Ginkgo nuts were strewn across the street as if a landmine had been struck.
The sour smell wafted through the air, leaving a stinky smell.
I didn’t want to step on the ginkgo nut, so there was a limit to walking around.
First and foremost, Alan, who had no preference between likes and dislikes, turned his head, frowning, as if he too despised ginkgo nuts.
The third year of high school was short. It was already autumn in the blink of an eye.
Moreover, it was hard to believe that the CSAT exam was less than two weeks away.
I looked up at the sky. The sky seemed high, and it seemed not.
In the cool autumn breeze, large puffy clouds flew gently.
The D-day of the CSAT was getting closer and closer, but it still didn’t feel real to me.
Perhaps it was because I had passed the first round of early admission and even had an interview.
I felt restless and floating. Actually, I didn’t need to take the CSAT, but I took all the subjects just in case.
I placed my hands in front of me and shifted my gaze to the side, fiddling with the long sleeves of the spring and autumn clothes I had already worn.
Alan had the same expression as usual, but he appeared tired.
I think…
Others had to put everything they had studied for 3 years at the shortest and 6 years at the longest in their heads for only a year and a half.
Alan began studying seriously in December of last year, so catching up will be difficult for him after only a year.
But I didn’t say anything to him.
In early October, on the day the first successful applicants were announced, on the way home, he told me.
‘Let’s study separately for the time being until the college entrance exam.’
So I haven’t been to Alan’s house ever since.
In fact, I told him that he didn’t have to take me home, but it was Alan who said he wanted to because we hadn’t seen each other in a long time, and I didn’t want to refuse, so I was just passing the time.
To be honest, to be very honest, I was both sad and disappointed.
It wasn’t that it was interfering with my studies, and I always knew who was the first to joke around and bump into each other when we were together, but he acted like that and said he wanted to be apart.
Nonetheless, I didn’t bother. We’ll be fine once the exam is finished.
I was simply attempting to calm my heart. It was the same for me, but there will never be a more important time than now for Alan.
I had to wait for the CSAT and entrance exams to be over as soon as possible.
***
I suddenly remember this time last year.
It was a time when Alan was debating whether or not to attend the career class, and I used to walk down the quiet, subtly sensitive third-grade hallways.
The third graders were pouring all their passion into their studies at the time.
Just like us now.
Looking around the classroom, it was clear that the majority of the students were eager to begin studying for the CSAT.
The same was true for Alan. He didn’t leave his seat at all. The band-aid remained on the first knuckle of the middle finger.
When he attempted to heal a wound from holding a pencil, he was scratched again, and Alan’s hand was bandaged for nearly a year.
YOU ARE READING
SWEET LIKE CANDY
Romance"Let's slowly become adults." Jeff Thanapon, who was in school, suffered from the heat and had to leave early. He runs across Alan Hemmawich, a well-known bully in the alley on his way home. Jeff, who is afraid of him, attempts to walk pass him as i...
