Chapter 108

* * *“Maru’s… a bit weird.”“Hm?”Daemyung asked what was up as he passed a cup of hot chocolate to Dojin. Maru? Weird?“He’s been a really cool guy from the day I met him. He also thinks really differently compared to all of us.”“So?”“It feels like there’s a distance between the two of us.”“Well, he’s busy. He goes to a lot of places for acting. Maybe it’s because of that?”“Well, there’s that, too, but… How do I put it? I feel a bit annoyed when I look at him.”“Annoyed?”Daemyung stepped sideways, dodging a female student running towards him. He almost spilled his drink. Daemyung took a sip from his cup before it spilled over before sighing.“I get that he focuses on something a lot if he puts his mind to something. I also get that he cares a lot more for people than he likes to let on. After all, our relationship could only improve like this thanks to Maru.”Dojin continued with a hint of embarrassment, Daemyung started feeling a bit embarrassed as well. This guy said too many cringey things whenever they talked. Well, that was his charm, Daemyung figured.“But if you look at him, you’ll notice that there’s always a reason why he does something.”“Well, he’s only doing something because he has a reason.”“Ah… Damn, this is so hard to explain. It just feels like he’s a bit up in the air. He’s always busy and hardworking, but he has no motivation. No, he has motivation, but… Yeah! He’s just circling around!”“Circling around? Maru?”Daemyung thought for a second. Maru? Circling around? Sure, he was doing that at the beginning of the school year for sure. He was always sitting at the edges of the club, never getting himself deeply involved. He was studying Chinese, CAD softwares, and sometimes even study guides for government employees. But recently, Maru was focusing solely on acting. How was that “circling around”? Then, Daemyung came to a stop. Maybe Dojin was onto something.“I don’t know if it’s because I’m weird, but that’s what I feel whenever I look at Maru. He seems motivated but it doesn’t make sense why he’s motivated. It makes sense when I compare him with you. You’re clearly working hard because you desperately want to get good at acting, but Maru doesn’t give me that feeling at all. Even when he’s working even harder than you. I might just be worrying too much, but… It feels like the more I know about Maru, the further I get from him.”A single word crossed Daemyung’s mind. “Empty...”“......”With a short exchange of glances, Daemyung realized that this one word explained everything Dojin was trying to say all this time.

* * *Maru felt exhausted. He was glad that there was a heater running right above him. The school finally decided to unseal the heaters when the weather became cold. Thank goodness. Looking around him, he noticed that Dojin’s seat was empty. He couldn’t see Daemyung either.“Did they leave to get snacks?”There really weren’t other places to go at this time. Maru yawned as he took out his phone, his mailbox was completely empty. In the past, when he really was this young, he used to text his friends nonstop. But as he aged, he grew tired of even asking for an update or making small talk with them. His tendency to call people instead of messaging them probably contributed to his empty mailbox, too. But there was one person he always looked forward to getting messages from. Her. He wasn’t even able to send her a message with how busy he’s been.“What’s up?” he said, sending the message.A reply came in just a few seconds.[Waiting for food.]Ah, right. She had quite an appetite. He recalled how she used to frown often whenever she got a new role in a play, the new memory lightened his mood even more.“Do you have time on the weekend? I still haven’t gotten my money back.”Again, a beep.[We only have two weeks till the prelims. No time to play! Are you practicing well?]“Well, you know.”I’m working hard, just for you. Maru couldn’t bring himself to actually write that, so he just told her he was being lazy.[Lazy? Wow, so confident. Well, we’ll be taking first place in the winter nationals, so just you watch! Plus, we see each other three times a week already. Do you really have to ask for money through the mail? Don’t you try anything weird, now.]“Weird? No way.”Maru dropped back down on the desk after responding, “ok”. He’d be seeing her again today as well. She was hard at work, even in the amateur classes. Her motivation was almost blinding in his eyes.‘Come to think of it, I need to be careful of him.’Her charm was already starting to attract the attention of a few boys in their class. “Why couldn’t she just be a little pretty?”Maru got a little worried, thinking that someone might steal her away from him. He thought of the future after high school, before shaking his head. He didn’t want to think about such things right now.‘If she really does get together with someone else, then I...’The door behind him opened, cutting Maru’s thoughts right then and there. It was Dojin and Daemyung. Strangely, they didn’t have a smile on their faces.“Did something happen?”“No, it’s nothing.”What happened? Maru looked at the two with curious eyes.