By Zephyria 
Summer had faded to the point where the air felt a bit chilly once the sun went down. The daylight, which had brightly lit the world until 8 PM, gradually receded, and the sky grew dark midway through the coding class.
Most of the students had now reached a stage where they had given up on understanding the lecture content and had instead begun to enjoy the sound of words they didn’t understand. Still, the classroom was filled today with many of those who had previously drifted away.
Finally, it was the last day of the coding class.
Since it was the final session, Yi-ho structured the lecture materials to review the lessons covered so far rather than introducing new progress. Because it consisted of calm explanations without any practical exercises, the lecture ended about twenty minutes earlier than usual.
sys.exit(“class is over.”)
#Thank you!
On the white page of the final slide, he had included a witty piece of code indicating that the system was shutting down because the class was over, but only about half the students laughed. Still, he figured that was something. Yi-ho gave a polite bow and offered his farewells in human language, not coding language.
“Thank you for attending my lacking lectures.”
The slide closed. The teaching materials inside Yi-ho’s laptop had grown significantly over time.
“Even for majors, development languages are bound to feel completely foreign when first encountered. You have chances to see Korean or English on signs while passing by, but you don’t see C language written on the streets. Ah, though you might have seen it if your computer had a serious error…”
He wasn’t joking, but laughter erupted from various places. It was even louder than the reaction to his prized final slide. Yi-ho continued.
“Of course, I was also very flustered and lost when I first entered the computer science department at twenty. Um… the hubaes in the class where I served as a teaching assistant had the exact same expression I did back then, and I’m sure you all felt the same.”
As Yi-ho’s gaze swept across the room, it landed on someone. The eye contact was brief, but he straightened his shoulders a bit more.
“Still, I hope you don’t fear it, even if it feels unfamiliar and difficult. In the end, code is handled by human fingertips. If you keep at it, it’s not as big a deal as you think. Of course, bugs and errors will happen, but they will be fixed eventually…”
Despite having prepared his closing remarks the day before, he was about to start rambling awkwardly again. Yi-ho quickly wrapped up his speech.
“…I couldn’t teach you coding skills that work everywhere in such a short period, but I hope I was able to change your perspective on development.”
As he said this and put down the microphone, applause broke out. Yi-ho smiled shyly, bowing his waist repeatedly.
“I have a question!”
Just then, Tae-gyung, who had shown his loyalty by staying in the front row until the end, raised his hand. Yi-ho nodded and said, “Yes.”
“When you were in school, Yi-ho nim, was there ever a development subject where you didn’t get an A+?”
“Of course there was.”
“What about grades B or lower?”
“…I don’t think there were any of those.”
“I think the reason code isn’t scary for you is because you’re a genius… I can’t help but be scared because I’m terrified an error will blow up from something I made…”
“……”
Yi-ho stared intently at the team member’s cheeky rebellion before answering.
“That’s because you skipped classes in the middle, Tae-gyung nim. If you had attended, you’d know.”
“…Can’t you take into account that I skipped because I was working from home…?”
“I came to the office to teach after my work-from-home period ended. Tae-gyung nim, from now on, if an error occurs, I’ll assume it’s because you skipped class.”
“Ah…! I should have just come.”
“Since Tae-gyung nim and I are practitioners, it’s a big deal if an error occurs, so we’ll be the ones trembling every time we look at the code. Everyone else, please just look at it comfortably.”
Tae-gyung’s expression became one where it was hard to tell if he was laughing or crying. Hmph, even if Song Yi-ho was born without a silver tongue, he had made great strides lately by constantly chatting with Cha Min-gyu. He was no longer at a level where he would lose to Tae-gyung. Then, someone else raised their hand.
“Yes.”
“Yi-ho nim, will there be a Coding Class Season 2?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t know if internal courses will open again, and there are other development team leaders…”
“Ah, I’ve just barely shaken off my fear, so I feel like my courage shouldn’t end here. If possible, please do it again.”
Though it was a very grateful sentiment, Yi-ho only responded with a “Haha…” laugh.
While they chatted, the sky grew even darker. Since it was the final lecture, it would be fine to end a bit early.
“Thank you for joining me. This was Development Team Leader Song Yi-ho.”
This time, cheers were added to the sound of applause. The loudest clapping came from the person sitting dead center in the front row. That person was the star student, Cha Min-gyu, who had attended with a sincere attitude, save for one absence. He had even shown such enthusiasm that after resolving the ‘reason for his absence,’ he invited the instructor to his home for a make-up lesson for the one class he missed.
The thunderous applause echoed in the classroom for a long time. With a flushed face, Yi-ho continued to bow.
“It’s over…”
In the classroom where all the students had left, Yi-ho, the last one remaining, perched on the edge of the podium desk and looked around the empty room.
Just then, one of the students who had left with the crowd poked his head back through the door. Upon spotting Yi-ho, he strode back inside.
“Aren’t you leaving?”
“…I should.”
Yi-ho gave a thin smile to Min-gyu, who had suddenly appeared beside him. He said that, but he intended to stay for a little longer. Min-gyu didn’t rush him.
“Even if it wasn’t something I started because I liked it, the feeling when finishing it seems to be similar.”
“What kind of feeling?”
“Proud, relieved, and thinking I should have done better as I remember the parts I regretted… something like that.”
“This is bad. Usually, when people think like that, the memories get beautified and they fall into the thought of, ‘Ah, I think I could do it better if I did it one more time…’ and then they host Coding Class Season 2.”
“Ah, I’m not doing it. Never. Absolutely not.”
Because he had ended on a high note, he had almost fallen for it just as Min-gyu described. How did he know? Yi-ho steadied his heart. He must never do this crazy thing again, and he should let other development team leaders enjoy the glory.
“Min-gyu nim, was the class helpful for you?”
“Yes. In many ways.”
In truth, marketing was the field furthest removed from programming. It started as a way to tease a friend, but in the end… he had thoroughly enjoyed the precarious romance between instructor and student.
“In what ways?”
“It was good for self-development since I got to use my science-track brain, which had been frozen since the CSAT, and it was quite helpful personally as well.”
“I don’t think that was part of the course’s purpose.”
“Doesn’t that make me a commendable disciple who gains ten things when taught one?”
“Team Leader Cha, do you have any thoughts on opening a speaking lecture? I’ll sign up immediately.”
“Oh, I won’t take Team Leader Song. There’s been no progress even after fifteen years of teaching.”
“Ha…”
“Looking at you today, it seems you don’t need a speaking lecture. I almost cried hearing your final farewell.”
“I practiced all day yesterday, so I had to at least reach that level.”
“Ah, so that’s why you wouldn’t meet me.”
Yi-ho simply shrugged. Min-gyu poked him in the side.
“Fine. If you want, I can start today and give you a special lecture by your side all through the weekend.”
“Ah, right. I’m not home this weekend.”
“Why? Where are you going, leaving your lover behind?”
Asking the question, Min-gyu’s smiling expression suddenly stiffened as he realized.
“Sorry. I knew, but I forgot for a moment.”
“What is there for you to be sorry about?”
Next Wednesday was the anniversary of Yi-ho’s father’s death. On the weekend closest to the anniversary, visiting the grave with his mother had been a routine for several years.
“Are you going Saturday or Sunday?”
“It might change depending on the weather, but probably Saturday.”
“Aha.”
Someone’s fingertips encroached upon Yi-ho’s hand, which was resting on the instructor’s desk. Min-gyu applied slight pressure, as if pressing a fingerprint onto a nail. The fingertips turned white. It was a very small, ticklish contact, one that wouldn’t be noticed even if someone were watching from the outside.
“Shall I go with you?”
It was a plain tone, but it was a question that took a beat before an answer came. Yi-ho’s lips twitched before he replied.
“…Mom and Dad would love that.”
“Really? I know your mother likes me, but your father too?”
“Well… if he’s watching from heaven, wouldn’t he? Since you’re treating the family he left behind so well.”
“If he saw the process of his son’s unrequited love, I think he might scold me. I wonder if I’ll get hit by a lightning bolt.”
“……”
If his father had truly seen the process of Yi-ho’s desperate one-sided love, he might have been clutching the back of his neck. However, Min-gyu soon shrugged nonchalantly.
“Still, I’ll go and get scolded.”
“I’ll shield you. My dad’s personality is the same as mine anyway…”
“Ah, then it might be better to talk my way through it brilliantly enough to blow his soul away…”
Yi-ho let out a hearty laugh at Min-gyu, who was pretending to think seriously, and gave him a light push on the crown of his head.
“Let’s go home first.”
“Yeah.”
After turning off the classroom lights, the two of them gathered the belongings they had left in the office. On their way, they ran into a student and received another greeting: “I really enjoyed the class.”
At this late hour, they had the elevator all to themselves. While descending toward the underground parking lot side by side, Min-gyu suddenly stroked the back of Yi-ho’s head.
“Come to think of it, I didn’t say it.”
“Huh?”
“It was a great lecture, Instructor.”
Yi-ho simply let out a laugh. Getting into their respective cars, the two left the parking lot and drove side by side in the adjacent lanes. A smile bloomed every time they felt each other’s presence through the window.
Once they arrived at the apartment, they would meet again as if they had never been apart for a moment.
The pitch-black night sky and the city lights illuminating the darkness were visible through the windshield. As he headed home under the dark sky, he didn’t feel tired.
He truly didn’t have a shred of desire to take on the class again, but…
As a kind of defense mechanism, the beautification of memories was a rather pleasant effect. Wouldn’t it be better if everything was remembered beautifully?
Of course, it was undeniable that student Cha Min-gyu played the biggest role in that.