OMLM | Chapter 26

After the professor left with a goodbye, Yebon awkwardly smiled and said, “What should we eat?”

It looked like they were stuck having a meal together because of the assignment.

The two headed to a local diner near the campus. They ordered two servings of spicy pork and Yebon downloaded the movie list file the professor had mentioned on his phone.

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As expected, there were no recent movies, and most titles were unfamiliar.

“Do you recognize any movies here, hyung? It might be easier to pick something you’ve already seen.”

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Yebon handed his phone to Cha Hyuk, who quickly scrolled through the list before handing it back. He had gone through it so fast, it was hard to tell if he had really looked.

“I don’t watch movies much, so I don’t think so.”

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Yebon also didn’t recognize any of the roughly 30 movies on the list.

Analyzing them from a philosophical perspective didn’t seem exciting, but a few titles were somewhat familiar.

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Yebon rubbed his cheek as he scanned the list.

「Contact: Beyond the Galaxy」

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It seemed to be a fairly popular movie when Yebon was in middle school.

‘But if I know it, others probably do too.’

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Eventually, Yebon picked a title that was new to him but seemed interesting.

“How about ‘She into the Black Hole’?”

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“Sure.”

“Okay, then let’s watch that one.”

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As they spoke, the plates of spicy pork were set before them. Yebon paused to nod thanks to the server who quickly disappeared after setting down the food and a few side dishes.

Yebon opened his mouth to continue but hesitated, looking down before speaking again.

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“How about we each watch the movie and then meet up to work on the PowerPoint next Wednesday after class?”

Cha Hyuk raised an eyebrow.

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“Separately?”

“Yeah, I thought it might be easier since you’re busy, hyung.”

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Though he framed it as consideration, Yebon knew it was just an excuse.

Somehow, he felt that keeping some distance from Cha Hyuk for a while might help resolve the weird feelings he was experiencing.

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Due to his acute awareness of this odd emotion, Yebon felt compelled to act indifferently.

“It might be better to watch it together and then work on it.”

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Cha Hyuk surprisingly refused.

Yebon felt a bit resentful. He doesn’t know how I feel. Cha Hyuk probably thought his suggestion was more convenient.

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After a moment of silence, Yebon reluctantly nodded. Arguing without any solid reason would look odd.

Maybe because of the previous incident, being with Cha Hyuk still didn’t feel quite comfortable.

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“Okay, when would you like to watch it? I’m not free tomorrow but I have time on Friday evening or Saturday.”

Please, Friday. Friday. Friday. Get it over with quickly.

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“How about Saturday?”

Despite Yebon’s internal hopes, Cha Hyuk chose Saturday without hesitation.

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Since Yebon had presented the options, he reluctantly nodded again.

Then Cha Hyuk finally smiled faintly and said, “Let’s eat before it gets cold.”

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“……Enjoy your meal, hyung.”

Cha Hyuk smiled knowingly, his eyes crinkling.

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Yebon mechanically shoveled in his food, not really tasting it. His mind was elsewhere.

As they were finishing up, Yebon suddenly remembered.

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‘But where do we watch an old movie that’s not even playing in theaters?’

He put down his spoon and picked up his phone from the table.

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As expected, no theaters were showing it, and it wasn’t available on any streaming services. They would have to purchase it separately.

Why did I even pick this one, Yebon wondered, suddenly feeling foolish.

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“Hyung, hyung.”

“Yeah?”

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Yebon waved his hand, and Cha Hyuk, who had already finished eating, leaned towards him.

“I looked it up, and the movie isn’t showing in theaters or on any OTTs, so we’ll probably have to buy it. It seems like there’s nowhere to watch it, so wouldn’t it be better if we each watched it at home?”

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Cha Hyuk was silent for a moment, then softly muttered, “Home.”

He propped his chin on his hand and looked somewhat displeased.

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When Yebon wondered why, Cha Hyuk sighed and then asked, “Why not watch it together at home, Yebon-ie? That would be easier, right?”

“……What?”

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Yebon’s eyes widened in surprise.

“At home? My home?”

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“No, my home.”

“Your home, hyung?”

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“Yeah, would that be uncomfortable?”

Yebon blinked, unable to close his mouth. At Cha Hyuk’s home? Such a proposal was…!

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“I’ll go!”

It was an offer too tempting to refuse, regardless of his inner turmoil.

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What kind of home does Cha Hyuk have? Yebon, who knew so little about Cha Hyuk, was immediately intrigued by any new information about him.

Seeing Yebon’s eyes light up, Cha Hyuk let out a pleased smile.

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“Alright, I’ll pick you up around 11 on Saturday.”

「20××년 10월 ××일」
「Kang Yebon: Should I download the movie and bring it?」(11:23 AM)

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While returning to campus after lunch with friends, Yebon checked his phone. There was no reply yet.

“Oh, right. Yebon.”

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As he chatted with Lee Seunggu, Park Soojeong tapped Yebon’s forearm. Yebon quickly stuffed his phone into his pocket and turned his head.

“Yes?”

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“Kim Junghyun was saying some weird stuff?”

“Weird stuff?”

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“He came to the study room yesterday out of the blue and started asking strange questions.”

Kim Junghyun hadn’t contacted him nor had they bumped into each other since that day. Today, he apparently skipped school to hang out.

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What could he have possibly asked Park Soojeong that was so strange?

Was it about Cha Hyuk? Yebon felt a twinge of anxiety.

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“Like what?”

“Yebon, are you really into private loans, or something about Kang Yebon getting into organ trafficking, just rambling weird stuff.”

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Both Yebon and Lee Seunggu stared at Park Soojeong, and their eyes met across her, making direct eye contact for the first time in a while.

“What? What? Did I say something unnecessary? Why did it suddenly get so quiet?”

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Confused by the sudden silence, Soojeong looked back and forth between Lee Seunggu and Kang Yebon, but they just stared at each other for a moment.

Lee Seunggu was the first to burst out laughing, and Yebon joined in after a moment.

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“Hilarious, Kim Junghyun must have cooked up a whole novel in his head.”

“Organ trafficking, are you kidding me?”

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It made sense why he suddenly apologized and ran away. Maybe it was an apology for leaving Yebon behind when Cha Hyuk grabbed him.

The more he thought about it, the less important their previous fight seemed to Kim Junghyun.

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“Hey, why are you guys the only ones laughing? Let me laugh too!”

After laughing for a while, Kang Yebon said,

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“I have this hyung I got to know from a liberal arts class. But he looks kind of scary, so maybe Kim Junghyun saw me with him and got the wrong idea.”

Finally, Park Soojeong chuckled and nodded, understanding.

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“So that was it? Typical Kim Junghyun, always worrying about nothing. Ah.”

Her phone vibrated.

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Soojeong took her phone out of her bag, checked it, and said she had to go, then left.

After Park Soojeong left, Lee Seunggu and Kang Yebon walked side by side, heading to the same class.

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Yebon glanced at Lee Seunggu. His face was back to its usual expression, but unusually, he was quiet.

Yebon had never had a falling out with close friends before, so he didn’t know how to handle such situations. He always just backed down.

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“…Lee Seunggu, are you still mad?”

Yebon mustered the courage to ask, and Lee Seunggu turned his head towards him. He looked at Yebon silently for a moment before speaking.

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“How did you meet Kim Junghyun, hyung?”

“Uh?”

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It was a sudden question. Was he still upset? Yebon looked at him with wavering eyes, but Lee Seunggu didn’t care and continued.

“Did he keep asking to be introduced?”

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“No, not really. Kim Junghyun followed me and we bumped into each other.”

“You were followed?”

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As the conversation naturally continued, Yebon felt bewildered but responded.

“Yeah, I was heading to a lecture, and we just bumped into each other. But then he started saying something annoying, so I snapped back, and he got mad and chased me like crazy.”

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Lee Seunggu asked as if surprised,

“You did? What did you say? What?”

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Yebon hesitated for a moment. Although he was closest to Lee Seunggu, he had almost never sworn in front of him, so it felt awkward.

When Yebon didn’t speak easily, Lee Seunggu turned his head away without saying much.

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“Well, if it’s hard to say, never mind.”

“You always have your reasons for not sharing everything. I thought we were close enough to talk about these things.”

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Yebon realized only then that he had been overly secretive, not just about his personality but about everything else.

He hadn’t been aware of how much he had been holding back.

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But now was different, and Yebon valued Lee Seunggu more than he had realized.

This isn’t the time to hold back, his intuition screamed. Yebon licked his lips and then spoke awkwardly,

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“Well… it’s a bit hard to say… but Kim Junghyun was whining that I never pay attention to him. I told him since I don’t care about him, he shouldn’t pretend we’re close…”

When Yebon finished, Lee Seunggu looked as if he had heard something completely unexpected.

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With a face that looked shocked, Yebon quickly added,

“No, I’ve just been really stressed lately with lots of things going on… and then I ran into Kim Junghyun…”

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He regretted saying it. How would it look if the quiet kid he always appeared to be was known to behave like this behind the scenes?

As Yebon looked uneasy, Lee Seunggu burst out laughing.

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“Wow, well said, Kang Yebon. Kim Junghyun needed to hear some harsh words.”

“What?”

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“Ah, but Kim Junghyun probably went home and cried after that. Hilarious, really. That’s why I told him to moderate it a bit.”

“Why would he cry?”

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Lee Seunggu chuckled to himself, then casually said,

“Kim Junghyun likes you. Probably likes you the most out of all of us? I mean, it sounds weird to say he ‘likes’ you, but anyway, he’s desperate to get close to you.”

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…What?