Chapter 26 – Time Has Passed – Part 9

Chapter 26 – Time Has Passed – Part 9

“It seems to be off to a smooth start.”

Oh Jeonghoon’s eyes widened slightly.

Beginners usually start with themed stocks, and most end up losing money.

“Didn’t you say this was your first time with stocks?”

“Yes.”

“How much profit did you make?”

“Eightfold.”

Oh Jeonghoon’s eyes bulged, as if blood vessels were about to burst.

“That’s… that’s impossible….”

Woojin glanced at Oh Jeonghoon and nodded.

A phenomenon where the brain rapidly searches the Unconscious.

Judging by how he briefly froze his expression and all his movements, it seemed he had never experienced this situation before.

His brain was spinning at an incredible speed, trying to find information stored in the Unconscious, but ordinary people called this ‘Brain Freeze’.

“Eight times? Wow… Isn’t that amazing?”

“He got a Perfect CSAT Score, so he’s really going to be number one in stocks too, isn’t he?”

“That’s truly incredible. As expected, those who are meant to succeed will succeed.”

“Woojin seems really smart, huh? Oh? Woojin, your shoelace is untied.”

“Thanks for telling me, Mina.”

While Woojin’s group was marveling, Woojin bent down to tie his shoelace.

Just then, Oh Jeonghoon spoke up.

“Eight times, really? Can you show me your account…”

Oh Jeonghoon, who had stopped speaking, widened his eyes again.

As Woojin bent down, his shirt rode up slightly, and Oh Jeonghoon saw the scars.

Not just the scars that looked like knife cuts, but also various other types of scars.

Oh Jeonghoon spoke in a slightly louder voice.

“Woojin, what are those scars on your waist? They’re scarier than a gangster’s. Wow…”

The attention of those around him turned to Woojin.

Oh Jeonghoon continued speaking.

“Even gangsters with mask tattoos from the bathhouse would avoid you.”

Woojin looked at the gazes directed at him.

Caution. Surprise, discomfort…

“Are you hurt? You didn’t get them from fighting, did you?”

Warning, disgust, negativity…

Woojin, who had read their micro-expressions that formed and vanished in 0.2 Candela, mumbled to Mansu.

“Mansu.”

Huh?

Being ordinary… Why is it so hard? Why is it… so tiring and difficult?

The faces of his classmates showed micro-expressions due to unconscious reactions, but Woojin didn’t care.

The important thing was that so many people had looked at him that way for 0.2 seconds.

Just then, Woojin’s cellphone signaled a message.

It was Lee Hyerim.

-Are you in class? I was passing by and just stopped in case.

Woojin called her right away.

And he said in a dry voice,

I’m hungry. Let’s eat.

He wanted to get out of there.

Woojin said, clearing his throat,

Guys, I’ll summarize The Wealth of Nations and email it to you.

As Woojin left, Mansu frowned and looked at Oh Jeonghoon.

He was about to say something, but Oh Jeonghoon had already turned his back and left the lecture hall.

*

Lee Hyerim was leaning against a red sports car.

Her appearance and the expensive-looking imported car were enough to attract people’s attention.

After a few minutes, Woojin was seen approaching.

She approached Woojin with a big smile.

Is class already over? Be honest. You skipped class to have lunch with me, didn’t you?

No, I don’t have afternoon classes.

Lee Hyerim tilted her head.

Is something wrong?

Woojin’s mood was a bit strange.

She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but it was strange.

It was then.

Oh Jeonghoon, who was heading to his car, widened his eyes and looked at Lee Hyerim.

“Woojin, is she your girlfriend? Hello! I’m Oh Jeonghoon. Wow… Woojin, I’m jealous. You have such a beautiful girlfriend!”

Woojin quietly looked at Oh Jeonghoon, and Lee Hyerim muttered, scrutinizing Oh Jeonghoon from head to toe.

“What’s he saying…? That guy who looks like a dried squid.”

Then she said to Woojin,

“Let’s go.”

Soon after Woojin and Hyerim disappeared, Oh Jeonghoon, looking excited, tapped his cellphone.

[Just now, Woojin with a very beautiful woman…]

Oh Jeonghoon wanted to tell this story to many of the female students in the same department.

***

A restaurant with soft music playing.

Lee Hyerim was just looking at Woojin, propping her chin on her hand, without even touching the food in front of her.

Woojin, of course, was eating his food, or rather, it was more accurate to say he was putting it into his mouth.

He concentrated on putting food into his mouth and consciously moving his jaw.

“You’re really weird. You can’t fool my eyes. Don’t just keep that poker face, tell me. This older sister will listen to everything.”

“It’s delicious.”

“Oh, come on…”

Lee Hyerim pounded her chest as if frustrated.

She had never seen him like that before.

Worry? Anguish? She couldn’t explain it in words, but something was definitely there.

Lee Hyerim began to feel a growing sense of unease.

It was as if Woojin felt like someone who would leave her.

Truly, this was the first time this had happened.

“Are you really not going to tell me?”

Woojin put down his knife and fork, drank a glass of water, and spoke.

“It’s fine. Want to go get some coffee?”

“I didn’t do anything wrong to you, did I?”

“Of course not.”

“Really? Then it’s fine. Let’s go, I know a coffee shop with a nice view.”

Lee Hyerim smiled faintly and thought.

She decided to accommodate Woojin’s every wish for the day.

Lee Hyerim drove Woojin far away.

The passing scenery seemed perfect for a drive.

Woojin opened the window and felt the blowing wind as if caressing it with his hand.

They also had coffee and cake at a coffee shop overlooking a lake.

Seeing Woojin’s silence, Lee Hyerim talked incessantly, as if to break the quiet.

And soon, when they arrived near Woojin’s house, it was almost 8 PM.

“Go in safely.”

Lee Hyerim nodded and drove off. No, she seemed to be going, but then she watched Woojin walk away in the side mirror.

When Woojin completely disappeared.

She opened the glove compartment.

Click.

There was a wrapped box inside,

She couldn’t even bring it up.

“He just won’t take it… I really am something.”

***

Woojin ascended the villa stairs.

He stepped on the stairs as he ordinarily would on any day. But the alien feeling was different from usual.

How should I put it?

It felt as if he was continuously sinking into water, that’s what it was like.

Ding, ding, ding.

As he entered after pressing the password, the first thing that greeted Woojin was a gloomy darkness.

His mother and father, who always greeted him, and even Bomi, were nowhere to be seen.

His body felt damp.

He felt like he was sinking further.

He just wanted to lie down as he was.

Suddenly.

A soft light appeared.

The candle on the cake that Bomi, who came out of the room, was holding, brightly illuminated the surroundings.

Bomi’s face was also very bright.

Behind her, their mother and father followed.

“Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday to you~”

Woojin, who was taking off his shoes, stared blankly at the scene.

“Happy birthday to you~”

Bang! Bang!

Colorful paper fell on Woojin like snow.

Bomi approached Woojin, smiled broadly, and said,

“Big brother, you know I love you the most, right? You have to blow out the candles in one go?”

It was strange.

Bomi was not clearly visible.

Bomi’s image wavered as if looking out from underwater.

Woojin touched his cheek.

Huh…?

It’s wet.

Am I crying right now?

Is my brain judging that I’m stressed right now?

As a reaction to what situation?

Are cortisol and serotonin levels for sadness disturbed, activating endorphins?

“Huh? Big brother……”

Bomi was startled.

Because a tear fell from one of Woojin’s eyes.

Mom and Dad, also surprised, quickly turned on the lights, brightening the living room.

“Woojin, are you okay?”

Then, Bomi’s surprised expression suddenly brightened!

Even though her big brother was shedding tears, he was smiling.

Woojin was smiling without even realizing it.

“Big brother, are you touched? You shouldn’t be, because when you see the gift I prepared, you’ll be twice as touched. Hehe, I love you, big brother.”

Woojin felt his expression constantly scrunching up.

Even his tears tried not to be controlled by self-consciousness.

Conversely, the corners of his mouth repeatedly tried to turn upwards.

‘Is it irresistible?’

Woojin didn’t know it, but his family was gently healing his weary heart from school. No, it was an infinite love that was more than enough to heal him.

Woojin was feeling it with his whole body right now.

In dictionary terms,

‘Is it emotion, happiness?’

The phrase “my heart is full” was an understatement.

Even after searching through my mind as if flipping through tens of thousands of books, it was difficult to express it as anything beyond a hormonal action.

His surprised parents also patted Woojin’s shoulder.

“Our Woojin is very sensitive! Hahaha!”

“Woojin, you need to blow out the candles, right? Happy birthday, Woojin~ Thank you for being born~”

“Whoosh!”

***

11 PM.

Lying in bed, Woojin was contemplating his state.

He still felt the same emotions as before.

It was as if he had been charged with an overflowing amount of energy.

After enjoying the feeling for a long time, rubbing his face against the pillow like a cat, Woojin thought of Oh Jeonghoon.

He hadn’t properly reacted to the situation created by Oh Jeonghoon, an organism that constituted his surrounding environment.

He should have just reacted normally.

That’s why ordinariness seems so difficult.

Woojin made a clear judgment.

It was his mistake. Mistakes can be corrected.

Woojin quietly stared at Oh Jeonghoon’s phone number, which he had found through the emergency contact network.

In physical competition, the person who goes too far is bound to win.

That’s a method that doesn’t fit modern society with its laws, and now he needed to react in a different form that suited this era.

If you avoid someone who picks a fight, you’ll inevitably be eliminated.

The animal kingdom is the same.

Even if you seem weak, that’s what happens.

Woojin called Oh Jeonghoon.