Lately, It's Winter Season.
Chapter 45 - Nothing... at all.
“Boy, wake up.”
A deep voice and a gentle shake of my arm woke me from my sleep. The morning sunlight filtered through the window into the room. I propped myself up in bed, before I could say anything, a pair of lips pressed down on me, holding me there for a moment before leaving.
"Good morning."
“Good morning.” I smiled at the person across from me.
“Are you okay?”
“Fine.” I nodded, understanding what Tiger meant. He meant to ask if I was okay after last night.
“Ger is going to study with Mick Fuse and the others today, right?”
“Yeah. But before that, I'll take you to Ikkyu's dormitory first.”
“I can go by myself.”
“I won't let you go alone. Come on, get up and take a shower.”
“Um…”
I got up and went to take a shower as the other person told me. When I finished showering and changing, I saw breakfast already laid out on the table.
“Wow, stir-fried roast pork with chilli sauce, it looks delicious!” I sat down and scooped a piece of meat into my mouth, “It's delicious!”
"I'm happy if you like it." Tiger smiled brightly, and we had breakfast together. After we finished eating, I carried the dishes to the sink. I was about to help wash them, but was stopped.
“Hey, don't. It's my turn to wash the dishes today.”
“Let's wash together, it will be done faster.”
“Go see the package.”
“What parcel?”
“The one on the living room table.”
“Okay.” I nodded and walked towards the guest table. “What did you order?”
“You try it.”
“For me?”
"YES."
Hearing that, I frowned slightly and curiously walked closer. There was a large box on the table. I took a box cutter and cut the tape to open the box, then my eyes widened in surprise when I saw the latest laptop inside.
“Ger!” I called out, “What are you buying me for?”
Tiger finished washing the dishes and then came over.
“You complained that your old laptop was too slow, and you’ve been using it since your first year. Besides, you have a group meeting today.” After saying that, he sat down next to me. How does it feel?
“Oh my gosh, a laptop that boots up this fast is amazing!” I exclaimed happily. My old laptop had to wait a few minutes every time I turned it on, enough time to play with my phone before it booted up. I had both a desktop for gaming and a laptop for working outside. I had just upgraded my desktop with my savings, but I had never considered buying a new laptop. You can tell between games and work, which one is my priority.
“But I just use it for work, it doesn't need to be this expensive.”
“Bought it.”
“Then I have to buy the good ones… right?” I continued, then turned to give the person next to me a light kiss on the cheek and smiled, “Thanks. I will use it carefully.”
“Um.” Tiger kissed me back, “Are you leaving yet?”
“Yeah, let's go.”
I put my laptop in the bag that came with it, got ready, and headed down to the parking lot. We chatted about random things on the way until we went to a red light.
"Stuck at all the red lights today."
“Yeah.” Tiger nodded, took one hand off the wheel, then grabbed my hand and kissed it lightly, “Don’t you use hand cream? Your skin is peeling again.”
“Oh, I forgot. Sorry.” I apologised unconsciously because it was the hand cream Tiger bought for me.
“Don't you like the smell?”
“I like it.” I answered honestly, “It's not too strong, I like it that way.”
“Next time I'll apply it for you, then you won't forget.”
“No need to do that. I’ll try to remember.” I said, just as the light turned green. Tiger let go of my hand and continued driving. About fifteen minutes later, we arrived at Ikkyu’s dormitory, where we had agreed to do our homework today. Before getting out of the car, I didn’t forget to kiss him goodbye like every day, and the car drove away.
“There he is!” A familiar voice rang out from afar.
“What are you doing in the car?”
“What?” I asked again. It was North – he was wearing a backpack and casual clothes, walking towards me.
“Are you new here?”
“Yeah, just in time.”
“Did Johan bring you here?”
“Uh huh.”
Then the two of us walked up the stairs to Skate and Ikkyu's room. Since I had been there many times, I remembered where the room was. Skate, still sleepy, went to open the door.
“So early?”
“North and I arrived on time. We made an appointment at nine, so we arrived at nine.” I said, taking off my shoes and walking into the room. “Is Kyu awake yet?”
“I'm up.” Ikkyu walked out of the kitchen, “Have you guys eaten yet? I'm making breakfast.”
“I ate,” I replied.
“Me too,” North said. “You guys going to have breakfast? Oh, well, you can meet in your room.”
“Of course. I'm going to take a shower, wait for me and Kyu for a bit.” Skate said, and North and I just nodded, not thinking much about it.
“Hey, don't tell me…” North rolled his eyes, “Don't tell me it's a new laptop!”
“How do you know?”
“Just noticed the bag. Let me see it!” North asked excitedly. I handed him the bag, and he plugged it in, turning on the machine immediately.
“Wow! What the hell is a one-second machine!”
“How long has your laptop been on?”
“Quite a while, because I've been using it for a long time.”
“Not going to buy a new one?”
“It still works. By the way, did Tiger buy this for you?”
"YES."
“Showing off?” North pretended to pout.
“Huh? You asked first?” I laughed, “Why don’t you ask Jo to buy you a new one?”
“I told you it still works,” North insisted, taking out his laptop. “Besides, I only use it for work. If it were a gaming PC, I would spend all my money on it, never regretting it.”
I held out my hand: “We look alike. Let's shake hands.” North shook my hand and continued to look at my laptop's specs with interest.
“Hey, North.”
"What?"
“Do you think we have a chance to intern at your lover's company?”
“Definitely.”
"Why so confident?"
“Because we are good.”
“Be serious.”
“Um… I don’t know either, but I’ll do my best. I asked Johan about it before.” North said, his eyes still glued to the screen, “He said that with your and my abilities, we can pass the screening. But if we don’t, it’s okay, there are other companies.”
“But I really want to get into that company.”
“Who wouldn't want it? Me too.”
“Did your lover interview you directly, like you said?”
“Probably not. He's a manager, it would be difficult to interview him directly even if I wanted to,” North said.
“Yeah.” I nodded, understanding. As everyone knew, North’s boyfriend’s company was the largest electronics manufacturing corporation in the country, with branches worldwide. If given the chance, everyone would want to intern there. North and I were both eager to get in, but we didn’t know if we would pass the selection round because the competition was so high.
“Ger keeps nagging about the internship,” I muttered.
“Where does he practice?”
“At XX. Actually, he really wanted to come with us, but Johan’s company doesn't accept computer engineering interns. They probably have enough people.”
“Too bad, he probably wanted to be with you, too.” North pouted.
We sat and chatted for a while before Skate and Ikkyu finished preparing. This was the last group project before the end of the second semester of the third year, so as expected, it was a big project. The group focused on working, taking breaks and eating in between. By evening, North and I said goodbye to each other and went home.
The group worked on this project for almost a month, and it was a significant undertaking. This time, North was the presenter. Luckily, he had Johan to help him and guide him on how to speak well, so he practised with his boyfriend quite often.
*********
“North, how's your presentation practice going?” I asked while we were eating lunch.
“Johan said I would definitely pass, I would definitely get a perfect score. Since our paper was good, my presentation would be good too. As long as I don’t panic and don’t make any mistakes that day, our group will definitely get an A. I only said that because I prepared very carefully,” North replied confidently.
“Even your lover praised our song, so it must be really good. I'm so proud.”
“Really. Thanks, North, for giving us the presentation.” Ikkyu spoke up.
“No need to thank me.” North waved his hand, “You guys trusted me, so you let me do the presentation. Besides, I did the least.”
“Because you take on the most important part. It would be a shame to make you do more,” Skate said.
“I don't mind, but you guys don't give me much work either.”
“Come on.” I laughed, “You’re only doing so much because you have to present. You have a heavy load. Do your best to present well.”
“Don't worry.” North nodded, “I'll do my best.”
“Go for it! We all support you.” Skate encouraged, “Just thinking about it makes me nervous. Tomorrow is the presentation day, and we’re the first group. Eight o’clock in the morning.”
“The first group should have a grand opening.” I laughed.
After lunch, we all went to afternoon classes. We had different classes for the last period, so we had to separate. After class, I went back to my room as usual. After sitting around for a while, Tiger called to say he wouldn't be home today because he had something to do. I didn't think much of it.
Around eleven o'clock at night, I was playing a game with them. While waiting for my next turn, North suddenly shouted.
(Guys! It's over!!)
“What?! That scared the hell out of me!” I was startled.
(The report is lost!!)
(Huh?!) They all shouted in unison.
(I left the documents in my cloth bag. I must have forgotten them somewhere. Damn, how could I forget! I carried them with me all day, but when I got back to my room, they weren't there. I didn't even notice. It wasn't until I told you guys to stop playing for a while so I could practice my presentation before going to bed that I realised they were gone!!)
“Fuck!!!” I couldn’t help but curse. Since the group was also planning to do a final review, I told North to bring it along, “I saw you holding it when we were sitting together at noon. That green cloth bag.”
(Right, right!) Ikkyu remembered (I still saw it during afternoon class).
(Then you must have forgotten in the last period, when we weren't in the same class.) Skate speculated.
(Fuck…) North was visibly worried. (I'm sorry! It's eleven o'clock at night, what should we do?)
(Which room are you in for the last period?) Ikkyu asked calmly.
(That's the problem.)
“What?” I frowned.
(I don't remember. Today, the teacher changed rooms, so I only remember it was in building B, on the third or fourth floor. Damn!!!)
(Fuck…) Skate cursed, (I knew you were absent-minded, but I didn't expect it to be this much. Try texting your classmates.)
(I don't have anyone's number in class.)
“This is really over.” I worried, “There's no class chat group?”
(Not at all.)
"So how did you change rooms?"
(At first, we were still studying in the old room, but then the teacher took the whole class to another room. Today we studied so hard, I was a bit tired, so I didn't pay attention.)
(Calm down.) Ikkyu spoke up. (North must have been absent-minded and forgotten to bring it; maybe someone in the class picked it up. Let's send a message to the school page to see if anyone has picked it up.)
(Is it still time now?) Skate wondered. (It's eleven o'clock at night, the presentation is at eight o'clock tomorrow morning.)
(Let's just text first.) Ikkyu said. (There's hope anyway.)
“Okay.” I nodded and quickly sent a message to the school's announcement page.
(If no one picked it up, the bag would still be in the classroom.)
(Then we have to find it.) North said.
(Yes. Because if we get it tomorrow morning, we definitely won't have time. No place is open to reprint it now. We won't have time to print it tomorrow morning, either, because the print shops open at seven or eight. And we've already given our presentation at eight. We can't ask someone else to print it for us either because the report needs to be bound in hardcover according to regulations, so the best way is to get it now.)
“But can we go now?” I asked worriedly.
(Okay, okay.) Ikkyu replied. (I don't remember who told me, but I heard that you can enter the building at night, just inform the guard at the gate. But…)
“But why?” I frowned.
(The worst-case scenario I don't want to happen is our post getting stolen.)
(What's the point of stealing the test?) Skate asked. (What's the point of taking it?)
(Playing dirty because he didn't want us to get high scores.)
(Damn it.) North cursed, (But maybe the security guard picked it up. He'll check before locking the door.)
(Not sure. It's best to ask directly. Let's go, meet in front of building B.) Ikkyu urged.
“Okay, let's go.” I agreed. Ikkyu and Skate exited Discord immediately, leaving just me and North.
“North, what are you going to do? Is Johan taking you?”
(He is not here, he is busy working.)
"So I'll come pick you up?"
(No need. Let's meet in front of the building. Oh, is Tiger coming?)
“He’s busy working too.”
(Um.)
“Your voice is shaking. Don't blame yourself. At least you remember now, better than tomorrow morning.”
(But I still feel guilty. I was about to give a presentation and forgot my homework. And it's eleven o'clock at night. What bad luck.)
“We'll help you out. Let's go.”
(YES.)
************
I drove my motorbike straight to Building B of the Faculty of Engineering. The campus was dark and quiet, which made me a little scared. It wasn’t the first time I went to school late at night, but it was the first time I went alone without Tiger by my side.
Under the dim streetlights, the parking lot in front of Building B was strangely empty. It was difficult to find a parking space during the day, but now I can park anywhere I want. I saw Skate and Ikkyu waiting for me, so I drove over and parked next to them.
“Is security there?”
“We asked. He said he didn't check the room when it was locked, but he gave us the key.” Ikkyu said, holding up a large bunch of keys with keychains.
“Why did he give us the key? Isn't he coming with us?”
“Hmm, you said just to go get it, then lock it for me.” Skate shook his head.
“Fuck.” I blurted out, “The building is this dark, is it really?”
“What else?” Skate sighed, “Did you know this building has a bunch of ghost stories?”
“Skate, stop it.” Ikkyu interrupted, “Are you telling us this just to confuse us? We have to go anyway.”
"Sorry…"
Before he could say anything more, North had already sped up, his face visibly pale.
“You guys…”
“North, are you okay?” I asked worriedly.
“Honestly, no. I'm sorry, I was careless.”
“It’s okay.” Ikkyu patted North’s shoulder, “Don’t blame yourself. It’s a good thing you remembered now, otherwise you wouldn’t have been saved tomorrow morning. Everything has its own problems; the important thing is that we quickly solve them together.”
“You sound just like Nao,” North sighed. “Yeah, I get it. But there’s one thing that still doesn’t sit right with me… climbing up this building. Oh, and what did the security guard say?”
“We asked,” Skate repeated the same answer as before.
“Really?” North rolled his eyes, “Isn’t he afraid we’ll steal something or something? Why didn’t he come along? At least it would be less scary with him around…”
“Yeah, that’s it. I also found it strange that he didn’t come with me. He said Just go get it, it’s okay.”
“Fuck, and our building has a ton of ghost stories.”
“There you go.” Ikkyu flicked North’s ear, “What’s the point of saying that? We have to get up there.”
“Okay, okay, sorry. I said something wrong. Honestly, just driving into school in the dark like this is enough to scare me to death.”
“Why didn’t you tell Johan or Tiger?” Skate suddenly remembered, “Shouldn’t we have called more people to help us find them? With so few people here, isn’t anyone worried about you guys?”
“Johan isn't here. He's been busy with work lately, so I didn't want to bother him,” North replied.
“Same with Tiger. Everyone is busy, can't call.”
“Never mind. This is our responsibility, let’s handle it ourselves.” Ikkyu said and led the way up the building. North stepped closer and held onto my hand tightly. Honestly, I wasn’t as cowardly as he was, but I wasn’t completely fearless either.
“Should we bow first?” North suggested, “Like… we’re students here, just picking up a forgotten paper, not intending to disturb or steal anything.”
“Good idea.” Skate agreed immediately, “Bow first before entering.”
"Okay." So we bowed as North suggested and then entered the building.
********
“North, do you remember left or right?” I turned to ask.
“I don't remember anything.” North shook his head.
“At least I know it's on the third or fourth floor,” said Ikkyu, “But I'll have to open each room and look.”
“Fuck.” Skate cursed. The same thing echoed in my head. And suddenly, Ikkyu came up with an idea that no one wanted to hear.
“Or… should we split up and search?”
“Fuck, no way!” The three of us protested in unison. There were already so few of us, and you still want to split up? Where did you get the nerve, Ikkyu?!
“Calm down, I’m scared too. But we’ve prayed, it’s okay. If all four of us stick together, when will we finish searching? Splitting into two groups, each group searching one side, will be faster. Once we finish searching, we can go home early.”
“Two groups of two… is a bit better?” I frowned, “Anyway, it’s best to search quickly and come back quickly. Skate North, what do you think?”
“I… I… damn it, I want to call the whole department to come and look for us!” North grimaced as if he was about to cry, “Can’t we all go together? The more people, the safer.”
“But I agree with Kyu,” Skate said, “I'm scared, but I want to go home faster.”
“Alright, three yes, one no. Sorry, North, but we have to split up,” Ikkyu concluded. North reluctantly nodded.
“Then Skate and I go left, on the third and fourth floors. Nao and North go right, to the third and fourth floors. Here, the keys.” Ikkyu handed over a large bunch of keys, and I took them.
“The room light won’t turn on. Use a flashlight to look closely, check on the table, in the drawers under the table, the chairs, and even on the floor.”
“Why search under the floor?” North asked.
“What if someone accidentally kicks it and it falls to the ground?”
“Fuck, I have to bend down to find it again?” North groaned. I could only swallow and think about that.
“Turn on the call and keep updated. If anyone finds anything, report it immediately so we can return quickly. Oh, and remember to lock the room for the security guard.” Ikkyu instructed.
After we agreed, we split up to search. North held on to my hand as we climbed the stairs. We used the flashlights on our phones, and North held the phone he was on with Skate to his mouth.
“Re… report the situation, Nao and I have reached the second floor.”
(We're climbing the stairs too.) Skate's voice came from the speaker.
“Nao…” The person beside me called my name in a trembling voice, “I… I’m so scared.”
“I’m scared too, and I’m trying to act calm.” I felt an indescribable chill down my spine. I turned around to look around, but saw nothing; it must have been my imagination. “Your hands are so cold.”
“You too.” North moved from clinging to my hand to holding it tightly. We both needed each other’s hands more than ever.
When I reached the second floor, I glanced down unconsciously and saw nothing but thick darkness. I quickly turned my face forward, not knowing why I was looking down again. Do people always tend to look at things they shouldn't?
(HALLO!!)
The sudden scream from the speaker startled North and I, almost making us drop our phones.
“What?! What happened, Skate?!” North asked in panic.
(A… sorry, I was startled by the shadow of the tree.)
“Ah… um, it's okay, calm down.” North breathed a sigh of relief, placing his hand on his chest, “My heart almost jumped out of my chest, my legs are weak.”
“Come on, North, we're almost to the third floor.” I pulled North's hand to continue walking, “Are you okay?”
But just as he reached the third-floor steps, North suddenly stopped.
“Nao… sorry, my legs have no strength left.” North was trembling, a stark contrast to his usual self. But I understood; I knew how much he had been afraid of ghosts for a long time. He was good at everything else, but this was probably his only weakness.
“Fuck, I want to cry.”
“But stopping here is just a waste of time, North.”
“…Nao, I…”
"Star?"
“I shouldn't have done that.” North's voice trailed off.
“Still blaming yourself for forgetting your homework? I told you it was okay.”
“No… I mean… I shouldn't go looking into any history or ghost stories about this building… Fuck, every story I read or heard is replaying in my head.”
“Haa… I told you not to read so much, find something else to read.”
“Hey…”
“Okay, okay, I’m scared too! Damn, it’s really scary.”
I frowned, my heart pounding from the tension. This space was uncomfortably haunting. Completely dark, not a single sound could reach my ears. Even though it was the building where we studied every day, it was even scarier because it was a school building.
“I miss you, Johan.”
“Me too.”
"Why do you miss my lover?"
“I mean, I miss Tiger too,” I replied.
If Tiger were here, I wouldn’t be so scared. Because he’s never been afraid of anything, and he’s very trustworthy. On the contrary, I only have North by my side now – someone who’s scared of ghosts to the point of trembling. So I have to try to control my own fear, otherwise we’ll both panic.
“Let's go, North.”
“Um.”