December

Of course, it was a lie to reassure my mother who seemed suspicious, however, she got on the bus without saying anything more. I left the bus station only after I confirmed that the bus had left. When I looked at my phone, I was notified of a message from my hoobae. I texted him back saying that I was going to be a little late today. Prior to receiving Kim Shin’s message, I was contemplating whether I should send this text for about 10 minutes. I didn’t promise to see him that I would meet him every day, but I think it was polite to notify someone that you would be late. My fingertips were shaking when I sent the last message. The reply came almost immediately but I couldn’t message him back, given that I was helping my mother.

Call me when you come.

Usually, when I took the subway, I killed time by reading useless posts on my cell phone. But this time, it was hard to swipe to another screen. After belatedly hearing the announcement that I had arrived at my station, I finally stood up.

Only then did I realize that I was only staring at his messages while passing through the stops. As his messages had entailed the plot of a book, I delved into all kinds of imaginations and speculations by myself. I sent a reply while I passed from one stop to another.

I’ll be there in about 25 minutes. 

Yeah, he only needed me in order to catch that Alpha high school student. That was all.

Today, the daytime temperature rose for the first time in a long time but it wasn’t that it wasn’t cold but a small dent in the Siberian pressure. The only warmth was my body temperature in the wrapped scarf, so I walked quickly toward the main gate of the library as if it was a temple.

I pushed through the thick double glass door, but the high-ceiling library lobby was not warm. Still, I stopped as I stood next to the entrance to untie the stuffy scarf. In the distance, I could see Kim Shin standing near a coffee shop on the first floor of the library.

Even though he was far away, he caught my eye at once. He wore a dark green sweatshirt with no pattern today and I never realized how green was such a bright color. His eyes were fixed on the cell phone in his hand, while his lips twitched from time to time.

Since he was far away from me, he couldn’t notice me but instead was on a call so I moved behind the glass door inadvertently, wondering if I would get caught. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. His eyes slightly wrinkled at the ends and his chin stiffened as if it were a serious call.

As he talked about this and that, he roughly swept his bangs with my hands. A lot of hair, which was pushed by his large hand, fell down on his forehead again. I couldn’t breathe and watched and realized later how it wasn’t polite to scrutinize him like that so I lowered my eyes.

Wow, what was I doing? I was ashamed of my behavior and tried to sneak into my study room, but someone else caught my eye. Without realizing it, a cute looking man stood near Kim Shin while having a drink in his hands.

I didn’t even know he was there because only Kim Shin caught my eye. He stared at Kim Shin as if he had a business with him and as soon as Kim Shin got off the call, he approached him. I couldn’t hear clearly what they were conversing about but seeing the man’s actions, his intentions were obvious.

Blushed skin and a nervous smile were evident on his face. His voice, which was inaudible, might have trembled. However, he laid down his intentions and offered Kim Shin a drink, but the latter’s reaction was simple. He took the drink and threw a glance at him, that was all to it.

My breathing stopped for a second for a different reason than before as I noticed his gaze. My heart sank as he showed off his coolness and indifference to the extent that I could even see it in the distance. Kim Shin’s refusal which entailed that he was bothered even to talk or interact with the insignificant man seemed too familiar.

Perhaps because he seemed so cold from his little ministrations, I was hurt while watching the scene unfold. Suddenly I remembered that his impression was quite sharp when I first encountered him in the library a few days ago. The man who confessed quickly turned around, embarrassed, and left and Kim Shin didn’t follow behind him.

I turned my eyes slowly and met black eyes. He was looking at me. The eyes toward me clearly showed a pleasant feeling as if they had locked up a sparkling light inside. Even a smile spread curbed his lips while he quickly approached me. I gulped without realizing it. He had a warm impression as I remembered from yesterday. No, it was even warmer today. I was overcome with subtle emotions mixed with bewilderment and could not easily face him.

I was late today, so I expected there would be no seats to sit side by side. Of course, I realized again that expectations exist to be missed. He saved a seat for me. As if I had no other option, he naturally pulled out the chair and even helped me sit down. Obviously, we started meeting each other to catch the Alpha high school student but why did it feel like I was the one who was caught?

I sat down on his left, shrugging off my useless thoughts. Today, while I studied, my right side facing him became sensitive. However, whether it was fortunate or not, I only had to study for a few hours today. About 30 minutes later my right side became numb and suddenly, a loud noise was heard from another study room.