Chapter 56: A Sweet Reality That Stayed

But now, he wanted to leave this place immediately.

With just the touch of one person, the irritation and countless resentments he had felt from the principal, the homeroom teacher, and his father seemed to disappear.

He always wanted to follow behind that light which shone straight upon him.

“Wait.”

Ji-tae quickly picked up his pen and scribbled something across the scrap paper.

The hand that once stubbornly refused to write the reflection out of wounded pride no longer held any hesitation.

He had resisted because writing it felt like losing, but that had been nothing more than a pointless concern.

“Isn’t that a reflection letter?

Is it okay to write it so carelessly?”

“I just need to write something.”

“With that face and saying that, you really look like a delinquent student.”

On the paper, the only words written were: I’m sorry.

After submitting the reflection letter to the staff office, he headed to the gym with Kang Wooju.

In the wide space where everyone had already finished cleaning up and left, Ji-tae ran alongside Wooju and finally felt alive.

In many ways, Kang Wooju was the one who reminded him that his heart was still beating.

“Haah, let’s stop here.

By the way, Won Ji-tae.

Do you have to go straight home?”

“Not really.”

“Then follow me.”

After finishing practice that day, the place Wooju led him to was Matna Snack Bar.

Watching him greet the owner warmly and walk in, Ji-tae stood awkwardly until the owner smiled brightly, delighted that Wooju had brought a friend today.

Wooju insisted they weren’t friends and gestured for Ji-tae to hurry over.

They sat at the second seat by the window.

“What’s this?”

“When you’re hurt, you recover by eating.

The way you were hitting the ball earlier wasn’t great.

Hurry up and eat and get better.

That way fighting’s more fun.

And the food here is seriously good.

I don’t usually tell just anyone about this place, but I’m making a special exception for you.”

“So what, you want me to thank you?”

Whenever Kang Wooju chattered away like that, Ji-tae strangely thought of a small sparrow.

“Yeah.

What do you want to eat?”

“What’s good?”

“Everything’s good…

The pork cutlet’s really good too……”

“Then I’ll have that.”

Wooju nodded and ordered smoothly.

The food came out quickly, but Ji-tae barely remembered how the pork cutlet tasted that day.

He was overwhelmed just by the fact that Wooju was sitting right in front of him, and all his focus was spent trying not to let that show.

If Wooju hadn’t barged into that classroom so boldly, if he hadn’t asked why—

That day would have surely been recorded as the worst day of Ji-tae’s life.

But because Wooju was there, because he came looking for him,

The worst had turned into the very best.

At the owner’s words, Ji-tae immediately recalled that day.

After that, he and Kang Wooju occasionally came here to eat dinner together.

Since they went to different schools, it wasn’t often, but he remembered every single moment of sitting here in different uniforms, sharing meals.

Of course, just because they faced each other across a table didn’t mean it felt like the usual “hanging out with a friend after school.”

Back then, “rivals” suited their relationship better than “friends.”

Even with food between them, they’d argue about volleyball and bicker over trivial things.

“Come to think of it, you caused trouble back then, didn’t you?”

Wooju clapped his hands as the memory surfaced a beat later than Ji-tae.

“When you say it like that, it sounds like I committed some huge crime.

Change the wording.”

“Sorry.

But since we’re talking about it……”

Wooju picked up a rice cake.

The owner had disappeared into the kitchen long ago, probably to make something else.

“Why did you fight back then?”

Wooju asked, chewing on the rice cake.

The red sauce staining the corner of his mouth caught Ji-tae’s eyes.

“Fight?”

“Yeah.

You fought with a classmate and got all injured, didn’t you?

And you wrote that reflection so half-heartedly.”

Strictly speaking, it would be more accurate to say he had beaten him up rather than fought.

Ji-tae had been hit too, but the other student ended up hospitalized.

“I suddenly got curious.”

“…Not sure.

I don’t remember.

Probably fought for some common reason.”

The eyes meeting his turned quiet in an instant.

It was nothing like the smile Wooju had shown earlier when he said it was nice eating together alone.

“Ji-tae, you……”

At that moment, Ji-tae reached out his hand.

Wooju straightened reflexively.

Ji-tae’s thick thumb wiped at the corner of his mouth.

“You always get stuff on your face when you eat.”

Like it was nothing, Ji-tae shook his head and naturally licked the sauce off his finger.

The movement was so seamless that Wooju could only blink.

Normally, he would have brushed it off.

But today, it lingered strangely in his mind.

Does someone usually wipe another person’s mouth and then put that into their own mouth?

Confused by the sudden thought, Wooju hesitated.

Well, maybe if there was nothing else to wipe it with.

But as soon as that thought formed, he noticed the tissue boxes stuffed full on every table.

Wooju irritably shoved a piece of pickled radish into his mouth while glaring at Ji-tae, who quietly picked up a piece of kimbap.

When Ji-tae had reached out earlier, pork cutlet sauce had stained his little finger too.

He hadn’t hesitated to lick that off either.

“It’s just a habit.

I was overthinking.”

Right.

Of course it was.

But what did he mean by overthinking?

Startled by the unconscious thought, Wooju felt flustered.

It was just a habit ingrained in him.

Like when you finish a bag of chips and absentmindedly lick the salt from your fingers.

Why was he making it into something serious?

“Kang Wooju.”

“What.”

“Why are you glaring like that again?”

“When did I?”

Wooju practically buried his nose in his plate as he finished the tteokbokki.

Only after they ate the extra fried snacks the owner prepared and finished with sweet rice drink for dessert were they finally released from the shop.

“Wow, I think it’s been a while since I ate this much.”

“Same.”

Ji-tae agreed easily as he watched Wooju pat his round stomach.

After promising to come again next time, they stepped out into the now-dark alley.

It was a good thing the car was parked a little farther away.

Walking a bit might help settle their stuffed stomachs.

“But Won Ji-tae, don’t you have to manage your weight or something?”

“Don’t you think it’s a little late to worry about that?”

“No…

I didn’t think about it at first, but everything we just ate was super high-calorie……”

There was something Wooju had realized while spending time together.

For someone of Ji-tae’s large build, he oddly didn’t seem very attached to food.

He didn’t appear particularly eager about eating.

If anything, he seemed like he had a small appetite.

But earlier at the snack bar, he had finished everything the owner prepared.

It was obvious that it wasn’t pure hunger driving him, but consideration for the person who made it.

“I don’t gain weight easily.

I’m fine.”

And just as Wooju worried, an incredibly annoying answer came flying back.

“You’re so annoying.”

He heard Ji-tae chuckle above him.

“It was good.

It’s been a while since I ate like that.”

At the comfortable tone, Wooju unconsciously looked up.

Ji-tae had grown slightly taller, so looking up at him had become natural.

But it was too dark to see the fleeting expression on his face.

The streetlight flickered weakly, as if about to burn out.

For some reason, Wooju found that disappointing.

“Kang Wooju.”

“Yeah?”

The footsteps beside him had stopped.

Wooju halted and turned around.

Standing in the middle of the large intersection, Ji-tae was staring at something.

“Should we get that before we go?”

His long finger pointed toward a small neighborhood supermarket.

Nowadays convenience stores were everywhere, so it was rare to see one with such a nostalgic exterior.

A large poster was plastered outside.

[All Ice Cream 700 Won]

Even the poster looked old-fashioned.

Feeling a natural sense of nostalgia, Wooju nodded and entered the store with Ji-tae.

An elderly man watched the news on TV, glancing at the two tall young men with little interest.

Wooju chose a tube ice pop, and Ji-tae picked a soda-flavored bar.

“Grandpa, can we eat it outside on the bench?”

“Sure.

Just don’t throw your trash anywhere.”

As Wooju asked while paying, the owner answered casually without taking his eyes off the TV screen.

“You want to eat it here?”

“Yeah.

It’s not like we can eat while driving anyway.”

They sat down on the wooden bench in front of the store.

The seat, stained in places, had turned a dull yellow.

It was probably white originally.

Time had left its marks clearly.

“Your next schedule was an ad shoot, right?”

“Yeah.”

Wooju unwrapped his ice cream and snapped off the top cap easily.

Then he tossed it neatly into the trash can beside him.