Chapter 120
“Shouldn’t we go up now?”
Fortunately, one of the business administration students spoke up at the right moment.
“Oh, didn’t Ji-ye write on the rolling paper?”
“Is there such a thing? Give it to me!”
“Here.”
“I’ll write quickly, just a moment.”
“Aren’t we lighting the candles?”
“If we light them now, they’ll go out on the way up.”
“Right. Let’s just barge in and light them there.”
“What should we say when we get up there? Ring the bell right away?”
“Ring the bell and pretend Kyung-won came alone.”
“Okay. And when he opens the door, let’s all push in together.”
“Sounds good.”
As soon as Shin Ji-ye finished writing on the rolling paper, we went up the stairs, whispering as if carrying out a secret mission.
“By the way, did you guys prepare gifts?”
“No? What gifts, that’s embarrassing.”
A classmate shook his head firmly.
“I guess.”
“We bought the cake, so let’s make him treat us to a meal.”
“Okay, okay.”
Before we knew it, we had arrived at the door of the studio apartment. We looked at each other and fell silent. Choi Kyung-won, who mouthed ‘I’ll ring the bell,’ stepped forward.
Meanwhile, we moved far to the side so as not to be seen by the intercom camera.
A few seconds of silence passed. My heart was pounding, fully immersed in this operation.
“It’s Choi Kyung-won.”
Choi Kyung-won rang the bell and knocked on the door, urging Joo Kwon-oh.
After a moment of grumbling from inside, the electronic sound of the door lock being released rang out.
“I told you I’d see you later, why are you coming over making a fuss. I have to go out for an appointment later…”
“Happy birthday, you bastard!”
“Happy birthday!”
As soon as Joo Kwon-oh’s face appeared in the doorway, we all rushed forward. We squeezed through the door he had opened and barged into the room.
“…What is this?”
“What do you mean, man! It’s a surprise!”
“Congratulations, oppa!”
“Hey. It’s your birthday, why aren’t you drinking with your friends?”
“Didn’t you say you were going somewhere later?”
“Oh, is that so? If it’s a drinking appointment, you should have invited us too.”
Joo Kwon-oh looked over his friends holding the cake with disbelief.
Then he spotted me awkwardly mixed in among them and gave me a look that said, ‘Why are you here?’
It was understandable for Joo Kwon-oh to be surprised, as we had agreed to meet in the afternoon, but I suddenly appeared among his classmates.
Instead of explaining the long story, I just shrugged in response.
“Who told you to come here as you please?”
Joo Kwon-oh soon took his eyes off me and spoke coldly to his classmates.
“Hey, hey, light the candles quickly.”
“Wait. Where’s the lighter, the lighter?”
The classmates bustled about, trying to light the candles on the cake. While people’s attention was scattered, Joo Kwon-oh looked at me incredulously and gave me a warning look that said ‘We’ll talk later.’
I shook my head, indicating I had no choice.
“What are you lighting? Just put the cake down and get out quickly.”
“That won’t do, will it?”
As Joo Kwon-oh acted like he was about to chase everyone out, Choi Kyung-won suddenly shoved the cake he was holding into Joo Kwon-oh’s face.
“Kyaah!”
A female classmate nearby screamed in surprise. Choi Kyung-won and the other classmates burst into laughter.
“This is revenge for my birthday last year.”
Choi Kyung-won said gravely. And when he accidentally made eye contact with me, who was surprised by the cake being properly planted in the middle of Joo Kwon-oh’s face, he winked.
Judging by the atmosphere, it seems this is how they usually play around on birthdays… Is this okay?
I was worried about Joo Kwon-oh, whose face was covered in cream and cake.
“Ha-happy… birthday.”
When I spoke cautiously, Joo Kwon-oh licked the cream around his lips and clenched his molars.
“…Well, well.”
It was a look as if he was staring at a traitor.
“Why are you talking like that? I invited Ji-ye and Jeong-ha.”
“Choi Kyung-won, always doing unnecessary things…”
“Here, a letter we wrote. It would be weird if there was nothing at all.”
Choi Kyung-won placed the rolling paper in Joo Kwon-oh’s hand.
“Since we’re all here, let’s order some food.”
“Don’t you have anything to eat at your place?”
“Do you want to die? How dare you try to mooch off me too.”
Despite Joo Kwon-oh’s fierce voice, his classmates were calmly browsing the food delivery app.
“What’s good to eat around here?”
“Since we came all this way, we should at least eat before leaving.”
“Who said to order delivery? Why aren’t you all leaving?”
As harsh words flew, Choi Kyung-won slyly put the female classmate and Shin Ji-ye in front.
“Hey. There are girls here, should you be talking like that?”
“That’s right, not even letting them sit properly. The girls must be uncomfortable.”
Another male classmate chimed in. And that method worked perfectly. Joo Kwon-oh, who was particularly weak to women, hesitated.
“Aish. There’s not even enough space… Alright, Ji-ye and Min-seo, sit on these chairs. Jeong-ha, sit on the bed.”
“What about us?”
“You guys can sit on the floor.”
“I want to sit on the bed too.”
“I’ll kill you.”
“Why can Jeong-ha do it but not me?”
“He’s an art student, isn’t he? Are you the same?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Move aside, I need to go wash my face.”
“Hey, hey! Let’s take a picture first.”
“Oh, good idea.”
Choi Kyung-won grabbed Joo Kwon-oh’s clothes, preventing him from going to wash up. As someone turned on their phone camera, people gathered around Joo Kwon-oh as if on cue.
I, who had been sitting on the bed, also awkwardly moved to his side.
“Set it on timer.”
“Just take it.”
“One, two, three.”
At that moment, I felt something touch the back of my hand. Looking down, I saw Joo Kwon-oh had reached behind and was tickling my hand.
“Should we take one more?”
I quickly pulled my hand away, worried someone might see. Trying to suppress the laughter from the ticklish feeling, I stared at the camera.
Joo Kwon-oh frowned in disgust as he saw the cake on his hand while running it through his hair. Seemingly annoyed, he started rubbing his face vigorously on Choi Kyung-won’s shoulder.
“Argh! You crazy bastard!”
Choi Kyung-won jumped up as if having a fit.
“You’re insane. Ah, the cream is getting everywhere!”
“Both Joo Kwon-oh and Choi Kyung-won, get away.”
“What’s wrong with you, you madman! I don’t even have clothes to change into. Sorry, sorry. I was wrong. Okay? Stop it.”
“Ah, oppa. This doesn’t seem right!”
As Joo Kwon-oh started to act up, everyone scattered in a commotion. Before I knew it, I was laughing out loud like the others.
Running around trying to escape from the monster, we laughed so much our stomachs hurt.
I don’t know what state of mind we were in when we ordered and ate food. With so many people crammed into the small studio apartment, we lost track of time.
In the end, the classmates stubbornly stayed at Joo Kwon-oh’s place, ate lunch, and only left after devouring the chocolate cake for dessert.
Although the schedule changed a bit, fortunately, I was able to take Joo Kwon-oh to the restaurant I had reserved for dinner.
After spending the day in such a haphazard manner, I felt a bit drained when I returned home.
However, I thought that this kind of day was not bad in its own way.
The photos taken that day were uploaded to Choi Kyung-won and the classmates’ Instagram accounts. Joo Kwon-oh also uploaded a story.
It was a photo of the birthday cake and rolling paper. Without any comment, he had added various emojis to the photo…
A cake,
Chocolate,
Fireworks,
A person wearing sunglasses,
And lastly, a peach emoji and a heart.
*
It was two days before the start of the new semester.
[Joo Kwon-oh: They say I got in]
Even without any context, I immediately understood what Joo Kwon-oh’s KakaoTalk message meant.
[Me: That’s great, congratulations ^^]
[Joo Kwon-oh: Should I really go??]
[Joo Kwon-oh: ??]
[Joo Kwon-oh: ?]
[Joo Kwon-oh: Seriously?]
Joo Kwon-oh sent messages in rapid succession.
[Me: Of course you should go!]
Joo Kwon-oh, who had been replying in real-time, fell silent for a moment.
The reply came after a few minutes.
[Joo Kwon-oh: I can’t believe it]
[Me: What? ^^]
[Joo Kwon-oh: That I won’t see my peach for three months…]
As he said that, it started to sink in slowly.
The news of Joo Kwon-oh’s overseas internship was really sudden for me too, just as it was for him.
I stared at the screen for a while, hesitating, then organized my thoughts and typed what I wanted to say.
[Me: I looked it up and the Netherlands Furniture Fair is actually famous. Maybe you’ll learn more there than working at the Korean exhibition.. And it was something you had to do sometime before graduation anyway. I think it’s a good thing. Since it’s a school-linked program, the school will handle all the procedures so it’s convenient.. I hope you have a good time without worrying about me. We can see each other plenty when you come back. But you have to contact me often..]
[Joo Kwon-oh: Ha]
[Joo Kwon-oh: Our peach is too smart….]
As if. Though I tried to act fine, a lump of emotion rose in my throat. If I had said this face to face instead of through KakaoTalk, I probably wouldn’t have been able to say a single word properly.
*
