After the evening he told me about his dream of going abroad, everything seemed to continue as usual.
He still studied a lot.
I still went to class and returned to the boarding house.
But I began to realize that behind those quiet evenings, he was preparing for something much bigger.
Sometimes, when I opened my door late at night, I would see the light in his room still on. He sat at his desk, focused on reading documents. Occasionally he wrote notes into his familiar notebook.
I would stand in the corridor for a moment, looking in, not wanting to disturb him.
He lived with great discipline.
Some people study because of pressure.
But he studied because he truly wanted to go farther.
One evening, we sat in the corridor talking again.
I was still thinking about his plan to study abroad.
So I asked,
"Have you ever thought… about what it would be like if you stayed?"
He looked at me.
"Stayed?"
I nodded.
"Yeah. I mean… if you didn't go."
He was quiet for a moment.
Not an awkward silence, but the kind that comes when someone is thinking carefully before answering.
After a while he said,
"I have thought about it."
"And?"
He leaned back against the railing, looking toward the small alley below.
"I think if I stayed… my life would still be fine."
I nodded.
"I would graduate. Find a job. And live like many other people."
He said it calmly.
There was no bitterness in his voice.
Just a simple truth.
Then he turned to look at me.
"But I know that if I don't go, I'll always feel like I missed something."
I stayed silent.
He continued,
"I don't want to look back someday and think… I wish I had tried."
I understood that feeling.
Not everyone has a big dream.
But when someone does, it becomes very hard to leave it behind.
I asked him,
"But going that far… don't you feel like you'll miss things here?"
He smiled faintly.
"Of course I will."
"What will you miss?"
He looked at me.
But he didn't answer immediately.
His eyes were strange at that moment.
As if he were deciding whether he should say something or not.
After a moment he said,
"I'll miss the people I've met here."
I didn't think much about it.
I simply nodded.
"I'll miss you too."
My words were simple.
I said them instinctively.
But after I said that, he became quiet again.
I looked at him.
"Did I say something wrong?"
He shook his head.
"No."
He smiled softly.
"I just didn't expect you to say that."
I felt a little embarrassed.
"I mean… if you really go, things will probably feel different."
He nodded.
"Yeah. They probably will."
We sat quietly for a while.
The night breeze moved through the corridor, carrying a faint chill with it.
Suddenly, I realized something.
I had never asked him why he truly wanted to go so far away.
Not just for studying.
But the deeper reason.
So I asked,
"Hey."
He turned to me.
"Yeah?"
"Why do you want to go the most?"
He didn't answer immediately.
He looked straight ahead, as if thinking through many things.
Then he said slowly,
"I want to become a better person."
I was a little surprised.
"You're already good."
He laughed softly.
"Not like that."
Then he added,
"I want to be capable of taking care of my own life… and the lives of the people I care about."
The sentence was very simple.
But for some reason, when I heard him say it, something inside my heart trembled slightly.
I didn't think he was talking about me.
At that time, I still believed we were just two friends.
But later, when I remembered that moment, I began to understand.
Sometimes when a man speaks about the future, he is not only thinking about himself.
He is preparing for a life that includes someone else.
After a while he turned to ask me,
"Do you think I'm being too ambitious?"
I shook my head immediately.
"No."
"Why?"
I thought for a moment.
"Because I think you're very serious about it."
He looked at me.
"With you… I've always been serious."
I didn't fully understand what he meant.
But I could feel the sincerity in his voice.
We sat there a little longer before returning to our rooms.
Before going inside, I glanced at the door across from mine.
I suddenly thought that if one day he really left, this corridor would probably feel very quiet.
But at that time, I didn't think too far ahead.
I still believed that everything would remain the same for a long time.
Message of Chapter 9
People who are truly serious about their future
do not think only about dreams.
They think about responsibility —
about becoming strong enough
to protect the things and people they care about.