GBH 5
by Emerlyn“Come again!”
When his hair was still thick and covering the nape of his neck, he hadn’t noticed, but now that it was cut short, the cold wind against his exposed nape felt sharp. Kim Deuk-pal awkwardly fiddled with the short bangs now resting on his forehead.
After persistent persuasion from the salon employee, Kim Deuk-pal finally compromised on a short cut. He found the employee’s insistence annoying—after all, it was his own hair, and he should be able to cut it however he wanted. But the argument that his appearance might intimidate teachers and classmates in school was the deciding factor.
Song Yi-heon was already having trouble with his social life; Kim Deuk-pal didn’t want to make it worse. Moreover, for 47-year-old Kim Deuk-pal, teachers were a sacred authority not to be trifled with.
Awkwardly running his fingers through his hair, the next destination he headed for was the bookstore. He took the elevator down to the underground bookstore, guiding his IV stand along, and was met with the dry blast of heater air on his scalp. Perhaps because it was early in the year, the shelves were filled with diaries of various colors, and the workbook Kim Deuk-pal was looking for was prominently displayed for the new semester.
The workbook, covered in plastic, gleamed under the fluorescent lights. Kim Deuk-pal’s gaze as he chose the workbook was somewhat serious.
Unfortunately, the textbooks that the lady who seemed to be the housekeeper had left for him were far beyond his current level… The fervor of private education was something a late-blooming student like him, who had passed the GED, couldn’t hope to keep up with, and Song Yi-heon, who had been nurtured in such an environment, was quite good at studying.
Glancing through the workbook that Song Yi-heon had been working on, Kim Deuk-pal’s spine stiffened. It was filled with red circles.
‘This kid is really good at studying…’
If he were to attend school right away, he would have to take mock exams and midterms. There was no way he could hand Song Yi-heon a report card showing him at the bottom of the entire school when his soul returned.
No matter how much of an airhead Kim Deuk-pal might be, he still had a conscience. Since Song Yi-heon had already been studying, Kim Deuk-pal figured he might as well start by mastering the basics to avoid being dead last in the class. If he could just aim for an average of a C…
“If it’s your first time, try solving this.”
“Oh, damn!”
A hand suddenly appeared in his line of sight, offering a textbook, and startled, Kim Deuk-pal instinctively swung his arm. His right fist landed squarely in the middle of the textbook that the other person had raised like a shield, knocking the person back a couple of steps.
“Wow-.”
The other person seemed surprised too, and an exclamation escaping from behind the textbook. Realizing that he had just hit an innocent bystander, Kim Deuk-pal awkwardly bowed.
“Uh… Are you okay?”
His question sounded more like an assurance that he wasn’t going to hit again, and the textbook slowly lowered, revealing a face. Black bangs covering his forehead and slightly protruding eyes were sequentially revealed. Although the gaze that scanned his face frontally was disappointed and passed momentarily, Kim Deuk-pal didn’t question whether he had mistaken the person.
The man also acted as if he hadn’t been disappointed, inspecting the workbook front and back and saying,
“Uh… I think I need to buy this?”
The textbook had a noticeable dent in the middle where Kim Deuk-pal’s fist had struck, with the surrounding area crumpled. The impact had been quite powerful, but the young man opened the book to check if the contents were still readable.
“Sorry. Did I scare you?”
He flashed a slight smile at Kim Deuk-pal, who was still in a defensive stance. The man’s soft, black hair seemed especially light, swaying with the slightest movement. His ivory knit sweater and brown coat added to his intellectual appearance.
Tilting his head as if his friendliness was out of the ordinary, he lowered his gaze to eye level as he smiled with his eyes.
“If you’re just starting out, try this one. That other book has too few explanations and too many questions, so it’ll be hard to follow.”
Was he a student? Kim Deuk-pal, who was cautious of the sudden approach, stood shoulder to shoulder with the man without letting down his guard as he deftly recommended every workbook he had solved. The workbook he opened was half filled with concept explanations and half with basic problems—the very one Kim Deuk-pal had pushed aside.
“If I’m spending money on it, there better be a lot of problems to solve.”
The man smoothly brushed off Kim Deuk-pal’s grumbling. His voice, as soothing as milk foam, calmed any complaints.
“Hmm, you’re likely to make a lot of mistakes, though. It won’t give you much satisfaction, and you might lose motivation. Try this one first, then move on to a book that’s mostly problems. If you just want to solve problems, I recommend this one.”
“After solving this one, will I make fewer mistakes with this one?”
“Usually, yes.”
Although he didn’t show it, it was true that looking at a workbook full of mistakes had made him lose motivation. The idea that there was no point in trying if he was just going to get everything wrong was something only this man in front of him had ever pointed out. This guy was the real deal. He knew his stuff.
Kim Deuk-pal’s eyes momentarily sparkled as he looked at the man who suddenly intervened.
“Hey, do you have some time?”
“Would you like it in a bag?”
“Yes.”
Kim Deuk-pal handed his card to the bookstore employee. Judging by the way the diary mentioned things like “housekeeper” and “chairman,” he figured the family was pretty well off, and sure enough, there had never been an issue with using the credit card that had come out of the shoulder bag the housekeeper had given him.
The employee handed back the card and receipt and passed the shopping bag containing the workbooks Kim Deuk-pal had bought. With the man’s advice, he had purchased only two or three books per subject, but adding in Korean, English, and social studies made the shopping bag quite heavy.
Under normal circumstances, Kim Deuk-pal could have easily carried the weight on his wrist, but with Song Yi-heon’s healing ribs, it was too heavy. The weight of the shopping bag made him lean to the side, and a sharp pain spread through his chest. Still, not one to show weakness, he placed the heavy bag on the IV stand’s handle and began to walk slowly. Just then, the man who had been paying for an essay book came over.
They ended up taking the same elevator out to the street, as if by some unspoken agreement. While waiting for the red light to change, Kim Deuk-pal scratched his head, hesitated, and then lightly nudged the man with his elbow.
“Let’s grab a drink. My treat.”
Feeling guilty for putting the man through the trouble of picking out workbooks on their first meeting, he nodded towards a nearby café. Although the man had been enthusiastic about recommending books, he hesitated when the suggestion of going to a café was made, looking at Song Yi-heon with a puzzled expression.
The man fixed his gaze on Song Yi-heon’s short, wind-chilled red nose and the dark circles under his eyes from exhaustion, lingering there for a moment before finally nodding.
“Alright, let’s go.”
The franchise café near the intersection was bustling with customers. Kim Deuk-pal, who was only used to crowded places like bars or police stations after brawls, was overwhelmed by the crowd.
“Order whatever you want, then go pay for it.”
Kim Deuk-pal didn’t really want anything, so he handed the card to the man and went straight to the table. It wasn’t as if he were some older relative buying something for a younger nephew; the fact that young Song Yi-heon just handed over the card and walked away left the man staring in disbelief at the gold card in his hand.
Perhaps Kim Deuk-pal had overestimated Song Yi-heon’s stamina because after walking around a bit, he was completely drained and slumped over the table. His cheeks, which had been exposed to the cold wind, turned bright red as he entered the warm indoor space. When the man sat down across from him, Kim Deuk-pal reluctantly sat up and rubbed his tired face.
The man had ordered drinks and returned, placing the card on top of a takeaway cup before sliding it over.
“Why’d you go to the trouble of buying mine too?” Kim Deuk-pal had no intention of drinking it, but considering the man’s effort, he decided to at least pretend to drink it. However, as soon as he sipped the sweet drink through the straw, the sugar hit him, and his eyes lit up.
“What is this?”
“Hot chocolate.”
In the rural area where Kim Deuk-pal spent his childhood, the only sweet taste was from raw corn sugar, so hot chocolate, a conglomerate of sugars, was a new world. Not feeling the need for restraint, he gripped the cup with both hands and aggressively sucked through the straw.
“Not too hot?”
“At my age, I could chew through iron, so what’s the worry?”
Meanwhile, the man took a small sip of his latte after removing the cup lid. He seemed amused by the sight of Song Yi-heon guzzling down the hot chocolate and subtly covered his mouth with the cup. His pink lips curved up slightly as he asked,
“Are you a middle school student?”
I’m forty-seven, you little brat, Kim Deuk-pal muttered to himself but instead stated Song Yi-heon’s age.
“Nineteen.”
The calmness of the man who consistently maintained a smile finally broke. He couldn’t help but stroke his chin with the hand that had set the cup down.
“Oh, we’re the same age. I’m also nineteen.”
His eyes wavered uneasily before he confessed,
“Uh, what to do. I thought you were a middle schooler, so I recommended something at a ninth-grade level.”
“Oh, I see now. Thanks.”
One good thing about getting older was that he’d lost the need for useless bravado. There was no longer any shame in seeing his high school exam scores and hearing the gang boss laugh for ages, nor was there jealousy or envy toward the younger guy. Instead, he had the mindset of “I’m old, so you young ones should help out,” and he asked,
“How do kids study these days?”
“…Kids these days?”
Kim Deuk-pal nodded his head eagerly without knowing the tone of the question. When he discovered something interesting, the man’s eyes lit up and adjusted to the rhythm.
“Well, they just focus on their textbooks and study hard.”
“Do they really?”
“Times may change quickly, but the basics don’t change that easily.”
It sounded quite plausible, so Kim Deuk-pal nodded his head. The man, whose neat appearance seemed fitting for an educational broadcast, added,
“If you work hard on Korean, English, and math, everything will be fine.”
“This…”
Only then did Kim Deuk-pal realize he was being teased, and he glared at the man. The man, unfazed, continued sipping his drink. In response, Kim Deuk-pal lightly kicked him under the table and resigned himself to sipping his drink. Once he finished and was left sucking air through the straw, he started gathering his things.
“Let’s get going.”
“But I still have some left.”
The man tilted the cup he was drinking and showed it. Unlike Kim Deuk-pal, who finished the hot chocolate by sipping on the straw a few times, the man’s drink was still half full. Sitting on his hands and tic-tac-toe, the man didn’t think about drinking quickly. While pretending to drink, he looked at Kim Deuk-pal, whose bright brown hair was illuminated by the sunshine on the other side.
“What are you looking at?”
When Kim Deuk-pal asked with his head still lowered, the man, not expecting to be caught, awkwardly explained,
“I thought you were someone I knew.”
“Me?”
“I must’ve mistaken you because of your similar build. But you’re completely different. Especially in personality and speech.”
Though he briefly worried that the man might know Song Yi-heon, the man quickly dismissed the idea. It made sense—if they knew each other, he would have recognized him sooner. Relieved, Kim Deuk-pal, unaware of how different he looked with his bangs covering his face, relaxed and stretched out in his chair.