“Not really.”
“What do you mean not really? Just pulling my leg again.”
“Your face isn’t my type.”
“Out of all the things I’ve heard in my life, this is the most absurd.”
Hyun Gyujin, with a truly dumbfounded expression, raised his head and locked eyes with Yuwon. Seeing Hyun Gyujin like that, Yuwon, who had been quietly observing him with an unchanged expression, finally burst into laughter.
“Just kidding.”
“Oh, come on.”
“Is facial preference really that important?”
“Of course it is. I like you even more because you’re pretty.”
“…Stop saying weird things… What’s so pretty about me?”
“You were pretty even when we were just friends.”
Warm words, gentle laughter, a kind warmth, and a heartbeat that was no longer uncomfortable. Yuwon squeezed Hyun Gyujin’s hand a little tighter and moved his lips following that smile reflected in his two eyes.
“Actually… I like your face too….”
“Really?”
“…Yeah.”
With a quick tilt of his head, Hyun Gyujin playfully pleaded with Yuwon, who blushed and nodded in response. Hoping that his feelings would be conveyed well to Hyun Gyujin.
“From today, I’ll really take better care of my face.”
Laughter sparkled on his face in an instant. Yuwon just kept laughing. He just kept laughing because he felt so happy.
Hyun Gyujin was happy. He was softer than freshly baked waffles, sweeter than churros covered in sugar, and warmer than a tangy lemon tea.
* * *
They had walked the path together from the academy to home countless times, but today it felt particularly special. Even though the night breeze was quite chilly, it felt sweet. Not long ago, when he was going home alone, he couldn’t see his surroundings clearly and only thought about Hyun Gyujin the whole time, but strangely, now that he was with Hyun Gyujin, every little moment together felt special and caught his eye.
“Can I hold your hand even though there’s nobody around?”
Just as Yuwon glanced around at the quiet surroundings, he reached out his hand first and gently clasped Hyun Gyujin’s fingers. Since there was no one around, it seemed okay to him. Even in the cold night air, Hyun Gyujin’s hand felt remarkably warm. Even with just a slight touch of his fingers, Yuwon could feel it.
“Oh, something feels strange.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“What? Should we not hold hands? It’s still a bit… awkward…”
“Pa’r cba atja.”
Helfais obiibklcu atf tjcv atja rilqqfv jkjs, Lsec Xseplc jujlc fcmibrfv Tekbc’r tjcv lc tlr bkc.
“Qtfc beg tjcvr abemtfv pera cbk, la ofia… rlwlijg ab ktfc sbe abemtfv ws fjg yfobgf.”
“Qtfc P abemtfv sbeg fjg?”
“Tfjt. Qtfc sbe abemtfv ws qlfgmlcu.”
“Yt…”
“Pa ofia ragjcuf yjmx atfc. Olxf rbwfatlcu lamtlcu bc ws ybvs, yea P mbeivc’a afii ktfgf.”
Listening intently to Hyun Gyujin’s words, Yuwon lifted his head to look at Hyun Gyujin, meeting his gaze.
“I felt the same when you suddenly got close. My fingertips were tingling, even my toes…”
“Oh, right. Me too.”
“And my stomach was fluttering…”
As Yuwon started talking about his stomach, he felt a bit embarrassed and quickly shut his mouth. He realized belatedly that it might have been better not to bring up this topic. After feeling that flutter in his stomach, he knew too well what followed, what he wanted to do. It wasn’t something to bring up in front of Hyun Gyujin, but he stupidly blurted it out, feeling his ears burn.
“I felt the same when you touched my ear.”
“…”
“I thought it was strange at the time, but now that I think about it, I was totally riled up.”
Riled up…? Yuwon chewed on the somewhat unfamiliar word once more. Riled up. Rile… Even though he might be ignorant in that area, Yuwon could still easily understand a word that other kids occasionally used.
“Weird…! Stop… saying that… Are you crazy, seriously? What I said is completely different from what you’re saying now. I didn’t mean that… I’m not… like that.”
“Okay, okay. No, no. Our Jung Yuwon doesn’t even know such low-class words. Nah, of course not.”
“…I know, I know.”
Under the streetlight, Hyun Gyujin glanced at Yuwon’s reddened earlobe, moistening his lips as he looked up at the sky and took a deep breath. Yuwon looked so adorable he could just die.
“Where did you hear that kind of talk? I don’t remember saying that to you.”
“Kids use it sometimes. I’ve heard Choi Haeyeong use it, and Kim Junjae too. Like… being riled up as pleased or whatever…”
“Wow, that really doesn’t suit you, saying things like that.”
“Anyway, I didn’t mean it in that way. I really didn’t. Seriously, I didn’t.”
“Got it. Definitely not.”
How could he believe such a strong denial while Yuwon’s ears were red? But Hyun Gyujin decided to take Yuwon’s words at face value. Because it was Yuwon’s words. If it wasn’t Yuwon, it wasn’t true.
“Oh, we’re already here.”
Though they exchanged trivial conversation as usual, they hadn’t walked for long before they reached the front of the apartment. Hyun Gyujin continued to gently shake Yuwon’s hand as they entered the building together.
“Oh…”
They saw someone standing in front of the elevator. Yuwon quickly let go of the hand he was holding and awkwardly shifted his steps to stand behind the elderly woman. Hyun Gyujin also quietly stood next to Yuwon and subtly nudged his arm.
“First floor.”
As soon as the elevator reached the first floor, the doors opened and the lady stepped inside, pressing the button for the 13th floor. Although it was known to be the floor above, it was an apartment with such a well-separated layout that each floor had only one unit, and Hyun Gyujin had never seen it before.
Following the lady onto the elevator, Yuwon nodded politely and Hyun Gyujin did the same. The lady smiled at their kind voices. Hyun Gyujin stood Yuwon slightly away from the lady as if protecting him, then pressed only the button for the 6th floor.
“….”
“….”
Watching the numbers steadily rise as he held Yuwon’s hand until they entered the apartment building, Hyun Gyujin gently grabbed Yuwon’s hand again. Surprised, Yuwon quickly withdrew his hand and hid it behind his back.
Don’t… making gestures instead of speaking was too cute.
“No, I won’t.” He stubbornly conveyed his message with gestures, then grabbed Yuwon’s hand again as they reached the 6th floor.
“Goodbye.”
“Yes, goodbye.”
Yuwon, his face flushed, quickly bid farewell to the lady and fled the elevator as if escaping. Following Yuwon, Hyun Gyujin took Yuwon’s backpack off his shoulders.
“Shall we go to sleep? Today is the day of your aunt’s filming, according to your mom.”
“…That’s true but… Next time.”
“Why. Are you avoiding again?”
“No, it’s not avoiding… I just had a lot on my mind today. I wanted to think about each thing by myself…. If you’re here, I can’t think about those things at all.”
“Why can’t you think when I’m here?”
The question was playful, but it was clearly awaiting a definite answer. Yuwon looked up at Hyun Gyujin, waiting for his response, lips pursed. He hadn’t considered expressing his feelings for Hyun Gyujin aloud, so giving such a simple answer wasn’t easy.
It was only half a day since they started dating, so perhaps it was natural. In truth, it still didn’t feel real.
“…Whenever I’m with you, I keep thinking about you.”
“Isn’t that a good thing? Just think about handsome me.”
As his upper body leaned forward and his head tilted down slowly, Yuwon met Hyun Gyujin’s gaze as he approached. Yuwon grabbed his shoulders and pulled him closer, preventing him from getting any closer.
“Why are you pushing me away? It’s hurtful.”
“Oh, it’s… for safety… distance. You should… also be careful…”
Hyun Gyujin chuckled at the safety distance coming out of Yuwon’s mouth.
“Are you scared I’ll cause an accident?”
“…Not yet! I’m just not used to it yet. It’ll be okay once some time passes.”
“Yeah. It’s only been a day since we started dating. Got it. Let’s go in.”
Yuwon turned back and entered the password, then opened the door. After Hyun Gyujin placed the bag inside and came back out, he waved his hand.
“Starting tomorrow, will you go at the usual time you used to go to school?”
“Yeah.”
“See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah. I’ll text… you.”
“Just like this? When people date, they usually do kisses or something when they part.”
“Are you crazy? Stop saying weird things… Hurry, hurry, go. Bye!”
With his face and even his hands burning hot, Yuwon quickly said goodbye and closed the door. Outside the closed door, Hyun Gyujin’s laughter could still be heard.
“Babe, I’m leaving.”
…I must be crazy. Even though I wanted to run away from that spot because I was so embarrassed, I couldn’t take a step because I wanted to hear Hyun Gyujin leave a little longer.
Eventually, after hearing the sound of the elevator button being pressed, Yuwon was able to leave the entrance.
“….”
Carrying the heavy bag to his room, Yuwon took out clothes to change into and went straight to the bathroom to shower. After lathering up plenty of foam with a body wash that smelled warm, he rinsed off and came out. He warmed up some milk with a bit of honey and drank it, feeling the tension completely dissipate from his body.
Until yesterday, being alone in a big house would have made him feel empty and scared, but not today. He even felt lucky to be alone.
they are too cute for me ahh, i feel like an auntie seeing these cuties grow and talk!! hope you are liking the boys too :))
Ahh they are so cute it’s so not okay. I wanna pick them up and take them far away from this cruel world 😩❤
Thanks for the chapters
I love them 😍😍
They are such cuties! 😍
Thank you for the chapters
How in the world could the word angst be associated with then!!