By Zephyria 
Song Yi-ho was roughly in the top ten of his entire grade during the first year’s integrated curriculum, but once the students were split into humanities and sciences in the second year, he claimed the top spot in the science track. He was the star of the science class, showing overwhelming prowess in mathematics and physics—subjects where a score of 70 was considered a good cut-off for a first-grade rank. Yi-ho was a natural-born science person.
At the high school Yi-ho attended, there was something called the “Hankuk University Class,” separate from regular lessons. The name was grandiose, but in reality, it was simply providing a self-study room for the top fifteen or so students. Naturally, Yi-ho was granted access.
“No, seriously, isn’t it fucking weird? Why transfer in during the second year? I heard his parents are in the provinces and he lives up here alone. Isn’t this basically stealing spots from the students who’ve been attending this school all along?”
Gi-seok was exceptionally noisy today. Moreover, the things he was saying were absurd. Yi-ho recalled what his mother had said the previous day.
It seemed the transfer student had come for what was known as “Seoul studying.” This area was called an educational district, and students from the provinces often transferred here to prepare for university entrance exams.
In truth, most of them found it difficult to beat the local students, who had been cycling through private academies since elementary school, even if they had been top of their class back home. However, the transfer student who arrived this time became a hot topic by hitting the top ranks immediately upon arrival.
Rumors flew—that he lived in an expensive officetel in the middle of the new city center, that he had university professors come to his house for tutoring, and so on…
Yi-ho pushed his earphones deeper into his ears, but the whining voice still pierced through. Furthermore, the voice was getting closer.
“Hey, Song Yi-ho. Don’t you think so too?”
A hand slamming onto the desk obscured the problem Yi-ho was solving. Yi-ho pulled the earphone cord and looked up at Gi-seok.
“What?”
“I’m saying that guy might get the principal’s recommendation instead of you!”
“No…”
Since his grades were excellent, it was true that Yi-ho aimed for Hankuk University, the highest-ranked institution in the country. However, the early admission process didn’t consist solely of principal recommendations, and if all else failed, there was always the regular CSAT admission.
“Then I just have to study so I don’t get pushed aside by him.”
“Didn’t you hear? That bastard studied with professors called in from the provinces. It was unfair from the start!”
“…I guess his family has a lot of money.”
Gi-seok, who had uttered the word ‘unfair’ about twenty times in front of him, also belonged to a wealthy family and received expensive tutoring from a prestigious university student. Song Yi-ho, the only son of the Mok-dong rice cake shop, could also get a tutor for a subject he lacked if he asked his parents, but it would clearly be a burden on the household budget if it overlapped with the fees for the comprehensive academy he currently attended. The biggest problem was that if he mentioned it, his parents would likely try to provide it even if it strained them.
“Anyway, Song Yi-ho, don’t just sit there and…”
Slide.
The back door of the classroom opened. Looking in that direction, Yi-ho let out a small “Oh.”
The uniforms of active male students usually became shiny at the seat and knees after just one year of wear. However, the clothes worn by the student approaching were clearly brand new, having barely been worn.
Upon spotting Yi-ho, the student’s eyebrows twitched up and down. Soon, he walked toward him. The name tag on his crisp blazer read ‘Cha Min-gyu.’
So he’s a Cha.
The face that had been drenched in sweat the previous day was now fresh as he flashed a similar, wide grin.
“Hi.”
So you’re the ‘rolling stone’ everyone’s talking about. If a stranger had been added to the Hankuk University Class at this time, it was almost certainly him.
“I’m a transfer student so I don’t know anything. Is it okay if I sit here? Yi-ho.”
Before Yi-ho could even answer, Min-gyu set his bag down on the desk next to him. It was the spot where Gi-seok had been leaning while talking to Yi-ho.
Two gazes fixed on Yi-ho: Gi-seok, whose face was stiff with resentment, and Min-gyu, who looked on with a composed curl of his lips.
…Either one was fine, but the one who wasn’t noisy would be better.
“Yeah.”
Yi-ho chose Min-gyu.
Min-gyu pulled out the chair and signaled Gi-seok to move with a glance. Already well over 180cm in high school, Min-gyu’s eye level was significantly higher than Gi-seok’s. Gi-seok stumbled back a few steps before stomping out of the classroom loudly enough for everyone to hear. Among the friends immersed in study even during break time, disgruntled murmurs like “Ah, what’s his deal?” and “Why is he acting out like that?” drifted through the air.
“Are you going to the gym today too?”
Min-gyu leaned his elbow on the desk and looked toward Yi-ho.
“Yeah.”
“When?”
“After night study… at 10.”
“Can I go with you?”
“Why bother?”
At Yi-ho’s blunt response, Min-gyu’s eyes widened. Then, he wore a smile that anyone could see was bittersweet.
“Ah… do you hate me too?”
“No, it’s not that. I heard… you live in the new city center, and that’s in the opposite direction… so the route would be longer. There are plenty of new gyms over there too.”
It was a comment born from the thought: Does he really want to go back even after seeing the head coach’s irresponsible management style…? Yi-ho let out a small sigh.
“I’m not good with words.”
“No. The atmosphere was a bit weird when I walked into the classroom, so I just misunderstood.”
At Min-gyu’s words, a few students looked back at him as if feeling an unnecessary sense of guilt. While those who agreed did so, and those who pretended not to hear remained as they were, feeling some ripple of emotion, only Min-gyu, the party involved, was smiling nonchalantly. The look of being slightly hurt from a moment ago had vanished without a trace.
Yi-ho’s blinking was also born from the impression of ‘What is up with this guy…’
“Then why don’t you move to a gym in the new city center too?”
“The gym is on my way home.”
“I’ll walk you halfway every day.”
What does that have to do with anything? Yi-ho gave him the decisive reason why he couldn’t move gyms.
“I can’t because the head coach and my parents know each other.”
“Then I’ll just go there too.”
Min-gyu’s decision was made swiftly. Yi-ho nodded, thinking he was a bit of a strange fellow.
∗ ∗ ∗
Science track classes at the comprehensive entrance exam academy ended 20 minutes later than the humanities track. Yi-ho hurriedly packed his bag. Since the elevator would be slow and crowded, he went to the emergency exit and ran down the five flights of stairs.
The area in front of the academy became as crowded as a marketplace every day at 10 PM. Yi-ho looked around and spotted Min-gyu leaning against the guardrail. As always, he had seen Yi-ho first but didn’t call out, instead waiting intently until Yi-ho found him. It was a habit for an unknown reason, but seeing the wide smile that broke out when Yi-ho found him, Yi-ho felt no need to question it.
When their eyes met, Min-gyu pulled out his earphones. However, there was a slightly more arduous process before the two could actually meet. Amidst the crowd of students pouring out, Yi-ho waved to someone and had his shoulder grabbed by another, hearing a whisper that glanced toward Min-gyu.
By the time he finally reached Min-gyu, another group of friends, laughing loudly, approached them.
“Heyyy, Song Yi-ho, Cha Min-gyu. We have something we’re curious about.”
They were friends from another school whom he had seen a few times while coming and going from classes.
“What happens when snow melts?”
At the sudden question, Yi-ho answered with wide eyes, while Min-gyu answered with a faint smile.
“Water…?”
“Spring.”
While the friends laughed again, chattering, “See, this one is a total science type and this one is a total humanities type,” Yi-ho and Min-gyu looked at each other with expressions asking if they were sane.
“Snow falls because water vapor freezes.”
“You idiot, I said snow, not ice. The question ‘what happens when snow melts’ requires emotion from the start.”
Min-gyu’s glove hit Yi-ho’s body protector with a thump! Yi-ho frowned as if facing a complex, twisted high-difficulty problem.
“How do you even think that far? Why on earth?”
Yi-ho also threw a punch with his glove, containing the frustration over the topic that had persisted since the academy ended. Min-gyu’s headgear shook. Sparring between high schoolers full of vigor and stress was always akin to a brawl. Additionally, it was the time when the words accumulated in mouths that had been clamped shut during study hours finally burst out. Even while panting for breath, the two didn’t stop talking.
“Hey, then try this. What happens when a snowman melts?”
Since Yi-ho’s rice cake shop was located in a residential area, snowmen made by children were often found in the alleys. Imagining a snowman melting, Yi-ho struggled to find the correct answer this time. Because the snow used to make a snowman inevitably contains impurities from being rolled on the ground.
“Muddy water.”
“Song Yi-ho, you crazy bastard, just give up on getting a first-grade rank in Korean.”
Unable to retort, Yi-ho increased his offensive. Korean was Yi-ho’s greatest weakness. When he asked Min-gyu about problems he couldn’t understand even after looking at the answer key, Min-gyu would look at him as if wondering why he didn’t get it. Nevertheless, Min-gyu didn’t give up and used every possible method and example until Yi-ho finally understood and reached the answer.
After that, for a long time, the two diligently moved their arms and legs while chatting about various things related to snow, winter, and ice. Since they sparred with the same opponent at the same time every day, they became accustomed to each other’s styles. Yi-ho was fast but orthodox. On the other hand, Min-gyu would parry the opponent’s attacks one by one before launching an unconventional, powerful strike.
Of course, that was only at the beginning of the match; toward the end, it usually turned into a dogfight of swinging arms out of sheer spite.
“Snow falls and melts in three or four days, so does that mean it’s spring from December? Huh?”
“Ah, Song Yi-ho, who doesn’t know the flower buds sprouting amidst the snow. Your sensibility is so dead that a sophisticated conversation is impossible.”
After moving their limbs to their heart’s content, the moment the bell rang, they both collapsed and lay on the ring. Huff, puff… Occasional coughing fits erupted from within. The head coach clicked his tongue from across the ring.
“Are you guys already planning trips for winter break when it’s not even summer break yet? Why are you still talking about snow?”
“……”
“……”
Once they had exhausted themselves, a sense of embarrassment washed over them for having desperately chattered about such trivial things. While pretending to stretch in silence, Yi-ho suddenly spoke as if he had remembered something.
“Right. Cha Min-gyu.”
“What.”
“Gi-seok asked me to tell you that he didn’t mean what he said at the beginning of the semester.”
Min-gyu, still lying down, turned only his head toward Yi-ho.
“Who’s Gi-seok?”
“The kid who sits at the front of the second row in the self-study room. Seo Gi-seok.”
“Ah?”
In less than a month since transferring, Min-gyu had absorbed the surrounding children. The jealousy toward the ‘rolling stone’ had soon turned into admiration for his handsome looks, high grades, uncompromising personality, and wealth. Now, there was no one in the humanities track who didn’t know Min-gyu’s name, and the name of Cha Min-gyu from Class 9 was often heard in the science track where Yi-ho was.
Consequently, Gi-seok from the humanities track, who had been spreading rumors about Min-gyu, became restless. He had even requested Yi-ho, through his mother who was a customer at the Mok-dong rice cake shop, to pass along a message.
“Is he the one who grabbed you and whispered earlier?”
“Uh… yeah.”
“Got it. I didn’t realize he was bothering you. I’ll get along with him moderately.”
“It wasn’t exactly bothering. I just felt bad because he seemed a bit discouraged.”
Suddenly, Min-gyu dragged his hips and closed the distance in a stride.
“Song Yi-ho, what’s this? Why do you care so much about him, you cold-blooded guy who said a snowman becomes muddy water? What, does spring with blooming flowers come when Seo Gi-seok melts?”
“…What are you talking about all of a sudden? If a person melts, it’s a heatwave.”
“Hah. Right, Song Yi-ho is a cold snap. Your sensibility isn’t just frozen; it’s cold, so cold. You’re a very chilly friend.”
“…I think you’re being sarcastic, but I don’t understand it enough to get angry…”
Their sparring record was nearly equal, but the verbal arguments were always an overwhelming victory for Cha Min-gyu. However, even after huffing and puffing at each other, it was always Min-gyu who first moved back to his side.
As if it were a predetermined future, the two eventually entered the departments of Computer Science and Journalism and Mass Communication, respectively.
That summer, only a few months after meeting, they walked to and from school and the academy, staying a couple of steps apart while engaging in trivial chatter.
In autumn, they walked while tapping each other’s bodies, as if trying to use new techniques they had seen on the internet before arriving at the boxing gym.
In winter, Min-gyu’s arm was draped over Yi-ho’s shoulder. The scrutiny and interest that had been on Min-gyu’s face, and the shyness that had been on Yi-ho’s face when they first met, had all disappeared. In their place, the two wore similar expressions, smiling and showing their teeth.
A side-by-side position where their eyes met whenever they looked at each other.
Fifteen years later, the two are still sitting in that same position.