WYK 1

Jeong-yoon lay on the worn-out sofa in the study room, curling up his body even more. The air conditioning breeze touching his neck felt somewhat cool.

“I’m hungry…”

A weak murmur slipped out involuntarily. The one-hour liberal arts class had just ended. He wanted to go quickly and have a meal, but his friend, Kim Min-soo, whom he usually moved around with, was waiting for someone else. He couldn’t leave his friend waiting, so he said he would go and eat alone. In the end, he lay down like a stubborn Chunhyang, grumbling about friendship.

“Seo Jeong-yoon, why do you make yourself look so pitiful by sleeping like that?”

Min-soo’s voice echoed from above his head. Jeong-yoon closed his eyes and raised his middle finger. Go away, Kim Min-soo. I’m not pitiful.

He closed his eyes and thought of the person whom Min-soo was waiting for— Kang Chae-heon. A man who was his high school and college classmate at the time.

And

His long-time crush.

Chae-heon’s figure flickered behind his closed eyelids. Jeong-yoon tightly shut his eyes. Although it had been several years of unrequited love, whenever he thought of him, his heart fluttered as if he were a teenage boy.

The warm summer sun melted into his hair. The start of the second semester was just around the corner.

***

Amidst the cheap air freshener scent, loud noises filled the room. The guys who were previously telling lame jokes or silently playing with their phones suddenly became noisy. Someone had opened the door to the study room.

‘Looks like Kang Chae-heon is here.’

He could tell without having to open his eyes to check. The center of the department. The flower of the Business Administration department, Kang Chae-heon, must have entered.

Finally, he reluctantly got up from the sofa. As Jeong-yoon tried to brush his hair with a drowsy face, his cardigan fell to the floor. It was Min-soo’s. His hunched-over figure must have looked quite pitiful due to the cool breeze from the air conditioner. That guy, Kim Min-soo. Even though he didn’t like it much, he would occasionally do nice things like this.

Jeong-yoon picked up the fallen cardigan from the floor and glanced briefly at the table near the entrance of the study room. Chae-heon was surrounded by people, engaging in conversation with his usual affectionate smile.

“…”

Jeong-yoon stared at him distantly while holding the cardigan.

Kang Chae-heon. They were classmates in high school, and not just for a year, but for three years in the same class. Because of this, Jeong-yoon had no doubt that he would be the one who had seen Kang Chae-heon for the longest time here and the one who knew him best.

But at the same time, Jeong-yoon knew very well that he was also the person whom Chae-heon acted the most indifferent towards.

The reason was.

‘Ah. Our eyes met.’

Jeong-yoon’s expression hardened as he handed over the cardigan to Min-soo. Chae-heon’s expression sank noticeably upon making eye contact with him. The very same Chae-heon who had a friendly and kind smile just moments ago.

The distance Jeong-yoon felt from him was due to the attitude that Chae-heon displayed. It wasn’t as if he overtly ignored him with words and actions, but there was something peculiar… No, it was more like he was blatantly building a wall between them.

‘What did I do? I just confessed and held his hand once. And it’s nothing more than occasionally stealing glances.’

In the end, Jeong-yoon felt bad for no reason and turned his gaze away. Chae-heon’s gaze landed on Min-soo’s cardigan before drifting away indifferently.

Jeong-yoon flopped down on the couch with a faint sigh. It was him. Kang Chae-heon. Kang Chae-heon, who was kind to everyone, was always as cold as a midwinter snowfield to him. He could never figure out why.

***

Since high school until now, Chae-heon had always been a prominent figure, and he wasn’t an unknown person even among college students. He was always at the center of gatherings or at the top of the social hierarchy. With a tall stature and a clean-cut face that caught one’s attention from afar, his ever-present warm smile and his generous spending made him extremely popular.

A face that he only showed to Jeong-yoon. That meant that when he was expressionless, he appeared aloof and difficult to approach, but there were rare moments when a faint smile disappeared from his face.

Look at him. He was smiling as warmly as the spring sunlight right now.

Jeong-yoon perked up his ears while pretending to be engrossed in a book borrowed from the library. He was eavesdropping on the casual conversation happening near Chae-heon. Even though he knew he might seem a bit creepy, he didn’t outwardly show any signs of eavesdropping. Well, he felt a slight pang of conscience, but it didn’t really matter.

“Now that Chae-heon is here, let’s go eat.”

“Where to eat?”

“The main cafeteria?”

“It’s too crowded there. Let’s go to the Law Department’s basement cafeteria.”

A conversation without Chae-heon occurred around him. Kang Chae-heon showed only a friendly smile in their conversation, then got up and walked towards Jeong-yoon.

‘What. Why did you come here?’

Jeong-yoon pretended to read the book leisurely, but he focused all his attention on the approaching Chae-heon..

When Chae-heon got closer, he bent over and held the window above Jeong-yoon’s head. It seemed like he wanted to ventilate the room. Creak, the window opened with a sharp noise as if it had been moved for the first time in 10 years.

Chae-heon brushed the dust off his hands and turned around.

“Let’s go towards the Arts Department instead of the Law.”

His voice was always so pleasant to hear. The midday air and Chae-heon’s unique light cologne fragrance were carried by the breeze.

Seo Jeong-yoon shrank away from him. With his crush so close and emitting such a pleasant scent, his heart began to beat irregularly.

‘I’m not an 18-year-old boy anymore, am I trembling just because of this? How embarrassing’

He tried to swallow a sigh mixed with lamentation.

Chae-heon returned to his original position, leaving only a faint scent behind. Instead of returning to his chair, he picked up his bag and adjusted his clothes, possibly signaling his departure. Other guys also began packing their belongings one by one.

“Then let’s go to the Arts Department’s basement cafeteria as Chae-heon suggested.”

“Was the pasta there delicious? The one with sausage.”

Today’s destination has been decided to be the basement cafeteria of the Arts Department. It was the place that Kang Chae-heon said he wanted to go to. Seo Jeong-yoon also packed his things and went out with Min-soo, getting swept up in Chae-heon’s group. Although he had a distant relationship with Chae-heon, it was only natural since they overlapped in the same group.

‘Come to think of it, Kang Chae-heon subtly manipulates people with his smile.’

Before leaving the study room, Jeong-yoon turned back slightly, wondering if he had left anything behind. The delicate-colored curtains above the window where Chae-heon was standing swayed gently.

Standing in front of the unmanned ticket machine at the underground restaurant, Chae-heon opened his wallet as usual. After that, he put some bills into the machine and smiled kindly.

“Hyung will treat you.”

At his words, everyone’s faces lit up with joy.

“Hyung!”

“Hyung! We’ll enjoy our meal.”

“Hyung! Can we have the assorted cutlets instead of the regular ones?”

Cheerful laughter echoed as the classmates lined up in front of the vending machine. With just a 6,000 won cutlet, Chae-heon easily became everyone’s “hyung” (older brother).

“Thank you.”

“We’ll enjoy it!”

Exchanging various greetings, the classmates pressed the buttons firmly. Square meal tickets popped out with a “ding.”

Seo Jeong-yoon gazed at the scene from afar. His expression seemed to have turned indifferent, as if he had become a stranger.

When classmates gathered to go to restaurants or flocked to on-campus cafeterias from the study room, Chae-heon would easily open his wallet. Among his classmates, his wallet was perceived as a very light and easy existence. However, this didn’t mean that Chae-heon was taken for granted or treated like a meal shuttle.

Kindness and being taken advantage of are different things. Chae-heon was undoubtedly the former. Nobody treated him lightly, even if they could get a meal from him.

Kang Chae-heon. He was probably either a pervert who found fulfillment in giving to others or someone who received a generous allowance, enough not to be affected by such expenses. One of the two options was certain.

“I envy you, I envy you…”

Jeong-yoon muttered and stood in front of the ticket machine. The balance displayed showed 8,000 won.

While pressing the button for meatball spaghetti, he took out his wallet. Then, he took out a few bills and handed them to Chae-heon.

“Here.”

It was the price for meatball spaghetti. Chae-heon, who embodied the virtue of generosity, always made Jeong-yoon feel uncomfortable when he received something from him. Perhaps it was due to his attitude of drawing a strange line only with him. Jeong-yoon felt pricked in his heart, even though no one had told him that he was taking advantage.

Chae-heon looked at Jeong-yoon’s outstretched hand for a moment before accepting the money with an indifferent expression. There was no particular response.

With the meal ticket in hand, Jeong-yoon quickly approached Min-soo. He wanted to avoid the awkward atmosphere when he was with Chae-heon. Although he wanted to be close to Chae-heon because he liked him, he felt nervous and awkward whenever they were alone together. What kind of crazy emotions were these? Jeong-yoon had already given up on trying to understand his own feelings.

“So, you ordered the assorted cutlets? Huh? You’re such an unscrupulous guy when it comes to receiving.”

“Hey, it’s just a thousand won difference between the regular cutlet and the assorted one.”

As Jeong-yoon approached Min-soo and put his arm around his shoulder, Min-soo also lightly patted Jeong-yoon’s back. Chae-heon’s gaze quietly passed over them. Chae-heon, who was tapping his wallet, belatedly took out a meal ticket.

The phrase “always kind Chae-heon” seemed colorless on his face, as there was an absence of expression that was almost frightening.