While doing homework at the academy, the chair in front of him was dragged with a screech. Yuwon looked up and alternately glanced at Kim Junjae and Choi Haeyeong, who were sitting in front of him. Though they were in the same class and often talked due to Hyun Gyujin, they felt more like “Hyun Gyujin’s friends” than his own.
“Hyun Gyujin got caught by the office.”
“Why?”
“Got caught for his piercing.”
“But he didn’t have it this morning.”
“He got caught right away. Literally within a minute. So hilarious, seriously.”
Seeing the two laughing while their friend was getting in trouble with the office, Yuwon turned back to the problem, checking the answers. It felt awkward since he rarely spent time with these two without Hyun Gyujin.
“Were you and Hyun kindergarten friends?”
“No, I knew him before that. We even did prenatal education together.”
“What? Hyun Gyujin didn’t benefit from prenatal education. If you two did the same thing, shouldn’t you two be similar?”
After checking the final answer, Yuwon closed the workbook and looked at Kim Junjae again. He felt like they were being glanced at from around. It seemed like people thought it was a bit awkward since they were the ones who goofed around and Yuwon wasn’t.
“I have a lot in common with Hyun Gyujin.”
“Oh yeah? I don’t see anything at all.”
“Really? Does it seem like that?”
“Yeah. From personalities to everything else, you guys are totally different. I’m curious how someone like you keeps hanging out with Hyun.”
“Hyun Gyujin is nice.”
Glancing between Choi Haeyeong and Kim Junjae, who were momentarily dumbfounded by his answer, he suddenly tilted his head and burst out laughing at the sight of the two. He couldn’t understand why they were laughing from the start.
“Hyun Gyujin is nice? Oh, right. Since you get along well with him. So why, when you’re at school studying, do you go home and beat Hyun Gyujin up?”
“Oh, damn. You’re insane. Hilarious. Can’t even imagine.”
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.
Yuwon thought Hyun Gyujin was mischievous but quite warm and affectionate as a friend. Of course, he knew he was the only one who thought that way about Hyun Gyujin. To others, Hyun Gyujin, who seemed more rough and fierce than Kim Junjae and Choi Haeyeong in front of him, would appear quite intimidating. Kim Junjae and Choi Haeyeong, who belonged to the group of playful kids, couldn’t stand up to Hyun Gyujin in critical situations.
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But those seniors didn’t know that Hyun Gyujin had been interested in sports since he was young and had mastered everything from taekwondo to kendo, boxing, and judo. Dealing with those punks trying to subdue him with brute force was nothing but child’s play.
That day, Hyun Gyujin easily subdued just two of them and waited for the next, but no one else dared to approach, so he just calmly left the storage. Since then, Hyun Gyujin had gained a reputation among them as a crazy person, and he never got involved in any further disputes.
Yuwon was the only person who could hit, scold, and push away Hyun Gyujin. It was not difficult for Yuwon at all, but to everyone else except Yuwon, it couldn’t help but feel quite amazing.
“Mongyu, are you going to the academy today?”
“Yeah. How did you know?”
“On the days you go to the academy, Hyun Gyujin always calls us. He wants to play games until your classes end. We are your substitutes.”
Every time the two laughed and moved, the smell of cigarettes wafted. It seemed like they, or rather even Hyun Gyujin, were caught smoking with the teacher and only Hyun Gyujin was the one who got caught.
“Hey, but your hands are really small. Spread them out.”
“My hands aren’t small…” Yuwon didn’t bother to reply and just lazily raised his hand to spread it out. Kim Junjae, who spread his hand next to Yuwon’s hand, looked at Choi Haeyeong.
“Your fingers are really thin.”
When the meaningless conversation became boring, they noticed Hyun Gyujin entering through the front door. Yuwon stiffened his face as he looked at him and waved his fingers as Hyun Gyujin approached.
“What the hell are you doing?”
As soon as Hyun Gyujin came, Kim Junjae, who was sitting, swung his leg and tilted his head. The classroom fell silent for a moment.
Yuwon quietly looked at Hyun Gyujin’s sensitive and annoyed face, which was rarely seen by anyone, especially himself. Surely Hyun Gyujin might also get angry and annoyed at Yuwon, but Hyun Gyujin had never shown such a face to him even once.
“What nonsense did you say to Jung Yuwon? Why are you holding hands?”
“… No, I didn’t hold hands. I just wanted to see how small his hands are.”
Seeing Hyun Gyujin’s reaction, Choi Haeyeong got up from his seat and quickly pulled Kim Junjae away. Yuwon, looking at them, shook his head and grabbed Hyun Gyujin’s wrist, who was still glaring at the two.
“You got caught for the piercing.”
Hyun Gyujin, who pulled the chair and sat back down to face Yuwon, nodded his head. The cold expression from earlier was nowhere to be found, and his face was now full of unfairness for getting caught and scolded by the teacher.
“Did you get scolded a lot?”
“Just a bit. They want to check on me after a month or something.”
“What will you do?”
“They won’t even remember after a month. Do they ever remember what they say? No, but what did those jerks say to you? Why did they come here and mess with you?”
“Just told me you went to the office.”
“If those guys talk to you, just ignore them. It’s just gossip, gossip.”
Looking at Hyun Gyujin gesturing towards his friend and laughing, Yuwon raised his eyebrows and met his eyes.
“If your friends gossip, then you gossip too.”
“Hey, don’t compare me to them. I’m not like that.”
“You hang out with them.”
“So, what about you hanging out with me?”
“So, that means hanging out with Kim Junjae or you is all the same to me.”
Yuwon, who had summarized it somewhat clearly, shifted his gaze towards Hyun Gyujin. Every time he saw the piercings on his earlobes, he felt like they must still hurt. He had never pierced his ears, nor did he plan to in the future, so he wouldn’t understand. Yuwon absentmindedly reached out and lightly squeezed Hyun Gyujin’s earlobe, tracing over the piercing mark.
“Doesn’t it hurt?”
“…Ow… Just a moment.”
Hyun Gyujin, feeling a shiver strong enough to be felt by Yuwon, quickly covered his ear with his hand. Yuwon silently waited for a response to Hyun Gyujin’s sudden action.
“Hey, you said we’d do this only when we’re alone.”
“…Are you crazy?”
“You touching my ear feels strange.”
“Why does touching your ears feel strange?”
Yuwon, not understanding the words, stared blankly as Hyun Gyujin’s hand approached. The warmth passed by his eyes was soon felt on his earlobe.
Feeling the pressure on his chubby and smooth earlobe and the sensation of being touched by fingertips, Yuwon’s spine tingled. His toes curled inside his white socks, and his waist automatically straightened.
“Isn’t it strange?”
“It’s… fine, I’m….”
Yuwon, trying to act normal, grabbed Hyun Gyujin’s wrist and gently pulled it back. It was a silent plea to quickly send him away, feeling like he shouldn’t be around Hyun Gyujin any longer, even though the next class teacher was about to come.
“Yes, yes. I’ll leave.”
Hyun Gyujin, pressing Yuwon’s head firmly with his warm hand, stuffed his hand into his pocket and returned to his seat. The sound of slippers being taken off beside him sounded unusually loud. Yuwon, more focused on the pounding of his heart, covered his ear, which had been touched by Hyun Gyujin’s hand, with his palm.
***
As soon as school ended, Hyun Gyujin and Yuwon headed not for home but for the private institute. They could have stopped by home, but that would make it difficult to have dinner comfortably, so on Wednesdays and Fridays, they often had dinner at the institute with Hyun Gyujin.
Since they had to choose a menu that wouldn’t take too long outside, they usually ate hamburgers, pizza, or fast food. Yuwon peeled off the wrapper of his hamburger and asked, bringing a long French fry closer to his mouth.
The freshly fried French fry was indeed delicious. Yuwon naturally opened his mouth towards Hyun Gyujin again. Seeing that Hyun Gyujin was about to give him another French fry after dipping it in ketchup, Yuwon smiled as he was fed.
“It’s delicious.”
“Eat a lot.”
“You too.”
After taking a bite of the burger with chicken patty, Yuwon nodded with satisfaction. Then he looked at Hyun Gyujin’s burger, which was different in size, thickness, and even in the size of a bite, and laughed.
Honestly, they are sooo cute and I just wanted to tell nicotine that I really really love the stories that you pick, I really loved warm boy and I don’t usually comment much sine I’m a silent reader but your stories make my day. Thank you for translating such amazing stories. ❤❤
omg thank you reading 🫶
❤❤