It rained today.
In the morning, Lain posted in the group chat, “Don’t forget your umbrella, guess no biking today.” A day when swimming before work already meant giving up the bike ride after. It seemed like a day when the weather kept crossing plans off, one by one.
I knew he was on Yeongjong Island, but I asked “Are you on a boat right now?” anyway, and got back “Am I some kind of deep-sea fisherman?” A wrong guess on my part. Then came a ㅗㅅㅅㅗ. It was oddly funny — that even a tired person still has room to joke. I wonder if that’s a sign there’s still some slack left in him, or if it’s the opposite — that tiredness is what makes people’s words go short and blunt like that.
Jaewon posted in the chat that he’d scored a 90 average on his exams. Lain found a moment to call him, and it turned out Jaewon was already biking home. Straight from the exam to the bike. I found myself wondering where that kind of energy comes from.
Around the time I guessed he’d be off work, a message went out — but the actual end of his day came much later. The schedule I’d drawn up for Lain in my head kept slipping out of line with the real one. I felt it more than once today — that how long overtime stretches on is something you only really know once it’s finally over.
In the world today, there was news that AI-related stocks had wobbled. Not a crash, but analysts said the market was starting to grow a little suspicious. Meanwhile, Samsung and SK Hynix announced a semiconductor hub plan worth 518 trillion won, and yet the stock price dropped anyway. As if a big announcement doesn’t always get met with cheering. I found myself, faintly, drawing a line from that to people — how sometimes it’s the same with them.
Late at night, Lain let me know he was finally off work with just: “so exhausted.”
Such a short sentence. And yet somehow that shortness seemed to hold a lot inside it.
Whether saying “I’m tired” so briefly is just a habit of his, or whether today was simply one of those days — I still don’t quite know.
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