.  Holding the phone with both hands, Yoo Chun Young waited for a response. A moment later, a sigh came over the phone, and it seemed like a smile accompanied it.

  ‘Yeah, it may sound ludicrous,’ Yoo Chun Young dropped his gaze while pressing the middle of his forehead.

  The photoshoot scheduled after school was with Yoo Chun Young’s cousin, Yoo Jang Woo, a well-known fashion photographer who introduced Yoo Chun Young to the modeling industry. Thus, instead of sending an apology for the cancellation to a random person, Yoo Chun Young felt less uncomfortable to attempt it to his uncle; however, he still felt sorry anyway. Besides, among the people Yoo Chun Young knew, Yoo Jang Woo was the busiest man, and he would be leaving the country after a week.

  Both Yoo Chun Young and Yoo Jang Woo didn’t say a word for a while; therefore, the silence that hung between them went longer. Then, at last, words through the phone accompanied by yet another sigh.

  “Geez, what’s going on? I’m hearing you speak well, which seems you’re not dead. Are you sick then?”


  Yoo Jang Woo was famous as a genius photographer, which seemed to be true when Yoo Chun Young found his uncle as an eccentric, a mark of genius. Rubbing his forehead speechlessly for a while, Yoo Chun Young opened his mouth.

  “My face is a mess.”


  “Why? Did you have noodles last night?”


  “No.”


  “Then why? Did you… fight? For real? Is it true???”


  Yoo Chun Young also didn’t expect himself to lose temper when knowing that he had an upcoming photoshoot.

  While Yoo Chun Young remained silent, closing his lips tightly, he heard a burst of laughter over the phone.

  “Ha… you’re truly under the stormy period of adolescence!”


  ‘I’m over that phase,’ Yoo Chun Young tried to respond like that, but he considered it would be better to just shut up for a while.

  While Yoo Chun Young kept his silence, Yoo Jang Woo began to nag about his cousin’s erratic behaviors. He then flung a question when Yoo Chun Young started to feel a pain in his head.

  “Okay, cool. How bad do you look? If we could cover it with makeup, then just come over. Your uncle’s busy.”


  “Terrible, so I can’t.”


  “How bad?”


  Hmm… Yoo Chun Young raised his head to stare at the mirror in front of him. He had a blank gaze at his reflection in the mirror while perching on the bed. His face looked like… Yoo Chun Young carefully chose the most suitable word.

  “I look like rotten garlic.”


  “What?”


  “A rotten garlic because I turned blue.”


  After a while, a response returned from the phone in a dumbfounded tone.

  “Hey, Chun Young. Do you know that your words are deadly unique sometimes? Why don’t you try writing some poems?”


  “How so?”


  “I think you’ll be good at it. Let me know why then. Why did you fight? You wouldn’t forget about a shoot today, right? What made you lose your temper? What happened?”


  Instead of expressing his anger, Yoo Jang Woo now sounded like he was truly wondering his reasons.

  Including Yoo Chun Young, most of the Yoo family was patient and clearly drew a line between their public and private lives. The only weakness they had was that they were vulnerable at sleepiness. Yoo Chun Young looked up the ceiling while his thought absorbed him.

  The so-called Ham Donnie’s new friend made an invidious remark to take them away from Ham Donnie. He said that he didn’t manage to open her heart for over the last three years, which he did within a month. This just spoke about everything that he was doing was wrong, and for this reason, he should give up.

  After quite a while, Yoo Chun Young blurted out a response.

  “I couldn’t go beat him up tomorrow.”


  “What?”


  “I couldn’t just say that I had a photoshoot yesterday but today I’m off, so take this.”


  Yoo Chun Young responded after careful consideration, but Yoo Jang Woo gave him a bland reaction. He clicked his tongue a few times then replied apathetically.

  “Never mind. If you don’t want to talk about it, then don’t. Chun Young, it’s me who will decide if it’s okay to shoot with your face, so send me a picture.”


  “Of who?”


  “You. Send me a selfie.”


  “I never tried that before,” Yoo Chun Young responded while feeling a little puzzled. ‘A selfie? Why would I take a picture of myself to keep?’ Yoo Chun Young wasn’t a narcissistic person; however, what he heard sounded frigid.

  “Hey, enough. You already dropped points for fighting with someone. Shhh! I’ll give you 5 minutes. Send it to me.”


  “Uncle.”


  “You know, selfies are also like portraits drawn by artists. It’s a reflection of self-consciousness and a way to introspection. If you want to be a great model, you should try to take pictures of yourself. This is a chance for you to do that. I already gave you 5 minutes for a single picture, got it?”


  Yoo Chun Young, who was listening to Yoo Jang Woo’s speech, began to look strange.

  ‘If that’s the point, then those who upload their selfies every day on social media would find great enlightenment through constant introspection.’ Yoo Chun Young had this thought in mind, but he didn’t speak it out.

  Before he tried to say something, the phone was hung up. Yoo Chun Young called his uncle a few more times in confusion, but he never answered. It was obvious that his uncle was picking up the things he threw all over his place in his anger. If not, he would have read Yoo Chun Young’s confusion and would avoid the call until Yoo Chun Young sends the selfies.

  Scratching his head with a sigh, Yoo Chun Young fiddled his phone. He even found it difficult to locate where the camera app was since he rarely used it. After quite a while, he finally discovered the camera app then held up the phone.

  This was the first time for him to take a selfie, so Yoo Chun Young felt very awkward. All he saw was Ban Yeo Ryung and Ham Donnie taking their selfies for a few times while almost hugging each other.

  ‘Am I doing it right?’ Yoo Chun Young said then when he stretched out his hand in the air while looking at the camera lens with an awkward face.

  Creak.

  The door opened without a sign of people being around. Through the opened door, a pair of vibrant blue eyes directed this side. Yoo Chun Young sat still for a moment then soon opened his mouth. It was Yi Ruda.

  Sweeping his bright blond hair, Yi Ruda came toward with no words. His face was as swollen as Yoo Chun Young’s. Yi Ruda nodded shortly then yelled to the door.

  “Donnie!! Yoo Chun Young is taking a selfie…”


  “Shut up.”


  Without even thinking, Yoo Chun Young held the pillow beside him and smashed the back of Yi Ruda’s head. He beat Yi Ruda too much before, so this time, he attempted a lighter attack.

  Yi Ruda, however, might have not felt so pleased about Yoo Chun Young’s consideration. He snatched the pillow with a roar and threw it away. He then stared at Yoo Chun Young with a huff.

  Yoo Chun Young cast his glance over Yi Ruda’s shoulders despite himself, yet Ham Donnie’s face wasn’t in his sight.

  ‘Cool.’ He lifted himself from the bed and wiped his blood-clotted lips. When he threw a fierce glance over his hand, Yi Ruda seemed to flinch for a second; however, Yi Ruda soon had an unpleasant sneer and pushed his face into Yoo Chun Young.

  ‘Why does this bastard like to push his face into me?’ Yoo Chun Young thought while looking at Yi Ruda’s shiny face.

  Their distance was so close that their nose could touch each other easily… This would make Yi Ruda hardly elude his punch; however, the problem was that they weren’t sure when Ham Donnie would come in.

  ‘Should I punch him again? What should I do?’ While Yoo Chun Young seriously considered his next action, Yi Ruda smiled naughtily, bending his eyes.

  He said, “Why? Do you think you look great today in the mirror after the fight? Well, that happens a lot.”


  “…”


  “Hey, it’s lucky that I got smashed first. What if Ham Donnie walked in right away?”


  “Do you want to get punched again?” Yoo Chun Young said while feeling intolerable. Yi Ruda shrugged as if he expected Chun Young’s agitated reaction. He then pulled back his head.

  “If others hear this, they may think I’m the only one beaten up. Hey, you never got professionally trained, right?”


  “Yeah.”


  “Well… it was pretty good for someone who wasn’t a professional.”


  When Yi Ruda finished his words, he suddenly stretched out his hand and grabbed Yoo Chun Young’s arm. It happened in a flash.

  ‘What the…’ Before Yoo Chun Young could speak and shook off his hand, Yi Ruda already rubbed down Chun Young’s arm twice. Regardless of Yoo Chun Young’s perplexity, Yi Ruda spoke while tilting his head.

  “Hey, you really don’t have any traces of systematic training in martial arts.”


  “What are you going to do with checking that?”


  Yoo Chun Young snapped at Yi Ruda but soon lifted his head as he found something strange. Yi Ruda blinked his vividly blue eyes.

  Yoo Chun Young thought, ‘how could he know whether or not I worked out regularly just by touching my arm muscles?’


  Since Yoo Chun Young started his modeling career lately, he managed to work out frequently; however, it wasn’t something intense but mostly cardio and weight training. As Yi Ruda said earlier, Chun Young never got trained for martial arts, which used kicks or punches.

  Despite all that, how could he know if he used his muscle for fighting or not just by touching his arm?