COAC 45

Festival preparations, as always, were centered around the first and second-year students. This year’s festival, titled “Hankuk University, Still Spring,” was also mainly led by the freshmen and sophomores. Do Hyeonjun, now a third-year, had planned to sit it out, but the second-year class representative begged him to help with the stage setup, his face looking as if he were about to cry.

“Hyeonjun sunbae. I know you’re busy, but could you please help us just a little? We’re afraid we’ll break the expensive equipment if we touch it ourselves, so we can’t even get our hands on it. They say our department’s success in the last two years was all your work, sunbae-nim. Especially last year, which was a real legend, so a lot of people are looking forward to this year, too.”

“My work? We all prepared it together. And don’t pay attention to such exaggerated rumors.”

“As the president of this year’s festival committee, I’ve concluded that we can’t go on like this. Please help us just this once.”

Behind the second-year representative, the freshmen stood huddled together like penguins braving the cold, looking up at him. A few of them whispered amongst themselves.

“I’m sure he’ll refuse. Do Hyeonjun sunbae is a bit… unapproachable, you know. You heard how Ahyeong got rejected right away when she confessed, right? Jiyun too. I guess he won’t even consider Betas.”

Sorry, but I can hear everything. And traits had nothing to do with it. If Kim Chayeon had been a Beta or an Omega, he would have been drawn to him anyway. No, if that were the case, he wouldn’t have been suspected of aiming for his cycle.

Anyway, it seemed he didn’t have a very positive image among the freshmen. Pretending not to have heard, he spoke to the class representative.

“I’ll just watch. I can’t help until the end.”

“Of course. Even that is something to be thankful for! Please follow me.”

The second-year representative’s face lit up as he led the way. In the wide grassy plaza where the stage was to be built, a half-assembled steel structure was visible. The early May sunlight was quite strong. Do Hyeonjun, wearing a hat pulled down low, put on a blue vest and gloves indicating he was from the College of Arts and moved a light structural material.

“Hyeonjun sunbae. The lighting box is over there. The installation wrenches are with it too.”

“Got them.”

Crouching in front of the lighting box, his hand movements were seamless as he checked the cables.

“As expected, Hyeonjun sunbae handles everything so well on his own. Handsome face, tall, great body, good at his studies. What on earth is he lacking? The people who like you, sunbae, are lined up all the way outside of school, so all you have to do is choose.”

The person I like hates me. He finds me disgusting. He couldn’t bring himself to answer his junior and just swallowed the words. After tightening the lever, the back of his hand, which was passing under the pole with the light attached, brushed against the end of a screw.

“Gasp, sunbae, are you okay? You’re bleeding.”

“It’s nothing.”

Calming down the junior who was making a fuss, he pressed the back of his hand with his other hand. It was just a slight scrape on the surface; it didn’t even count as an injury. Still, thinking he should wipe the blood, he turned his body, and someone hesitantly approached him.

“Hello. Um, I’m not a weird person, I was just passing by and saw… put this on.”

A woman with her hair tied up high in a single ponytail awkwardly held out a bandage.

“It’s okay.”

“It might get infected if you just leave it. Please put it on, at least as a temporary measure. I’m really not a weird person.”

Do Hyeonjun politely declined, but she grabbed his hand and pressed the bandage on firmly.

“Thank you.”

Do Hyeonjun took off his hat and bowed his head deeply. The woman smiled, her large eyes crinkling, then left the spot with a woman who appeared to be her friend. He could hear their bright laughter all the way from here.

“Oh, isn’t this totally a campus romantic comedy genre? A mutual salvation story where she heals the wounds of his heart while coincidentally treating the wound on the back of his hand.”

Just as you’d expect from a broadcasting and video major, he was comparing it to a drama. Mutual salvation, my foot. Do Hyeonjun shook his head from side to side and ignored the second-year representative’s silly talk.

He finished organizing the remaining cables and, lastly, checked that the angle of the lights was not off. This should be enough. He was just about to leave the rest to his juniors and leave the spot.

“Our Hyeonjun, I hear you shot a drama opening scene in a flash while hyung was away.”

Seo Jeong, who had appeared from somewhere, handed him a coffee and made a random comment. Next to him, Kim Chayeon stood as if it were a matter of course. He had been sticking by Seo Jeong’s side so much that none of the broadcasting and video students found his presence strange. The two were like a set, and he felt like he was a freebie that came with that set.

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

“It’s not nonsense, our department’s group chat is going crazy right now. Didn’t you know?”

Why the group chat all of a sudden? He checked the department group chat on the phone he had in his back pocket, and there were over 300 unread messages. It was rare for so many messages to pile up in the entire department chat, though it happened in small, close-knit group chats.

When he checked, a photo had been posted of a female student putting a bandage on Do Hyeonjun’s hand. The reaction to the photo, which was taken from behind the woman so that only her back was visible and not her face, was explosive.

“Hey. Chae Jinseong. You’re studying media and you don’t know about portrait rights? Are you going to get your act together? Forget about me, but what kind of trouble is this for her?”

He spoke sharply to the culprit who had posted the photo. The second-year representative, Chae Jinseong, flinched.

“Even if her face isn’t showing, you can get into big trouble for posting pictures of ordinary people without permission. Delete it right now and issue an order not to redistribute it. I’ll check later. And make sure you apologize to the person in the picture.”

“Yes. I’m sorry. I’ll be careful in the future.”

Chae Jinseong’s shoulders slumped, completely deflated. Do Hyeonjun didn’t get angry often, but when he did, he was known as a rather scary sunbae. Seo Jeong shoved his phone at Kim Chayeon, saying, “Look at this.” Seo Jeong’s action, probably done without knowing his feelings and thinking it was just a happening, made Do Hyeonjun’s insides burn. All that happened was that he got hurt by chance and happened to get a bandage.

“…”

Just as he moistened his lower lip with his tongue and was about to speak, Kim Chayeon turned his gaze from the phone and drank his coffee. He had an uninterested expression, as if watching a boring movie. He felt futile for desperately thinking of an excuse. Even if he explained, he would probably react with, ‘What does that have to do with me?’ Let’s just throw away any pointless expectations.

Do Hyeonjun pulled the cable that secured the pole once more. He hadn’t intended to help any further, but he had changed his mind.

He pressed down with his palm to secure the light so it wouldn’t shake, and tightened it firmly. Underneath his partially rolled-up sleeve, his arm muscles swelled tautly before relaxing. A step away, Kim Chayeon stared intently at the scene. On the back of his veiny hand, a yellow character bandage was incongruously stuck.

Late that evening, the two sat opposite each other and had dinner for the first time in a while. It was a pity that they were just eating without any conversation. The awkwardness was one thing, but the emptiness that came from no longer sharing their daily lives was greater. Well, in the beginning of their cohabitation, they hadn’t even eaten face-to-face at all, so if you looked at it that way, this was an improvement. He comforted himself by forcing himself to find a positive aspect.

Kim Chayeon, who had gotten up from his seat, moved his empty dishes to the sink. The two of them handled household chores like laundry and cleaning their rooms on their own. They took turns cleaning the common areas, including the kitchen and living room, but Kim Chayeon rarely came out of his room. Thanks to Do Hyeonjun, who had grabbed the vacuum cleaner whenever he was stressed, it was clean without a single speck of dust.

“Just leave it. I’ll clean it all at once with mine later.”

Even when told to just leave it, Kim Chayeon silently washed the dishes. Watching him, it felt like the food he was eating was getting stuck in his throat. Kim Chayeon insisted on cleaning his own dishes and went into his room. Left alone, Do Hyeonjun forced himself to finish his meal and turned on the water at the sink.

“Hey. That thing.”

In the living room where only the sound of the TV filled the silence. Kim Chayeon’s low voice broke the stillness. Do Hyeonjun, who was sitting at the end of the sofa, turned his head to look at him. Kim Chayeon, who was sitting at the opposite edge of the sofa, was frowning.

“You’re still wearing it?”

His gaze was directed askew at the back of Do Hyeonjun’s hand.

“Anyone who sees it would think there’s some great story behind it.”

He was flustered by the sudden provocation and couldn’t react quickly. Now he can’t even stand the sight of a bandage?

“Why? Am I not allowed to wear it?”

“It keeps getting in my line of sight.”

“Then don’t look. And stop picking these weird fights.”

The words didn’t come out nicely.

“You think I like looking at it? What am I supposed to do if it’s in my sight? If it weren’t for the treatment, I wouldn’t have cared either.”

Kim Chayeon said bluntly, looking at their clasped hands. That was right. The two were in the middle of their mission for pheromone stabilization after dinner. When there was no significant progress in the last examination, the frequency of hand-holding was changed from 3 times a week to 5. The doctor had said that if there was still no change, he would make them have mucosal contact, so both of them had been diligently and thoroughly following the rules. It was the same now, even though they were both in a bad mood. While spitting out thorny words at each other, their hands were held tightly.

“That’s it. Time’s up.”

As soon as the alarm they had set before holding hands went off, Kim Chayeon let go of his hand. He opened the TV stand and pushed a tube of ointment and a box of new bandages towards Do Hyeonjun as if throwing them.

“Take it off and put on a new one. It’s an eyesore.”

While Do Hyeonjun was dazed, he got up from his seat and went into his room.

“What is with him, really?”

Heat gathered pricklingly at the fingertips that were fiddling with the ointment. No matter how many times he was hurt and on the verge of breaking down, a small act of kindness stubbornly prevented his heart from letting go.