LMI 2

“Hoo.”

After throwing away the last of the trash, Koi stretched his back with a sigh. He looked around the store one last time, confirmed that everything was finished, and turned off all the lights. After locking the store door from the outside, everything was really over.

He almost ran to his bicycle and started running in a hurry. He had skimmed through it roughly in advance, but it seemed like it would take quite a while to finish the assignment. He might have to stay up all night. He became impatient and the feet pedaling became even faster. A cool breeze swept sharply past his ears.

The part-time job he had started a few months ago involved spending time alone in a small store, doing calculations, organizing goods, cleaning, and tidying up the trash when it was time to close. He was supposed to be paid for the time he spent cleaning and tidying up the trash, but the owner had never taken care of it. It wasn’t easy for Koi to find another job, so he was just doing overtime as he was told.

He usually worked for another 30 minutes to an hour after closing time, so he usually got home close to midnight. There wasn’t nearly enough time to do homework and study.

Koi hurried and pedaled even faster through the dark night.

*

Koi stopped in front of the house that had been converted from a truck, threw his bicycle down as if abandoning it, and ran inside. He washed up roughly, sat down, turned on the computer as soon as he could, and prepared to do his homework while it was booting up. After checking the contents of the assignment on the screen one more time, he sighed and opened his notebook to start organizing roughly.

The assignment was to read one of the pre-assigned Latin literature books and analyze it, and since he had already read the book, all he had to do was write an essay on the topic.

For a while, he was so absorbed in the assignment that he lost track of time. Mr. Martinez, who was in charge, was very strict about assignments, and he was more unforgiving about not meeting deadlines than about the content of the assignments being sloppy.

Managing his grades was more important than anything else in order to get a scholarship from the school and go to the university he wanted. Koi rubbed his increasingly dimming eyes and worked hard to create sentences.

He was in the middle of concentrating when suddenly he heard a loud engine sound from outside. His father’s old truck was coming back. Koi was startled and hurriedly turned off the computer screen and the stand light and jumped into bed. At the same time as he covered himself with the blanket, the door burst open and his father came into the old, cramped motor home.

His palms became sweaty with tension and his heart pounded. Koi lay still and closed his eyes tightly. He followed his father’s movements with his ears, his senses focused.

His father seemed to be drunk again today. He muttered incomprehensible words and wandered around, making a loud noise when he bumped into something. As expected, his father cursed and soon started walking again.

A moment later, the refrigerator door opened and the sound of glass clinking followed. He was taking out the alcohol in the refrigerator, as always.

“Ugh…”

His father sat down in a chair with an uncomfortable groan and soon started drinking beer. He was already drunk outside, but he was drinking again.

But it was actually a good thing for Koi. He wouldn’t forcibly wake him up or pick on him and beat him today. He would fall asleep soon after drinking a few bottles. Then he could turn on the computer again and finish the rest of the assignment. It was a frequent occurrence, so the pattern was obvious. Koi just waited for his father to fall asleep.

“Kuh…”

Eventually, his father, who had been groaning in his drunken state, seemed to quiet down and soon began to snore.Koi carefully peeked out from under the blanket, checking on his father. His father was slumped over the table in the small kitchen, visible from Koi’s bed. Several empty bottles littered the floor. Koi watched his father for a moment before cautiously getting out of bed.

His father was sound asleep, snoring continuously. Koi endured the throbbing in his head and returned to his assignment. He glanced at the clock; it was 3 AM. He had to finish the assignment within the next two hours. Then he could get at least some sleep. He forced his heavy eyelids open and immersed himself in the assignment again.

“Ugh…”

Koi was startled by the sudden groan and turned his head. His father was still asleep. He sighed in relief and turned back to the monitor.

“Miranda…”

Koi froze, unable to move for a moment. Then he heard a sniffle, followed by silence. His father was still asleep at the table. He didn’t say anything else in his sleep.

Koi tried to focus on his assignment again, but it wasn’t easy this time. Talking about her was taboo between them. It was a painful memory for him as much as it was a wound for his father, so Koi had never spoken of her either.

But it seemed his father still held her in his heart. Whether it was lingering affection, longing, or hatred. A memory of his father, drunk and letting his feelings slip, followed.

〈If only you didn’t look so much like that woman…〉

Since then, Koi had lived with guilt. Because all this misfortune was his fault in the first place.

He suddenly felt a prickling sensation in his nose and quickly shook his head. The assignment in front of him was the top priority now. Koi refocused on finishing the writing.

*

Haa, haa.

He had stayed up until dawn finishing the assignment and ended up being completely late. When he woke up, his father was still asleep at the table, but the sun was already high in the sky.

Startled, Koi hurriedly got out of bed, quickly washed his face, grabbed his bag, and rushed out, hopping on his bike. He pedaled with all his might, noticing that there were far fewer cars than usual, which should have been lined up in a long queue.

Crap.

He frantically pedaled, dashing madly across the campus. Of all the buildings, the one where his class was held was the farthest away. At least he didn’t have to stop by his locker to get his textbook since he didn’t have it yet.

He burst through the door, and Teacher Martinez, who was in the middle of teaching, immediately turned to him. Koi, panting, hurriedly tried to head to the empty seat in the corner but stopped short. Someone else was sitting in his usual spot.

This hadn’t been completely unheard of before. But why today of all days?

He looked around in confusion and unexpectedly met someone’s eyes. Ashley Miller, sitting in the middle of the classroom as always, smiled. Coincidentally, the only empty seat was behind him.

Ashley Miller was smiling with his usual refreshing face, but Koi couldn’t smile back, given the situation. He looked around in confusion, but no matter how he looked, that was the only empty seat. The teacher, who had been waiting for a student to take a seat, wouldn’t allow the class to be interrupted any longer.

“What are you doing? Hurry up and sit down.”

At the teacher’s instruction, Koi couldn’t hold out any longer and eventually hesitantly headed to the empty seat. He didn’t forget to grab the handout from the teacher before turning around.

He sat down, put his bag on the floor, and the teacher started the class again. Koi hurriedly opened the zipper, took out his writing utensils, and prepared to listen to the class. He barely straightened his back and looked forward, only to find a wall in front of him. It was Ashley Miller’s enormous back.

Why, why, for what reason.

No matter how much he craned his neck, he couldn’t see anything. Maybe it was just his mood, but even the teacher’s voice sounded distant, as if coming from beyond the wall.

Now he was even blocking the path of a civilian like him.

Throughout the class, Koi glared at Ashley Miller’s wide back, stewing with resentment, but of course, he didn’t notice at all.

*

“Corner Niles, come here for a moment.”

Somehow the class ended, and everyone was leaving the classroom when Teacher Martinez suddenly called Koi over. Koi, startled, turned around to look at the students leaving behind him and approached the desk where Teacher Martinez was leaning. The teacher looked anxiously at the face of the student standing before him and opened his mouth.

“Do you know why I called you?”

Koi shook his head and replied.

“No. …Because I was late for class?”

If he was going to talk about his tardiness, he was planning to plead for leniency, saying he had stayed up late because of the assignment. As Koi waited anxiously, the teacher said with a serious face.

“You didn’t submit the assignment. Did something happen?”

“Huh? The assignment?”

Koi was startled by the unexpected words and widened his eyes. The teacher nodded, saying yes.

“You’re not going to tell me you didn’t know the deadline, are you? If you checked the assignment, you must have seen the date written next to it.”

“I, I saw it. And I definitely, submitted the assignment.”

Koi stammered, feeling a momentary dizziness. He couldn’t believe that all the effort he had poured in all night had gone to waste.