"How did she get caught by them?" Namgung Yeon-Sik mutters when he sees a certain girl being dragged by two infamous art students in the university. Mun Soyoon and Sang Hee-Chul have been competing with each other since they started university. He did hear about the disturbances in the art department. Art Professor Pyo likes to challenge his student in an odd way.
Should he ignore this? Things are bound to happen anyway. University life is not the same as school life. They are living in the same house and she's also attending his lectures. He should keep a distance from her. However, Chang Seol looks extremely reluctant to go with them. It's hard to ignore that face.
He walks toward them. Chang Seol stares at him with big round eyes. Mun Soyoon and Sang Hee-Chul stop walking when they see him coming.
"Professor Namgung." Mun Soyoon gives him a little bow and grins at him. "I missed you during the holidays."
"I also missed you, Professor." Sang Hee-Chul blinks his eyes. "Please become my model."
"You are full of spirit." He chuckles. "Professor Pyo gave you a new assignment?"
"Yes, the concept is innocence." Mun Soyoon sighs. "Professor, I would choose you, but you are not innocent at all."
"Is that so?" Namgung Yeon-Sik is used to this candid behaviour from Mun Soyoon. "Which concept suits me then?"
"Hmm…" Mun Soyoon puckers her lips and looks up at the sky. Sang Hee-Chul knits hits brows while scrutinizing Namgung Yeon-Sik.
Chang Seol mumbles something.
"What?" Mun Soyoon lets go of Seol's arm. "Long?"
"Ging…" Looking down on her feet, Chang Seol utters with a hoarse voice, "Longing."
Namgung Yeon-Sik blinks, startled. He purses his lips, being at a loss for a word. He wonders how could a girl like her say that word to describe him. He looks away from her and coughs, feeling uncomfortable by their gazes.
"Chang Seol, it's the eyes, isn't?" Sang Hee-Chul leans toward her and whispers to her, "You should change your major to arts. You have it inside you."
"Seol, you and I are fated." Mun Soyoon pats Chang Seol's back. "I knew it from the moment I laid my eyes on you. You have a talent, Seol. Come to our side. We will treasure you. The architecture department will never know your worth. Your talent will rot away those people with concrete in their brains."
"Mun Soyoon, I am still here," Namgung Yeon-Sik reminds them with a casual tone. It's amusing how they are trying to steal Chang Seol right in front of him.
"Sorry, Professor, I forgot about you." Mun Soyoon rubs her nose. "We are holding a small gathering with some friends. Do you want to come?"
"I have prior appointments." If it's only a gathering, then Chang Seol should be alright. Chang Seol lifts her head and peers at him. He smiles at her and says, "Have fun."
***
Chang Seol looks at Namgung Yeon-Sik's back as he walks away from her. But she doesn't want to go to the gathering. Mun Soyoon and Sang Hee-Chul are bickering again. Half of their words fly over her head. Why is her cold affected by Namgung Yeon-Sik? Chang Seol lets out an exasperated sigh. Should she test it after she goes back home? Is it even a cold? She's feeling a little dizzy. She can't even tell where she's going right now.
"What about innocent longing?" Sang Hee-Chul puts his finger on his chin and narrows his eyes. "That should work."
"I don't think that he would ever agree to be your model." Mun Soyoon laughs at him. "Give up, Hee-Chul."
"He won't agree to be your model either." Sang Hee-Chul glares at her. "Everyone knows that you have a crush on him."
"Everyone has a crush on him," Mun Soyoon huffs at him. "Even you have a crush on him."
"Idiot, I don't have a crush on him." Sang Hee-Chul looks at her scornfully, "I admire the art in him. Admiration is different from wanting someone that way. A man can admire another man without having those feelings."
"Then, it's the same way for me," Mun Soyoon replies with a chilling voice. "A woman can admire a man without having those feelings."
"As if!" Sang Hee-Chul rolls his eyes at her. "I can see what kind of admiration you have for him."
"It's the appreciation for his soul." Mun Soyoon smirks at him, "And his body."
Body? Chang Seol wants to see Namgung Yeon-Sik again. But why? Is it because there's something pretty about him? She also wants to see her mother again. If she was at home, her mother would have made her eat porridge and nagged her for getting sick. Her sister would have sneaked into her room and hugged her to sleep. At night, the floor would have creaked and she would have heard the familiar footsteps of her father. He would have grumbled about her being clumsy and foolish while wiping her forehead with a cool cloth.
She hates not being at home. She hates that she's with strangers right now. She also hates that she disappointed her parents by not getting married to the man they chose for her.
"Seol, Seol." Someone is calling her name. "Are you okay?"
She looks at Mun Soyoon in a daze. "I am fine."
"Everyone is waiting to hear from you." Mun Soyoon points at the people around the table. Chang Seol stares at them. Sang Hee-Chul is sitting opposite him. The scent of the food on the table wafts into her nose, but she doesn't want this.
Homesick. She knows the word for this feeling now. It's only been two days and she's homesick. She's sick because she misses her home. Home is so far away. It went further away after she lied to her father about being married.
"Chang Seol from U City," She says with a flat voice. "First-year student, architecture department."
They are still looking at her. She picks up the dumplings with chopsticks and stuffs her mouth. "The food is getting cold."
"She's cute." The girl behind Sang Hee-Chul leans on him. "Where did you find her?"
"He didn't find her, Ye-Ji." Mun Soyoon points at her with her chopsticks. "She's my discovery."
"Soyoon, you should bring her to play with us again." Han Ye-Ji glances at Chang Seol who is slowly chewing the dumplings with a dazed look on her face. Chang Seol puts another dumpling in her mouth, resulting in her right cheek swelling like a balloon. Han Su Bin giggles.
"She really likes dumplings." The boy beside Chang Seol lets out a laugh. He pushes a glass toward her "Here, drink this."
"Min-Gyu, what are you giving her?" Mun Soyoon frowns at him. "She's too young to drink."
"Soyoon, she's old enough," Kim Min-Gyu tells her. "She is a university student."
"Still, we shouldn't give her that." Mun Soyoon creases her forehead.
While they are arguing, Chang Seol gulps down the drink. "It tastes better than black coffee."
"Whoa!" Sang Hee-Chul blinks his eyes in surprise. "Is it your first time, Chang Seol?"
"First time?" It's her first time eating with people like them. Chang Seol's body is swaying like a pendulum. Her vision is blurry. "Yes, it's my first time."
From the corner table, Lim Da-Bin stares at Chang Seol. She taps the table thoughtfully. She has long lost interest in the boy beside her. She and Chang Seol are so far away from their homes. They are at the same place at the same time. It must be fate, right?
***
There's nothing good on the television. There's nothing good to eat at home. There's nothing interesting in his life. Is this how he's going to spend his holidays away? He feels like he has aged a lot. His hair is still black, but his heart has grown weary.
It's been such a long time since he made some music. He's been in a slump. Music used to make him feel alive. It makes him feel tired these days. Is there no sound in the world that can bring back his soul?
Daydream.
He doesn't know her name. He has never seen her. It's impossible to find her. Why did she choose that stupid name?
"Why are you sighing like an old man with regrets?" Yeon-Sik tosses his bag on the empty spot beside him. "You are younger than me, but you look like you have seen all vicissitudes of life."
Jeong-Hyuk looks at his friend with anguish in his eyes. "Yeon-Sik, she deleted her account."
"Daydream?" Yeon-Sik furrows his brows. "Aish! Jeong-Hyuk, aren't you overreacting? Let her be. You shouldn't force someone to do something that they don't want to do. Work with people who want to work with you."
He just wants to hear that voice again. Jeong-Hyuk tilts his head and stares at the television screen. When a familiar face appears on the screen, a silence falls between them.
Yeon-Sik grabs the remote and turns the TV off. "Bong-Su hasn't returned?"
"He came and went out again," Jeong-Hyuk replies with a dull voice. "That boy is enjoying his youth."
"He's only three years younger than you are." Yeon-Sik tsks. "I feel so old when I look at you."
"You are young, Yeon-Sik." Jeong-Hyuk closes his eyes, longing for the sweet taste of Soju. "Even that kid calls me 'Old Mister'. You are only 'Mister' for her."
"Since you call her a little girl, it's fair that she calls you an old mister." Yeon-Sik glances at the stairs. "Has she not returned yet?"
"No." Jeong-Hyuk looks at the ceiling. Chang-Sol's father's words keep popping up in his head. An idiot like her is bound to get into trouble if she is left alone. "Did you see her in university?"
"Yeah, she went out with art students." Yeon-Sik looks at the clock on the wall. "Is she going to stay out tonight?"
Is that little duckling out of her mind? It's her first day. Nevermind! He shuts his eyes. He needs to sleep. Why is an architecture student mingling with art students? It's none of his business. However, her father asked him to keep an eye on her.
"Hmph!" He's not even related to her.
A runaway from home.
An idiot through and through.
A kid who can't even run for her life.
As long as she's living in the share-house, she's one of his businesses. Her father is going to question him if something happens to her.
"Do you know where they went?" Jeong-Hyuk asks Yeon-Sik calmly.
"I didn't ask where they are going." Yeon-Sik shakes his head. Mun Soyoon and Sang Hee-Chul don't seem like bad people. He did ask her to have fun. "They said something about a gathering."
What kind of gathering is it? Jeong-Hyuk wonders why did he even agree to keep an eye on her. The conversation with her father still sounds bizarre to him. Her father is an oddball, just like her.
"I have seen Mun Soyoon and her troupe hanging out at L restaurant a few times," Yeon-Sik murmurs. "Eun Bi loves fried chicken from that place."
After a few minutes, Jeong-Hyuk stands up. "I want to eat some fried chicken."
The corners of Yeon-Sik's lips curl up into a knowing smile. His friend is quite easy to read. He grabs his coat "And beer?"
"Sure." Jeong-Hyuk heads toward the door with a grumpy look. It feels like he got a daughter suddenly.