Usually, Ji-ho would tease or act coyly, so Sol never really noticed, but today, as he watched him prepare breakfast, he suddenly realized his efforts. Although it was a task that everyone should share equally, it was always Ji-ho and Tae-oh who took overall responsibility for the state of the dormitory.
Even though it’s vacation now, he heard that when the members went to school, Ji-ho almost played the role of a mother. Sol had never woken up on time and was always rushing, so this was the first time he had properly observed Ji-ho in the morning. When Deuk-yong called him ‘mom,’ Sol didn’t think much of it, but seeing him now with an apron on, it seemed apt.
Watching him, Sol realized how much help he had been unknowingly receiving. In the mornings, when Sol was groggy and disoriented, Ji-ho would always make sure he ate something.. Sol, who didn’t particularly enjoy eating and often skipped meals since the accident, might have only managed to endure the practice sessions thanks to Ji-ho’s insistence on eating and his constant nagging.
“Come on, Mr. Late Riser, wake up the sleepyheads.”
“Why do you have to call me ‘Mr. Late Riser’...”
When Sol grumbled, Ji-ho laughed softly and disappeared back into the kitchen. Sol opened the door to the room shared by Deuk-yong, Ji-ho, and Ga-ram. Sol’s room also had strong sunlight, but this room was even brighter.
Despite the cold weather, the window was wide open. Deuk-yong, who was sleeping sprawled on the floor, seemed cold, as he was wrapped tightly in his blanket like a cocoon. Squinting against the light and cold wind pouring in through the window, Sol frowned. And right in the center of that light, in front of the window, stood Ga-ram, with his back to the door.
Surprised to see someone he didn’t expect to be awake, Sol let out a startled sound. Despite making his presence known, Ga-ram didn’t turn around and continued to stand with his head bowed.
“You’re already up? Is everyone getting up early today?”
“……”
“Ga-ram?”
Ga-ram gave no response to Sol’s words. Wondering if Ga-ram was dozing off while standing, Sol stepped over Deuk-yong and approached Ga-ram. Even when Sol called his name again from right behind him, Ga-ram didn’t lift his head. Feeling a bit scared by Ga-ram’s lack of reaction, Sol reached out his hand. As he peered over Ga-ram’s shoulder, he noticed that Ga-ram seemed to be holding a cellphone.
“Ga-ram?”
Whack!
“Ow!”
When Sol called his name and grabbed his arm, Ga-ram was so startled that he almost had a fit and swung his arm. Sol, who was struck in the face by Ga-ram’s wildly swinging hand, reflexively let out a short scream.
Sol, who got hit near his eye by Ga-ram’s hand, covered his face with both hands and crouched down. As he lowered his head, tears flowed out from the pain. Only then did Ga-ram, coming to his senses, turn pale and grab Sol’s shoulder. The phone that Ga-ram had been focused on just moments before rolled around on the floor.
“Sol!”
“Uh…”
“Are you okay!? I’m sorry. I was so startled I didn’t realize.”
As Sol held his eye and couldn’t lift his head, the flustered Ga-ram also bent over to meet his gaze. Although it wasn’t a serious injury, getting poked in the eye made tears flow automatically. Sol removed his hand and blinked several times, his face contorted with discomfort from the stinging and gritty sensation. Seeing Sol close his eyes again in discomfort, the anxious Ga-ram pushed away Sol’s hand covering his eye and held his face with both hands.
“Let me see.”
Ga-ram brought his face close to Sol’s and looked at the bloodshot eye. Sol’s long eyelashes were wet from the tears, making them stand out darkly. Sol kept blinking, as if it was uncomfortable to keep his eye open. His thin eyelids, showing blue veins, turned red and trembled.
Sol gently pushed Ga-ram away, not wanting to offend him. Ga-ram, still holding Sol’s face, looked down at him with a guilty expression, as if he had committed a serious crime.
“I think I’m okay. But what were you so engrossed in that you didn’t notice someone coming?”
“No, no… it was nothing. You should have called me.”
“I called you several times.”
“Sorry, I was just checking a message for a moment.”
Sol had been approaching Garam, continuously calling his name. The room wasn’t that big, and it was hard not to hear someone calling from such a close distance. Sol kept rubbing his eye with the back of his hand due to the persistent foreign sensation. Tears continued to flow. Seeing Sol like this, Ga-ram’s face turned ashen.
“Are you really okay? Did it hurt a lot?”
“No, it just grazed me.”
The pain had subsided, but as Sol continued to cry, Ga-ram grew increasingly anxious. They were holding each other’s faces and facing off for quite a while when the door suddenly burst open and Ji-ho stormed in, throwing off his apron. It seemed he had come after hearing Sol’s cry.
“What’s going on?”
“Ji-ho hyung.”
Both Sol and Ga-ram looked at Ji-ho simultaneously.
“Oh… it seems I came at a bad time.”
Due to the sunlight filling the room, Ji-ho’s bright hair appeared faded and yellowish. Seeing Ga-ram and Sol standing so close, holding each other’s faces, Ji-ho gave a strange smile and turned to leave.
Sol finally realized that he and Ga-ram were standing unusually close, practically embracing each other. It was a position that could easily be misunderstood. Two men standing by the sunlit window, holding each other’s faces. Sol belatedly moved away from Ga-ram and muttered in a grumbling voice.
“Ji-ho hyung, stop saying weird things.”
“I thought you two were fighting because of the loud noise.”
“Why would we fight?”
“But it’s surprising to see you both up so early. The sun must be rising in the west today.”
Upon Ji-ho’s words, Sol still kept one eye closed, looking at Ga-ram with the other. Despite the commotion, Deuk-yong was still sprawled out on the floor, sleeping soundly and even snoring.
“Wake Deuk-yong up and get ready quickly.”
“Okay.”
“Ugh, it’s cold.”
Ji-ho shivered as a sudden gust of wind blew in, making him hunch over, and he tapped Deuk-yong with his toe before leaving the room.
“It’s cold with the window wide open. You’ll catch a cold.”
“I thought we should ventilate the room a bit.”
With one eye squeezed shut, Sol approached the wide-open window to close it, but Ga-ram blocked his way. Ga-ram, who prevented Sol from getting near the window, quickly shut it himself.
***
“Sol hyung, wink~.”
“Oh, you’re good at that.”
“......”
“Stop teasing him.”
On the way to the company, Sol still felt a gritty foreign sensation in his eyes, so he kept one eye tightly closed. Deuk-yong had been teasing him nonstop for a while, and soon Ji-ho joined in. When Sol ignored them and walked past, Tae-oh finally added his own comment.
Tae-oh, who woke up just in time without needing anyone to wake him, had even redder eyes than Sol, who had been hit. He looked more tired now, after a short sleep, than he did before going to bed. Ga-ram hadn’t said a word since they left the dormitory. Even in the alley where he usually stopped to look around, Ga-ram just walked while staring at his phone.
[Ga-ram~]
[Is this Ga-ram?]
[Hey, hey, hey, Ga-ram]
[Ga-ram~ Is this your new number?]
[Answer the phone]
[Answer the phone, phone, phone, phone]
[Phone]
[Let’s talk~]
[Are you sleeping? Okayã… ã… Sleep well♡ See you tomorrow]
“......”
Ga-ram’s hand trembled as he held his phone. An obviously strange phone number had woken him up in the middle of the night. Half-asleep, he had dismissed it and hung up, but the vibrations continued several times immediately after.
In that moment, Ga-ram felt his hair stand on end and blood drain from his body. Text messages, practically obsolete these days. Thinking it was spam, he hadn’t checked the message notifications, but when he opened them, he felt dizzy.
For a moment, everything went dark, and he didn’t know what to do. Suddenly gripped by fear, unable to move, Ga-ram looked at the sleeping Deuk-yong and Ji-ho, but the sound of the phone vibrating seemed too faint for the two deeply asleep. To Ga-ram, it sounded like a thunderclap in a clear sky. It felt like the footsteps of a Grim Reaper coming to take him away, a sound that could destroy everything.
Ga-ram turned off the phone completely and pretended not to know anything, forcing himself to close his eyes and try to sleep. Even though he had clearly turned off the phone, it felt like he could still hear it vibrating from somewhere, and he had the sensation that someone else was in the dormitory with them. The closet on one side of the room seemed to bother him more than usual today. He felt uneasy when he looked at the corners, the places where even a little shadow fell. He hoped it was just a dream or a mistaken vision in his sleep, but the next morning, when he turned the phone back on, he was faced with those unsettling messages.
They were from strange numbers to which he could neither reply nor wanted to reply. Ga-ram felt as if there was a bad smell at the tip of his nose. To be precise, it was a very strong perfume scent that lingered at the tip of his nose. He got goosebumps. After checking the messages, Ga-ram opened the window and looked outside. He carefully scanned to see if there was anyone in front of the dormitory, but the alley was quiet in the early morning.
In that brief moment of relief, Ga-ram’s phone rang again.
[Did you sleep well? It’s nice to see your face in the morning. Why did you change your number? Shall we talk? I’ll call you. Let me hear your voice just once.]
Bzzz- Bzzz-
As soon as he checked the message, the phone vibrated again. The phone number was an endless string of numbers. With trembling hands, Ga-ram answered the call.
“Who is this?”
- Didn’t you want to see me? I missed you so much.
The voice was a bit strange. It was slightly different from the voice he remembered. It was muffled, as if the speaker had something in their mouth, and it sounded like it was echoing. Despite the difference, Ga-ram instinctively knew. It was the voice of the woman who had tried to drive him crazy in the past.
“Please stop. Just stop.”
- What’s wrong? Hmm? Ga-ram.
“Don’t contact me. How did you get my number? This is a crime.”
- Are you going to be like this? Instead of saying useless things, aren’t you going to tell your sister you love her after such a long time?
“......”
Shuddering, Ga-ram hung up the call immediately.
Good lord!! This is the reason why the sus girl bumped into Sol!! She stole his phone!!!
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