Chapter 247 (2/2)
“Son of a bitch, get out of my sight.”
“Hey, Hong Geunseok.”
He frowned and called out to Geunseok, but Geunseok just walked right past him. He didn’t know what was going on. With a complicated mind, he followed Geunseok. At that moment, Geunseok suddenly swung his arms violently. Jiseok was unable to dodge that arm.
With a loud punching sound, he felt a dizzying shock from his cheekbones. For a brief moment, his vision darkened. Feeling dizzy, he kneeled down and grabbed the ground.
“...Geunseok,” he called out to no avail. Geunseok was walking away without the slightest bit of hesitation. When the pain had subsided a little, Geunseok had long since disappeared. JIseok looked up at the darkened skies.
After a long time, he took out his phone, His fingers were heading for the call button.
* * *
“What brings you all the way here?” Maru asked as he took off his hood. Jiseok had called him and asked where he lived all of a sudden. Maru had told him the bus stop near his home and got a reply that Jiseok would soon be here. Although Maru tried to get him to talk over the phone, Jiseok kept saying that they needed to talk in person. Maru felt confused since Jiseok’s voice had changed in such a short period of time and came out to meet him.
“I came to see a friend, and I suddenly had a reason to see you.”
Jiseok’s smile within the darkness felt as though it was about to snap off at any moment. Maru led him to a playground right behind the bus stop. They sat down on the bench as the creak of the empty swing could be heard.
“What is it?”
He thought that maybe some beer was suited to this situation. At that moment, an unexpected name came out of Jiseok’s mouth.
“Do you know Geunseok?”
Maru shut his mouth and stared at Jiseok. He had a complicated expression. This guy came looking for answers. Maru replied that he knew.
“Can I ask what happened?”
“Before that, the friend you were talking about before, is that Hong Geunseok?”
“That’s right.”
“Your friend in Suwon that you told me last time was him?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you two close?”
“Very.”
Maru felt a bitter taste in his mouth. Yes, trash had their own friends. Wasn’t that obvious? Even a cruel criminal might be a warm member of someone’s family.
The fact that he came all the way here at this hour meant that the two were pretty close. Maru organized his thoughts for a minute before speaking. He calmly told Jiseok the whole story without any exaggeration.
After listening to the whole story, Jiseok was unable to say anything. He just tapped on his knees with his fingers and just kept looking ahead of him. The number of people around them dwindled as time went by, and it was about time for the stationery store to close. As the moths made ticking noises and fell down from the street light, Jiseok started speaking again.
“He’s a… a bad guy, if what you say is true. He wasn’t that bad during middle school. In fact, everyone remembers him as the polite and good kid in class. However, I found out. I found out that wasn’t the real him. Geunseok is, yes, someone who lives on his ego. However, it wasn’t to the point where he harmed others for it. He was just… a dishonest kid.”
Jiseok clenched and relaxed his fist several times. The bitterness in his mouth could be felt over his voice. Maru was able to know that Jiseok greeted Geunseok as a precious friend.
“In my head, I know that you did the right thing. But… it still hurts a little. Couldn’t you have solved it in another way?”
“I could get him to talk to me, try to persuade him, and do other things like that until he changes his mind. However, that takes a long time. Moreover, I had no reason to be so considerate of him. There is a short and clear cut path, so there’s no need for me to go that far. Though, it does leave a bad aftertaste in my mouth.”
“Looks like I was wrong about you. I thought you wouldn’t be so cold hearted.”
“Isn’t it funny that you’re trying to understand me after just two or three meetings? I don’t know what kind of a person I am inside your mind, but you’re probably wrong about me for most of the things that you think I am. Even I… took an extremely long time to find out who I am.”
“Yes. Now that you tell me, you’re right. You’re really good with your words. I can feel that every time I talk with you. You have a depth that I don’t possess. But precisely because of that… I find it a pity.”
Jiseok smiled pitifully. Maru understood where Jiseok was coming from since Jiseok must have seen that Geunseok was standing on top off the cliff.
“Han Maru. You’re a good friend.”
“I’m not sure about that.”
“No, you’re a good friend, and you’re a good kid. I felt this from the beginning. I realized that I wasn’t wrong while taking the audition together, and it was at that moment that I thought. I thought that it would be really fun to do acting with this guy; that we could climb to the top together if we did our best. But now, I changed my mind. I’m going to do better than you. I don’t want to climb to the top with you. I’m going to be ahead of you.”
Jiseok stood up from the bench as he continued,
“This is a small revenge on my part. Geunseok, a friend of mine, hates you. That’s why I must do at least this much for him. But you’re a good friend of mine as well. So please understand me.”
“Do whatever you want.”
“I’m going then. Sorry for calling you out so late.”
Jiseok smiled brightly at the last bit. Maru decided to talk about something unnecessary when he saw that smile.
“If it’s about Geunseok, you don’t need to be so worried. I told the most trustworthy person for the job. He’ll probably do just fine.”
“Really? That’s fortunate. I knew it… you aren’t that cold hearted. You’re a little cold, though. I’ll treat you to some hot chocolate some time. Perhaps that will make you become a little warmer.”
“Hey, you’re really something to say those cheeky lines without a second thought.”
“You think so?”
Jiseok walked away while waving his hand. Maru watched as he left and eventually waved back at him.
What the heck is a chocolate coffee…? It’s probably cafe mocha, but I’m not entirely sure… maybe that’s what it was called in 2004.