After class ended, someone who had been about to leave through the front gate
snatched my wrist in a flash
and, unable to keep up with those long strides,
I was nearly dragged along when I followed them there
there was a familiar black Carnival
parked on a quiet road
Beside the Carnival’s rear door stood a man in a suit,
standing politely as he opened the rear door for us
“I’ve got a lot to say, but get in first”
At first I shook off my hands, refusing to get in,
but Hwang Hyunjin threw at the back of my head as I tried to run away,
that if I ran off now, I’d definitely regret itwords
and my steps came to a stop
The Carnival sped down the road without even knowing where its destination was
Hwang Hyunjin, who was usually quiet,the moment he stepped into the Carnival,
started talking about this and that
What came out of his mouth was anything but ordinary
He had been hiding the fact that he lived this kind of life all along,
and said he wanted to keep going to school
but now that I had already found out,
he kept saying he had to shut my mouth
His voice was quiet and calm
By the time I got used to Hwang Hyunjin’s endless irritation at the driver,
and the curt banmal he spat out constantly,
we had entered a building’s parking garage
The parking garage of the tall, gleaming building
was as spacious as an underground department store parking lot
and most of the spaces were packed tight with foreign cars
“What are you doing, not getting out?”
The inside of the building was even more grand and spacious than it had looked from outside
The elevators just past the entrance
ran up and down to floors well over the 60th
Even the lobby seemed far bigger than our house
The neat black marble floor and the incredibly high ceiling
made this place, which looked like a British party hall, into a company
The atmosphere was fairly busy, but
unlike an ordinary company or a typical conglomerate,
it had an air of formality and elegance
Even the interior didn’t seem anything like a regular office
There were so many interesting things
that I barely had time to look around
What was most surprising of all was
that I couldn’t see a diffuser anywhere,
yet a good fragrance wafted in from all around
As I searched my memory, drawn to a strangely familiar scent,
I suddenly realized that this was the scent that came from Hwang Hyunjin
right away
Everyone inside who looked like employees
bowed deeply and greeted Hwang Hyunjin respectfully,
but in contrast, Hwang Hyunjin didn’t even open his mouth
just nodding his head to return the greeting
