TWYW C4

Before long, Gyeoul had left the university and finished his part-time job at the café. He checked the address his mother had given him and headed to the student’s house for tutoring. He took the bus, and the place he arrived at, in front of the house, was structured with high walls and a large gate, just like the neighborhood Gyeoul lived in, making it impossible to see inside.

Gyeoul pressed the doorbell next to the gate and waited for it to open. It seemed they were expecting him inside, as the gate opened right away. As Gyeoul stepped inside the gate, a wide garden, landscaped like a park, unfolded before his eyes. Gyeoul walked past the green blades of grass and stepped up a row of stone stairs, where a large house, the kind you’d see in a drama, appeared before him. Naturally, since it was a family that ran a corporation, he had easily predicted that their home would be nice, but it was a grand mansion that exuded a far more overwhelming atmosphere than the house Gyeoul lived in.

“Hello. I’m Lee Gyeoul.”

As Gyeoul passed through the slightly open front door and went inside, a person who appeared to be the student’s mother greeted him. Gyeoul briefly introduced himself and offered a greeting. Since their families knew each other, Gyeoul was careful with his actions. If he made a mistake, his father’s beating would surely be waiting for him.

“You’re so handsome, maybe it’s because you resemble Assemblyman Lee.”

Gyeoul, who had never once been told he resembled his parents, just tried his best to smile as naturally as possible. After a brief, simple conversation, he was guided to a room on the second floor. Inside the spacious room, a student with a gentle-looking face greeted him brightly and introduced himself as Jeong Yuho. Looking at the student’s face, Gyeoul felt a sense of familiarity, as if he had seen him somewhere before, but he dismissed it as a trick of his mind and thought nothing of it.

“Seonsaengnim, you go to Hankuk University, right?”

“Yes. I go to Hankuk University.”

“My older brother goes to Hankuk University too. I want to follow him and go to the same university.”

“You must really like your brother.”

Watching Yuho’s eyes shine with admiration as he talked about his brother, the thought crossed Gyeoul’s mind that if he had a sibling like that, his life might have been a little less lonely. However, before falling into deep self-pity, Gyeoul opened a book and began the tutoring session.

“Then, don’t forget your homework and vocabulary to memorize by the next class.”

Yuho was highly skilled, thanks to his family’s diligent efforts in his education and his own intelligence. Thanks to that, the class ended smoothly, and with a light heart, he left the room and went down the stairs.

“Hyung!”

Yuho spotted someone coming in through the front door and called out in a happy voice. Gyeoul’s gaze also followed Yuho’s voice toward the entrance.

Jeong Yuhyeon.

The reason he’d felt a sense of familiarity upon seeing Yuho’s face.

His eyes met Yuhyeon’s, who was taking off his shoes at the entrance and coming into the house. Gyeoul looked back and forth between Yuhyeon and Yuho, who were standing facing each other in the living room. It seemed the feeling of familiarity he’d had when he saw Yuho’s face wasn’t just a random feeling after all. Looking at the two of them, his younger brother Yuho had a slightly softer face than Yuhyeon. However, it was clear that Yuhyeon had taken all the handsomeness in this family for himself.

“Yuho, was class good?”

A door next to the living room opened, and Yuho’s mother walked out.

“Yes, Seonsaengnim is about to leave.”

“It’s been a while, Yuhyeon.”

“Yes.”

A subtle atmosphere flowed between Yuhyeon and his mother at his short reply, which was embarrassing even for Gyeoul to hear.

“Say hello. This is Yuho’s tutor.”

“Hello.”

Gyeoul offered a greeting as if they were meeting for the first time upon being introduced, but Yuhyeon just held his gaze silently.

“Aren’t you going to say hello? This is Assemblyman Lee’s son.”

However, Yuhyeon still just stared at Gyeoul without a word.

“Well, I’ll be on my way now.”

Feeling unnecessarily embarrassed, Gyeoul put on an awkward smile, said his goodbyes, and quickly passed Yuhyeon to put on his shoes. As he came out of the house, he heard the sound of footsteps following behind him. Gyeoul looked back and saw Yuhyeon coming out with him. Gyeoul was bothered by the sound of Yuhyeon’s footsteps coming from behind, but he walked past the garden, through the large gate, and toward the bus stop without a word.

“Why are you following me?”

Gyeoul finally couldn’t hold it in and spoke to Yuhyeon first. He felt like he had lost a little, but when Yuhyeon, who had been following behind, started walking side by side with him, he couldn’t overcome the feeling of frustration.

“I’m going to the convenience store.”

Yuhyeon tossed out the words in an indifferent tone and walked past Gyeoul. Gyeoul couldn’t hide his dumbfounded expression at Yuhyeon’s answer and walked ahead of him with faster steps.

“You’ll fall if you keep walking like that.”

Gyeoul lightly ignored Yuhyeon’s words and quickened his pace, moving forward. But as if his words were a self-fulfilling prophecy, Gyeoul’s foot caught in a groove in the pavement. Feeling that he was about to fall, Gyeoul stretched out his arms and squeezed his eyes shut. But strangely, no pain came.

“You really don’t listen, do you.”

When Gyeoul opened his eyes, a long arm was securely wrapped around him, holding him steady. Gyeoul pushed the arm away, took a step back, and blinked his eyes with a flustered face. Yuhyeon looked at Gyeoul’s expression, raised one corner of his mouth, and met his eyes. Gyeoul’s heart pounded for an unknown reason, and worried that the sound of it might be heard, he quickly resumed his halted steps.

“Are you trying to fall again?”

“I wouldn’t fall if you weren’t chasing me, you know.”

“I told you I’m going to the convenience store.”

Yuhyeon shrugged his shoulders. Arriving at the bus stop in silence, Gyeoul sat on the bench and waited for the bus home. Next to him, as if it were the most natural thing, Yuhyeon took a seat.

“You take the bus to the convenience store?”

Gyeoul couldn’t help but ask Yuhyeon. Yuhyeon just turned his head, met his eyes, and wore a small smile.

“Are you ignoring me?”

Yuhyeon burst out laughing at Gyeoul’s words.

What’s with all the smirking? Does being handsome mean you can do anything?

“You’re cute.”

“What?”

Gyeoul shot Yuhyeon a bewildered look and shifted his gaze to the road.

“Your face is red now.”

Yuhyeon leaned his head in front of Gyeoul’s face, getting close, and let out a playful laugh as if teasing him. And just as Yuhyeon said, he could feel the heat rising in his own face.

“It’s not red.”

Fortunately, the bus heading toward Gyeoul’s house arrived quickly, and he shot up from his seat. Contrary to his denial, Gyeoul, with his face flushed red, steadfastly avoided looking at Yuhyeon and got on the bus. It was quite late, so the seats on the bus were empty. Gyeoul found an empty seat near the back door and sat down. Just before the bus departed, Gyeoul glanced toward the bus stop and his eyes met Yuhyeon’s, who was still gazing at him. For some reason, Gyeoul didn’t avoid his gaze and watched Yuhyeon until the bus pulled away from the stop.

Not long after the bus departed, Gyeoul arrived at the stop near his house and walked slowly down the dark street lit by streetlights. As he passed through the residential complex lined with high walls and got closer to his house, he forced his slowing footsteps onward, eventually arriving in front of his home. He opened the thick, large gate, crossed the garden, and opened the front door again. Inside, the house was pitch black, illuminated only by a single sliver of light seeping from under the crack of a door. Gyeoul walked carefully, afraid that the sound of his presence might be heard from the master bedroom, and went up to his room on the second floor.

He closed the door that wouldn’t lock, dragged his tired body to wash up, and got into bed earlier than usual. It was inevitable that his body would be more tired, having worked his part-time job at the café and then tutoring back-to-back. Moreover, the tutoring was tied to their families, so if any complaints were to be heard, it was obvious he would be beaten black and blue by his father. In fact, apart from that reason, the fact that it was Yuhyeon’s family was what bothered him the most. Not understanding why Yuhyeon was popping into his head here, Gyeoul tried hard to empty his complicated thoughts and forced his eyes shut.

“Gyeoul, did the tutoring go well yesterday?”

His mother, who had come out of the master bedroom, approached and asked Gyeoul as he came down to the first floor to leave the house after getting ready for school in the morning.

“Yes. It went well.”

“Good. Don’t disappoint your father. Got it?”

“…Yes…”

Gyeoul, who had been listening to her admonitions even while putting on his shoes at the entrance, could finally breathe freely only after he was outside the gate. Even if his lectures were only in the afternoon, Gyeoul always left the house at the same time. There were times when he worked part-time at the café in the morning, but even if he had nothing in particular to do, he felt more at ease just leaving the house first. For most people, home was a comfortable sanctuary that provided a sense of stability, but for Gyeoul, it was nothing more than a place to sleep. And it wasn’t as if he could always sleep comfortably even then.

Gyeoul took the bus from the stop near his house and arrived at the university. He strolled through the campus, feeling the still-chilly air of the spring morning. He still had some time before his lecture, so he walked leisurely toward the building where his classroom was.

As Gyeoul turned his head to the side to avoid a sudden gust of cold wind, his gaze froze on one spot. In the distance, he saw Yuhyeon talking to someone. The sight of him talking alone with a woman with long, wavy hair, whom anyone would think was pretty, was strongly imprinted in his eyes. Gyeoul shot Yuhyeon a sharp glance and resumed his momentarily halted steps. He felt a corner of his heart become needlessly uncomfortable, but he tried hard to ignore it, opened the classroom door, and went inside.