n

n

n.

nThinking further to that point, I took out my phone again and typed in a message. It was, of course, to Yi Ruda.

nTo: Yi Ruda

nRuda, guess what?! Everyone is here except Shun Suh Hyun. Wish you were here too.

nWriting the message up to there, I fell into thought while biting my lips.

nHmm… I seemed to be the only person who encountered the men in black tracing Yi Ruda and knew about her special situation. Having got to hide from them, I was aware of her not being able to come to a place like this; therefore, sending such a text could sound as if I were teasing her.

nWavering in my determination, I kept on thinking. All I wanted, for now, was to deliver my message to Yi Ruda that I wished she was here too.

nThat was when I came up with what Eun Jiho’s father said earlier.

n“Take care of those that disappear quickly.”

n“The most important time is now.”

nThe advice he gave me was close to a pure intuition that certain things couldn’t be done unless at this moment; they should be done right away. That was because we were living in the present and there were no rewinds in life.

nThus, the words we desire to say right now but were left unspoken would disappear eventually.

nI, at last, began to understand that little by little.

nAfter much thought, I, however, wasn’t able to send the message and just shut the phone screen.

nHeaving a sigh, I adjusted my hair and murmured, “I’m gonna see her later, so why not just tell to her directly?”

nSuddenly, the space turned bright, so I lifted my head. The short dance time was over, and the lighting was returning to its original brightness.

nI tilted my head back and stared at the chandelier hanging far away on the ceiling then had my head back to the front.

nIn a distance, the Kim twins, who looked so delighted to perform the traditional Korean circle dance–I mean, the waltz– with Yoon Jung In, were coming toward me with a fresh smile. As they each stretched out one side of their hands, I wondered what they meant but soon held out mine and raised it up too.

nSlap! Doing a cheerful high-five, they wiped out their sweaty forehead and took a breath out.

n“Oh, that was a lot!”

nAnd what they said after made me feel a little flat.

n“Yeah, we had a blast. Now I want to leave.”

n“What?”

nWhen I looked at the two alternately with sad eyes, their eyes grew bigger in perplexity. The twins then giggled and patted my head.

n“Well, after the dance, it’s like the round two of the party, so we’re good to go now,” said Kim Hye Hill.

nEh? Still…

nI couldn’t hide the lingering feelings I had in mind. Staring at them with a look of slight frustration, I then loosened up my strained face after Kim Hye Woo’s remark.

n“What’s the matter? Ask Eun Jiho for a room number, take a break there, and later go home.”

nOh, exactly! There were rooms upstairs for limited accommodations. When I nodded my head as an agreement, the twins flaunted a smile then bid farewells.

nAs the two asked me to say bye to other folks, they soon found Yoon Jung In dashing into this side from a distance. With a giggle, they quickly left the spot.

nWhile I looked at the view of their backs walking elegantly yet so speedily, this time, Yoon Jung In approached me.

nHe then asked with an urgent voice, “Hey, where are they going?!”

n‘Um, they’re going home,’ I replied apathetically.

nYoon Jung In grabbed the back of his neck with a groan.

n“Argh…”

nI tapped his back and listened to his mutter.

n“Why did I go to the same middle school with those evils and become friends… URGH!”

nSuddenly, he put his hand up and covered his mouth. I felt bewildered of his reaction.

nBBLLLAAAARGH… Retching for a few times, he then turned around and spoke to me with a pale face.

n“Hey, I’m about to throw up… so I’ll stop by at the bathroom… and leave first.”

n“Um, yeah.”

n“Gosh, I’m dying… Those evil twins!!!!”

nWithin a few minutes, Yoon Jung In seemed to get along in years like an old man. Bending his waist forward, he began to walk with faltering steps. As I looked at the scene at a loss of words, I soon burst into giggles.

nAhem. Pulling myself together from the crazy laughter, I, at last, welcomed those who just approached me. Eun Jiho was looking at me as if I was a bit off.

n“Dude, why are you laughing alone like that?”

n“Oh, nothing. Never mind,” replying to Eun Jiho, I, on the other hand, raised my eyes furtively and directed them on Yoo Chun Young who came closer to me.

nHe looked as if nothing had happened. Perhaps he forgot the cold war that took place between him and Eun Jiho earlier.

nBeside me, there was Eun Hyung. He asked, “Where are Jung In and other kids?”

nI replied, “The Kim twins were satisfied enough to leave the party, and Yoon Jung In… said that he would go back home from feeling sick.”

n“Oh…”

nGaping at my response, Eun Hyung displayed a look of pity. Ban Yeo Ryung, behind him, murmured, ‘Oh, that was such a sight.’

nSo was Jooin, who nodded his head, saying, “Yeah, it truly was remarkable…”

nI guess it wasn’t only me who closely watched the trio performing the traditional Korean circle dance. What Eun Jiho then suggested made me receive it with great joy.

n“Hey, then should we go upstairs now? Let’s take a break.”

nYay, I could finally take a seat somewhere! Nodding my head enthusiastically, I grabbed Ban Yeo Ryung’s hand and walked across the party hall.

nWhen we went upstairs after Eun Jiho, who was walking at the head of us, the security staff blocking the hallway didn’t even check the guest list.

nJust by glancing at Eun Jiho’s face, all the checking process seemed to be over. The staff then kindly handed out a card and spoke, “It’s room 109, sir.”

n“Remember, it’s room 109.”

nEun Jiho turned around to us and engraved the room number in our heads. We then bent our steps to the hallway. When the sight of the hall came into view, at last, I felt rather a little sick and tired of it than looking at it in awe.

nIt was true that I looked forward to something more extravagant as there were many securities heavily guarding this space; however, where was all the luxury? The walls continued simply with a mix of dark brown and beige wallpapers, whereas the doors were all black. The hallway, therefore, looked like a labyrinth instead.

nRoom 109 was at the end of the first hallway, but as we made a few turns around the corners, I could hardly remember the location regardless of how many times Eun Jiho had emphasized us to get aware of the direction.

nEun Jiho switched his gaze to me while asking, ‘It ain’t that hard to remember the direction, huh?’ so I startled as if he read my mind. Observing the look on my face slowly, Eun Jiho bent his face and flung a question.

n“It ain’t hard, right? You can remember the path, Ham Donnie?”

n“Of… course, I can.”

n“Cool because everything in here is the same.”

nHe then turned his head back and attached the card on the doorknob. With a beeping sound, a green light flashed above the knob. When we stepped inside, a bright light welcomed us.

nAs we heard his explanation earlier, the room looked like a regular hotel suite. I was, however, wandering around the chairless party hall for quite a while; besides, how many times could a student visit and stay inside a hotel room? This was enough to be a luxurious shelter for me.

nInside the room, there was a fridge, TV, sofa, and a bed. Taking my shoes off, I yelled out, ‘Ahhhh!’ involuntarily and collapsed on the couch.

nBan Yeo Ryung then came over and sat right next to me. Taking away the perfect beauty she flaunted at the party hall, Ban Yeo Ryung began to act like a cute little girl as she did at my house.

n“Honey, I’m so exhausted. I need my wifey’s knees to lay my head down,” said Ban Yeo Ryung.

nAs she uttered those words with a serious face, I pointed at my knees and responded, “Please lay down, my lovely wife.”

nBan Yeo Ryung then asked back while straightening her face.

n“Why am I your wife? The prettier one must be the wifey, my lovely!”

nI answered back without stepping back, “Then, you are my wife.”

nWatching us having chitchat, Eun Jiho dropped himself into the seat across us.

nHe murmured, “What the hell…”

n“What?”

nI lifted my head and scowled at him, but when our eyes suddenly met, Ban Yeo Ryung and I laughed suspiciously.

nLooking back and forth between us anxiously, he asked, “What? What do you want?”

n