Chapter 418: Assemble
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 418: Assemble
It was exam season at Gahyeon University—a time that had shifted from being a mere occurrence to a familiar, inevitable routine.
The expressions of the students walking across campus were mostly the same.
Some were soaked in exhaustion from studying too hard.
Some were already wallowing in regret, promising themselves they’d do better next time.
And others were already buzzing with excitement, planning what they’d do once the exams were over.
Me?
I fell into the first category.
‘I’m so tired.’
I was exhausted because I’d unintentionally ended up studying quite hard. It felt strange having knowledge forced into my brain against my will.
It felt a bit like being brainwashed.
Just then, I spotted two familiar silhouettes walking in the distance.
It was Ahn Hyun-ho, a fellow English major, and Lee Gyu-a, the freshman class representative.
“Seriously, it was so much easier thanks to your help, Oppa.”
“Right? That professor is famous for recycling questions. I had an easy time with it too, thanks to the seniors.”
“Hey, what are you guys up to?”
I raised a hand in greeting.
“But are you okay with the next exam? You said it was going to be a tough one.”
“It’s hard, yeah. But I’m not completely hopeless. I studied a lot with Chan-woo.”
“Hey…”
“You’ve been hanging out with Chan-woo Oppa a lot lately.”
“Well, yeah, since we’re doing a joint enlistment and all.”
Those bastards.
They were literally ignoring me as they walked past. I was about to smack the back of Ahn Hyun-ho’s head.
Whap!
“Too slow.”
Ahn Hyun-ho snatched my wrist and smirked.
Wow, he’s really pissing me off.
“Why are you guys ignoring me? I’m saying hello. Hello.”
“We’re ignoring you because you deserve to be ignored.”
“Do you have any idea? There’s a rumor among the freshmen that they should avoid you at all costs, Senior Woo-jin.”
“I’m saying hello. I said hello.”
“Really? That rumor actually spread?”
“Yes. Of course, Senior Ye-rin and Senior I-seo are so popular that some kids still try to get close to him just for that, but—”
“Hello? Hello? Hello? Hello? Hello? Hello? Hello? Hello? Hello? Hello? Hello?”
“Ah, for fuck’s sake.”
“Is he mentally ill…?”
“Hello?”
“Hello, you son of a bitch.”
“Hello.”
There we go. You have to return a greeting.
“Seriously, why the sudden cold shoulder? I’m genuinely hurt.”
“You told Gyu-a some weird shit, you crazy bastard.”
“Me?”
I wasn’t even close enough to Lee Gyu-a to give her advice.
“I mean, you told me to get pregnant. Is that something you should say to a college student, realistically?”
“Are you trying to ruin someone’s life? Stop teaching the kid weird things.”
“Exactly. I’m only a freshman.”
“Gyu-a, don’t listen to a word this guy says. Don’t even talk to him.”
Ahn Hyun-ho pulled Lee Gyu-a into a protective hug and waved me off like I was something filthy.
“Bastards.”
I wasn’t single, but for some reason, I felt like one.
Is this how people feel when I act all lovey-dovey in front of them?
It’s disgusting.
“Ahn Hyun-ho, you’ve got a lot of nerve talking when you went on a blind date because you thought Gyu-a was cheating on you.”
“Hey!”
“What?!”
I threw that bit of filth out and bolted.
Ahn Hyun-ho reached out to retaliate, but I narrowly dodged him.
“Oppa! What does that mean?!”
Instead, Ahn Hyun-ho was caught by Lee Gyu-a.
“Ah, no. Gyu-a, that’s not it—”
“Wuhahaha!”
I ran through the campus, feeling triumphant.
People nearby looked at me strangely, but I was so used to those stares by now that it was almost scary.
How long did I run?
I finally sat down on a nearby bench, catching my ragged breath.
“Haha!”
I let out a pleasant laugh as the refreshing, cool breeze hit me. Running outside like this felt good.
“Hahahaha!”
A hollow laugh escaped me.
“Ha, ha… haha.”
At the same time, a stray tear escaped my eye. The lump in my chest that I’d been trying to ignore began to weigh down on my entire body again.
It was exam season.
Any student could relate, but during exams, you truly get a glimpse into your own personal abyss.
I’d been through several exam periods at Gahyeon University, so I was used to my own twisted abyss.
But this time was different.
“Ah, aaaaah.”
My laughter turned into a groan of agony.
Faced with a sorrow and a future that was absolutely unavoidable, I closed my eyes.
“I don’t wanna goooooo.”
To others, it was just another exam period.
To me…
It was the point where I had barely a month left until my military enlistment.
* * *
“You’re having mood swings?”
Yoo Ah-rin tilted her head as she listened to me. Her eyes sparkled as if she’d found a great excuse to stop studying.
On the other hand, Choi I-seo, sitting across from us, muttered, “Here we go again,” and started fumbling for her earphones.
Since she had an exam coming up soon, I-seo seemed determined to focus.
“Yeah, bad ones. Every now and then, the reality check hits me like a truck.”
It happened while I was studying, eating, exercising, or playing games. Whenever the thought crossed my mind, the existential dread followed.
I remembered how Kang Han-gang and Pyo Jin-ho used to suddenly scream into the void. I guess this was why.
“This is for my struggling Woo-jini.”
Seo Ye-rin, who was sitting next to me, slid her phone over.
On the screen was a photo of her in the bathroom, wearing nothing but underwear.
There were scribbles on her skin like [Female.], [Woo-jini’s Exclusive.], and [Available for Use.].
I had scribbled those on her body as a punishment for the time she messed with me at the waxing shop, and it seemed they hadn’t faded yet.
“That still hasn’t come off?”
When I asked in surprise, Seo Ye-rin gave me a wink.
“I wrote them again.”
“…Why?”
“So that when Woo-jini is having a hard time, I can show you this and comfort you.”
“Ye-rin…”
As I looked at her with a touched expression, Seo Ye-rin puckered her lips.
I was about to lean in for a kiss when a hand reached out from behind and covered my mouth.
“You guys do this every chance you get.”
“Mmph-mmph.”
It was Yoo Ah-rin who blocked the kiss.
She forced my head back to its original position and continued the conversation.
“Well, mood swings are inevitable. I get it.”
“Right! Exactly! The stress must be insane!”
The two of them sympathized with me.
I glanced forward and caught Choi I-seo’s gaze. She must have felt me looking.
With a sigh, she pulled out her earphones and spoke.
“I know it’s hard. I want to do everything you want to do before you go.”
“…”
“But first, we have to do what needs to be done. The exams are only a few days away.”
Choi I-seo always gave the most logically sound answers, leaving me with nothing to say.
“I told you before, right? Let’s endure this by thinking about the time after you’re discharged. Your GPA stays the same even after the military, so let’s work hard so we don’t have any regrets. Okay?”
“Is this girl someone’s mom?”
“That’s a parental insult, Ah-rin!”
“No, I mean, the way she talks is exactly like a mom.”
Choi I-seo hated being called a mom.
But coming from Yoo Ah-rin, it didn’t seem to bother her much. She just shrugged and went back to her books.
And just like that, the atmosphere returned to studying.
The reason I was forced to study despite my impending enlistment was simple.
‘I want to be with them.’
But since it was exam season, they had to study.
So, to be with them, I naturally had to study too.
‘But I really, really don’t want to study.’
I was looking at the book, but I couldn’t focus.
Eventually, I started doodling. I found myself drawing the same stick figures I used to draw in elementary school.
“Hey, what is this?”
Yoo Ah-rin glanced at my doodles and pointed to one with her pen.
“Doggy style.”
“…And this?”
“Missionary.”
“…This?”
“SM play.”
“Is this guy protesting because he doesn’t want to study?”
Hey, I’m an adult now. I figured my doodles should be adult-themed.
It would be weirder if I were drawing stick figures having sword fights at my age.
Vrrr! Vrrr! Vrrr!
“A vibrator?”
“It’s my phone.”
“Aha.”
What kind of thought process leads someone to conclude that a phone vibration is a vibrator?
“I’ll go take this call.”
“How do you live like this, Seo Ye-rin?”
“No, I just thought since we’re in the library, phones should be on silent. So I figured someone had a vibe in their panties.”
“Well, it’s not me.”
“Not me either.”
“Then it’s Choi I-seo.”
“Ooh! Probably!”
Look at those two, turning Choi I-seo into a weirdo just because she can’t hear them through her earphones.
The call was from Jeong Chan-woo.
He’d been acting bored lately since he didn’t have a girlfriend.
“Hello?”
— Woo-jin, where are you right now?
“School library. Studying. Why?”
His voice was strangely low, which made me feel oddly tense.
— Do you happen to have the Baldy Uncle’s number?
“I do, but—what?”
Did I hear that right?
“Did you just ask for the Baldy Uncle’s number?”
— …Yeah. Please send it to me.
“Wait, why all of a sudden? What’s going on?”
I was a bit surprised that Chan-woo didn’t already have the Baldy Uncle’s number.
But that wasn’t the point.
“It makes no sense for you to be looking for the Baldy Uncle!”
Wasn’t Jeong Chan-woo the one who tried the hardest to avoid getting involved with that man?
I couldn’t believe he was asking for his number.
“Are you trying to dodge the draft? Hey, you bastard, no matter how bad it is, you shouldn’t sacrifice your asshole just to get out of the army!”
The army is only 18 months, but once your "connection is complete," you have to live with the consequences for the rest of your life.
— Shut the fuck up!
Chan-woo snapped.
I guess that wasn’t it.
— Sigh, I’m serious. Please. Just send me the Baldy Uncle’s number.
“What is really going on?”
He wasn’t like Kang Han-gang or Pyo Jin-ho, who went out of their way to cause trouble.
Because of his good looks, Jeong Chan-woo was usually the victim who got caught up in trouble against his will.
— …
“Tell me. Explain.”
— It’s… it’s not that big of a deal, but…
“Just say it. I’m the youngest son of the Uju Group. You currently have one of the top five most powerful backings in South Korea.”
— Heh.
Did my words reassure him?
A small laugh escaped Chan-woo’s lips.
— You’re pretty cool, Kim Woo-jin.
“So tell me. What happened?”
— Whew. Actually, I went to a karaoke bar yesterday.
“…What? A hostess club? The kind where you play with girls?”
— Yeah.
“Why the hell would you go there, you idiot?”
— I didn’t want to go! The graduating seniors dragged me there!
“Ugh. Those Circumcision Squad bastards.”
Lately, they’d been spamming the Bamboo Forest, begging Popo to do an outdoor broadcast at the university because they were graduating.
“So? You went there, and then?”
— I… I think I caught the eye of someone I shouldn’t have messed with.
“…”
— W-wait! Someone’s coming!
“Where are you? Hey?!”
The call cut off.
I stared at my phone, sighed, and made another call.
“Senior, are you busy right now?”
Senior Ju-hee answered calmly.
— Hmm? I have one exam in a bit, and then I’m done.
“Perfect. Can you come with me to rescue someone?”
— Hmm.
Senior Ju-hee hesitated for a moment.
Then she asked confidently:
— Can I bring a baseball bat?
“…Probably?”
— Good.
I didn’t know why that was good, but I’d managed to recruit Senior Ju-hee as my bodyguard.
After hanging up, I immediately called the next person.
“Uncle, Chan-woo needs some help.”
— I’m on my way.
He was coming immediately.
Good. The preparations were mostly complete.
To be honest, I was bored with studying, so I was actually a little happy that an interesting incident had cropped up.
My excited smile vanished instantly as the cold wind hit me.
With a blank expression, I shouted out of habit.
“Aaaaagh! I have to go to the army!”
It was like a seizure; whenever the thought popped into my head, I couldn’t help but scream.
I wondered if other people were like this too.