Kim Woon-hak at 11 o'clock at night
2
One afternoon, with the sunlight slanting down, I was sitting on a bench near the library, spending time in a daze.
The empty time between lectures was ambiguous. There wasn't anything to do, but even these moments weren't bad.
I fiddled with my phone and opened the story window. The thought occurred to me that I should post a live broadcast announcement soon.
As I was opening the gallery and selecting photos out of habit, something caught my eye.
Cute teddy bear pictures.
The thought crossed my mind to post a picture of a teddy bear on the notice board.
Then suddenly the ID ‘bearwith_u’ came to mind.
Judging by the fact that his profile picture is a bear and his ID is "Bear," I thought he'd be the first to react to such a cute picture. I chuckled at the thought.
Come to think of it, that person has never missed a single one of my broadcasts.
김운학
“Sister, can I sit here?”
A familiar voice came from closer than I expected. I looked up and saw Kim Woon-hak smiling.
김운학
“I saw it on my way to the library. What a coincidence.”
For a coincidence, the timing was exquisite.
He plopped down next to me and glanced at my phone. I instinctively turned off the screen.
김운학
“That picture just now, the teddy bear was cute.”
“…It was just saved.”
김운학
“What is your connection with bears?”
His playful tone made my face flush. As I hesitated, wondering what to say, he opened his bag.
김운학
“I’m thirsty… I need to drink some water.”
The tumbler that Unhak took out had a slightly worn metal body and a small, cute bear sticker on the side.
“...A bear sticker?”
As I looked at him without realizing it, Unhak followed my gaze and chuckled.
김운학
“Oh, this? My sister put it on.”
“Huh? It really doesn’t suit you.”
김운학
"Right? But he said, 'You're cute when you act like a bear.' So I just keep it on because I'm afraid he'll say something if I take it off."
I burst out laughing.
His tone was playful, but somehow also sincere.
“If you act like a bear… is it cute?”
김운학
“Well, what does it look like to you, sister?”
“Well, it’s cute, Teddy Bear.”
Unhak winked playfully at me.
For a while, we chatted about various things over a tumbler. What we were doing at the library these days, what the classes were like, what we usually do on days when we had a lot of free time.
Maybe it wasn't much of a story, but that short conversation felt strangely comfortable.
Before we parted ways, he hesitated for a moment and then said:
김운학
“But my sister…”
"huh?"
김운학
"Your voice tone is really nice. I think it would suit you well as an announcer or something like that."
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
김운학
“Really. When I speak, the rhythm and tone of my voice linger in my ears for a long time.”
Unhak said it playfully, but briefly averted his gaze. It seemed like he wasn't asking a question, just passing it off as a joke.
But I swallowed a sip of water for no reason. And my gaze kept wandering to the teddy bear next to the tumbler.
It was as if I didn't know anyone well, but I still felt a sense of familiarity.