Chapter 29: Big And Small Misunderstanding (4)

– The next station is Sinchon, Sinchon Station.

“…Sigh.“

Hearing the familiar station name, I flinched and sat up. I swallowed the saliva that had been dripping from my mouth. I had almost spilled it on my clothes, which I had carefully chosen to wear today……my European-style girl’s suit, full of Mari’s preferences.

‘Oh no, that was close… This is a dry-clean-only outfit.’

“Ugh…”

“Cough, cough…“

“Hehe…”

“……”

The sight of the little one drooling and nodding off alone must have been so cute that I heard a few soft laughs from the surroundings. I felt a bit embarrassed.

I tried to hide my embarrassment by muttering to myself.

‘With no smartphone or anything, all there’s to do in the subway is sleep.’

It was the analog year of 2004. 

Of course, there were some people reading books or newspapers, or simply texting. But most people were either dozing off or staring into space.

It seemed like a direct reflection of the people who criticized modern smartphone addiction, but seeing it in real-time, it didn’t look particularly pleasant—just boring.

‘Actually, they probably don’t dislike smartphones so much as they long for this era.’

Anyway.

“Phew.”

To shake off the drowsiness, I washed my face with cold water, hurriedly slung my bag around my shoulder, and prepared to get off. The moment the train reached the station, I jumped off quickly.

Back then, the subway still didn’t have any traces of screen doors, so I was careful not to get my feet caught.

Looking up again, I saw people hurriedly passing by from the station. It was a familiar yet strange sight.

– Clack, clack, clack

– Murmur, murmur

The scene of the subway on a Sunday morning. Workers, college students, street vendors, and many others hustling through the year-end atmosphere— it felt both familiar and unfamiliar. Specifically, it had been a long time since I saw a crowd that wasn’t made up of students or teachers.

“Cheap thermal underwear for sale!”

“Hello? Oh, I’m on my way, yeah.”

“Here? No, I didn’t come to drink; I just came to get some school documents.”

“Ugh, I haven’t eaten breakfast, my stomach’s empty.”

“Let’s go to the bakery over there for a quick brunch.”

“What’s that?”

…I’d been holed up in the Hanul campus for a while. Since Uncle drove over and met me there, this was the first time I was out on my own.

Even though it was a small thing, I couldn’t help but feel satisfied.

I felt like a newbie soldier on his first leave. It was also a coincidence that I wore my best clothes from what I had in my bag today.

“…..”

That’s right. 

I was finally out on leave.

‘Actually, to be precise, I should call it ‘a day off,’ but…’

A few days ago, I had gone to ask the dorm supervisor for permission to go out. It was earlier than the usual time, and even though I had a schedule to return by Tuesday, the supervisor gave me the go-ahead pretty easily.

– “Alright, go ahead. It’s been a while, so I can let this slide. Just make sure you call if anything happens. If the house is too far, be sure to plan your time well. You know, there were kids who went to the U.S. to see their parents for a few days and came back late, haha.”

– “Ah, my uncle is cancelling the house contract while I’m away. I’ll just stay in Jongno.”

The supervisor’s eyes flickered a bit.

– “Ah… I see. It’s good to spend time with family. Wait, are other family members coming too?”

– “My uncle isn’t married, and all my parents and other relatives have passed, so I think it’ll just be the two of us getting some fresh air.”

The supervisor’s eyes trembled intensely.

– “Excuse me…?”

– “Yes…?”

And just like that, I was able to go on my first 2-night, 3-day break.

“……”

I checked the time on my phone.

It was 10:38 AM.

‘Uncle has to drive up from Gyeonggi-do where the vocational training center is, so I plan to meet him later this afternoon…’

In this vast city of Seoul, if I stepped outside the Hanul campus, there weren’t many people I was going to meet. Of course, the first person I wanted to see was Mari…

‘It’ll take about 20 minutes to walk to the hospital… No need for a taxi, it’s too expensive. Walking within an hour radius is always my rule.’

Just as I started walking, my phone vibrated. To my surprise, it was a message from Mari.

– Mari:“You’ve arrived at the subway station, right? Should I call a taxi for you to the hospital?”

“…..”

I was honestly a bit surprised. It’s said that even tigers come when called by their name, but this felt like she was reading my mind.

In fact, this kind of thing happened pretty often. Right after we had lunch, she would ask if I’d eaten well, or if I was practicing drawing, she’d ask if I was sketching.

‘Somehow… Mari’s intuition is amazing, like a sixth sense.’

I once asked her about it out of curiosity, but she couldn’t really explain the principle.

– “I just kind of feel it.”

– “Feel it?”

– “Like, I can tell when someone is about to do something at a certain time.”

‘Hmm…’

It was such an inexplicable feeling, almost like a supernatural instinct.

‘If I had to guess, she’s probably just good at observing people, has great sensory awareness, and a strong sense of timing, so she can predict what’s going to happen. But it’s still pretty impressive when you think about it.’

Her ability to observe people was remarkable, and sometimes it would amaze me how sharp she was. It made her seem out of place with her usual clumsy, awkward demeanor.

If Mari lived in the past… she probably wouldn’t have been an artist, but a soothsayer or a fortune-teller, worshiped as a saint or chased away as a witch… My mind wandered off into an amusing, though ridiculous, thought.

…I guess that’s what being a genius is, huh?

Whether it’s good or bad… people can’t help but remember someone who is “special.” I still couldn’t believe I was able to talk to someone like that.

“…..”

If this wasn’t a reincarnation…

What value would someone like me have…?

“…..”

I shrugged off the negative thoughts that suddenly crept up. It was a trick I learned during my job-hunting days. If I acted silly, making cartoonish gestures, the gloomy thoughts would go away.

‘On the day I got rejected three times in a row, I danced the butt dance in my goshiwon room to overcome the sadness.’

– Shrug, shrug

– Positive. Positive.

– Funny thoughts. Funny thoughts.

– Shrug, shrug.

Hey! 

You, there, cool guy walking by! 

Wanna dance with me?

I briefly thought about striking a cool pose, but decided against it.

‘I’m still cute even without doing that…!’

At least for now.

“…..”

Phew.

I calmed down.

‘Well, if you really think about it, I’m like that lucky friend who lives next door to a genius… although, I don’t have the ‘guts’ anymore.’

If I ever wrote a book about myself, would it be titled “I Became the Childhood Friend of an SSS-Class Genius”? Or maybe “The Extra in a Genius Author’s Story”?

Thinking like that, I felt my uneasy stomach settle a bit.

“Alright, let’s do this!”

I accepted it mentally and sent Mari a reply: ‘It’s fine. I’ll walk.’

And when I arrived at the hospital, I saw the familiar VIP room. There, lying under a blanket, was the genius, puffing her cheeks up, hiding like a cat, watching her prey with sharp eyes.

It was so unlike Mari to act like this.

“…..”

“…..”

Thanks to that, we shared an awkward silence that wasn’t at all like us.

‘What is she doing…?’

“…..”

“…..”

Finally, unable to bear the silence, I broke it with a puzzled voice.

“What are you doing under the blanket?”

“…..”

Mari spoke with her eyes shimmering in the darkness.

“…Sigh, I can’t approach you. I must only give orders that make sense.”

“Huh…? Why…?”

“I’m a king without baobab trees, foxes, or roses… I’m an adult who can’t even be a pilot.”

“…Hmm.”

“When everyone else finds their own boxes, roses, and foxes, I’ll be alone, giving orders…”

‘Is she making another Little Prince reference here?’

When Mari suddenly said something like this, I had to pay attention to the context of the situation.

‘The Little Prince is an allegory about human relationships…’

Hmm…

Did something recently happen with relationships?

After all, Mari has been stuck in the hospital and hasn’t met many people. The only conversations she has are with Manager Kang or me…

‘I had a long phone call with Mari once… Ah.’

As I slowly thought it through, I remembered that when Mari found out about Juri’s existence in a recent phone call, she seemed strangely down. 

And because of her peculiar behavior, Mari hasn’t made many friends.

Once I thought about it, I understood what she meant.

She must have felt a little intimidated seeing me adapt to school life without trouble. So, is that her version of a social outsider joke…?’

Hmm…

This is quite a thing.

I gave a wry smile and sat next to Mari. The recluse in the dark glanced at me and then casually spoke.

“I’m working hard in my life and came to find you first, but this is a little disappointing.”

“School.”

“Hm, like Van Gogh?”

“Not to the point of cutting off my ear.”

“Thank goodness for that.”

Van Gogh…

“I’m just trying to do well in school with you, Mari. Not having friends isn’t that strange for you. Besides, making new friends doesn’t replace anything.”

“…Really? You won’t just leave me alone at a party and run away, right? You won’t just leave me among strangers and turn me into a spectacle?”

“…I wouldn’t do that.”

Wait, what did you experience in America…?

I started to wonder if I needed to have a serious talk with Manager Kang or Mari’s dad at some point.

There’s no need to worry about being left out. Next year, we will be together. I’ll help you make new friends at school.

“Let’s see.”

“That’s right…?”

Whoosh!

Mari’s face emerged from the blanket, looking like a turtle shedding its shell. At the same time, a smile lit up her face, and she looked visibly relieved.

“Are we still friends at school, right…?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Hehe, I see.”

“…..”

Something in my chest felt tight. Even as I adapted and changed at school, seeing Mari, who hid away in the hospital, afraid of getting hurt… made me feel a bit sorry for her.

So I kept things light to avoid showing too much.

I spent time talking about what had happened at school.

“So, in the drama, I asked them to let me draw instead.”

“Ah, that? When was that? What broadcast?”

“Hmm… There were some issues, so the drama won’t air.”

“Oh dear, should I tell Dad and ask him to bring the tape…?”

Wait, is this where the chaebol power comes in…?!

“Well, don’t you think the TV station people would be in trouble? After all, even the king in The Little Prince only gives orders that make sense.”

“Aah, that’s right! Mari, you’re smart!”

“I see… but you still drew the picture, right?”

“Ah, haha… Anyway, doing the shoot gave me some experience, but I didn’t really learn anything new.”

“Yeah, it was fun drawing in a new way after a long time.”

“Really?”

“Speed painting.”

“With a knife?”

“Yep.”

“When do you want to have a time stop contest and see who’s better?”

“I’d lose.”

“Then, how about just drawing together?”

“That sounds good.”

“Great…!”

As we made plans to draw together again, Mari laughed merrily. Even though we’ve drawn together many times, she’s honestly happy when we say,

 ‘Let’s draw together.’

After laughing happily for a while, Mari suddenly said.

“Oh, by the way, Hana.”

“Hmm?”

“Do you ever think about having a solo exhibition or something?”

“Hmm… not really.”

I awkwardly scratched my cheek.

“I’m still thinking about the theme for my work. I haven’t decided what to do yet.”

“I see.”

“…..”

“…..”

After a brief pause, silence returned to the hospital room.

Then, I suddenly remembered something.

“…Oh, right.”

“Hmm?”

“My birthday is tomorrow.”

“Why are you telling me this now?!”

Mari let out the loudest voice I had ever heard from her.