176 – 171. Memories**
“…….”
I blankly stare at the sky outside.
A dark sky.
Stars that seem densely packed because of the mountain valley.
A moon emitting a faint light.
Suddenly, I realize that I’ve been looking at the sky a lot lately.
‘My older brother said that when you look at the sky a lot, you become an adult.’
He said that when you have a lot to worry about and a lot to take responsibility for, you naturally look up at the sky.
I used to think it was just a saying.
But now, I wonder if this is how people used to find God in the old days.
They would have worries, look up at the sky, and call out to God.
Well, I don’t have any intention of having a religion.
And it’s not like my situation will be solved by praying to an omnipotent power, so I stopped there.
“Did you resolve it well?”
Joo-hee sunbae, who had approached me at some point.
She didn’t make any footsteps, but I wasn’t particularly surprised.
She must have just finished smoking a cigarette in the smoking area, because her body was thick with the smell of cigarettes.
“I talked to Seo-rang earlier. I heard that Gyu-ah helped you find A-rin. It seems like you also spent some time with Ye-rin just now.”
Finally, I had finished talking to the three people I had targeted.
It was simpler than I thought, but the results were the complete opposite of what I had expected.
“So, are the kids a little more convinced? Their expressions didn’t seem particularly difficult.”
“Whew, sunbae.”
Yes, it’s true that someone needs to counsel them.
But I wondered if it had to be Joo-hee sunbae. It hadn’t been long since I rejected her confession.
“Tell me. It’s okay.”
But sunbae was always sunbae.
I wondered if she had already sorted out her feelings for me, since she was so nonchalant about offering to counsel me.
“Actually.”
I grabbed my forehead and briefly explained the answers they had given me.
The story only took about 5 minutes.
That’s because I didn’t explain it in detail, but just gave a report of the results.
Before I knew it, sunbae was also looking up at the moon blankly like me, a cigarette in her mouth.
“Oh, I’m sorry. In front of someone who doesn’t smoke.”
“No, it’s okay.”
“It’s a habit of mine to smoke when I’m thinking. Whew, so you told the kids that you would reject them all.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Then, what about Oh Yoon-ji? Were you going to date her?”
“……Probably not.”
I know that I have to talk to Yoon-ji again someday.
But when I think about my relationship with the kids, it’s ambiguous for me to date anyone else.
“You’re tired.”
Looking at me like that, sunbae muttered softly.
Tired?
“It seems like you’re tired from dealing with the kids.”
“That’s not it.”
Joo-hee sunbae must have said that because she was worried about me, but I couldn’t say that I was tired.
I didn’t want to express that I was suffering or tired because of the fact that they liked me.
I’ve never thought of it that way.
“…….”
In response to my answer, Joo-hee sunbae exhaled smoke and patted me on the back.
“Let’s go in. They said they were going to show off their talents, so they rented a separate auditorium.”
“There’s an auditorium in the pension?”
“There are a lot of schools that come for MT, so there are quite a few places that are prepared for that kind of thing these days.”
I see.
But a talent show.
It might be fun to see the first-years dancing and singing.Let’s go to the auditorium with the seniors. The kids were already sitting on the floor and looking at the stage.
The professors were in the very back, already watching while having a can of beer each.
‘I guess we’ll start drinking seriously after this.’
There was still some meat left, and there was a lot of leftovers piled up in the restaurant.
I guess they’re trying to get a little excited before drinking.
The 2nd and 3rd graders had their own seats, so I went there.
Choi Iseo, who was standing a little away from the kids, waved.
When I looked, it seemed like he was standing up in the corner, ready to go whenever the professors called.
“Woojin-ah.”
Senior Joohee called me as I was about to go to Choi Iseo.
She made a shy expression and patted me on the back again.
“Don’t worry too much. Just cool your head for now.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Senior Joohee said that and coolly turned her back and went to the 3rd grade seat.
There weren’t many 3rd graders, so she stood out, but it seemed like she had never confessed to me.
‘Thank goodness.’
I almost lost a good senior.
I’m really glad that Senior Joohee is cool and awesome.
“Did you talk to Yerim?”
Choi Iseo asked as I approached.
I didn’t react much and answered flatly.
“Yeah, I talked to her a little. I warned her not to fight for nothing from now on.”
“Good job.”
“What about you? You said you were going to talk to the 1st and 3rd graders.”
“Umm, I talked to them.”
From Noble mtl dot com
You talked to them?
“You know, in the end, rumors are uncontrollable.”
“That’s true.”
Especially since I’m the manager of the bamboo forest, I know it even better.
That’s because big and small lies often get inflated and seem real on this side.
“Oh, it’s starting now.”
Choi Iseo had nothing else to say.
He just added that the kids had prepared hard as he watched the talent show begin.
“Hello, everyone from Ga-hyeon University’s English Literature Department. I’m Ahn Hyunho, a sophomore in the Department of Taxation, and I’ll be the MC for this talent show.”
Ahn Hyunho grabbed the microphone.
He looked surprisingly good with it, and since he had good charisma, he led the kids’ response well.
The auditorium was dark.
As the lights came on, the 1st graders danced and sang.
It was really nice to see.
The 1st graders were so innocent and pure that I wondered if they were really gossiping about me.
The other grades laughed and made a fuss as they watched.
In the meantime, my phone rang in my pocket.
– Oh Yoonji –
It was more touching than I thought to see her name on my phone.
Just half a year ago, I was waiting for a call from this number at any time.
It was funny to see that I felt a little awkward now.
I left Choi Iseo and went outside.
Since everyone was gathered in the auditorium, there was no one around, so I was able to take the call comfortably.
“Hello?”
– Hello. Are you at the MT right now?
“Oh, the kids’ talent show. I think we’ll probably drink after this.”
– There must be a lot of people there?
“There are a lot.”
– You used to hate that kind of thing.
“……Right.”
That was true.
I guess I should call her Oh Yoonji.
To be honest, Yoonji knew my personality and preferences better than anyone else at school.
That’s because I wanted to share everything with her.I thought only Americans would have these kinds of conversations with their ex-girlfriends.
“Why are you calling?”
Oh Yoon-ji answered my question in a businesslike manner.
– Oh, I wanted to thank you for what you did with Pofo. Thanks to you, I’ve started broadcasting again.
The bamboo forest must be in an uproar.
I’m worried that the construction department didn’t paint it.
“Yeah, that’s why I called. I’m telling you to cheer up. I don’t watch your broadcasts much.”
– Okay, I’ll let him know.
I thought that was the end of it, so I tried to hang up the phone.
– What’s wrong?
Her voice wasn’t particularly worried.
Rather, it was because of that that I felt her concern more.
Without burdening her, I almost poured out all my worries in response to her casual question.
“Why? Does my voice sound bad?”
I didn’t think it was any different from usual.
– Just. The atmosphere? I’m good at noticing things like this.
“Yeah, that’s right. Thanks to you, I couldn’t hide anything.”
– hehehehe, that’s right. Remember that time? When you joined the band club and hid it from me and got caught.
“……Why are you bringing up old wounds?”
– You joined the band club because you wanted to sing a love song to someone.
“Ha, yeah. That’s right.”
In my first year, I thought there was something romantic about club activities.
So I tried to join the band club, but I remember that it was all girls.
But that wasn’t the problem.
– It wasn’t a band club, it was an anime club. And it was one with a particular taste.
“……When I asked you if you had a boyfriend, I was really nervous.”
– I thought you were cosplaying as a band anime character. I told you to take a good look because I was weird there. The band club doesn’t recruit many people in the first place.
“I told you. That’s why I left right away.”
Oh Yoon-ji was nagging naturally.
What can I say?
It was a conversation that reminded me of when we used to date.
– ……It reminds me of when we were dating.
It seemed that Oh Yoon-ji felt the same way.
She looked up at the sky naturally.
“Yoon-ji.”
Come to think of it, that’s right.
“Let’s break up.”
I still haven’t said it.
– …….
“I think I can say it now.”
Breaking up takes courage.
After a long time, I was able to find the courage to break up.
Yoon-ji was silent, but I continued to speak.
“It was just, just something we dated in college.”
It’s not hard to see.
It’s something you go through once.
That’s all it was.
“It may be hard and painful.”
I know it all too well because I’ve been through it.
“But if you live a busy life, one day, you’ll be able to laugh it off and say, ‘Why did I like that guy?'”
And I.
“I want to be that kind of person for you.”
Someone you can laugh at and get over the fact that you dated me.
I wanted to be that kind of person.
There was no answer for a long time.
She didn’t sob or breathe heavily.
I just waited for her to organize what she wanted to say.
– CEO Kim asked me. What’s so good about you?
My older brother?
– He asked me if there was a reason why I liked you enough to work this hard. If there was something that triggered it.
I thought about that for a moment.
When did I start liking Oh Yoon-ji?
I didn’t have any clear memories.Yoonji had just confessed, and I had accepted it naturally.
– I guess you think life is a drama.
Laughter flowed in.
– You come to like someone because of a certain situation. It’s actually rare for this to happen.
That’s true.
Even when Yoonji confessed to me.
We were just walking while eating ice cream.
– You don’t fall in love.
“…….”
– You realize it at some point. That I was already in love with that person.
I think I now know why Yoonji suddenly confessed while we were eating ice cream.
– It’s inevitable that we’ll break up.
She didn’t look sad.
Even though she had declared our breakup, Yoonji was smiling at me.
– One day, when I remember you.
Her words were filled with firm conviction.
– I’ll laugh that you were someone I could like. You’re that kind of person.
She comforted me quietly like the soft moonlight.
She was always confident.
She was quick-witted.
She acted with conviction.
But she often showed a delicate side.
Only to me.
I remembered something I had forgotten.
It was this part.
I liked this girl because of this part.