it simply, the class president was a person who acted as a bridge between the professor and the students.
“Did you say anything to Haerin Kang?”
“Uh… I thought you were coming today.”
A shy-looking male student said.
He seemed to be the class president of the class.
“……”
Feeling my mouth tingle, I looked away and met Park Se-young’s eyes.
She also had a slightly confused expression.
“Haerin Kang, are you here?”
she whispers and asks
that’s what i wanted to know
“Now, be quiet… then I’ll keep calling. seaweed…”
From nob le mt l. co m
Just then, the classroom door opened and a woman entered.
“… I’m sorry, Professor.”
The moment a moderately lively, yet mature voice crossed the classroom, a strange tension rose.
There are times like that.
From nob le mt l. co m
Just by hearing his voice, I had a feeling that this person could not be easily ignored and would become an object of admiration.
I knew its protagonist better than anyone.
“Hmm, student Haerin Kang, it’s the first time I’ve seen you.”
The professor lifted his glasses as if he was interested.
“Until today, I will admit it as attendance. Come in quickly and have a seat.”
“thank you.”
Haerin Kang smiled and went to the empty seat.
She must have jumped a bit, so she took a deep breath and exhaled repeatedly.
“…leave your bag here.”
The man next to her shyly spoke to her.
“thank you.”
Haerin Kang smiled.
“……..”
I had a strange feeling.
Kang Hae-rin did not pay attention to me, but kept her gaze fixed on the professor in an upright posture.
But I could tell.
The air flow changed with the appearance of one person.
Not only the man who removed the bag, but also the female classmates all lost interest in the professor’s attendance.
All together, Kang Hae-rin’s strong chest that rises and falls every time she breathes, hair moist as if wet in the rain, and clear features glancing at her.
What surprised me the most was her clear expression.
From nob le mt l. co m
Just two weeks ago, that pretty face had been so troubled that it looked overshadowed, but now, for some reason, it seemed like a new birth.
Could it really be like that?
From nob le mt l. co m
Just as Kang Hae-rin suddenly appeared in front of me with her laptop, couldn’t she have been reborn?
Like the strong version 2.
While thinking absurdly, the professor said to the students as he started his lecture.
“Today is the first match day, right? By the way… Because we are supposed to review in the order of ‘Canadian’… Student Haerin Kang is included. Do you know this story? Can I do it right away?”
The professor’s eyes turned to Haerin Kang.
As if it were a sign of ‘permission’, all eyes in the classroom were fixed on her.
Kang Hae-rin replied with a smile in a perfect ‘mask’ state, not intimidated at all.
“of course. professor.”
“Yes, very good.”
The professor seemed satisfied.
First of all, agreeing is something everyone is reluctant to do, but it wasn’t enough to hear such an answer.
The professor seemed to like Kang Hae-rin at once.
Well, that was her ability too.
She likes everyone.
Because I was unloved and always a loner, I gave her that ability.
She wants to be easily loved by everyone.
It was unfolding right in front of my eyes.
reconciliation has begun.
While reading Kang Hae-rin’s novel, I hesitated.
[… ‘Suicide or love.’ At that moment, such a parody appeared in her mind. The moment she asked the question, she realized that she had already answered it. From the moment she faced the trouble, she decided to remain his wife. Even if he cheated on her. She didn’t feel like blaming him. He made a clone of her because he loved her. She knew she wasn’t ‘genuine’, but she couldn’t stop loving him nonetheless. No, it was not genuine, so I longed for his ‘true love’.]
“……”
I’m at a loss for words.
Kang Hae-rin’s novel deals with the agony of a woman who discovers that she is a ‘cloned human’ created by her husband.
It was a novel with a sci-fi feel, but to me it seemed like a metaphor for reality.
Haerin Kang was sniping at me.
‘… I noticed.’
As if possessed, I cast my gaze toward Kang Hae-rin, who was sitting a little further away.
Kang Haerin was looking at me as if he had been waiting.