Paper Friendship Chapter 10

Ah…. Just hearing Choi Juoon’s name made me feel even more tired. I turned my head without a word. Then, Park Yoonchul, still on his phone, said:

“You must be bummed out since Joo Sunhye isn’t here today.”

“Huh? Why?”

I raised my head and asked reflexively. Park Yoonchul looked at me like I was a weirdo and said:

“What the… Didn’t you hear from Joo Sunhye? Today, those… flight attendant students all went on a group field trip. You know, they’re going somewhere.”

“Ah, right…!”

I hurriedly straightened up and finally checked my phone. There was a pile of messages from Joo Sunhye.

Joo Sunhye 

It’s not mandatory to hand in our phones, but I’m going to. 

I can expect a reply, right? 

06:59

I’d been so distracted that I even forgot about Joo Sunhye’s flight attendant training. I scratched the back of my head vigorously. Beside me, Park Yoonchul, completely oblivious to the mood, asked me to set him up on a blind date. Then, right on cue, the teacher walked in, and Park Yoonchul went back to his seat, saying:

“I’m first in line for a blind date.”

My head throbbed thinking about how to reply to Joo Sunhye, but on the other hand, the fact that Choi Juoon wasn’t at school today eased my fatigue a little. I knew I shouldn’t, but I even skipped lunch and just slept through the day. At first, the kids tried to wake me up, but when they saw how exhausted I was, they stopped bothering me. I only woke up briefly during the fifth-period Korean class. It was to submit the performance assessment paper that had been resting peacefully on my desk.

I slept well and woke up just in time for the last period. “Self-study” was written on the blackboard. As I stretched slightly and looked around, most of the students were studying, as expected of seniors in high school. An inexplicable anxiety washed over me, so I started making a study plan.

Since I tend to sleep if there’s a bed around, I decided to start going to a new study room. I made various plans and was working through an English mock exam when the bell rang.

I packed my things and headed straight home. I thought about walking home with the kids for the first time in a while, but I just chose to take the bus. While waiting for the bus, I checked my backlog of messages. I checked them roughly and sent a long, long reply to Joo Sunhye.

“Ha….”

And now, I had to think about what to send to Choi Juoon. When it came to Joo Sunhye, I could get answers if I wracked my brain, but with Choi Juoon, I didn’t have a clue. Honestly, if this had happened with any other guy, I would have just played it off and ignored it, but for some reason, it was difficult with Choi Juoon.

Writing out a long, detailed explanation about whether you were wrong or I was wrong—that wasn’t my style, nor was it Choi Juoon’s. Even after putting it off and putting it off, I didn’t think any particular thoughts would come up, so I just called him impulsively. My heart was pounding secretly. The ringing tone went on for a long time, and then a recorded message came on saying he couldn’t take the call right now. I felt a sense of inexplicable relief, and I just left one message.

call me when you see this 05:12

When I arrived home, there was no one there. My parents were both working. When I was in middle school, my mother was full of passion for everything and very interested in me, but once I entered high school, her interest in me dropped sharply. It’s safe to say there’s almost none now.

To be honest, I don’t really interact much with my father. He’s retired now. When he’s home, he goes into his study to rest. But these days, he seems to be out drinking with friends almost every day. It was literally hard to even see our family’s faces once.

Anyway, I took off my uniform and changed into a gray hoodie and black sweatpants. Then, I grabbed yesterday’s bag and headed to the study room I’d decided on.

∞ ∞ ∞

The new place was about a 40-minute walk from my house. I was the only one in the study room. The owner came after I called, and he showed me the screen, saying the white spots were the empty seats—but the screen was entirely white.

While organizing my stuff, I briefly wondered how this place managed to stay in business…. But then I remembered the gold jewelry on the owner’s arms and neck. Just worry about yourself.

Around 10:30, I talked to Joo Sunhye on the phone. Fortunately, Joo Sunhye’s voice was bright, and Choi Juoon’s name didn’t come up at all.

─ Hold on, my teacher is calling me.

In the middle of the call, Joo Sunhye suddenly said in a low voice and hung up hurriedly. About two minutes later, a text arrived.

Joo Sunhye 

I think I have to hand in my phone ㅠ love you ♥ 

11:37

haha I love you too 

11:38

Once the call ended, I realized I hadn’t mentioned that I’d switched study rooms, but I figured it wasn’t urgent. I studied a bit more and left the study room around 1:30 AM.

The walk home was breezy. At first, I thought it was nice to walk because the wind was cool, but as soon as I got home, exhaustion hit me. Honestly, the thought of walking this distance every day felt daunting. When I checked my phone before going to sleep, there was still no contact from Choi Juoon.

∞ ∞ ∞

The next day was Thursday, and it was no different from usual. Joo Sunhye and Choi Juoon were scheduled to return tomorrow. I went to school with Park Yoonchul with a light heart.

In May, there are many performance assessments. There’s also the athletic meet and graduation photos. There’s a mock exam in June, too. They said we’d take one of our graduation photos in two days, on Saturday. Park Yoonchul and I had decided to wear each other’s school uniforms for that. We’d settled on this back in March, and now two months had already passed; we were taking the photos tomorrow. Time really flies.

I thought about going to the study room right after school, but because I had another performance assessment to submit tomorrow, I decided to take my laptop home.

There was no contact from Joo Sunhye or Choi Juoon. I walked home, swinging the black bag containing a roll of gimbap for dinner back and forth. For some reason, I was in a good mood and started humming. That was when I reached the front of my house.

“Try to get around faster.”

I stopped in my tracks. Because there was… Choi Juoon, wearing a black short-sleeved t-shirt, gray sweatpants, and a navy-colored cap.

Choi Juoon was leaning against the wall next to our building’s entrance. There were no traces of him smoking nearby. It looked like he had been on his phone. I barely managed to move my lips.

“You, that, training…. didn’t you go?”

At that, Choi Juoon took off his cap and showed me a blue bruise on his forehead. Then he put the cap back on. It was the mark from where I’d hit him…. Did he miss it because of that? Still… couldn’t he have gone anyway? I thought that, but I didn’t bother saying it.

“Then were you just at home the whole time? No, then what about school attendance?”

I kept asking. I hadn’t missed a single day of school until now. I’d never had to file for something like field experience, so I was just confused about how it worked for him. Was it an unexcused absence because of me?

“I just studied at home. That attendance, it gets verified.”

“…Did you miss it because of your forehead?”

“That wasn’t the only reason, but it wasn’t entirely unrelated.”

“….”

“Hey, I’m kidding.”

Choi Juoon said to me, as I stood there stiff as a board while putting his phone in his pocket. I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t think of anything to say. Then, after a brief silence, Choi Juoon spoke first.

“Sorry.”

I looked up at Choi Juoon. Choi Juoon was staring at the ground. His expression was the same as usual, and his voice was neutral.

“Sorry, I crossed the line back then. I’m sorry.”

“Oh? Oh…. No, well…. It’s fine.”

I slowly moved my feet and sat down next to Choi Juoon. Then I muttered quietly:

“I’m sorry for hitting you, too.”

Honestly, I was embarrassed. Why was it so embarrassing? This was the first time Choi Juoon had apologized to me like this. For some reason, the area around my chest felt ticklish. Choi Juoon sat down next to me, too.

We were both silent. I debated for a moment, then gathered the courage to ask:

“Do you… like Joo Sunhye?”

“Are you crazy?”

I could hear from his voice just how ridiculous he found it. It was a massive denial. But that only made me more suspicious.

Does he… really like her? Thinking that, I couldn’t look at Choi Juoon. I touched my neck and said cautiously:

“You can be honest. I, for one… I won’t get angry.”

“Ah, fuck, seriously…. Hey, Lee Juun. Look at me.”

Before I could even turn my head, Choi Juoon grabbed my face with his hand and turned it. Choi Juoon, whom I was facing, had a face full of anger.

“I’d rather date Park Yoonchul than date her.”