By Zephyria 
I didn’t try to eavesdrop on Kwon Yi-tae’s phone call. I wasn’t such an insensible person. Now that everything was over, why would I be curious about the conversation between my ex-boyfriend and my Dating phase partner? ……But it had an addictive taste.
It was when I was folding the necessary clothes and putting them in my bag. I was planning to pack only the important things and leave. The rest were things I could throw away. Just consumables.
The old book on the bedside table, the worn-out coin purse full of ten-won coins, the small pebble I picked up because of its unique pattern. They were all replaceable as long as they didn’t contain memories. Things that wouldn’t be strange to throw away because they were useless.
Memories were only worth keeping when they were worth opening.
‘Should I just leave them all behind?’
As I packed my bags, my emotions welled up. It had been a whopping seven years. Fourteen years since I first knew him. It wasn’t the affectionate feelings for Kwon Yi-tae, but the most beautiful times of my life were filling my heart. Memories that warmed my heart just by imagining them.
‘Oh, this was here.’
I picked up the MP3 player I used to listen to often in high school. With a happy heart, I pressed the power button. It’s a really old device. I wonder if it will work?
After waiting for a few seconds, the low battery indicator flashed on the screen and disappeared. Let’s see… Where’s the low-watt USB charger? It’s been a long time. Do I still have that at home, not the integrated charger?
I picked up the MP3 player and got up. If I rummage through the junk drawer in the study, I might find a charger. The original plan was to pack my bags and leave coldly without looking back.
But I couldn’t help but be curious. If it didn’t turn on even after charging, I was planning to plug it into my laptop and check the contents. Maybe, the conversations I had with Yi-tae were recorded here.
At that time, Yi-tae and I used this MP3 together. I used it for listening to music, and Yi-tae said he was listening to some English. I had run out of my allowance for this month, and the money I had wasn’t enough to buy it, so I complained to Yi-tae. Yi-tae cautiously asked me when I whined that I was the only one who didn’t have one.
〈Then… shall we buy it together and use it? I… need it too…〉
Yi-tae hung his head, as if even that suggestion was embarrassing. His neck, which was disproportionately large, was flushed red, which was so cute.
How could he be so awkward at this age? The hairy guys around me were just gloomy, and they smelled so bad that my nose rotted when I got close.
Why is he talking so cutely? It’s not even a confession… Yi-tae smelled like baby powder. Nothing really matched. But it did match. Because that was Yi-tae.
Even now, it was a situation where only I benefited. It wasn’t like Yi-tae needed the MP3 right away. I felt like I could be a little more brazen. Or, I could ask for a wish.
I liked his pure heart for his friend. If it were me, I would have already demanded something, calculating the benefits and utility.
〈Yi-tae, Hyung is very worried about you. What if I run away with it?〉
〈…That’s… still okay.〉
What a cute guy.
Yi-tae scratched his neck awkwardly. He seemed flustered with the heat. I felt like I had to teach Yi-tae how to live in the world. If he lived like that, he would only lose a lot and end up in debt by wrongly guaranteeing something.
〈You’re so empty inside. Are you even alive?〉
〈…Huh?〉
〈What are you doing, giving me your liver and gallbladder? You should ask me for something in this situation. A wish, or a contract. This is all advice that will become your blood and flesh?〉
〈A wish, a wish… ticket.〉
As soon as I heard that, I tore a piece of paper from my notebook and wrote down the words. And I handed it to Yi-tae.
Choi Gyeoul Wish Ticket
-No expiration date
Yi-tae stared at the paper as if it were something great. It was only about 10 letters, and it wasn’t even anything special. Yi-tae was silent. He held the insignificant paper tightly as if it were very precious and stayed like that for a long time.
Then, he suddenly turned his head and looked at me. I heard a faint laugh from his wide-open mouth. It was the first time I had seen Yi-tae smile so brightly… White and round teeth. I kept seeing them. ‘…I like it.’ I think Yi-tae said that. I couldn’t hear it well because I was so distracted by his smile.
I was the first to start the silly pranks while using the MP3 that we bought together with the money we saved.
While studying, I felt like I needed a cat on my head, so I took out the MP3 player. What kind of squeaky music is there… I was about to just play the song as usual and put it down when I found an icon that said ‘Record’. At that moment, I suddenly felt playful. If I record it here, will Yi-tae ever listen to it? Like an exchange diary.
Without hesitation, I pressed the record button.
〈Yi-tae, are you listening? I’m embarrassed to record like this. Um… what should I say. I ate jajangmyeon today. And I said hello to the dog next door? This is rare. It’s small, white, fluffy, and cute. I want to pet it one more time. It’s like a fluffy cotton candy. The cotton candy barked at me, and I almost got taken to the hospital. I thought I was going to die, really. Yi-tae, how about you? Do you like dogs? Hmm… Ah, I don’t know. I’m going to stop talking now. Leave a reply if you find it, byeong.〉
I was embarrassed to talk alone. It was frustrating to write in a diary, but since it was recorded as I spoke, the gaps between the words became longer. The words didn’t come out right away.
Will Yi-tae be able to find this voice message? I wouldn’t have done this if I had shared the MP3 with another guy. I kept thinking about his pure and round teeth.
Will he listen to the 30-second story and smile like that again? Next time, I should record something funny. If you reply.
I guess it’ll be hard to find? I didn’t expect much. Even if he noticed, Yi-tae, who is shy, wouldn’t agree to my prank.
Since I didn’t expect much, I quickly forgot about it. Not the word to reply, but the fact that I recorded such an audio file in the first place.
Then one day.
‘……Huh?’
I was looking for a folder to listen to a newly added song when I found a recording file that I hadn’t seen before. It was less than two weeks since I recorded it.
The voice file was played due to a mistakenly pressed button. It started with a long silence from the beginning. I almost turned it off because I thought it was accidentally recorded. The screen showed that the length was about 1 minute and 30 seconds.
[Hi… Hello? Can you hear me… well? Sorry. …I found it too late… I played with my younger sister today… Ah, for food… I ate kimchi stew and seasoned bean sprouts that my mom made. And… the moon… was round. Uh… have a good night. …Bye. …If you leave another one, I’ll reply quickly this time.]
The time spent thinking was longer than the time spent speaking. That was funny and made me shy.
For some reason, my heart tickled when I heard his voice. What is this feeling? Romance? Emotion? I rubbed my hands on my thighs. His voice was lower than usual, so I wanted to scratch my ears. I was already listening to rock music at a high volume.
I listened to it three more times in a row. I chuckled. I wanted to leave a reply quickly.
I was worried. What should I talk about?
〈Yi-tae, hello. Today…〉
Sharing daily life through recording files continued. I thought it would end soon, but it piled up and lasted for over a year. Actually, I had the money to buy an MP3 player, but I didn’t buy it on purpose. Because the conversations we had were fun. It was an opportunity I didn’t want to give up.
The MP3 player became a secret window to share everything from trivial stories to angry and happy things. Yi-tae’s gentle way of speaking was even better to listen to right before going to bed. He became more comfortable with me, and his words became longer, and the length of the file often increased to 10 minutes or more.
We got closer like that.
I looked down at the MP3 player in my hand. I… have to take this. If it doesn’t turn on, I was willing to pay to fix it. Our secret diary containing our youth. This kind of excitement will probably never come back. So it was worth keeping. Because I shined in those days.
I was about to grab the doorknob and turn it. If I hadn’t heard a faint voice from outside. I heard something like a conversation. The sound easily came through the wooden door, which wasn’t soundproof.
Oh,
Can I listen to this?
…Gangneung? It seemed like he was talking to the person who had been calling Kwon Yi-tae’s phone like crazy earlier. I shouldn’t eavesdrop, I shouldn’t… But my ear had already been stuck to the door for a long time.
So, if I combine the words I can hear, my Dating phase partner, who only had Kwon Yi-tae, is going on a trip to Gangneung and getting a room…? Gasp! Getting a room? I like squid sundae too.
Suddenly, a drama I had been watching with excitement while cleaning the house earlier flashed through my mind. The back of the male actor who was going on a business trip with his co-worker, leaving his pregnant wife behind. I was furious, saying, “Is this crazy bastard for real?”
I cursed like crazy, saying, ‘His wife is suffering from severe morning sickness and can’t even drink water, but this crazy bastard, is his dick controlling his brain!’ And now, I found my ex-boyfriend whose brain is made of dick.