Chapter 23

* * *“I need to apologize to him,” Dojin said.The two of them spoke a little bit more after Daemyung left. Dojin was feeling apologetic for his friend. That was the reason why he left his place to begin with. He was the bully, and Daemyung the victim. They might have gone to different schools, but that didn’t help with the guilt. “Just apologize, then.”“...It’s embarrassing.”“Hesitating is even worse. Besides, you’re going to do it anyway, right?”“I should.”“Just apologize and cheer him on.”“Damn it, I poked his sensitive spot because I was a little pissed off. Damn this stupid mouth of mine.”Dojin walked back home in anger. Maru donned his hood and started his ride back home. It was pretty late. By the time he got back, it was already 1am. He washed his hands and stepped back into his room. But right before he could hit the hay, a knock on his door could be heard.“Maru.”It was his dad. Maru got back up to try to open the door.“If you’re going to drink, at least learn how to drink from your dad.”With that, the man walked away. Maru stepped back into his bed with a grin.‘He’s just like me.’He could hear the clock ticking near his bed. Maru closed his eyes. There were lots of things that happened today, at the same time it gave off the feeling that nothing happened. At least he was sure that he didn’t spend the day in vain.

* * *Maru’s phone vibrated with a ding. Maru opened his phone for a second and closed it again. A call? This early in the morning? He tried to go back to sleep after hanging up, but the phone started ringing again. This time, he took the call with a sigh.“Hello…”- Wake up, Han Maru!!The voice was loud enough to make his ears ache. Maru moved his phone further from his ear after a moment’s hesitation. Who the hell was this? It was 8:43am on a Sunday. Practically dawn. Who was crazy enough to…Ah, Yoonjung. That makes sense.“Yes, I’m awake, senior.”He rose up from his bed, still unable to muster enough strength into his voice to make him sound like anything other than a sickly patient.- Come to school.“Pardon me?”- Come to school.What the hell? Maru checked the day again. Right, it’s a Sunday for sure. Definitely not a day a student goes to school.“It’s a Sunday, though?”- Yeah.“Yeah?”- I know. Come to school, okay? You can, right? You don’t go to church? You don’t seem like a religious type. Right? Right? Right?Maru wanted to tell her to take a step back and breathe for a bit, but chose otherwise. “I’m going to church.”Of course, the Han family had been atheists for generations. But today especially Maru felt like he needed Jesus’ blessings.- Really?“Yes.”- When does it end?“Eh...”When did his wife come back home on sundays again?“After all the afternoon sessions, around 2pm? Or 3?”- So late.“Yes. I don’t know what it is, but I’m sorry.”Maru grinned victoriously. He had no intention of going to school on a Sunday and he wasn’t dumb enough to sacrifice his break to school activities. But just as he was about to hang up… his sister stepped into the room with a shout.“I’m going out to meet friends! Mom and dad went out to do something a moment ago. They left 20 thousand won, so I took half, okay?”The door closed with a bang. Maru put his phone back on his ear with an annoyed face.- What was that about church again?Maru replied with a sigh.“5th floor auditorium?”

* * *Maru arrived at the school, still struggling to wake up. School? On a Sunday? Ridiculous."Ugh.”The school was quiet. There was no way engineering students would come to school on a sun...Oh, there goes one. And another one. There was quite a lot, actually.“Eh?”There was a boy running past him with a guitar bag, and a girl running across to meet her friends in baggy pants. There were more in the field as well.“Huh.”Students, on a Sunday. It looked like they were all here for club activities. He could make out the music club, the dance club, and even some of the sports clubs with their advisors. Interesting, he didn’t think people were this committed to their clubs.“School on a Sunday...” he heard someone say behind him.It was Dojin. Maru smiled tiredly back at the boy. “Well, they told us to come, didn’t they?”“Ugh, I definitely wouldn’t have done this if I knew it was gonna be this bad.”“You can still change, you know. Want to?”“No man, I was just complaining a little. We haven’t even begun our club activities yet. Plus… girls, you know?”Dojin walked in through the gate with a small grin. Maru shook his head as he followed inwards. The two of them walked up the stairs quickly, up to the auditorium. They stiffened up when they heard a few shouts coming from inside.“Gaaah!”“Aaaahhh!”Maru didn’t dare open the door. Dojin agreed with that sentiment.“I wonder what that sound is?”“Dunno.”“Want to just leave?”“I’m going in if you’re going in.”The two of them opened the door bitterly. “Oh, you’re finally here.”Miso greeted them in her black gym clothes.