Chapter 3 (2/2)

‘The moon and the sun…’

The dream had been foggy, and he forgot about half of it the moment when he woke up. He thought he heard some of the things the man had talked about, like distributing time and the thirteen, but he couldn’t recall. He just decided to blame the man’s nonsense for all that.

“Myohan! You are not late these days! I guess your punishment has taught you a lesson?”

“Yeah, this is really killing me. I would rather stay up all night and come in time than to do this more.”

Sinsul, who was holding his soccer ball again, leaned against a wall to make a joke to Myohan. He found it extremely amazing that Myohan wasn’t coming to school late anymore. After mopping the floor, Myohan straightened his back, stretched, and yawned, just like a cat. It was a cat habit which only he didn’t know about.

“I heard the teacher saying she would end your cleaning punishment early.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, she likes you because you get good grades. It’s only when you come late.”

“Oh…. yes, you’re right.”

“And unless you don’t sleep during classes.”

Although Myohan was frequently late to school and spent his time there mostly on sleeping, he got quite good grades. He was smart, and as he heard everything that happened around him even while he was sleeping, he never missed a word his teachers said. And it wasn’t like he caused trouble, so he was a good student, as long as he wasn’t late of course.

“If you are going to wash that mop, let’s go together.”

“No, that isn’t necessary.”

“Well let’s go! I’ll keep you entertained!”

Myohan, who had been planning to jump from a window again, frowned, but Sinsul couldn’t know what he was thinking and pressed him. Myohan eventually had to go with him reluctantly, but then he felt someone looking at him and looked back.

“What?”

“Oh, it’s just…”

The gaze felt familiar. He had felt it when he jumped from the window the other day. It was quite ominous to dismiss it as an illusion.

“It feels like someone keeps staring at me these days.”

“But this is an all-boys’ school. Are you going crazy?”

“No, you idiot. Of course not.”

Myohan let out a sigh and shook his head. He couldn’t expect a serious answer to anything from Sinsul. And despite his promise to keep Myohan entertained, he ran away kicking his ball the moment they arrived at the schoolyard. Myohan had to go to the taps alone.

But when he got there, he found the place wasn’t deserted. He narrowed his eyes to see a familiar back. Then the man took his eyes off the sky and commented leisurely.

“You’re late.”

“Why are you here?”

The man hadn’t come to see Myohan for three days. He just shrugged at the question.

“I was a bit sick.”

“I asked, what you are doing here.”

“I thought you were going to jump down from that building.”

He pointed at a window on the sixth floor. Myohan thought the gaze must have been his, so he just started to wash his mop.

“You have two days left to find the rat.”

“No, I still have four days.”

“Weekend doesn’t count.”

“Well…. Okay, if that’s what you want.”

“But you don’t look worried at all.”

“Oh, I’m going to find him today.”

“How?”

Myohan asked that without much thought, just because he couldn’t understand how the man was going to find the rat after three days of doing nothing. But instead of answering the question, the man smiled mischievously and grabbed a hose, its end pointed directly at Myohan. Before he could get away, he turned the tap.

Water started coming out mercilessly until Myohan was completely soaked. The man turned off the tap only then. Myohan’s hair was dripping water.

“Like this.”

For a moment, Myohan couldn’t know what was happening. His hair dripping water, the man smiling so brightly, it all just didn’t feel real. He rubbed his face with his shaking hand. It was all real.

“I’m going to kill you.”

Myohan hated water. And it was really cold. He undid three buttons of his now completely soaked shirt, and then he took a step toward the man. He was still smiling.

“And how are you going to do it?”