One-Room Dictator 3

After a short shower, Bonoh seriously glared at the clothes he’d worn in. With water still remaining on his body, it was obvious the clothes would stick to him if he put them on right away. Since Taeseong was already asleep, couldn’t he just quickly go out and change? With that thought, Bonoh was about to go out naked, but decided to just put on his clothes since it was his first day. Either way, there was nothing good about the dormitory.

“Huh, you’re awake?”

When he came out roughly throwing on his clothes and shaking his hair with a towel, Taeseong was awake despite having turned down the music volume. That’s why you shouldn’t go to sleep too early. Bonoh nodded his head, adding another excuse to his lifestyle habits.

That’s when he felt an intense gaze.

“‘You’re awake’? Who exactly was singing while showering…!”

“You could hear it?”

“It’s not like my ears are blocked, so how could I not hear it?”

It would have been fine if he just looked sensitive, but his personality followed his face too. Taeseong’s sharp words made Bonoh feel sorry at first, but then he felt wronged instead. If it was noisy, he could have just nicely asked him to be quieter next time—why did he have to snap like that?

“Ah, yes. I’m sorry.”

At Bonoh’s apology, which didn’t contain even a grain of sincerity, Taeseong seemed to have his mood twisted once again. However, he just pulled his blanket back over his head and lay down facing the wall.

While shaking out his hair and looking at Taeseong’s bed, Bonoh seriously wondered if it wouldn’t be beneficial for both sides if he steadily accumulated penalty points and got kicked out of the dormitory. Of course, that thought didn’t last long. It seemed like Taeseong himself, living like that, would be more tired than Bonoh.

Could he become comfortable enough with Taeseong to speak casually before the semester ended? The answer to the question Bonoh had thought of leaned toward the negative.

He did end up speaking casually with Taeseong, who was extremely picky about every single behavior. When did that happen? On the first day of classes—that is, this morning.

Course registration after a year had disastrous results. Befitting an IT powerhouse, everyone’s hands were fast. Except for returning student Bonoh. Is the internet on the mainland faster than on Jeju Island? While he was flustered, the course capacity filled up, and Bonoh’s schedule, cobbled together with leftover classes, was truly a disaster.

Thanks to that, Bonoh’s alarm for his first period class went off starting at 8 AM. 8 AM was dawn for Bonoh. The alarm that rang at 8 continued at 5-minute intervals. 8:05, 8:10, 8:15… After listening to a total of 8 alarms until 8:40, Taeseong couldn’t stand it and shouted to wake Bonoh up.

“Kim Bonoh!”

Bonoh’s eyes, which had been unable to wake up with the thought of “just 5 more minutes,” snapped open. He turned off all the alarms on his phone and checked the time. Fortunately, since it was a building close to the dormitory, he wasn’t completely late yet.

With a heavy shadow cast over the bed, Taeseong was glaring at Bonoh with piercing eyes. Even after checking the time, Bonoh was just amazed that Taeseong had called his name. For two days, only Bonoh had called Taeseong’s name several times, while Taeseong had never mentioned his name at any time, so Bonoh had thought Taeseong didn’t know his name.

“You knew my name?”

“If you’re awake, get out.”

To Bonoh’s drowsy question, Taeseong replied sharply. That must count as speaking casually, right? Bonoh opened his mouth wide to yawn, then got up from his spot.

Joo Taeseong is probably still pissed at me, right? The menacing expression he’d seen on Taeseong’s face that morning wouldn’t leave his mind. In this situation, Bonoh now had to open the dormitory door in front of him and tell Taeseong inside that he’d be coming back tonight after drinking heavily. For Bonoh, who had to go to at least 3 rounds when drinking, and sometimes 4 rounds on certain days, the curfew issue was quite a headache.

The dormitory curfew was 2 AM. He’d heard it was generous compared to other university dormitories, but that only applied to kids like Joo Taeseong—it didn’t apply to heavy drinker Kim Bonoh, who regularly drank until 4 AM.

Today too, he’d obviously drink a lot using the excuse of it being the first day of classes, but while everyone else was partying, he had to crawl back to the dormitory? He’d rather choose death.

If that were the only problem, it would have been fortunate, but even if he kept the time and entered the room, there was Joo Taeseong who would turn off the lights sharp at 11 PM. If only Taeseong slept soundly, but he was such a light sleeper that he’d immediately open his eyes and say it was noisy if Bonoh made even the slightest sound.

“Hey, I’m going out drinking today… huh, he’s not here.”

Taeseong, who he’d naturally assumed would be there, was absent. Unlike Bonoh’s spot, which was a mess from having to leave early in the morning, only neatly folded blankets remained. Of course Taeseong would be attending school too, so it was natural, but having been stuck in the room for almost two days, he hadn’t thought of that.

Come to think of it, he didn’t know Taeseong’s schedule. Well, it’s not like I need to know. Thinking he should at least leave a text message, he turned on his phone only to realize he didn’t even know Taeseong’s number. Even if they couldn’t be best friends, it was natural progression to introduce themselves, speak casually, and exchange numbers, but he hadn’t even thought of going through that process with Taeseong.

Can’t help it, I guess.

It wasn’t Bonoh’s intention not to tell him to prepare mentally since he’d be coming back around 2 AM. Bonoh thought that way and lay back down on his bed. There was still some time until his next class, and his stomach was moderately full. Bonoh’s eyes slowly closed. Sleep poured over him in an instant.

***

As soon as class ended, Bonoh sent a message to the chat room he’d created with Hyungwoo and Junghwan.

[Class is over lol]

Even though the tent bar that had been like a mecca for drinking near the main gate had closed, it wasn’t like there was nowhere to go. They excitedly ran to a place that served all kinds of jeon with makgeolli. When they arrived, Hyungwoo and Junghwan had already had a drink each.

“Ah, why did you guys start eating first, so petty!”

“If you’re jealous, you shouldn’t have made your schedule like that.”

At Hyungwoo’s teasing words, Bonoh smacked him once. Then he sat down and started eating the kimchi jeon they’d ordered.

“But why did you move into the dorms? I’ve seen plenty of bastards who lived in dorms then moved to their own places, but I’ve never seen a bastard who lived alone then moved to the dorms.”

“Ha. They told me not to live alone because I don’t clean.”

At Bonoh’s words, not only Hyungwoo but even Junghwan started laughing their heads off. Though Bonoh protested that they were being loud, his outcry just vanished futilely.

“Ah shit, just how messily did you live for that to happen? Are you cleaning well in the dorms?”

“How long has it been since I moved in? Dust hasn’t even accumulated yet.”

Bonoh recalled the dormitory that had been clean from when he first entered. The floor that had been so shiny it seemed like it had been mopped, and even the bathroom mirror without a single fingerprint. It was hard to believe it had been an empty room for the past few months. Had the dormitory itself cleaned it? Or was it Taeseong who’d moved in first? Thinking of Taeseong diligently sweeping that clean room floor, the latter seemed more likely.

“Your grades are low, right? But how could you get into the dorms? Where do you live? Busan?”

Junghwan asked while chewing on the puffed rice that came as a basic side dish.

“I’m from Jeju Island, so it’s possible.”

Bonoh became subtly anxious. Just like when he said he was a Japanese Literature major, there was a question that never failed to come up when he introduced himself as being from Jeju Island.

“Wow, then you must have eaten tons of tangerines. Do you have, like, tangerine trees at home and stuff?”

“Ah, seriously. Hey, why are you so trapped in stereotypes? Not all people from Jeju Island are like that, you know?”

As expected, Junghwan’s reaction didn’t deviate even an inch from Bonoh’s expectations. Bonoh yelled at Junghwan for no reason, then gulped down the makgeolli in front of him. Maybe because he hadn’t had it in a while, the alcohol tasted sweet. The thought crossed his mind that days like this were dangerous, but Bonoh chewed and swallowed it along with the kimchi jeon.

“Ah, sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. His family runs a tangerine farm.”

When Junghwan awkwardly apologized, Hyungwoo stopped him from the side.

“Really?”

“When you went to his place, there were tangerines piled up everywhere. There were so many that we ate them as drinking snacks and even used tangerines for hangover cures, but later my hands turned yellow.”

“My family does run a tangerine farm, but not all people from Jeju Island grow tangerine trees, seriously.”

Bonoh grumbled as if he felt wronged. Junghwan didn’t care and giggled.

“Whatever, let’s toast. Cheers.”

At Hyungwoo’s words, three makgeolli cups lightly clinked together. As soon as the white makgeolli in the aluminum cups rippled, they brought them to their lips and drank. The carbonation was weak because the lid had been opened, but the subtle sweetness and savory taste swirled in their mouths.

The assorted jeon they’d ordered came out at perfect timing. Grabbing the employee who was about to leave, Bonoh ordered another bottle of makgeolli. Three pairs of chopsticks rushed toward the jeon.

“How’s your roommate?”

It was when Bonoh had taken a bite of perilla leaf jeon. At Junghwan’s sudden question, Bonoh’s face crumpled up. The perilla leaf jeon was oily yet nutty, but he looked like he’d bitten into an eggshell.

“Don’t even mention it. We’re completely incompatible. Can you believe he just turns off the lights because he’s going to sleep when it’s not even midnight?”

From then on, what Bonoh was chewing wasn’t jeon but Taeseong. Even though they hadn’t been sharing a room for that long, the words flowed smoothly. Hyungwoo giggled and put down his chopsticks.

“You were in the wrong, bastard.”

“What?”