Campus Log - Chapter 16

I took a moment before answering. Should I deny it and protect Ryu Eun-seok’s pride? Or should I just be honest since he probably already noticed?

“Think about what you did in front of me.”

Crying because his family went bankrupt, threatening me in that clumsy way about suing, asking me how to go to school alone while sniffling, eating at the cafeteria by himself looking deflated.

Under the café’s warm yellow lights, a reddish tint spread across Ryu Eun-seok’s cheeks. As he shoved his wallet away, his lips puffed out slightly, then pulled back in.

“You’re right.”

But Ryu Eun-seok nodded without resistance.

“I was pathetic.”

To think he would admit it that easily.

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“I didn’t know I would hit rock bottom like this.”

The students’ loud conversations and laughter were so overwhelming that it felt like my eardrums might burst, loud enough to drown out the music playing in the café. Yet Ryu Eun-seok’s self-deprecating sigh cut straight through and reached my ears.

I was rolling my eyes, unable to think of anything to say back.

“Uh? Eun-seok’s here.”

At the end of the long line stretched out in front of the pickup counter, a familiar group appeared. They were the guys who always moved as a pack around Ryu Eun-seok.

“Hey, why haven’t you answered since yesterday?”

Park Taehyun slung an arm over Ryu Eun-seok’s shoulder and struck up a conversation. Ryu Eun-seok neither smiled as usual nor replied in his polite, easygoing way.

“Wait, is it because of what Woojin asked you yesterday?”

It was obvious what he must have asked. They must’ve heard the rumor yesterday and gone to confront me about it.

“Hey, Ryu Eun-seok. So what if a student is a little broke? We’re all basically broke, man. You were just the special one until now.”

“Yeah. Everyone has their ups and downs. Even if a rich family goes under, they say they can last three years. You’ll get a job soon and make a living anyway.”

“We all noticed when the guy who used to treat us to hanwoo omakase started eating at the student cafeteria. You should’ve just told us. We would’ve taken turns buying for you.”

Ryu Eun-seok used to treat those guys to good food and call them friends? He really did seem to have a pushover streak. Even now, with his wallet thinner than before, he still bought me coffee—maybe he’d grown used to maintaining relationships that way.

“F*****g b******t.”

Ryu Eun-seok, who had been silently listening to his friends’ nonsense until now, finally let his voice drop out.

“…What?”

The hand Park Taehyun had draped over his shoulder slid off.

“What do you mean, what? The fact that you guys even asked if my family went bankrupt is what’s f*****g b******t.”

Ryu Eun-seok looked at his friends and let out a sharp, bitter laugh.

The gentle smile he always wore in front of others, the way he had sobbed under the acacia tree—both of those versions of him felt miles away from the Ryu Eun-seok standing here now.

“Yeah, we went bankrupt. Totally broke. We’re about to get kicked out onto the street. Now even the student cafeteria is a luxury, and I have to survive on triangle kimbap for lunch. I’m taking a leave next semester to make money.”

The same Ryu Eun-seok who had dodged reality by lying and pretending everything was fine now laid it all bare. The guys exchanged startled glances.

“The people I thought were my friends got excited at the idea that my family went under and started talking s**t behind my back. Seeing how none of you even remember the money I spent on you… It makes me feel like I’ve lived my whole life wrong. I’m depressed as hell.”

His phone buzzed and vibrated in his hand. The sound was loud—maybe only because the entire place had gone quiet in an instant.

“Are you satisfied now?”

Ryu Eun-seok came back with the coffees and placed one in my hand. The fingertips that brushed mine were ice-cold.

“If you’re curious about what’s going on with my family, come ask me yourself. Don’t sneak around and talk crap behind my back.”

Leaving his friends—who had gone mute like bees in their mouths behind, Ryu Eun-seok started walking away. I knew how miserable it felt to be left alone at times like this. Flustered, I grabbed my coffee and hurried after him.