Campus Log - Chapter 80

“Watch TV. I’ll bring the food.”

Ryu Eun-seok was exceedingly kind. He lent me his bathroom, did my laundry, and was even making me food. He had always been warm-hearted, but as the host, he was so generous that I didn’t know what to do with myself.

Left alone in the middle of Ryu Eun-seok’s bedroom, I hesitated and then carefully perched on the sofa. Unable to just sit still, I hugged a cushion and blankly stared at meaningless commercials.

After a while, Ryu Eun-seok came up with a mouthwatering smell. The tray in his hands was overflowing with food. As promised, the kimchi fried rice was there in the pan, along with ramen and even a savory pancake.

“You can make pancakes too?”

“No, the housekeeper made these.”

So he did have staff. Well, it wouldn’t make sense for the family to maintain a palace-like house like this by themselves. Just running the vacuum would take all day.

We turned on a rerun of a variety show and spread the food out across the home bar. I was so exhausted that I couldn’t even muster strength in the hand holding my spoon. I first chewed on the kimchi fried rice to replenish my energy.

“Do you volunteer at that shelter often?”

“Yeah. During vacation, I go every two weeks.”

It wasn’t out of any particularly great goodwill. I just found it comfortable to fill my time doing familiar things in a familiar place. And it felt rewarding when the dogs recognized me and were happy to see me.

“Next time, let me go with you.”

Ryu Eun-seok scooped some ramen onto my small plate and suggested.

“The dogs were cute. I want to see them again.”

So that meant I could see Ryu Eun-seok again during vacation. He said he wanted to see the dogs, so why was my heart pounding with anticipation? How clueless of me.

“If you go next time, they’ll probably have you carry the feed bags. You’re exactly the style the director would like. He’ll think you’re strong.”

But I was just as clueless, my lips as stiff as the tightness in my chest. Did I really have to say it like that? I didn’t have to act sweet, but I could have phrased it nicely.

“Then I’ll finish that quickly and go walking with you again.”

Ryu Eun-seok tore a small piece of pancake with his chopsticks and placed it on top of my fried rice.

And that was exactly the problem.

Ryu Eun-seok liked people and knew how to share what he had. Even if he was treated like a pushover behind his back, Ryu Eun-seok always had a smile on his face, said kind things, and showed consideration in everything he did.

Stories had even reached my ears of many girls who had suffered in silence, wanting to monopolize his kindness. I had heard it all—who had thrown themselves at him at a drinking party, who had confessed and been rejected, who was already acting like his girlfriend. Hearing those things, I had often prided myself on not being that foolish.

But looking at myself now, I doubted I had any right to look down on them.

Assuming that Ryu Eun-seok wanted to spend time with me, deluding myself that I was receiving special treatment by eating the food he made, and pressing a doll into his hand, thinking of it as a private memory.

I was clearly expecting something more from Ryu Eun-seok.

Now I was no different from the girls I had looked down on. Like the dogs at the shelter who wagged their tails at any volunteer who approached, I had become one of the crowd, staring only at Ryu Eun-seok and craning my neck waiting for when he would extend a kind hand.

“You cook well.”

So I offered an awkward compliment, unlike myself.

“Is it good?”

Ryu Eun-seok tilted his head toward me, his eyes sparkling with anticipation.

“Yeah.”

“Actually, this is all I know how to make.”

Ryu Eun-seok winked and added playfully.

“It means I did my best to feed you right now.”

Please don’t say things like that. I wanted to beg Ryu Eun-seok. Whenever he continued the conversation like that, I ended up falling into a swamp of delusion, flailing about helplessly.

Even after we finished the full-course meal, Ryu Eun-seok brought out an abundance of desserts. While my mouth enjoyed the luxury of watermelon and mango, my body, sitting on the sofa, began to sag like waterlogged cotton. I might pass out once I got home.

“Want to watch a movie? The clothes will need about another hour to dry.”

Ryu Eun-seok asked as he logged into an OTT channel. The news that only one hour of this encounter remained made me feel already wistful, and I nodded. To keep from revealing my pathetic inner feelings, I was purposely keeping quiet.

Ryu Eun-seok, with a serious face, browsed the list of recommended movies and sat down next to me. The sofa was spacious enough for four people to sit comfortably, yet the gap between him and me was strangely narrow. There wasn’t even room to fit a hand, so I had to be careful not to change my position carelessly.

Any unnecessary closeness would only add to my confusion.

“How about this one?”

“Yeah, sure.”

The movie Ryu Eun-seok chose was about a couple left alone on Earth after all of humanity has disappeared, struggling to survive. With my poor imagination, I couldn’t predict the ending.

The film, paired with the desolate backdrop of Iceland, endlessly evoked a sense of hopelessness. Even I, who greatly enjoyed being alone, found the content hard to handle.

“I’d go crazy in one day.”

Ryu Eun-seok murmured quietly. When I rolled my eyes slightly, his perfectly balanced profile wore a serious expression.