Chapter 311

***

Midterms, finals, and other school exams are held over a set period of a few days.

The exam scope is also fixed, so studying just that range is enough.

However, the college entrance exam (수능) covers the entire high school curriculum, and everything is decided in a single day.

Well, anyone who’s been to school knows that.

Thanks to finishing early the day before the exam, I got home while it was still bright outside.

“Oppa, are you okay?”

A ten-year-old kid, now smaller than me, wrapped in a blanket, peeked into my room.

“Yeah. Is Yoo Jin here? Oppa’s cleaning.”

“You clean every day.”

“Today, I’m organizing my desk.”

Weirdly, whenever exam time comes, I feel the urge to clean my desk. Muttering to myself, Jin-hyeok wiped the desk and the empty bookshelf with a cloth.

Clattering, I organized the drawers too—oh, this magazine was here.

I hid the peach-colored magazine well, out of Yoo Jin’s sight.

If Yoo Jin saw it, how disappointed would she be?

“Oppa, do you like unclothed sisters?”

Oh no, she’s already seen it.

But Yoo Jin doesn’t seem too shocked.

Her raised lips resemble Jeong Won-i, who rides a bicycle recklessly.

“No, no. I’m just keeping it for someone.”

“That’s why you can’t write poetry! Ew!”

Ugh, this little nag.

She’s grown quite a bit, and now she nags at every opportunity, even more than Mom.

‘But is it really true?’

Well, it’s hard to think of poetry while looking at skin-colored magazines.

Yoo Jin’s point is valid, so I’ll keep the magazines hidden until I submit my poems.

After finishing cleaning, I sat on the chair and swept the empty desk with my hand.

‘You’ve endured a long time.’

It’s the desk I’ve always faced, but why do I feel sentimental now?

It’s not regret.

I studied hard, exercised, made many memories with friends, and had no regrets during my school days—what’s there to regret?

“Huu. Oppa, I know what you’re going to do next.”

Yoo Jin, sitting on the bed, sighed while watching me. She was peeling off dust from the blanket with tape.

“What, what? What? I don’t know…”

I really won’t look at the magazines—not for a while.

“Are you going to read the Talmud?”

Yoo Jin knows me too well.

When I clean my desk, I don’t study; I read light books.

It’s a way to cool my head and empty it for a while.

If I focus too much on one thing, my head feels stiff instead of focused.

Today, my mind is too complicated, so maybe it’s better to empty it in a different way.

“Yoo Jin, do you want to roast sweet potatoes with me?”

“Well, okay. I’m busy, but I’ll help. I’m a bit hungry now.”

She’s getting more and more cheeky.

*

Jo Seol-chan, who was on-site training for new material management in General Chemistry, joined by the furnace after work.

Crackle, crackle.

Staring blankly at the burning charcoal, Seol-chan muttered.

“Isn’t your exam coming up? Why are you here?”

“What more will I know if I look at it now?”

“You’re not slacking off because you’re not going to college, right?”

“That’s also true.”

“You’re not looking because you already know everything?”

“That’s more accurate.”

Ugh. Anyway, the joker captain says annoying things without changing his expression. What a pain. Seol-chan turned his head.

I heard everything, man.

“Time flies. Being here reminds me of the first time we came to play during middle school.”

“Yeah.”

Seol-chan and I played like kids.

We swam, caught fish, and ate watermelon and corn in the shade during summer vacation.

Back then, Seol-chan said it was the happiest time of his life.

Seol-chan definitely said that.

On the way back after dropping off a friend, I comforted my past self with those words.

Maybe that was the first time. Comfort for myself.

‘Writing a poem in that direction might be good.’

Putting aside the looming college entrance exam worries, Jin-hyeok thought about the message to include in his poem.

What would be good…

As Seol-chan flipped the sweet potatoes wrapped in foil, he brought up another topic.

“Last month, when I started training, my grandma gave me a bankbook.”

Knowing what kind of bankbook it was, Jin-hyeok nodded quietly.

After Seol-chan and his grandmother moved to this town, thanks to Moon Seok-il’s efforts, they received enough land compensation to buy an apartment in the town. His grandmother didn’t use it immediately but seemed to have handed it over to Seol-chan, who had just entered society.

“What should I do with this? Grandma seems to want to live here until she passes away.”

“You should live here for a long time too.”

“But you’re going to Seoul, right?”

“I’ll come every weekend. You can visit Seoul too.”

“Really?”

Despite the cheerful tone, Seol-chan’s face was heavy.

Even Yoo Jin, who loves to joke around, didn’t join the conversation.

Yoo Jin poked Gwang-ma’s short tail with a stick, watching Seol-chan’s expression.

“I just casually mentioned it to Samchoon. I had a favor to ask. If he had time, I asked him to look into something… I wonder if I shouldn’t have…”

I could guess what was coming.

Jin-hyeok, who knows his friend’s situation well.

‘He found his mom.’

Seol-chan’s dark face brightened instantly. But it was a forced brightness.

“She’s living well. She has two kids in elementary school and isn’t struggling. Her husband treats her well.”

Saying that, Seol-chan tightly held the bankbook.

“If she were struggling, I would’ve given this to her. Grandma and I don’t have to worry about housing or money anymore. I can earn now. But there’s no need. I don’t have to give it.”

It was a heavy topic.

But who else could he say this in front of except Jin-hyeok?

His friend’s expression, having unburdened himself, looked somewhat relieved.

Don’t you want to see her? Jin-hyeok bit his lip, unable to ask.

As if understanding his friend’s feelings, Seol-chan smiled faintly.

“It’s impossible. Mom has to live there, giving her heart to that place. If I, as her son, go, that house might fall apart. Maybe she’ll come secretly to meet me. But now, with Grandma healthy and Eun-jeong here, I’ll live here with my heart at ease…”

Jin-hyeok didn’t dare to put a hand on Seol-chan’s shoulder.

Even Yoo Jin, who might not understand, seemed to feel bad, tightly hugging Gwang-ma’s neck.

Still, as a friend, he wanted to ask.

“Does Grandma know?”

“Yeah. I told her, and she was really happy. She said now she can die without regrets. It’s resolved for me, and Mom is living well.”

Jin-hyeok, who had been deep in thought, suddenly looked up as if remembering something.

“Hey, what happened to the bike I gave you?”

“Oh, right. That. I left it at home when I went to high school, and someone stole it. I was too sorry to tell you.”

“It’s fine. I don’t need to ride a bike anymore. If someone else needs it, let them have it.”

Our people have a knack for stealing bikes, don’t they?

Maybe grateful that his friend lightened the mood, Seol-chan awkwardly smiled as Jin-hyeok declared.

“Now I’ll drive a car. I’ll buy you a car as a graduation gift, so get your license first.”

“Huh?”

Seol-chan couldn’t hide his surprise at the unexpected declaration.

He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Stop wandering around shady places with Eun-jeong. Drive around, kid.”

“You knew? We were just looking for UFOs.”

“Who looks for UFOs in a warehouse?”

Kekeke.

Seol-chan, his face red, covered his head with his hands and laughed.

The kid’s pretending to be embarrassed now.

“But cars are too expensive. It’s a bit much to just accept.”

“It’s not expensive for me. And I’ll buy you a used one. And when you get the car, take Grandma first, not Eun-jeong. And—”

Jin-hyeok, who owns buildings in town.

Seol-chan, knowing that, blinked expressionlessly.

“—go see your mom once and have a meal with her.”

Adding the bombshell, Jin-hyeok watched Seol-chan’s expression.

His friend’s eyes showed conflict, not discomfort.

“What’s wrong with secretly meeting her once? You and Grandma are at ease, right? Go and show her clearly, tell her firmly, and come back. Tell her to come anytime if she wants to see you. Wouldn’t that make your mom feel better?”

“But… will it work?”

“I’d do that. Better than regretting later, right? Did you forget our promise?”

“I didn’t.”

If there’s something difficult, tell Son Jin-hyeok.

Don’t do things you can’t take responsibility for.

In this one life, don’t create regrets.

“It’s a matter of courage. Just muster the courage. If your mom says no, come back without regrets.”

“Heh. I have plenty of courage.”

Eun-jeong too, I held her hand with courage. Seol-chan mumbled.

His face had brightened considerably.

“The exam isn’t just for me. Seol-chan, you’re also taking the exam and becoming an adult.”

“Yeah. That’s right. Thanks to the joker captain, I’m doing well. I’ll listen. Yeah.”

Seol-chan nodded vigorously.

And so, Seol-chan’s world would also turn upside down.

He thought he couldn’t remain a child who grew up without a mom forever.

And wasn’t he someone who missed her enough to write poems in his notebook?

‘They say that’s enlightenment. Flipping over complicated feelings and organizing them step by step to mature.’

The feeling of cleaning the desk before the exam might not be so different.

It’s not about cleaning the desk but cleaning the mind.

Growl.

It sounded like thunder from the ground.

The thunder from Yoo Jin’s stomach, who couldn’t say she was hungry while watching her oppas have a serious conversation.

Yoo Jin and Gwang-ma sat in similar poses, looking pitiful.

“The sweet potatoes must be done.”

“Oh, our Yoo Jin, it’s hot, so Seol-chan oppa will cool it for you, okay?”

“Yes, hehe.”

***

The morning of the college entrance exam arrived.

Ah, it’s not morning yet. It’s still dark.

Clank.

Opening the front door, a cold breeze rushed in.

“Mom, I’m leaving.”

“Son, don’t be nervous, do well on the exam. Oh, let me hug you once, my son.”

The warmth that drove away the cold in an instant warmed Jin-hyeok’s chest.

Usually, the siblings would still be asleep at this hour.

Even though I moved quietly to avoid waking them, Yoo Jin and Jeong Won-i got up to see me off.

“Oppa, fighting!”

“Yeah, fighting!”

Ah, why does the cheering of these little ones make my heart so warm?

Their small fists clenched tightly, their adorable faces melted away any possible tension. Jeong Won-i looked like he was swearing with a potato fist, but the intention matters, right?

“Haha, yeah. Yoo Jin, Jeong Won, I’ll be back.”

After hugging the siblings, I left the house.

The feeling of heading to the exam hall with family’s support is this good.

I carefully packed the eye candy Yoo Jin gave me yesterday. Oppa, you know, if you eat eye candy, your eyes turn into eye candy, and you can only find the right answers.

Well, whether Yoo Jin’s words are true, I’ll find out during the exam.

It’s a completely different world, and words can’t fully describe it.

The world has changed so much.

But some things remain the same.

‘The college entrance exam cold wave is scary.’

It’s not exact, but I can tell the exam date is different from my past life. But somehow, the cold has arrived.

Black snowflakes fell one by one from the sky.

“Did you sleep well?”

Dad, who was driving for once, glanced at Jin-hyeok and asked.

“Yes.”

I usually sleep well, but after sleeping with Jeong Won-i, I’ve been sleeping even better thanks to his warmth.

“It’s snowing more and more.”

“I’m worried about your commute.”

“We’ll take it slow. Hyun-woo will drive when we go to the company.”

Son Kwang-yeon pointed to Myung Hyun-woo in the back seat with his thumb.

“Jin-hyeok, just do as well as you usually do.”

Doing as well as usual means getting a perfect score.

“Yeah. I’ll just do my best.”

That’s why I’m less nervous.

“Taking the college entrance exam feels like properly finishing high school.”

“Yeah. That’s right. In fact, isn’t attending a humanities high school for three years also for the college entrance exam?”

At Son Kwang-yeon’s words, Jin-hyeok and Myung Hyun-woo nodded.

For now, that’s how the world works.

Even in a different world, if you look closely, you’ll find many things that haven’t changed.

Squeak, squeak.

The tires of the slowly moving car crushed the freshly fallen snow.

The sound coming through the slightly open window sharpened my mind.

‘Wow, taking the college entrance exam in a Mercedes. Live long enough, and you’ll see everything.’

As the car slowly left the village and headed toward town, Jin-hyeok felt a mix of emotions.

How could I forget that one day in my life?

Even if it’s hazy, it remains like an old fossil.

‘What was his name?’

There was a high school classmate whose father ran a gas station near the exam hall.

I asked him to let me sleep in the employee lounge and had a cup of instant noodles for breakfast early in the morning.

A cup of jujube tea from the homeroom teacher at the exam hall entrance was my last meal.

I tightened my belt to endure the hunger and focused on the exam.

‘How foolish.’

If I had bought kimbap, I wouldn’t have had to skip lunch.

Why didn’t I think of that?

There must have been late-night restaurants or convenience stores where I could have bought bread.

‘You see what you know.’

I could blame myself for being stupid, but it was the limit of someone who lacked social skills and didn’t know the world. It was also a mistake stemming from the experience of someone who didn’t pack lunch due to dorm life.

As we left Taeyang County, the snowflakes grew thicker, obscuring the view.

At this early hour, the thick snowflakes reflected the car’s headlights, hindering the drive.

“Boss, let’s switch.”

“Ah, should we?”

“Yes. It’s better to switch before the outer road.”

Following Myung Hyun-woo’s words, as we turned toward the outer road, many cars were already visible despite the early hour.

“Alright. I’ll leave it to you.”

Squeezing between the slow-moving cars, we arrived at the exam hall together.