59 – Do you know how to change a light bulb?
Monday 13:30. The first lecture for the class of 23 freshmen in the Department of Korean Language Education at Hankuk University begins from then on.
The title of the lecture is Humanities Writing. The professor, who had a personality as radiant as his appearance, came in just on time.
As soon as he came in, the lips that called attendance without hesitation stopped at one student’s turn.
“Yoo Ara.”
“…… “
“Do you have any students like Yoo Ara? “You answered, but I didn’t hear you?”
“Professor, he’s not here yet.”
“It’s a big deal. Ara student is doing her tardiness. “Has any of you heard anything?”
No one answered the professor’s question.
The students only exchanged glances with each other. As if you have heard anything.
In the same group chat room, Ara said, “Ara, you’re late!!” A message was posted, but she did not reply. Some people seemed to have sent messages through personal messages, but no one seemed to have received a reply.
Everyone seemed to be unaware of Ara’s whereabouts, and the professor called out the rest of her attendance, saying, “Well, that happens sometimes.”
It is not normal for a professor to directly ask a question like this just because one student was late.
While the professor was taking attendance, his classmates began whispering.
“Did you hear anything from Ara? “Ara, she was always at her seat 10 minutes before class.”
“I don’t know either. “Ara, he doesn’t read my messages or answer my calls.”
Choi Nara, who can be said to be Ara’s closest associate, also looked embarrassed.
Ara was originally friendly to everyone, so when someone sent her a personal message or called her, most of the time she answered right away.
“Didn’t something really happen?? “If you watch movies, you see conglomerates being kidnapped due to inheritance issues or something like that.”
“Hey! Don’t be unlucky! What kind of movie is this… “Ara, he could also drink the night before and go diving or oversleep.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. What kind of person is Ara like that… Do you think it’s like you?”
Her classmates were guessing why Ara did not come to her lectures, and she was confused.
She is Ara, who can be said to be the center of the first year, so even if she is just late, she causes an uproar.
Park Dong-myeong, who was sitting next to me, also asked about the gossip.
“Hey Hansol. “Did you hear anything?”
“What am I?”
“Okay. If you think about it, Hansol is closer to Ara than Choi Nara. “Did you hear anything?”
“… I don’t know. “In the first place, they forced me and Ara to get together, and I don’t even have a conversation with her like that.”
“Yeah, yeah… ?”
Park Dong-myeong turned his head as if embarrassed by my sharp reaction.
… Actually, I know why Ara doesn’t come to school.
Yesterday, after letting go of Ara’s hand, I called Yoo Ji-tae. She felt like Ara, who was struggling mentally, would not be able to return home alone.
Originally, she would have called for her exclusive driver, but yesterday it seemed like she needed her family.
I stayed by her side until Yoo Ji-tae came, but she did not sit next to her or talk to her. She didn’t even glance.
That pitiful appearance brings back old memories of her, and I’m afraid my heart will weaken.
This morning, I received a text message from Yoo Ji-tae, who took Ara to her home yesterday.
He said Ara won’t come out of her room, she asked if you could come.
I only sent him a reply saying I was sorry.
He didn’t ask me any more.
“Then, today’s lecture ends here.”
“Thank you!”
Ara did not come until the humanities writing lecture was over. I didn’t come to school at all today.
Her classmates were worried about Ara as they had not heard anything from her and contacted her by phone and sending messages.
Except me.
———-
“How long can I touch you?”
“Just stay still. Lee Hansol Why do you like this boy’s hair? “Do you put some kind of nutritional supplement on your hair?”
“No, I only use shampoo.”
Soi Snacks, which became quiet after evening peak hours.
Soyi, sitting next to Hansol, who was resting on a chair at the table while there were no guests, was enjoying his silky hair to the fullest.
Recently, Soyi liked playing with his hair like this.
The soft texture like the fur of a well-maintained golden retriever. It feels like touching microfiber fibers.
Despite the inconvenience of having to keep his head fixed, Hansol remained calm because of Soyi’s happy face.
It was also quite a nostalgic act for him.
Soyi, who was his lover before returning, also really liked touching Hansol’s hair.
And… I also really liked Ara.
Thinking about Ara not showing up to school today, Hansol felt frustrated again.
No matter how much I said goodbye to her yesterday, her heart still hasn’t caught up with it. No, she had a feeling that it would probably remain like a scar on her for the rest of her life.
“Hey, Lee Hansol.”
“Huh?”
“Why are you so dead again? Do you hate having your hair touched that much? Then don’t touch it.”
“No, okay. “Touch me more.”
“… I don’t want to touch it. “There’s something strange about what you say.”
She joked with him and pretended not to know, but Soyi knew.
The reason Hansol is feeling low today is because of Ara.
She obviously noticed that something had happened with her during her weekend.
Whenever Hansol, who was trying to keep a bright face in front of her, couldn’t hide her bad mood, it was always something to do with Yua Ra.
Soyi didn’t like that.
As if she was not enough on her own, she felt that she could not hide the presence of her child, Ra, from her Hansol.
So Soi quickly wanted to divert Hansol’s attention elsewhere.
“Sister! Let’s have a company dinner! Even when Dami came in, we couldn’t have a welcome party or anything like that because we were busy. “How about we have a company dinner this Saturday?”
“Drinking party?? It doesn’t matter to me… “Dami has a boyfriend, so I don’t think she would like that.”
“Hey, let’s ask first. Lee Hansol, are you okay too? “Let’s have a drink together after a long time.”
“Anyway, Kim Soi, you’re not good at drinking, but you really like drinking?”
She was So-yi, who could be said to be a very picky drinker, but she liked getting drunk and pampering Hansol, and she loved drinking with Hansol.
Of course, I liked her Hansol because it was cute that she was drunk and clinging to him.
But the story of this life was different. She had never been like that.
Soyi tilted her head at the sound of her catching a live person.
“… ? What are you talking about? The only time I drank alcohol was when I drank with you? “And one of them was canned beer.”
“Oh, no, that’s true, sorry… ah! Anyway, the company dinner is good, huh. “Let’s have a dinner party.”
“That’s enough, but… “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but please don’t make me into a weird person, right?”
“Uh, uh… “
Anyway, Soyi smiled brightly, as if she was happy about having a company dinner on Saturday.
She made a slight mistake in her speech, but Hansol followed her and smiled faintly.
“Anyway, I’ll try posting it in our group chat room. Is the company dinner okay? No, it would be better to send it to Dami Gantok.”
Not even 5 minutes after Kwak Joo-hee sent a message asking if it would be okay to have a company dinner on Saturday, Lim Dami responded.
「ㄱㄱ」
The first Soi Bunsik dinner was decided on Saturday.
———-
Boom! Thud!
“Hey! Yuara! Even though you’re so busy working, your sister came to visit and you won’t show up?! “You bastard, you’re going to die later?”
Ahyeon pounded on Ara’s room door.
Ahyeon, who heard the news about Ara from Yoo Ji-tae, came to her parents’ house late in the evening, but Ara did not meet her.
“Hey, hey… Oh, I’m still feeling low, so don’t say too much. But it will come out tomorrow. Just wait.”
“Ah, oppa, you’re so far back from him! My brother and sister, who are five and seven years older than me, come to visit me every now and then, and I ignore them! That b*tch, if Lee Hansol comes, she’ll open the door right away, right? My real sister is a very disrespectful b*tch… “
‘… Even if you say things like that, Sol won’t come. ‘She never comes.’
Ara answered in her mind so that Ahyeon could not hear.
Yesterday, Ara felt it. That her long-held promise to Hansol was broken.
The person who said he would stay by my side for the rest of his life was now so exhausted that he couldn’t bear it anymore.
Outside the door, Ji-tae whispered softly to A-hyeon instead. She spoke softly so that Ara could not hear.
“… Hey, I told you so. Hansol and Ara… “
“Miss, really… In the past, things that killed each other and could not survive… Why are you doing this without saying anything to us? “What is a broken heart among family members?”
‘… ‘It’s not a broken heart.’
Unlike Ji-tae, A-ra once again silently responded to A-hyeon’s words as if telling her to stop by.
It was definitely a broken heart, but it was not a broken heart.
Hansol and I love each other, but we can no longer be together because we love each other.
That tightened Ara’s heart even more.
Squeak-
Inside the closet, Ara took out her album.
There she found photos she had taken with Hansol.
“… It was so pretty, Sol. “She’s still pretty, but she’s so pretty when she’s smiling like this.”
In the photo, Hansol was smiling brightly next to Ara.
It was a photo taken when her mother, Han Seung-ah, was alive and her family went on a picnic together.
Ara was kissing Hansol on the cheek, and Yoo Jae-jun was furious when he saw it.
“Puhuh… “
I burst out laughing. Ara cried and then laughed.
She smiled as she recalled her happy memories from those times, and tears came to her eyes because now was so different from then.
Ara quickly wiped away her tears, fearing that her own tears might damage her photo.
‘Sol is… ‘You were always protecting me.’
Ara looked up all the photos she was in with Hansol.
In most of the photos, Hansol was always looking at Ara. She always stood behind her.
She was always watching like that, wondering when something would happen to her.
It was even more heartbreaking. What kind of person did she lose?
The most precious thing, something that will never happen again in my life.
Ara could no longer see the photo.
The tears welling up in her eyes covered her eyes again, no matter how many times she wiped them away.
“Ugh… Ugh… !”
Ara lay down on the floor and cried the whole time.
Repeated actions, repeated thoughts ever since I broke up with Hansol yesterday.
From Noble mtl dot com
Happiness.
Her friend Minah said. Find a way for the two of you to be happy.
Hansol left Ara for her own happiness.
Then what should Ara do?
“Sol… Now you can be happy without me… ? Then what about me? What should I do… ?”
I can’t be happy without you. What should I do?
In response to a question with no one to answer, Ara kept repeating those thoughts until she collapsed from exhaustion.
———-
“Hey, Lee Hansol! “Are you listening?”
“… Yes, I’m listening then.”
“Then what is the name of the ice cream I wanted to eat?”
“…… “
“Look at this! “You weren’t listening!”
“I’m sorry… “
“Okay, whatever… “
As the two of them walked down the street at night, Soyi didn’t like the fact that Hansol’s mind was still somewhere else.
What’s more is that it’s definitely Ara’s job.
It was something that could not be helped by Hansol, who had just had such an incident with Ara yesterday, but for Soyi, who did not know about such things, she could only scold him.
‘I’m the one next to you right now…’ ‘
On the day she went to visit him, So-yi did not think that she would lose because it was Han-sol who chose her, not Ara.
However, I felt impatient when I saw things like that.
So she felt the need to make a move on her own part.
She arrived in front of Soyi’s house and just before Hansol was about to say goodbye to her, Soyi asked him.
“… Hansol Lee, do you know how to change a light bulb?”
“Yes… ? Oh, I know I’ll go, but.”
“The light bulb in my house keeps blinking… “Can you change it for me?”