TWYW C9

The place Yuhyeon indicated with his eyes held a small refrigerator.

“Do you want one too?”

“……No.”

Gyeoul let go of the collar he was holding, and his gaze naturally followed Yuhyeon’s back as he went to get water.

“I thought he was a cat, but he’s a puppy.”

“He really is cute.”

As Seungwon, who had been watching Gyeoul’s actions, commented, Yuhyeon added while opening the water bottle cap.

“Jeong Yuhyeon, let’s get this straight. It’s true that puppies are cute, but Lee Gyeoul is a person.”

Gyeoul, feeling embarrassed by the conversation Yuhyeon and Seungwon were having right in front of him, picked at the skin on his lower lip with his fingertips.

“Lee Gyeoul, stop torturing your lip.”

Yuhyeon sat down on the sofa again and took Gyeoul’s hand, pulling it down from his mouth.

“Oh, right. The application form.”

As if suddenly remembering, Seungwon stood up and handed over a piece of paper. Gyeoul took the paper labeled ‘Application Form’, pulled a pen from his bag, and began to fill in the blanks. Beside him, he could feel Yuhyeon’s gaze quietly watching what he was doing.

“……Wh-what is it.”

“Hey, haven’t you forgotten something?”

“……I haven’t.”

“Are you sure?”

Gyeoul thought hard for a moment, but nothing specific came to mind.

“What is it.”

“When are we going to do our assignment. You seemed busy, so I was putting it off, but I think we need to do it this week.”

“Assignment? What assignment? Are you two in the same class?”

“Yeah. A general elective.”

Gyeoul had been managing a busy schedule every day, working his part-time cafe job and recently taking on tutoring for Yuhyeon’s younger sibling. Moreover, he was in a position where he couldn’t neglect his schoolwork in order to receive a scholarship.

“Let’s do it this weekend.”

“You said let’s do it last weekend too, but then you disappeared. Are you really free then?”

“Yes. I’m free.”

“What’s the assignment?”

Seungwon, who was sitting across from Yuhyeon and Gyeoul with the table between them, asked curiously.

“Watching a movie and writing a report.”

“Sounds like elementary school summer homework. What class is it? I need some credits next semester, I should take it.”

“Understanding Popular Culture.”

“Ah, I know that one. It’s that professor who’s known for giving good grades.”

Just like the course reviews Gyeoul had checked on the university’s online community, it seemed to be already famous among students for being a generous grader.

“What movie are you going to watch? I’ll go too. Watching movies is strictly one of our club activities.”

“No.”

As soon as Seungwon finished speaking, Gyeoul answered firmly.

“We’re not watching a horror movie. And this is an assignment for just the two of us.”

“Come on, is the professor going to say something just because I tag along and watch the movie with you?”

“Still, no.”

“You barely manage a greeting, but you’re very articulate when you say no.”

He could see Yuhyeon’s shoulders shaking slightly as he listened quietly from the side. A wide smile was plastered on his lips, as if something was very amusing.

No. Why does he keep smirking.

Gyeoul couldn’t bring himself to say the words out loud, swallowing them down and glaring at Yuhyeon.

“Oh. Right. This is an assignment for two.”

“What the. Are you two ganging up on me now?”

At Yuhyeon’s words siding with him, Gyeoul tried hard to suppress the corners of his mouth from turning up and hid his expression.

“Hey, whatever, since we have a new member, let’s have a get-together. Jeong Yuhyeon, you better not skip out this time for real.”

It seemed Yuhyeon often skipped drinking parties, as Seungwon repeatedly urged him. Yuhyeon’s expression looked a little annoyed, but he nodded in agreement as Seungwon continued to press him.

“What do you do at get-togethers?”

“What do you mean, we drink. Actually, this is pretty much a drinking club.”

“You don’t watch movies?”

“We watch movies too. But hey, do you know how fun it is to watch a horror movie drunk?”

Seungwon asked, looking at Gyeoul with a playful look on his face.

“I don’t know. How would I know.”

“Hey, are you always this rude?”

“And you’re not the one taking it the wrong way?”

Gyeoul shot back at Seungwon’s words without missing a beat. He had heard that he was rude countless times during middle and high school, so the words had no effect on Gyeoul.

“Hey! You really…… you should be thankful for your looks. I’m holding back because of your face.”

“Are you insulting my face right now?”

“No, it’s not an insult, it’s a compliment. Hey, the one taking things the wrong way isn’t me, it’s you.”

Finally, a loud laugh burst from Yuhyeon’s mouth, who had been listening quietly to their conversation from the side.

“Isn’t Lee Gyeoul hilarious.”

“Whatever. And the hilarious one is you, Jeong Yuhyeon.”

“What is.”

“You saw Lee Gyeoul talking rudely to me, so why didn’t you say anything. A moment ago you were acting like a know-it-all telling him to talk nicely.”

Yuhyeon just shrugged his shoulders, a faint smile lingering on his lips.

“What the, hey, both of you get out. No one else was supposed to come today anyway.”

“We were about to leave.”

Yuhyeon turned his head to Gyeoul and gestured towards the door with his eyes. Gyeoul grabbed his bag to follow him and stood up.

“We’re drinking next week. Neither of you better skip out.”

Yuhyeon gave a light farewell to Seungwon and opened the door to leave first, and Gyeoul naturally followed behind him. As Gyeoul stepped out of the building with Yuhyeon, he was blinded by the strong sunlight shining on his face and walked hidden in the shadow cast behind him.

“Ah.”

As Yuhyeon, who was walking, suddenly stopped and turned around, Gyeoul’s forehead bumped into his chest.

“You should watch where you’re going.”

He lightly rubbed the forehead Gyeoul had bumped. At the soft touch of Yuhyeon’s hand on his skin, Gyeoul felt a 괜한 heat rise and took a step back.

“When are you free this weekend?”

“……Sunday.”

Gyeoul had his part-time cafe job on both Saturday and Sunday, but since the cafe closed early on Sundays, he promised to meet Yuhyeon that evening.

“Is there a movie you want to see?”

“Just, anything is fine.”

“Really, anything is okay?”

“Yes.”

“If you complain later that it’s boring, you’re in for it.”

“I won’t.”

“You’re a smooth talker.”

Yuhyeon let out a small laugh and turned back to start walking again. As Gyeoul once again naturally followed behind Yuhyeon, he stopped walking, turned around, and met his eyes.

“Are you taking my class with me?”

At Yuhyeon’s words, Gyeoul looked around and found himself standing in front of the business administration building. It turned out that he had left the club room and just followed Yuhyeon without knowing where he was going. Of course, it was time for him to go to his part-time cafe job, but he had walked behind Yuhyeon without even realizing it himself. Only then did he feel a flush of embarrassment at his own actions.

“……I was just passing by.”

He could hear a pleasant laugh in his ear, but Gyeoul forced himself to turn away from Yuhyeon and started walking in the direction of the main gate. Yuhyeon, who he had assumed would naturally enter the building, began to walk in step with Gyeoul.

“I’ll walk you to the bus stop.”

“I can go by myself.”

Gyeoul pouted his lips and glared at Yuhyeon.

“Really? Then I’m going.”

As Yuhyeon turned away without a second thought, Gyeoul froze in place, his lips just moving without a sound as he watched his retreating back.

I didn’t really mean for him to go.

Gyeoul’s inner thoughts couldn’t manage to come out of his mouth as sound.

“Are you really going?”

Yuhyeon turned his head and asked once more. But Gyeoul only moved his lips.

“……”

“Lee Gyeoul.”

“……Y-you said you’d walk me……”