As soon as Yuwon finished speaking, Hyun Gyujin bent down, bringing his head closer to Yuwon. Even though his hair, styled to look effortlessly perfect that morning, was about to be messed up by Yuwon’s hands, he didn’t mind at all.
Yuwon smiled back at Hyun Gyujin, who approached with a delighted smile, and grabbed his handsome face with both hands, rubbing it affectionately as one would with a cute child.
“Hyun Gyujin, you’re so cute.”
“I watched some dating show with my mom before, and they said that if your partner looks cute to you, it’s over. You’re just stuck with them for life. There’s no escaping it.”
“Why would you be stuck? It just means you like them a lot, that’s why they look cute.”
“Do you really find me that cute?”
“Yeah, you’re cute.”
Yuwon gently petted Hyun Gyujin’s hair, careful not to mess it up too much, and then started fiddling with the small black earring on his earlobe. It always suited Hyun Gyujin so well. Though it often made him seem more rebellious and caused others to misjudge him.
“Your earring didn’t get caught today? It should be more noticeable since it’s black.”
“They periodically fuss over it, but usually, they just tell me to take it off. Earlier, the homeroom teacher just said, ‘Gyujin, your ear,’ and left it at that. Ah…. But wait a minute.”
The gentle touch on his earring and ear sent a sensation straight to his lower abdomen. Hyun Gyujin, looking quite troubled, could barely straighten up, struggling to smile. The peculiar feeling spreading between his legs made him think he should head home soon.
“Oh, your ears are red too.”
“That’s because you’re touching me so sensually.”
“I was just… doing what you were doing….”
“I’m really curious.”
“About what?”
“What it would be like if you seriously tried to touch me. It feels like this just from a casual touch, damn, what would it be like if you really tried?”
“What do you mean by seriously trying to touch you? Like this?”
Yuwon tilted his head slightly and raised his hand, slowly running it down Hyun Gyujin’s back. Even that touch elicited a consistent reaction from Hyun Gyujin. The discomfort in his pants was becoming unbearable. One more touch, and he felt he might impulsively drag Yuwon somewhere private and lose control.
“…Can you drink anything in the study room at the academy?”
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.
“Tfjt, bcis vglcxr. Sjalcu lr cba jiibkfv.”
“…P’ii yes sbe j rwbbatlf, rb ub lc jcv raevs. Tbe wera tjnf j iba ab vb.”
“Cgf sbe ublcu ragjluta tbwf?”
“Ft… P pera gfwfwyfgfv rbwfatlcu egufca.”
“Vbwfatlcu egufca? Qtja’r eq? Pr fnfgsatlcu bxjs ja tbwf?”
“Rb, la’r cba atja. Pa’r pera… P’ii afii sbe ijafg. Ojafg.”
Hyun Gyujin, dodging the question, went into the café right next to Yuwon’s academy building and bought a mango yogurt smoothie, which he handed to Yuwon.
“Until what time are you planning to study?”
“The study room closes at midnight. I’ll stay until then.”
“Okay. I’ll come by then.”
“It’s too….”
Yuwon started to say that it was late and that Hyun Gyujin didn’t have to come, but after a moment’s thought, he silently nodded. Even if he said not to come, Hyun Gyujin would still worry and insist on picking him up. It would be better to gratefully accept Hyun Gyujin’s kindness with a happy heart.
“Okay. I’ll message you 30 minutes before I leave.”
“Yeah. See you later.”
“See you later. Bye.”
Hyun Gyujin watched until Yuwon disappeared inside before turning and walking away quickly. What would normally take about 10 minutes to walk with Yuwon took him less than 5 minutes alone, and from there, he ran nonstop all the way home.
Running, Hyun Gyujin hoped the strange sensation building up in his body would calm down a bit, but his body refused to listen. Instead, it only reminded him of Yuwon’s repeated touches on his ears and back.
“Gyujin, you’re back? Oh my, what’s the hurry?”
“Just a moment, I need to do something quickly. I’ll be out soon, so don’t come in.”
Barely greeting his mom, Hyun Gyujin dashed to his room, throwing his bag carelessly onto the floor as soon as he entered. He opened a drawer and pulled out the hoodie Yuwon had borrowed a few days ago when he came over to study and felt cold. He buried his face in it.
“…Damn.”
It wasn’t very strong, but it still faintly smelled of Yuwon. Hyun Gyujin buried his mouth and nose in the hoodie, deeply inhaling Yuwon’s soft, warm scent as he moved his hand. Each breath brought an image of Yuwon’s face to his mind: the clear face quietly watching him, the face smiling with eyes crinkling, and the pale face looking up and calling his name, “Gyujin.”
“Ah…”
The chair slid back, and his head tilted. His hot breath mingled with the warm scent of Yuwon on the hoodie. With a deep exhale, Hyun Gyujin collapsed onto the desk. His damp fingers, hanging limply below the desk, trembled slightly.
It still felt like Yuwon’s warmth lingered on his earlobe. Although Yuwon’s touch held no particular intention, Hyun Gyujin had imbued it with meaning. Just recalling the soft touch on his earring made his lower abdomen tingle again.
Yuwon, who stirred his heart, mind, and body, had gone off to study alone. Heartless Jung Yuwon. Cold-hearted Jung Yuwon.
“….”
Incredibly beautiful Jung Yuwon.
A deep, heated breath escaped Hyun Gyujin’s lips again, overlaid with thoughts of Yuwon. Moving his damp hand once more, Hyun Gyujin buried his face in the hoodie, still filled with Yuwon’s scent.
***
Thanks to their hard work, both individually and together, they were able to finish their finals quite satisfactorily. If he hadn’t made any marking errors, his grades would likely improve compared to last time. Most importantly, Hyun Gyujin had also done well on his exams, similar to Yuwon. While Yuwon had studied alone, he had been worried about what Hyun Gyujin was doing, but it seemed Hyun Gyujin had managed to cram effectively.
Thanks to the good mood from finishing the exams well, Yuwon was able to prepare for his appointment with his tutor with great excitement. On Saturday morning, with a fluttering heart, he left a message for Lee Junseo before leaving home, letting him know he was on his way. His mother, who had come home late and was still half-asleep, came out to see him off, her eyes barely open.
Yuwon carefully declined his dad’s offer to drive him to the entrance of Hanguk University and left home with an excited heart, taking the elevator. It would have been convenient and nice to go by car, but today, he wanted to travel alone with Hyun Gyujin.
“You’re out early?”
Yuwon smiled, waving as he approached Hyun Gyujin, who was sitting on the railing of the front entrance stairs. It was their first time traveling this far alone together, and Yuwon had been excited and giddy since last night, unable to stop smiling.
“Are you that excited? You couldn’t even sleep until dawn?”
Right after the exams, Hyun Gyujin had been playing games with his friends until a little after 2 AM when he unexpectedly received a message from Yuwon, which surprised him. Yuwon had said goodnight around 12:30, so when he saw the message past 2 AM, he was worried something had happened and immediately called him, only to hear a cute response.
‘I’m too excited to sleep…. What do I do?’
After days of just going back and forth between home, school, and the academy, the thought of going somewhere further than the local department store near his house was incredibly thrilling. Hyun Gyujin had hastily removed his headset, ignoring the protests of his friends Choi Haeyoung and Kim Junjae, and lay down on his bed. He whispered various things to Yuwon until he fell asleep, prioritizing his boyfriend over his friends.
“Yeah, I’m really excited. It’s our first time going this far just the two of us. Usually, my mom or dad would take me wherever I needed to go.”
Seeing Yuwon’s face lit up with excitement, like a child going on a field trip, made Hyun Gyujin smile. He got up slowly and helped button up Yuwon’s coat.
“Aren’t you cold?”
“No. I’m wearing a thick hoodie underneath, and this coat is warm. I’m not cold at all.”
“You look great. It suits you. Are you going to get accepted into college today?”
Hyun Gyujin’s affectionate words and actions made Yuwon’s excitement and happiness even more palpable.
“Hmm?”
“Isn’t there an admissions category for face geniuses or something?”
Laughing out loud, Yuwon grabbed Hyun Gyujin’s arm as if to urge him to hurry.
“Then you’d be the first to get in.”
“Ah, of course, I’d be accepted first.”
Despite the cold December wind brushing their cheeks, their spreading smiles were warm. Yuwon, having exited the apartment complex, looked up at Hyun Gyujin at the crosswalk.
“What should we take to get there? If we take the bus from the stop in front of our school, it’ll take a little over an hour. The subway requires one transfer and takes about 40 minutes. Which one do you think is better?”
“You looked all that up?”
“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep…. And I didn’t want to wander around outside and be late. We can’t be late when the tutor is waiting for us.”
Hyun Gyujin, finding Yuwon endearing, gently pinched his cheek and looked at the road.
“We could take a taxi. Wouldn’t the subway be too tiring? If you’re on the bus for over an hour, you might get motion sickness.”
Yuwon knew exactly what Hyun Gyujin was worried about and why he was so concerned. It was because a few winters ago, Yuwon had taken the subway while feeling unwell and had experienced severe motion sickness from the hot air and the cramped space. However, that was several years ago, and Yuwon had become much healthier since then, so there wasn’t much to worry about now.
