Chapter 576 (1/2)
“I don’t think I am allowed to let you take it home. I did look for one, but all the VCRs registered as school items are integrated into the TV, so I can’t really let you take it home.”
“I see. Sorry for asking you something absurd.”
“No, no. Sorry for not being able to help. But why are you looking for a VCR? Most people use CDs these days.”
“I have some videotapes I got from someone.”
“Don’t tell me they are red tapes[1]?” Taesik teased.
“We’re past the era of watching such things on videotapes. It’s just a video recording of a real play and a real stage. They are precious resources, so I wanted to watch them quickly, but things just aren’t going well.”
“If it’s like that, you can bring it to school and watch it here.”
“There’s about sixty of them….”
“Oh, I guess you need to look for a VCR and watch it at home then.”
“I was counting on the school to have one, but I guess it didn’t go that well. I’ll try visiting Yongsan next week.”
“If I had one at home, I’d love to lend it to you, but we threw it out a few years ago as well.”
“Most households don’t have one these days. I guess they’ll soon be treated like record players, while videotapes become vinyl records.”
“Probably.”
Just as he was about to say goodbye and leave, Taesik’s laptop made a noise. When Maru had a look at the screen, he saw a messenger window pop up. Taesik sighed after checking the message.
“You seem busy, so I’ll take my leave now. Thank you for looking into it.”
“Oh, okay. But this isn’t work. This is something worse.”
“Worse? Is it….”
Taesik pointed at the laptop screen as though it was fine for Maru to read. Maru narrowed his eyes. He could see the text on the screen. The first thing he looked for was the name of the one who sent the message. He realized then what was worse than work.
“So you still haven’t finished preparing for the wedding yet.”
“The important things have been dealt with.”
“Then I guess it must be about the honeymoon huh.”
“I heard Miso vented her stress on you, and it seems that she told you about that after all.”
“I heard it a while back. But did you really invite your parents and mother-in-law to the honeymoon?”
“Things happened that way.”
“You were too generous. She’s going to use this to nag you for a lifetime.”
“I know, right? I’ve never dated anyone until now, and I’m suddenly getting married, so people around me are like… you know. There’s the age gap between me and Miso too. We met each other’s parents amidst the confusion, and thanks to that, we found out about each other’s family history. I know just how hard a single parent’s life is since I’m a teacher. I thought that it was good to take mother-in-law since she must have had a hard time until now, but when I got myself together, I felt like I made a mistake.”
“It would’ve been perfect if it wasn’t the honeymoon. Such a pity.”
“You’re entirely right. Plus, it’s not like I can suddenly go up to mother-in-law and tell her disappointing news. If I to go through like this though, I’m afraid of the consequences.”
“...Congratulations on your marriage. I guess that’s the only thing I can tell you.”
“Don’t you have a way out?”
“My mother said this once: A wife is above the national leader before marriage. Anyway, Miso-noonim does really love you, so perhaps you’ll be able to gloss over it if you act cute?”
“Act cute at this age?”
“Teach, acting cute works if someone who never does it does it. Rather than regretting it later, even the young me thinks that you should look for peace right now by getting her to forgive you.”
Good luck - Maru cheered in a small voice. Taesik made an awkward smile and put his hands on the keyboard. When Maru glanced back, he was creating an emoticon on the keyboard. Bless the latecomer husband. Of course, it was likely that she would nag him about it their whole lives, but what could he do about it? He should have been prepared for what’s coming since he got a young wife.
“Hey, Han Maru! Where do you think you’re going without cleaning!”
A broom was thrown at his face as soon as he returned to the classroom.
“How heartless. Can’t you fill in for a friend?”
“Stop yapping and do it quickly. You’re in charge of the corridor!”
Maru smiled bitterly when he felt the kindness of a friend who would not accept other people’s happiness. He was sweeping the floor with the broom in the corner of the corridor when he heard a pair of deep voices from the floor beneath him. Maru grabbed onto the banister and looked down. A skinny tall guy and a small but well built guy were talking to each other.
“Did you guys eat steam engines or something? Quieten down a little,” Maru said as he looked at Bangjoo and Chihwan, who were climbing the stairs.
These days, they always walked around together like a duo from a comedy movie. Of course, it was rather rude of him to compare those two to renowned actors, but he couldn’t help but be reminded of such a pair when looking at the two.
“Hello, seonbae-nim!”
“Maru-seonbae!”
Bangjoo greeted him politely while Chihwan waved his hand. Bangjoo scolded Chihwan saying that he was rude. Maru sighed.
“Both of you are just as bad so stop. Also, lower your voices. Leaving aside Chihwan, Bangjoo, isn’t it about time you got that fixed?”
“I am trying to, but I always end up raising my voice when I’m next to this guy. He’s too loud so I can’t hear anything whenever I say something.”
As soon as Bangjoo’s words ended, Chihwan countered.
“Bangjoo-seonbae. You can’t just say that. I’m raising my voice because your voice is loud.”
“That’s not true.”