Friday afternoon rolled around, and the moment the last bell rang, Ji-hun and Hae-sol grabbed their bags and headed straight to the photography club. The room was still mostly empty when they arrived, and Ho-jin was standing near the teacher's desk, flipping through a stack of papers.

When he saw them walk in, he looked up with a bright smile.

"Welcome. Sit down," he said.

Ji-hun looked at the floor and went to a chair. He didn't look at Ho-jin.

Ho-jin stood up and walked over. He bent down a little in front of Ji-hun and spoke more quietly.

"Are we still mad at each other, Moon Ji-hun?"

Ji-hun's face didn't change. 

"Friends get mad at each other. We don't have that kind of relationship," he answered flatly.

Ho-jin stopped for a moment. He looked surprised, then turned his face away. His smile faded.

"Alright. If that's how you want it," he said softly.

Other students started coming into the room and sitting down. Soon, all the chairs were filled and people were talking. 

When everyone settled, Ho-jin cleared his throat and asked for attention.

"This week's meeting will be short because of the soccer tournament. Two of our members have a match soon. Anyone who wants to join Sunday's photo outing by the Han River needs to pick up a permission slip and get it signed by a parent or guardian."

Ji-hun and Hae-sol each took a piece of paper, bowed, and walked out of the room together.

As they went down the hallway, they heard fast footsteps behind them.

"Moon Ji-hun!" Ho-jin called out.

Ji-hun turned around and looked at him.

When Ho-jin caught up to them, he glanced at Hae-sol.

"Could you give us a moment? I need to talk to Ji-hun alone," he asked politely.

Hae-sol nodded and waved at Ji-hun.

"See you later," he said, and walked down the hallway.

Ho-jin turned back to Ji-hun and looked at his face.

"Ji-hun, there's something I need to tell you," he said. He hesitated for a moment.

Ji-hun frowned and looked at him.

"What? Are you going to ask me for protection money or something?"

Ho-jin looked surprised. "Aish… No…" he murmured. He paused for a while, then took a breath.

"I want you to leave the photography club," he said.

Ji-hun stared at him. 

"What?"

"You heard me," Ho-jin said. "I want you to switch clubs."

Ji-hun looked at him, he was so confused. 

"But why?"

"Because of this strange distance between us, I don't think I can help you with photography like this. That's why I'm asking you to leave the club. This is my last year anyway, so you can just sign up again next year if you want to."

Ji-hun opened his mouth, trying to say something, but no words came out. Before he could speak, Ho-jin leaned in a little closer and lowered his voice.

"I'm your sunbae. Either you learn to get along with me, or you leave the club. Those are your only choices. The decision is yours."

He straightened up, turned around, and walked away without looking back. His footsteps faded down the empty hallway.

—

Ho-jin lay on his bed with one arm under his head and looked out the window next to him. Outside, the night was quiet. The buildings were barely visible in the dark. His face was tight, like he had spent the whole day holding things in and not saying what he wanted to say.

After a long silence, he sighed and sat up. He sat cross-legged on the bed, his shoulders a little slumped. He rubbed his eyes with his hand, then let it fall to his lap and stared at the floor for a moment.

"I can't believe I told him to quit the club," he said to himself.

He reached for his phone on the floor beside his mattress. He unlocked it and scrolled until he saw Min-ji's name at the top of his chats.

What are you doing

The reply came fast.

Studying

He stared at her message for a while, typed a single letter.

K

and put the phone down again without waiting for anything else.

Turning his head back to the window, he watched the dark for a while longer. 

"I'll apologize on Monday," he said quietly.

But even after he lay back down, he couldn't fall asleep. He felt bad. He knew he had been too harsh with a kid who was much younger than him.

—

The streets were still a little quiet as Ji-hun walked to school. He kept his head down and walked fast, but he looked ahead before turning the corner. Just like yesterday, Ho-jin was there, standing with a few of his friends near the school gate. When Ji-hun saw him, his face got hot right away.

Their eyes met for only a second. Ji-hun's heart jumped, and he quickly looked away, picking up his pace as if he hadn't seen anything.

"Moon Ji-hun," Ho-jin called out, loud enough to cut through the chatter on the street.

Ji-hun didn't answer. He just kept walking.

But Ho-jin came after him. His steps were quick and certain, and within moments, he caught up and reached out, grabbing Ji-hun's wrist from behind.

"Moon Ji-hun," he said again, his voice closer now.

Ji-hun stopped. His shoulders were stiff, and his face was red, but he still didn't turn around.

"I'm sorry about yesterday," Ho-jin said as he stepped in front of him. "I shouldn't have said that. I didn't mean it. Not really."

Ji-hun stayed quiet. His head was down, and his eyes were hidden by his hair.

Ho-jin stepped a little closer, then slowly bent down in front of him so he could see his face. And when he did, he froze.

Ji-hun's eyes were wet. There were quiet tears sitting on his lashes, and his mouth was pressed into a flat line like he was holding everything back.

"Ya... you don't need to cry," Ho-jin said, softer now. "It's okay."

He reached out and wiped under Ji-hun's eyes. Ji-hun pulled away, not roughly, just enough to show he didn't want it.

Ho-jin lowered his hand and sighed.

"Ji-hun... you don't need to be scared of me. I'm not trying to control you or make you feel small. I'm just your sunbae. That's it. We happen to be in the same club. That's all. My job isn't to scare you. It's to help you."

Ji-hun still did not answer.

"Why do you hate me so much, Ji-hun?" he asked.

Ji-hun spoke quietly, but his words were clear.

"I just don't wanna leave the photography club."

Ho-jin looked at him for a moment. Something softened in his expression. He nodded slowly.

"Then don't leave. I don't want you to. I really don't. You can treat me however you want, I don't care. Say whatever. Just stay. I know one day, you'll see I'm not as bad as you think."

Ji-hun nodded a little, still not looking at him.

Ho-jin turned toward his friends across the street and called out, 

"Ya, can someone bring my bag?"

One of the boys ran over and passed it to him. Ho-jin swung it over his shoulder, then looked back at Ji-hun.

"We're heading in," he said.

And without asking, he took Ji-hun's hand.

Ji-hun reacted at first, but he did not move his hand away. After a moment, he decided to leave it where it was, still holding Ho-jin’s hand. His fingers felt light, and they did not tense up.

Ho-jin lifted his other hand and brushed away the rest of Ji-hun's tears. He smiled a little, then started walking.

"Promise me I won't see you cry again, okay?" he said. He wasn't teasing and he wasn't strict. He was just quiet.

Ji-hun nodded.

They walked into the school yard together, holding hands. To anyone who passed by, they just looked like an older student and a younger one going to class together. 

—

Friday came again. Since that morning at the school gate, Ho-jin and Ji-hun had barely talked. When they passed each other in the halls, they only nodded. 

That afternoon, the Photography Club met in the usual room. Ho-jin stood at the front with a clipboard in his hand.

"Next week, we're heading to the Han River for a photo session," he announced. "We'll be working in pairs. We're focusing on light studies this time, so we'll go in the late afternoon to catch the golden hour."

Hae-sol immediately raised his hand. 

"I'll team up with Ji-hun."

Ho-jin smiled. "I'm sorry Hae-sol. According to the rules, two beginners can't be in the same team. Since we'll be working with light, each pair needs at least one person with experience."

Hae-sol groaned but didn't argue. 

"Then I'll go with Tae-ju."

The other students started pairing up. They talked as they took out their cameras and checked their gear. Soon, everyone had a partner. Everyone except Ji-hun.

Ho-jin glanced around, then looked at him.

"Alright, then. Ji-hun and I will team up."

As the others went back to their conversations, Ho-jin walked over to where Ji-hun was standing.

"Hope it's okay that we're partners," he said, trying to keep it casual. "I'll bring my analog camera too. We can help each other."

"That's fine, sunbae," Ji-hun said. 

And Ho-jin paused for a moment. Finally. He called me sunbae.