Chapter 378: Chapter 378
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Many people sent Happy New Year ssages around midnight. They wished a new year loaded with good luck, health, wealth, and happiness. So texted their hopes about having a better ti together also in this year.
Reading those ssages, I fell into thought.
Once I returned to school after the break, I would beco a sophomore in high school, and, of course, our classes would be rearranged. Having those thoughts in mind, I soon felt sad since no classes would be, perhaps, as good as ours.
I began to text reply to each of them while attaching the photo I just took.
‘Thank you, wishing you a blessed new year too.’
When I was sending the sa ssage to Yoon Jung In, I hesitated for a second then added, ‘Hope you don’t put Shin Suh Hyun through a lot this year.’
Scrolling down the texts, a few familiar nas ca into view. I closed my flip phone instinctively and took a deep breath. I could feel Yeo Dan oppa’s glance from beside .
Showing an awkward grin to him, I opened my phone again. Inside, there were nas that I missed so much.
[Sent by: Son
Mama, how are you doing in this cold weather? Stay strong and healthy! Happy]
[Sent by: Son
Yikes, my hand slipped while typingㅠㅠ Happy New Year, I love you!]
“He might have been nervous.”
I lifted my head in surprise upon the sudden voice. Still, with sleepy eyes, Yeo Ryung was smiling faintly while looking down at the phone screen. Staring at her for a mont, I soon nodded my head.
That could be true. He didn’t add any emojis but wrote grammatically correct sentences along with punctuation marks, which felt all so unfamiliar. Looking only at the text itself, I could never think that Jooin had sent such texts.
Then I pressed the ‘next’ button.
[Sent by: Kwon Eun Hyung
Donnie, Happy New Year. Hope everything goes well, and most of all, let’s have a Healthy New Year.]
Eun Hyung’s ssage sounded calm and clear as always, but that was why it felt more nostalgic. His text was like Eun Hyung sweeping around the doorstep of a place, where I had never returned for quite a while, then greeting quietly once he turned around and found standing there.
After a mont of hesitation, I entered the draft ssages. There were so many unsent texts inside such as ‘Today’s al in the cafeteria sucked,’ or ‘I can’t focus.’ Including those trivial complaints, there was also sothing like, ‘How are you doing?’ or ‘When do you have ti?’ which were the traces of myself taking courage.
While I kept being hesitant, Yeo Ryung snatched my phone from beside .
“Eek, why?!”
“I’m gonna send the text. Can I?” she asked excitedly.
I took a second at her remark then nodded my head. Well, Yeo Ryung wasn’t just close to the two boys. She would also play jokes through the ssage that she could handle enough.
Once I let her send the text on behalf of , Yeo Ryung began to touch the phone keyboard in excitent. Watching that sight, I suddenly uttered, “Ah.”
[To: Son
Your mom is with ...]
It was just a small prank that we usually enjoyed. But, hold on... didn’t we have sothing going on recently? My brows t in the middle while looking through so faded mories. Sothing irrelevant to that ssage seed to take place... Eh? Wait!
I shouted, “Ah, hold on, Yeo Ryung. Now I co to think of it, that’s...”
However, she already sent the ssage. Holding the phone that had ‘ssage sent’ sign on the screen, Yeo Ryung asked , “Huh?”
“I an, we recently got kidnapped...!”
Before I even responded that way, the phone bell suddenly rang loudly. The word on the phone screen, ‘Son,’ was embedded in my sight.
For so reason, Yeo Ryung also stared at with a stiffened face. anwhile, I took a deep breath and opened the phone. A mont after, a familiar voice reached my ear.
“Where are you?”
I answered in the politest tone ever, “This is Gapyeong...” Speaking that way, I felt a déjà vu. A very long ti ago, Jooin had sent a short text with only the words, ‘LOLOLOLOL.’ Right now, it just felt like the ti when I had received that ssage.
“Mama, how can you make such a joke when you’ve been kidnapped not long ago?”
“Well... it’s been a few months, and the seasons have also changed twice... Now, it’s the new year, so that happened last year...”
Responding indecisively, I quickly stopped making an excuse when I heard Jooin’s voice over the phone.
“Should I start my first day of the new year with that kind of news, mama?”
“... My sincere apologies,” I replied then acted like a snitch, “But Yeo Ryung sent that ssage.”
Jooin then spoke in a kind but savage tone to put Yeo Ryung on the phone. I quickly handed mine to her.
Even looking at Yeo Ryung trembling like a poodle dragged to the slaughterhouse, I didn’t feel guilty at all. Haha, wouldn’t I also need to survive in this situation?
Yeo Ryung replied in a crawling voice, “I... I didn’t lie... I an, it’s true that Donnie’s with !”
“Now I co to think of it, why are you two together during the New Year’s holiday? You guys won’t be going to your relatives’ house together...”
“What if we did?”
Except for the noise from the heater, the car was so silent inside that even Yeo Ryung and Jooin’s conversation reached my ear very clearly.
Jooin began to laugh out loud when he heard the part that my parents and Yeo Ryung’s parents left for Taiwan. Listening to his laughter, I felt delighted sohow and a little nostalgic at the sa ti.
I smiled quietly while thinking that way, but when my phone ca back to out of the blue, I startled.
“Why?”
“Why? Because he wants to talk to you on the phone.”
“Oh...”
I didn’t know the baton would co over to . Having that thought in my head, I looked at my phone like it was soone else’s.
Our phone call suddenly began with the word, ‘kidnap,’ so I didn’t think about this until now, but it had been quite a while to talk to Jooin over the phone.
With a mont of hesitation, I soon brought my phone to my ear. I spoke in tension, “Yes, Jooin.”
“What are you gonna do, mama, when you aren’t getting any New Year’s cash gifts?”
I was concerned that there might be so awkward feelings lingering between us; however, that didn’t last long. His remark made show a faint grin on my lips. Jooin also laughed again at my complaints about the cash gifts I would be missing this year. He then quickly brought up the stories about his cousins.
I also knew his cousins very well as if they were my family. Woo San, the human typhoon, Woo Bee, the computer genius, Lee Nara, no Woo Rinara, the actress, and her brother, Woo Rihon.
Since they were such unique characters, I thought things would beco so chaotic in their house, which was indeed correct. Besides, I kept hearing brutal remarks coming from beside Jooin. ‘Get that hand off from him!’ ‘No, you do it first!’ ‘Watch your mouth!’ ‘My ass!’
Jooin spoke in a calm voice, “It’s just... Nara noona and Bee are fighting for a mont.”
“For what reason?”
“They want to feed so sliced fruit... EAEWOOEH...”
As if the fruit slice suddenly ca into his mouth, Jooin began to chew on sothing. It made giggle.
‘He’s still winning all hearts. Thank goodness he’s doing well,’ I murmured then recalled the lady, who was once his mother and would be staying in jail right now.
‘Jooin shouldn’t think about that kind of person at all although it would be difficult for him.’ While I had that thought in mind, Jooin began to pour out so questions all of a sudden.
“Mama, how’s studying? What about the cram school? Are you having fun?”
As if he was a reporter pulling out a list of questions that he prepared before the interview, his questions continued politely and heroically.
Feeling his excitent and curiosity, I thought that he would be also looking forward to this call as much as I did. Jooin might have piled up a lot of words that were left unspoken to as I also did in my nurous draft ssages.
I looked outside the window abruptly. Looking at the endless scenery of shallow streams, wide fields, and mountains, I listened to Jooin’s questions then suddenly intervened in his words.
“Jooin.”
“Uh-huh.”
His response sounded quite stiff. I could clearly imagine the bewildered look on his face right now.
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