Suhwan opened his eyes.
What’s this? Did I doze off?
As he shook his head from side to side, Suhwan was startled when he saw his surroundings.
I’m crazy. Falling asleep in a place like this. I’m clearly not in my right mind.
Suhwan flinched and looked around. The inside of the old abandoned building exuded a gloomy atmosphere despite it being daytime. He really didn’t want to stay here for even a moment longer.
This was an old school building scheduled for demolition. Because the school had neglected the old building, it often became a spot for courage tests by fearless students at night or a hideout for bullies.
Suhwan, being a timid person, rarely came to such places, but last night, as if possessed by some evil spirit, he had been persuaded by his friends to come here. And that too, right after cram school, with his math textbook that still had homework to be done.
Originally, he had only brought the textbook to ask a friend about problems he didn’t understand, but he was dragged along by his friends and ended up exploring the old school building at night. Suhwan, not knowing any better, followed his friends deep inside the building but then panicked at a sound made by some animal—whether a mouse or a cat, he couldn’t tell—and threw away the textbook he was holding before running away.
Amusingly, even his friends who had boldly ventured inside screamed in surprise and escaped the old building. Suhwan was so startled that he returned home in panic without thinking to look for the textbook he had thrown away. And he had to endure nightmares all night.
The problem was the math textbook with unfinished homework. It would be really troublesome if he couldn’t find the textbook today. He had homework that needed to be completed by tomorrow.
“Those jerks.”
Though his friends were clearly responsible for this situation, they irresponsibly acted like they knew nothing about it. They must have been quite scared by last night’s courage test, as no one offered to help Suhwan find his textbook. So after classes ended, Suhwan had to come here alone.
“Ugh, this is scary.”
Although it was still summer, Suhwan rubbed his arms with his palms at the seemingly chilly temperature. It felt like goosebumps were rising due to the cold energy flowing throughout the old school building.
Hah, I need to find it quickly and leave. Suppressing the urge to turn around and leave immediately, Suhwan began searching for his textbook.
Where was it again? The old building had quite a lot of classrooms, making it difficult to search. Should I go further inside?
As he was thinking this, Suhwan discovered a classroom that was particularly well-lit by sunlight. This room felt relatively more intact than the other classrooms. Thin rays of sunlight were streaming in through torn and worn curtains. Suhwan stared blankly at that somewhat dreamy scene before focusing on something on a desk.
“Ah, that’s it!”
What appeared to be a book from a distance turned out to be the math textbook Suhwan was looking for when he approached. He quickly picked up the book and checked for the name he had written.
[SH]
“That’s right.”
Uniquely, Suhwan didn’t write his full name on his belongings. He had a habit of writing only the initials of his name. He wasn’t sure when this habit started, but he had been doing it since he became aware of it. It might have started as something fun at first… As he tried to recall the vague memory, he was about to put the textbook he had finally recovered into his bag.
“That’s mine.”
“…?”
Startled by the sudden voice, Suhwan turned his head. He then screamed in terror when he saw something pale standing at the doorway.
“Aaaahh!”
A g-ghost? Do ghosts appear here even during the day? What should I do? R-run, run away…
As Suhwan trembled in panic, the pale ghost approached him.
“Huh…!”
“…”
But upon closer look, it wasn’t a ghost. Though the face was extremely pale, it was definitely a living, breathing person. Suhwan tried to calm his startled heart as he looked at the boy who had come closer.
‘…He’s pretty.’
Moreover, the boy’s beauty was extraordinary. Though clearly male based on his uniform, his face suited the word “pretty.” Light brown hair neatly covered his forehead, and the slightly visible forehead looked white and elegant. The nose beneath it was so high that it seemed like it could cut paper if placed against it. And the lips below…
‘No, what am I thinking?’
Finding himself attracted to another boy’s appearance made Suhwan feel utterly shameless. His face turned bright red.
“That book, it’s mine.”
“Huh?”
Suhwan looked down at what he was holding, following the direction the boy was pointing. It was the math textbook he had just found in this classroom. Suhwan looked at the unfamiliar boy with cautious eyes.
“No, it’s mine.”
He had just confirmed the name written in it. Suhwan found it absurd that the boy was confidently demanding the book.
“Ha…”
An irritated sigh escaped from lips that seemed to hold flower petals. Suhwan firmly gripped the textbook in his hand as the boy frowned. Then the boy spoke again with a grimaced face:
“Check it.”
“What?”
“Open the textbook and check inside.”
“…?”
Suhwan blinked at the tone still dripping with irritation. Then he glanced down at the textbook in his hand.
Fine, let’s check it once. When he confirms it’s not his, this strange boy will back off. Feeling an odd sense of defiance, Suhwan opened the textbook.
“…!”
However, Suhwan’s eyes trembled as he boldly opened the math textbook and looked down. The round handwriting looked quite similar, but it wasn’t his handwriting style. Moreover, Suhwan tended to use various colored pens, often turning his textbooks into a colorful mess. But this book only had complex mathematical formulas indifferently written in black pen.
“Um…”
Suhwan raised his head with a surprised face. And his eyes met with the boy who was still making a sour face. Looking at the boy’s expression that seemed to say ‘I told you so,’ Suhwan apologized in a deflated tone:
“S-sorry.”
“…”
“I really thought it was mine… I’m sorry.”
Suhwan repeatedly apologized, not knowing what to do out of embarrassment. As he carefully held out the textbook, the boy took it with a rough hand while still maintaining his cold expression.
“I write my name the same way. Looks like we have the same name initials.”
“…”
“Ha… haha…”
The boy glanced at Suhwan’s awkwardly smiling face and turned away mercilessly. Suhwan scratched his head with his lips curled down embarrassingly. Could such a coincidence exist? Not only did they have the same name initials, but they also shared the peculiar habit of writing only their initials.
Though it was a situation where misunderstanding was possible, the boy seemed very angry at Suhwan’s attempt to take his book. Watching the boy’s back as he approached the doorway, Suhwan lowered his hand that had been scratching his head.
What should I do? If not here, it meant he had dropped his textbook in a classroom further inside. But he was too scared to go further alone.
“Haaa.”
Suhwan’s gaze plummeted to the floor. Should I just go back today? Ah, but the math teacher is so scary. I have to complete the homework by tomorrow…
As Suhwan lingered, unable to decide, an indifferent voice pierced his ears.
“What are you doing?”
“Huh?”
Suhwan raised his head in surprise. The boy was staring at Suhwan, who stood frozen, with an expressionless face.
“Aren’t you going to look for your book?”
“Ah.”
“Didn’t you lose a math book somewhere around here?”
“Ah, yes.”
Suhwan quickly answered and approached the boy almost at a run. The boy glanced at Suhwan standing beside him and asked as he started walking:
“Is it this way?”
“Yes, probably.”
This was unexpected. He thought the boy would just leave, but he was helping to search. Glancing at the seemingly aloof boy’s face, Suhwan gathered courage and said:
“Thanks for helping me look.”
“…”
The boy didn’t respond to Suhwan’s gratitude. He just walked fearlessly through the increasingly desolate interior of the old school building. Suhwan followed behind the boy, flinching occasionally.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
Soo.. this is the og novel 🧐