The next morning, Ha-yeon went to school earlier than usual. She had worried about the scars on Tae-wan’s face all night long. She took out the skin ointment and a disposable band-aid that she brought from home and headed to the classroom. She put the ointment and disposable band-aid deep inside his empty drawer. Then she changed her mind, took them out and put them in a visible and convenient place where he could reach just in case he couldn’t find them since they were originally placed quite deep within his desk.
“What are you doing at my desk?” Ha-yeon turned around upon hearing a voice suddenly. Tae-wan was standing behind the front door.
“Uh… .” While Ha-yeon hesitated for a moment, Tae-wan closed the classroom door and entered. Tae-Wan, who came to stand in front of her in no time, looked at the ointment in her hand, the disposable band-aid, and her face alternately.
“For me?”
“… Huh.” Ha-yeon replied a second late.
Tae-wan put his bag on the desk and sat down on the chair and swiftly came nose-to-nose with Ha-yeon while pulling the chair.
“What?” Ha-yeon asked, leaning back.
“Since it’s for me, apply it.” Tae-wan closed his eyes and raised his half-turned head all the way forward. It was just past dawn and the radiance of his face glowed, soaking in the light of the morning sun. Her heart beats started pounding.
“You do it.” She tried not to let her voice tremble.
“I cannot see.”
“I’ll give you a mirror.”
“My hands are dirty.”
“So are mine.”
“Just do it.” He stubbornly insisted.
Without washing her hands, Ha-yeon squeezed some white ointment on her fingertips. Then she reached out to his wound. It felt strange even though she didn’t touch it directly because of the viscosity of the ointment. She felt his breathing and the momentum of his shoulders moving up and down accordingly.
“It’s done.” Ha-yeon lifted her hand and said.
“Thanks to you, I will heal quickly.”
“No photo shoot?” If he had a scheduled session, the wound on the face was going to be a big problem.
“There is… . I’ll do it myself again then.” After his reply, there was a moment of silence.
“… But why were you so angry?” Ha-yeon asked while putting a disposable band-aid on his face. She was curious about that before going to sleep last night. Neung-woon’s work had no direct relationship with him. As Neung-woon said, there was no rational or logical reason why Tae-wan would be angry over this matter to swing his fists. The girls said that it was because Tae-Wan was heroic, but they also admitted that even if so, the level of violent reaction was overkill.
Tae-wan turned his head at Ha-yeon’s words. The distance between them was closer than expected, so Ha-yeon leaned her upper body backwards. Yet the distance was still so close when his face came into view.
“Yeah.”
“… … .”
“What is the reason?” He asked without blinking. However, unlike the question asked, his face showed that he knew the exact answer.
“One thing is for sure, I am still angry.”
“… Why.”
Why the hell are you… ? Ha-yeon’s eyes shook slightly.
“Maybe it’s because you might cry… .”
“… … .”
“Or that guy or someone else might be watching the video. Or maybe it’s because you might not be able to sleep at night… .”
“Maybe it’s all of it.” As he muttered the last words, they came out muffled.
Ha-yeon quietly avoided his gaze. Her heart thumped and as she sat down. She wanted to ask why he was feeling that way, but she couldn’t ask.
“… Then, are you going to fight with Neung-woon again today? You said you were angry.”
“Should we not fight?”
“Huh.” . Fighting more would not be good for Tae-wan.
“Okay. Then I won’t fight.” “… … .” When he unquestioningly acquiesced, Ha-yeon was rather stupefied. Why does he listen to her obediently?
Meanwhile, Tae-wan laid down on his desk. He looked at Ha-yeon with his face half buried in his arm. He could only see her from one half of his face. The eye which could see, was staring at Ha-yeon directly.
“You hate seeing me because I’m angry, right?” Tae-wan asked in a broken voice. She only heard the word ‘hate’.
“It’s not that I hate seeing you… .”
“Are you scared?”
“A little.” Ha-yeon replied after a period of time.
“… Sorry.”
“… For what?”
“For showing that side of me.” Tae-wan closed his eyes and muttered.
“Nothing to be sorry for. Thanks.” Ha-yeon wondered why he was sorry for that.
“… … .”
At Ha-yeon’s words, Tae-wan opened his eyes and looked at her.
“Because you were angrier than me, I became less angry.”
“… … .”
“I don’t know how to say this, but I also felt like I was being healed… .” Ha-yeon muttered the last bit of her words.
Although she felt humiliated, it was thanks to Tae-wan that she was able to endure the embarrassment more than she thought. He was so angry that she freaked out and didn’t get upset again. And it felt a little comforting. Funny enough, she felt like he was on her side.
When Ha-yeon, who had laughed unconsciously, turned her head back, Tae-wan closed his eyes with a smile. Ha-yeon glanced at the visible half of Tae-wan’s face. She felt a little anxious. She wanted to see him completely smiling. It was only when Ha-yeon’s head turned back that Tae-wan’s serious and grim expression transformed into a wide grin without her knowledge.
“I come to school at this time every day.”
“… … .”
“Because my grandmother comes out early, I also come out early.”
“… … .”
“So, if you’re bored, you can come to school around the same time as today.” When he said that, his face was still hidden in his arm as if to say come tomorrow if you want to see this face.
A warm spring breeze came through the half-opened window. Tae-wan’s hair fluttered in the wind. Ha-yeon took a deep breath and swallowed the answer that was trying to come out of her mouth. … Huh.
* * *
The school was in chaos for several days due to Neung-woon. Parents of the victims ran over to the school and started raging, demanding action. Neung-woon was struck by one of them. It was rumored that Ha-yeon’s family was also going to suel. Her father declared he was going to visit the school, but then he never did, and afterwards said he would sue.
Neung-woon’s parents came to school and knelt in front of the victims’ parents. Then they put their hands together to pray and beg, and promised that this would be the last everyone would see of him. It took a week to dispose of the original hidden camera video. There was a huge settlement fee, and Neung-woon transferred out. He left without even an official public apology. The students said they would not accept it anyway. Neung-woon stood bereft outside the classroom door and left after being kicked out. Immediately afterwards, the students said that his desk was dirty and put it in the corner of the classroom.
The only other thing that changed a little was that Ha-yeon went to school much earlier than usual. Her parents were puzzled, but they were under the impression that it was because she was busy in high school.
Ha-yeon took Tae-wan’s hint and started going to school earlier. A surprised Tae-wan behaved as if he had seen a ghost at the door* that morning, then stuck close to Ha-yeon. He even prepared banana milk and put it on her desk. Ha-yeon had already thought it out and had simply bought bread or triangle kimbap to eat for breakfast. (*he was shocked)
“Drink.” Tae-wan gave the banana milk as if he had known Ha-yeon would come. The same banana milk was laid on his desk. He drank it and gave the comment that it was ‘sweet’. Ha-yeon ate the bread or sandwich together with the milk.
They met early without the knowledge of others, but that didn’t mean they were doing anything else. Ha-yeon continued to apply ointment to Tae-wan’s wounds until he recovered. By the time the wound was healed, all she did was sit side by side and talk sparingly. When the conversation fell into a lull, the wind gently blew. The spring breeze coming through the school window was exceptionally clean, refreshing, and soft. Ha-yeon glanced half way down outside the window.