Ji-hun entered the apartment building and ran up the stairs. As soon as he opened the door, he took off his shoes and rushed inside.
His father was sitting by the window, looking outside. He could no longer see fine details, but the daylight still helped him make out the buildings and trees.
Dong-min turned toward the sound as soon as Ji-hun came in.
"Hey, Dad!"
When Ji-hun got close enough for his father to see his face, Dong-min smiled. "How was school, Ji-hun-ah?"
"It was good," Ji-hun said as he climbed onto his lap. "I met the other students in the Photography Club. They weren't bad. I think they were a little jealous of my camera." Then he pulled back. "I have some homework. I'll make dinner when I'm done."
"Okay, Ji-hun-ah."
Ji-hun went to his room, immediately took out his textbooks and notebooks, and sat at his desk. But just as he was about to start studying, he remembered what Ho-jin had said.
"I'm your sunbae. You can even call me 'hyung' if you want."
Ji-hun's face turned red. "Idiot..." he muttered and looked down at his notebook, but before he even turned the first page, the image of Ho-jin kissing that girl came back to him.
He felt his face getting even hotter. "Can you get out of my head?" he whispered. "I can't even study."
—
The sky was cloudy as Ho-jin walked alone down the street with both hands in his pockets. People had already turned on the lights in some of the buildings around him. Ho-jin thought for a moment about taking a picture of it with his phone. Not worth it.
"Ho-jin..."
"Hm?" Ho-jin turned toward the voice behind him and saw Min-ji, completely out of breath. Her hair was a mess, and from the way she bent over and held her knees, it was obvious she had run like crazy. "Shit," Ho-jin said quietly. "Min-ji, I'm sorry. I completely forgot we were meeting."
Min-ji did not just look tired now. She looked hurt too. "How could you forget?"
"I'm really sorry." Ho-jin looked down the street, took Min-ji by the wrist, and pulled her between two buildings. He held the back of her neck and kissed her quietly but firmly, his hands on her waist.
Then he whispered, "Min-ji, please don't be mad at me. I was just really tired, and it completely slipped my mind. Do you want to go to the movies?"
The tired and hurt look on Min-ji's face disappeared just as quickly. "Okay," she whispered.
Ho-jin took Min-ji's hand, and they started walking.
How did I forget this? Ho-jin thought, squeezing her hand tighter.
—
Ji-hun and Hae-sol wanted to enjoy the midday sun, so they were hanging out in the hallway with a few classmates. They were having a completely normal, cheerful conversation when Ho-jin appeared on the stairs with one of his friends and went into Ji-hun's classroom.
Ji-hun wondered what was going on, but looked out the window instead.
"Ya," Hae-sol said excitedly. "Do you wanna play soccer after school?"
"I have homework," Ji-hun said, turning toward him. From where he stood, he tried to look into the classroom from the corner of his eye, but he could not see anything.
A loud bang came from inside, and both Ji-hun and Hae-sol jumped.
When Ho-jin came out of the classroom with his friend behind him, he looked like he was giving off anger. As he passed through the doorway, he hit the frame so hard that even the students at the other end of the hallway turned to look.
Everyone looked a little scared.
As soon as they left, Ji-hun looked into the classroom. Choi Da-eun had her head down on her desk and was crying.
Ji-hun wondered if she was the crying girl he had seen in the alley.
No. That girl had not been Da-eun.
"What do you think happened?" Hae-sol whispered.
Ji-hun grabbed him and pulled him away from the classroom. "Let's stay out of it. Anyway, I said I have homework, right..."
—
When the final bell finally rang, Ji-hun packed his things while Hae-sol was still trying to convince him to play soccer.
"See you later," Ji-hun said with a smile.
"See you," Hae-sol said, sounding a little sulky.
Ji-hun had not walked very far when he saw Ho-jin a little way ahead. Ho-jin was leaning against a wall with a few other people, smoking.
Idiot.
Ho-jin was laughing at something when he turned his head and their eyes met.
Ji-hun immediately looked away. His heart had started beating very fast because, for some reason, Ho-jin scared him more today.
He had just started walking faster when Min-ji ran over from the other side of the street and hugged Ho-jin. Ho-jin's face changed when he saw her. He looked happy.
I wish I could take a picture of that.
Min-ji wrapped her arms around Ho-jin's neck and kissed him while his friends teased him. Ji-hun had stopped walking and was watching them.
When he realized his face was getting red, he wanted to get away from there quickly and started walking again. I'll never be someone like Shin Ho-jin.
—
When Ji-hun got home, he kicked his shoes off in opposite directions and rushed inside. He tripped while running toward his father, but luckily he did not smash his face into the floor.
As he straightened up, he said, "Hey, Dad. Do you want to go outside for a little while?"
Dong-min smiled and turned toward his son's voice. "I'd like that, Ji-hun-ah."
They walked through streets they both knew well, even though one of them could no longer see them at all.
They were passing through a street Ji-hun and Dong-min liked because it was quiet when Ho-jin appeared in front of them with his school bag over one shoulder and his tie hanging out of his pocket.
Ho-jin only looked at Ji-hun, bowed, then straightened up and kept walking.
Ji-hun did not even look back.
Still, Dong-min asked, "Did someone just greet you?"
"Yeah," Ji-hun said. "He's from the Photography Club. I don't really like him, Dad. He's kind of a troublemaker."