Eighteen’s Bed

Chapter 25.1

An unusual monsoon had begun. Muddy water splashed onto my white sneakers. The water that should have flowed to the sewer was stagnating in unevenly formed puddles, decaying. It was the result of asphalt that had been carelessly patched over multiple times without a plan.

The neighborhood, where I had recently moved, smelled like dead fish. Ice made from tap water, Freon gas, and the scent of an old sea. The 'new apartment complex' built over karaoke bars, an old barber shop, and a brothel was a reflection of the lower class, dressed in second-hand luxury coats.

The neighborhood, which had been quiet throughout the summer break, regained its energy as soon as school started. A woman, fairly aged, now frequently came out to smoke in front of the pillow shop, just 15 minutes away from school and 5 minutes from home. A face I could barely see once a week during the break, I now saw twice a day—once when going to school, and once when returning.

Today, she was breaking her ramen while watching the rain in front of the sign. She quietly observed me waiting at the crosswalk, then spread her fingers, and I pretended not to notice and turned down a side alley.

"Come out in front of the supermarket."

It was to quickly deliver an umbrella to Go Yohan.

“Am I someone who just goes when you say go and comes when you say come?”

Does she think I’m her servant? Go Yohan never brought his bag, pencil case, or even an umbrella on rainy days. And whenever it rained, he would always call for me.

“Annoying…”

I was the idiot who always went along with it, despite complaining.

The mud from my sneakers covered the soles of my feet. Every step I took, water and air leaked from between my sneakers. Passing by the Mint Candy, the Meridibon, and the Yeou Motel, I saw the yellow car sign. Below the rusted sign, a sewer pipe, corroded brown on the inside, was visible.

Sewers should be corroded at the ends, but why was the inside corroded? I had once heard a rumor about it, but since it was such a childish thought that an elementary school student might come up with, I stopped trying to recall it.

The rain, falling like hail, hammered the umbrella. The sound of the barber shop sign rotating also hummed. The umbrella in my left hand faced the sky, while the one in my right hand dragged, tapping the ground.

A green cloth roof, with the words 'supermarket' and 'cigarettes' written on it.

And in between, there was Go Yohan.

Go Yohan showed me the palm of his hand, quickly folding each finger one by one and then opening them in reverse order. And at the tip of his fingers hung a cigarette butt, familiar yet unfamiliar. I stopped breathing right then.

The time around us, the space, and the faint emotions started filling our world, and many things began to change. By the way, Go Yohan had lost his faith and strayed from the righteous path.

Annoying.

Anyway, Go Yohan only does things that catch my attention. Whatever it may be.

"Did you come?"

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