Chief Kim and Assistant manager Choi Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Chapter 29.

Chapter 29.

“When did I ever tell you that I used to swim?”

Woojin breathed heavily as he rembered.

Even in high school, Woojin often blanked out as if he was dreaming. And every ti when he beca unresponsive, there was one boy who would wake him up with his voice. A low baritone voice used to knock on Woojin’s sleeping heart.

The way the boy held Woojin’s wrist was so strongly that it made him feel breathless.

A teasing smile, taller than most, clean white canvas shoes, a well-fitted school uniform, and a neat school natag... The boy had a rather modern face and Woojin rembered it very well.

Shin Kim.

The first ti Woojin saw Shin Kim was when he was 18 years old, about to turn 19. Until this ti, Woojin firmly surrounded himself with a brick wall. He secretly thought that perhaps he would never turn 20. This made him feel indifferent. He didn’t feel upset and angry; Woojin just felt like his life was too dull. The word “happy” sounded bitter on Woojin’s lips.

***

“Good morning!”

The boys bowed as they saw their teachers standing at the school entrance.

Woojin attended a famous private high school in Seoul. It was one of the few left that was still an only-boys school.

The top 20% of the students and those with athletic scholarships were allowed to live in the school dormitory while the rest of the boys attended from their own hos.

The teacher ordered, “The swim team can go to the pool for morning practice. The rest of you can work on your lessons by yourselves.”

The dorm consisted of the top academic students, so it was always very quiet. There were odd tis when Woojin encountered the athletic scholarship students, but it was rare. Those students tended to stay among themselves. There was a clear divide between academics and athletes.

Woojin’s parents were firm about him staying in the dormitory, which ant that he had to make sure to keep up his grades. His parents acted awkwardly around him, so Woojin didn’t go ho even during the weekends. He remained in the dorm. To be honest, this was how he liked it as well. He felt more comfortable at school than in his own ho. He resembled his parents in that way.

For two years straight, Woojin encountered the swim team every weekend. The swimrs had to train all year round for their national competition. Although they rarely t inside the dorm they shared, because Woojin practiced swimming during weekends, they ended up seeing each other during the weekends in the pool.

Ti went by fast and soon enough, Woojin was in his last year of high school. It was the first day of school and there was a ceremony that welcod the students back from vacation. Woojin didn’t like the cold weather and because he had low blood pressure, and he often found it hard to wake up in the morning.

With an unhappy frown, he got out of his room with a scarf and a heavy coat. The other boys passed by him in similar outfits.

“The representative of the new first-year students, Shin Kim, please co up to the stage.”

It was the first ti ever for a student with an athletic scholarship to beco the student representative. The teachers whispered among themselves excitedly, which made Woojin look up at the stage.

The thick scarf covered Woojin’s nose and mouth, but white breath still escaped from it and fogged his glasses. As he watched, Woojin saw a tall boy walking on to the stage. His uniform looked almost too short and small for this guy. Woojin’s eyes moved up from his shoes, legs, back, and finally to his face.

“Ahh...”

Woojin exclaid quietly for the first ti in his life. Like magic, the boy’s eyes lowered to the audience and suddenly, their eyes t. Woojin couldn’t breathe because the boy had such srizing stare.

“...”

Woojin couldn’t see clearly because his glasses fogged up even more, but he could tell that the boy smiled at him.

It was perhaps Woojin looked absurd with his thick scarf, gaping mouth, and foggy glasses.

The boy read the standard welcoming speech and ca down from the stage. He walked by Woojin, and Woojin felt like his heart skipped a beat. He touched his left chest to make sure he was ok. He felt breathless.

When their eyes t, Woojin felt like his heart was falling to the ground. It was rare for Woojin to et soone’s eyes because he usually kept his face bowed. Thankfully, none of his classmates tried too hard to talk to him. His teachers barely rembered his na.

“Woojin, aren’t you going back to the classroom?”

His teacher spoke to him from nearby and Woojin flinched. He turned around to find everyone returning to school, so he began to run towards the building as well. His heart was beating too fast and he could barely breathe.

“...”

Woojin couldn’t stop thinking about him.

His strong face and the fierce color of his aura. Woojin felt like there were fireworks going off in his heart.

From then on, Woojin saw Shin Kim often on the stage. Ever ti he saw Shin, it seed that Shin was getting taller. Shin would run up the stage and bow so he could receive the dal around his neck. Shin smiled often, and when he did, his eyebrows ford perfectly round arches and made him look like a little boy.

Every ti Woojin saw his smile, it made him feel odd. In the school hallways, Woojin could recognize Shin just by looking at the back of his head. Sotis, Woojin looked outside the window during lunch ti to see the swim team in the field to train. It was too easy for Woojin to spot Shin Kim imdiately even from afar and among similarly dressed boys.

To Woojin, Shin Kim was like a clear color. Woojin knew it wasn’t a dream, but Shin always seed like a mirage to him.

Before Woojin graduated high school, he had to move to Germany with his mother. As he got onto the plane, Woojin had already begun to slowly forget Shin Kim. It was a conscious effort to do this because Woojin knew that if he continued to rember Shin, he would not make it.

Especially the mory of their encounter at the swimming pool that evening...

The first word Shin said to him.

“Hello.”

And when Woojin saw Shin again at work, Woojin felt like his world had stopped. Shin appeared in front of him with an even lower voice.

A fully grown man now.

10 years ago, Shin’s hand touched Woojin’s wrist. Just once.

After Shin handed him his natag that fell on the ground, Woojin returned to his dorm room. He placed the natag on his desk and stared at it for a long ti. It looked very different for so reason after Shin touched it.

The sun was setting and for the first ti that night, Woojin learned that there were many colors in a sunset. Orange, violet, and navy.

And despite Woojin’s skepticism, he did turn 20 years old the next year.