SAV Chapter 4

It looked like the pen would fly and stab my neck if I didn’t leave immediately.

 

The DM from Cha Eunseong’s acquaintance included a photo of the jjimjilbang[Korean sauna] where Choi Jeha worked. Seeing that photo, I realized Choi Jeha was working part-time at the restaurant attached to the jjimjilbang, so I rushed over. Thanks to that, I could get tangled up with him again.

 

“You see? Fate, right? Anyway, good to see you again. Hey.”

 

Choi Jeha wasn’t well off. Moreover, his grandmother, who had been collecting cardboard to make a living, recently collapsed. So he had to take on another part-time job, and when classes ended, while others were busy rushing to academies or tutoring sessions, he had to work. It was quite impressive that he still managed to maintain the top rank in school despite this.

 

“Really? To me, it just seems crappy.”

 

“Come on, why’re you being so harsh to a frien—”

 

“What insane lie are you spinning now, coming all the way here…?”

 

As I was pondering how to explain my current situation, he asked first, so I quickly took the opportunity.

 

“Let me stay at your place.”

 

After a moment of stunned silence, sound came out of Choi Jeha’s gaping mouth again.

 

“You’re insane.”

 

Then he looked at me with eyes that seemed to say I was someone not worth dealing with and sighed.

 

I understood. It made sense. How absurd must it be for someone who was just spouting nonsense about dreams to suddenly appear and ask to stay over?

 

Had I known this dream would drag on, I’d have never spewed that middle-schooler-level delulu.

 

…But my situation is also desperate…Choi Jeha. You’ll have to tolerate my awkwardness.

 

“Don’t just stare. Yes or no, give me an answer!”

 

Choi Jeha is currently nineteen years old. Working until midnight must mean he lied about his age to get the part-time job, right?

 

It might be a bit cowardly, but my homelessness was at stake. So I planned to stay at Choi Jeha’s house tonight in exchange for keeping his secret. Of course, if the dream ended, I’d vanish by morning—but the novel character wasn’t playing along.

 

From his perspective, having to see Cha Eunseong every daily must be frustrating. But I just met Choi Jeha today, and he’s the only person I can rely on right now. So, since we’re entangled like this, I thought we could get along well for today, or at least until I wake up from this dream.

 

Unaware of these circumstances, Choi Jeha clicked his pen closed. Then he turned away without taking any order.

 

“Where are you going? I asked for an answer.”

 

“I think I answered sufficiently.”

 

“When?”

 

“Didn’t you hear me call you insane?”

 

The already tall bastard looked down at me with his eyes lowered.

 

“Stop looking down like that. Your pupils are going to slide down to your chin.”

 

Choi Jeha opened his mouth but quickly closed it. Two middle-aged ahjummas[A married or middle-aged woman] were walking towards the snack bar, waving at Choi Jeha.

 

“Jeha, hello! You’re here early again today?”

 

“Hello.”

 

“Oh my, is it already Friday? I’ve been so busy I didn’t even notice the days passing.”

 

For reference, Choi Jeha worked at a convenience store Monday through Thursday, and juggled both the jjimjilbang job and the convenience store job Friday through Sunday.

 

But wait.

 

‘What? Did they say it’s Friday?’

 

I’m screwed!

 

I had planned to stay at Choi Jeha’s house just for today and follow Lee Gyuseong, who lives in the same apartment, tomorrow. But it’s the weekend…

 

This is the worst.

 

It was already a stretch to ask for one night’s stay, and now, if the dream doesn’t end, I’ll have to ask for three more days… Considering the look Choi Jeha gave me earlier, it seemed like an impossible request.

 

At that moment, Choi Jeha was about to leave me and go take an order from the table across. Desperate not to miss the opportunity, I hastily grabbed his wrist. He glared at my hand attached to his wrist with displeasure.

 

“If you let me stay for just one day, I’ll turn a blind eye to your secret.”

 

Despite the fact that I was blackmailing him, I tried to consider Choi Jeha’s position and spoke in a voice low enough that ahjummas couldn’t hear.

 

“What secret?”

 

“You, working part-time by lying about your age.”

 

Choi Jeha shook off my hand forcefully and turned around. I thought he’d cower and struggle to express his opinion due to his ‘nerd’ setting, but he was much more temperamental than I expected.

 

Having failed to achieve my goal, I glared at his broad back as he approached the middle-aged ahjummas, pouting my lips.

 

“We won’t be able to see our Jeha the week after next, right?”

 

“Why? Where is Jeha going?”

 

“He’s going on a school trip.”

 

“I’m not going on the school trip.”

 

‘Oh, I know about that!’

 

I rested my chin on the table, eavesdropping on the conversation between ahjummas while keeping an eye on Choi Jeha. These days, many schools have replaced long trips with short field trips, claiming they interfere with studies. But as if it would be disappointing to miss out on a school trip episode in an academy story, Park Se-young had included all possible trips in the schedule for the third-year students at Raon Jena High School.

 

While I wondered when they would study with all this playing around, I felt strange when something I knew came up. I was excited, and maybe a bit happy? It felt like I had become some kind of prophet.

 

I was smirking when suddenly, I blinked in confusion a couple of times.

 

‘Wait, why are the ahjummas calling it a school trip instead of a MT?’

 

If they knew Choi Jeha was an adult, shouldn’t they be calling it an OT or MT?

[OT (Orientation Training): This typically refers to an introductory event for new students or members of an organization. It is designed to help them get acquainted with their peers, the program, or the organization they are joining. For example, universities often hold OT sessions for freshmen to introduce them to campus life, professors, and classmates.

MT (Membership Training): This is more of a bonding activity where members of a group—such as students in a school club, coworkers, or classmates—go on a trip together. The purpose is to build camaraderie and teamwork through activities like games, meals, or workshops. MTs are usually informal and can range from overnight stays to weekend trips.]

 

‘Could it be that he’s working part-time with parental consent?’

 

No wonder the kid seemed so confident. He could have just told the truth from the beginning instead of making things awkward.

 

Anyway, this is a big problem. If Choi Jeha didn’t lie about his age to get the part-time job, then I can’t use the plan I just came up with. I needed to quickly devise a Plan B.

 

“Why aren’t you going on the school trip?”

 

After hesitating for a moment at the lady’s question, Choi Jeha slowly opened his mouth.

 

“It’s a bit difficult to take time off work.”

 

No, that’s not it. I shook my head as I eavesdropped on the conversation between the three. That wasn’t the reason why Choi Jeha couldn’t go on the school trip.

 

‘It’s because his school trip money was stolen.’

 

In reality, Choi Jeha didn’t want to go on the school trip. What’s the point of going when he doesn’t have any close friends? It would just be a waste of money. But when his grandmother saw the notice in his bag, she took out the money she had been saving up.

 

Knowing Choi Jeha’s usual personality, his grandmother thought he wouldn’t accept the money if she gave it to him directly. So the next day, she visited the bank with the notice. Unfamiliar with using the ATM, she filled out a deposit slip by hand. Just before submitting it at the counter, she met some students from Choi Jeha’s class. Happy to meet her grandson’s classmates, she gave them some pocket money to buy snacks.

 

I’m not sure exactly what happened in between, as it wasn’t written, but Choi Jeha’s school trip money was never deposited.

 

After that, unaware of the truth, the grandmother bought clothes as a gift for her grandson, who always wore only his school uniform, to wear on the school trip. At this point, Choi Jeha learned that his school trip fee hadn’t been deposited and that his grandmother had met his classmates at the bank.

 

However, Choi Jeha was keeping this a secret, fearing it would shatter his grandmother’s warm feelings towards his “friends.”

 

“Oh my, we’ll talk to the manager here, so you should go. When you get older, you might want to go but can’t.”

 

“The manager says he can’t spare you because he’s short-staffed? Then we’ll work in your place. Go on, go.”

 

The ahjummas, unaware that the money had been stolen, tried to give him pocket money, but Choi Jeha said he’d just accept their good intentions. As he smiled slightly in gratitude…

 

Wow… the cave-like mouth created by his open, refreshing lips was truly charming. Even as another man, I felt a flutter at Choi Jeha’s smile.

 

‘He’s ridiculously good-looking.’

 

I don’t understand why they bully someone who’s diligent, handsome, and smart. Even if someone forcibly spread bad rumors, people would realize it’s not true when they actually interact with him… Then again, the kids who ostracized me didn’t do it because they didn’t know my personality.

 

“By the way, Jeha, you’re not wearing glasses today? You look much better without them. You could be an idol.”

 

“More like an actor than an idol.”

 

“Handsome face, kind, diligent. And how smart is he? Jeha’s grandmother must feel secure even without eating.”

 

The guy who was an ice block to me blushed and rubbed his reddened neck with his palm, embarrassed by the ahjummas’ words.

 

‘He’s loving the compliments about his looks. Should I praise his appearance too when he comes here? Maybe he’ll be less prickly then.’

 

“But isn’t it inconvenient? I heard your eyesight is poor.”

 

“He must be wearing contacts.”

 

“Ah… actually, I lost them.”

 

“What? How did that happen?”

 

The ahjummas asked worriedly in response to Choi Jeha’s words.

 

Choi Jeha had a setting where he wore glasses due to poor eyesight until his awakening. Given his poor eyesight, he wouldn’t take off his glasses unless something special happened. Since I didn’t see glasses when we met earlier either, I wondered if he might have dropped them when he was trapped in the recycling area.

 

Choi Jeha, after taking the ahjummas’ orders, walked to the counter. While entering the order into the POS system and tidying up the scattered utensils on the table, he didn’t glance at me once. I waved my hand to signal that someone was here, but whether he saw it or not, Choi Jeha finished tidying up and entered the kitchen, creating a cold breeze.

 

Such thorough ignoring was something I hadn’t experienced since my mom saw my report card.

 

‘This is quite desperate, isn’t it?’

 

Choi Jeha was blatantly treating me like I didn’t exist.

 

As I’ve said before, I understand given the circumstances… but at this rate, it seemed he wouldn’t let me stay for even an hour, let alone one night.

 

That wouldn’t do. I carefully pondered how to persuade him to make my night comfortable.