A few days had passed since Ban Eunhyeol returned to Korea.
Do Ihyeon stood in the middle of his now messy room, silently staring at his message box.
All the texts he had exchanged with Dana over the past month were carefully saved there.
‘Let’s meet soon……………?’
Dana had told him Ban Eunhyeol was back in Korea, and that there was something she wanted to say, so she suggested they meet soon.
He could roughly guess what she wanted to talk about.
She’d probably say that since she’d reconciled with Ban Eunhyeol and they were seeing each other again, she was sorry but it would be hard for her to hang out like before.
With a bitter gaze, he looked at the bookshelf that had grown crowded with more and more workbooks, then turned away.
Just then, Haemalgeum and Kang Yedam came in through the open door.
“Wow, are you really giving this to me?”
Haemalgeum, holding tightly onto the things Do Ihyeon had given him while organizing his stuff, asked with a look of disbelief.
Inside the box he held were expensive electronics—brand new, unopened Tablet, Laptop, Game Console, and more.
Haemalgeum was gazing at the contents of the box with shining eyes when—
“Ack!”
Kang Yedam smacked him on the head and walked up to Do Ihyeon.
Standing by his side, Kang Yedam couldn’t hide his disappointment as he asked,
“You’re really leaving?”
“Yeah, I have to.”
“Because of Lee Dana?”
“……No. My grades came out low.”
Kang Yedam looked at Do Ihyeon, who lied so smoothly, with a complicated expression.
Two days ago, the midterm report cards had come out.
He’d seen with his own eyes just how hard Do Ihyeon had been studying.
Do Ihyeon had clung to his studies, desperate to stay in Korea no matter what.
His Parents had set the condition that he had to rank in the top 10 in the entire school.
As long as he made it, he could stay in Korea, but if his grades were any lower, he’d have to go live where his Parents were.
Do Ihyeon had pushed himself, studying day and night to raise his grades, just to stay by Dana’s side.
‘But the results came out badly?’
Iljin High was notorious in the area as a school for students who didn’t study.
It was said that if you just put in a little effort, raising your grades was nothing.
So it was only natural to think Do Ihyeon would meet the condition, but here he was, claiming his grades were too low.
There were so few students who studied as hard as he did at Iljin High, he should easily have made it into the top five.
And yet, Do Ihyeon kept repeating like a parrot that his grades were too low, so he had to leave for where his Parents were.
“Weren’t your Parents going to check your combined midterm and final scores?”
“……It’s already hopeless. Even if I ace the finals, I can’t make the cut.”
“So where’s your report card?”
“I threw it away.”
Kang Yedam eyed Do Ihyeon with suspicion.
An awkward silence followed.
With no other choice, Kang Yedam turned and, leaving the room, said,
“I don’t know, I’ll just tidy up the living room. Come down when you’re ready.”
Waving one hand, he grabbed Haemalgeum by the scruff and dragged him down to the living room.
Do Ihyeon watched their retreating backs, then shifted his gaze to the Career lying open in the corner of the room.
There wasn’t much space left; he’d already packed most of his things.
After squeezing in the last of his belongings, he carried the Career down to the living room.
“What’s going to happen to this house? Are you selling it?”
“No, I’m not. I’ll leave it as is, so I can stay here whenever I come back to Korea.”
Haemalgeum wiped his forehead in relief.
He’d often come over, saying Do Ihyeon’s house was spacious and nice, so it would’ve been a real shame if it was sold to someone else.
He’d wondered if Do Ihyeon was clearing everything out before leaving, but was relieved to hear the house would remain.
As Haemalgeum relaxed, Do Ihyeon turned his head toward the yard and spotted his bike—something he hadn’t been able to throw away or deal with all this time.
He used to ride it everywhere, but after his friend Ryu Harang died in an accident, he hadn’t ridden it once.
Still, thanks to regular maintenance, it wasn’t covered in thick dust or spiderwebs.
“What about that?”
Just then, Kang Yedam, following his gaze, looked at the black bike as if it were a burdensome object and asked.
Do Ihyeon wondered how he should deal with it.
It was a precious bike he’d treasured and ridden before the accident, so selling it easily was hard.
But he couldn’t just give it to his friends, since none of them came to mind as reliable enough to trust with it.
Because of the bad memories, he became extremely cautious about giving the bike to anyone.
“Just sell it secondhand.”
Kang Yedam offered the most reasonable suggestion.
At that moment, Haemalgeum, shoving Kang Yedam’s face aside with a palm, spoke up with sparkling eyes.
“If you give it to me, I’ll ride it carefully and take good care of it.”
“That’s not happening.”
Rejected instantly, Haemalgeum’s shoulders drooped.
‘Just sell it secondhand.’
Do Ihyeon decided to dispose of the bike that way and quickly moved on.
He’d been pained whenever he saw it, unable to throw it away, but now, at last, he could get rid of that dreadful thing.
He resolved not to look at another bike again.
‘This too is thanks to Dana.’
The real reason he couldn’t part with the bike was that it always reminded him of Ryu Harang.
He’d never actually ridden with Ryu Harang on it, but whenever his friend came over, Ryu Harang seemed to really like the bike.
He’d often touch it, climb on, and play around with it in the yard.
That image lingered in his mind, making it hard to let go.
It was only after falling for Dana that he could finally bring himself to deal with it.
As Do Ihyeon was lost in thought about the bike—
“Why are you cleaning up if you’re not even going to sell the place?”
Haemalgeum, tidying the living room with Kang Yedam, asked with genuine curiosity.
“Just a big cleaning.”
“Just cleaning?”
Since I’ll be away from the house for a long time.
I want to throw away anything unnecessary before I leave. And take with me what I need.”
Saying so, Do Ihyeon got up from the sofa and finished his sorting.
After getting rid of a good number of things in the house, he sent a message to the last person he wanted to meet before leaving.
[Tomorrow at 1 p.m., let’s meet in front of your Apartment Complex. I have something to say.]
If Ban Eunhyeol tried to interfere and stop him from leaving, he’d just say he was going anyway.
Since Dana also said she wanted to talk, they needed to meet at least once.
He’d tried to let himself hope a little, but it wasn’t in his nature.
Hiding his bitterness, Do Ihyeon spent the short remaining time with his friends.
Before he knew it, the time for his appointment with Dana was just around the corner.
***
‘I can do this.’
Before leaving to meet Do Ihyeon, I looked into the mirror in the shoe cabinet and silently cheered myself on.
All the frequent meetings with Do Ihyeon had softened my heart a lot.
I felt sorry that Ban Eunhyeol had hit Do Ihyeon so hard, and also for triggering his trauma by getting into that accident in front of him.
Even if the latter wasn’t really my fault, it still weighed on my mind.
So whenever I saw Do Ihyeon, my resolve would waver, and it became hard to draw the line like before.
‘Not being able to reach Ban Eunhyeol played a big part too.’
It was basically like not having a boyfriend at all, so there was no need to put up a wall.
At that time, I honestly thought I’d been ghosted and dumped.
But then he reappeared, acting all fine, claiming he’d become independent.
For the time being, he said he’d stay temporarily near school, and once he picked a university, he’d look for a place nearby.
‘Can he really go from that grand mansion to living in an Apartment?’
Ban Eunhyeol said he’d use the money he’d saved up from his time as an Awakened to find a place.
Turned out he’d earned way more than I’d imagined.
“Let’s think about Ban Eunhyeol later.”
I patted both cheeks lightly and headed out the door.
At the entrance of the Apartment Complex, I saw Do Ihyeon waiting outside.
Next to him was a huge Career.
‘What’s with that?’
Not long ago, Ban Eunhyeol had showed up with a Career, and now it looked like Do Ihyeon was leaving.
‘I heard his Parents live overseas, though.’
Maybe he was just going to visit them for a bit.
Jumping to conclusions, I called out his name loudly and waved.
Seeing me, Do Ihyeon’s face immediately relaxed into a gentle smile.
We moved to a place that was good for talking, and decided to get everything off our chests.
“It’s been a while since we’ve been at the Playground.”
Do Ihyeon, who had looked filled with regret and sadness since earlier, spoke first.
After that, we exchanged some small talk and pleasantries.
Even though we both had things to say, we kept avoiding the topic out of nervousness.
Thinking it was about time, I raised my hand first.
It was my way of asking if I could go first, and Do Ihyeon nodded right away.
“Um, I really had a great time hanging out with you.”
“Ah.”
I meant it from the bottom of my heart, so I met his gaze directly.
“But as you know, Eunhyeol is back. So I think it’ll be hard to see each other like before.”
Getting that off my chest felt like a huge relief.
Do Ihyeon, keeping a calm face, simply nodded, then pointed at the Career standing beside him.
“I’m leaving Korea. I’m going to live with my Parents.”
“Ah, leaving Korea………… Huh? What did you say?”
Startled by my reaction, Do Ihyeon leaned back and looked up at the sky.