Separation Anxiety

31.

#Unexpected Reunion

“I don’t need it,” Dawoon refused the card extended to him.

“I should go with you to buy it, but I have a class soon. Just use this to buy what you need, and you can return the card to me later when we meet,” she replied.

Standing next to her, Ui-hyeon’s expression grew increasingly incredulous.

“How can you just hand over your card? What if he runs off with it? Do you know how much he could spend?”

When Ui-hyeon pointed out her carelessness, she turned to look at him.

“It doesn’t matter how much. Just buy what you need. It’s an unlimited card, so it should be fine.”

Her concerns were different from those of ordinary people. Dawoon finally took a careful look at her.

“Besides, he doesn’t look like someone who would run off with someone else’s card.”

Her gaze returned to Dawoon. She smiled brightly, as if without a hint of doubt, but Dawoon maintained a neutral expression.

“You shouldn’t trust people based on their appearance. Do you think con artists walk around with ‘con artist’ written on their faces? It’s the ones who look kind and innocent on the outside who end up backstabbing people,” Ui-hyeon warned her again.

Dawoon frowned slightly at the atmosphere that seemed to paint him as a “looks innocent but might actually be a con artist” despite just standing there.

“Your clothes aren’t torn, so there’s no need to buy new ones. You can just rinse it with water, so don’t worry about it,” Dawoon rephrased his refusal. It was clear that she was from a family wealthy enough to readily offer her card to strangers. However, Dawoon wasn’t so desperate as to need to buy clothes with someone else’s money just because some water had spilled on him.

“But still…” her expression clouded again. She seemed at a loss for what to do, unable to even offer compensation.

“Alright. I feel too guilty to let this go like this, so at least let me treat you to a meal,” she said, grabbing the hem of Dawoon’s shirt as he was about to turn away.

“Is this just an excuse? Are you actually trying to hit on him?” Ui-hyeon asked with a frown. Dawoon had said it was fine, but she kept insisting, making him wonder if she had other motives. It was a reasonable suspicion for Ui-hyeon and Dawoon, who had experienced similar situations numerous times in middle and high school, but the other party didn’t seem to understand this perspective and her face hardened.

“It’s true that I made a mistake, and I tried to offer appropriate compensation, which was refused. If we leave it like this, I’ll feel uneasy, as if I’m indebted. I didn’t expect my intentions to be misunderstood in such a way.”

Although she wasn’t frowning, her clear articulation of her intentions suggested she was slightly displeased.

“I said it’s fine because it really is fine, so there’s no need to worry. As for what he said… if it was rude, I apologize on his behalf,” Dawoon said, bowing his head slightly before turning and pulling Ui-hyeon’s arm. Understanding Dawoon’s intention to leave without further argument, Ui-hyeon glanced at her before following Dawoon’s lead. She seemed about to say something more, but Dawoon quickened his pace without looking back. He was genuinely uncomfortable with all this talk of compensation for merely spilling a drink.

“I really don’t get it,” Ui-hyeon muttered, tilting his head after they had walked quite a distance.

“She seems genuinely sorry, but why is her way of handling it so strange?”

“I guess that’s how she was raised,” Dawoon replied.

Ui-hyeon blinked, not understanding what he meant. To Dawoon, her approach of immediately offering her card and telling him to buy what he needed wasn’t unfamiliar. When his parents were alive, they had been similar. His father was too busy with work to say much, and his mother, after Haram was born, would hand over her card and tell him to buy whatever he needed, citing the need to take care of Haram.

Come to think of it, Hayun was a bit different. Although he was as busy as their father had been back then, whenever Dawoon needed something, Hayun would make time to go shopping together. Now that Dawoon wasn’t a child anymore, there was no need to go with Hayun, and he didn’t want to bother such a busy person, so he stopped mentioning when he needed things. Still, Hayun always wanted to personally choose even the smallest items for him.

“Is that how all rich families are?” Ui-hyeon asked again, seemingly having pondered various possibilities despite Dawoon’s lack of explanation. Dawoon didn’t know if everyone was like that. It was just his own experience. As he didn’t answer one way or the other, Ui-hyeon stared at him intensely, as if trying to bore holes in his face.

“What?”

“I’m jealous.”

Dawoon burst out laughing at the unexpected answer after staring blankly at him.

“I wish someone would just hand me a credit card like that too.”

It sounded quite sincere.

“Is there something you want to buy?”

“Are you asking because you’ll buy it for me if I tell you?”

“We’ll see.”

“Forget it. I don’t want to shorten my lifespan with false hope.”

“It’s not that big a deal. Your birthday is coming up soon, right? Consider it an early birthday present.”

“Really?”

Ui-hyeon’s eyes sparkled brightly, as if he did have something in mind. Thinking it was the brightest he’d seen them shine in all the years they’d known each other, Dawoon laughed again.

“So, what is it that you want?”

This attitude from Ui-hyeon was rare. Especially when it came to financial matters, he almost never reached out to Dawoon. The fact that he was acting like this made Dawoon think there must be something he really needed.

“Actually, I’ve been trying to buy a new tablet PC, but I’m a bit short. Who could have imagined they’d suddenly cut my allowance like that this month? I told them I needed it for studying, but they said why buy a new one when the old one still works fine. They said if I really want it, I should earn money and buy it myself. Even if I get a part-time job now, I won’t get paid until next month, so how am I supposed to manage for a month?”

Ui-hyeon grumbled, but Dawoon thought this aspect of his parents was good. Isn’t it better than buying the latest smartphone every time a new model comes out while the old one is still perfectly fine?

“When do your classes end today?”

“Around 4, I think.”

“Then let’s go buy it after your classes.”

“Today?”

“You said you need it right away for your lectures. Or should we go now? I have about three hours free.”

As Dawoon checked the time and searched for nearby tablet stores, Ui-hyeon began to slowly back away.

“What’s wrong?”

“Sometimes I forget, but at times like this, I feel the distance. It’s like you live in a different world from me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Still, thank you! I love you, Jung Dawoon!”

Ui-hyeon put his arm around Dawoon’s shoulder and grinned foolishly. He must have really wanted a new tablet PC.

“I’ll pay you back as soon as I get paid from my part-time job.”

“I told you, it’s a gift.”

“I can’t get used to this. If I ever really need a lot of money in life, I’m going to come to you, so I need to save up your kindness for then.”

Dawoon just laughed at his shameless words. Despite what he said, it seemed unlikely that Ui-hyeon would ever actually come to him for money.

***

The written test for the broadcasting club was harder than expected. It included a mix of questions on general knowledge, economics, politics, and more. Even Dawoon had to guess on half of them, unsure if his answers were correct. Just as he was thinking he might have failed, he received a text from the broadcasting club. It contained news of his passing the written test, along with the date and time for the interview.

At the same time, Ui-hyeon, who had received a text simultaneously, couldn’t believe that Dawoon had passed while he had failed. He grumbled that he couldn’t have been the only one who guessed on all the answers, that those questions were clearly designed to be impossible to answer correctly, and that everyone must have gotten less than half right.

That Friday, when Dawoon arrived at the broadcasting club at the interview time, quite a few other freshmen were already there. A senior club member had seated the new students in a row according to a predetermined interview order, and one female and one male student were called inside according to their names.

Dawoon, sitting in his assigned seat, turned his head casually when someone sat down in the empty seat next to him, and then froze.

“It’s been a while,” said Kim Na-eun. After distancing himself from her in their second year of high school, Dawoon had stopped his broadcasting club activities in their third year, and they were in different classes, so they rarely crossed paths. Because of this, he hadn’t even known she had come to the same university.

“Why do you look so surprised?”

“…”

“Well, I guess it is surprising considering my grades in second year. I really gritted my teeth and studied hard last year. Turns out people can do it if they try.”

Na-eun answered nonchalantly and turned to face forward.

“Did you know we’re in the same department too?”

Dawoon didn’t answer, his lips tightening at her question. They must have been in overlapping major classes, but he hadn’t noticed even after two weeks.

“You haven’t changed,” she said with a faint smile. Unable to deny it, he just lowered his gaze. He had to admit that, as she said, he was quite oblivious to his surroundings.

“I heard the interview here is no joke. Look, that girl who went in earlier is coming out crying.”

Na-eun nodded towards the people coming out from their interviews. As she said, the girl’s eyes were brimming with tears, and the boy’s expression wasn’t very good either.