AGC | Prologue

“Hey, come down. I don’t wanna go to the police station, you know?”

At this moment, Yoon Jiwan’s mind was racing fast. The rooftop of this building could only be accessed by people who worked here. Which meant, there was no way a random high schooler should be able to come up and fall off.

Trying to speak calmly to avoid provoking him, Jiwan’s cigarette, held between his index and middle fingers, was trembling.

Come to think of it, I didn’t lock the door after I went for a smoke earlier. If that kid falls, would it be my fault too? Nah, probably not.

Jiwan sighed and shook his head. Even if he wasn’t responsible, he had to prevent a major accident at work.

The boy in the white school uniform stared blankly at the troubled Yoon Jiwan. Without avoiding his gaze, Jiwan raised one hand and cautiously approached.

A random Hollywood movie about calming someone with a gun popped into his head. At least that was a movie, but this situation was real.

“This is the 8th floor. If you jump, you’re dead.”

The student didn’t respond. It would have been better if he just kept his mouth shut. Instead, as if mocking the warning, he moved one foot into the air.

As if possessed, Jiwan’s body shot forward. He didn’t know what drove him, but he definitely didn’t want to see someone fall and die right in front of him.

Jiwan grabbed the arm of the body about to fall and pulled, hugging the waist that followed. Putting all his weight into pulling the student, fortunately, the student bounced back and rolled on the ground with Jiwan.

“Wow… I almost died with you.”

Jiwan let out a shaky breath, overwhelmed by the delayed shock. His heart was pounding. If he had messed up, he might have ended up hugging a stranger and saying goodbye to the ground together.

“Hey, let me see your name.”

The student in his arms was a head taller than him. Annoyed, Jiwan pushed the heavy body aside and checked the student ID hanging around the boy’s neck.

Seeing the name “Cha Minhyung,” Jiwan let go of the ID weakly. Come to think of it, there was no need to meddle by contacting the school, so there was no reason to check the name.

Despite pulling the ID string so irritably that it must have hurt, the owner of the ID said nothing.

“Thank you.”

The student genuinely looked grateful and spoke politely. The urge to smack him on the head and lecture him disappeared. Instead of yelling about why he saved him, Jiwan clicked his tongue, feeling drained.

“Minhyung, you’re good-looking, so why do something stupid?”

“Just because.”

“Seriously, what is the world coming to…?”

Jiwan felt awkward after saying that. He was only twenty himself. Still, he started justifying that he was older than this high school kid, whether he was seventeen or nineteen.

The December evening was short, quickly turning dark and, above all, cold. As he lit a cigarette he couldn’t smoke earlier because of the incident, Minhyung’s eyes widened.

“What, you want one?”

Minhyung shook his head silently.

“Then why aren’t you leaving? Want me to give you life advice?”

Despite the words, he couldn’t think of anything impressive to say as an adult. His own life hadn’t been particularly well-lived.

“Why did you do it?”

A question returned with a question. Now that he looked, Minhyung was staring intently at Jiwan’s wrist. Following his gaze, Jiwan belatedly checked his hand, grimacing. His hand was scraped and bleeding from rolling on the ground. Only after noticing the wound did the pain start to kick in.

Seeing the student’s face darken, Jiwan hid his injured left hand behind his back. He didn’t want to burden a kid who was about to jump because life sucked with unnecessary guilt.

“You reminded me of my old self.”

“…”

“There were times I wanted to die too.”

He didn’t know what he was saying, but he wanted to tell a somewhat convincing story. With those calm eyes staring at him, he had to say something.

The cigarette smoke from his mouth drifted toward Minhyung. Jiwan waved his hand to disperse it. Minhyung watched the smoke coming from his lips.

“I only have my dad as family, you know? But that dad is ruining my life. In real-time, too.”

“Yes.”

Minhyung responded, listening quietly.

Jiwan, who usually believed that talking too much about oneself was harmful, found himself talking smoothly. Maybe it was because they wouldn’t see each other again, or because it had been a while since someone listened so intently.

“Even so, I’m struggling to live somehow.”

“Yes.”

“Why do you keep saying yes? I’m saying live hard. Live hard.”

“Yes.”

“My dream is to live in the countryside and heal later. Isn’t that simple?”

“The countryside…”

“I’m saying you should make even a trivial goal like that.”

Even though it wasn’t comforting at all, Minhyung nodded earnestly.

Wasn’t this the kid who was about to die? Jiwan tilted his head. Maybe he was quick to agree. He stood up from the cold concrete floor and brushed off his pants. At least it seemed like he wouldn’t try to die again.

“Thank you.”

Jiwan let out a big sigh at the weak gratitude. He was about to leave, but he couldn’t stop worrying. He tilted his backpack forward and opened the zipper. He wondered if he was being too nosy, but the sudden cold made him feel sorry for the kid wearing only a school uniform.

After rummaging through the bottom of the bag, he finally found gloves tangled with a charger. They were gloves he hadn’t used since buying them last week. Thanks to that, the new gloves were still tangled together.

“Here.”

When Jiwan offered the gloves, a question mark appeared on Minhyung’s face. Feeling embarrassed about acting like a warm adult, Jiwan handed the gloves directly to Minhyung. His hands were big, so they might not fit, but they should work somehow. Jiwan nodded.

Minhyung stared blankly at the gloves in his hand. They were black with a rabbit eating a carrot on them.

“Hey, I bought them because that’s all they had left.”

“…”

With no response, Jiwan felt really embarrassed. When he tried to take them back, Minhyung held onto the childish gloves tightly. Jiwan was dumbfounded and let go of the gloves. The gloves naturally ended up in their new owner’s hands.

“I like them. Thank you for the gift.”

“They’re touch-screen compatible too. They’re pretty good.”

In reality, they were five-thousand-won gloves, but they should have decent functionality and warmth.

“What?”

Minhyung hesitated, trying to say something else. Jiwan waited to hear what he wanted to say, but even after a while, Minhyung just mouthed silently.

“What is it? I gotta go.”

“I just wanted to say thank you.”

“Oh, okay.”

“…I’ll live hard.”

Jiwan briefly wondered if he should feel proud.

After all, he had done what a youth center should do, so maybe he was a decent adult.

Instead of responding, he lightly patted the head of the student who was a head taller. Unlike his own hair, rough from using cheap shampoo, the student’s hair was soft between his fingers.

The neatly cut hairline at the back of his head, the unwrinkled, tidy school uniform, and the clean shoes all proved that this student grew up without lacking anything.

His family must not be poor. Jiwan didn’t say it out loud. He didn’t want to be remembered as an adult with an inferiority complex.

“Let’s go.”

Jiwan opened the rooftop door and gestured, and the student followed silently. Somehow, the sight seemed a bit cute, and a faint smile appeared on Jiwan’s lips.

In truth, he wasn’t comfortable leaving the student alone here yet.

Above all, after experiencing this, he thought he should always lock the door. Like fixing the barn after losing the cow, he didn’t want to close the rooftop after losing a person.

As Jiwan quickly descended the stairs, Minhyung still said nothing.

When they reached the first floor, Jiwan looked at Minhyung’s face, which was clearer under the bright lights. He was definitely a handsome boy with strong features.

“Go on.”

Minhyung was holding the gloves tightly, as if afraid someone would take them. For a five-thousand-won gift, it was being treated quite preciously. Still, the person who gave the insignificant gift felt strangely good.

“Live hard. If we meet again, I’ll buy you a meal.”

Jiwan scratched the back of his head as he spoke.

Right now, he was surviving on instant noodles for three meals a day, so he wasn’t in a position to treat anyone to a meal.

Minhyung blinked at Jiwan’s words, shook his head, and spoke with a serious expression.

“I’ll treat you then.”

Jiwan chuckled and waved his hand. They probably wouldn’t meet again, but it was a cute thing to say.

“…”

Minhyung watched the back of his lifesaver disappear into the crowd, then turned his head at the approaching presence behind him. A group in suits silently watched Minhyung, who was holding the gloves tightly.

“Young master.”

The long-haired man at the front bowed to Minhyung. The group in suits followed suit, bowing together.

“It’s been a while since a family dinner was arranged, and you ran away like this…”

“…”

“The chairman is very angry. There will be punishment.”

The man spoke firmly but had a worried, dark expression.

“Every moment feels like punishment anyway.”

Minhyung scanned the corners of the street. The man who saved him was long gone.

He recalled the man’s advice or nagging to make even a trivial goal. He could clearly remember the expression on the man’s face when he said it.

But Minhyung soon realized he hadn’t even asked for the man’s name.

“A trivial goal…”

“Young master?”

“Let’s go, manager. Don’t worry too much.”

The long-haired man, called manager, didn’t respond.

At the man’s gesture, Minhyung was half-forced into a black sedan, but he didn’t resist, as if it was natural.

However, in the car, his calm eyes held a different light than before.

Minhyung decided to wait quietly. Until the trivial goal that had just formed began to bloom.