LA0S | Chapter 18

Lee Jinha left his phone on the desk and climbed the stairs. In front of the rust-eaten old gate, five 25kg bags of rice were stacked up.

“Our landlord is out, so I’m afraid I have to ask for your help again, Jinha student. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

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Lee Jinha hefted the bags of rice. The landlady followed him, making a fuss. After five round trips, all the rice bags were finally moved. Phew. It’s tough. He straightened his back and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“Oh dear, thank you. I always end up asking for Jinha student’s help. If only my husband or Jun-kyung were here, I wouldn’t have to bother you. Would you like a drink of water?”

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The landlady was in the middle of her story when it happened.

“This damn woman. She’s so loud I can’t concentrate.”

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The door that had been tightly shut opened, and a middle-aged man appeared. It was the landlord, supposedly out. He was dressed in a stretched-out tank top and boxer shorts.

“…Weren’t you meeting a friend from school? When did you get back?”

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“Are you dreaming? Why would I meet a school friend when I’m busy?”

The man scratched his behind and headed to the bathroom. Following that, another door opened, and a young man poked his head out. It was the landlord’s son.

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“Mom. Just one ramen, and don’t mix in an egg like last time.”

After having his say, the landlord’s son closed the door again.

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“Oh my, look at me. I got mixed up; both of them have plans tomorrow, not today. What am I to do, I feel so sorry, Jinha student.”

The momentarily flustered landlady quickly changed her tune. So, despite the presence of her husband and son, it was Lee Jinha who ended up moving the five 25kg bags of rice.

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“I’ll be going now.”

As it happened so often, he wasn’t particularly surprised or angry anymore.

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Lee Jinha nodded in farewell and returned. He lightly tapped on the screen of the phone he had left on the desk.

There was no response.

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The next day, while preparing for school and waiting for the bus, he checked his phone.

Kim Chayoung (Contest Illustration)
Sorry, I fell asleep yesterday… (06:20 AM)
It’s much quicker to talk face to face than to text back and forth like this. (06:28 AM)
Don’t ignore me. (06:39 AM)

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There was no need to elaborate on why he wasn’t replying. They were supposed to have a strictly business relationship, after all.

But Kim Chayoung wasn’t wrong. It was better to meet and decide things than to keep messaging back and forth. Lee Jinha sent a reply to meet at 2 PM today and put his phone in his jacket pocket.

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The classroom was quiet for the first period. He sat about midway from the lectern and took out his notebook, which had the synopsis written in it.

Despite having sent the revised draft already, he found himself making further changes. He tweaked a line of the protagonist’s dialogue and then looked over the character sketches sent by Kim Chayoung.

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No matter how many times he saw them, he couldn’t help but marvel.

He wouldn’t have held back his praise if it weren’t Kim Chayoung’s drawings.

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How does this guy draw so well?

“Like I’d know anything about that guy.”

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He spoke without thinking, even though it wasn’t the wrong thing to say. After all, during the less than three years he liked Kim Chayoung, they had only dated for a few months.

At exactly 9 AM, Yoon Sejin rushed into the classroom.

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“Has the professor not arrived yet?”

“Unfortunately.”

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Yoon Sejin, genuinely regretting it, clenched his fist in frustration.

“It’s ridiculous to have a first period class, but a three-hour lecture is just overkill. It’s a major course, so I can’t even drop it. Crazy schedule.”

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Lee Jinha didn’t really mind whether it was the first or second period, or even a long lecture.

“I have low blood pressure, so I can’t wake up early in the morning.”

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Yoon Sejin grumbled.

Lee Jinha suddenly felt something strange. Kim Chayoung also used to be very sleepy.

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Before becoming a university student, he was always late and almost always slept during self-study periods, yet he performed well academically, which made him the envy and jealousy of others.

Today, Kim Chayoung had messaged him early. It wasn’t just today; during the times he followed him around, they would sometimes bump into each other at the library early in the morning.

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Considering the old Kim Chayoung, it was nearly impossible. It seemed excessive even for collaboration purposes.

After the hellish three-hour major course, there was another hour-long major course waiting for him without any breaks. By the time those were over, it was already lunchtime.

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“See you this afternoon.”

He sent Yoon Sejin, who had another class, on his way and headed to the library. The library’s cafeteria wasn’t very crowded after the peak hours.

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Lee Jinha scraped together some money from his wallet to order a proper meal. Today was his last day eating at the school cafeteria until he received his next paycheck for his part-time jobs.

For the next two weeks, until he got paid, he would have to survive on triangle kimbap and cup noodles. Both of his tutoring jobs paid at the end of the month.

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Lee Jinha really needs to pick up a short-term job if this is how it’s going to be. Lee Jinha have a motorcycle license, so delivery work might be good.

“Could you please give me extra rice? Pack it in tight.”

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He asked the cafeteria worker serving the rice, not forgetting to smile politely. Seeing the mountain of rice tightly packed made the effort feel worthwhile.

Lee Jinha found a corner in the cafeteria and began to eat. Although the pocha owner sometimes cooked for him, it was closer to side dishes than home-cooked meals.

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He chewed his food thoroughly, savoring each bite. When he had reduced the mountain of rice by about half, the entrance area became noisy.

Without thinking, Lee Jinha looked in that direction, his eyebrows furrowing. Among the average-sized people, one head stood out.

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It was Kim Chayoung.

He wasn’t alone. He was with Shin Youngmin and a few others. Even if he didn’t want to notice, he couldn’t help but recognize them, especially after their frequent encounters since their reunion.

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Seeing Shin Youngmin there, they might be student council members. Shin Yoona wasn’t visible. They were joking around and picking out menu items, looking quite friendly with each other.

While everyone else was laughing, Kim Chayoung alone was expressionless. His lips tightly sealed, he seemed to be looking for someone in the cafeteria.

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Afraid their eyes might meet, Lee Jinha ducked his head.

The rice that had tasted so good just moments before now felt like chewing on sand grains. To think that someone could ruin even the taste of food.

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Lee Jinha pulled his hat down deep over his eyes and gulped down his soup. Fortunately, Kim Chayoung didn’t seem to notice him. Kim Chayoung’s group settled down a bit away from Lee Jinha.

Let’s eat quickly and get out.

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“Hey, isn’t that Lee Jinha? Are you just starting to eat?”

Just when he thought he’d get through the day unscathed, his hopes were dashed. Lee Jinha looked at Shin Youngmin with a slightly nauseated expression. As always, he was no help.

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“Hello.”

Unable to ignore Shin Youngmin who had called out his name, Lee Jinha replied softly. It seemed Shin Youngmin had spotted him while getting water as he was holding a water cup.

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“Why are you alone? Isn’t it boring?”

“Not boring at all. Enjoy your meal.”

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Please just go. He silently urged as he hoped Shin Youngmin would quickly return to his seat.

“Hey, Kim Chayoung. Your partner is over here.”

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Instead of going back, Shin Youngmin called out to Kim Chayoung loudly. A sigh escaped Lee Jinha’s lips.

“Since we’ve met, let’s eat together.”

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Lee Jinha had no interest in such a rotten connection.

“No, I’m done eating.”

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“You haven’t. There’s more than half left. Wait a sec, I’ll bring my tray.”

“No, it’s okay, Shin Youngmin sunbae…!”

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Shin Youngmin put down his water cup in front of Lee Jinha and walked away. Soon, there was bustling movement around. Among those approaching was Kim Chayoung.

“Lee Jinha. Move in.”

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Kim Chayoung, holding a tray, gestured with his chin for Lee Jinha to move to an inner seat. Lee Jinha narrowed his eyes at him from a seat one away from the end.

“Chaeyoung hyung, I’ll just sit inside.”

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A man in a red cap spoke. His suggestion made perfect sense. It was better for someone else to take the end seat rather than him moving from where he was halfway through his meal. Lee Jinha shifted his chair to let the red cap pass. But Kim Chayoung shook his head and spoke again.

“Go in already.”

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“…”

Not wanting to raise his voice in front of others, Lee Jinha moved his tray to the last seat. The place where he had been was taken by Kim Chayoung.

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Thanks to that, Lee Jinha now had the wall on his left and Kim Chayoung on his right. Shin Youngmin took the seat across from him, and the others, including the red cap, found seats on their own.

“Isn’t the art school cafeteria way better than the library’s?”

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Hanguk University operated cafeterias for each college within the campus, and the art college cafeteria was renowned for its quality and tasty food.

The special dishes were especially famous, attracting students from other departments. Though it was delicious, it was also more expensive, so Lee Jinha had never been there.

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That was a roundabout way of asking why he had come all the way to the library instead of going to the nice art school cafeteria.

“Ah, that’s because Chaeyoung…”

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“Youngmin hyung, is it true you’re going to grad school?”

Kim Chayoung cut off Shin Youngmin’s explanation. Shin Youngmin, twirling spaghetti on his fork, nodded.

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“I plan to, but nothing’s definite yet. Right now, I need to focus on the project.”

The conversation quickly shifted to Shin Youngmin’s potential grad school plans. After discussing grad school, the conversation moved on to how incredibly tough the art assignments were.

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Complaints about being buried under assignments ensued. Considering Kim Chayoung’s actions, it wasn’t an exaggeration.

A piece of pork cutlet was placed on his tray.

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“What’s this?”

“Kyeongyangsik pork cutlet.” Kim Chayoung replied unabashedly. As if anyone wouldn’t know it’s a pork cutlet.

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“You like this. We almost always ate this when we met outside.”

Indeed, Lee Jinha liked kyeongyangsik pork cutlet with its thick brown sauce on a thin patty. But he didn’t like that Kim Chayoung remembered this, or that he was dredging up unpleasant memories.

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“You eat it.”

Lee Jinha snatched Kim Chayoung’s fork and returned the cutlet to him. Kim Chayoung frowned slightly, then exhaled as if he couldn’t believe it.

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“You really have no manners. You’re great at ignoring someone’s kindness.”

“I don’t see why I should be polite to you.” Kim Chayoung’s lips twisted into a slight smirk.

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