2) Humanity
Believe it or not, I was a bookworm when I was little. Even if my reading list mostly consisted of serialized comics, I was still interested in reading words. The classic literature Liam opened up in front of me not long ago—that was around the time I used to read things like that.
Back then, Mom recommended books about asset flow and real estate to me, but I never once opened the books she gave me. It wasn’t some half-baked act of rebellion. I just wasn’t interested.
The day my favorite comic series ended, I graduated from reading. By the time an unbelievably handsome guy and his parents moved in next door, “bookworm” had already become an old label from the past.
In other words, the reason my eyes were drawn to him wasn’t because of the thick book tucked under his arm. Around then, the comic series I liked had already been turned into a movie and even gotten a sequel.
“Hi.”
When I leaned both arms on the first-floor windowsill and stretched my head out to greet him, he gave no reaction at all. He just kept walking leisurely.
“Hey! You!”
I tried calling out like some delinquent punk, but got nothing in return. The man disappeared from sight, and after some time passed, he returned carrying a cup of coffee.
“Blondie!”
Only after loudly shouting one of his distinguishing features did I finally earn his attention. He looked at me with emerald eyes that seemed to have absorbed the refreshing energy of early summer.
“Were you talking to me?”
“Yeah!”
He said he hadn’t realized I was calling him. The idea was so absurd that I let out a hollow laugh.
“How could you not know?”
“How would I know?”
“You should obviously know. You look like someone people want to talk to. That’s just how you look.”
And it wasn’t only humans whose impulses he stirred.
“Look behind you.”
“What?”
“I said look behind you.”
Two little puppies had stopped behind him, wagging their tails. The man turned around without understanding why, then waved at them. Their owner, skillfully managing the leashes, looked ready to greet him in return and strike up a conversation, so I raised my voice.
“See? I told you!”
Right on cue, the puppies barked yip-yip at him. Their fluffy white fur made them look like little cotton balls. The man alternated his gaze between me and them before finally choosing me.
“I don’t think animals were trying to talk to me. There’s an uncrossable river between dogs and homo loquens—”
“Homo what? Homo Lucas?”
“Homo loquens. Linguistic humans.”
“Linguistic humans, huh. Then I guess I count too, since I’m talking like this.”
I brushed off the boring parade of common knowledge and waved goodbye to the puppies. The little things trotted ahead energetically on their short legs while their owner hurried after them.
“Have you ever walked a dog before?”
When I tossed out a new topic, the man responded with lukewarm interest.
“Are you actually asking because you’re curious?”
“And if I’m not?”
“It could just be a question you’re using as an excuse to talk to me. To borrow your words, I apparently look like someone people want to talk to.”
His guess was frighteningly accurate.
“You caught me. But now I really am curious. So will you answer?”
Having my intentions seen through by his sharp insight, I answered honestly, and only then did he reply.
“A few times when I was little. I took dogs out for people I knew.”
“And they wagged their tails hard when they saw you too, right?”
“I don’t remember that much.”
“I bet I’m right with a 98% probability.”
At my oddly specific number, he shrugged.
“I don’t know what formula you used to calculate that, but it doesn’t sound reliable.”
“It’s called intuition. Pretty accurate, too.”
“My intuition says you’re a strange person.”
His unwillingness to indulge me only made him more interesting. I practically hung halfway out the window and gestured for him to come closer.
“I won’t act weird. Seriously. Is that book interesting?”
“That question also sounds like a means to talk to me.”
“It’s both. A means, and something I’m genuinely curious about. So how is it?”
Honestly, the former outweighed the latter. It’d been a long time since I’d completely cut myself off from reading.
“It’s alright.”
“What’s it called?”
After hesitating, the man finally walked over and showed me the book. On the cover was the painfully dull-looking title Humanity.
“Why do you read stuff like this? To become more human? Or to figure out what humanity even is?”
Back then, I had a rude streak to me. I was the kind of obnoxious guy who thought rolling short sleeves up over his shoulders to wear them like a sleeveless shirt while flexing his arm muscles looked cool. Whenever I brushed back my wavy bangs, I was far too conscious of his gaze.
I was overflowing with confidence.
“It wasn’t selling. It was shoved away in the corner of the bookstore.”
“Hm. That’s actually a nice reason. Paying attention to neglected things is a good thing.”
As I spoke smoothly, I rested my elbow on the windowsill and propped one side of my face against my hand. I was fully aware that this pose made me look incredibly charming and handsome.
“So I guess you do good deeds often too.”
“No. Not really.”
“That’s unexpected. Then why are you paying attention to me?”
He genuinely seemed unable to understand it. I found that funny.
“Are you saying you’re neglected? The moment someone lays eyes on you, there’s no way you could ever be neglected.”
Like I said before, he looked like someone people wanted to talk to. The kind of person you’d stop on the street just to act familiar with, just to poke at a little.
“I seriously don’t understand.”
“If you don’t get it, look in a mirror. And if you still don’t get it, look at me.”
“If I look at you, I’ll get the answer?”
“No. I just wanted you to look at me, so I said it.”
The man stared at me in disbelief before looking away. Feeling disappointed, I whistled to get his attention again.
“I’m not trying to tease you. Your eyes are pretty. Looking into them makes me feel good.”
When I explained the truth hidden behind my casual “just because,” he blinked his eyes wide.
“To say something like that… to someone you’ve just met… right to their face…”
Since he looked genuinely flustered, I made him a promise.
“I’ll restrain myself.”
“Restrain what?”
“Saying whatever comes to mind. I made your heart race, didn’t I?”
To defend the version of myself back then—the one whose confidence soared high enough to pierce the sky—it’s true that I was absurdly popular, enough to become troublesome, and there were more than a few people who misunderstood my ordinary behavior and dreamed up relationships all on their own. You’d have to be an idiot not to realize my looks attracted people regardless of gender.
I was good-looking, and I knew it extremely well.
The man quietly watched me, then suddenly raised his paper cup to hide his mouth. It never even crossed my mind that he was politely covering up laughter leaking out. Instead, I took it as him hiding a flushed face.
“This kind of thing happens a lot without me meaning to.”
Silence briefly settled between us. It was unfortunate for completely different reasons on each side. I felt bad for him, while he was probably finding me ridiculous. The wall of silence standing between us was broken by a series of yipping barks.
Already familiar with the sound, I turned my head and saw the puppies from earlier again. The energetic little things dashed off in the opposite direction with their visibly exhausted owner trailing after them. Their perfectly timed entrance and exit felt like a commercial break during a sports broadcast. Thanks to that, the halted conversation resumed.
“You can keep saying whatever comes to mind.”
The man lowered the paper cup that had been covering his mouth and spoke.
“Really? You sure about that?”
“If not, it’ll be troublesome. Especially if you keep misunderstanding things and thinking I was flustered.”
