TWYW C2

It was a spring day when students who had just shed their teenage appearances began to be seen all over campus. Gyeoul, wearing a padded jumper in the still chilly weather, found and entered the building where his general education class was held. Since Gyeoul hadn’t gone to the freshman welcoming party, he didn’t know a single person at the university, but after reading class reviews he found on the university’s online community, he had managed to enroll in a general education lecture famous for being a movie and music appreciation hour, overcoming the fierce competition.

Striding confidently into the classroom, Gyeoul found and sat in an empty, secluded seat in the back corner by the window, where he would be least noticeable. The students filling the classroom seemed to already know each other, and the sound of their chatter filled the space. Gyeoul averted his gaze from them, took out his phone, and began scrolling through online entertainment news articles that he didn’t even read properly. Just then, a dating scandal involving a certain celebrity had broken out, and the internet news portals were plastered with stories about the top star’s romance. Gyeoul was reading through it with an indifferent eye when the professor entered the classroom, signaling the start of the lecture, so he placed the phone in his hand down on the desk.

From the very first day of class, the professor began calling attendance, reading out the students’ names one by one. He called the names in alphabetical order, and soon Gyeoul’s name was called.

“Lee Gyeoul.”

“Yes.”

He answered while slightly raising his right arm, not wanting his name to be called twice because he had answered too quietly.

“Jeong Yuhyeon.”

“Yes.”

The voice of the person named Yuhyeon, called right after Gyeoul, came from very close by. It was the seat right next to Gyeoul. The face he naturally turned his head to check was more than enough to captivate Gyeoul’s gaze. Even for another man to see, the word “handsome” was insufficient to describe him fully. The line from his forehead to his nose gave off a Western feel, and his literally sky-high nasal bridge was something that Gyeoul, a creative writing major, could only describe as a work of art. It was a shame he could only think of such an outdated expression.

As if sensing Gyeoul’s intense gaze, Yuhyeon turned his head and their eyes met. Gyeoul felt as if he was about to be sucked into Yuhyeon’s gaze. For the first time in his twenty years of life, he realized that the expression he’d heard somewhere, “eyes like the sea,” was meant for eyes like these.

Gyeoul summed everything up in a single sentence.

He’s so fucking handsome.

The moment Gyeoul uttered those words in his mind, Yuhyeon let out a small laugh.

What the, why is he smirking like a damn fool. Making a guy’s heart flutter.

“So fucking handsome?”

Words he was sure he hadn’t said out loud were heard coming from Yuhyeon’s mouth. Without realizing it, Gyeoul had spoken his inner thoughts aloud.

“No. Not fucking handsome at all.”

“I must have misheard.”

Shit.

Unable to bring himself to lie and say he was ugly, Gyeoul, feeling embarrassed, turned his eyes away from Yuhyeon and pointlessly stared out the classroom window. He could hear the sound of soft laughter from the seat next to him but ignored it, scratching behind his ear.

Just then, the professor, having finished taking attendance, began to introduce the course. Gyeoul tore his gaze away from the window. On the screen projected by the professor, the large words <Understanding Popular Culture> were written. Then, the screen changed to the next slide, where the title “Group Project” appeared along with a topic. At that, Gyeoul’s pleasant face crumpled.

He was sure he had signed up for this class after reading a review that said there were no group projects, so Gyeoul felt it was unfair that one had suddenly appeared the year he was taking it. While most students avoided group projects, Gyeoul had a particular aversion to them. Due to his difficult personality, he hadn’t gotten along well with others since his school days. As his time spent alone grew longer, Gyeoul, now in university, found group projects to be more difficult than the college entrance exam. He would have rather just taken on the entire project by himself.

As if oblivious to the students’ disgruntled expressions, the professor calmly explained the assignment and even assigned the groups himself. It was to be pairs of two, with the person sitting directly to your right. Gyeoul naturally turned his head to the side.

“Lee Gyeoul.”

“What, how do you know my name?”

“He just called attendance a minute ago.”

“…”

Feeling embarrassed again by the stupid question he’d just asked, Gyeoul scratched his cheek this time instead of avoiding his gaze.

“But why are you speaking informally?”

“You’re twenty.”

“And how did you know that?”

“Because your face still looks like a high schooler’s.”

“Then how old are you?”

Though he didn’t know Yuhyeon’s exact age, he could tell from his aura and his face that he was older. However, not wanting to lose for no reason, he boldly asked back using informal speech.

“Twenty-five, a fourth-year. I’m dropping the formalities now.”

“Was what you were saying until now formal speech…”

Gyeoul glared at Yuhyeon’s face with a needlessly resentful expression.

“You don’t have any friends, do you.”

“No, I don’t.”

“I can see why.”

“Are you trying to pick a fight with me right now?”

“Yeah. You’re quick on the uptake, though.”

Yuhyeon smiled, his eyes curving. For a moment, Gyeoul almost lost himself in his face, but he quickly snapped his mind back into place.

“Sunbae, are you a psycho?”

“At least you’re calling me sunbae.”

It seemed this group project was already doomed. How were the two of them supposed to do a group project together?

“Is there anything you want to see? A movie, a musical, or a concert?”

Yuhyeon, who had seemed uninterested in the assignment, naturally brought up the topic first. The task was to choose one piece of popular culture with your partner, experience it, and then submit a report on how it melts into daily life. Of course, unfortunately, they also had to attach a photo proving they did it together.

“A movie.”

Gyeoul chose the least expensive option. Since he didn’t receive an allowance from home, he had to save the money he earned from his part-time job in case he didn’t get a scholarship.

“When are you free?”

Gyeoul took a scheduler out of his bag and opened it. There were hardly any empty slots visible. The white paper was filled with his part-time work schedule and time set aside for studying.

“How analog. Can’t you just write it on your phone?”

Yuhyeon, who was watching from the side, commented.

“If you didn’t pitch in, could you please keep quiet?”

“No.”

Gyeoul let out a loud sigh, unable to curse at a senior. Yuhyeon kept smiling, finding something incredibly amusing.

“I’m busy this week… Let’s meet next week.”

“Whatever you want.”

Along with his reply, Yuhyeon held out his palm to Gyeoul.

“What is it.”

“Your number.”

“Are you hitting on me right now?”

At Gyeoul’s response, Yuhyeon burst out laughing a little loudly.

“You’re a real piece of work.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Whatever, just give me your phone.”

“Ugh, why.”

“We’re in the same group. We have to be able to contact each other, don’t we?”

Ah, shit.

Gyeoul had to bite back a string of curses. This time, scratching the back of his neck, he handed his phone to Yuhyeon. Yuhyeon typed his number into Gyeoul’s phone and pressed the call button, and a vibration sound came from his own phone on the desk. Gyeoul took his phone back, saved Yuhyeon’s number, and registered a name.

Psycho.

“What did you save me as?”

“That’s a secret.”

“Do you even know my name?”

“Jeong Yuhyeon.”

The moment Gyeoul had confirmed his face when attendance was called, his name had been etched into his mind. However, Gyeoul answered him, feigning as much indifference as possible, but Yuhyeon’s expression was an ambiguous smile.

“What are you looking at?”

Under Yuhyeon’s gaze, Gyeoul’s eyes darted around unnecessarily. It seemed Yuhyeon didn’t know what his own eyes looked like. Otherwise, looking at someone with eyes like that was just cheating.

“Ugh, what is it.”

“It makes me want to mess with you for no reason.”

“I’m leaving.”