WYK 19

The sun had risen and set about fourteen times. Finally, the day of the sports festival arrived, allowing them to officially skip classes and enjoy themselves. Despite having to run and move under the scorching sun, it was a joyful day just because there were no classes.

Jeong-yoon’s class even had matching T-shirts with the inscription on the back saying ‘Kang Chae-heon and the Kids.’ Of course, it wasn’t Chae-heon’s opinion. After listening to the safety precautions conveyed by the homeroom teacher, they began the official ball game. After running around the field, they even watched guys cross-dressing and dancing. Before they knew it, it was snack time. That was the time for the sandwiches Chae-heon had provided.

Jeong-yoon, who was seated in the shade, pulled on his t-shirt and wiped away his sweat. Sweating was quite distasteful to him, but once on the field, he ran around like a mad dog without realizing it. After patting his face with his hands, he opened a paper bag beside him and took out a sandwich. Then,

“Oh, lucky!”

He cheered in a small voice. Egg sandwich. It was his favorite flavor. He pulled off the wrapper and bit into it, his face beaming. He wasn’t sure if it was because Chae-heon bought it and it was delicious, or because he was running around like a puppy with its feet on fire, but it tasted better than usual.

He took a sip of the orange juice and finished the brownie, then wiped his hands. He felt extremely satisfied as soon as he ate it. However, that happiness did not last long.

“Beautification Head comes out and cleans up this place.”

This was because the homeroom teacher, who was walking around tapping things here and there with a stick, said so. Jeong-yoon stood up from his seat after roughly shoving the wrapping paper into the bag.

The head of the beautification of this class was himself. He took on the role because he wanted to be with the class president, Chae-heon, even a little. However, he only managed things like tidying up the withering flower pots and managing the bulletin board. The students tossed away their trash in the classroom, and he had to pick it up.

‘Why should the Beautification Head be cleaning up trash instead of beautifying? Anyway, let’s eat a bit neatly, you filthy punks.’

While mumbling like that, Jeong-yoon diligently gathered the trash. He even ran to pick up sandwich wrappers that fluttered in the wind and bent over to delicately collect ice cream wrappers. That’s why Jeong-yoon’s motto is to do your best at your job.

He cleaned up the trash from his own class and picked up trash from other classes as well. Once he started, it felt like he had to see it through to the end. As a result, the surroundings became very neat.

“Mission accomplished.”

Mumbling to himself, Jeong-yoon pressed the trash bag firmly while humming.

That’s when a big hand reached in and grabbed the bag. Jeong-yoon straightened his waist with a puzzled expression.

“Why are you cleaning up alone?”

Before he knew it, Kang Chae-heon was next to him. Watching Chae-heon tie the string of the garbage bag tightly, Jeong-yoon pursed his lips, but soon regained his composure and answered with a nonchalant expression.

“Because the homeroom teacher told me to tidy up. Did you come after the class president meeting?”

“Yeah.”

Jeong-yoon found this situation of talking to Chae-heon to be both strange and ticklish. Despite the fact that they were in the same class for the second time, they rarely had private talks. Therefore, this moment felt particularly exciting for Jeong-yoon.

‘I did well to become the head of beautification. I should water the plants diligently from now on.’

For the first time, Jeong-yoon nodded in satisfaction with his position. Chae-heon threw the garbage bag toward a corner of the stand. After looking around at the cleaned-up area, he gestured towards Jeong-yoon. It seemed like an invitation to go and wash hands. Jeong-yoon nodded and followed Chae-heon.

“You haven’t eaten your sandwich yet, have you?”

“Yeah, not yet.”

“I ate, the one you bought for me.”

“Really?”

The two engaged in a meaningless conversation while washing their hands. Chae-heon, returning to the designated spot in their class, exchanged a few words with the homeroom teacher and then sat on the second step.

Jeong-yoon took the sandwich bag that he had placed next to his homeroom bag and held it out to Chae-heon.

“Eat this.”

It was the sandwich Kim Seong-chan had eyed, saying, ‘If Kang Chae-heon doesn’t come, I’ll eat it!’ Jeong-yoon had managed to protect it, saying, ‘Please have some conscience!’ But even while offering it, he felt a bit awkward. It was Chae-heon who bought it, and it felt as if he was forcing it on him.

Chae-heon looked at the sandwich bag and immediately took it.

Jeong-yoon tapped the stairs with his toe and then sat down next to Chae-heon. Since he had brought the sandwich, it seemed appropriate to enjoy it together.

Trying to erase his tense expression, Jeong-yoon glanced at Chae-heon tearing open the sandwich. Unintentionally, he burst into a small laughter. The reason was the starry headband flashing brightly above Chae-heon’s head. His imposing figure made the cute headband even more amusing. Despite his large build, he wore such an adorable headband. It was strangely funny and cute that he couldn’t help but laugh.

Chae-heon followed Jeong-yoon’s gaze and fumbled with his hair before taking off his headband with an awkward expression. It seems that even he had forgotten the existence of that headband.

“Class presidents are all wearing these.”

Chae-heon explained as if making an excuse. For some reason, Jeong-yoon felt a bit disappointed. He should have just watched without laughing. It was cute. Such an absurd thought crossed his mind.

Chae-heon roughly brushed his disheveled hair and unwrapped the sandwich. It was the same thing that Jeong-yoon ate. Egg sandwich with eggs and potatoes mixed together. When Jeong-yoon handed Chae-heon his drink with a straw, Chae-heon naturally accepted it.

“Kim Seong-chan wanted to take what was yours, so I worked hard to protect it.”

“Really? Thank you.”

“The sandwich was delicious. I ate well.”

“I’m glad you liked it.”

Chae-heon replied nonchalantly, seemingly indifferent. It was a common and unpretentious demeanor. Therefore, it looked even more genuine and authentic.

‘If I were to spend money like Kang Chae-heon, I would definitely act like that. It’s cool.’

Lost in such useless thoughts, Jeong-yoon raised his thumb in front of Chae-heon.

“Anyway, the menu selection was excellent. I really like this sandwich.”

Chae-heon, who was eating his sandwich, stopped when he heard this. Then he turned his head towards Jeong-yoon and spoke quietly.

“I know. You like this.”

“…”

It was a very friendly tone.

His gentle eyes curved gracefully, and his distinctive, deep-colored irises stared straight at Jeong-yoon. The golden sunlight of the afternoon sparkled on his hair.

Seo Jeong-yoon stared at him blankly, unable to respond. The loud background noise faded into the distance. Only Kang Chae-heon was visible in the blurry afterimage. It was a moment you only see in movies. That moment when bright flower petals flutter like illusions when you fall in love.

***

After the sports competition, his feelings for Kang Chae-heon deepened.

The face that smiled at him was so beautiful and the sight of the big guy smiling like an angel shined so brightly in the sunlight that the afterimage did not go away easily. Jeong-yoon was so struck by that face that he stopped moving his pen while studying at home.

‘I guess that’s why they say not to have a girlfriend when you’re studying.’ Such thoughts naturally came to him. Indeed, experiencing it firsthand was the best lesson.

In truth, he had become aware of his feelings quite some time ago. The discomfort he felt with the confident Chae-heon, the awkwardness that rendered him speechless and stiffened his shoulders whenever they faced each other, all stemmed from his awkward one-sided love.

As time passed, his feelings for Chae-heon deepened. Even the sight of Chae-heon solving problems on the blackboard during math class or leading class meetings seemed impressive. Even if the love eyes were tied to it, it remains firmly entrenched

If they were to separate, this feeling would somehow fold a bit, but there was no room for that as they continued to be the same class. Every year, Chae-heon became the class president, and every year, Jeong-yoon made an effort to hide his feelings for Chae-heon.

One day. They were taking a break before dinner to solve language questions. Someone tapped the desk. When he looked up, Chae-heon was standing close by. After suppressing the tension, he asked briefly,

“Why?”

Chae-heon extended an announcement board he was holding.

“For the upcoming field trip, where would you like to go, Singapore or Jeju Island?”

It seemed they were collecting individual opinions to decide the destination for the school field trip between the two locations. This time, they only needed to choose one.

“I choose Jeju Island,” Jeong-yoon replied briefly. Even though he wanted to go to Singapore, his mother’s worries about him traveling too far had led him to choose Jeju Island.

‘I wonder where will Chae-heon go?’

That question kept circling in his mind, but he forced himself to endure it with superhuman strength.

Chae-heon nodded at something on the noticeboard as he stood next to Jeong-yoon. Jeong-yoon secretly examined his long fingers. Jeong-yoon finally breathed when Chae-heon turned around. Regardless of how much he tried to look calm, his shoulders tensed whenever he spoke with Chae-heon.

‘Isn’t it time to get used to this by now?’

He wondered if love could make a person feel so poignant.