Chapter 83:The Door Opened. – (3)

Time passed, and the college entrance exam day finally approached.  

Every November, the exam came as expected, but this year’s felt particularly significant. That was because the most senior members of Dormitory 7 Oh Yujin, Kang Jina, and Na Aeri were taking it.  

“But Yujin-sunbae already got accepted to New York University, and she’s still taking the exam…?”  

According to Juri, Yujin was taking it just in case.  

Honestly, I didn’t really understand, but since she was such a diligent person, it made sense.  

Hadn’t she always been like this in her past life too?  

Always preparing Plans B, C, D… just in case.  

“No matter how I think about it, she’s seriously amazing…”  

“….”  

Anyway, the entrance exam.  

Ever since I moved into this dorm two years ago, there had always been seniors taking the test. But this time, it felt different. Yujin-sunbae’s group had played a big role in creating the dorm’s comfortable atmosphere, so their absence would be felt more deeply.  

“I’ve been busy since spring, so I haven’t talked much with the third-year seniors. Not that I had much to say to them anyway.”  

On the day they handed out the exam admission tickets, the dorm supervisor spoke to us after dinner.  

“You’ve all heard already, right? Because of last year’s major cheating incident, security rules for the exam have been tightened. That means everyone has to vacate the dorm by the day before the test. I know it’s inconvenient, but please make sure to leave by tomorrow morning.”  

“Okay~”  

“Yes!”  

“Got it…”  

The supervisor suddenly seemed to remember something.  

“Oh, and starting tonight, all common rooms, including the lounge, will be locked. So keep that in mind and try to stay quiet in your rooms. Understood?”  

The students of Dormitory 7 responded with another round of Yes, before quickly dispersing to their rooms. It was the usual, ordinary scene.  

“….”  

Watching them, I felt relieved. At least no one was suddenly riding an imaginary palanquin or clutching their heads while screaming.

 ‘Ugh, tavern keeper!!’  

“After Yujin got back from New York, everyone was obsessed with national pride games and pretending to be royal princesses. I thought I was going to lose my mind. Guess they finally got tired of it. Thank goodness.”  

As I was heading back to my room, Mija yawned widely beside me.  

“Haaam… Hana-chan, what are you gonna do now?”  

“Hmm, not much. But Mijjang, you’ve been looking tired lately. What have you been doing on your laptop every night?”  

“Oh? Uh… I’ve been touching up an old comic I worked on and redrawing it digitally.”  

“Oh… that space travel story?”  

“Yeah. Looking at it again after a long time, I wanted to change a lot of the composition and storyline. Once I got into it, I couldn’t stop. I keep noticing parts that feel off, and fixing them is just so fun.”  

Mija smiled brightly, wearing the face of a true creator.  

“Seriously, she’s grown up so much all of a sudden.”  

I watched her fondly.  

Just then, Juri walked up to us.  

“Hey, guys~”  

“Oh, Juri-chan! Welcome.”  

“What’s up?”

“Hoo-hoo, I just felt like calling you guys.”  

“How pointless. Are you feeling lonely these days?”  

“Well… yeah, kinda.”  

Juri pouted as she spoke.  

“Everyone’s been busy flying back and forth between Japan and the U.S. this year. I’m the only one who stayed in Korea, so I felt a little left out.”  

“Juri-chan saying that… that’s unexpected.”  

“Huh? Why?”  

Mija chuckled and shrugged.  

“Uhit, Juri-chan, you had a super successful career as a child actress, and now you’re jealous of our little overseas trips? That’s too much! You should be more mature and celebrate your friends’ success, hoo-hoo…”  

“…”  

“…”  

Juri and I both looked at Mija with pure disappointment.  

“Success? I’m just a regular student now, you know. And I’m not jealous, just… lonely.”  

“Mijang, Mijang… We just went abroad for studying and exhibitions. It’s not like we actually made it big internationally.”  

“…”  

At a loss for words, Mija awkwardly cleared her throat.  

“Ahem, ahem…”  

Her face turned slightly red.  

“Ehem! A-anyway, you know what I meant.”  

“…”  

“…”  

Juri and I shook our heads.  

“…Give me back my thoughts about you maturing, you fool.”  

“…”  

Suddenly, I thought of a question for Juri.  

“Now that I think about it, you and Yujin-sunbae live in Jeju, right? What’s your plan? We all have to vacate the dorm starting tomorrow until the exam is over.”  

Flying back and forth twice in two days seemed exhausting. Not to mention, Yujin-sunbae was a test taker.  

“…Even if she already got into college and is just taking the exam as a backup.”  

“Oh? Ah…”  

Juri answered casually.  

“We’re just going to stay at a hotel nearby.”  

“…I see.”  

That made sense.  

If your home was far away, staying in a hotel was the logical choice—not taking multiple flights. I hadn’t even considered that.  

“I’ve been traveling so much between the dorm and overseas that my perception of flying has completely broken.”  

Juri grinned.  

“It feels different with my sister taking the exam. When other third-years left for the test, I didn’t really think much of it… but now, it really feels like time is flying.”  

“…Yeah.”  

“Anyway, we’ve just been standing around. Let’s go somewhere.”  

At Juri’s suggestion, Mija started bouncing excitedly.  

“Juri-chan, come on! Let’s watch anime together!”  

“Huh? Didn’t the dorm supervisor tell us to keep it quiet?”  

“We can just use earphones.”  

“Heh…”  

Mijang, Mijang…  

“Mijang, didn’t you say you were working on your personal project?”  

“Eh, it’s not like someone’s gonna come stab me just because I take a break.”  

“…”  

Mija was, as always, Mija.  

So, we gathered in our dorm room and watched some kind of cringe middle-schooler syndrome anime that Mijang put on.

*

The Next Morning.  

Mija shouted, “Home at last!” and dashed off to catch the subway.  

Juri and I watched as Mija’s figure quickly grew distant, laughing at her lively antics. Seeing her so energetic made the chill of the day before the college entrance exam feel like it had disappeared.  

Juri turned to me and said,  

“Well, I’ll head off first. See you later, Hana.”  

“Huh? What about Yujin sunbae?”  

“Oh, unnie said she’d come later at her own pace. I’m just going to check in at the hotel and rest for a bit.”  

“I see.”  

We exchanged farewells, and Juri walked away, her coat fluttering in the crisp winter wind.  

“….”  

Soon, everything around me fell silent. Since early morning, students had been leaving, carrying only the bare essentials, making their departures swift.  

‘…I should head home too.’  

It had been a while since I’d had this kind of free time. My mind immediately filled with ideas about how to spend it.  

Should I coax Lim Ahra teacher into having a dinner party with the three of us?  

Or maybe drop by HU Securities and score a free coffee?  

Should I go to Marie’s place and have some meat?  

“…”  

‘Except for Lim Ahra teacher, it feels like all my ideas involve getting free food.’  

Maybe having too much free time was making me think this way.  

As I walked along, lost in thought, a familiar voice called from behind.  

“Hana!”  

“!”  

I turned around to see Yujin sunbae, her nose and cheeks reddened from the cold, carrying her bag as she walked toward me. Her glasses were fogged up, tiny droplets forming on the lenses.  

“Yujin sunbae.”  

“Yeah! Wow, Hana, it’s been so long.”  

She placed her mittened hands on my cheeks.  

I felt the soft, warm fuzziness.  

“…But we just met not too long ago.”  

“Did we? I’ve been so out of it because of the exam, I barely remember…”  

Yujin sunbae gave me a gentle smile.  

That smile,  

Somehow, it stirred up old memories. Not from elementary school, but from a time even further in the past.

– Go Hun, writer!  

“…”  

I held her hand. Our hands overlapped on my cheeks, making it seem like we were both holding my face together. At that, Yujin sunbae tilted her head slightly. A gentle smile still lingered at the corners of her lips.  

“Why? What’s wrong?”  

“…New York.”  

“?”  

“I went there, and it was nice. There were a lot of rough people, a lot of strange people, people who were relatively obsessed with money, prices that were unnecessarily expensive, and even people who made weird comments when they saw Asians passing by…”  

“Ahaha, aren’t those all downsides?”  

“……But.”  

“…”  

“But, I liked it. Walking around Central Park in the morning was nice. Hearing English everywhere felt refreshing… And eating donuts by the Hudson River was delicious. The steakhouse—oh, they really knew how to grill their meat…”  

“…”  

“The artists there are all top-tier from around the world, and the art dealers are like masterminds straight out of a movie, constantly scheming. It’s just a TV show that they watch among themselves, but the whole world is watching it… And seeing that, I thought—ah, this really is the center of the world.”  

“…”  

I spoke with sincerity.  

“It’s amazing that you’re going to such a great place, Yujin sunbae. That you’re stepping into a world full of such incredible people.”  

“…”  

“I really respect you. Getting into a university in New York… that’s not something just anyone can do.”  

“…”  

“I kept thinking about that.”  

Yujin sunbae’s eyes wavered.  

She parted her lips slightly as if to say something,  

then pressed them together tightly, her hands trembling ever so slightly.  

“…I’m not.”  

“…”  

“I’m not someone amazing compared to you, Marina.”  

“You are.”  

“I’m not a genius.”  

“By my standards, you are.”  

“…Why?”  

“Because you practice drawing for six hours every single day, because you speak logically and articulately, because you maintain good relationships with people, because you even manage your day so efficiently… And even after getting into one of the world’s best universities, you don’t get complacent you stay, preparing just in case.”  

“…”  

I spoke to her. And to ‘her’ the one I saw beyond her glasses.  

“You’re amazing. The more I live, the more I get to know you, the more I respect you.”  

“…”  

“I just… wanted to say this before you graduate.”  

“…”  

Before she before ‘she’ died, I wanted to say this.

– Go Hun, writer!  

– Go Hun, writer─!  

– Go Hun, writer.  

– Go Hun, writer…  

“…”  

But I couldn’t say it.  

So, to avoid regret, I spoke now.  

Even though we were in completely different time zones,  

even though we had gone through entirely different events,  

I spoke only so that I wouldn’t regret it.  

“…”  

“…”  

After a moment of silence,  

she slowly buried her face in my head.  

Soft sniffles came from above.  

“…”  

“…”  

I held Yujin sunbae’s hand tightly.  

Through the thick mittens, her hand trembled slightly.  

For a while, we just stayed like that.  

“…”  

“…”  

When she finally lifted her head again,  

she had a slightly teary smile.  

“Geez! Why are you making a student cry the day before the exam?”  

“…I just wanted to say it.”  

“Thank you.”  

“Yeah.”  

Yujin pulled me into a tight hug and said once more,  

—Thank you.  

“…”  

“Well then, I should get going. Hana, you’ll catch a cold. You should head home now.”  

After wiping her nose with a quick motion,  

she turned forward again, walking with her usual confident steps.  

“…”  

Watching that ‘Yujin’ walked away.  

“Hey, sunbae.”  

“Hm?”  

“Do you… have an ideal type?”  

“…”  

I asked.  

She laughed brightly and said,  

“…Someone who passionately chases their dreams!”  

“…”  

Ah.  

Ah…  

I see.  

At those words, for some reason, my heart ached.  

“…Thank you.”  

“Yeah! Get home safely, Hana!”  

I waved to her.  

“…”  

And to ‘her’ as well.  

“…”  

Telling them both…  

“…”  

Goodbye.  

“…”  

“…I should head back.”

*

And so, the senior students’ college entrance exams and graduation…  

Winter passed, and what arrived for me was an invitation to soar to greater heights.  

“…”  

—Regarding the invitation to the Venice International Biennale…  

The door to that place had opened.