ETP Ch 17

So, on the second day of the festival, Seongyeon ended up hanging out with the Beagle Trio.

“So, yesterday, the bus was absolutely packed, you know? I’ve never seen our school so densely populated.”

“Whoa, dude. I saw Hooringies in person, so I have nothing more to wish for. They’re so freakin’ pretty in real life. Goddesses? No, fairies! Yeah, they were fairies.”

“The pajeon at that club’s stall was amazing. We’re going back today, right? Gotta feed our Bokseung!”

Whether they were chatting or having a speaking competition, the trio wasn’t having a conversation so much as each taking turns saying what they wanted to say. Only Seongyeon, trapped in the middle of it, worried his ears might start bleeding from the triple-layered audio assault.

Seongyeon had absolutely no interest in who the Hooringies were, how delicious the pajeon was, or how many people had come to the festival. He was just sad that he had to spend his precious free evening feeling exhausted.

Still, Seongyeon wasn’t completely passive. He was trying his best to provide appropriate reactions.

He was limited to rotating phrases like, “Oh, really?”, “Wow, is that so?”, and “Uh-huh, yeah,” but he did his best not to overlap with their talking.

Perhaps thanks to his efforts, the trio, fueled by these small reactions, began to boast even greater audio volume.

For them, the festival with Bokseung was like a hidden event in a game. Their heightened energy levels compared to usual were only natural.

From Seongyeon’s perspective, even though it was tiring, watching the three of them chatter was also endearingly age-appropriate. It was a type of human interaction he’d never experienced as Seongyeon, so it felt novel.

He could vaguely understand why Bokseung hung out with this trio.

Having been a lonely child all his life, he must have been grateful to these three for filling that loneliness.

That’s probably why he tried so hard to fit in, despite their incompatible personalities.

Watching the three of them chatter endlessly, Seongyeon thought of Bokseung. His chest ached again as he thought of the boy who had passed away before he could properly enjoy his college life.

The three, noticing Bokseung’s sudden somberness, started bickering amongst themselves using messages. It was a chatroom without Bokseung, mainly used for exchanging insults.

[Hey, I think Bokseung’s bored.]

[Duh! It’s because you’re being insensitive, talking about Hooringies! How much do you think Bokseung wanted to see them too?! Where did you leave your brain?]

[This won’t do. Let’s go do something, go go go!]

Seongyeon wasn’t upset at all about missing out on the Hooringies, but the three of them, unaware of his true feelings, jumped to the worst possible conclusion.

“Alright! The stalls are probably opening now, let’s go!”

“Yeah! Let’s go grab a spot!”

Seongyeon, caught off guard, followed the trio as they abruptly moved, heading back towards the school.

🍑‧₊ ⋆˙

The four of them, wearing identical sprout-shaped hairpins, carrying wand-shaped puffed snacks and butterbeer, looked like they were enjoying the festival more than anyone else.

However, one of them, Seongyeon, was screaming internally from embarrassment. He didn’t know about the other three, but Seongyeon, who normally had nothing to do with such things, cringed every time he felt the sprout on his head wiggle.

Even with Bokseung’s face, the most courageous thing Seongyeon had managed was wearing a light-colored t-shirt. This kind of culture was something he appreciated aesthetically, but he had absolutely no desire to participate or envy those who did.

Of course, looking around, most people were wearing flowers or sprouts in their hair. Still, he couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.

He had tried his best to fit in because he felt grateful to Bokseung’s friends at the cafe earlier, but this was a completely different issue.

“Oh! Look at those sunglasses! I saw them on Instagram! Wow, they’re even cuter in person!”

Hyuna, one of the trio, exclaimed. The spot she pointed at was glittering with sunglasses of all shapes and colors, including rainbow heart-shaped ones.

I really hate those!!

Seongyeon shook his head as soon as he saw the sunglasses stall.

However, as usual, the Beagles didn’t understand human language, and Seongyeon ended up being dragged along by the three, a miserable expression on his face.

Among the large festival crowd, a particularly slender figure caught his eye.

Despite being dragged along, he looked closely and, as expected, the slender figure was Hwang Yoohyun.

He was walking purposefully, seemingly indifferent to the festival atmosphere. Naturally, people’s gazes followed him like a tail.

And among those gazes, the most ardent belonged to Kim Bokseung.

Bokseung’s white fingers flew across his phone screen. It was his only lifeline. He was in a hurry, afraid to miss his chance.

[Seonbbae-nimmmm 8 o’clock to my right! Please save me! Get me outta hereeee!]

Meanwhile, Yoohyun, heading towards the parking lot, felt his phone vibrate and looked at the screen. He had turned off notifications for his regular messaging app, so the vibration had to be a text message or a call.

Checking the message, Yoohyun frowned at the unexpected sender and the unexpected content.

Is this guy messing with me?

The “eee” at the end of the message was particularly irritating, but ignoring that, the content itself seemed incredibly urgent.

Hwang Yoohyun, who had been looking down, turned his head in the direction Bokseung had indicated: 8 o’clock to his right.

At the end of his gaze was Bokseung, his arm linked with someone else’s, being dragged along, his eyes full of desperation.

As soon as their eyes met, Bokseung’s face lit up with hope. Seeing that expression, Yoohyun walked towards Bokseung without hesitation.

“Kim Bokseung, let’s go.”

Yoohyun, having quickly approached Bokseung and his group, called out Bokseung’s name in a low voice.

Bokseung felt Yoohyun’s scent waft around him as he appeared. It was a strangely comforting scent.

While Seongyeon was relieved that he could finally escape the heart-shaped sunglasses, the trio, hearing the unfamiliar voice, looked at Yoohyun with identical wide eyes.

And all three of them exclaimed the same thing in their minds:

It’s Hwang Yoohyun!!

It was as if they had met a celebrity they’d only heard of. Even the fairy-like Hooringies they’d seen yesterday seemed to fade in his presence.

Driven by a one-sided sense of familiarity, they greeted Hwang Yoohyun loudly.

“Hello, Sunbae-nim!”

Hwang Yoohyun glanced at Bokseung’s friends who had greeted him, but immediately returned his attention to Bokseung.

Kim Bokseung, the very person he had called and wanted to greet, was stuck in his friends’ grasp, managing only an awkward smile.

“Aren’t you coming?”

Hwang Yoohyun had approached Bokseung as requested, intending to take him away. But to Seongyeon, who had orchestrated this whole thing, Yoohyun’s acting was unbearable. He barely managed to suppress a groan rising from deep within.

He was grateful that Yoohyun had come after his desperate SOS, but the way he spoke made him sound like he was there to cause Bokseung harm!

Seongyeon looked at the trio beside him. They seemed frozen, clearly intimidated by Hwang Yoohyun’s aura, his stern expression, and his abrupt words.

“Uh, guys, I just remembered I have something planned with Sunbae-nim…”

Seongyeon put on his brightest expression, trying his best to appear casual, like he wasn’t being dragged away by a loan shark.

Mesmerized by the boy’s bright smile, the trio nodded almost hypnotically.

In truth, they were too overwhelmed by Hwang Yoohyun’s intimidating presence to stop Bokseung’s sudden departure, but in any case, they quietly let him go.

“I’m really sorry. Have fun, everyone.”

Leaving behind a soft voice and a faint smile, Bokseung followed Hwang Yoohyun.

Completely oblivious to the curiosity their pairing had sparked in the trio.

🍑‧₊ ⋆˙

“Whoa, man.”

He’d narrowly escaped the Beagle Trio’s grasp. Letting out a small sigh of relief, Seongyeon immediately snatched the sprout from his hair.

The rough movement caused Bokseung’s thin brown hair to flutter and settle.

Yoohyun, watching intently, recalled the image of Bokseung saying, “I’m really sorry. Have fun, everyone,” to his friends.

It was a gentleness he hadn’t shown Yoohyun even once since the start of the second semester.

Wasn’t that what they called playing coy?

Yoohyun stared blankly at Bokseung’s rough actions, lost in thought.

Then it suddenly hit him. Playing coy wasn’t the point. The problem was that Kim Bokseung acted completely differently around other people compared to how he acted around Yoohyun.

Wait, but why is he acting coy with everyone else but me? Isn’t the direction of his coyness completely wrong?

Yoohyun thought he was being nice by rescuing Bokseung as requested, but the first thing the kid said was “Whoa, man.”

Not “Thank you,” not an explanation of the situation, not even a simple “Hello,” but “Whoa, man.” The surprisingly sensitive and meticulous Hwang Yoohyun was internally confused.

However, outwardly, Hwang Yoohyun maintained a perfect poker face, and Seongyeon, comfortable with his lack of expression, finally began to explain the situation casually.

“Thank you so much! Those were my friends, and uh, they’re all good people, but they’re also a bit… overly energetic. I just couldn’t keep up with them!”

Technically, it was because of his old soul trapped in a young body, but that was Seongyeon’s little secret. He shook his head vigorously, still feeling like there was a sprout stuck in his hair.

Yoohyun, observing Bokseung’s words and actions, became even more certain that the boy was showing him a rougher, more unguarded side. But he couldn’t figure out if Bokseung’s casual attitude towards him was a good thing or a bad thing.

“Anyway, thank you so much! Thanks to you, I can go home early!”

Bokseung, unaware of Yoohyun’s inner turmoil, bid him farewell with a cheerful goodbye, showing no sign of wanting to linger.

That’s when a rebellious streak, previously unknown to Yoohyun, suddenly emerged.

“No. You can’t go home yet. Where do you think you’re going? You’re watching the festival with me.”