"who are you...?"
“Huh... who are you?”
“...Oh, it’s not Park Jimin?”
“Park Jimin...? I don’t know who you are, but please apologize.”
“Oh, haha. Sorry. I confused you with my friend.”
Wheein's pupils were shaking violently, as if she was flustered herself. Standing before her was a man with a displeased expression. One eyebrow rose, revealing his discomfort. "Haa," the man sighed deeply, as if the ground were sinking, and opened his mouth to say something. But Jimin's voice, calling her name, "Float away from the world," overwhelmed him. He shook his head and bit his lips, seemingly unable to find an answer.
“I’m so, so sorry! I mistook you for my friend because you were wearing similar clothes. I’m so sorry…!”
Jimin called her name loudly, as if he knew Wheein's desire to escape from the man's expressionless face, which made him seem even scarier. Even though she had the thought of "what should I do" in the back of her mind after seeing the man's clothes soaked with drink, her fear seemed to be greater. She apologized to the man repeatedly and bowed her waist several times. Then, as if running away from a haunted house, Wheein ran towards the three people waiting for her without looking back. The man, who was left alone on the street, let out a hollow laugh, expressing his disbelief. Then, after looking at his clothes, he shook his head again and started walking in the opposite direction from where she had gone. People passing by glanced at his drink-soaked clothes. They weren't pushed away, but they seemed startled because he was drinking.
“Oh dear… I guess I should go home. Hey.”
That was the man heading home. Then, Wheein ran to her friends and entered them. The two of them greeted Wheein and slapped her on the back. They asked where she had been and why she was only coming now.
“Hey, Jeong Hwi-in! Why are you coming out now?”
“I went to the bathroom and when I came back you guys weren’t there.”
“I sent you a text message, but you didn’t check it?”
"ah...?"
Wheein takes out her phone to check the alarm, and Byul asks if she hasn't checked her messages. Wheein scrolls through the screen to check the alarm and starts to get angry. The only things on the alarm screen are app ads and game event notifications. The two of them try to laugh it off as Wheein starts rapping and arguing with Byul and Jimin.
“Oh, do these guys really want to die? Huh? Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting for you?”
"Oh, sorry, sorry. I'll buy you a drink instead. Let's go quickly."
“Mr. Lee.”
Wheein followed along obediently, perhaps feeling a little less angry at Jimin's offer to buy her a drink. Byul naturally put her arm around Wheein's shoulder, telling Jimin that he did a good job, and moved forward. Soon, a smile spread across Wheein's face. Still, it would be a lie if she said she didn't feel a little uneasy in her chest. Wheein couldn't smile comfortably, but the two of them, unaware of him, just smiled brightly and pulled her forward. Then, Jimin, perhaps sensing something was amiss, asked Wheein a question.
"By the way, what happened to you earlier? With that person next to you? I've never seen him before."
“...It’s not that, but the clothes and overall build are similar to yours, Park Jimin, so I thought it was you and pushed you.”
“...Crazy? Dude, are you really... crazy?”
“No, shut up and listen.”
“...”
Jimin, who saw Byul immediately lose his spirit at Wheein's single word, quietly laughed to himself. Only when Byul, who was next to him, slapped Jimin on the back did Jimin stop laughing. Wheein continued what she had been saying earlier.
"Anyway, that guy was drinking a summer drink and I ended up... sloshing around on his clothes... I was so embarrassed, I apologized, and ran away. Ha, right now, I feel like I should go all the way home and wash his clothes. I regret it so much, really. Why did I do that? I'm going crazy..."
“Ugh... what should I do? I’m sorry, but you’re someone I’ll never see again.”
“Is it good or bad?”
Jimin himself didn't seem to have thought of that, as he simply raised and lowered his shoulders at Byul's words. Byul stared at Jimin with a displeased expression. Byul's gaze must have hurt Jimin's feelings, as the two started arguing. Jimin got angry and asked why she was looking at him like that, and Byul told him to just ask whether he meant it well or badly. While Byul and Jimin were bickering like that, Wheein was left feeling uneasy. Wheein was filled with regret for not having done something to that man's clothes earlier. The two were laughing, but Byul was worried about Wheein, who had her eyes fixed on the floor with a serious expression on her face, so he patted her shoulder a couple of times. Still, since it was Wheein's fault, there was a slightly awkward atmosphere in this situation where he couldn't say anything to shield her. Jimin's voice broke out into a moment of silence between the three of them.
"I know you're sorry, but there's no turning back now, right? I hope that won't happen, but let's apologize again when we meet again. For now, we've gone our separate ways."
The man had already moved far away from Wheein, and Jimin was right. Wheein nodded slightly. After that, once again, only silence, long or short, lingered around them. The three of them walked side by side, shoulders together. Jiiing- A call came in on someone's cell phone. Jimin, who said the ringtone wasn't vibrate, hurriedly took out his phone to check if it was his and Byul. Wheein put the phone back in to show that it wasn't hers. The two people's gazes, excluding Byul, were all focused on Byul. Byul put his index finger to his lips to tell them to be quiet, then slightly pulled away and started talking on the phone.
"Hello? Oh, okay. Okay. I'll go in. It'll take about five minutes if it's quick."
When Byul ended the call, Jimin asked.
"who is this?"
“Mom, your relatives are here. Come in quickly.”
"Oh, really? Then let's all go in. There's nothing left to do anyway."
“Okay, I’ll run quickly!”
Yeah, bye! The two waved at the star, and the star, now dim, was reflected in their eyes.
"Hey, little one. Bye. See you at school. School starts soon, Inma."
“Is school starting already...? Sigh.”
Jimin sighs and whines that he doesn't want to start school, but Wheein cuts him off, saying that she's not even the Ministry of Education, so what does she want him to do? Wheein tries to remind him that there are only two days left until school starts, and Jimin sighs and turns around.
“Goodbye, Jeong-Hyeon.”
“Hey, you too. See you in two days.”
With their greetings concluded, the distance between the two, no, the three, grew further and further apart. The distance between various objects will always grow further or narrower depending on the mind of the person controlling them, but their hearts will always hold each other tightly. A distance that can never be measured with a ruler.
________
Before I knew it, the weekend flew by at the speed of light, and the dreaded Monday, signaling the start of a new week, had arrived. Today, Monday and the first day of school, Wheein's phone rang loudly. Uh-huh... Wheein's hoarse voice, indicating that she was still half-asleep, filled the room. Wheein turned off the alarm and collapsed back onto the bed. She seemed to be falling asleep again, but then got up, raised both arms above her head, and stretched. Rubbing her eyes, she closed them tightly and opened them again. Wheein, barely able to open her eyes, which were about 0.75 times the size they were when she was with Jimin and Byul, opened the door and washed up. She neatly put a hairband on her head and began washing her face. At that moment, a zinging vibration rang out from Wheein's room. Of course, Wheein, who was in the bathroom, didn't notice. Wheein, who had quickly washed her hair and was wrapping a towel around her head, checked her phone.
“Huh? I got a call from Moonbyul. Did she call to ask me to go with you?”
When I turn off the phone app, the star message remains in the message window.
-Hey hey hey
-Aren't you answering the phone?
-Sigh
-Are you sleeping in again?
-Ah, let's do it quickly.
-Don't you see?
-Oh my god, really
-Oh, look quickly, ma'am.
-hey?
-I don't know
-School starts today, Inma
-If you don't come out, you'll be late.
-You're not going to be punished from the first day, are you?
-This lady is really
-Okay, I'll wait 10 more minutes and then go.
The screen was filled with messages from Byul. The last text had been sent at 8:17. And the current time was 8:21. There were only 6 minutes left. It wasn't enough time to get dressed or eat breakfast. Wheein hurriedly ran to the kitchen, put a slice of bread in the toaster, and returned to her room to change into her school uniform. She had finished putting on her top and was almost done with her skirt when a ding sounded outside the room, indicating that the toast was ready. She snatched her bag from the bed, slung it over her back, and put the toast in her mouth before shoving her feet into her shoes. Knock knock - She put her shoes on with her toes pointed out, and opened the front door. When she went outside, she saw Byul.
"Oh, you're out earlier than I thought. Let's go. It's a bit late for the opening ceremony, isn't it?"
“That’s true. It’s 25 minutes now… I guess I should run.”
Byul nodded slightly and the two headed towards the elevator. Since it was right on the upper floor, they were able to board it quickly. Ding—the elevator had already reached the first floor, and the two of them moved forward, gradually picking up speed. As they left the apartment building,woah!Jimin, who had been waiting for them, suddenly appeared and surprised them.
“Phew, surprised?”
“Oh my, surprise. Were you here to go with me?”
“Yeah. Of course. Otherwise, why would it be there?”
“Then let’s hurry up and go to school.”
At Wheein's end, the three of them ran a little faster than usual. Jimin, who was running the furthest, shouted at the two.
“Come quickly, snails!”
The two were chasing Jimin, panting and with bright yet mischievous expressions. Jimin had stopped on the street and was waiting for them. The two soon arrived next to Jimin, and the school gate was not clearly visible a little ahead. The three of them, heading to school less quickly than before, passed the gate at 28 minutes. With 2 minutes left until 30 minutes, they narrowly avoided being late. The three of them ran straight into the school building. Panting, they went up to the third floor and entered the classroom, where they hurriedly sat down. The clock showed a little over 30 minutes past. Perhaps tired, Wheein slumped on the desk. The other two took out their phones and browsed social media as soon as they arrived. Soon, the teacher came in and the phones were put in their pockets. As soon as the bell rang throughout the school, class began.
Wheein, Byul, and Jimin were not paying attention to what was being said in class. Jimin was just blankly staring at the blackboard, and Byul was doodling in her notebook. Wheein had her head down and was fast asleep. For the three of them, who were anxiously waiting for recess, time didn't seem to pass that quickly during class. Just when one page of Byul's notebook was filled with doodling, the bell rang again. Jimin and Byul, who had not been paying attention at all during class, stretched. Byul immediately ran to Wheein's seat and confirmed that she was asleep, then sighed.
"Hey, you sleepyhead. Are you sleeping again? Hey, wake up! Let's go to the store."
Woo-um- Wheein, rubbing her eyes and stretching her arms behind her, checked her watch and only then realized it was break time. Jimin and Byul stood in front of Wheein's seat, looking at her with pitiful expressions. As soon as Wheein got up, Byul put his arm around her shoulder and headed out of the classroom. The classroom door opened and the three of them walked down the hallway. Wheein, who had been walking with her head up, saw something and quickly lowered it. And that was the moment she passed a male student.
“You? That drink.”
The unique low-pitched voice stopped Wheein. Wheein turned around at the confident tone of voice. Ahaha, Wheein was scratching her head with an awkward laugh.
“...Ah, ah... haha... hello...?”
“Don’t even think about running away this time, okay?”
_________________
Pouring cold water on a finished product. Damn it.