Sorim Grapes is Wronged

04.

I headed towards the smoking area exit to take the duck photos Da-bin had requested. The blonde-haired guy followed me.

“Are you leaving? We have some time left and we’re going to play pool. Want to join us?”

“Sorry, I’m busy.”

“How do you know how to do that? Teach us before you go.”

“Hyung-nim, I know Ha Jin too. I haven’t been to your house, but Ha Jin knows me and I’ve greeted his girlfriend. Ju Da-bin, right?”

“Hyung-nim, you live in the officetel in front of the main gate, right? Can I come over to your place sometime?”

Hyung-nim, hyung-nim.

I answered the annoying questions thrown at me from behind with “Ask my brother” and opened the door to leave. I heard them say, “Oh, so cool. Thank you.”

As I left the smoking area and headed towards the lake, I felt a sharp gaze on the back of my head.

“…”

When I turned around, that quiet handsome guy was looking at me from inside the transparent smoking area. While his friends were back to poking and harassing the vending machine, he seemed uninterested in it and was just looking at me… but when our eyes met again, he seemed flustered and turned his back completely.

What’s really going on?

Do I know him from somewhere?

I thought that since I’m not good at remembering faces, I might have met him before. I might even forget that handsome face if I see it again. Well, it’s not like I’ll meet him again. I cut off my interest and continued on my way.

*

Perhaps because the weather was nice, there were many people by the lake. A young couple was hugging tightly in front of a “No Swimming” sign. Ah… I dislike… people.

The ducks were nowhere to be seen, either they had gone to sleep or been forcibly relocated. It’s such a large lake that they might be hidden behind the vegetation or just hiding. If they were hiding, I didn’t want to deliberately look for them.

Nearby, some college students were peering around the lakeside.

“Oh, what? No ducks in sight. The baby ducks are so damn cute.”

“They’re probably in the vegetation down there. That seems to be their home.”

“Let’s go down, let’s go down.”

The students started descending the steep stairs to look for the ducks.

I felt frustrated again. Can’t they just leave the ducks alone? Do they have to find them if they’re hiding?

Isn’t it because of jerks like you that the mother duck hid with her babies? How stressed do you think the ducks are when huge monsters who could step on and kill their babies are noisily looking around? Think a little.

“…”

Beep beep beep.

The smartwatch on my left wrist sounded an alarm. Jin and Da-bin bought it for me, and it automatically measures stress levels and beeps like this when it gets too high. It usually goes off three or four times a day. It sometimes goes off suddenly even when I’m just lying in bed doing nothing. It’s not broken. That’s just how messed up I am.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

I’ve seen and experienced too many trashy things, so my threshold for irritation has become infinitely low.

It’s a sickness that I get angry even at kids who are barely twenty or twenty-one years old looking for cute baby ducks.

I gave up on the ducks and turned around.

Sigh. A sigh escapes me. It was an especially tiring outing today.

*

After returning home, I jumped straight into bed as soon as I finished washing up.

White, clean ceiling, windows that let in plenty of sunlight. A bed so soft it feels almost uncomfortable, and blankets with a soft touch.

Everything feels so unfamiliar that it doesn’t feel like my home.

We moved to a neat officetel in front of Korea University’s main gate in early March.

The first thing we planned after winning the lottery was to move. Since my brother had just become a university student, I thought about letting him live alone in a nice officetel near the school, while I would move to a quiet and secluded place.

‘You’re going to live alone in the countryside, hyung?’

‘Not too rural, I was thinking of a place where at least food delivery is possible. There are large apartment complexes with good infrastructure even in the provinces. You’re twenty now, so you probably want to be independent.’

‘…Hyung, I’m sorry, but I don’t think that’s going to work.’

‘Why?’

‘You know. I’m forgetful and careless. I can’t manage daily life without someone taking care of me. I don’t even know how to cook anything besides ramen and fried eggs, how could I live alone?’

‘Just buy food or order delivery. We’re rich now.’

‘Ah, hyuuung. Don’t be like that, let’s live together. Take care of me. I’m not mentally prepared for independence yet. Why are you trying to send away your brother who’s never done any hard work? You’re a bad hyung.’

‘You’re over 180cm tall, how can you call yourself a baby? Do you have any conscience?’

‘I’m always a baby in front of you, hyung. Waaah.’

‘Do you want to see what I had for dinner yesterday?’

Even though a newly adult should welcome independence, Jin was the opposite.

I also thought it would be a bit worrying to leave him alone when he’s so careless without someone looking after him, so I canceled the plan to live separately. Instead, we looked for a spacious and clean place in front of Korea University’s main gate and immediately purchased an officetel with 3 rooms, 2 bathrooms, and a large terrace. The top floor of a high-end officetel with only one household per floor became my first real estate property. This was because Jin entrusted me with all money-related management.

Da-bin, who was also entering Korea University, said she would be living alone nearby, so I went to check it out. It wasn’t a suitable place for a girl to live alone, so I added some money and moved her to another officetel that was spacious, comfortable, and safe. This became my second real estate property.

After solving the housing issue, we bought two cars, and instead of buying apartments or land with the remaining money, we just deposited it in the bank. That’s 5 billion won.

We moved on March 1st, but since my brother, a freshman, was busy with school matters, I took care of most of the unpacking.

Both my brother and I had become experts at moving, having done so every few months to every couple of years. We also didn’t have much to organize since we had been living in small places without many possessions. So I thought this move would be over quickly, but that wasn’t the case.

Why are there so many things to do when you have money?

We had to replace the sunken mattress, buy new bedding to replace the ones we’d used for 10 years, and there were so many appliances to buy… TV, refrigerator, washing machine, air conditioner, and so on. Actually, if I were living alone, I’d leave it empty, but since I’m living with my brother and he said he’d bring his school friends over, I couldn’t be careless.

It took another full week just to buy furniture and electronic devices. Throwing away what needed to be thrown away, installing what needed to be installed… I remember thinking I never wanted to move again.

I thought even rich people live quite troublesome lives.

Of course, it’s still better than being poor.

Even this comforter I’m burying my face in now is a goose down comforter that costs over a million won.

I really wonder if I’ll become one with the bed as my brother said…

But so what if I do.

Then I’ll just live as a bed, that’s all.

No, does that mean I’ll die?

Yeah. Then I’ll just die, that’s all…

Today is Friday, so my brother will surely be late due to drinking, and this concludes my daily schedule.

Is this really okay?

So what if it’s not okay… I can just die…

I sank into endless lethargy and thought about various things blankly.

1-2. Kwon Je-beom’s side

1)

After Ha-un left, the smoking area was noisy for a while. At first, they were amazed by the strange technique, but later they talked about his appearance. They said he had a pretty face with slightly upturned eyes, and a prim and cynical attitude that suited him well.

“Yu Min-su, that Ha Jin guy who’s the hyung-nim’s brother, is he the Ha Jin from the Business School?”

“Yeah. He’s a freshman like us.”

“The brothers could’ve just become celebrities. What does the hyung-nim do? He’s not from our school, right?”

“He’s not a student. I asked, and he’s not a celebrity either. He didn’t tell me his exact job.”

“Could he be an aspiring celebrity or something?”

“He seems a bit old to be an aspiring celebrity. I think he said he was twenty-six or twenty-seven.”

The friends looked surprised.

“Oh, really? Wow. He’s more of an adult than I thought. At first, I thought you were crazy for calling someone who looked about our age or younger ‘hyung-nim’.”

“But come to think of it, he does seem like a hyung-nim. He doesn’t look like one, but he really feels like one.”

“What are you talking about? How did someone who doesn’t even know Korean get into this school?”

“Just understand it from the context, jeez.”

“Anyway, hyung-nim gave this to me, so I’m drinking it.”

“Are you kidding? I put the money in.”

“If I hadn’t recognized hyung-nim, we would never have gotten this drink.”

“Let’s share it, one sip each.”

“What do you mean one sip each? Let’s do rock-paper-scissors and winner takes all.”

After such childish bickering, they decided to play rock-paper-scissors, but surprisingly, Kwon Je-beom, who had been quiet, also stretched out his hand. Everyone was surprised because although he hung out with the group as Yu Min-su’s friend, he didn’t usually participate in such trivial activities… He was actually introverted, contrary to his appearance.

“Oh, you’re playing too?”

Kwon Je-beom nodded. Then one person raised his hand.

“I object. A pro shouldn’t participate in such an amateur game.”

“Objection overruled. Kwon Je-beom is human too. He can get thirsty.”

“I object. Two participants are close friends, so they might cheat.”

“Objection overruled. Kwon Je-beom and I are not friends, but mortal enemies in life.”

After such bickering, they concluded that everyone would play rock-paper-scissors. The first round ended in a tie, and Kwon Je-beom won in the second round. Kwon Je-beom didn’t drink the beverage right away but put it in his cross bag.

The friend who had put money in the vending machine would have felt wronged and upset if someone else had taken it, but he held back because it was Kwon Je-beom who took it.

Is it because he has an excellent physique and outstanding looks? While that’s true, it’s not the reason.

Kwon Je-beom was like an idol to all gamers of the current era.