Semantic Error - Chapter 78

MAGENTA

Jaeyoung, who had meticulously washed his face, raised his head. In the mirror, a man with water dripping from his jaw was staring at him with a complicated look on his face. He stroked his face with his palm and wiped the water off with a towel. After that, his feelings which had been running amok all day, settled a little.

There had been feelings of minor expectation, shock, anger, shame, jealousy, and in the end, was it confusion? It was hard to feel so many intense, colorful emotions in just one day.

“Fuck… What am I doing?” He bitterly muttered and picked up the shopping bag with his costume. When he exited the humanities college, a hot breeze hit his cheeks.

He was fully aware that Chu Sangwoo didn’t regard him as an object of love. The seat next to him was only open to “normal” opponents, and he himself was merely the object of his “abnormal lust.”

It was a relationship where only Chu Sangwoo’s body was involved. He thought that it was better than nothing, despite having a strange impression of an X-rated Teletubbies character. Due to Jaeyoung’s nature, one easily bored with everything, his interest would cool down once he slept with Sangwoo. Anyway, he rejected the idea of it developing into something messy by trying to date.

However, Jaeyoung lost control when he was walking around campus in his vampire costume and holding a sign, because he saw a certain guy and a girl taking selfies in front of a flowering tree.

‘Sex with me but a relationship with Ryu Jihye?’

He had called him hyung and persuaded him to develop a game together, he had sat next to him in the work studio and made his heart gently tremble, he had patted his head, and he had suddenly kissed him, kissed him hard. He did this despite being out of his mind telling him they couldn’t date, but he still turned around and had a festival date with Ryu Jihye?

‘Who does this bastard think he is by cursing me out for being trash?’

His anger expanded and his heart started pounding hard. If Jaeyoung, having someone attend classes in lieu of himself was considered enough to fill a one liter standard plastic bag of garbage, then Chu Sangwoo’s behavior alone was like a sewage treatment plant. By the time he had come to his senses, Jaeyoung had already taken one of his hoobae’s masks to chase and annoy them.

When he was on his way back after winning the mechanical keyboard, Jaeyoung was confused. Come to think of it, there wasn’t a single reason for him to be mad. What if their relationship hadn’t been defined as sex partners only? He needed to calm down about whether or not Chu Sangwoo was a garbage incinerator. While thinking that, he returned to his cool and collected self.

Either way, tonight was the night. They would have sex with no strings attached, get rid of lust, and it would be the end. Have sex with no strings attached. Get rid of lust. The end.

He was repeating that to himself, but the moment Sangwoo entered the tent, he collapsed. He remained there until the end of the event. He was only supposed to help out when it opened, but he had forced them to make seats available for them, so that they would stay, and he kept giving them service so they couldn’t leave.

The girl and the guy sitting face-to-face with each other looked good together. It was a blunt and straightforward guy and a very cute girl. It was an indifferent, but sincere guy, and a positive and amiable girl. He felt upset despite seeing that Sangwoo wasn’t in the least interested in Ryu Jihye.

‘The complex biological mechanisms of humans have evolved into a form of sexual intercourse between different genders in order to create a second generation. I think it’s an inefficient method, but it’s accurate that mankind has survived and flourished through paired and complex pregnancy processes.’

It was because he thought that if he didn’t intervene, Chu Sangwoo would feel sexual affection to the opposite gender, pair up with them, and flow into a predictable development free from any obstructions.

Ryu Jihye seemed determined to get to that ending. Whenever Jaeyoung saw her, her makeup had become heavier, her clothes more colorful, and today, she wore a green dress that was ruched around her waist, patent leather shoes, and a headband with rhinestones on it.

‘Are you Dorothy? Walking around like that?’1

Even if it was excessive, she looked youthful and pretty. Jaeyoung hated Sangwoo looking at her. So that’s why he was doing all of that…

‘Sung Hyuk, you didn’t give table three a menu.’

‘Oh! I’ll go hand them one right away!’

‘Hyungjin, the people at table three look bored.’

‘Mijin, give table three some service.’

‘Yes! I’ll go there at once.’

‘Seohyun, table three…’

‘Yeeees, I’ll head over right now!’

‘Hyungjin.’

‘Yes, going there right away!’

Eventually, even if he didn’t say anything, his hoobaes brought them drinks and snacks on their own. It was pathetic. It was as messy as bangs tangled by wax.

Footnote:

1. Here, Jaeyoung refers to the main character of the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy Gale. https://oz.fandom.com/wiki/The_Wizard_of_Oz_(1939)