An Unexpected Ordeal
I was in the middle of lifting the earthenware bowl to my lips, gulping down the last of the broth, when my phone buzzed on the table. Even as I drank, my eyes flicked toward the screen. The black display lit up with a sudden message popup, the text impossible to miss.
Seo Jian: You still not done?
The broth nearly went down the wrong way. On pure instinct, I glanced at Jo Woohyun sitting across from me. Sure enough, the guy was staring at my phone. He’d probably just looked over because it vibrated. The real problem was that the message had come from Seo Jian.
“Who is it?”
“Huh? Just someone I know.”
I tried to sound as indifferent as possible.
“Wait… wasn’t that Seo Jiwon just now?”
“As if.”
Even while screaming for my mind to stay calm, a chill still raced down my spine in that moment. But the more urgent a situation gets, the more my brain tends to pull off ridiculous improvisations. I steeled myself, shoved the phone toward Jo Woohyun, and held it out.
“Here. Look. S-e-o J-i-a-n. Does this look like Seo Jiwon to you?”
“…Huh. Guess not. But you’ve been texting a girl?”
“It’s nothing. Just… someone I got to know a bit during the winter prep course. We happened to sit next to each other, and I asked her a few questions.”
“Whoa. You actually talked to a girl you’d never met before? Was she pretty?”
Jo Woohyun grinned slyly and made a gesture like he wanted the phone. He clearly wanted to see a photo. But there was no way I could show him one. Still, his reaction told me I’d successfully dodged any real suspicion. No matter what, he’d never imagine I was actually in contact with Seo Jian. And if the guys ever found out about the things we’d been doing together… I had a feeling the bigger problem wouldn’t be me—it would be her.
“Ugh. No way I’m showing you.”
“…Aaaargh! This bastard’s retaking the exam and still texting girls, so why don’t I have any girls texting me even after getting into college?!”
“Hearing that even you aren’t dating anyone actually makes me feel better about retaking the exam. Thanks, Jo Woohyun.”
I grabbed one last bite of kimchi, stood up, and left.
Meanwhile, at that exact moment, Seo Jian was biting her nails and anxiously shaking her leg.
Why isn’t he replying?
She hadn’t even eaten lunch yet, too worried she might run into Jo Woohyun if she went outside. She kept staring at her phone. She almost sent another message, but her reason suddenly kicked in again and she stopped right before hitting send.
What if I send another one and Jo Woohyun sees his phone? He doesn’t know I changed my name except for Kim Hanbin… but still, better safe than sorry.
Me: Did Jo Woohyun leave?
She erased the entire thing. Right then, the “1” next to the message she’d sent earlier disappeared. Seo Jian’s eyes flew wide open as she leaned into the screen. A new message from Kim Hanbin arrived immediately.
Kim Hanbin: Heading back to the reading room now
“Phew… I was so fucking scared… Seriously… Damn it, Kim Hanbin. You’re dead when you get back.”
She’d let him go easily because he said he was just getting food and had asked her for one favor later, but the psychological pressure was no joke. There was always the chance his friend might barge into the reading room to see how he studied. The anxiety made it impossible for any of the words on the page to register. Seo Jian shot up from her seat and left the study room.
Not long after, she heard footsteps coming up the stairs from the hallway. Before she could even figure out whose they were, the phone in her hand vibrated with a weeng.
Kim Hanbin: Hideㅇ
“?!”
Just two letters and one meaningless consonant. There was no proper explanation of why she should hide, where she should hide, or what the situation even was, but Seo Jian instinctively scanned her surroundings. The footsteps from the stairs were growing clearer. And it didn’t sound like just one person…!
Her mind went completely blank. In the distance she could see the door to the rest area, the counter where the old lady had stepped away, the hallway leading back to the study room she’d just left, and right beside her—the bathroom.
She had less than a second to decide. Jian bolted into the bathroom.
At the exact same moment, the reading room’s glass door jingled open. She sucked in a sharp breath, body freezing in place.
Shit. This is the men’s bathroom?!
She was about to rush back out in panic when she heard two male voices in the hallway. One was definitely Kim Hanbin. The other sounded familiar… Yeah. It sounded a lot like Jo Woohyun.
“Whoa. You actually study in a place like this? Does the AC work in the summer?”
“…Ugh. I told you not to follow me.”
“Dude, I came all the way here. Can’t I at least see how you study? You said there’s barely anyone around, right?”
Luckily, the men’s bathroom was empty. Seo Jian quickly slipped into one of the stalls. She closed the door as quietly as possible and locked it.
“Haa… Fuck… Kim Hanbin, you crazy bastard. Why the hell did you bring him?”
She collapsed onto the toilet seat cover, muttering curses under her breath. After a while, the voices outside grew quiet and her head cooled down a little. Her reason slowly returned.
…Jo Woohyun probably just followed on impulse.
Guess studying today is over, Jian thought. Still, he probably wouldn’t stay for hours. She decided to endure it a little longer and gripped her phone tightly. For a moment she remembered her empty seat in the study room, but even if they saw it, they wouldn’t connect it to “Seo Jiwon.” And Kim Hanbin wouldn’t just stand by and let them snoop. Even so…
Tap. Tap. Tap.
She waited, leg bouncing with anxiety. No new message had come yet. That probably meant Jo Woohyun still hadn’t left. It was smarter to wait a bit longer instead of sending a message to check. She waited like that for a while when someone entered the bathroom.
…….
It was probably a man. This was the men’s room, after all. The man walked silently to the sink and washed his hands.
Who is it? Was there anyone else in the reading room?
She couldn’t quite remember. The man seemed to head toward the urinals next—then knock, knock, he rapped on her stall door…!
“Hup!”
A chill shot down her spine. Panicking, her pupils darted around before she instinctively knocked back.
Knock, knock.
…….
Please just leave. She felt bad for the guy, but there was no way she could open the door. Thankfully, the man stood there for a moment before leaving the bathroom.
“Hoo…”
These fucking idiots. Jo Woohyun can die. Kim Hanbin, you die too.
Just as she tried to catch her breath, someone else entered the bathroom. This time it was the exact pair she’d been cursing.
“Just go already.”
“I’m going now. I just couldn’t believe my friend was actually self-studying for the retake, so I had to see it. I heard almost no one succeeds that way. Wouldn’t it be better to just go to a hagwon?”
“I went for counseling and it didn’t feel right, so I’m doing it here. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll decide after the June mock exam.”
“If you do well on the mock, I’ll come buy you dinner again.”
“Don’t come. I’ll go to you instead.”
Swoosh.
The sound of hands being washed. Then the two of them seemed to walk toward the urinals. The sound of their streams was so loud and forceful that Jian could hear every detail.
“But seriously, there’s really no one here?”
“I keep telling you. It’s quiet, so I can focus.”
“Honestly, when I saw the name Seo Jian earlier, I thought you were studying with her.”
“…Was that your goal?”
“Well, it was part of it. Heh heh.”
Seo Jian’s vision spun for a second. She hadn’t expected to hear her own name come out of Jo Woohyun’s mouth. Her body went rigid, forgetting even to breathe. It felt like the pounding of her heart might burst right out of her chest.
“There are other people here, so don’t do anything weird.”
“As if I’d peek at someone else’s desk. I was just hoping I might run into her by chance.”
“Hey, hey. There’s someone in the stall.”
“Ugh. I’m just saying. Let’s go.”
Apparently thinking there really was someone else in the stall, the two of them finished their business and hurriedly left the bathroom. The restroom fell silent again.
“Haa…”
Only then did Jian let out the breath she’d been holding, her whole body relaxing. She’d barely breathed properly for several minutes, so all the strength drained out of her at once. Even though it wasn’t particularly hot, the inside of her bra and her back felt drenched in cold sweat. The strange, unpleasant sensation was vivid.
She looked down at the phone she’d been clutching with both hands. Her fingers were trembling. When she turned on the screen, a new message from Hanbin had arrived at some point.
Kim Hanbin: They really left. You can come out now
“……”
Seo Jian typed and deleted the message several times. But she couldn’t bring herself to send it. The thing she had to say was just too embarrassing.
Kim Hanbin: Where did you go? Did you go outside? Your shoes are still here
Another message arrived. Jian finally let out a deep sigh and sent hers.
Me: Sorry but… I literally have zero strength in my body right now? Can you come to the men’s bathroom?
Kim Hanbin: ???
Not long after, someone burst open the bathroom door. Heavy footsteps approached and stopped right in front of her stall. She could see the slippers Hanbin had been wearing under the door.
“…Seo Jian?”
Click.
He lifted the latch and opened the door. There stood Kim Hanbin. He poked his head in with a worried look. The two of them, meeting in such an unexpected place, locked eyes in awkward silence.
“…Hey. You’ve been in here the whole time?”
“It’s a long story… but I seriously can’t stand up right now? I’m so embarrassed I want to die, so just shut up and help me up…”
“Uh, yeah.”
Her ears and cheeks burned bright red. Seo Jian turned her head forty-five degrees to the side and reached out her hand. With Hanbin’s help, she managed to stand, though she wobbled unsteadily.
“……”
“……”
“Hey.”
“…Yeah.”
Somehow she’d ended up leaning against him with her chest pressed firmly against his arm. Jian pinched his side hard and snapped at him.
“You know one favor isn’t going to cut it anymore, right?”
“He said he was leaving and then suddenly followed me…”
“Answer me.”
“Yes.”