64.
#Limits of Hiding
As soon as he arrived at the lecture hall and put down his bag, a message came in. It was Ui-hyeon. He was asking if Dawoon had properly come to school today and when his lectures would end. After giving a brief reply, he was about to sit down when a groan escaped his lips the moment his bottom touched the chair. He had thought it was bearable in Hayun’s car, but that was a misconception. The car seats were made of premium cushions, and the chauffeur’s driving was gentle, so there was almost no impact.
Thinking about it, there had been an extra cushion on the seat he had occupied. He had wondered about the sudden appearance of the cushion but didn’t ask because he didn’t want to interact with Hayun.
Could it be that he had purposely put it there for me? He chuckled at the suspicion that was almost a certainty. He thought this must be what they meant by “giving medicine after causing the illness.”
Fortunately, it wasn’t a three-hour consecutive lecture. Even so, the thought of having to sit for two hours made him break out in a cold sweat already.
“Will you be able to attend the lecture?” Hayun had asked on the way. At first, Dawoon thought it was a strange question, but it seemed Hayun had already anticipated this situation. Whenever he felt Hayun’s genuine concern for him, he experienced an indescribable feeling. It seemed like anger, or perhaps a tightness in his chest.
If only it had all been a dream.
Shaking his head at this vain hope, he turned on his tablet PC and opened the textbook.
“Jeong Dawoon!”
There was no need to confirm who the owner of the voice full of joy was. Na-eun, who had spotted Dawoon, sat down next to him.
“Were you sick? Why does your face look like that?”
Embarrassed by her immediate question, he rubbed his face with one hand. As she examined Dawoon’s complexion, asking if he had been very ill, her gaze inadvertently dropped and stopped at the turtleneck shirt that completely covered his neck.
“Can you show me the notes from the lecture I missed?”
He noticed her gaze but pretended not to and changed the subject.
“Oh, yeah. I actually organized and made a file to give to you. I’ll send it to you via messenger. If there’s anything you don’t understand after looking at it, just ask. I’ll explain it to you.”
She took out her tablet PC and searched for the file with the organized lecture content. Thanks to this, her suspicion about his covered neck was passed over.
***
After the lecture ended, he waited another hour to meet Ui-hyeon. It was because Ui-hyeon’s lecture ended then. As a result, lunchtime was delayed.
“No fish poop today?”
Ui-hyeon asked, looking behind Dawoon. Laughing weakly at the reference to Na-eun, he shook his head. She had actually asked to have lunch together, but when he said he’d have to wait an hour for Ui-hyeon, she got sulky and left with other friends.
“Did something happen with Na-eun?”
Usually, Na-eun wouldn’t have cared whether Ui-hyeon was there or not, but today her expression had hardened as soon as his name was mentioned.
“Huh? What do you mean? Nothing happened. All she ever talks about when she sees me is you anyway.”
Ui-hyeon was a bit different from usual too. While saying nothing had happened, he slightly averted his gaze from Dawoon.
“More importantly, aren’t you hot?”
He changed the subject, pointing at Dawoon’s neckline. The thin turtleneck shirt could easily slip down from the part covering the neck, so he had chosen a slightly thicker sweater, which was indeed hot. The temperature was higher than usual for April, with talks of abnormal weather patterns this year.
“Now that you mention it…”
Ui-hyeon narrowed his eyes and stared at Dawoon. Wondering what he wanted to say, Dawoon met his gaze, and Ui-hyeon’s eyes narrowed even further. A frown formed between his brows, and he pointed at Dawoon’s neck with his finger.
“You, that…”
He only got that far before suddenly lunging forward. Unprepared for this unexpected action, Dawoon couldn’t react immediately. Ui-hyeon’s outstretched hand grabbed and pulled at the turtleneck.
“…!”
After confirming Dawoon’s neck, Ui-hyeon gasped silently. His eyes widened as he looked at Dawoon’s face and then back down at his neck. Dawoon let out a small sigh and removed Ui-hyeon’s hand. While he was adjusting the neck part to cover it properly again, Ui-hyeon could only open and close his mouth without saying anything.
It must be awkward for him, not knowing what to ask.
Dawoon hadn’t expected to be able to hide it until the end. Na-eun and Ui-hyeon had already caught him when Hayun first left kiss marks, so he thought they would eventually become suspicious if he kept covering his neck like this. At least today, it was fortunate that Na-eun hadn’t come along.
“What on earth…”
Ui-hyeon finally managed to speak.
“Let’s go eat first. I don’t have much time until my next lecture.”
As Dawoon started walking, Ui-hyeon immediately followed. It seemed they would have to go outside the student cafeteria today. He wondered if there was a nearby restaurant with few people or private rooms. Given Ui-hyeon’s personality, now that he had seen it, he wouldn’t let this go this time. The situation was different from a simple kiss mark, so he would find it strange and be worried beyond mere curiosity.
How much could he say? How should he explain it?
No matter what, no matter how he tried to dress it up, it was something that anyone else would think was crazy.
“Don’t tell me your grandfather is abusing you?”
Dawoon chuckled at the question that came after much deliberation. Ui-hyeon knew that Dawoon’s grandfather didn’t like him and the reason for it. So it seemed he had let his imagination run wild, wondering if the bruises were from being hit.
“Aren’t I past the age of being abused?”
“What does age have to do with abuse? Haven’t you seen the news? How often do adults get locked up and abused?”
“How could I be abused when I don’t even live with my grandfather?”
“Well, that’s true. I don’t think your brother would stand by if that happened.”
Dawoon tensed involuntarily at the mention of Hayun. How would Ui-hyeon react if he said these marks were left by Jeong Hayun, whom even Lee Ui-hyeon firmly believed would always be on Dawoon’s side in any situation? Wouldn’t he say it’s nonsense, asking what rubbish Dawoon was talking about? That Jeong Hayun had no reason to do such a thing…
That’s why I don’t understand it either.
The more words he swallowed in his throat, the heavier his heart felt. Although he had suggested going to eat, he didn’t think he could swallow anything. Now he even wondered if Ui-hyeon would believe him if he told the truth. The image Jeong Hayun had built up over time was so perfect that Dawoon might just be treated like a crazy person.
The more he thought about it, the harder it became to breathe. Fearing he might hyperventilate, he rubbed his chest with his palm, but it didn’t help much.
“As long as there aren’t too many people, right?”
Ui-hyeon, who had correctly guessed the reason for wanting to eat outside, said he knew a place and pulled Dawoon along. Since it didn’t matter where they went, Dawoon silently followed him until they arrived at a shabby home-style restaurant. He didn’t even know such a place existed near the school.
“It looks like this on the outside, but the owner’s cooking skills are good. You don’t even need to choose a menu.”
Ui-hyeon explained, as if making excuses for the shabby entrance. It didn’t look like a restaurant college students would like, and as expected, the inside was really quiet. The owner, who was trimming vegetables at an empty table, didn’t even greet them properly, just asking if they had come. Still, she brought a water bottle and cups when Dawoon and Ui-hyeon sat at a corner table.
“Two servings?”
“Yes.”
That was all she asked. After she went into the kitchen to prepare the food, silence fell over the restaurant.
“She was like this the last time I came too.”
Dawoon nodded at Ui-hyeon’s words about the owner’s complete lack of interest in customers. He understood why Ui-hyeon had brought him here.
“Now explain,” Ui-hyeon said, sitting opposite Dawoon with his arms crossed, gesturing towards Dawoon’s neck with his eyes. In fact, such marks weren’t just on his neck. Dawoon had realized while showering yesterday that Hayun had left kiss marks all over his body.
“What is this all about? I mentioned abuse earlier, but it doesn’t look like injuries from being hit. Rather…”
Ui-hyeon swallowed the rest of his words and frowned. It seemed he had suspicions but wasn’t sure.
“Kiss marks,” Dawoon answered in a calm tone after pouring water into a cup and taking a sip. At this answer, Ui-hyeon’s frown deepened.
“Can you even call that a kiss? Did you sleep with a beast, not a person? It looks like you’ve been completely mauled. What kind of woman was it?”
Woman, huh. That word made Dawoon chuckle.
“Are you secretly going to some weird club without me knowing?”
Dawoon wondered what he was talking about now.
“Don’t tell me you actually have a taste for SM or something?”
Dawoon stared blankly at the increasingly outrageous suggestions. Realizing how absurd he sounded, Ui-hyeon waved his hand dismissively.
“How did you even get those? You don’t even have anyone you’re dating.”
Ui-hyeon was certain that Dawoon wasn’t dating anyone. He knew that much about Dawoon’s daily life.
“Ah, this is frustrating. I feel like I’m going to die from curiosity. Talk! Say something!”
As Dawoon just kept listening, Ui-hyeon seemed to be reaching the limits of his patience and pounded his chest with his fist. If this continued, he looked like he might get angry. That’s how sincerely worried he was.
“Hayun hyung,” Dawoon answered calmly.
Ui-hyeon froze at the response.
“What?”
He asked back, as if he hadn’t heard correctly.
“I’m saying Hayun hyung did this.”
Ui-hyeon’s face, which had been blinking with a blank expression, soon turned to shock. Seeing him unable to say anything, just twitching his gaping mouth, Dawoon couldn’t help but give a weak, mirthless laugh.
