ETP Ch 7

“Hey, how could you be so clueless and suggest going to a baseball game right away?!”

One of the group members scolded the one who had first brought up baseball. The latter protested with a look of injustice.

“Hey, honestly, baseball is the best! Isn’t it?”

“Even so, it’s like blatantly asking Hwang Yoohyun for a favor! You should’ve tested the waters!”

Several other group members nodded in agreement.

What? What are they talking about? I’ve been wondering, what’s the deal with this Hwang Yoohyun?

Sungyeon’s curiosity radar activated. His hands, which had been quickly packing his belongings, slowed down. Unaware that Bokseung was still there, the group members raised their voices amongst themselves.

“He’ll give us table seats, right? He’s from the owner’s family, after all.”

“Hee, I guess so? I’m looking forward to it.”

“Wow, but I almost peed my pants when I made eye contact with Hwang Yoohyun earlier. Why did he look so grumpy?”

The group member who had first mentioned baseball shuddered. The one next to him pointed at his own neck.

“Didn’t you see Hwang Yoohyun’s nape? The scratch marks were insane. He probably wasn’t feeling well because he was busy rolling around all night. And you brought up baseball right in front of him, so how could he look at you kindly?”

“Whoa…”

The group members’ mouths dropped open.

Whoa. Sungyeon’s mouth also dropped open, eavesdropping on their conversation.

How scandalous! Scratch marks on his nape! These kids these days!

Anyway, Hwang Yoohyun’s family must be incredibly rich, the owner of a team! I hope it’s the RJ Triples.

Sungyeon thought of the RJ Triples, the team he had been a die-hard fan of for 14 years. Currently in the midst of a ranking battle, the RJ Triples were ranked second. They had always been a fifth-place team, but this year, he felt they could win the championship.

Of course, he’d had that feeling for 14 years, and the RJ Triples had never actually won in those 14 years. They were always ridiculed for performing worse than the other team that shared the same stadium.

Just thinking about baseball made him lose his appetite. Sungyeon forced himself to stop thinking about baseball and filled his mind with thoughts of the cafeteria food.

“Oh! Junior Kim Bokseung, you haven’t left yet. Perfect. Can I get your number?”

One of the group members, who had been chatting amongst themselves, noticed Bokseung and held out their phone.

“Ah, yes! Of course!”

Bokseung’s small, white fingers carefully typed in his number. He had to be careful not to enter the number he used when he was Lee Sungyeon.

Another group member asked while watching him.

“Hey, what about Hwang Yoohyun?”

“Oh, I have his ID. I’ll invite him to the group chat.”

“ID?”

“Yeah, he really hates giving out his number. Probably only the department office and the class president know it. Even kids in the same major don’t know his number.”

The faces of the group members who heard the answer expressed a shared sentiment of “That’s extreme.”

Sungyeon shared similar sentiments, but since he had managed to get the number once, he stood up without saying anything.

Sungyeon bowed repeatedly to the remaining group members and left the classroom.

One way or another, the most important thing right now was a delicious lunch.

🍑‧₊ ⋆˙

Yoohyun raised his voice as soon as he opened the front door.

“Yuja, I’m home!”

He called out her name several times, but there was no response. As if he had expected this, he threw his bag on the floor and began his ‘Yuja hunt’ in earnest.

He searched every corner of the living room, including under the sofa, and checked on top of the kitchen cabinets. As expected, he couldn’t find any trace of her.

Just as Yoohyun took a short breath and was about to check the bedroom,

Meow.

A faint meow, barely audible, reached his ears. Yoohyun, who had somehow caught the sound, crouched down with a wide smile.

“There you are!”

Yoohyun lay flat on the floor, locating the source of the sound, and reached under the bed. At the same moment, he felt a sharp pain in his wrist.

“Ow! Yuja, are you scratching me again? What are you upset about today? Hmm?”

A pair of glowing yellow eyes glared at Yoohyun from the corner under the bed. But Yoohyun’s eyes, looking at the fierce gaze, softened into crescents.

“Yuja, be good, okay? Come out and let’s eat. Aren’t you hungry, my little Yuja?”

Perhaps satisfied with his endlessly humble attempts to appease her, the cat, who had been hiding in the corner for a while, cautiously poked her head out from under the bed.

Yoohyun’s lips curved upwards even more at the sight of the tiny head, not even half the size of his fist, popping out from under the bed.

Yuja, a kitten with a mix of white and cream fur, extended her claws and scratched the back of Yoohyun’s hand as soon as he reached her.

Even though she was still a kitten, her claws were undoubtedly sharp, but Yoohyun just smiled as he held her.

He had been caring for the kitten, abandoned near his house a few days ago, and finally brought her home last night, deciding he couldn’t leave her on the streets any longer.

While on the streets, she had readily accepted the milk and food he offered, but as soon as he brought her home, she tormented him with hisses and scratches.

As if that wasn’t enough, when he tried to bathe her yesterday, she scratched his hands, neck, and shoulders relentlessly, leaving him exhausted and surrendering.

Still, perhaps she had been lonely without Yoohyun all day, as her scratching attacks today were shorter than yesterday.

Yoohyun fed Yuja her food as promised. Fortunately, she kept her claws retracted while eating.

“Pretty girl.”

Yoohyun carefully picked up Yuja, whose mood had improved after eating. He had to quickly put her in the cage before her good mood ended.

Fortunately, Yuja didn’t fuss. Breathing a sigh of relief, Yoohyun covered the cage with a large blanket, making it dark inside.

Yoohyun planned to take Yuja to the animal hospital today. He was most worried about her health, given that she had been a stray. As if sensing his sincerity, the kitten remained quiet after entering the cage.

Yoohyun carefully placed the cage in the passenger seat, secured it firmly with the seatbelt, and then started the car.

🍑‧₊ ⋆˙

Bokseung’s small lips, sitting in the back of the bus, were in a pout. He sighed at the thought of juggling both studies and a part-time job again.

It had only been five years since Sungyeon had settled into his career. He was just beginning to understand what people called work-life balance, and nothing could be sadder than this.

As soon as he contacted Hyungseop a few days ago, saying he wanted to work again, Hyungseop jumped, urging him to rest at least for this month.

However, Sungyeon firmly insisted on starting work today.

This was because he had checked Bokseung’s bank account balance a few days ago and found it was on the verge of falling below 200,000 won.

How nice would it have been if Bokseung had a hidden savings account? But after searching through all sorts of memos and banking apps, he confirmed that the kid’s entire fortune really was 200,000 won.

At least it was fortunate that the house he inherited from his grandmother was his own.

If he had to pay rent on top of everything else, he’d have to go work at a construction site immediately.

Ignoring Hyungseop’s long-winded worries about why he was starting work so soon, Sungyeon declared that he would start today, no matter what.

At his unusually firm words, Hyungseop grumbled but agreed, reminding him to be careful.

According to the schedule, Bokseung worked three days during the week and two days on the weekend. He had to work five days a week while studying.

Knowing how tough working at a PC bang was from occasionally helping Hyungseop, Sungyeon already felt tired.

Worrying about money naturally brought to mind the savings he had accumulated when he was Sungyeon. The thought, ‘If only I had that money!’ kept popping up.

It was a small amount of savings in others’ eyes, but he had been so indignant when he heard from Hyungseop that his relatives had immediately divided it among themselves. Tears had even welled up without him realizing it.

— This stop is the back gate of Hankuk University.

Whether Sungyeon was feeling indignant or not, the bus stopped precisely at the bus stop and let Bokseung off.

As he dragged his unusually heavy feet towards the building where the PC bang was located, he noticed a white lump at his feet, and then a hurried voice came from behind him.

“Catch it!”

At the man’s shout, Sungyeon immediately crouched down and scooped up the white lump. Once he had it in his hands, he realized the lump wasn’t a lump at all, but a young kitten, so he loosened his grip.

The kitten, thankfully not too startled, remained calmly nestled in Bokseung’s white hands.

Sungyeon turned around, still holding the kitten. The owner of the shout seemed surprised that the kitten had suddenly darted out.

And the moment Sungyeon saw the kitten owner’s face, his shoulders jumped in surprise, even more startled than he had been by the kitten.

It’s Hwang Yoohyun!

Sungyeon exclaimed inwardly.

Is this cute white kitten really Hwang Yoohyun’s?

Bokseung’s head swiveled back and forth, glancing at the man, then at the kitten, repeatedly.

Hwang Yoohyun, the man receiving Bokseung’s surprised gaze, was equally surprised.

Why is he here?

Yoohyun, with a perplexed expression, stood in front of Bokseung. Yuja remained quietly nestled in Bokseung’s arms.

A little while ago, while checking to see if Yuja was uncomfortable in her carrier during the drive to the hospital, the door had opened slightly, and she had escaped. Landing lightly on the ground, the kitten quickly darted away from the car.

Startled by Yoohyun’s cry, the kitten froze, and just then, someone walked right in front of Yuja. Without a second thought, he yelled, “Catch it!” And the someone who caught Yuja happened to be Kim Bokseung.

“Hello, um… Senior, is this your cat?”

Bokseung asked, gently stroking the kitten in his arms.

“Yes.”

Yoohyun replied, watching the now docile Yuja. He was nervous, wondering when she might bolt again. But the kitten, as if having no intention of leaving Bokseung’s arms, simply purred with her eyes closed.

Hearing Yoohyun’s answer, Bokseung beamed and scratched not only the kitten’s back but also under her chin. Then he opened his mouth and…

“Oh my, she’s so tiny! So cute!”

…he said.

From Yoohyun’s perspective, Kim Bokseung was also tiny. Who’s calling who tiny? He let out a laugh in disbelief.