Paper Friendship Chapter 11

“Hey…! How come you’re dragging my girlfriend into Park Yoonchul’s….”

“That’s how much it is.”

Choi Juoon took his hand off my face. I slowly nodded and scraped the floor with my shoe. For one, it’s not like Choi Juoon likes Joo Sunhye. Then why was he so angry? Was it because I was hovering around too much while he was studying?

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t reach a conclusion. Still, just in case, I needed to make sure I addressed what needed to be addressed.

“Joo Sunhye is…. dating me.”

I intentionally spoke in a very low voice. For some reason, the atmosphere turned quiet. Only then did I look up and try to gauge Choi Juoon’s reaction. Choi Juoon had no expression. He didn’t look angry, nor did he look sad. He was just looking at the spot, scraping the floor with his shoe like I was.

“I know.”

“….”

“That you and Joo Sunhye are dating.”

Choi Juoon said it calmly. No, Choi Juoon is feeling lonely right now. He might have tried to hide it, but how many years have I been Choi Juoon’s friend? I could tell at least that much.

I thought deeply. Choi Juoon doesn’t like Joo Sunhye. That much is certain. However, about the person he used to date…. I don’t know much about it, but maybe it’s something like that. After thinking for a while, Choi Juoon spoke in a lighter tone than before.

“By the way, wasn’t your study room seat empty?”

“I got kicked out.”

I turned my head toward Choi Juoon and said it while smiling. Then, Choi Juoon smiled too.

“That’s fucking hilarious, why.”

I explained the situation simply. Because I spoke jokingly, Choi Juoon didn’t take it seriously either.

“Ah, if I at least had that lighter, I would’ve been kicked out with some dignity. I got kicked out with zero dignity.”

When I said that, Choi Juoon laughed even louder than before.

While we were talking like that, Choi Juoon got a call. Choi Juoon didn’t answer the call, but he stood up from his seat and said:

“I’m going.”

“Don’t goooo.”

I answered, drawing out the end of my sentence. Choi Juoon looked down at me for a moment and said jokingly. Hyung has plans. I also jokingly made a sound of uwhek and pretended to throw up. For some reason, I felt disappointed with how it ended. However, as if Choi Juoon didn’t feel the same, he walked away while answering his phone without a moment’s hesitation.

I watched Choi Juoon’s back for a little while. Even though the ending was a bit disappointing, my heart felt light, perhaps because things were resolved well with Choi Juoon.

I ate kimbap at home, packed my laptop, and took the bus. I was studying in a study room with no one else, but unlike yesterday, I felt scared. I kept feeling an unexplained eeriness, and it felt as if someone was behind me. I kept looking back until I finally started to concentrate. The time I stood up to talk to Joo Sunhye while studying was nearing ten-thirty, just like yesterday.

While on the phone with Joo Sunhye, I told her about changing study rooms. I didn’t mention the conversation I had with Choi Juoon. I just said, “The Mister at the study room called me aside and told me I was kicked out.” Well…. in a way, that was the truth.

Joo Sunhye felt really, really sorry. She probably thought it was because the physical intimacy we had accumulated had added up. I kept telling her it was okay, talked a little more, and then returned to the study room to start studying again.

∞ ∞ ∞

The next day, I met with Joo Sunhye after school. It was past eleven at night after we parted ways, so the timing to go to the study room was awkward. I really like Joo Sunhye, but the time I had to study had decreased so much that I thought seriously about what I should do.

I woke up early in the morning and headed to Park Yoonchul’s house. That was because the school uniform I was supposed to wear for the graduation photo was at Park Yoonchul’s house. When I pressed the bell, Choi Moongi opened the door.

Going inside, empty liquor bottles were everywhere. Park Yoonchul was sleeping on the floor with boys from other schools. Since Park Yoonchul lives alone, his place was practically a hideout. I roughly looked for a place to step and woke Park Yoonchul up with my foot. Park Yoonchul barely managed to wake up and sit. And once he sat up, he fell asleep just like that.

“Where is my uniform?”

“Huh? Over there….”

Park Yoonchul replied, barely opening his eyes and gesturing with his chin. There were about 30 minutes left until the time I had to be at school. It took about 15 minutes to get from here to school. I took the shopping bag and went into an empty room.

I quickly changed and looked in the mirror. It was black, with red accents here and there. I put the clothes I was originally wearing back into the shopping bag. When I opened the door and came out again, Park Yoonchul was already changing clothes, too.

“You were trying to leave without me.”

I looked at Park Yoonchul and just laughed.

∞ ∞ ∞

When I arrived at school, they were already gathered and taking photos. I took photos with the kids in my class, too. There were many people who were in costume. Kim Minjae dressed up as a famous animation character. Park Yoonchul and I laughed while watching that. We took a photo with Kim Minjae and left the classroom to check out other classes.

“He’s seriously handsome.”

I heard the girls talking. And I knew who they were talking about the moment we got to Class 4.

The girls were standing in line to take a photo with Choi Juoon. Even Kim Minjae didn’t have this level of popularity. Choi Juoon was truly the very image of a flight attendant. The harmony of white and light blue suited him well. He’s handsome. Oops, scratch that. He was pretty decent.

It seems the kids preparing to be flight attendants decided to take photos like that. Joo Sunhye was wearing the same outfit as Choi Juoon, but her hair was long and straight. When Joo Sunhye made eye contact with me, she hurriedly left the classroom. Seeing that she didn’t have any lip color on, it looked like she hadn’t finished her makeup yet. I don’t mind, but Joo Sunhye cares a lot about those things in front of me.

“I think I’m gonna turn gay.”

“Is Kim Minjae a crazy bastard?”

When Kim Minjae said that quietly, the boys laughed loudly. I didn’t laugh and silently stared at Choi Juoon.

For some reason, I was reminded of when Choi Juoon first started attending the flight attendant academy. The times he would say it was shitty, practicing smiling while looking in the mirror every day at the academy….

Now, a smile suited him quite well. The same went for his hair. The boys around couldn’t even think of getting close, so they sat far away and looked at Choi Juoon. I was the same among them. It might sound a bit odd to say it this way, but I thought, “He’s grown a lot.”

“He’s cool.”

I whispered in a very, very small voice. After letting it out, a strange feeling washed over me. It felt like my lower abdomen was strangely knotting up.

Then, I made eye contact with Choi Juoon. Perhaps because there were still kids left to take photos, Choi Juoon kept glancing at us while taking photos. He had an expression as if he were holding back laughter. After taking photos until the very end, Choi Juoon approached us.

“Isn’t this place only for students of our school?”

I said, touching the tie of the uniform I was wearing. Without realizing it, I looked for the bruise on Choi Juoon’s forehead. Seeing it up close, it looked like it had been covered with makeup. When my gaze hit Choi Juoon’s forehead, he said nonchalantly that the girls had covered it up for him. And he muttered while scanning my body from top to bottom.

“It suits you well.”

Hearing those words, my heart ached for a moment. Is it because I’m embarrassed? Then, Choi Juoon turned his gaze and teased Park Yoonchul.

“Customer, we’ve received complaints from other customers, so could you please disappear? They say you’re so ugly that it’s hindering the flight.”

We shared these meaningless conversations, and Choi Juoon went to take photos. I kept watching his back. For some reason, I kept following Choi Juoon. Why? Anyway, I finally finished following him with my eyes and slowly moved my feet toward my classroom.

∞ ∞ ∞

After taking the photos, I headed straight to the study room. I was going to wash the uniform I wore and return it, but before I had the chance, Park Yoonchul took it away immediately. I ate omurice near the study room for lunch. I didn’t have any expectations, but it was really delicious. While paying, I thought: I should eat dinner here, too.

While studying, I suddenly felt hungry and checked the clock. It was already eight o’clock. It was at the moment I was stretching my neck and taking my card out of my bag.

“What are you doing?”

A small, female voice was heard from behind. Goosebumps broke out all over my body.

The voice sounded strange. Suddenly, I became scared. I stayed still as if time had truly stopped.

“What are you doing?”