.  Dropping his gaze back onto the table, Yoo Chun Young replied, “There’s no one…… coming here.”


  “Huh? Uh, I see,” responded Yoon Jung In.

  Yoo Chun Young then spoke in a more subdued voice, “I wish there is.”


  “.……”


  The three people around the table were enveloped by a deafening silence. Yoon Jung In then poked Lee Mina under the table. When she looked down, Yoon Jung In stretched out his hand toward her.

  ‘I won’t be able to leave him alone here. What should we do?’


  Taking over his phone from Yoon Jung In, Lee Mina began to quickly enter a message.

  ‘I was thinking about the same too.’


  Yoon Jung In soon loosened up the strained look on his face while reading her message. He thought, ‘I mean, why is Yoo Chun Young here alone while looking so pathetic? Where did he leave all his fancy friends at?’


  Once he finished ironing out differences with Lee Mina, Yoon Jung In heaved a sigh and lifted his head.

  “Do you mind if I keep sitting here for a moment?” he asked.

  Yoo Chun Young nodded, which seemed quite obedient compared to his cold look.

  There were about an hour and a half left until eleven o’clock, the time when the cafe got closed. The three then shared some conversations for about half an hour. Actually, it was Yoon Jung In and Lee Mina who talked most of the time; however, the overall atmosphere was quite good since they were the official ice-breaker of their class.

  That was when Yoo Chun Young, who looked like a puppy in the rain, began to recover his strength. With a ringing sound, the cafe door opened fiercely. Usually, they would have not cared about whoever was stepping into the space, but the action and sound were so loud that they bent their eyes in that direction.

  Turning his head to look at that side unconsciously, Yoon Jung In raised his hand and said, “Eh? Isn’t that Yi Ruda?” As he tried to add, ‘Why on earth is he here……?’ Yi Ruda quickly just walked past Yoon Jung In and flung a question to Yoo Chun Young.

  “Hey, that’s my seat. Why are you sitting there?” asked Yi Ruda.

  Usually…… no, if it was during the first semester, Yi Ruda’s attitude just now would never be imaginable. Yoon Jung In and Lee Mina’s jaw dropped to the floor. They poked each other in the side and whispered, ‘What’s wrong with him? I knew that his personality wasn’t good, but was it that worse?’


  Yoo Chun Young replied frigidly, “Why do you have your seat at a public space? What kind of bullshit is that out of the blue, huh?”


  “I don’t know, but it feels that I must just sit there, so move!” uttered Yi Ruda.

  His blatant remark sounded so confident that Yoon Jung In and Lee Mina tried to stand up to give their seats away while feeling that they should just move somewhere else. ‘Is this place like an ideal spot for a proposal or a space with unforgettable memories? But it was just the two of us who weren’t aware of that…… Anyway, this seat isn’t that necessary for us, so let’s just get up,’ murmured the two.

  Yi Ruda then stopped the couple from leaving the spot, “Nah, you two just sit down there.”


  “What? Then why the heck…… Dude, Yi Ruda, do you know that you really look like a bully right now?” uttered Yoon Jung In. He continued, “What are you doing to him who hasn’t been looking that good?”


  That was when Yoon Jung In murmured that way. Switching his gaze to Yoo Chun Young, Yi Ruda suddenly asked, “Did you borrow something from me?”


  “.……”


  There was a moment of silence. Meanwhile, Yoon Jung In turned to look at Yoo Chun Young, who seemed to have about ten question marks above his head. Regardless of the weird atmosphere, Yi Ruda urged, “Haven’t you? Isn’t there anything you’ve snatched from me which you aren’t letting me see what it is on purpose?”


  With a frown, Yoo Chun Young replied, “I think we aren’t that close in the first place to lend and borrow something between each other.”


  “Uh…… I mean, although it isn’t a thing…… Geez, what the hell am I talking about right now?”


  Speaking to that extent, Yi Ruda suddenly disheveled his bright blond hair. He then stamped his feet and shouted, “Argh, this is so bothering me! Something seems to flash through my head but I can’t remember anything about it…… When I try to say something to someone, that thing lingering in my mind is just gone. However, if there’s someone who took that away from me, all I can think about is you for some reason.”


  Listening to that conversation apathetically from beside them, Yoon Jung In’s eyes widened. Once he turned aside to look at Lee Mina thoughtlessly, she also opened her eyes wide after him.

  Lee Mina whispered, “Isn’t he talking about the same thing as you?”


  “He is, right?” Yoon Jung In tossed a question. However, before he got to initiate a conversation, Yi Ruda, who was disheveling his hair for quite a while, just left the space like a wind.

  Scowling at the view of Yi Ruda’s back quietly, Yoo Chun Young soon took his phone out from his pocket and seemed to check something. He then stood up from his seat all of a sudden. It was so abrupt that the couch was pushed back.

  Being surprised at that sight, Yoon Jung In asked, “Hey, what’s wrong?”


  “.……”


  As if nothing reached his ears no matter what was being said beside him, Yoo Chun Young just fastened his gaze at his phone with a stiffened expression then suddenly turned around. Yoon Jung In couldn’t stop him from walking with big strides to leave the cafe.

  After quite some time, Lee Mina murmured, “Why are they shooting a spy film in this place? One just showed up and babbled about taking something away from him; the other received a message then left the space all of a sudden. What the heck are they doing?”


  Yoon Jung In nodded quietly as if he agreed to her grumble.

  At that moment, the phone in Yoo Chun Young’s hand flashed while he was walking along the snowy street. A clear message was on the screen.

  [Sent by: Kwon Eun Hyung

  I’m leaving a message since you aren’t at home, not keeping in touch, and even your brothers don’t know where you are. Where are you wandering around all day long?]

  The following message then raised Yoo Chun Young up.

  [I know who you’re looking for. We are also gonna find that person right now.]

  The most significant thing in this world to Ban Yeo Dan was his little sister, Ban Yeo Ryung. He actually knew a lot of things about his sister more than himself such as what she liked and hated, and even felt painful about.

  One time, when they came outside on a cold day, Ban Yeo Ryung coughed lightly. He put everything that he was wearing over her including his coat, which made him catch pneumonia and get hospitalized. It was later then he found that he had a severe cold that developed pneumonia.

  Ban Yeo Ryung, at that time, laid her face down on the bedside and cried so sorrowfully, saying, ‘Is my brother dying?’ Thus, Ban Yeo Dan decided not to do anything reckless at all afterward. However, that didn’t mean that his ways of living and values had changed.

  Ban Yeo Ryung was still the most critical thing in Ban Yeo Dan’s life. His sister also regarded him significantly, so Ban Yeo Dan decided to take a little care of himself too.

  Ever since he was young, Ban Yeo Dan didn’t have any clear likes or dislikes. Whatever he saw, ate, wore, and experienced, nothing excited him at all. Therefore, something like a trip wasn’t suitable for Ban Yeo Dan, of course.

  After graduating from middle school, he went to see the sunrise at Jeongdongjin, one of the most popular sites in Korea for watching the sunrise on New Year’s Day, with his friends. Even at that time, Ban Yeo Dan kept a straight face while taking a photo, grabbing some food, and watching the sunrise, which provoked his friends’ outrage.

  ‘We will never take you anyway from now on! You’ll see!’ shouted his friends. They called their pets’ names one after another while saying that they would instead bring those along their trip. Listening to the names of their dog, cat, hamster, snake, and even a turtle, Ban Yeo Dan’s face slightly turned dark. Once they finished calling out all their pets, Ban Yeo Dan carefully dropped a remark.

  ‘You guys all had someone to bring here, but I intervened in this trip senselessly. I’m sorry that I wasn’t aware of that beforehand……’ uttered Ban Yeo Dan. He added, ‘Why didn’t you let me know ahead of time?’


  After his cautious remark, his friends exploded in anger. Each of them grabbed something like a wall or rock nearby and punched it loudly; one of the kids banged his head against the telephone pole, which made the pedestrians around them take out their phones and whisper to each other.

  Anyway, Ban Yeo Dan’s first and the last trip came to a devastating end. However, his friends kept asking him once in a while to travel with them even until now. It was such a mystery to Ban Yeo Dan, therefore.

  If that Ban Yeo Dan had a bit of interest in something, it was enjoying his time while sitting in his room absentmindedly such as listening to the tick tocking sound of the clock in silence or searching for patterns on the empty wall.

  The thing that he most liked was, of course, Ban Yeo Ryung calling him in that situation. He would then open the door and step out of his room. That moment was the best thing for him. Perhaps he enjoyed staying in his room quietly since he could listen to his sister calling him at any time.