seven

By the time Seunghwan took another bus from the south gate to his private one-storeyed house in the upper-class residential area, the weather was shadowed by a sudden group of clouds. But the gentle spring breeze didn't stop.

Pushing the iron gates of the entryway, Seunghwan walked down the path, surrounded by artificial shrubs to the main gate of his house.

The first thing that greeted Seunghwan upon opening the door, was the nauseating smell of rotten garbage.

Ah, seems like he again forgot to throw the garbage.

Seunghwan dropped his sports bag on a comparatively cleaner space in the massive drawing room and bee-lined for the kitchen.

He couldn't help but pinch his nose, gagging at the rotten smell.

Seunghwan wore a pair of gloves and quickly tied a knot to the plastic bag, where all the garbage was piled up.

The garbage bag was heavier than he expected so he had to hold it with both his arms. Crossing the street, Seunghwan hurriedly dumped the plastic bag on the garbage collection box.

"Done." Seunghwan sighed then quickly went back to rummage for some instant noodles he could prepare-to satiate his growling stomach.

Unfortunately, the fridge had nothing but a big block of foul-smelling cheese and a piece of meat that gave out sour-acid like smell.

Seunghwan closed the fridge door with a thud and rushed out to the nearest convenience store.

In his hurry, Seunghwan forgot to bring his wallet and only had to rely on the balance changes that he forgot to put in his wallet.

The aisle for instant noodles was empty.

Seunghwan looked around and grabbed two packets of instant jajangmyeon. [A commonly accessible noodle dish with black bean sauce, that is made of salty black soybean paste, diced pork or other meats and vegetables]

Just as he was about to turn over the packet and check the manufacturing date—a habit he grew since the time he started living alone, a pesky male voice sounded from the other side of the aisle.

“Do you want to eat some ramen before you go?” The male voice whispered hoarsely, making Seunghwan clench the packet of instant jajangmyeon on his hand. [The concept of ramen is also used in a daily funny pick-up line. The phrase “Do you want to eat some ramen before you go?” metaphorically means the same as “Do you want to stay overnight and have sex?” It portrays ramen as a tool for seduction.]

A little girlish giggle responded to that male voice and soon the sound of packet shuffling was heard.

Seunghwan threw the packets of noodles in his hand, back to the aisle, and left the place with clenched fists.

He so badly wanted to scream at the scum. 'Do you have to ruin my appetite like that? Are you blind? Can't you see it's daytime? Is your junior brother that horny?'

But Seunghwan only kept those words in mind and headed for the frozen food section. There he didn't spend much time choosing and grabbed a box of self-heating tomato noodle soup.

The cashier lady took almost half a day to process the payment while also giving him looks that made Seunghwan feel like being molested.

Paying the amount, Seunghwan ignored the defeated look on the cashier lady and sprinted out speedily back to his home.

The tomato noodle soup was done in about twenty minutes and Seunghwan wolfed it down like a starved animal. The single bottle of soy milk in the morning before the practice was digested long ago.

After throwing the container, Seunghwan rubbed his aching forehead and laid down on the nearest sofa.

Once a week, a maid visited to clean the villa but other than that it was Seunghwan only, in the large hollow place.

When the lights were turned off, the house looked desolate, empty, dark, and full of resentful energy.

Seunghwan closed his eyes and let sleep overtake his senses.

He really wished to stay in the dorm instead of this lifeless house but as the oldest son of a famous conglomerate, Seunghwan was deprived of a casual and ordinary life.

In his sleep, Seunghwan dreamed of a bird, flying endlessly above the snowy mountains, in search of something. The bird flew for a long time and then faced a blizzard.

Whether the bird survived or not, Seunghwan didn't remember.

~

On the campus grounds, Min followed Rammick to the center of the square. It was the same place where he had seen SUAVE perform yesterday.

Rammick led to one of the occupied benches on the center and stopped robotically.

Min curiously peeped from behind Rammick to see the silhouette of a guy, sitting on the ground leaning against the backside of the bench.

Rammick nervously inhaled before walking around the bench and crouching in front of the asleep figure.

"Arata?"

The figure moved for a bit at Rammick's loud call and then slowly Arata's lashes swept up, revealing a pair of listless eyes.

"Who?" Arata's scratchy voice asked.

Rammick gulped a mouthful of awkwardness and then cautiously replied. "It's me. Rammick."

As if Rammick's words were thunderbolts, Arata jumped up from his position, hitting his leg in the process and cursed heavily, glaring at the bench.

"Are you okay?" Rammick stepped forward to inspect.

Min too neared the hurt Arata hoping to lend a hand if needed.

"Um, I'm fine. Thanks." Arata grumbled, massaging his leg. "Why are you here again?"

Rammick felt a little embarrassed. The way Captain continuously sent him to Arata, in other's eyes it more or less seemed like insistent chasing after a lover.

'All for the sake of our Team.' Rammick reminded himself.

"So?"

Rammick plastered a boot-licking smile on his handsome American face and offered. "You know it well. I'm here to ask you to join our Team."

Arata sluggishly gazed at Rammick's less hopeful expression and groaned.

This fellow had stalked him for who knows how long and persistently requested him to join the cheerleading squad.

It's not like Arata Hyoudou doesn't wish to join. It's the never-fading memories that keep him caged.

Arata thought of the message Minorin sent him last week. 'Brother please I want us to be on the stage together again.'

Arata never replied to that text.

"No, I still won't join." Arata didn't care about Rammick's sour expression. He picked his stuff and left.

Some things are just to stay in the past and not resurface in the present.