WYK 39

Jeong-yoon went down at 11:40. He had intended to wait for Chae-heon under the tree for a while. However, as soon as he stepped out of the apartment building’s first-floor lobby, he spotted Chae-heon’s car.

He slowly approached and knocked on the passenger side window. Chae-heon, who was reading a book in the driver’s seat, looked up and looked at his watch. After that, he unlocked the lock with a face that seemed to say, ‘It’s still a long way until 12 o’clock.’

“Hi. Good morning.”

Hearing Jeong-yoon’s greeting, Chae-heon looked at his watch again. Exactly eleven forty-two minutes. It was too close to lunch to be considered morning. But Chae-heon responded kindly.

“Yeah, good morning.”

Jeong-yoon also fastened his seatbelt as if nothing had happened. But his ears were slightly turned red.

‘What kind of morning is ‘good morning’? The sun is already high up.’

Now that wasn’t an intentional joke. He tried to force himself to say hello in a lively and natural way, but the words ended up coming out in vain.

The sound of the engine starting was unusually cheerful today. Chae-heon started the car without turning on the navigation system. The familiar apartment scenery, which he saw every day, gradually faded away.

However, it wasn’t just the scenery that seemed unfamiliar today. Even Chae-heon’s words sounded unfamiliar.

“Let’s go to school together from now on.”

Chae-heon said as he handed Jeong-yoon a paper bag from the backseat while he was stuck at a traffic light. Jeong-yoon, who was rustling a paper bag, looked up.

“Your house is near the school. How do we get together? Are you going to stop by here every day?”

“I’m moving.”

“Moving? Your house? Suddenly, where to?”

As he was about to take out the sandwich in the bag, he asked back in surprise.

“To the apartment where I lived in high school. It was the house I lived in as a child with my late mother. I couldn’t bring myself to sell it, so I just left it empty.”

Since they attended the same high school, Chae-heon’s apartment was probably near Jeong-yoon’s house. So, it shouldn’t be difficult to go to school together as he suggested.

Chae-heon. An illegitimate child. Lived alone during high school. His mother passed away when he was young.

His personal history came flooding back without warning. How should one react in such situations? Chae-heon had told him not to sympathize since he was doing fine last time. Jeong-yoon hadn’t thought about it either. Chae-heon seemed too capable to pity.

Jeong-yoon, who had no intention of sympathizing in the first place, decided to just react as usual. He opened the paper bag again. There was an egg sandwich in it. With a glint in his eye, he peeled off the wrapper and tapped Chae-heon’s forearm lightly.

“You gave this to me to eat, right?”

“Yeah.”

“How did you know I hadn’t eaten?”

“You never eat breakfast.”

“…Oh. I guess that’s true.”

Jeong-yoon nodded and took a bite of the sandwich. Right after he woke up, he had no appetite, so he would just come to school, but as time passed, he’d get hungry. So, as soon as he arrived at school, he would hastily buy and eat various things. Thinking that Chae-heon had noticed this, he felt grateful once again.

He turned his head and stared at the trees passing by the car window. The sandwich was delicious, his crush was driving, and the weather was clear. It was the perfect day.

***

Jeong-yoon looked up from his laptop and stretched. He had become the group leader in his elective class due to being the oldest, so he was spending two hours organizing files in the multimedia room on the fifth floor of the library.

As he pressed his sore eyelids with his fingertips, the screen of his cell phone on the desk suddenly lit up. He had switched it to silent mode while studying in the library earlier. He lowered his hand and picked up the phone.

– Where are you.

The person who called was Kang Chae-heon. Jeong-yoon answered simply.

“Library 5th floor multimedia room.”

– Okay.

Soon Chae-heon hung up the phone.

“…”

What. Jeong-yoon guessed he called because he had some business to do. Jeong-yoon held onto his phone, staring at the screen, expecting another call. But the phone didn’t ring again.

Instead, Kang Chae-heon showed up in person 15 minutes later. It was when Jeong-yoon was drawing a diagram with a serious expression.

“Assignment?”

The familiar voice reached his ears subtly. Startled, Jeong-yoon almost jumped out of his seat but managed to compose himself just in time. When he stiffly turned his head, he saw Chae-heon leaning deeply over his shoulder, sitting in the vacant seat beside him.

His smooth nose and pretty lips were dangerously close. Jeong-yoon involuntarily tensed his body. Whether from surprise or excitement, his heart was pounding so loudly that he became afraid it might reach Chae-heon’s ears.

Chae-heon calmly sat down in the empty seat next to Jeong-yoon.

“I guess it’s a liberal arts assignment.”

“Yeah. They said since I’m the oldest, I’m the group leader and also have to present. So, I’m diligently drawing this chart now.”

“Need any help?”

“No, I’m okay. I’m more nervous about the presentation. It’s my first time back in school, so I feel jittery.”

“It’s natural to be nervous. You’ll do well.”

You’ll do well. Chae-heon said that and smiled quietly. The tone was so sweet and trustworthy that Jeong-yoon truly felt confident that he could do well in anything. It felt like being a six-year-old boy who practiced Taekwondo kicks even harder after receiving praise from his teacher.

It was strange. Chae-heon, who had always been unkind to him, was being unusually kind lately. He came to school with him in the morning and now they were having such a casual conversation. It felt like he had become a friend who could confide in him. In reality, their relationship had changed to something more awkward.

In fact, there hadn’t been any contact since that day. So, his sense of reality was even more lacking. Maybe things would change if he stripped down and rolled around, but for now, that’s how it was.

Chae-heon looked at his watch and immediately stood up.

“When do you think you’ll finish?”

“About two hours?”

“Contact me when it’s over.”

“…”

Jeong-yoon, who was about to ask ‘Why?’ swallowed the question. He was supposed to contact him, that’s what Chae-heon said. When Jeong-yoon nodded vigorously, Chae-heon smiled satisfactorily.

“I’ll be in the department room.”

“Okay.”

After that conversation, Chae-heon left the multimedia room. All that remained was the faint scent of perfume that always seemed to cling to him. The low tone that echoed in his ears was sexy, and so was the fragrance.

Jeong-yoon sat idly in front of his laptop and drew a meaningless square on the desktop with his mouse. It was nice to be invited so naturally, but at the same time, it was a bit confusing. Usually, people wouldn’t go this far just because they’re sex partners.

Was “Let’s continue” a hint to start dating? But Jeong-yoon didn’t have the courage to ask Chae-heon if they were dating. If he were to disdainfully dismiss him, even this fleeting happiness would slip through his fingers. That was too scary and daunting.

Resting his chin on his hand, he clicked the mouse for a while and then sighed deeply. He wasn’t usually this timid… But when he stood in front of Chae-heon, he became such a pathetic coward. In fact, to say he had no desires at all would be a lie. He would love to kiss, or anything else. In fact, what he liked the most was to be in sync with Chae-heon, to show him his true feelings, but…

One must know their place. It would be better to quietly observe and properly understand the situation, rather than acting all high-spirited and ending up being despised and hated by him. Therefore, Jeong-yoon decided to enjoy this fleeting happiness to the fullest, even if it might only last for a moment.

But amidst this confusion, there was one thing that was certain. The fact that two hours later he would send Chae-heon a text message saying, “I’m done now,” and the fact that he couldn’t refuse him in the first place. And the future where they would go home together. That’s what it was.