45 Chapter 45 - A Flower Yet to Bloom 1 (1/2)
Translated by: ShawnSuh
Edited by: SootyOwl
As soon as Mr. Moon finished talking, the students picked up their pens and drew a big circle on their paper, ignoring the squares of the graph-like paper. At that moment, the circle was empty.
”What time are you planning on planting the apple tree?” as if unable to think of a time, Seo Kwang asked Sun Hwa.
She gave him a genuine, serious response, ”I want to plant it right after I see the news. I should do something to calm myself down, like planting a tree.”
”Maybe I should read. Whose book do I read? Are there going to be more classics by then? Yeah, probably...”
Seo Kwang had made an obvious choice. He looked like he was looking more to the new books in the future rather than the apocalypse itself.
”What about you, Baron? Juho asked.
He too was drawing a neat circle on his sketchbook. He was truly an artist.
”I'll probably live just like any other day.”
”Is that so?”
Just like any other day, it didn't sound like a bad idea.
”Well, I did think about running around the neighborhood butt naked.”
”Whoa!”
'That was bold of him. Heck, it's the last day on Earth. What couldn't they do?' Seo Kwang enthusiastically agreed with Baron, ”I'm sure a single lap around the neighborhood would be acceptable. If you're near my place, I'll treat you with some beverage.”
”I'll remember that if I get thirsty. Do you keep a tab though? I think I'd look odd carrying a wallet when I'm naked.”
'If you're arguing about something being weird, that was already over the moment you said ”naked,'' Juho thought.
”It'll be free of charge, of course.”
”Great! I'll be there.”
Seo Kwang drew a line across the center of his circle and added, ”Treat Baron to a beverage.” He had already set a time, midday, without even getting Baron's opinion.
”What are you planning on doing?” he asked as Juho looked at his planning chart.
”Hm. I'm probably going to be writing, presumably,” he murmured nonchalantly. 'I wonder what would come out in the face of death,” he thought to himself.
”OK. You go ahead and write. If you finish, you have to come show it to me. You have to! Promise.”
”What's wrong with you, man? You're making me uncomfortable.”
His words were like those of a predator that was pouncing on a prey, so Juho turned around from Seo Kwang's uncomfortable enthusiasm. He paid no attention to Juho and kept on blabbering things like, ”I have to read your work before I die. I'm more curious about what you'd write than any other author.” His words were quite overbearing.
”OK, OK.”
Juho gave up trying to be serious. He couldn't ignore such a passionate reader, so he decided to keep things simple. 'Eat. Take a walk. Write about the last day.'
”Seriously, what's with all the fuss? You need to see someone for that addiction of yours.”
”If my love for print is a sickness, I refuse to treat it for the rest of my life.”
Sun Hwa was also organizing her chart to find time for her comics. In Juho's eyes, there was hardly a difference between the two.
”Do you want to read comics together?” Bom asked Sun Hwa as she watched her working on her chart.
”Sure. You should come over. We'll plant a tree together.”
”We'll probably get hungry afterwards, so I'll bring us lunch.”
They almost sounded like they were going on a picnic. 'How innocent,' Juho thought with a smile. 'A picnic on the last day… That doesn't sound too bad.'
”Our chart looks exactly the same.”
”Huh?”
Their charts looked identical from the layout to their bedtimes to when they'd wake up in the morning. Whenever Sun Hwa wrote something down, Bom did the same on her chart.
'Am I being too sensitive?' Juho thought for a moment. 'It could be that I didn't approach the subject of the apocalypse very seriously. They're making plans to hang out and going over to each other's house, like it's a joke. It's nothing out of the blue, but still…'
”What are you guys planning on doing together for the rest of the day?”
”Huh?”
”Bom, is there anything you want to do?” he asked with his usual tone of voice.
After a brief thought, she answered with an awkward smile, ”I'm not too sure.”
”Is that right?”
”Yeah. Maybe it's because it doesn't feel real to me.” Then, Bom changed the subject somewhat forcefully, ”How about you Juho? What are you going to do?”
She turned her eyes to his paper.
For some time, there had been something that had bothered Juho. He had been noticing a sense of incompatibility in Sun Hwa and Bom's friendship and had become curious.
The past memories rushed through his head.
The essay contest. the sprint race, Bom didn't get ahead of Sun Hwa. It was especially apparent when she was presenting her results during writing lessons. He had seen their identical notebooks and the similar self-introductions that were written inside them.
He thought of the time when the club members had been to the school library together. That was when he noticed something strange. Before choosing her book, Bom had asked Sun Hwa, ”What do think it'd be a better choice between these two books?”
Now, he was certain. Bom was dependent on Sun Hwa.
”OK, it's time to make a choice,” Mr. Moon said to the students as they munched on chips.
”What are we choosing?” they asked each other with their mouths full.
”An essay contest hosted outside of school,” he explained briefly.
Juho looked at pieces of paper next to the chalkboard. They were filled with information Mr. Moon had been collecting so far. Newspaper companies, publishing companies, universities, cultural foundations, literature associations… There were countless places hosting a contest.
”There's also a competition for special recognition, so choose carefully. It's up to you to decide which contest you want to be part of.”