YHP 11

He didn’t even know how fast he had been running. His breath was heavy and labored, and the sound of his pounding heart echoed in his ears like loud ringing. Ho-jin rested his forehead against a cold stone pillar to slowly calm his breathing. It was already five minutes past the promised time, and it seemed that Jeong-in had already left.

Ho-jin stood still as a stone, contemplating his situation.

He had encountered a series of unavoidable things. He couldn’t skip his morning training, there was no way to avoid the heavy traffic today, he couldn’t ignore someone who could have been seriously injured, and running any faster wasn’t possible either…

Could I?

“Ah.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t do enough, but the best that he could do.

Could he really be confident about that?

Suddenly, a thought struck him, and his shoulders tensed up abruptly. Ho-jin frowned and let out a low groan. Throughout morning training, no, even until a moment ago, he had been fine. But now, the pain was so intense that it was impossible to believe that it was an illusion. It was as if he had returned to that moment when he kept pushing and enduring until he finally broke.

“Yoo Ho-jin.”

At that moment, he heard someone call his name. He opened his tightly closed eyes and turned around.

“Jeong-in ssi.”

Jeong-in was gracefully walking up the stairs. Unable to wait for him to climb the last few steps, Ho-jin quickly jumped down to meet him. Soon, the two faced each other on the low stone steps, their footsteps coming to a halt.

“Hello.”

Ho-jin wondered if this was what spring would look like if the season turned into a person. He was still as beautiful as ever. Even his narrowed eyes, seemingly annoyed by the sunlight falling over him, were as exquisite as if they had been lifted from a vividly colored painting.

“Did you wait long?” Ho-jin asked.

“No. I just got here.”

Jeong-in pulled out his wallet and held out a 50,000 won bill. It was more than ten times the cost of the tonkatsu.

With the crisp breeze, underneath the warm sunlight, a beauty whom he thought was long gone but claimed he’d only just arrived pulled out a ridiculous amount of money with a gruff expression.

He burst out laughing before he knew it.

“I don’t have change for that.”

“It’s fine. Just keep it.”

Jeong-in didn’t seem to have interest in arguing any further, forcing the bill into Ho-jin’s hand before turning to leave. Ho-jin quickly stopped him.

“I can’t accept that much.”

Jeong-in sighed deeply in response.

“Then what do you suggest we do?”

“Come with me to get some change.”

“What?”

With one foot already on the step below, Jeong-in furrowed his eyebrows.

“You don’t like owing people, do you?” Ho-jin asked.

“To the point that you made time to come all the way out here.”

Even though he kept his guard up as if he were perpetually on edge, it didn’t seem like Jeong-in’s real personality once Ho-jin looked closely. If someone gently cleared away those sharp thorns, all that would remain would be fine sand, light enough to be scattered by a gentle breeze.”

“I’m the same way. So…”

The day that had been full of unavoidable circumstances was now drawing to a close, casting a short shadow beneath them.

Ho-jin took a deep breath and then said, “If you leave this, you’ll have to meet me again next time.”

He hoped at least in this moment, something could be within his control.

***

He wondered if he was breathing properly and if his body was warming up as he ran.

Ho-jin appeared among the people strolling lightly and ran with all his might. Jeong-in had arrived a little earlier than the scheduled time, and there was no way he could have missed that sight.

It hadn’t even been five minutes since the appointed time, so was it really necessary to run as if his life depended on it? Was he always this foolish?

He came running from far away at an incredible pace, yet somehow managed to keep it up without slowing down until the end. At first glance, it seemed to far exceed the level required in general PE exams. However, he didn’t quite have the form of a professional track athlete either. So what was it? What kind of sport required such intense cardiovascular endurance?

Jeong-in watched Ho-jin blankly and hid for a moment at the last moment because he thought that if he didn’t give him to catch his breath, he might really wear him out.

“Excuse me, Jeong-in ssi.”

Jeong-in had been resting his chin on the table, but he turned around at the sound of the voice. He saw Ho-jin holding onto the door of the convenience store, his face peeking out through the gap.

Ho-jin had insisted on breaking a fifty-thousand won bill and dragged Jeong-in to the convenience store below the school. Contrary to his words of taking just a moment, he had been circling inside the store for over five minutes. When Jeong-in glanced inside, he could see Ho-jin repeatedly picking up a snack only to put it back down, then grabbing a drink only to return it to the shelf.

“Where do you live?”

“Why do you need to know that?” Jeong-in replied.

“Just… wondering if you live alone.”

Ho-jin nodded reluctantly, then grinned.

“I’ll be right back.”

Jeong-in turned his gaze back to the street. He had been feeling low all day, perhaps from crying his eyes out earlier that morning while thinking of his grandfather. As he stood there in the warm sunlight, drowsiness quickly overtook him. How long had he been waiting, watching a cat’s plump tail as it passed by in the distance? Just as his eyes were able to close, a clear bell sound rang out behind him.

“Jeong-in ssi.”

Ho-jin reappeared, holding a bundle of rolled-up plastic bags in one hand.

“What’s this?” Jeong-in asked.

“It’s… a gift,” Ho-jin answered.

Jeong-in accepted the bundle, which Ho-jin handed over awkwardly in a manner that didn’t match his large frame.

The package read: Standard Household Waste Bags (20L, for home use)

Inquiries: Cleaning Administration Dept. 02-2241-4400

“Since I asked you to come all the way here, I wanted to buy you some snacks, but everything was full of high-fructose corn syrup… At least this is something you can use for a long time,” Ho-jin explained.

Was it common for college students to exchange things like bundles of garbage bags as gifts?

It baffled him because it was something he had never received before in his life. Besides, it wasn’t exactly something Jeong-in had much use for in the first place. Unsure of how to react, he froze. Ho-jin quickly offered his change.

“Uh… You should probably get going now, right?”

“Yeah.”

Jeong-in confidently stood up. He made sure to take the garbage bags he had received as a “gift,” since they had been thoughtfully purchased anyway.

“I’ll make good use of them,” Jeong-in said.

Ho-jin smiled as if he had just swallowed a spoonful of sugar. Turning his back to the smile, Jeong-in walked away.

However, Jeong-in had a bit of a poor sense of direction. He actually had no idea where he was. Although he could clearly see the school building not too far away, he had no clue how to get there. Of course, turning on GPS in his map app and following it wouldn’t have been a problem, but he didn’t feel like doing that in front of the clueless Alpha watching him.

“Excuse me, Jeong-in ssi.”

“What?”

For now, Jeong-in walked in the direction of the visible building, trying to act as casual as possible. As if it were natural, Ho-jin followed and matched his pace.

“Where are you going?”

“TH관.”

“TH Building.”

“If you go that way, it’ll be a bit of a detour.”

“I’ll walk you there. Let’s go together.”

Jeong-in wished he would just disappear already, but it didn’t seem like Ho-jin had any intention of doing so. Thinking that he would shake him off once they got closer to campus, Jeong-in slowly followed half a step behind Ho-jin.

Ho-jin navigated through alleys lined with low-rise studio apartment buildings. It was quite fascinating how the school building seemed to draw significantly closer with each turn they made.

After walking for a while, Ho-jin suddenly asked, “By the way… What year are you in, Jeong-in?”

Jeong-in answered without much thought, “I just started this year.”

“Really?”

Ho-jin turned to look back at him.

“Then… I guess I’m older than you.”

“So what? You want me to treat you with respect?”

“No, that’s not it, but…”

Not it, my foot. Jeong-in smirked as he sensed Ho-jin’s obvious disappointment.

“How about you? What year are you in?”

“I’m a sophomore.”

Jeong-in did a quick calculation. Since Jo Hyo-jun, who started his bachelor’s in Korea, was a junior, if Jeong-in had followed the same route, he should have been a junior too. The age difference of one year didn’t matter much anyway.

“You’re younger than me.”

“Really?”

Following his second outburst, Ho-jin stared intently at Jeong-in’s face, as if he were genuinely amazed. Jeong-in met his gaze without flinching.

Although they had crossed paths a few times, this was the first time they were deliberately looking into each other’s eyes, and Jeong-in found it equally fascinating. Since their first meeting hadn’t been particularly pleasant, he pegged Ho-jin as nothing more than a foolish, naïve idiot. But upon closer inspection, Ho-jin’s well-defined features, his unblemished and clean expression, and clear eyes gave Jeong-in an impression of refinement—like polished jade.

“Too… No. Yes. I see.”

After a long moment, Ho-jin was the first to look away.

He started walking again, and their footsteps echoed faintly through the quiet alley of the residental area.

“Then can I call you hyung?” Ho-jin asked.

“No,” Jeong-in answered curtly.

While it was true his initial aversion to Ho-jin had lessened, he had no intention of allowing an unfamiliar Alpha to hover around pretending to be close, especially when a slight hormonal imbalance could cause him excruciating pain.”

As Jeong-in gazed at the building that had drawn near without him realizing, he offered his parting words.

“Take care.”

Just as he was about to turn around, Ho-jin called out to him with a calm voice.

“Hey, Jeong-in ssi.”

“If we happen to meet by chance again, please let me call you hyung then.”

It wasn’t a very likely possibility.

Most of Jeong-in’s classes were concentrated in specific buildings anyway, and he didn’t think he had much reason to go out when there were no classes. He only had one lecture a week with Ho-jin, and that was a large lecture with over 300 students. If Jeong-in blended in with the crowd, he could avoid getting noticed.

He was convinced it wouldn’t happen anyway. Perhaps that was why his next words came without hesitation or difficulty.

“Do whatever you want.”

Even if they did meet again, it wouldn’t matter. Jeong-in was prepared to choose hurtful words once more to hurt Ho-jin and push him away.

Just as he had done to the people he loved most.