Mint Candy Love - Chapter 1.7

After he finished talking, Ki-young Han packed his bag. I didn’t have to worry about whether or not the man had a part-time job that worked late into the night. As soon as he finished packing, he left the classroom without saying goodbye. In any case, he had to move to a different seat for his most important class.

***

8:57. Kiyounghan had a look at his mobile phone.

“… … .”

I was shocked when I didn’t hear from Yoon Ye-jun. We had an exchange of short text messages the day before. “Let’s meet at the coffee shop in front of the school.” “Yes.” “It’s till 9.” “Yes.” The man just said: “Yes” and cut his replies short. I couldn’t help but feel ashamed of what he’d done.

While waiting for that man, Ki-young Han thought back to her previous relationships. As for duration, they were short. She confessed: “If it wasn’t bad, I dated. She dated one after the other. She couldn’t say she did her best, but she did the basics. And then they got dumped.

I asked my exes why they broke up. I couldn’t understand why they broke up. At first they were in tears. Then they started swearing and cursing as they gave their reasons.
And he said. You will never be able to date, even if you grow old and die. Ki-young Han was also in no mood to say, “Okay, if you said everything you wanted to say, go away” to someone cursing him out of nowhere. They fought on the spot. There was such a past.

Why would I want to remember my past love life at a time like this? But it couldn’t be helped, since it was the topic.

“Tsk… .”

Ki-young Han clicked his tongue and checked his phone again. It was exactly 9 o’clock. But Yoon Ye-jun, who was in the same group as me, was nowhere to be seen. He made a call without hesitation.

“… … .”

Yoon Ye-jun didn’t answer. What? Ki-young Han looked down at his mobile phone, which kept making mechanical sounds. He dialled a few more times. It was the same as always. And just as 9:02 was about to pass.

“Gasp, ah, haa… I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

A man who had climbed the stairs of the cafe appeared. He was breathing fast. His heavy breathing was strange. His hair was wet. He hadn’t dried it properly. It was good that he had come out properly dressed. He must have ordered coffee there, because he had a vibrating bell in his hand.

Jiiing – the vibration rang out.
“I’ll bring you some coffee.”

The man went down the stairs to the first floor. He came back with an iced Americano. Ki-young Han couldn’t hide his sour expression as he looked at the man. His eyebrows shot up.

“You’re two minutes late? I brought you some coffee, so it only took me three minutes.”

“Ah…”

“I guess you’re not very good at keeping appointments. I was 10 minutes early. Isn’t that the norm?”

It is rare that someone keeps his promises. But Ki-young-han always came early. So he had something to say now. The man seemed embarrassed by the sharp words and said: “I’m sorry,” as if he wanted to bow his head and apologize. It was as if he knew it was his fault. But Ki-young-han was annoyed by the sight. In any case, there was nothing about him that was in his favor.

Yoon Ye-jun pulled up a chair. He sat down. Ki-young-han crossed his arms over his chest. He didn’t even think about raising his tilted head. He just stared at the man with an expression that said he was dying of dissatisfaction.

Ki-young Han switched on the recorder. He had some homework he had to do. Meanwhile, the man calmed his breathing and moistened his mouth with coffee. Ki-young Han stared blankly at the cup with moisture on its surface and spoke to him for the sole purpose of his homework.

“I guess you’re busy with your part time job. You’re late, too.”

But the way in which he spoke to him was not very good.
“Ah… Yeah, it ends at 2am.”

“What? You work in a bar?”

“No. I had private lessons yesterday.”

I see some of them. Ki-young Han, who had been staring at the man, nodded his head. Then he had the sudden realization that this was a group project. He tried to keep his usual tone of voice. If his tone was unfriendly, the man would have no idea what to write in his report.

“I suppose you have several part-time jobs.”

“I have two during the semester.”

“Yes. But don’t you usually say what part-time job you have? Is that because it’s difficult to communicate?”

“Private tuition, a bar and a grocery store in the holidays. But.”

At the man’s words, Ki-young Han tilted her head and replied.

“What do you want me to call you?”

“Your name.”

“What is your name?”

Ki-young Han’s face crumpled openly as the man asked. For a moment he felt a sense of injustice. Ki-young-han hated being at a loss the most. For the first time, he had the feeling that he was at a loss just because he had someone else’s name, and also because that person had no idea of his name.

“Mr Yoon Ye-jun.”

“… … .”

“Shouldn’t you know how to name those you’re hanging out with? No matter how many people are in your group, you don’t have a clue about their names.”
“I never said anything.”

There was nothing left for me to say to him. The reason I knew Yoon Ye-jun’s name was not because I wanted to remember it. It was because I was only mildly interested in him.

“… … .”

Still, he couldn’t help feeling furious. Ki-young Han looked at the man. He couldn’t hide his trembling expression. Yoon Ye-jun looked down at his coffee with a calm face. He took another sip. Ki-young Han nodded and replied.

“It’s me, Ki-young Han.”

“Yes.”

And then it was quiet again. There was a lot of commotion. It was early. But there was another table in the café next to them. It was a new semester. The freshmen and the returning student, who was trying to be the leader among the freshmen, were talking with faces that were still drunk from the morning. Whenever the returnee said something, the freshmen laughed out loud. Good luck. Ki-young-han glanced around.

“My name is Ki-Young Han. I’m 24 years old and I’m studying political science and diplomacy.”

“My name is Yoon Ye-jun. I’m 26 years old. I’m a journalism and information studies major. I’m going back to school this year, so… ….”

Yoon Ye-jun raised his hand. He scratched the back of his neck. His neck was thin. Ki-young Han stared at the man in front of him. He was different from the thick-skinned boys. He was handsome. Something came to his mind that he had been curious about earlier on.

“Why did you ask us to be in the same group first?”

I was curious. I knew that I didn’t look bad. My height was not too bad. I didn’t live in a poor house. I didn’t have any problems. There were many people who talked about personality problems. But I also got confessions all the time. It was the first time a man had a say in the matter.
Suddenly I thought of my stupid younger sister who flirted with men and had no idea what was going on. So I became even more curious. Could this man be… .

“Do you like boys?”

The moment Ki-young-han asked, the song suddenly stopped. I could feel the few people around me checking my face. Next was Yoon Ye-jun. Yoon Ye-jun replied with a calm voice.

“No.”

“Ah.”

“I thought it would be more comfortable to be the same sex. I work a lot of part-time jobs. I often finish work late. It would be an inconvenience to have a woman over for a late night meeting. Even if it hadn’t been for Ki-young Han, if there had been someone else sitting next to me, I would have asked him or her to be in the same group”.

That was true. But it didn’t feel good. It was a separate issue from the fact that I liked that man very much. It felt like this man was destroying my pride, which was as high as the sky. Still, Ki-young-han tried to hide how he felt.

Instead, he drank the cold Americano that was in front of him. The things that had been on my mind since the morning were at rest. I shrugged and opened the coat I was wearing. Even though it was the middle of March, the weather was still cold.

I had nothing to say and nothing to do. I thought I should just finish talking and get going. I had enough to write in my report. The man had cancelled his appointment and didn’t even know my name. My first impression was definitely the worst.

Ki-young, touching the bridge of her nose, raised her head. Their eyes met. The colour of his pupils was a surprisingly light shade of brown. It was more brown than black. There was a mysterious glow about him.
Then there is nothing left to do.

“Shall we just do it?”

“Yes?”

The man asked back, looking embarrassed. Ki-young Han checked the time. It was 9:12. Exactly ten minutes had passed since the man had arrived.

“There’s nothing more to say. I’ve had enough to write a report.”

“Hmm…”

Yoon Ye-jun trailed off a bit. He seemed to have something to say. Ki-young-han waited silently for Yoon Ye-jun’s words.

“How are your family relations?”

“Why should I tell you that?”

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but your speech is really bad.”

Yoon Ye-jun’s brow furrowed. His face looked displeased. Ki-young Han was silent for a moment and then rolled his eyes. He wondered what he would do if the man wrote that in his report. Everyone writes a report. Even if you gossip about the other person, he won’t know. I wondered if the man would do the same, just as I was planning to write in my report that the man was two minutes late and didn’t even know my name.

Ki-young, who had been chewing the tender flesh of her cheek, raised her head. Then he replied with the kindest answer he had ever heard.
“I have a younger brother.”
“I’m an only child.”
“Not…”
I asked. Ki-Young Han, who was about to answer out of habit, pursed his lips.

“Okay.”

I tried to answer positively.

Ki-Young Han took another look back at his relationships in the past. Was there ever a time when he was curious about the other one? Not at all. We met regularly, ate, watched films and so on. When asked, he replied that we were lovers, but other than that… .

How could I ever have a date? One side of my heart became complicated. Ki-young-han looked down at the mobile phone that was recording. His expression was complicated. The man and I had to agree on something in our report. But I had no idea where to start and where to end.
Yoon Ye-jun stared at Ki Young-han blankly. Then she opened her mouth.
“How many times have you been in love with someone?”
“Twice.”
“How long have you known each other?”

“Do you usually ask that on a first date?”

“I was curious.”

After finishing his speech, Yoon Ye-jun smiled with his eyes. He did the same in front of the professor. He smiled like that while talking with his friends in the smoking area in front of the professor’s building. It was the first time I saw him. He smiled slowly, as if his eyes were drying. The circles under his eyes were rising and falling in line with the cheek bones of the man.

“We haven’t been together for a couple of months. Is that okay?”

Actually, it had been two months at the most.

“Ah.”

The man let out a short word. The smile in his eyes, which he had thought was gentle, deepened a little.

“Because it looks like it.”

Ki-Young Han’s left eye was stiff and hard. He couldn’t even hide his crumpled face.

“You… …”

“… … .”

“How long have you been together?”
The tone of the question was aggressive. It was an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. It was clear that Yoon Ye-jun and I couldn’t have been together for long. How much more so if he treated others with such an unsociable tone.
“Well, I usually date for about a year.”
“… … .”

Ki-young Han, who had nothing to say, turned his head. It was as if he had baited himself. Yoon Ye-jun added. Yes, it was a good catch. He was like a fisherman who had caught a moonfish.

“I don’t act in such a bold and open way like some people do.”

Ki-young Han’s face hardened. It felt like shit. Talking in front of people without knowing what to say and what not to say.

Nobody is cheap? Who would ever say something like that?

Ki-young Han bit into the straw of the iced Americano in front of him. But even that felt suffocating, so he pulled it out and swallowed the contents. Instead of a feeling of refreshment, he had a dizzy sensation in his head from the cold coffee he had poured down his throat.

“Mr Yoon Ye-jun.”

Ki-young called the man before him. He tapped his fingernails on the table to get his attention. Yoon Ye-jun looked at Ki-young Han’s fingertips. He raised his head with a blank expression.

“You are wrong. We need to meet again, privately. For the report. Do you know what I’m going to write about you and are you saying things like that now? In front of the professor you act all nice and pretty.”

“… … .”