This morning, he and Hyun Gyujin went to school together, but it wasn’t as comfortable as before. Literally, they just walked to school together, that’s it. There were no light-hearted jokes or banter, and of course, no laughter.
As time passed like this, by the time they were in their third year and in different classes… he felt like they’d just become those friends who used to know each other for a while. He had often thought that after spending such a long time together, no matter what happened, Hyun Gyujin would always remain unchanged and forever a friend. But seeing that stability shaken made him feel uneasy.
Of course, it felt even worse because I was the one who caused that stability to shake.
Resting his legs on the stand and burying his face in them, Yuwon let out a sigh that seemed to have increased lately… Exhaling deeply.
“Why are you sighing like that?”
Startled by the warm and gentle feeling spreading through his neck, Yuwon raised his head to see Hyun Gyujin standing in front of him. Hyun Gyujin had been looking down at him whenever he arrived.
“……”
Yuwon’s gaze, wavering with uncertainty as it rested on Hyun Gyujin, eventually landed on the hand near his face. The moment he saw the hand that had just grasped his neck, his toes curled up inside his sneakers once again.
“Look at you, talking back even after hearing me. Really, Jung Yuwon, you’re shameless.”
Hyun Gyujin, who had casually plopped down beside Yuwon, raised his hand and, just like before, grabbed Yuwon’s neck. Despite the playful words and actions, Yuwon’s shoulders involuntarily tensed up.
Yuwon tried his best not to show anything. But as the large hand gently wrapped around his neck and the long fingers brushed against his chin, his stomach fluttered noticeably. Unconsciously, Yuwon removed Hyun Gyujin’s hand and got up from his seat, leaving the stand. It was clearly a fleeing gesture.
“Hey, Jung Yuwon!”
Feeling Hyun Gyujin following from behind, Yuwon, feeling flustered, entered the central hallway and ran along the empty corridor. Then, he entered the teacher’s restroom at the end of the first floor.
“……”
He didn’t think about what the situation was or what he should do next. But one thing was certain: he absolutely couldn’t get caught reacting strangely to his friend’s touch. Yuwon looked around the empty restroom stalls and entered the one at the far end, closing the door behind him.
“This is unreal.”
But before locking the door, it suddenly swung open again. Yuwon, holding the door, involuntarily stepped back as he looked at Hyun Gyujin standing there. As if amazed by Yuwon’s reaction, Hyun Gyujin let out a short breath.
“Jung Yuwon, what are you doing?”
“…It’s just…”
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.
“Why are you running away?”
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“Fine, let’s just talk frankly.”
“Later, can’t we do it later?”
“No, we can’t. Are you trying to dodge again?”
“No, that’s not it…”
“I saw it clearly with my own eyes. What’s going on? You ran as soon as you saw me.”
The situation was incredibly awkward. It was natural for Hyun Gyujin to be angry like this, but he couldn’t say anything. Honestly, unless he spoke up, he felt like he couldn’t clear up his misunderstandings.
“What did I do wrong to you?”
“…It’s not like…that…”
“If it’s not that, then what?”
“……”
“You’re silent again. I really tried to think things through on my own, but despite the few times we’ve fought over trivial matters, you’ve never unilaterally avoided me like this. I can’t grasp any feelings because everything that comes to mind is unbelievable, damn it.”
In the already quiet restroom and corridor, even quieter without any students passing by during class, Hyun Gyujin’s voice echoed. Trying to calm down as much as possible and wanting to speak, but after bursting out what had been pent up inside, it wasn’t easy to calm his mind.
“I tried to wait patiently for as long as I could. I thought there must be a reason, that you would tell me when the time came, but what was that just now? Why do you keep…”
As Hyun Gyujin, still holding the door, turned his head to look towards the closed restroom door, faint but distinct footsteps could be heard approaching. If someone had come this far, it was clear they intended to use the restroom. Hyun Gyujin took out a sign that read ‘Under Repair’ from the opposite cubicle containing cleaning supplies and placed it in front of the door before entering the cubicle where Yuwon was and locking the door.
“What are you…”
“Shh. Someone’s coming.”
There was nothing good about being alone together in the teachers’ restroom, especially during class time. Hyun Gyujin stood facing Yuwon inside the cramped cubicle, listening intently outside the door. Soon enough, as expected, the sound of the restroom door opening rang out.
“…”
“…”
Whoever it was, the sound of humming and the loud rush of water from the sink echoed. For Yuwon, being in this situation, standing so close to Hyun Gyujin as if their bodies might touch, was more awkward than being caught by the teacher outside.
The strange sensation returned to Yuwon’s stomach, which had already been unsettled by just the touch on the neck. Odd feelings crept in again. Even the shoulder of Hyun Gyujin right in front of him, the coat hanger visible just by lifting his gaze slightly, the sensitive expression directed at the wall where the sound came from, all these things troubled Yuwon. Moreover, Hyun Gyujin…smelled too good. It seemed to come from his gym clothes or perhaps from the neck area.
Yuwon awkwardly lowered his hand, which had been up, and extended it forward to cover the long gym top unnecessarily. Maybe because it had been a long time since Yuwon had been this close to Hyun Gyujin, a strange sensation gathered in his lower abdomen. If things continued like this, a sense of guilt akin to having dreamed of Hyun Gyujin’s dream might arise.
“…”
“…”
The buzzing sound was heard from outside the door, and soon a familiar voice echoed. The moment they realized it was the PE teacher, their eyes met. Standing there quietly, they listened to the meaningless conversation between the PE teacher and someone else outside, trying to suppress their breath.
Although the day wasn’t particularly hot, being trapped in such a narrow space with tension seemed to raise the temperature everywhere. Frustrated, Yuwon raised his hand to grab the front of the gym top. Hyun Gyujin’s gaze, which had flickered once with Yuwon’s unnatural movement, fell unnaturally on Yuwon’s hand. It was hard to understand why he was lifting the gym top and stretching it down.
“Why are you doing that…”
Hyun Gyujin, who was whispering so softly that his voice was drowned out by the PE teacher’s, grabbed Yuwon’s hand, which was stretching out the gym top.
“…”
“…”
Yuwon’s hand was trembling. Hyun Gyujin finally lifted his gaze from Yuwon’s hand and caught sight of his heavily blushing face. Seeing the trembling pupils, flushed cheeks and ears, and neck, he finally came to his senses.
He had been trying to approach Yuwon again to smooth things over, but seeing Yuwon suddenly stand up and walk away, his frustration exploded, causing him to forget the important matter at hand and get upset.
Yuwon suddenly avoiding and distancing himself could be one of two reasons. Either he had come to intensely dislike Hyun Gyujin, or… he had started to like him. Hyun Gyujin had been patiently waiting for days, trying to keep his temper in check, but he had forgotten about that in this crucial moment and was just being petulant.
“…”
“…”
The PE teacher’s call dragged on. Since it was already free time, they would probably come in lazily and not pay much attention to the fact that Yuwon and he had disappeared from the field. They might not even notice they were gone.
Even if they did notice, it wasn’t important to Hyun Gyujin right now. What mattered was not some PE teacher, but Yuwon, who was standing before him in a completely unfamiliar state. Hyun Gyujin approached Yuwon a little closer.
“Umm…”
Leaning back against the wall and trembling even more, Yuwon raised his hand and pushed Hyun Gyujin’s shoulder. Hyun Gyujin moved even closer to Yuwon and trapped him between himself and the wall. Then, he grabbed the hem of Yuwon’s gym top that had slipped and lifted it slightly.
“This is really just in case…”
“…”
“You…”
“…”
“Are you hard?”
Startled by the words ringing in his ears, Yuwon pushed Hyun Gyujin’s shoulder a little harder. Hyun Gyujin, willingly stepping back, finally sighed deeply at the sound of the footsteps signaling his exit from the restroom. Yuwon was now completely bent over with his face buried in his knees.
“Let’s go out. Let’s talk outside.”
“You go.”
“I don’t want to. I have something to say. And you have something to say to me too.”
“Hurry… Get out…”
With a choked voice Yuown mumbled, Hyun Gyujin reluctantly opened the door and stepped out of the cubicle. After returning the sign saying “Under Repair” back to the storage and heading towards the sink, he locked the restroom door altogether. It seemed inevitable that it would take some time for Yuwon to come out, so he had no choice.
“…”
Ah, I should have just kept it to myself. Damn it. Why did I ask? Jung Yuwon must have been surprised. I’ve never brought up such a topic before.
He realized that despite spending every day together, he had never engaged in that kind of intimate conversation with Yuwon. When he was around kids like Kim Junjae or Choi Haeyeong, those topics always seemed to come up naturally, but with Yuwon, it had never even crossed his mind.
Perhaps it was because he had witnessed those perverted individuals eyeing Yuwon in that disturbing manner so frequently, making him acutely aware of how repulsive and vile it was. He found himself rinsing his fingertips, almost as if trying to cleanse himself of the burning sensation, even though all he had done was touch the hem of Yuwon’s gym top. Yet, his fingertips still felt uncomfortably hot.
