Yuwon had no recollection whatsoever of what the drama was about or how his mother acted in it. Throughout the drama, he was completely captivated by the refreshing scent of body wash and shampoo emanating from Hyun Gyujin, who was sitting a little apart from him.
It wasn’t the first time Hyun Gyujin used the same shampoo and body wash as him when he slept over at their house, but for some reason, it bothered him more today. The guilt of Hyun Gyujin showering in the same bathroom where he had done something he shouldn’t have made him feel like he was going crazy, and he couldn’t lift his head out of sheer embarrassment.
“…,”
What made it worse was that he had tried to sleep, but he could hear Hyun Gyujin’s movements from under the bed. Every time he moved even a little, the sound of the sheets rustling made it impossible for him to lie still.
“Can’t sleep because the floor’s uncomfortable? Come up and sleep. You can sleep in my mom’s room or the guest room.”
“Yeah, but then there’s no point in me sleeping over at your place. Your house is huge, so what’s the point of sleeping so far apart?”
“…Then I’ll sleep on the floor, so I can come up and sleep.”
“Is that so.”
Even though he had put a good topper on, it was still uncomfortable to sleep on the floor compared to the bed, so Hyun Gyujin, thinking it might be better, got up with just the pillow and climbed up next to Yuwon. Naturally, he grabbed Yuwon’s shoulder, who was trying to get off the bed, and laid him back down.
“Just sleep. The bed is big enough.”
“…No.”
“What do you mean, no? Come on, we always used to share a bed.”
“Ugh… stop with the weird talk and move… Let me get off.”
As Yuwon tried to reluctantly get up and move, Hyun Gyujin rose again as if conceding to him. Then, he lay back down, looking up at the ceiling.
“You’re such a disappointment, Yuwon.”
“…It’s noisy. Just go to sleep.”
“You’re so rude, Jung Yuwon.”
“I know.”
“You know it’s just a joke, right?”
“I don’t know about that.”
A soft laughter was heard from under the bed. Following that light and refreshing laughter, Yuwon’s heart swelled.
His heart kept descending towards the sound under the bed on its own. Yuwon tried to control it, deliberately snuggling closer to the wall and pulling the blanket over himself as he closed his eyes.
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.
“I’m really going to sleep.”
“…Aecu Tekbc, jgf sbe jriffq?”
“…Xbbvcluta.”
Vbecvr bo abrrlcu jcv aegclcu kfgf tfjgv ogbw yftlcv. Zjsyf tf rtbeiv tjnf pera mbwf eq jcv rifqa abufatfg… Efugfa oibbvfv lc delmxis. Tekbc megifv eq ecvfg atf yijcxfa lc atf vjgxcfrr.
Ktf rlifca gbbw, atf vjgxcfrr fcnfibqlcu fnfgsatlcu klatbea atf uibk bo j yfvrlvf ijwq, jcv atf ilcufglcu uelia ralii milculcu ab tlr fcalgf ybvs.
Behind him, Hyun Gyujin.
A long exhale. A very long breath that suppressed the urge to move closer to where Hyun Gyujin was instead of the wall, driven by guilt towards his friend, inexplicable fluttering, and the impulse to approach him.
And so, Yuwon’s very long dawn began.
***
Tossing and turning until dawn, Yuwon finally fell asleep late. When he woke up in the quiet room, not knowing what time it was, the first thing he saw was Hyun Gyujin sleeping under the bed. Yuwon’s eyes widened in surprise.
“…,”
He had definitely slept as close to the wall as possible, but now he was lying in a position that seemed like he would fall off the bed if he moved just a little more.
Should he be relieved that he didn’t fall? Trying to push away his panic, Yuwon glanced at the deeply sleeping Hyun Gyujin lying opposite him.
“…,”
Even though it was a face he saw every day, it was one that naturally made him think, “handsome.” If only he would play fewer pranks. As Yuwon smiled at the face without any mischievousness when asleep, he unconsciously reached out and brushed aside the fringe covering the eyes.
Realizing what he had just done, Yuwon quickly withdrew his hand, almost simultaneously with Hyun Gyujin’s eyelids slowly rising. He should pretend to be asleep, but he was too surprised and forgot to close his eyes.
“What time is it?”
“Huh? Oh, I don’t know. Just a moment.”
As he tried to turn to look at the phone on the inside of the bed, he felt his body being pushed. Startled, Yuwon stumbled inward as Hyun Gyujin pushed himself up onto the bed, causing his lips to pucker in surprise.
“The floor is uncomfortable…”
Now lying on the bed with Hyun Gyujin due to the wave, Yuwon snuggled against the wall and checked the time, which was a little past ten.
“Is it past twelve?”
“No, it’s just past ten.”
“It’s morning… Let’s sleep more.”
“You… sleep more.”
“You too. There’s nothing to do.”
Hyun Gyujin, who had barely opened his eyes to put Yuwon to bed and lazily covered him with the blanket, fell asleep again. Yuwon, with the blanket draped over him and Hyun Gyujin’s arm on top of him, blinked his eyes for a moment without being able to catch his breath.
Barely regaining his senses, Yuwon gently removed Hyun Gyujin’s arm and the blanket, then sat up. He didn’t feel comfortable looking at his face, but irritated by how clingy he was without realizing it, Yuwon grabbed the fringe and pulled it slightly, causing the eyebrows to scrunch up. Chuckling softly at the reaction, Yuwon leaned against the wall.
With his knees together and his face halfway buried, Yuwon looked at the deeply sleeping face, which made his heart pound violently just by looking at it. He had hoped that after sleeping, everything would return to normal, and those inexplicable emotions that shouldn’t be felt towards a friend would disappear cleanly, but today, as usual, he was stuck in the same place.
What should I do, Gyujin? I feel really strange. The more I try to capture Hyun Gyujin in my eyes, the faster my heart beats. In the end, Yuwon buried his face completely into the knees where Hyun Gyujin’s touch still lingered.
It was a Sunday that was both exciting and awkward, peaceful yet tumultuous.
***
Unable to resist Yuwon’s charisma, Hyun Gyujin, who was doing tutoring homework, only moved his eyes when he heard someone calling Yuwon, confirming the location of the voice.
There was a stranger standing at the front door, looking at Yuwon. No, upon closer inspection, it was a face he had seen somewhere before. Where had he seen it? Soon, Friday night at the academy came to mind. It was that guy, Yoon Sung or something.
“Oh, Yoon Sung! Come in.”
The gaze that had been fixed on the front door slowly shifted to Yoon Sung as Yuwon gestured for him to come in. He seemed to be smiling, with his cheeks looking round.
Without a clue, Yoon Sung walked into the classroom and sat in the front row next to Yuwon. Then he offered something to Yuwon. It was a notebook and strawberry milk. Hyun Gyujin, blatantly resting his chin on his hand, looked at the two of them.
Although it wasn’t clear what conversation was happening, whenever Yoon Sung said something, Yuwon nodded continuously. Seeing the round back of his head nodding incessantly made Hyun Gyujin feel a bit annoyed for no reason.
Yoon Sung, who said something with a smile, stood up from his seat and shook Yuwon’s hand once. Yuwon also seemed to shake hands with him several times. Although he didn’t hear it, it seemed like he said “bye” at some point, which also annoyed him a bit. Hyun Gyujin, who stood up from his seat, headed towards Yuwon’s desk.
“Academy?”
“Oh… Yeah. He borrowed my study notes.”
“This.”
Hyun Gyujin, who flicked the strawberry milk on the desk, sat on the adjacent desk.
“He said he bought it to give it to me when he went to the cafeteria.”
“Why?”
“Just because he remembered that I like sweet things.”
“That’s it.”
Hyun Gyujin, who muttered his last words almost like a soliloquy, asked while eyeing the strawberry milk, “What’s his last name?”
“Um… Lee Yoon Sung.”
“Are you going to drink that now?”
“No… later. I don’t really feel like drinking it now.”
“Then I’ll drink it and get you another one later. I’m thirsty.”
It seemed like he was somehow picking a fight or getting angry, but Yuwon, upon seeing Hyun Gyujin looking perfectly fine, nodded his head.
“But you don’t like strawberry milk.”
“I do. From today.”
Hyun Gyujin, with a pointed lip where the strawberry milk was poured, drank the milk as if showing off to Yuwon. Then, holding up the empty milk carton, he stood up straight.
“After third period, at the school store.”
“Yeah.”
Hyun Gyujin, who went to the back of the classroom, crumpled the milk carton and tossed it into the trash can. He quite liked chocolate milk and didn’t mind banana milk, but he never liked strawberry milk because it tasted artificial. And that sentiment remained unchanged today. The lukewarm taste left a bad feeling in his mouth.
The thought of cigarettes popped into his head. He wanted it more than ever. But with break time almost over, it was ambiguous whether he should go smoke. If he skipped class for that one thing, he would receive an earful from Yuwon. Well, he could just listen to it, but what he really hated was disappointing Yuwon.
Hyun Gyujin fiddled with the cigarettes and lighter in his uniform pocket, then withdrew his hand. He approached Yuwon again. Gripping the desk, he tilted his head and looked up at him.
“Do you have any candy or something?”
After a moment of thought, Yuwon took out a half-eaten caramel stick from his uniform jacket pocket. Yuwon, who unconsciously unwrapped the rectangular yellow caramel, took one out and peeled off the packaging, then fed it to Hyun Gyujin’s mouth. It wasn’t something he had planned to do, but the habit he had developed since childhood was truly terrifying. After feeling the caramel being placed into Hyun Gyujin’s mouth, touching his lips slightly as he withdrew his hand, Yuwon regretted his reflexive action. His hand felt hot as if it had absorbed all the warmth in the world. Yuwon quickly pulled his hand away and hid it under his thigh.
“Thank you.”
Taking the yellow caramel wrapper from Yuwon’s hand, Hyun Gyujin went back to the back of the classroom and threw it onto the strawberry milk carton lying on the floor. The yellow paper fluttered down onto the milk carton.
At the same time, a sour lemon flavor spread in his mouth, completely masking the unpleasant taste that Lee Yoon Sung had given him.
sour candy for the sour man