ETP Ch 70

Yoohyun was fiddling with his car keys, staring at his phone screen. The reply to the message he had sent a few minutes ago had not yet arrived.

He checked the time; it was past 8 in the evening.

If they had only eaten dinner, it was more than enough time for them to have parted ways. However, the fact that there was still no contact meant that after eating, they had gone somewhere else.

He changed his posture on the sofa and drank a glass of water, but only a mere 5 minutes had passed since he had last checked the time.

His brow furrowed on its own.

He knew he couldn’t interfere with Bokseung’s personal relationships or trivial appointments. They weren’t in any kind of relationship yet. He was also well aware that he was the only one who wanted their relationship to become something meaningful.

But whenever something like this happened, he couldn’t help the unpleasant possessiveness and jealousy that crept up from the depths of his heart.

[Fist: I’m at a cafe right now. I’m not sure what time I’ll be home, but Sunbae-nim, are you planning to go anywhere? If you let me know what time you’ll be back, I’ll time my return accordingly!]

Bzzzt, a short vibration sounded, and a reply from Bokseung finally arrived.

As expected, it seemed Bokseung had gone to a cafe after dinner. Hah, he sighed and swept back the hair that had fallen onto his forehead.

Although he was living with Bokseung, he hadn’t given the kid a key card yet. No, he had no intention of giving him one in the future either. So that for Bokseung to get home, he either had to be with him or contact him. So that without him, the firmly closed elevator doors could not be opened.

Anyone who heard it might call it a petty and cheap act, but it couldn’t be helped. Yoohyun was in a state where he wanted to receive even one more call, one more glance from Bokseung, even if it was like this.

It was a situation that would make him burst out laughing at his own absurdity. To think there was someone he wanted to cling to like this, something he thought would never appear, not just in this lifetime but even in the next.

Yoohyun slowly wrote a reply to the kid’s message.

[Where is that. It’s late, I’ll come pick you up.]

Not long after, a reply from Bokseung arrived.

[Fist: I’m here at □○ Cafe.]

Bokseung sent the cafe’s name without any other comment to the message about picking him up. It felt good that he took it for granted that he was coming.

Yoohyun stroked Yuja, who was lying on the cat tower, once and got up from his seat. He wanted to touch Bokseung’s fluffy hair quickly.

🍑‧₊ ⋆˙

The cafe Bokseung mentioned wasn’t very far from the school.

Yoohyun parked his car nearby and walked towards the cafe.

Inside the cafe, customers were occupying seats in pairs and small groups. He was looking around the shop, naturally thinking that Bokseung and Jihye would be sitting together.

“……?”

Contrary to Yoohyun’s expectation, in front of Bokseung was not only Jihye but also another female student. He could only see the back of Bokseung’s head, so he couldn’t tell his expression, but the faces of the two female students sitting in front of him were filled with bright smiles.

Seeing the seemingly harmonious atmosphere, only Yoohyun’s insides twisted.

Yoohyun widened the stride of his long legs and approached the table where the three were sitting in an instant.

The female students looked surprised at him who had suddenly approached. The fact that Yoohyun’s expression as he looked down at them was not pleasant also contributed to heightening the girls’ tension.

“Oh? Sunbae-nim! You’re here early?”

The only one who was unfazed in this situation was Bokseung.

Yoohyun sat down in the seat next to him without even responding to the kid’s words. The expressions of the female students, whose gazes followed his movement, were still tinged with bewilderment.

“B-Bokseung. Did you call Hwang Yoohyun Sunbae-nim?”

“Huh? Uh-huh, shouldn’t we be heading home now? It’s late.”

At Jihye’s question, Sungyeon nodded his head as if it were a matter of course. It was already almost 10 o’clock.

“Already?”

The reply to that flowed from the mouth of Yoonjung, who was sitting next to Jihye.

Sungyeon put on a serious expression towards Yoonjung, the cute-faced female student in front of him.

“Yoonjung, what do you mean, already. You said you have an early class tomorrow. And you should get home before it gets any later.”

“It’s not even 10 yet……”

Yoonjung dragged out her words as if she didn’t want to part, but Sungyeon shook his head firmly.

Sungyeon hurriedly cleaned up the table, then returned to his seat with a cup of coffee for Yoohyun. Yoohyun took the coffee and stood up. Sungyeon quickly followed him, getting up from his seat and whispering.

“Sunbae-nim, I’m sorry, but could we give the girls a ride home?”

“Is this why you called me?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Hwang Yoohyun’s displeased gaze returned, but Sungyeon deliberately smiled, raising the corners of his mouth as if it were nothing. Of course, he planned to pay back Yoohyun for making him do a troublesome task he didn’t even want, for a long time to come.

After that, Yoohyun, who had been staring blankly at the kid’s face for a few seconds without a word, gave a small nod.

It was just as Sungyeon had expected.

As soon as Yoohyun’s answer fell, Sungyeon asked Jihye and Yoonjung where they lived. It was obvious that Yoohyun, who was giving the ride, and Jihye and Yoonjung, who were being indebted, were uncomfortable, but sending two girls alone at this hour was a very unsettling matter.

They dropped off Jihye, who lived in a farther neighborhood, first, and then arrived in front of Yoonjung’s house.

“Oh, Bokseung! I had fun today. Get home safe.”

“Uh-huh. Bye, Yoonjung.”

“Yeah! Let me know when you get home.”

“Okay.”

Yoonjung, after a long goodbye with Bokseung, also left a thank you to Yoohyun and got out of the car.

Sungyeon, after confirming that she had entered the apartment building, turned to Yoohyun and said they should leave. However, Yoohyun showed no sign of moving the car despite Sungyeon’s words.

“Hwang Yoohyun Sunbae-nim?”

Sungyeon called out to Yoohyun with a puzzled expression. Yoohyun was silent for a moment, then took a deep breath. At his unusual atmosphere, Sungyeon’s shoulders also tensed up slightly.

Is he angry because I made him give my friends a ride without asking……? No, he didn’t seem this upset at the cafe earlier.

Sungyeon needlessly fidgeted with his fingers and watched Yoohyun’s mood.

How much time passed like that? An unexpected question popped out of Yoohyun’s mouth, which had seemed like it wouldn’t utter a single word.

“Today, was it a blind date?”

“Excuse me?”

“The girl next to the one from our group project. Her.”

“Ah.”

Sungyeon neither confirmed nor denied Yoohyun’s question. He just scratched his cheek in embarrassment.

In fact, what Yoohyun asked was correct. Sungyeon himself couldn’t describe how surprised he was when he arrived at the dinner appointment.

Next to Jihye, who had said she had arrived first and was waiting, was a female student with a familiar face. It wasn’t familiar because he had seen her face in person, but because Jihye had shown him so many pictures of her on the day of the group project that her face had been forcibly imprinted on him.

Jihye apologized for not telling him in advance, but she also lightened the mood by saying that the two of them looked great together.

As she had guaranteed, Yoonjung was prettier than in the pictures and seemed to have a good personality. But that was all.

On the outside, they were all the same age, but to Sungyeon, both Yoonjung and Jihye just seemed very young. There was no way he would develop any kind of feelings for such a person.

But since he had already met Yoonjung, he had to end today on a good note somehow. So Sungyeon spent time with them, not only for dinner but also for coffee at a cafe.

Of course, it was a relationship that would end today. As soon as he got home, he planned to accurately convey to both Yoonjung and Jihye the fact that he had no intention of dating anyone.

“……”

Meanwhile, Yoohyun, watching the awkward Bokseung who couldn’t say anything definite, realized that his premonition was correct. Shit. His grip on the steering wheel tightened.

To be honest, he had been off-guard. Seeing how bland he usually was towards him, he thought the kid was still young and had no interest in that kind of thing at all. And since Bokseung was an omega, he had no doubt that if he became interested in someone, it would naturally be him, an alpha.

However, as if to mock such a Yoohyun, Bokseung had openly gone on a blind date with a beta female student.

Hah, a self-deprecating laugh escaped him. Just what did he see in Kim Bokseung to think that he was different.

“Ah, Sunbae-nim. The thing is!”

Sungyeon was sweating profusely as he looked at Yoohyun next to him, whose mood seemed to have sunk to the bottom.

Is he annoyed because he thinks a person who was being threatened by a crazy guy and was on the verge of going to the police station until a while ago is now going around on blind dates? He felt it was unfair, in a way. Sungyeon tried to explain everything to Yoohyun in detail.

“Kim Bokseung.”

“Yes?”

“You, do you want to date?”

At Yoohyun’s direct question, Sungyeon quickly shook his head. He really didn’t have even 1g of such a feeling.

It was a time when there were still many things to adapt to and resolve, so what was with dating! It was a story that would only be possible in 10 more years.

However, whether he didn’t see the head shake, or whether he ignored it even if he saw it, Yoohyun spat out completely unexpected words.

“Do it with me.”

“Excuse… me?”

“The dating you want to do so badly, let’s do it with me.”