HWAMB — Chapter 32

7. Adjusting

“By the way, Eun-jae, mind explaining why our washing machine is filled to the brim with that kid’s clothes?”

“…! Ah, that!”

The sharp look in my brother’s eyes as I floundered made me freeze.

How was I supposed to explain this?

“Well, you see, big brother… I went into heat, and Hyun-woo tried to help me cope with the arousal by giving me his clothes. I ended up taking so many that I built a nest with them. Then I felt bad because they were all wrinkled, so I decided to wash them and return them. Hehe.”

If I babbled like that…

“No way. Absolutely not!”

As I rolled my eyes, desperately searching for an escape, my brother let out a long sigh.

An awkward, heavy silence followed. Then he spoke first.

“…Anyway, you said nobody did anything weird to you, right?”

“…Yeah.”

If I thought about it, the one who had been stripped wasn’t me, but Hyun-woo. Honestly, he had more to say about that than I did.

“Good. Just make sure to tell me if anything ever happens.”

He looked like he had plenty more he wanted to say but was forcing it down.

Seeing him hold back instead of pressing further, I quickly nodded and shifted my gaze back to my phone screen.

* * *

The sound of cicadas crying so loudly that my ears hurt broke my concentration on my breathing.

In the midst of the silence, faint chalk marks still remained on the classroom’s blackboard.

‘Career Dream Essay’

Something no one really paid attention to.

Sure, it was a topic worth thinking about seriously at least once, but for adolescents in puberty, it was the most boring thing imaginable.

Young-ho, sitting in front of me, was sprawled out sleeping comfortably, not caring if anyone saw him. A little farther away, Sang-su had written a few words and then was already working on his mock exam workbook.

On the teacher’s desk, papers from kids who had already submitted theirs and gone back to doing their own things were piled up.

I used the whole period just to fill mine up, and as soon as I submitted my paper to the teacher’s desk, the bell rang.

The moment the sound of the bell ended, even the kids who had been dozing off shot up from their seats and rushed out of the classroom.

Next to me, I heard the homeroom teacher clicking his tongue.

He asked, “No one forgot to hand it in, right?” Then he picked up the stack of papers and slowly walked out the front door into the hallway.

At the same time, Sang-su, who had quietly approached from the side, glanced once at the still half-asleep Young-ho and tapped his desk leg with his foot.

“Stop sleeping, get up. Let’s go eat.”

At that, Young-ho yawned long and stretched as he got up. That guy… he looked like he had grown even taller again.

How could someone grow so quickly like that? I couldn’t help but be jealous.

I thought I would grow taller too, but after middle school, ninth grade, I hadn’t grown any further.

‘Come to think of it, Hyun-woo also seems taller these days….’

Aside from not drinking much milk when he was little, he exercised regularly, lived on a routine, and even slept well. I couldn’t figure out what the problem was.

While walking next to me, Young-ho suddenly asked,

“By the way, when did you get so close with Do Jin-gyeong?”

“Me? With Do Jin-gyeong?”

“Yeah. Even earlier during break, I saw you two talking.”

“Well, I mean… while preparing for the sports festival, we just naturally ended up talking…”

Maybe because Jin-gyeong was kind and easygoing, the conversations flowed better than expected. At least until the sports festival.

‘But lately, it feels like he’s been avoiding me….’

From the day after the sports festival ended, Jin-gyeong’s attitude toward me had subtly changed.

Of course, maybe I was just imagining it, but that’s how it felt.

Hearing this, Young-ho glanced around, then slung an arm around my shoulder and lowered his voice.

“Then… are you guys, like… dating?”

“Who?”

“You and Do Jin-gyeong.”

Loud enough for Sang-su and me to hear clearly.

I barely held back the urge to smack him hard on the head and instead slapped him on the back.

“You’re crazy? Where the hell did you even get that idea!”

“No, I mean… you guys looked like you had a good vibe going. And since you said you weren’t dating Shim Hyun-woo, I figured of course you must be dating Do Jin-gyeong. He also looked at you differently, you know.”

“What kind of bullshit is that.”

“It’s just a feeling. Instinct.”

This bastard was about to stir up something again.

I sighed and shook my head, looking at Young-ho like the walking time bomb he was—never knowing when or how he’d explode.

“…Anyway, no. And don’t you dare go saying weird stuff to Jin-gyeong.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Young-ho just brushed it off with a casual ‘whatever’ face.

I considered hitting him again but then suddenly thought of Hyun-woo. …It wasn’t a bad idea to prevent unnecessary trouble before it started.

“Oh, and don’t go saying weird stuff to Hyun-woo either…”

“What?”

The familiar voice behind me nearly made me jump.

It was Hyun-woo.

He grinned, but the look on his face was far from pleasant.

…Shit. I’m screwed.

I’d spent fourteen years with Hyun-woo.

My instincts immediately sensed danger, and I tried to quietly sidestep away, but Hyun-woo noticed like a ghost and grabbed my arm.

At the same time, Young-ho, who still had his arm slung around my shoulder, lost his balance and stumbled. Hyun-woo didn’t even spare him a glance as he spoke.

“Eat with me today.”

“What? What about your friends?”

“…They all skipped school.”

Don’t lie, bastard.

I saw you hanging out with them during break!

The words rose all the way to my throat, but with so many people watching, I couldn’t bring myself to say them.

Hyun-woo frowned slightly at my hesitation, then curved his lips into a faint smile.

“What. Or do you want to eat with ‘your new buddy, Do Jin-gyeong’ instead…”

“Hey, guys! Sorry, but I’ll be eating with Hyun-woo today!”

Damn it, he must’ve overheard what Young-ho said earlier.

I hurriedly apologized to my friends, pushed Hyun-woo toward the cafeteria, and stood at the very back of the line. Then I whispered low enough for only him to hear.

“Hey, Shim Hyun-woo! Why are you acting so childish?”

“What?”

Hyun-woo pouted, looking sulky, and answered flatly. I let out a sigh and carefully explained.

“Why bring up Jin-gyeong all of a sudden?”

“Jin-gyeong? Since when did you two get so close.”

“Well… I mean, that’s just his name. How else am I supposed to call him?”

“How else? Damn it, you should call him Do Jin-gyeong.”

Damn it, whether it’s Do Jin-gyeong or just Jin-gyeong!

How twisted must he be to get worked up over something this petty?

The excited one loses. And honestly, I didn’t want to waste energy on nonsense like this. So I spoke as calmly as I could.

“When you called Sang-su or Young-ho by just their names, that was fine, wasn’t it?”

“They’re just friends.”

“…Do Jin-gyeong is just a classmate too.”

“…”

“…Fine, fine. If you hate it that much, I’ll be careful.”

Thinking about it, I’d acted childish plenty of times myself.
Maybe it was fair to call it even. At that, Hyun-woo’s expression softened slightly and he gave a small nod.

It seemed like lunch break was going to pass peacefully, but then Hyun-woo suddenly spoke up as if something had just come to mind.

“Oh, and. You were sticking way too close to Seo Young-ho.”

“…What, are you gonna ban me from coming within five meters of him now?”

“Of course not. I’m just saying don’t cling to him and mess around like that.”

“You’re the one who said they’re just friends, so it’s fine.”

“That’s that. Being friends doesn’t mean you should be glued to him, does it?”

“Hey, when was I ever glued to…”

I was about to argue, dumbfounded, when the memory of Young-ho slinging his arm around my shoulders a little earlier came back to me. I had plenty to say about that too.

“Hey! You do that with other kids too.”

“Me?”

“Yeah! Back when we played soccer! When you scored, you did it, and friends usually do that stuff as a joke!”

“Hm…”

Hyun-woo thought for a moment, then slowly nodded like he remembered. That was his way of admitting it.

“Did you hate it?”

“Hate what?”

“When I did those things with other kids.”

“Well… I wouldn’t say I hated it, just thought… since they’re friends, it’s no big deal, you know?”

“…Alright. Then I’ll try to understand it the same way too.”

I blinked in surprise at how easily Hyun-woo backed down. Normally, he would’ve argued until I completely gave in, but since we’d started dating, he seemed a little different.

I let out a sigh of relief.

While we were bickering, the line ahead had thinned out, and Hyun-woo handed me a tray.

I quietly accepted it, got my food, and sat facing him as we started to eat.

‘Ah, right.’

I almost forgot something I wanted to tell him because of all that fuss earlier.

“Hyun-woo, are you free after the last day of exams?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“They’re opening a limited-time bias collaboration café. I entered the raffle, and I won!”

Excitement bubbled up inside me again, and it slipped out in my voice.

Hyun-woo tilted his head and asked,

“Raffle? Then doesn’t that mean only you can go?”

“Of course I made sure it’s for two people.”

At that, Hyun-woo gave a quiet little sound of admiration.

“Even a single ticket must’ve been hard to get. Nice job…”

“They’ve got random photocards and merch, three per person max, so to increase the odds even a little, this much effort is nothing. Obviously, obviously.”

“…”

Hyun-woo gave a small, incredulous laugh, muttering, “Figures.”

He watched me chatter away like a sparrow before finally speaking.

“By the way, that day is right after finals end.”

“Exactly. Honestly, I was worried it’d overlap with exams, but it didn’t. Thank god.”

“Yeah.”

“But… are you really free that day?”

After saying everything, I glanced at him cautiously. Hyun-woo let out a burst of laughter, a soft “pffft…” sound slipping out.

What the hell, why’s he laughing.