I don't know how long I've been sitting in my car, parked on the side of the road right under a tree not far from the Apgujeong high school building.
I wonder to myself, what am I doing here? Every now and then I glance at the black iron fence as some students walk out through it.
Damn it, what's wrong with me?
After leaving Hajoon's place, something inside me brought me here just to wait boredly. Forgot to buy cigarettes, my mouth feels empty. How much longer? I click my tongue, about to start the car engine. At the same time, the teenager I knew from Seungho's place comes out of the gate with two of his friends from yesterday.
Gunwoo immediately looked in my direction. I was surprised—did he know it was me in the car?
"Bugatti Veyron Grand!" one of his friends exclaimed.
Apparently not.
The three teenagers looked at me in awe. I watched them one by one through the closed black window. I don't know what they were talking about, but one of them took his phone out of his pocket just as I opened the car window.
"Ajussi, the coffee sprinkler?!" The teenager with honey brown hair half-shouted, pointing at me.
Ajussi, he said? No way.
"Who are you calling ajussi, eoh?" I stepped out, standing one step right in front of the teenager I knew from Gunwoo named Hyunjoon. He didn't answer me even though his mouth was agape.
"Agassi," called the teenager with the name tag Song Jihyun on his uniform, he had black hair like Gunwoo.
Damn it, I'm not a woman.
"What did you call me just now?" Now it was his turn, and I stared at him for a moment with an unfriendly expression. Gunwoo's question diverted my attention to him.
"What are you doing here? Picking me up?"
His question was sarcastic, and his expression as he looked at me was so confident.
"Pick you up? You're hoping too much, kid. I just happened to stop here," I said, lowering my head slightly to align my face with his.
"In the school area? Come on." Gunwoo scoffed, folding his arms across his chest.
This teenager wasn't afraid to look me in the eye. Not after he found out who I was.
Okay, I started to get provoked by him. Especially when he said, "You definitely want to meet Seungho, right? Here, it's as if you two met by accident.
"What?" What he said wasn't entirely wrong. But still, he was really rude to call his uncle by his first name. Wait, I'm not even sure if they're uncle and nephew.
Gunwoo continued, "Just like you jogging around his apartment complex yesterday."
How could his prediction be wrong? I have to admit, this teenager has sharp intuition.
"I'm right, aren't I?" asked Gunwoo, his thin lips curving into a wide smile. And when I looked into his eyes, something in my chest beat spontaneously. As a result, I stumbled back a step. I was a little shocked by what had happened.
Seeing my shocked expression, he began to speak again. "You must be getting close to Seungho." It wasn't a question. Meanwhile, his two friends exchanged glances.
I wanted to argue, but instead turned around, got into the car, and started the engine. My eyes stared straight ahead, ignoring Gunwoo and the triumphant smile on his face.
"I thought you were different, but you're just the same as the others. They—"
Gunwoo's words were drowned out by the engine of the Bugatti I was driving as it sped away. Even though I didn't look in the rearview mirror to see Gunwoo. Right in front of me, I passed a black BMW. The uncovered windshield made it easy for me to see the driver, whom I already knew.
Was he too focused on driving, or was Seungho simply oblivious to his surroundings? If he had turned his head even slightly, he would have seen me. The distance between us as we passed was close enough that I could faintly smell his perfume. As soon as Seungho reached Gunwoo, my car turned.
I was certain that Gunwoo would tell Seungho about my presence at his school. The teenager would surely tell him that I was just like them.
Damn it. Picking up speed, the car I was driving entered the highway. Gunwoo's assessment of me made me a little annoyed. I wanted him to know—I was different from what Gunwoo thought. They approached Cho Seungho because the alpha had everything they dreamed of. Meanwhile, I approached Seungho for certainty. Whatever it was, my path was still dark and shrouded in fog.
*
As I drove along K-Star Road in Apgujeong-dong, my attention was diverted by the vibration of my phone on the passenger seat. I sighed when I saw who was calling. It was the old man whose voice I really didn't want to hear, but I had to answer the call.
"What is it?" I snapped, starting the conversation.
There was laughter on the other end of the phone. "Why do you sound like that after reminiscing, huh?"
Nostalgic, he said? "What did you say?" I asked back, not understanding his meaning.
Old Man Dongmin sighed. "It seems you haven't remembered much yet. Of course, you've almost forgotten all your past memories." There was a brief pause as I was heading toward the Apgujeong Underpass when the old man continued, "You attended high school there."
I suddenly braked the car, the screeching sound disrupting the journey. Stopping and recalling for a moment, all I knew was that I had only attended school in Korea up to middle school, then went to Russia to start a new life, as I do now.
"Just one semester, not long, indeed. But I'm sure someone who was in the same class and close to you would remember you well. That is, if they still believe you exist—"
The old man was talking nonsense. I hung up on him. And just a moment later, my phone in the seat rang again. I thought it was from old man Dongmin, but it wasn't. It was a message from Seungho via the KakaoTalk app.
[Where are you? Can we meet?]
15:24
Without typing a message, I sent my location and agreed to meet.
*
I let the evening breeze blow against my body as I stood along the iron railing separating the road and the Han River from the steep bank. The Seongsu Bridge could be seen from where I stood. The traffic flow seemed sparse, and the river water was fairly calm. Still, you'd still drown if you jumped off the bridge into the water below.
As I was lost in my own thoughts, I heard someone calling my name.
"Chanyeol!"
I turned to Seungho, who was running towards me. He was panting, but he still managed to flash a big smile on his handsome face.
"Sorry for making you wait," he said. I have to admit, waiting here for three minutes was pretty boring. I gave him a thin smile, as thin as my patience. "It's okay."
Seungho took a deep breath. He was standing beside me, briefly looking across the river at the same metropolitan cityscape filled with tall buildings.
"You just came from Apgujeong High School, right?" he asked, starting the conversation.
I replied, "Gunwoo told you." It wasn't a question.
Seungho shook his head. "I saw you when I picked up Gunwoo." His eyes locked onto mine. "Did you two meet?"
A low laugh escaped my lips. "So you saw me when we were arguing?"
"We're definitely meant to be together, right? Our meeting couldn't have been just a coincidence—"
I cut Seungho off. "And you didn't say hello to me?"
Seungho started to look awkward. "I-it's..." He rubbed the back of his neck. As if searching for a reason why he didn't say hello to me when we passed each other. My eyes glanced at Seungho's car parked not far from where we were standing. Gunwoo was there, sitting in the car watching. Suddenly, I remembered his words saying that I was no different from them. The people who approached Seungho because of what he had.
I wanted to know his reaction. So I took a step forward. My hand reached for Seungho's neck, pulling his body closer to meet our lips.
Seungho was surprised when I kissed him suddenly. Even so, he hugged my waist and kissed me back.
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