Chapter 4

VIII.

It’s been two weeks since the night at the club. Myungsoo’s still not back at school.

Sungjong knows this for sure because Woohyun takes every opportunity to hint that it might be his fault. He probably doesn’t know what actually happened at the club btween then but he can guess. He’s shrewd enough and he knows Sungjong for long enough.

Sungjong doesn’t want to think about Myungsoo anymore; he believes that chapter is over. And yet he finds himself looking over his shoulder at the subway, expecting to see Myungsoo tripping across the stairs, breathless and red in the face.

He gets out of school early on Thursday. He usually hangs around for Woohyun and Sungyeol to finish, but today, he just starts walking. He takes a bus, almost absent-mindedly, and it is not the bus that takes him home everyday.

He almost misses his stop. It’s not like he has a fixed stop in mind or anything; he just wants to get down from the bus because he’s tired from sitting down and he feels like it would be a good stop to get down at.

There is no destination in his mind as he walks.

Or maybe, there is.

He stops in front of a two-storied building. His feet automatically stop moving on their own because they don't want to carry on.

After pacing up and down in front of the house for fifteen minutes, he decides to go in. He’s just here to return Myungsoo’s clothes. He ran away from this house still dressed in them and he never had the opportunity to give them back.

Mrs. Kim looks surprised when she opens the door, but the next moment she smiles at him widely, ushering him in.

“He’s upstairs, his bedroom,” she says, pointing toward the stairs. She doesn’t ask him what he did to Myungsoo, or why did he leave without saying anything the other day. He feels relieved and horrified at the same time; he'd much rather she screamed at him.

Sungjong suddenly feels very uncomfortable. But he’s come all this way, he has to see it all the way through. He's never backed down from a fight and even though Myungsoo is hardly a worthy opponent, he's going to do it.

He finds Myungsoo sitting at the table at his bedroom, looking out of the window. He doesn’t knock, the door’s ajar.

Taking a deep breath, he ambles in calmly and sits down on Myungsoo’s bed, the sound from the spring causing the other boy to look around. At first Myungsoo stares at him blankly, then he utters a noise between an exclamation and a laugh. His face is sallow and there are dark circles under his eyes. But at this moment, he looks good, handsome even.

Sungjong takes out a plastic bag in which he’s wrapped Myungsoo’s clothes. He hands it to the boy in front of him, who doesn’t bother opening it. He’s still staring at Sungjong.

This is too burdensome. Sungjong wonders if he should say something. What, though?

“I hope you get well soon,” he finally musters, “and come to school, you’re missing a lot.”

He doesn’t wait for Myungsoo’s reply. Cringing on the inside, he runs out of the room and leaves, just like the other day.

IX.

Sungjong has come up to the rooftop for some air. Statistics class is always boring for him, because neither Woohyun nor Sungyeol takes this class. So most of the time, he skips it, heading to the rooftop for some fresh air and paradoxically, a smoke.

The rooftop is always empty, especially during lessons, but not today. As soon as he throws the door open noisily, he sees someone standing against the railing, with his back turned to him. The sound however makes him turn around rapidly – it’s Myungsoo.

“Oh umm,” Myungsoo’s eyes widen; he starts fidgeting with his fingers. “I was just leaving.”

He strides forward toward the door but Sungjong moves back, blocking it. Myungsoo looks up, shocked, and takes a few steps back. Sungjong wants to tell him that it’s good to see him back in school for some weird reason. He’s slightly hungover from last night, maybe that’s why.

“I'm j-just trying to leave,” Myungsoo mumbles.

“Why are you here during a lesson? You're missing Statistics,” Sungjong asks cuttingly. His head is throbbing painfully. He hates this feeling. It angers him. He doesn’t even know why he is so mad to see him up here. The guilty look in Myungsoo's eyes ignites his anger even more.

“I want an answer.”

He bangs his fist against the wall, making Myungsoo jump.

He could simply say that he’s here for fresh air. He could say that it’s none of Sungjong's business. But he just stands there, looking guiltier by the minute.

Myungsoo makes another attempt to make it past him but Sungjong is stood too firmly for him to stand a chance. He sort of collides against him and bounces back, trembling.

“I - I just wanted to - I just...”

There are tears in Myungsoo's eyes but the anger is overpowering all other emotion in Sungjong. Anyway, he isn’t the most sympathetic person on earth. He wants a coherent answer and when he wants something, he knows how to get it. Leaving the door, he starts to walk toward Myungsoo, who recoils immediately.

Sungjong treads closer and closer, causing the other boy to back away while flinching. When his back hits the railing, he grips it tightly with his hands, looking at Sungjong fearfully. Sungjong stops a couple of inches away from his face.

“Tell me.”

It’s an order.

Myungsoo sighs resignedly, as if giving up. Staring at the ground hard, he mumbles, “I thought I’d see you here.”

Sungjong believes him too quickly. He has a hunch that he knows the answer already.

“So why were you running away when you saw me?”

“I didn't know what to do...I saw you coming and I just - I lost my head....”

Sungjong is too close to Myungsoo, and it seems like Myungsoo has trouble breathing. His face is turning violet.

“Sungjong!”

He jumps but not as badly as Myungsoo. Woohyun and Sungyeol are standing at the door, looking at the two of them weirdly.

“Is he giving you a hard time?” Sungyeol asks, cracking his knuckles menacingly.

Woohyun however frowns.

Myungsoo takes the opportunity to run for the door and as Sungyeol grabs for him, he is tackled by Woohyun, giving Myungsoo a clear route to escape.

“What?” Sungyeol asks Woohyun angrily.

“You were attacking him for no reason.”

“I was attacking him because that's what Sungjong was doing.”

“I'm not so sure about that,” Woohyun turns to look at Sungjong, his eyes discerning. “What were you doing to him? The poor kid was redder than a red chilli.”

Sungjong simply shrugs. His head is aching like crazy.