Private tutor Lee Junseo was a second-year student at one of the most prestigious universities in South Korea. He was easy to understand in his explanations and would sometimes share interesting stories from his university life when time allowed, making tutoring sessions enjoyable for Yuwon.
“You two have been friends since childhood, but you still make the same mistakes. Did you know you both marked the wrong answer the same way? Both of you chose option 2. The real highlight is in the solution… Wow, you both made the same mistake here.”
Perhaps because he had been thinking about Hyun Gyujin all afternoon after the lunch break, it bothered Yuwon that their mistakes were somehow connected. Yuwon glanced at Hyun Gyujin’s expressionless face for a moment and then turned his gaze back to the problem sheet. His heart pounded again.
“Well, aside from this, you both did well. You got everything else right. I’ll go over the solution for the incorrect ones. You did well up to this point. However, you both overlooked the same thing here…”
Understanding where and what mistake had been made through detailed explanations, Yuwon wrote down the parts he got wrong in the error notes. Then, Lee Junseo solved a similar problem Yuwon had given him.
“Oh, well done. Both of you got it right this time. Let’s stop here for today. We still have 10 minutes, any questions?”
“Teacher, you mentioned last week that you were going on a blind date after tutoring. How did it go?”
“Oh, that. It’s progressing well. We agreed to meet again after today’s session. It’ll be our third date, and I plan to confess today.”
At the mention of confession, Yuwon leaned forward in his chair, pressing his body against the desk, looking at Lee Junseo. His heart pounded faster.
“Confessing after just a few meetings… Do you feel like you should confess?”
“Yeah. Even after just one talk, I feel like confessing. Oh, this feels really good, you know?”
“Wow… what do you like the most about her?”
“Well, the conversation flows well. Even if there’s no particular topic, the conversation just keeps going. Also, we both like eating, so just talking about that takes up an hour easily.”
“Wow… so, is the teacher getting a partner today?”
“As long as I don’t do anything crazy suddenly… maybe. I don’t know. To Juyeong, I might just seem like a friend who enjoys going to good restaurants.”
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.
“Ah… I hope it goes well. Fighting!”
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“Wow, sounds great!”
Lee Junseo, who patted Yuwon’s head while heaving a sigh, stood up. Smiling at Yuwon, who followed him out of the room, he said his goodbyes.
Following Lee Junseo’s farewell, Hyun Gyujin, who had been watching the back of the two leaving, sequentially observed their figures.
“Leave the questions I gave you earlier unanswered until the next class. Check what you don’t know and make notes. Gyujin, make sure to do them as well. You did really well by solving them today. Let’s make sure to finish them next time.”
“Yes.”
Seeing Hyun Gyujin, who seemed like he wouldn’t solve them, answer promptly, Lee Junseo left the room last.
“Goodbye.”
“Yeah, let’s meet again, Gyujin and Yuwon.”
Following Lee Junseo, Yuwon said goodbye again at the elevator, and after watching Yuwon enter the house, Hyun Gyujin put the file with the problem sheet on the kitchen table and sat on the sofa.
“Is it too much to just say goodbye at home? Why bother going to the extent of taking the elevator and all that?”
“Well, you have to. He came all the way to our house and it’s basic manners to escort him to the lift, don’t you think?”
“Yuwon, do you like Lee Junseo?”
Yuwon’s steps, heading to the living room with two chocolate milks from the refrigerator, came to a halt. He wondered what he had just heard.
“What?”
“When I leave, you only shake your hands and say goodbye.”
“Huh? Are you two same?”
“That’s why I am asking if you like him. You talk a lot in front of Lee Junseo and you even loved when he touched your hair.”
Suddenly, this seemed like a ridiculous argument. Yuwon handed a chocolate milk to Hyun Gyujin with a rough face. Hyun Gyujin, who received it with a straw, looked at Yuwon with a stern gaze.
“Let’s not quarrel, you go home quickly.”
“Don’t change the subject. Do you like Lee Junseo or not?”
“There’s no point in answering that. Why are you calling the teacher by his name, huh?”
“Oh, he’s Lee Junseo so I’m calling him like that. Just say you don’t like him. It’s that simple.”
No, why is he like this today? Although he had been aware of his persistent side for a long time, it was absurd and frustrating to witness him clinging to something unreasonable. While it might just end if he says he doesn’t like him, the question itself was absurd, and he didn’t want to answer such nonsense while being preoccupied with thoughts about himself all day.
“Fine, fine. I have to do some homework so you can stay until you feel like going home.”
“I won’t go home until I get an answer.”
“… Why are you like this today, really?”
“So are you. I have nothing to do, so I should get some sleep.”
After turning the hoodie back on and lying down on the sofa, Hyun Gyujin sighed and raised his head, watching Yuwon. Then, as if telling him to do as he pleased, Yuwon went into the room and closed the door. It was best to leave him alone when he was stubbornly insisting on something ridiculous like this. He, too, was approaching the age of adulthood at eighteen, and he could maintain his composure in dealing with Hyun Gyujin, who had become more stubborn.
“Jung Yuwon, do you like Lee Junseo?”
Sitting at the desk, Yuwon took out the problem sheet that needed to be solved by tomorrow, but the questions didn’t register in his mind. Instead, he couldn’t shake off the nonsensical words Hyun Gyujin had uttered a while ago. Yuwon pressed his lips with the sharp end of the pen, letting out a sigh.
Certainly, the private tutor seemed impressive in many ways. Attending a prestigious university, actively engaging in self-improvement, working part-time as a tutor, maintaining good grades, and on the brink of success in dating—how could he not be impressive? Lee Junseo was currently Yuwon’s closest object of admiration.
However, the nuance Hyun Gyujin conveyed was more like a perverted barbarian than admiration. Even though he had never experienced a romantic relationship, he could grasp that much.
“…”
Why would it matter how much I talk to the teacher? Sometimes, when the class ends early, we spend 5 or 10 minutes discussing university life or hearing interesting stories from the teacher. But did that warrant such a fuss?
And, why would I like having my head touched so much? I was just sitting there quietly... the more he thought about it, the more absurd and frustrating it became. Yuwon thought about Hyun Gyujin and absentmindedly played with his ears before collapsing onto the desk.
“Just say you don’t like him if you don’t.”
Why ask such an absurd question, and why want to hear such an answer? Is he afraid that I might have a crush ons someone who’s already taken? Or maybe… is it jealousy? Am I being overly friendly to the teacher and less so to him, sparking jealousy? Friends can get possessive if they’re too close; is that it? Does he want me to be close only to him?
“…”
Just thinking about it made his face feel hot. Yuwon suddenly felt warmth and stood up from the chair, opening the window. The cold November night breeze wrapped around Yuwon’s heated cheeks.
“…”
No, that couldn’t be it. If Hyun Gyujin was the type to get jealous and feel possessive, he wouldn’t hang out with playful friends like Kim Junjae and Choi Haeyoung. Although rare, there were times when they didn’t speak to each other for a week or ten days after a fight, but jealousy? Hyun Gyujin and he were just ordinary friends. Because of his weak health, he took care of him more visibly, but the emotions and thoughts inside were not much different from any other ordinary friendship.
Get a grip, Yuwon. Stop thinking about Hyun Gyujin. Trying to erase those thoughts, Hyun Gyujin’s face reappeared in Yuwon’s mind. Yuwon let out a long sigh and looked at the closed door, gazing at the window.
