Family on paper
Love Maze 05
“Tae, Taehyung.”
김태형
“What is that?”
Kim Taehyung's gaze shifted from me to the woman. He scanned her from head to toe, then raised one eyebrow crookedly.
I glanced back and forth between Kim Taehyung and the woman, then sighed and closed my book. With Kim Taehyung here, studying wouldn't be possible, and leaving that woman alone would be a hassle, so I had to get her out of here quickly.
여주
“Get out quickly.”
“⋯Hello, Taehyung? I’m Yeoju’s private tutor. Taehyung, you go to the same school as Yeoju, right? How about taking classes with Yeoju?”
여주
“I told you to go out.”
“Uh… Hey, do you want to sit over there? You don’t need a book, so sit down first.”
김태형
“I told you to get out.”
The moment the woman's hand touched Kim Taehyung's forearm, he slammed her hard, disregarding her physique. The woman was pushed back and fell awkwardly, but neither Kim Taehyung nor I cared.
김태형
“Didn’t we just pretend not to know each other at school?”
Kim Taehyung's temper was short. He leaned on my desk, seemingly oblivious to the woman's awkward posture, then thrust his face in and spoke.
여주
“⋯Talk to that person when he leaves.”
김태형
“You haven’t gone out yet?”
Kim Taehyung, his face scrunched up, turned around and looked at the woman. Because he had turned his head away, I couldn't see his face, but judging by the woman's pale expression, I had a rough idea.
“All, all, see you next time, heroine⋯!”
As if he hadn't heard my words, which seemed to imply he'd been cut off, he insisted on meeting me next time, even taking care of his broken heel. Only after the woman left the room and the door closed did Kim Taehyung look at me again.
여주
“⋯We’ve never spoken to each other before.”
김태형
"The way you looked at me was so passionate, I couldn't pretend not to know you. If you wanted to pretend to know me so badly, you shouldn't have said anything."
여주
“⋯.”
As I gazed at Kim Taehyung's furrowed brow, my face felt like it was crumpling. Suddenly, fatigue washed over me. I tried to get up from my chair and leave, but Kim Taehyung grabbed my wrist.
김태형
“What are you doing? We’re not done talking yet.”
여주
"You're not the type of person to ask for a separate discussion over something like that, are you? Just keep it brief."
김태형
“⋯.”
Turning my body, I looked straight at Kim Taehyung, and the grip on my wrist suddenly loosened. Kim Taehyung's face, seen from below, seemed even more three-dimensional, with the light casting a shadow around the bridge of his nose.
김태형
“⋯Don’t get close to Park Jimin.”
여주
“⋯What?”
김태형
“That kid is a bad kid. Stay away from him.”
I was dumbfounded. The words, "Who are you?" were floating around my face. And, I wasn't even close with Park Jimin to begin with. We were just meeting for the first time today.
여주
"What are you talking about out of the blue? Where are the good kids at Hwayang High School?"
김태형
“⋯.”
여주
“Get out of the way. I’m going down.”
I pushed Kim Taehyung's arm away, and unlike when I had pushed the woman away earlier, he was pushed back without any force. I cleaned up the mess of the mat left by the woman's fall with my feet, then glanced at Kim Taehyung, who was still standing still, before quickly leaving the room.
I still can't understand Kim Taehyung. We were close, yet distant... We were like family, yet not family.