LCL 33

I wanted to keep my newly started campus life and my relationship separate, but it seems I’m the only one failing to do so. The weight of the relationship was much bigger than I thought. It was going in the opposite direction of what I wanted.

I didn’t wish for some grand youth. I just wanted to have a decent school life and get along well with my classmates. Like a normal twenty-year-old who just entered university.

“……”

It’s time to accept that spring is over. I spent time quietly looking out the window, resting my chin on my hand. Summer had taken a big step closer to the campus, now lush with greenery.

Some days in May, the temperature approached 30 degrees, and then suddenly dropped to 20 degrees. The weather was unpredictable.

After observing people dressed in various ways that made it hard to distinguish the season, I tilted my head to stretch my neck muscles. A breeze came in through the open window. Fortunately, it wasn’t too hot today.

Time flowed leisurely. But me?

“Hmm…”

I bit my lip. This was the first major class since the series of events a few days ago. All that about Senior Hyuna liking Lim Dae-han… And then telling Lim Dae-han to keep quiet, and also pretending not to be interested while sneaking peeks at Lim Dae-han’s phone screen when he nervously checked it.

We know each other’s phone passwords, and Lim Dae-han doesn’t even bother to lock his phone, so why am I so concerned?

“Sigh.”

I buried my chin on the desk and sighed. As time passed, I realized how childish I had been. Senior Hyuna hadn’t confessed to Lim Dae-han, and there wasn’t even any notable flirting between them, so why did I say such things?

“Our tuition is so expensive, why don’t they turn on the air conditioning?”

Park In-gong was saying strange things next to me.

“Who turns on the air conditioning in May?”

A classmate sitting in front gave him a rebuke, and I also frowned at him. Tsk- Park In-gong clicked his tongue and started reciting the plot of a movie he said he’d seen before class.

Thinking it’d be better to engage with Park In-gong’s words rather than dwell on pointless thoughts, I let out an awkward laugh.

Today, there was only one major class. I had finished two elective classes in the morning, and Lim Dae-han had an elective class in the previous period. Because the building for elective classes was far, he hadn’t arrived at the lecture room yet.

“Hey, what if you spoil the ending? Isn’t that the one that caused a stir with its twist?”

“No, the content is so predictable that you can see the twist coming. I could tell from the first scene…”

I quietly turned my gaze away from the bickering classmates. I looked back at Lim Dae-han, who was belatedly entering the lecture room. Lim Dae-han was rubbing his chin with the back of his hand.

He looked hot, as if he had come in a hurry. The jacket he had worn when he left in the morning was tucked into his cross bag slung to the side. There’s a fan in the bag. But I can’t give it to him, so I just think about it.

There was one strange thing. For some reason, Lim Dae-han was alone. He usually attended elective classes with Senior Hyuna and always walked together… Surely it’s not because of what I said?

He seemed annoyed by the hot weather and kept fanning himself with his hand. He crossed the lecture room, flapping his collar.

He approached our direction. I pretended to rummage through my bag to act nonchalant. The only thing in it was a strawberry-shaped fan that Lim Dae-han had bought me in high school.

I don’t use it often because it’s embarrassing, but I took it out and avoided his gaze. Lim Dae-han dropped his bag on the desk with a thud and pulled out a chair to sit down.

My heart is pounding. Why…

Why is he sitting right behind me…

I fiddled with the fan handle. It was the first time Lim Dae-han and I sat this close. It wasn’t planned, but we naturally always sat far apart.

When I sat on the corridor side, Lim Dae-han would sit by the window or in the center, and when I sat by the window, Lim Dae-han would take a seat on the corridor side. But. Today, both Lim Dae-han and I were by the window.

He leaned back after taking out his textbook from his bag. He showed his palm in an authoritative posture. Without even making eye contact, he called out to me.

“Ki Young-hyun.”

“Huh?”

“Give me the fan.”

As if I owed it to him. I was dumbfounded but gave it to him obediently.

“Damn… I’m dying of heat.”

Lim Dae-han muttered to himself while cooling off with the fan. It doesn’t suit him at all. With his huge build, using a strawberry-shaped fan.

“It wasn’t that hot today.”

“I came right after the liberal arts class. It’s better to take the stairs than the elevator.”

“You took the stairs? Wasn’t it tiring?”

“It’s fucking hot.”

The classmate sitting in front of me was talking with Lim Dae-han, with Park In-gong between us. As Dae-han finished the conversation, he carelessly wiped sweat from his chin and jaw with the back of his hand. Then he turned his gaze to me.

“Ki Young-hyun, did you see the KakaoTalk message?”

“No? Why?”

I ended up answering strangely, unnecessarily raising my voice at the end of each word. In the end, my voice even cracked. I don’t know why Dae-han keeps talking to me. It feels just like high school.

Dae-han scratched my back with the edge of a fan, as if slicing flesh. He was acting differently than usual. Classmates who knew that Dae-han and I weren’t on good terms pretended not to care while perking up their ears.

I didn’t like the subtle atmosphere that suddenly became quiet, but since I had already shown an exaggerated reaction once, I couldn’t be more aggressive.

Honestly, even Dae-han must have noticed that the atmosphere had become strange, but he answered nonchalantly. As if it really wasn’t a big deal.

“We have a group project today. Why didn’t you check? Trying to freeload?”

“Ah.”

It really wasn’t a big deal. Unlike me, who let out a stupid exclamation instead of answering, Dae-han pulled out a pen. He doesn’t even have a pencil case. Just one pen every day.

“They said they booked a study room. Looks like you’re the only one who didn’t see it.”

“Oh, really? Did you book it?”

“No. …They haven’t arrived yet.”

Dae-han looked around. He seemed to be looking for the other group members, but it looks like they haven’t arrived yet. Hmm, I see.

I took out my phone to check my schedule. While checking the messenger, I looked up a few times. My gaze kept meeting Dae-han’s.

Why are you staring at me like that… It’s uncomfortable.

Feeling awkward, I rubbed my cheek.

Just as I was about to check the chat room, senior Hyuna entered the classroom. The senior, wiping her wet hands with a handkerchief as she entered, looked around and sat down next to Dae-han.

“Why are you sitting over here for once?”

“I’m trying to act like a freshman.”

“Was it because a classmate greeted you earlier?”

“A classmate greeted Dae-han?”

Park In-gong, who hadn’t said a word since Dae-han arrived, chimed in as soon as the senior arrived.

“Tsk…”

Dae-han clicked his tongue briefly and looked out the window. The senior glanced at Dae-han, trying to hold back her laughter.

“Yeah. A freshman from another class greeted Dae-han. If I had been next to him, it would have been understandable, but they greeted him when he was alone. I nearly burst out laughing watching from afar…”

Even so, how could that be? We even went on MT together.

When I looked at Lim Dae-han with a shocked face, he sighed and shook his leg. Seemingly embarrassed by the attention focused on him, he covered his head and flipped through his textbook half-heartedly.

It’s not that bad. He doesn’t look that old.

He’s not exactly baby-faced, but he doesn’t look as worn out as the seniors. Dae-han stands out the most among the freshmen, how could they not recognize him? Tall, well-built, and, well, good-looking like Dae-han.

How could they not know? Or am I the one seeing things? As I stared at him for a while, Dae-han mouthed at me like a thug.

‘What are you looking at.’

Why are you getting mad at me? I pouted at his cold reaction. If we were alone, I might have pinched the back of his hand, but I couldn’t do such a cringeworthy thing in front of everyone. Instead, I kept my mouth shut and tried to read the atmosphere between Dae-han and the senior.

They didn’t seem to have changed much. In a way, it was a relief. I thought the atmosphere would become cold, but fortunately, it wasn’t as impenetrable as I had imagined. Phew, I let out a sigh of relief, trying not to make it obvious.

Feeling somewhat more at ease, I checked the study room schedule. The location is the central library, but… the time is 5 PM? My major classes end at 3 PM, but the study room is booked two hours later. This is my last class for the day. I showed my phone to Dae-han.

“Isn’t the gap for the study room reservation too long?”

“I have another liberal arts class after this.”

“Ah, right.”

Everyone’s schedules were all over the place, so today was the only day that somewhat worked for everyone.

“Post it on KakaoTalk.”

Lim Dae-han and I put our heads together and checked the chat room. Lim Dae-han scrolled through my phone screen and posted the conversation where we had matched the times. There were two hours to kill before the group project. And that was just for me.

“Ah, what should I do…”

“Go to a cafe. I’ll join you after I’m done.”

“I don’t really have anything to do at a cafe. Should I just wander around?”

“You didn’t eat lunch, right?”

“I don’t like eating alone. Ah, just that place you went to last time…”

While I was casually chatting with Dae-han, I felt a lukewarm gaze. Following the uncomfortable stare, I saw Park In-gong looking at me and Dae-han with narrowed eyes.

Were we too close? I pulled back my phone and subtly moved back.

“Since when did you two become so close?”

Our eyes met simultaneously at the unexpected question. Do we look close? This is really a problem. If we’re together even a little, it inevitably shows.

I moved my lips, trying to choose my words. As I glanced around at the others surrounding us, I noticed Senior Hyuna looking at me.

I’m not sure what her expression was… She might just be looking calmly, or she could be observing sharply to figure something out.

“Why? Are you worried Ki Young-hyun will ignore you and only hang out with me?”

Lim Dae-han casually teased Park In-gong. The guy’s face instantly turned red and blue. His emotions showed quickly on his simple face.

“It’s not like that!”

Park In-gong raised his voice. They say a strong denial is a strong affirmation… I also glanced at him. Park In-gong really likes me. When I gave him a suspicious look, the agitated Park In-gong hit the desk with his fist.

“Damn it, I said it’s not like that! I have plenty of friends besides Ki Young-hyun.”

After always nagging about this and that, it seems Park In-gong ended up liking me. With a satisfied expression, I shifted my gaze without any ill intent, and Park In-gong roared, squeezing his eyes shut. This overreaction makes me want to tease him more.

“Really. I’m not jealous…!!”

“Okay, In-gong. I get it. I understand your feelings completely.”

“Damn it, Ki Young-hyun. Have you gone crazy too?”

When I reached out to pat Park In-gong’s shoulder, he irritably pushed my hand away. Then he put my hand on the desk and firmly held it down with his. To prevent me from patting him anymore.

His damp and hot hand felt unpleasant. It doesn’t bother me when I hold hands with Lim Dae-han. I wanted to pull my hand away, but the force pressing down on the back of my hand was too strong.

Thud. At that moment, I felt a sharp vibration from the chair leg. Startled, I turned around to see Lim Dae-han looking at me with a sullen face.

“Why don’t you focus on the conversation?”

He had kicked even my chair that was just sitting there, and yet he looked more annoyed. I quickly nodded. Lim Dae-han avoided my gaze with narrowed eyes. Looking at his phone, he asked without much interest.

“So where are you going to be after class?”

“Uh… after class, just, just going to the central library to do an assignment.”

“Do that then. I’ll message the group chat. Let’s meet after class.”

I scratched my neck as I heard his nonchalant voice. Did he kick the chair by accident? He didn’t seem particularly sorry about it.