Chapter 28
Studying, chatting, and then going home. Occasionally visiting PC bangs and bathhouses with friends before coming back home to study. By the time Maru was done with his studies it was already 11 at night. He would blog a little, surf the web for a few minutes before going to sleep at midnight. He could hear his computer’s fan whirling in the background.
Maru stared blankly at his monitor for a second before pulling out a book. It was something he borrowed from a nearby library. He tried to find a few “self-improvement” books, but couldn’t find many of them. Come to think of it, there was no such thing during this time.
From the time Maru started working in a company all the way to becoming a bus driver, he had read a pile of books as high as him. Reading this many self improvement books lead him to one conclusion.
Self improvement books were just books about successful people reminiscing about their past.
“But I keep reading them again and again for some reason.”
One of the books he remembered most had a Japanese author: The Morning Person. The trend of this era was being active in the morning. The idea that the early birds would succeed was the prevalent thing in this time. Maru turned the page. He knew every word the author would say after each page, but still read it anyway.
It was 1am by the time he finished the book. He set it next to his bed before falling asleep. Today was a productive day. So why…
“Why did it feel so unfulfilling?”
It feels like he was on a highway with nothing around it. He knew he wouldn’t be taking any detours as long as he was on this highway. Despite that, he couldn’t help but look at people driving on the twisty local roads. At the people who were enjoying the scenery to the fullest, going on an adventure following where the road was taking them.
Being late to their destination didn’t matter, as long as they managed to arrive in the end. The only problem is…
“When you run out of fuel.”
Having to watch other people zoom by you as you sit on the road completely out of fuel. Maru closed his eyes again, this time accompanied with a bitter smile. Today, too, he realized living again wasn’t such an easy thing after all. A quiet air descended down on his room.
Time passed quickly. The entire class was used to school life by now. None of their previous confusion was here now. Everyone was in a friend group of their own, friend groups that’s been around long enough to last the entire year now.
It was currently the end of April. Maru looked out at the window as his two friends sat next to him, with bread in one hand and chips on the other. Countless students approached them asking for a bite, but Dojin shooed them all away.
“Hard at work, huh?”
Mom walked in with a smile. For the last two months, Maru was living by the same pattern over and over again. School, library, gym, study. It was no surprise that his mom would say something like this to him at this point.
“But… there’s nothing happening, is there?”
“What’s happening?”
“Mom’s happy that you’ve matured, but you know… It’s a bit sudden.”
Mom put down a bag of chips on Maru’s desk. He looked up at his mother, who gave him a slightly awkward smile.
“Just talk to me if there’s something going on, okay?”
“Alright.”
“Good.”
Mom closed the door quietly on the way out. By the time she was halfway through closing, she called out to him.
“I’ll knock from now on.”
“It’s whatever.”
The weather was warm enough for Maru to bike without gloves today. It’s been awhile since he last did it. He could feel the rubber rub at his palms.
The weather was much better now. It will be May soon. People were starting to dress lighter outside. It really was the season when people started transitioning back into their usual jackets.
The bike chains rattled under him. Maru pedaled wondering if he needed to oil the damn thing today. Speaking of which, today was a day for the students to spend on their clubs. The acting club, too, was gathered completely on the 5th floor auditorium.
The two things he had on him were book he was reading last night, as well as a bottle of water. Not much has changed for Maru despite the lack of classes. Most of the props were done now, and all there was left to do was to practice acting. Maru parked the bike at the school and started up the stairs. He could hear the soccer club shouting amongst themselves outside.
They probably bet a lot of money on the oncoming match.
He could hear singing as he came up to the 5th floor. The music club, no doubt. Right next to it, he could hear the toy club mess around with a bunch of things in their room. The entire floor was loud. Only by the time he came to the middle of the floor could he finally starting to hear the acting club.
“Stretches first, and then we’ll start.”
“Yes ma’am!”
He could hear the students talking brightly behind the door. The club was supposed to meet at 9am. Maru took out his phone to make sure one more time. 8:50am. Everyone was trying very hard in the club.
Maru opened the door with a strange sense of nervousness.
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