One Day, Long Ago

Song For This Chapter: Confession by Jung Joon Il (Sung Jae’s cover)

Tae Kwang’s POV

The day began typically without anything new. I was harshly woken up by the stentorian blaring of the alarm I had on my phone. A biting coldness permeated through the wooden floors of my apartment, sending shivers down my spine as I stepped out of my comfortable bed. 

Fully dressed and ready for the usual day, I walked to the parking lot and situated myself in my car. Throwing my backpack down in the passenger’s seat, I placed my phone in the cup holder so that I would be able to talk to my girlfriend while I drove.

“Good morning, Oppa!” My girlfriend greeted me cutely over the phone.

“Good morning, Joy. I’ll meet you in front of your department today. When does your last lecture end?” I asked her, planning on taking her back to my apartment for dinner.

“Around five o’clock.”

“Got it. I’ll see you then.” I said while the phone automatically turned itself off. With my hands steering the wheel, I backed the car into a parking space. Grabbing my leather knapsack, I ran up the steps of the Criminology Department and into the lecture hall.

After three draining hours of listening, note taking, and even more listening on the social structures of Sociology I was finished with my first lecture of the day. I was more interested in criminal law and criminal psychology, yet I was forced to listen because this term my professor decided to focus on sociology.

I had no choice but to eat my lunch while walking toward the Sports Department building and into the men’s locker room, for there wasn’t enough time allowed to eat properly in between my classes.

“Make sure you’re fully digested before warming up.” A friend of mine, Park Min Woo advised as he changed into his judo uniform.

“Of course.” I replied, chewing down the remnants of my sandwich as I worked fast to open my locker.  I opened the buttons of my navy tartan shirt, taking it off to change into my judo clothes for practice.

“What are you guys doing? Come out now or the coach will have us warm up for an hour! Hurry!” My fellow teammates and I hurried to get changed at the warning. Min Woo and I stood on the mats, stretching ourselves out as a part of our warm up routine. A good half hour passed and then our coach blew the whistle, starting practice.

Now I, Gong Tae Kwang was qualified to say that I have become a better person than I was in high school. I cleaned up my act by deciding on a major I wanted to study in order to become a police officer. So as of right now I’m majoring in Criminology and doing Judo on the side. Judo has become a very efficient stress reliever for me, allowing me to get rid of all my stress and frustrations when on the mats.

“Meeting Joy?” Kang Joon asked, drying his hair with a towel in the bustling locker room. I grinned at him, nodding. I spent some time in front of the mirror, fixing up my damp hair and outfit, wanting to look good in front of my girlfriend.

I discerned my girlfriend waiting by the steps of her department wearing light clothes compared to the chilly weather. Seoul was in the midst of transitioning from winter to spring, yet it still felt like winter. Joy ran over to me, wearing a bright smile.

“Oppa!”

“I’m here. Wanna order chicken and beer back at my place?” I suggested in which Joy was glad to agree with. I swore that my girlfriend was a bit too fond of alcohol.

Before taking the elevator up to my flat, I had to check the mail. Joy pushed the elevator button while I inserted the key into the mailbox, grabbing everything inside the box. The first thing I noticed about today’s mail was a very familiar