OMLM | Chapter 10

“……ahjusshi.”

It seemed like he often showed an unsightly side of himself in front of Cha Hyuk.

Today, too, Cha Hyuk was wearing a dark shirt. His appearance was consistently the same.

“Something wrong?”

Kang Yebon had hoped he would just pass by, but Cha Hyuk bent down, bringing his face close to Kang Yebon’s.

Kang Yebon turned his head aside.

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

“There seems to be something to clear up before I can just pass by.”

Cha Hyuk sat down on the round table right in front of Kang Yebon, even putting down the book he was holding, showing no intention of leaving.

Kang Yebon clenched his lips and stared at the ground.

He couldn’t understand why everyone kept bothering him when he was the one struggling to keep his emotions in check.

Even though he hated this behavior most of all, he found himself wanting to blame others.

“I don’t want to take out my frustration on anyone. I don’t want to snap like a child or be rude like last time. So please, just ignore me. I don’t think I’ll say anything nice right now.”

“Do what you want, why force yourself to bottle it up? You’ll die before your time if you live like that.”

“……Don’t talk like it’s easy. What do you know? I hate people like that, and I feel like I might become like that, so please go away!”

Before he knew it, Kang Yebon was glaring at Cha Hyuk. His lips were tight with tension, as if harsh words were about to spill out.

No, in fact, it was already too late from the moment he raised his voice. Cha Hyuk calmly observed Kang Yebon, then crossed his arms and tilted his head.

“People like that? What kind of people?”

“Old enough to know better but acting selfishly and emotionally, exhausting everyone around them…”

“Seems like there was someone like that around you.”

“Since I was young, I vowed not to become someone like that.”

People who act on their whims, believing they are the unhappiest in the world.

Whenever something went wrong, they would explode in anger, hurting others while not being able to handle even the slightest criticism themselves.

They would always draw attention with their misbehavior, and when others gave them critical looks, they’d point at Kang Yebon with a reddened face, shouting:

“It’s because of him! That brat is so rude, that’s why! Why are you only picking on me!”

Young Kang Yebon, watching him, thought, ‘Ah, I must never become an adult like that.’

Negative emotions, the more they are shown, the more poisonous they become.

“There’s nothing as scary as blood ties. They make you fear becoming just like them. But the more I run away, the more I resemble them.”

Cha Hyuk’s gaze was calm, focused on Kang Yebon.

Although Kang Yebon never mentioned parents or siblings, Cha Hyuk seemed to have an assured attitude.

Kang Yebon didn’t bother to deny it. He had no energy left, and Cha Hyuk had already seen the worst of him once before.

Today, once again, this person had seen a side of him he didn’t want to show. There was no worse kind of bad luck.

“……Why do I become like that when I run away, unfairly?”

“Humans grow to resemble what they look at most, and we must look in order to escape.”

A hand approached near Kang Yebon’s trembling eyelids.

“If you want to escape something, look at it straight on.”

The large hand covered Kang Yebon’s face. Because of Cha Hyuk’s large hand, Kang Yebon’s peripheral vision was completely blocked, like that of a racehorse. Only Cha Hyuk was in his sight.

“Pass by it quickly.”

He continued with a look that seemed quite kind.

“Then it will become the past and won’t chase you anymore.”

In that soft darkness, Kang Yebon felt the impulsiveness within him calming down.

As Kang Yebon blinked without saying a word, Cha Hyuk gently patted his head while straightening up.

“Is this supposed to be comfort?”

“Yeah, did it feel like a comfort?”

Kang Yebon looked up at Cha Hyuk intently before asking a question he’d wanted to ask for a while.

“Why are you so good to me?”

“Just hang out with me for a bit. I’m wagging my tail.”

Cha Hyuk narrowed his eyes in a way that seemed almost flirtatious, his fierce expression turning fox-like, creating an odd contrast.

Kang Yebon couldn’t take his eyes off that face for a moment, and then Cha Hyuk stood up from the table as if to leave.

“Ahjusshi.”

“Hm?”

“The day you said you went to the river, what were you doing there?”

“Fishing.”

“Ah.” Kang Yebon nodded, surprised. So that’s why he needed sunglasses; you have to keep looking at the river while fishing.

“Why ask that suddenly?”

“I got curious about what kind of person you are.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, since we’ll be hanging out for a while.”

A brief silence fell, and Cha Hyuk smiled, lowering his head slightly.

With his long, slanting eyes curved lazily, Cha Hyuk said, “Well, that’s good news.”

[20XX년 XX월 XX일]

[Kang Yebon: I don’t think I can meet on Saturday. But I understand what you said, hyung, now.

Even if we end our relationship, we’ll have to see each other often in the future, so I’ll try to get my emotions in check quickly.

Still, don’t come like last time. I can’t pretend to be okay like you can.

I’m sorry for everything. I’ll really block your number and KakaoTalk now. Take care.] (10:42 PM) -1

Wednesday came around. Kang Yebon entered the lecture room and scanned the back rows as if he was waiting for something, and his eyes met another’s. Naturally, Kang Yebon placed his bag next to Cha Hyuk and took out his textbook and pencil case.

“The professor’s in a good mood today.”

Kang Yebon, who had put his now lighter bag on the floor, turned to look at him with a bright face, his shoulders squared and proud.

“That’s good. It’ll stay that way.”

“Why didn’t you call? I was waiting.”

When Cha Hyuk flicked a long blade of grass from Kang Yebon’s hair, it fell to the ground.

How could anyone get grass in their hair, Cha Hyuk chuckled faintly.

“It was nothing-”

“Shall I buy you a cake from that bakery you like?”

Kang Yebon still had his mouth open, staring at Cha Hyuk. His light brown eyes flickered slightly.

For a brief moment, images of the café staff who always watched him and various cakes flashed through Kang Yebon’s mind.

He licked his lips slightly and shook his head. If he were to run that café, it would surely go bankrupt.

“No need. I can just go eat cake there.”

Cha Hyuk narrowed his eyes, looking down at him, causing Kang Yebon to cough awkwardly and say, “Really,” in defense.

Not long after, the professor came in, and the tedious three-hour lecture began.

Time passed, and the professor sipped water from his tumbler while looking at the clock at the back of the lecture room.

Only ten minutes were left until the end of the last class.

“We’ll end here today, and now it’s exam period, right? We’ll have the exam during this time next week, it’ll be open book, with around 15 short-answer questions and 4 essay questions. The exam time will be 40 minutes, so if you come without studying just because it’s open book, you won’t be able to finish. Study.”

Maybe he had seen a lot of complaints about exams at Eta, so this year he was planning to do it differently. Still, it wasn’t much different from being terrible. Only 40 minutes for essay questions too.

“For a general education class… it’s worse than a major course…”

Kang Yebon muttered quietly while jotting down what the professor said on the blank corner of the first page of his textbook.

The long three-hour lecture ended, and the professor left.

Was this the day they would part ways? Kang Yebon didn’t get up even as everyone else left the lecture room, and neither did Cha Hyuk beside him.

Kang Yebon fiddled with his backpack on his lap even though there was nothing to pack, then glanced sideways.

Kang Yebon jolted. Cha Hyuk was already smiling down at him.

“Want to have a meal with hyung?”

With his twitching lips, Kang Yebon replied, “Well, sure. I was about to eat anyway.”

Kang Yebon’s expression was simply bright as he stood up with Cha Hyuk.

Kang Yebon ended up having Cha Hyuk pay for his meal again, as Cha Hyuk settled the bill before he could even think of doing so.

After a late lunch, Cha Hyuk left for some business, and Kang Yebon, with nothing else to do, boarded the bus home.

He stared blankly at the rapidly changing scenery outside the window.

The second semester had started off terribly. Dumped by Jung Woochan, slapped, and venting on some strange thug, only to end up in the same school, in the same class with him.

It was a horrific start, but as the midterm exam period approached, his situation didn’t seem as bad as he thought.

‘Right. It’s not… bad.’

His feelings for Jung Woochan were unexpectedly fading fast after blocking him on Friday night, and the strange thug turned out to be surprisingly kind and calm.

He might be a real thug, or at least connected to that world, but still, this semester might turn out to be somewhat alright.

It seemed like his chaotic life was gradually finding its place.

With the exam period, days flew by quickly. Having taken two major exams the day before, Kang Yebon rubbed his tired eyelids as he entered the lecture room.

He naturally looked for Cha Hyuk, but for some reason, he wasn’t there.

Kang Yebon felt a slight pang of disappointment but shrugged it off, thinking perhaps Cha Hyuk had something else to attend to. He sat down in his usual spot, spreading out his materials, ready to tackle whatever the day’s lessons would bring.

Time passed, and the lecture room filled with the usual chatter of students preparing for the upcoming exams. Kang Yebon listened to the conversations around him, half-heartedly joining in when someone asked about a concept or study strategy. His mind, however, was partly on the absence of Cha Hyuk.

Just as the professor started the lecture, the door swung open, and Cha Hyuk walked in, a bit disheveled, with a casual nod to the class. He moved quickly to his seat next to Kang Yebon, placing his bag down with a thud.

“Sorry, got caught up,” Cha Hyuk whispered, pulling out his notes.

Kang Yebon nodded, a small smile escaping as he leaned over to share his notes from the beginning of the lecture. The class continued with its usual rhythm, but Kang Yebon felt a strange sense of relief and normalcy with Cha Hyuk beside him.

After the lecture, they walked out together, discussing a particularly tricky topic from the class.

“Want to grab some coffee? My treat for making you wait,” Cha Hyuk suggested, his tone light.

“Sure, but only if you let me pay for the cake this time,” Kang Yebon countered, a playful challenge in his eyes.

They made their way to the campus café, where the familiar scent of coffee and baked goods welcomed them. They settled at a corner table, sharing stories and laughs, the previous tension from earlier chapters seeming to dissipate into the air of the café.

For Kang Yebon, the semester was shaping up to be less about the chaos he had feared and more about finding unexpected allies and moments of peace amidst the academic storm. With each passing day, he felt a little more like himself, and a little less like the person he feared he might become.

As they left the café, Kang Yebon felt a surge of optimism. Maybe, just maybe, this semester could end on a note that was not just bearable, but actually good.