ASIAH 30

Jooyoon, who had lifted Hyun Jaekyung in a back hug, even gave him a little shake before putting him back down. Just like that, as if it were nothing. Hyun Jaekyung, who had been frozen in bewilderment, forcefully pushed Jooyoon’s shoulder.

“Fuck, are you drunk?”

“Ouch. It was a perfectly natural act, but does it seem like I’m drunk?”

Jooyoon was a bit strange to begin with, so it was hard to tell if this was his real personality or if he was drunk. Besides, Hyun Jaekyung hadn’t been lifted up like this since he grew past 185 centimeters. Thanks to that, he was at a loss for how to react, which was also not a common occurrence in his life.

While Hyun Jaekyung’s brain had given up on thinking, Jooyoon, who had been pondering something on his own, spouted more nonsense.

“Are you around… the 60-kilogram range? You seem a bit thin, even considering your height.”

“Uh…?”

“I’m bigger and weigh a lot more than you. So by a simple calculation, the amount of alcohol you can handle is much less. So you should stop drinking now.”

“What are you talking about…?”

The 60-kilogram range? Does he think I’m nothing but bones? Hyun Jaekyung’s build could be described as slim, but he was by no means a scarecrow-like weakling. And that quiet loser seemed to be a weirder bastard than he thought. Hyun Jaekyung recalled the old saying, ‘You avoid shit because it’s dirty, not because you’re scared,’ and gave up on getting Jooyoon blackout drunk.

As he was leaving the bathroom, he looked back to see Jooyoon picking up a piece of tissue that had fallen on the hallway floor. Hyun Jaekyung, having returned to the restaurant, sat at a different table than before.

“Sunbae-nims, may I mix you all a drink?”

“Oh, you’re Jaekyung, right? Earlier, Jihee was making such a fuss about a handsome guy.”

“Thank you for looking upon me favorably!”

As Hyun Jaekyung lavished affection on the female sunbaes, male sunbaes and classmates gathered, and the table became crowded. A while later, a male sunbae ordered a large dish and then monitored everyone to see if they were eating it well.

“Hyun Jaekyung, why are you picking at your food like that? Does it not taste good?”

“Ah, I’m eating it gratefully and deliciously, sunbae-nim.”

“Is he acting like that because I ordered it? This guy’s just trying to look good for the girls…”

He wasn’t on Jooyoon’s level of pouring alcohol into an empty stomach, but Hyun Jaekyung had also drunk a lot today. He felt bad when his stomach was too full, and if he ate a lot of snacks, there would be no room for alcohol.

Naturally, he didn’t like heavy snacks or beer that filled his stomach with water, and the same went for dongdongju, which made him feel full without any snacks. But since his peers usually went to places that were good value for money, embarrassing moments like this would sometimes arise.

As Hyun Jaekyung swallowed the pig’s feet without a change in expression, chicken feet were added to the order.

‘This bastard is doing this on purpose. Does he have a thing for feet?’

Even when people tried to hide it, he could usually tell when they were being annoying. Unlike Jooyoon’s bizarre behavior earlier, whose intentions he couldn’t figure out. Hyun Jaekyung had often been called a weirdo in his life and had often taken it as a compliment. But after meeting a real psycho, he even became humble.

Anyway, he really didn’t want to eat the chicken feet, so he was wondering what to do.

“Hyun Jaekyung, you have to go now.”

“Huh?”

The one who had suddenly and brazenly approached was, unexpectedly, Jooyoon. With a face that looked as if he hadn’t had a single sip of alcohol, he recited in an ordinary tone.

“Jaekyung’s roommate contacted him saying he got hurt, so sorry about this.”

“His roommate got hurt? Oh no… hurry and go.”

Whether she believed this blatant lie or was pretending to believe it to help him out, a female sunbae reacted exaggeratedly and helped Hyun Jaekyung to his feet. Hyun Jaekyung rolled his eyes for a moment, then immediately played along.

“He said we did the entrance exams together, so I guess the message went to him. Ah~ I’m so disappointed. Sunbae-nims, you must have another drink with me next time.”

“Okay, I hope your roommate is okay.”

“Then, enjoy your meal!”

Entrance exams, my ass. Hyun Jaekyung’s roommate was a student from another department who was rarely even in the room. Anyway, an opportunity was an opportunity, so he left the bar, but for some reason, Jooyoon followed him out.

The streets were quiet as the bars had sucked in the students. While walking just a few steps, Hyun Jaekyung was plagued by the disappointment of the supposedly fun orientation ending ambiguously and a strange sense of loneliness. For such incomplete combustion when going out to have fun at night was an impossibility in his dictionary.

By the time they had walked a couple of blocks, Jooyoon, who had been walking behind, caught up to Hyun Jaekyung. He reeked of alcohol, yet his footsteps didn’t falter one bit.

“Jooyoon, you really weren’t drunk?”

“You don’t believe me. Even my family admits it.”

Could he really be a strange bastard who’s just good at holding his liquor? Should I ask him to go to another neighborhood for another drink?

We’re not going to be best friends, but we can hang out for a day. Then I might be able to see a truly drunk-like Jooyoon.

Hyun Jaekyung lightly dismissed the bewilderment he had felt earlier and lowered his guard. Even before coming to college, he had often hung out with a diverse range of strange guys, and Jooyoon had indeed helped him out when he was in a tight spot earlier.

“Thanks for getting me out of there. I thought you were a weird bastard, but you’ve got loyalty.”

“A weird bastard… You just looked like you hated being there.”

Hyun Jaekyung’s eyebrows furrowed. He was skilled at controlling his expression, so it was unlikely that his feelings would be read by an outsider classmate who was much younger, let alone someone with even a year more of life experience.

“Were you watching me?”

“Of course. You’re handsome, so my eyes just go to you wherever you are.”

“…Uh, I know.”

The reply came out at a timing that was barely not awkward, but he ended up being a little flustered. As that fact began to bother him, he even recalled the actions of the weirdo who had lifted him up earlier, which he had tried to comfort himself was no big deal. It was even more bewildering because this was a bastard who had been putting up a wall at first.

Getting flustered by someone else wasn’t like Hyun Jaekyung, so he had to calm down first. After a series of thoughts, he went to the corner of a vacant lot and took out a cigarette. As expected, Jooyoon followed him like a goldfish’s poop, as if it were the most natural thing to do. Does he want to get close to me or something? Hyun Jaekyung studied Jooyoon and shook his cigarette pack.

“You don’t smoke?”

“I don’t.”

“Alright. Move out of the way of the smoke yourself.”

Jooyoon didn’t answer. He just stood tall right in front of him, making him uncomfortable, and observed him from head to toe, then after a long while, he spoke abruptly.

“Cigarettes are bad for you, you should quit.”

“Huh?”

“If I had to choose, I prefer the non-smoker character. Of course, there are many cases that break through my preferences.”

“What are you saying, you idiot…”

Since Jooyoon was standing with his back to the streetlight, he also felt as if he were being crushed by the shadow. That somehow felt like he had lost a battle of wills. He tried to ignore the rising sense of displeasure, but being observed by the towering guy, he lost his appetite for smoking.

“Hah…”

Even though Hyun Jaekyung didn’t hide his discomfort as he stubbed out his long cigarette, Jooyoon didn’t move. He could also feel the persistent gaze piercing his skin quite blatantly. Isn’t it strange that you can feel a physical stimulus from a gaze?

His full stomach still felt unpleasant, but he didn’t want to throw up in front of Jooyoon. Just as Hyun Jaekyung, who had been rubbing the area around his solar plexus, was about to roll down his sleeves, which he had rolled up. Jooyoon, who had been standing a step ahead, suddenly moved.

“Uh.”

Wondering what he was trying to do, Jooyoon grabbed Hyun Jaekyung’s wrist and brought the exposed bare skin right up to his own eyes. When his own shadow fell over it and obscured it, he even took a step to the side and held the wrist up to the streetlight, as if to observe the veins.

“You… what are you doing?”

“……”

Jooyoon let go of his wrist without answering. But this time, he lightly touched Hyun Jaekyung’s hair, chin, and cheeks. Hyun Jaekyung’s mind went blank again for a moment, so he couldn’t show any reaction, and only when Jooyoon grabbed his chin with a strange motion did he push him away.

“Wh-what… what is this?”

Jooyoon himself, however, showed no agitation. Against a guy who does crazy things with such a completely ordinary attitude, you can’t help but be overwhelmed by his presence. Jooyoon reached out his hand again as if disappointed that Hyun Jaekyung had moved away.

Hyun Jaekyung had never lost to a peer, whether in a brawl or anything else, so he thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to throw the first punch.

‘But if this weirdo is as strong as he is big and does something really weird…’

That kind of worry was also unfamiliar, something he had never had outside of his home until now. Anyway, putting all that aside, this was really not okay. Hyun Jaekyung, who had finally decided on his attitude, roughly grabbed Jooyoon by the collar.

“Are you crazy, you psycho bastard! Do you want to die?”

But Jooyoon, far from being scared, answered with a refreshingly cheerful tone that was infuriating.

“You’re really my type.”

“…Wha?”

Hyun Jaekyung’s eyes widened and he froze stiff. Jooyoon’s pronunciation and voice were like an announcer’s, so he even had the illusion that what he had just heard wasn’t something crazy. When he danced, he received cheers from both men and women, but this was the first time he had been so openly propositioned by a man.

But it seemed uncool for a young guy who does art to reveal old-fashioned thoughts and a conservative side. Moreover, Hyun Jaekyung was a guy who had even done a different genre of dance before majoring in it in college, so wouldn’t his pride be intact only if he passed this off as a daily occurrence?

Just as he barely came to his senses and was about to refuse calmly. Jooyoon raised the corners of his mouth and spouted.

“Do you know what a bisque doll is? They’re dolls baked from porcelain…”

“A d-disc?”

“Your skin is like a well-painted figure. If something came out in your skin tone, I’d buy it right away.”

Having said that, Jooyoon rubbed Hyun Jaekyung’s nape and cheeks for a long time. Hyun Jaekyung was so busy dealing with the nonsense he was hearing and the creepy sensation he felt on his skin that he even lost his sense of reality for a moment.

As Hyun Jaekyung froze again, Jooyoon brazenly took Hyun Jaekyung’s phone and even searched for ‘bisque doll’. The images that densely populated the screen were all of delicate-looking female dolls with milky-white skin. Beyond looking like something only little girls would play with, they looked like decorations in a concept cafe obsessed with antiques.

What on earth does it mean to describe a male classmate as being like a doll? At this point, it’s more like a power play than a pure expression of affection. But the strangest thing was that it somehow didn’t seem like he was doing it because he wanted to win. It was as if he were just saying what he felt, reciting nonsense with precise pronunciation, which was the very definition of a madman.

Moreover, his gaze was so persistent and sticky, it was as if a beast were licking its chops.

Thinking about it rationally, this… was sexual harassment.

The moment he realized it, anger spread like a wildfire, and Hyun Jaekyung’s wounded pride finally broke through his bewilderment.

“You crazy psycho bastard, that’s enough.”

“Huh?”

“Who do you think you’re messing with?”

Hyun Jaekyung’s palm slapped Jooyoon’s cheek, tap, tap. He had no intention of stomping on someone from the beginning of the semester. No, in his entire life, he had only ever responded to fights that were started with him, and he had never acted like such a low-life punk, but it seemed like his college life would only be smooth if he put this bastard in his place once and for all.

He had just confirmed that there was no one around and was about to kick his shin. Just as Hyun Jaekyung’s hand was about to grab Jooyoon’s hair, five fingers intertwined with his.