.  While Eun Jiho kept whining, I briefly explained how Ban Yeo Ryung and I got into a fight three years ago alongside the long history of conflicts with my parents hidden behind the story.

  The kids began to look serious during my explanation. Even Eun Jiho stopped complaining and listened to my story.

  At the end of my confession, we were all surrounded by heavy silence. A few neighbors walking in and out of the apartment complex where we were standing glanced at us doubtfully and stealthily took a detour.

  Heaving a deep sigh, I added, “What do you think I should do?”


  “In my case, I would just endure the situation and move on until the same thing happens……” said Eun Jiho.

  I stared at him in surprise. Eun Jiho suffering something patiently––it was hardly imaginable, but to think of it, he once told me that his life was a history of tolerance itself.

  ‘When it comes to his parents, even the peerless Eun Jiho has no choice but to follow their rules,’ I thought, then turned my head. This time, it was surprisingly Eun Hyung who voiced out a different opinion.

  Like a news anchor, Eun Hyung opened his mouth and spoke in his usual calm and clear tone.

  “I think it’s better to talk about it now.”


  “Why?” asked Yeo Ryung. Even she looked quite astonished.

  Before responding to us, Eun Hyung hesitated for a moment, looking at me. He uttered, “Because if the same thing happens next time, that will be definitely after the exam.”


  That was when I realized the reason why he paused before making a response. His remark was assuming that I would screw up the test as terribly as the results would be comparable to those of Yeo Ryung.

  However, to be honest, I always got lower marks than Yeo Ryung. When the closest comparison became someone who was the nationwide Number one in test scores, it felt just absurd, instead of feeling miserable.

  As long as my parents stopped arguing that I couldn’t do better than her due to my ‘laziness,’ things were all fine.

  While I just nodded silently, Eun Hyung dropped the rest of his words.

  “Donnie, you’re studying hard before the test, so if you mess up the exam despite your efforts, you’ll feel very upset and even not well since you lack sleep. If you quarrel with your parents in that situation…… things will likely turn out worse.”


  “Oh, that’s correct,” I immediately agreed. To begin with, the reason why my parents and I struck retorts to each other was because of my bad health condition and frustration from feeling betrayed by my thoughts of ‘I’ll do great this time.’


  My mom and I weren’t those sensitive characters in the first place, so even if we out tongues slipped, we just pointed things out half-jokingly and moved on. The small quarrel seldom erupted into a mighty battle.

  ––The Republic of Korea, are you listening? Exams are this much harmful!

  Well then, as Eun Hyung said, would it be indeed better for me to vent my years of complaints this time when nothing actually happened yet?

  “You got my vote too,” Yoo Chun Young also agreed.

  “Why do you……?”


  “How can you tolerate it further?”


  Everyone nodded their head yes as if they all had the same thoughts.

  Amid the somewhat serious vibe, I tried hard to suppress the corner of my lips going upward to hint a smile. Yoo Chun Young’s short remark seemed to embody his kindness, saying, ‘I know how painful and heartbroken you have been, enduring the challenging times.’


  Shortly after, I took the elevator with them and went upstairs to my house. It took a lot of time not to make noisy footsteps while walking carefully in a group of many people.

  When I arrived right in front of my house, I took a deep breath.

  “I’m going inside,” I uttered determinedly.

  Yeo Ryung cheered me up, “Good luck, Donnie. Go for it.” It sounded as nervous as my voice was.

  I added, showing a small grin, “Whether I come out crying or smiling, make sure you pat me on the back.”


  Eun Jiho replied threateningly, “You think that’s a big deal? Come on, I’ll do everything for you except drinking.”


  His words made Yeo Ryung question, ‘Oh, drinking! That’s the bad side of being a teenager! Today’s a day to get drunk. Don’t you think so?’


  The hallway became a little noisy. While we spoke further about what we should do in January after taking the College Scholastic Ability Test, a voice suddenly intervened in our conversation.

  “Is it Donnie there?”


  Before I tried to respond, the door was flung open. The light from the entrance poured outside. Without getting my heart ready, I confronted my mom all of a sudden. Only an awkward smile hung on my lips.

  Yeo Ryung, standing beside me, was unable to hide her perplexed look. Slightly lowering her head, she said, “Hello, auntie.”


  “Oh, hi, you’re there too, Yeo Ryung.”


  Thankfully, my mom didn’t seem to notice that Yeo Ryung was somehow reacting a bit strange to her. Also, the three boys––Eun Jiho, Yoo Chun Young, and Eun Hyung––desperately shoving their big figures behind the narrow door seemed to be undiscovered yet too.

  Since all those boys, a head taller than the average kids, were acting that way, I struggled to hold my laughter.

  While I sunk my head onto my chest in order to hide my twitching lips, my mom began to nag me about everyday things.

  “If you’re about to come home this late, you should have left some text messages to us. Not answering the calls, no messages! Geez, if you’re returning a little later, I was about to drive and look around the neighborhood with your dad.”


  “Um…… mom……” I murmured hesitatingly, then showed her my broken phone.

  My mom slapped me on the back.

  “We fixed this for you pretty recently, and this is what you have AGAIN?! Do you think we are rich? Are we that wealthy?”


  Barely lifting my dropped head, I gulped down tears. Her slap was so painful that it almost made me shriek. Above all, she seemed to look more pissed off than I thought. Would our conversation go well today? I was deeply concerned already.

  Roughly sending a hand sign to Yeo Ryung that things would be okay, I went inside the house and slammed the door close.

  My mom didn’t look back at all but went straight to the living room.

  “Mom,” I called her.

  “Why?”


  “We need to talk. You too, daddy.”


  My dad, lying on the couch with his body all stretched up, just looked up at me, slightly lifting his head. These days, we had nothing to quarrel or argue about, so he looked apathetic as if nothing serious would become our topic of conversation today.

  My mom also glanced at me with a similar expression. I dropped my gaze at the floor, wiggling my fingers, then slowly took a deep breath.

  “Mom, Dad, I’m asking you to stop comparing me to Yeo Ryung for our academic performances or other things including everyday affairs.”


  My parents looked at each other, then just burst into laughter.

  My mom switched her smiley gaze to me and asked, “Why? Did something else make you feel jealous of her? Is that upsetting you?”


  She spoke in a comforting tone so that I could confess what had happened. However, I returned her a calm response.

  “Mom, I want you to stop that too. If I ask you to stop comparing me to Yeo Ryung, you always ask me back if I’m jealous of her with that look on your face, saying, ‘You’re still immature.’ Please don’t, anymore.”


  That was when my parents realized that I wasn’t joking at all. Their face turned stiffer. The living room was enveloped by a cold silence. Their glances seemed like needles recklessly pricking all over my face.

  However, I couldn’t step back this time. The tense air felt so suffocating that I always gave up persuading my parents. To think of it, it was always the same jagged stone that I stumbled on. In order to get rid of this, I was very aware that using a shovel was meaningless; instead, I should bring a bulldozer to remove it. However, I was reluctant to go that far.

  My mom, at last, uttered in a solemn face, “Donnie, did you think that I reacted to you like that in order to just tease you?”