“Wow, Dong-hwa, that’s the first time I’ve seen you so competitive.”
“The stakes are high.”
“When he’s got something on the line, he’s relentless, right, Ha-min?”
“This isn’t just competitiveness, it’s more like….”
The desire to screw someone over.
I clutched the panel in my hand that read, ‘1st Round PDs Free Pass (Content Planning Rights).’ It was disgustingly precious.
The sweetness of victory depends on how luscious the fruit is, but also on how doggone awful the process was.
“Ha.”
I felt sorry for Sung-ho.
Even though I still felt awkward about making a fool of myself in front of these guys, I was getting used to it. But to show that side of myself to someone like Yoon Sung-ho, with whom I have such an ambiguous relationship….
“Seeing stuff like this, it seems like hyung [older brother or male friend] is only ever surrounded by people with loose screws.”
Lee Hyun-jae was sitting next to me before I even knew he’d arrived.
“And hyung is the loosest of them all.”
What? You sly fox.
“No way.”
Absolutely not. Even though I carry bricks in my bag, it’s really nothing.
Everyone has their quirks, but you don’t call them loose screws because of that.
On the other hand, the PD-nim [PD stands for Program Director, a common title in Korean broadcasting] has most of his screws loose, and Yieon doesn’t have a circuit board to screw them into.
Neither of them are evil people, but they’re both good people who are crazy.
So, compared to those guys, carrying around bricks is nothing.
“…Really?”
“Yeah, Hyun-jae.”
“But hyung, you know what?”
Hmm?
“Yieon-hyung changed after he met hyung.”
Hmm.
“The programs PD-nim made before were really tame too. ‘Mental Class’ was totally out there.”
Hmm.
“I also changed after meeting hyung, and Eden-hyung became more confident and sly, right? Jun-hyung is still the same, but Ha-min-hyung is subtly….”
Lee Hyun-jae trailed off. He was glancing at Chae Ha-min, who was on the other side, checking anniversaries with the members in his diary.
Chae Ha-min often claimed to have a bad memory, yet he would write down even the most trivial things to remember.
Just say it, Hyun-jae. He’s half-crazy too.
“Anyway, doesn’t it prove it inductively?”
When the same element is repeatedly observed when a series of events occurs, it’s quite reasonable to suspect that it’s the cause.
But that’s just probability. There’s a good chance I’m not the cause.
“There’s no way that’s true, hyung.”
Lee Hyun-jae cut me off.
I might start to fear your innocence. Forcibly twisting my face to make me face reality.
That’s the role I play in our group’s universe.
* * *
Gi-saeng was wearing an apron again today, like a kindergarten teacher.
“Okay, everyone, gather around.”
After constantly engaging in emotional exchanges with the five animals, he was able to control them to some extent.
Damn things, all I had to do was enter commands before.
“Today’s audiovisual material is a special lecture on how to make fun of a guy who knows he’s the cause of everything but tries to ignore it.”
“Why are we learning that?”
The rabbit quickly raised its hand.
“Good question. It’s so you guys can have fun when that guy comes here later, Chae.”
According to pedagogy, you should be polite in the educational setting, even if you speak informally in private.
“Anyway, if you look over there, you’ll see a human who doesn’t want to admit the small fact that ‘I’m crazy too’ even when his acquaintance tells him all the truth, right?”
“Yes!”
“In that case, it’s good to reveal the internal contradictions as they are, but it’s more effective to smile knowingly, as if you know everything. I know that very well because it’s me.”
The only model student in this kindergarten, the fox, nodded, engraving it in its head. Its disk capacity is second only to the cat, so its performance is the best.
A bizarre kindergarten for strange intellectual creatures. The official name is Flower Garden Kindergarten.
All classes focus on informing Ji Dong-hwa of the specifics of the work so that he can adapt when he comes here in the future, and on upgrading the AI so that he can maintain human emotions.
The scenery that unfolds after a class is in progress is similar.
The rebellious cat flicked the head of the dinosaur sleeping next to it, but didn’t focus on the class and stared into space.
In fact, it doesn’t need to concentrate because it’s already studied most of it on its own.
The dog plays with the cat’s tail and gets hit on the head. It didn’t do that when the rabbit next to it was acting up, so it really resembles its original form.
Hmm, damn things. I want to initialize them all, but.
When I made eye contact with the fox looking straight at me, I couldn’t easily do that.
That child’s original form is Lee Hyun-jae.
Gi-saeng was suddenly lost in memories of that Lee Hyun-jae, who was a young professor at the university.
If I had been close to that human back then, would I be here? Was that a possibility for me?
The answer is already known. The former is yes, and the latter is no.
“…Teacher?”
The fox tilted its head cutely.
That’s how that child lived when he was young. Looking lovingly at his protector and being obedient.
To think that such a child was so emotionally unstable when he met me.
At least before I leave, I want to make sure he doesn’t have that experience, and that he is close to his friends and loved by his parents.
“Class is over. You can all play.”
The rest of the animals all went to blow up the playground, but one fox floated the notes in its head into the air and approached Gi-saeng.
“Teacher.”
Gi-saeng hugged the fox tightly, unlike usual, and stroked its head.
Would it make me feel better if I made it as if it never happened?
“Do you have a question?”
The fox was in a good mood and lazily rolled around on my lap.
“I have a gift.”
The fox jumped up from its seat and handed Gi-saeng a flower that it had brought in its bag.
A flower made by picking up scrap metal scattered throughout Siun Hall (it’s because the building has collapsed a lot here and there because the children are playing energetically, but I don’t care).
“As a token of gratitude.”
Hmm, an act that has no utility.
Gi-saeng quietly accepted the flower.
“It’s a snowdrop.”
“Yes. The flower means hope.”
“…Okay.”
Gi-saeng held the flower without thinking.
“I saw the person over there preparing flowers before, and I really wanted to give them to you too.”
What should I say? Should I teach him that doing this is meaningless?
The last child created except for the cat. I was wondering whether to make it after making all the other robots.
I guess its nature doesn’t change. When I see it making me look at reality no matter what.
Isn’t it a terrible coincidence that its name is Lee Hyun-jae?
“…Hmm.”
According to educational theory, it is important to go along with it in this case.
It means you have a mental defect if you say, ‘This is scientifically meaningless. It’s superstition,’ to a gift given with courage.
Instead of answering, Gi-saeng immediately created a flower in his hand.
Malvaviscus, a beautiful red flower. The flower means lingering attachment.
When I leave this place soon, what will be left, what was left when I came here a long time ago.
The fox quietly accepted the flower and scanned it with its eyes, and after a moment of calculation, it lowered its head.
“…I hate that person.”
Hmm, that’s a good sound.
But that shouldn’t be the case. All of this is only for ‘Ji Dong-hwa’.
Gi-saeng leaned back in his chair.
A small wish that ‘I’ wouldn’t experience everything that I had experienced. I felt a bittersweet feeling.
That’s not a pleasant feeling, Gi-saeng smiled faintly.
“Thank you for the gift, Hyun.”
“…Please update me a little. I’ll find out. There may be a method that the teacher doesn’t know.”
A cat walked gently next to the desperate fox.
“No, let him go. I’ve been looking for days.”
A cold voice.
His posture is quite dignified, but he is full of the desire to tease him because he is a cat.
Looking at the tangled fur on his cheeks, it looks like he made someone’s office a mess.
“And, he chose it himself.”
It may seem cold at first glance, but it is the right thing to do and something I was prepared for.
The fox looked at the cat resentfully and curled up on Gi-saeng’s lap.
“Should I update your senses more?”
Gi-saeng laughed cheerfully and stroked the head of the listless fox.
At the same time, he held the first gift he received here tightly in one hand.
* * *
If someone makes a choice, I suddenly think that the person next to them can give it back.
When Chae Ha-min tries to make a strange choice, wouldn’t it be okay to do my best to persuade him not to?
If each other has had a big impact on each other, shouldn’t they be given the right to persuade each other?
“…Why didn’t anyone stop me?”
I muttered as I watched Yieon in a butler’s uniform politely pour coffee into my glass.
“What is it, Master?”
“Will you shut up? What kind of concept is that?”
When was the caste system abolished that you’re bringing up such an ancien régime [old order]? Aren’t you afraid of the guillotine?
“I received a gift of life, so it’s not wrong.”
This is your cafe, right? How can the part-timers hold their heads up and work when the boss is dressed like that?
When I first came in here, I was impressed by the surprisingly beautiful interior.
A combination of black and white reminiscent of a chessboard. I like shogi [Japanese chess] more, but chess is also a great game.
However, when I confirmed that the guy greeting me was Yieon dressed in a butler’s uniform and with his hair slicked back, I can’t even imagine what my expression was like.
When I saw Yieon’s text message saying that he wanted me to stop by his business before my overseas schedule started tomorrow.
‘Still, go once. He’s trying to take care of you much more than you expect.’
I shouldn’t have listened to Ryu Eden’s advice.
I don’t know why no one stopped me.
Extravagant treatment evokes shame in modern society. Especially for people like me who are not used to such treatment.
Why do I have to film ‘Mental Class’ here? I was planning to buy a few of the dark chocolates you made and have a chat.
I usually use honorifics for Yieon in my mind, but curses come out naturally.
The gazes and camera shutter sounds that poured into this place before entering the meeting room are enough to remain as trauma.
“Is the coffee to your liking?”
Smirk. It will never end until I match him.
“…Yes, Butler.”
“Yes.”
“…I want to be alone.”
“I can’t do that. What if you get poisoned?”
It’s your business, you crazy bastard. If I get poisoned, you’re probably the culprit.
“When I think about before Master saved my life….”
Yieon sniffled and wiped away his tears.
Yieon is scarier than the PD-nim because he’s doing this ‘to sincerely express his gratitude’ rather than to tease me. His common sense is twisted somewhere.
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Don’t lie. This cafe proves it. It wouldn’t have existed otherwise.”
What should I do? He’s a human who can’t be persuaded because he doesn’t understand.
Bang.
“Sorry, I’m a little late….”
Jun-sung, who arrived late, opened the door to the meeting room and quickly closed it.
Where are you going? It’s a brother’s duty to help when his younger brother is in crisis.