By Zephyria 
The CSAT was over. The results had been announced, and the early admission processes, including the essay exams taken after the CSAT, were completely finished, leaving only the final announcements. For some, their acceptance or rejection had already been confirmed early on.
Last night, the bell for the New Year rang. After passing through the same single night and waking up, the first digit of his age had changed.
Cha Min-gyu had finally become an adult. The late teens he spent after moving away alone to start living on his own and transferring schools had passed in an instant. On the first day of being twenty, he received a message from his parents. It was a message sent all the way from Belgium.
His parents had gone on a trip to Europe, spanning Christmas and the end of the year. They were the kind of people who wouldn’t ask about his CSAT scores, but would instead send piles of photos of luxury clothes they planned to buy for him, saying that since he was going to college now, he needed to wear stylish clothes.
[LOL]
[Thanks, they’re pretty]
[Have a great trip]
Mother
[Yeah~~ But since it’s the last day, nothing is open. We’ll probably just stay at the hotel ㅠ]
[Make sure you eat well too, son~~]
[Photo]
The last thing to arrive was a selfie of his parents sitting in a restaurant with a beautiful night view. The question—’If it’s the New Year there, it must be the New Year here too; isn’t it a bit much to send a photo like this to a son who’s alone in his studio apartment on New Year’s Day?’—had long since become useless. Min-gyu found their indifference absurd, but he didn’t feel hurt.
Min-gyu sat in the living room and called his grandmother’s number. She didn’t pick up until after the ringing tone had gone on for a long while.
“Yeah, Grandma. I called because it’s the New Year. You left your phone in the living room and spent forever looking for it again, didn’t you? What? I know. I know everything.”
He could hear his grandfather’s voice beside his grandmother’s. To Min-gyu, his parents were no different from older siblings, and it was his grandparents who had fulfilled the role of parents.
Is it cold in Seoul?
“It’s cold. It snows more there than where you are.”
I see. Be careful whenever you go out. What are you doing today? Are you at home?
“No. I’m going to meet some friends to celebrate turning twenty.”
Grandmother hesitated for a moment before speaking.
You’re not fully an adult yet, so don’t act too rashly.
He couldn’t help but notice the worry hidden within those words, despite her effort to sound calm.
“Grandma, do I look like the kind of person who gets into trouble?”
Grandmother let out a laughing voice, saying he didn’t. When she asked if he wanted more pocket money to spend while hanging out, Min-gyu replied that he was fine.
After hanging up, he found several messages congratulating him on the New Year had arrived in the meantime. Friends from his school before he transferred, friends he met at the academy…
The more he was reminded throughout the day that he had turned twenty, the more restless he felt.
…So, Mom and Dad had me when they were my age.
Even Min-gyu, who had become mature earlier than his peers, knew that he was still at an age where he couldn’t do anything on his own. The thought of having a child at this age was simply dizzying.
Since moving out and living on his own, Min-gyu’s views on marriage had become firm. To him, marriage was not something done while burning with the momentary emotion of love. Marriage should be a process where two perfectly prepared individuals combine to create a new form of family. Only then could they prepare for the various changes that would follow.
Perhaps because of this thought, his own marriage might be delayed significantly. Honestly, he had no particular aversion to living alone without starting a family. His impression of living alone for two years had been quite positive.
Still, he wasn’t going to spend the first day of his adulthood miserably alone. He had made plans for the evening with friends he had become acquainted with at the comprehensive academy. In fact, since about half the people there seemed inclined to retake the exam, he had considered declining, wondering if there was any benefit to joining in, but the guy next to him had blankly answered that his schedule was open. Then he asked him.
‘Cha Min-gyu, what about you? If you have time, let’s go together.’
‘……’
Round, gentle eyes were waiting for an answer to come from Min-gyu’s mouth. Min-gyu soon nodded. And so, plans were set for January 1st.
Min-gyu agonized in front of his wardrobe before putting on a knit sweater, cotton pants, and a coat. Thinking back to his shabby appearance while attending the academy, he felt embarrassed, wondering if he had dressed up too much. He debated until the last moment, but finally decided to just go.
“What the, is that Cha Min-gyu?”
“Crazy. What’s this? Did you buy new clothes?”
The friends’ reactions were not much different from what he expected.
“You guys should dress up a bit too, since the CSAT is over.”
“I am dressed up!”
Looking closely, it seemed the friends had also dressed more colorfully than usual. However, for the most part, they looked like children wearing adult clothes.
About ten people were gathered in front of the academy, the meeting spot. Among them, Min-gyu locked eyes with Yi-ho, who was wearing a baggy puffer jacket and jeans with an awkward fit. Yi-ho waved his hand to acknowledge him.
“Hi.”
“Oh, hey. Song Yi-ho.”
Min-gyu walked toward Yi-ho. Until the CSAT, Yi-ho had let his hair grow as it pleased, saying he was too lazy to go to the barbershop. But today, his once-long hair had been chopped off bluntly.
“Did you get a haircut?”
“Yeah. My mom told me to get it cleaned up before the New Year…”
Yi-ho rubbed the back of his neck, which was now exposed and white due to the buzz cut.
“Does it look weird?”
“You look like a middle schooler who’s just tall.”
“Ah, what the.”
Though reacting displeasedly, Yi-ho looked at his reflection in the window of a car parked in the alley and fiddled with his hair. While there were other reasons why Song Yi-ho looked younger than his age, that vacant face played a big part.
“You should rather grow it out and get a perm or something. That would suit you better.”
“…Really?”
Actually, even when his hair covered his ears, it had been surprising how well that style suited him rather than looking messy. Yi-ho looked back at the car window and muttered the word ‘perm.’ Seeing that, Min-gyu could already imagine him going to some strange place and getting his hair curled. He figured he’d have to take him personally later.
“Hey, Cha Min-gyu. You did well on the CSAT, right?”
A question reached the two of them as they walked a step behind. Min-gyu simply shrugged. The questioner approached them.
“Are you going to retake it too if you don’t get into Korea University?”
Among their friends, there were quite a few who had received decent scores but chose to retake the exam with only Korea University as their goal. There were a couple of such friends in this group, and they had taken retaking for granted since around the September mock exam. However, Min-gyu had a different opinion.
“No. I applied to other places as safety nets. I’m definitely going somewhere.”
“Your scores are such a waste… why?”
“The atmosphere at home, and my own personality. We’re of the mindset that if you did what you could in your senior year, that’s enough—why spend another year doing it?”
“……”
By now, the other friends seemed to have heard the conversation, and they began bickering, split between those who couldn’t understand and those who thought it made sense. Then, Min-gyu draped his arm over the shoulder of Yi-ho, who was walking silently beside him.
“Still, if possible, it would be nice to spend college life with Yi-ho.”
Between the roadside trees in the alley they were passing, a banner from the academy they had attended fluttered.
[This Academy’s Top Class: Song Yi-ho | Korea University, Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering – Early Admission First-Round Pass]
Yi-ho looked at the banner and sighed with a look of disgust. His face looked like he couldn’t stand another word of teasing.
“I saw it posted at the boxing gym too. That you went to Korea University because you worked out there.”
“I know… You tell me as soon as your results are out. So I can take mine down.”
“How do I know if I’ll pass or not?”
“Everyone knows you’re in the passing range.”
Searching his memory, Min-gyu recalled that even after the CSAT, Yi-ho had talked about various things while exercising. About what was difficult, or how many problems he got wrong.
“Hmm, keep it a secret.”
“Why?”
“I hate it when rumors spread while things are still uncertain.”
“…Alright.”
“What are you two talking about?”
Before they knew it, the friends had gathered around Yi-ho and Min-gyu, who had been lagging behind.
“Secret talk.”
Min-gyu joked, wrapping his arm more deeply around Yi-ho’s shoulder. Yi-ho was pulled slightly toward Min-gyu and glanced back at the spot where the weight had increased.
“Seriously, what’s with you two? Why did you suddenly get close just the two of you? Did you know each other before Cha Min-gyu transferred here?”
“No. I first met him after coming up here.”
“You’re not even in the same class, yet you always eat lunch together. And Cha Min-gyu always waits for the science class essay students to finish after the academy to go home together.”
In the senior year, it wasn’t strange to hang out with a friend you already got along with rather than going through the trouble of forming a new group within the class. The combination of Yi-ho from Science Class 5 and Min-gyu from Liberal Arts Class 9 was just like that. And late at night after the academy…
“Was it like, taking special lectures until late at night?”
“No. We just exercised…”
“How did you know? We went to an entrance exam specialist’s secret study group and took intense special tutoring.”
Yi-ho blinked, looking back at Min-gyu. We went to the boxing gym. We sparred for an hour or two to our heart’s content before going home. However, as Min-gyu gave the arm around his neck a little shake, Yi-ho sent a questioning look but kept his mouth shut. He had enough tact to realize something, but it was just right that he didn’t know exactly how many people Min-gyu was currently playing.
“How much is that?”
Gi-seok, who had joined the group, asked.
“I don’t know. My mom paid for it.”
Since the boxing gym fees were charged to a card in his mother’s name, it wasn’t a lie.
“Then introduce me to the place. You said you’re going to some college this year anyway.”
“Ah, this is a truly difficult and grueling path. Yi-ho, should I tell him or not?”
By this point, Yi-ho also sighed and glared at Min-gyu.
“Stop teasing.”
“Why?”
“Don’t do that to someone who’s desperate.”
“Well… yes, sir.”
Min-gyu obeyed Yi-ho’s words docilely. In fact, this was a strange sight to the other friends. Cha Min-gyu, who gave special treatment to the quiet and inconspicuous Song Yi-ho. For that reason, some of them secretly envied Yi-ho. Because Cha Min-gyu was someone who ‘wanted to be part of a group.’
“Seo Gi-seok, Cha Min-gyu and I just exercised after we finished.”
“…What kind of exercise?”
“Boxing, boxing!”
Min-gyu quickly snatched the answer with a loud voice.
“We worked so hard we were almost ready to enter a competition. I’ve confessed everything honestly, so don’t tell me to take my arm off, Song Yi-ho.”
“……”
Yi-ho, who had been subtly pushing Min-gyu’s arm away, had to stop his hand with a sigh.
“But why boxing? Is there a saying that boxing helps with studying? Is there research on that?”
“That… I don’t know.”
“Both of you did well on the CSAT.”
“Hey, hey. Seo Gi-seok. Don’t talk about the CSAT on a day like today. Everyone gather ’round. You all know where we’re going, right?”
Min-gyu asked Yi-ho, who was still walking closely attached to him.
“Actually, I don’t know. Where are we going now?”
“To drink.”
“…Huh?”
“Since it’s January 1st, we can pass the ID check. That’s why we gathered to try drinking… didn’t you know?”
“……”
It was clear that the message hadn’t been delivered properly, or he had let it slip through his mind. He had thought that as long as he went with Song Yi-ho, anything would be fine.
Min-gyu rubbed the fingertips of his other hand in his pocket. Seeing Min-gyu suddenly fall silent, Yi-ho blinked.
“What’s wrong?”
“…It’s nothing.”
Maybe it was a relief that he had dressed up a bit. It was a close call, but perhaps…