Just Before Turning Seventeen (2)
Thirty minutes later, we were at a coin karaoke place. Following the map Jaehyun had sent me, I arrived at the meeting spot and searched among the divided rooms for the largest one. Coin karaoke spots usually have small rooms since people tend to come in small groups, but the soon-to-be first-years of Class 2 had decided to gather eight people including me. So they’d apparently rented the biggest room, which operated on an hourly rate. From what I heard, it was only ten thousand won per hour. The cost would of course be split evenly among everyone attending.
“……Is this the place?”
I stood in front of the door with its handle. The other booths had glass doors where you could see inside from the hallway, but this room had an opaque door that didn’t let light through. Just by looking at it, this room was clearly much bigger than the others, and Jaehyun had said I’d know it when I saw it, so this had to be it.
‘Still, just to be sure…’
I tilted my ear toward the door and listened.
“Shall we race the horses? What is this, who booked this?”
“Me, me! Give me the mic! Hey, Kim Seungwoo! Get up, let’s sing together!”
“Ugh, what kind of song is this? Ham Jieun, you really…”
“Whatever, instrumental jump! Jump on the instrumental!”
“Horses…… Come on, hoooorses……!”
It was too noisy outside to hear clearly, but inside it was incredibly chaotic. It seemed like the kids who’d arrived before me were singing to get the mood going.
──Creak.
I carefully opened the door and stepped inside. In the dim room with no proper lighting, the first thing I saw was a male student gripping the mic, veins popping in his neck as he passionately belted out the old song “Shall We Race the Horses.” I’d never seen his face before, so he must have come from another middle school, but the closer I looked, the more he had the appearance of a total delinquent. I flinched for a second.
‘What the…?’
Singing a song that was over twenty years old… maybe he was actually a repeat student? I seriously considered it for a moment before shifting my gaze to the side. Next to the guy who looked like he could drink anyone under the table stood a female student clutching her own mic—even though it wasn’t a duet—and screaming the lyrics right along with him.
‘……?’
Wait, there was a girl. Her face looked incredibly young. She couldn’t have been taller than 150 centimeters. If you said she was a high school freshman, no one would believe you. Honestly, you could say she was an elementary schooler and people would buy it. In fact, my first thought was literally, ‘Did someone bring their little sister?’ That should tell you everything.
“Hooorses~ Raaaace~ with uuuus~!”
“Hooooorses~~ Raaaace~~ with uuuuus~~~!!”
“……”
Was it just me, or did it sound less like singing and more like they were just yelling? There were plenty of songs that could hype up the atmosphere, yet they’d chosen one nearly thirty years old. And beyond that, watching the two of them belt it out at the top of their lungs until the whole karaoke room shook left me feeling a little dazed.
“Ju Wooju, you’re here?”
“……What is this?”
“That’s Seungwoo, and she’s Jieun. They both came from Seoul Middle School.”
I hadn’t asked for their names—I’d asked how this situation had even happened—but I just nodded and sat down next to Jaehyun.
“What about the others?”
“Still on their way. So far it’s just the four of us.”
“Ah.”
In other words, excluding me, there were only three people here. ‘……What?’ So that whole ruckus I’d heard from outside the room had just been these two—Jieun and Seungwoo—making all that noise by themselves? It had been so loud I’d assumed everyone else was already here. What a twist.
I glanced at the pair passionately delivering the chorus, then quietly spoke to Jaehyun.
“Are those two close?”
“Yeah. I asked before you got here. They were in the same class all three years of middle school, and even went to the same elementary school.”
“Really? So they’re basically childhood friends?”
“Not basically—they are childhood friends. By years alone, they’ve been friends for nine years.”
“Huh.”
That made sense. I stayed quiet, thinking it over, when their song finally ended. The karaoke machine gave them a 99. Even though they’d basically been screaming, they still got a high score. I guess the rumor that karaoke machines reward volume was true.
“Ugh, my throat hurts. Hey Kim Seungwoo, get me some water.”
“What are your hands for? Go get it yourself.”
“Kim Seungwoo, you’re so annoying. It’s right in front of you—would it kill you to hand it to me?”
“……”
Her tone sounded weirdly like my mom. I found myself staring at the girl without realizing it, and our eyes met.
“……Huh?”
“Ah, hello. I’m…”
“You. You’re that guy from Instagram, right?!”
I’d been about to greet her since just standing there felt awkward, but her sudden words left me confused. Instagram? I had no idea what she meant, so I stayed silent as she set down the mic and walked over.
“This is my first time seeing you in person! You’re also going to be in Seoul High Class 2-1, right?”
“Uh? Yeah, that’s true, but…”
“Whoa, really? Then we’re gonna be in the same class from now on. Wow, wow—!”
She didn’t stop at just exclaiming—she started smacking the shoulder of the guy next to her. The boy who got hit out of nowhere snapped, “Hey, why are you hitting me?!” but she ignored him, fluttering around like an excited pigeon with sparkling eyes.
“Wow, but you’re seriously handsome. The photos looked so good I assumed they were edited. But now that I see you in person… you’re actually, like, insanely good-looking…!”
“……Um, excuse me.”
This girl Jieun was someone I’d literally just met, yet she was making such a fuss like we were old friends. It left me completely stunned. But that was one thing, and this was another. I rubbed the back of my neck and looked at her.
“You said you saw me on Instagram earlier. I don’t even use Instagram. What account did you see me on?”
The reason I didn’t use Instagram or any other social media was because Aki had told me not to. I didn’t really understand why, but whenever I showed even the slightest interest in SNS, Aki would puff up her cheeks and say, “Wooju-chan, you can’t do that!” So while everyone else used apps with DMs, I was the only one still using plain old KakaoTalk. That’s why seeing me on Instagram should have been impossible. I was curious where she’d seen me.
When I asked, the girl tilted her head as if wondering why I’d even ask that.
“Nam Jaehyun, that friend of yours from the same school, keeps posting your pictures… You didn’t know?”
“……Nam Jaehyun?”
There was only one Nam Jaehyun I knew. I slowly turned my head to the side. With just a look, I asked if the Nam Jaehyun she was talking about was him. Jaehyun avoided my eyes, clearly guilty, and looked somewhere else.
“Hey.”
“……”
“Hey, Nam Jaehyun.”
I grabbed his shoulder firmly.
“Was it you?”
“……What?”
“The guy secretly taking pictures of my face. Was it you?”
“……What are you talking about? Secretly taking pictures? I posted photos we took together. How is that secretly taking pictures?”
He wasn’t denying it, so it really was Jaehyun who’d been posting them. I stared at him in disbelief.
“Never mind that—how many did you post?”
“Well… about twenty or so…”
“Twenty? Why the hell did you post that many?”
What was so interesting about a guy’s face that he’d post twenty pictures? I was a little shocked by the number when Jaehyun stammered an explanation.
“It’s just… whenever I posted photos of us together, the girls left tons of comments. ‘Post more,’ ‘He’s so handsome~’ and stuff. …So I kept adding one or two at a time, and before I knew it, there were that many.”
“……”
What a perfectly straightforward explanation…
“Hey, Jaehyun.”
“……Yeah?”
He must have known he’d done something wrong, because when I called him, his face looked incredibly apologetic. I was about to say something, but seeing that expression…
‘……Ah, forget it.’
I just closed my mouth. It wasn’t like he had some other motive. He’d only posted the photos because he liked getting comments from girls. And honestly, his own face was in them too, and he hadn’t used them for anything weird, so it felt wrong to get all serious about it. Now, if he’d been selling the pictures for money, that would be different.
“Posting them is fine, but… do it in moderation from now on. Moderation. If Aki finds out, I’m the one who’ll get in trouble.”
“……Really? Then is it okay if I post one every day?”
“Did you not hear me say moderation…?”
“Aki? Who’s Aki?”
The girl who’d been quiet suddenly chimed in. When I glanced at her without thinking, she must have misunderstood my look because she quickly added,
“Oh right, we haven’t introduced ourselves yet. Nice to meet you. I’m Ham Jieun. And this guy who looks like an old man is Kim Seungwoo.”
“……What? Who looks like an old man?”
“Who do you think? You, Kim Seungwoo! Who else here looks like they’re in their forties and could drink and smoke without a problem?”
“Ham Jieun, are you insulting my parents right now? You’re insulting me, their son, which indirectly insults my mom and dad, right?”
“Ah, there you go again with the guilt trip! You’re gonna run to your mom later and say, ‘Jieun said bad things about Mom~’ Aren’t you? Do you know how much I had to explain myself last time?!”
“……”
This was my first time meeting Ham Jieun and Kim Seungwoo, but I suddenly had a strong feeling. If I became friends with these two, my ears would never get a moment of peace.
“Um… Is it okay if I call you Jieun and Seungwoo?”
“Yeah, totally! Call us whatever. We’re gonna be classmates in three days anyway, right?”
“Nice to meet you both. I’m Ju Wooju. Looking forward to getting along.”
I gave a friendly smile and held out my right hand for a handshake. Jieun flinched, then her face turned slightly red.
“Ah… Yeah. Looking forward to it…?”
“……Seriously?”
Kim Seungwoo looked at Ham Jieun like she was ridiculous, then frowned deeply.
“Ham Jieun, what’s with you? Why are you suddenly blushing? Did you fall for him or something?”
“W-what?! W-what are you talking about? It’s not like that at all…?!”
“……”
If she’d just said no normally it would’ve been fine, but the way she stuttered made it look suspicious. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who thought so, because Jaehyun put a hand on my shoulder and said,
“Jieun, don’t like this guy. He already has a girlfriend.”
“Huh? Really?”
“Her name’s Fujiwara Aki. They’ve been dating for almost ten years.”
“T-ten years? We’re only seventeen…”
“They’ve been together since they were six, so it’s about that long now. Right, Wooju?”
“……Yeah, roughly that much.”
“Whoa, what? You used to deny it whenever I asked if you were dating, but now you’re just admitting it?”
“It’s not that I’m admitting it…”
Jaehyun winked at me with one eye. I let out a deep sigh and brushed his arm off my shoulder.
“Whatever. I’m done talking.”
“See? Doesn’t it look good when you just admit it? Congratulations, Wooju. Tell Fujiwara Aki I said congrats too.”
“You could just tell her yourself. Why do you have to go through me?”
“You really don’t know? Because your girlfriend is terrifying, that’s why…”
“……This Fujiwara person is Wooju’s girlfriend?”
I realized a bit late that Jieun was asking me. It made sense—almost no one around me called me by just my first name. Because my surname and given name sounded similar, people usually added the surname and called me “Ju Wooju.” Anyway, I’d already introduced her as my girlfriend, so denying it now would be weird. I gave a small nod.
“Yeah. Fujiwara Aki. I just call her Aki for short.”
“Ah, I see… Her name’s really unique. Is she Japanese?”
“She’s actually half Japanese and half French, but it feels a bit weird talking about her when she’s not here. We’ll all be at the same school, so once classes start, you can meet her and talk to her yourself. She has a really nice personality, so you’ll get along easily.”
“Fujiwara Aki… Okay, I’ll remember that.”
“But when you meet Fujiwara Aki, you’re gonna be shocked,” Jaehyun said, putting his hand on my shoulder again.
“Why? Why would I be shocked?”
“Because she’s insanely pretty. In all three years of middle school, I never once saw a girl prettier than her.”
“……For real?”
“Yeah, for real. Right, Wooju?”
“You’re saying all this in front of someone you just met… Hey, enough. Let’s just sing. What do you want to sing?”
“What? You wanna do a duet? Then please, anything but ‘Please Don’t Do This.’”
“Ugh, why would you suggest singing that as a duet? Pick something else! Anything else!”
* * *
In the end, thanks to Nam Jaehyun’s stubbornness and whining, I ended up doing a male duet of “Please Don’t Do This” with him. While I was singing it with clear disgust on my face, yet somehow making it sound decent with my naturally low voice, the girl watching us from the opposite sofa—Ham Jieun—quietly spoke up.
“……Hey, Kim Seungwoo.”
“What, Ham Jieun.”
“He’s good-looking, right?”
Jieun pointed at me with her finger. Seungwoo looked me up and down as I stood there holding the mic with a deeply furrowed expression, like I really didn’t want to be singing this.
“Yeah, he’s good-looking.”
An immediate answer with zero hesitation. Jieun slowly nodded as if she agreed.
“What do you think as a guy?”
“What do you mean, what do I think?”
“I mean, what does Ju Wooju look like to another guy?”
“What do you mean, what does he look like? He’s so handsome it’s annoying just to look at him. For the sake of world peace, I wish his down there was only three centimeters…”
“……Ugh, stop! Not that!”
Jieun frowned hard. Seungwoo answered indifferently.
“Then what? What do you want to hear?”
Jieun glared at him. After staring at Seungwoo for a while, she finally gave up and let out a deep sigh.
“Imagine if he modeled for men’s cosmetics. What do you think?”
“I don’t think anything in particular.”
“Don’t you get the urge to buy whatever he uses, or something like that?”
“Well… maybe, maybe not…”
Seungwoo trailed off and glanced at Jieun. She was deep in thought.
“But why are you suddenly asking about that?”
“It’s nothing. I was just thinking maybe I should ask him to model for that men’s cosmetics ad.”
“Cosmetics ad model? Oh, is this that thing you asked me about before?”
“Yeah, that.”
“You said it was really important. Why would you ask someone you just met?”
“……Why? Because you turned it down and now there’s no one else to do it!”
“Why are you getting mad all of a sudden…”
Seungwoo, clearly feeling guilty, slowly avoided her gaze. Jieun crossed her arms and glared at him for a moment before turning her eyes back to me.
“……Ugh, stop sticking together and sing apart, you idiots!”
“Don’t you know duets are supposed to be sung like this? Whoa, I’m losing the beat!”
“I swear, if I ever come to karaoke with you again, I’m not human…!”
“……”
‘His face is good, his voice is good, and from what I saw when he was standing, his physique is pretty solid too…’
If he took on this new sponsorship ad, it would be perfect. Is there any way to make this work…?
“……If I suddenly ask him to model for a cosmetics ad, he’ll probably think I’m weird, right?”
“Yeah, obviously.”
“……”
Jieun lightly poked Seungwoo’s shoulder.
“Hey, Kim Seungwoo.”
“What.”
“You ask him for me instead.”
“Huh? Ask what?”
“Ask him to model for the cosmetics ad. You do it. Since you’re both guys, maybe it’ll come across better?”
“No, why are you asking me? Just do it yourself.”
“We just met today. If I ask him to model for a cosmetics ad, he’ll think I’m trying to hit on him or something…!”
“What are you talking about? No one’s going to think that. And you’re so short you look like an elementary schooler anyway. Even if you tried to hit on him, with his eyes he’d never fall for… Ah, ah!”
“……Ugh, seriously. Seriously!”