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IF: ~Student Part 2~
Recently, Jeonggwan often felt like someone was watching him. During class, while eating, while cleaning. But when he turned toward where he felt the gaze coming from, strangely, there was no one looking at him. Just Won Junjae, quietly attending class, eating, or cleaning.
He wondered if perhaps Won Junjae had been looking at him, but thought that was unlikely. After all, Won Junjae was so different from him. Won Junjae was tall, handsome, and academically gifted—the kind of person everyone admired—while he was just someone who worried whether the rice cake skewers at the Strawberry Snack Shop in front of the school would be sold out.
So while he had a slight suspicion that Junjae might be watching him, he didn’t have the courage to ask anyone about it. Even if he asked his closest friend Jihoon, he expected to hear, “You? Won Junjae? Are you sick?” So he tried to ignore his suspicions and just remain the same rice-cake-skewer-eating kid he’d always been. He didn’t want to create problems where there weren’t any and become a clueless fat kid who didn’t know his place.
“…Are you the class monitor today?”
“Huh? Oh, y-yes.”
“Yes.”
But Junjae kept confusing him. He kept fueling Jeonggwan’s unlikely suspicions. Today’s class monitors were definitely himself and Hwang Jun, but suddenly Junjae was beside him, saying he was the monitor. He considered the possibility that perhaps Hwang Jun had simply asked Junjae to switch duties with him, but Hwang Jun and Junjae belonged to different social circles. Hwang Jun was one of the quieter kids who hung out with him and Jihoon. Besides, even if they were in the same group, no one in the class would dare ask Junjae to switch monitor duties. Unless Junjae had asked to switch.
…Could it be that Junjae had asked Hwang Jun to switch?
“Jun and I were planning to go to Strawberry Snack Shop after we finish…”
“…”
“He must have had something urgent and left first…”
Jeonggwan had never made plans to go to Strawberry Snack Shop with Jun today. He just… wanted to confirm his suspicions about Junjae’s behavior, how he had been hovering around him for the past few days. But even Jeonggwan didn’t know why he had blurted this out or what kind of reaction he was hoping to get from Junjae. It had just come out instinctively, without him realizing it.
But maybe because it was a lie, or maybe because of some unexplainable anticipation, though he tried not to show it, he could feel his heart pounding so loudly that he wondered if Junjae could hear it too.
“…”
However, for some reason, there was no reaction or answer from Junjae. Jeonggwan had deliberately spoken casually, as if talking to himself, in case this happened, but he hadn’t expected Junjae to have absolutely no reaction. Had he overreacted? What if Junjae actually had zero interest in him and was thinking “So what?” about what he said? Or what if Junjae interpreted it as an invitation to go to Strawberry Snack Shop together after cleaning and was thinking “What is this guy doing?” with a disgusted look?
Just as Jeonggwan’s mind was about to overload and explode:
“…You and Hwang Jun,”
“…Yes?”
“Are you close?”
Thump. Jeonggwan felt like his body and mind had hit something hard. It was as if he had casually thrown out a question wondering what the answer might be, and unexpectedly—no, perhaps more than he had expected—received a very precise correct answer. Because in Junjae’s eyes, which had avoided his gaze before meeting it again, he could sense jealousy that Junjae was trying but failing to hide.
“Huh? Well, just… because he’s close with Jihoon…”
“Sometimes? No, broadly… pork cutlet…” Jeonggwan’s mind had frozen, and he was just blurting out whatever came to his mouth. He had hoped for this kind of reaction, but now that it was actually happening, he didn’t know what to do.
“Ah, then…”
But Junjae also seemed extremely nervous, as he nodded at Jeonggwan’s random mention of pork cutlet, saying “I see.” Then, as if something else he wanted to ask had occurred to him, or perhaps this was what he had been more curious about all along, he opened his mouth somewhat urgently:
“Jeongtae, maybe with Jung Taekun…”
“…Yes?”
“Are you close…?”
Jung Taekun? Jeonggwan widened his eyes in surprise at the sudden mention of that annoying kid’s name. Why suddenly Jung Taekun…?
“No, that, PE…”
“PE…?”
“That, um…”
It seemed like Junjae wanted to explain in more detail, but either he didn’t know how to express it or felt awkward asking. As Jeonggwan watched Junjae hesitate, he suddenly recalled a recent incident.
Jung Taekun leaving something with him. Junjae’s gaze on that object. He had thought Junjae had just happened to glance that way…
“…I’m not close with Jung Taekun.”
“…”
“He always teases me… I don’t like him.”
“…Oh.”
Oh, really? Oh, I see. Seeing Junjae’s face visibly brighten at his answer, Jeonggwan struggled to hold back his rising cheeks. Really? Could it really be?
Could Won Junjae really…?
Dazed by Junjae’s attack asking him to question why he had kissed him, Jeonggwan held his head with his gloved hand. The venue was in chaos with screams, and even the panelists standing beside Junjae and Jeonggwan as coaches were covering their mouths with sparkling eyes, as if watching a scene from a youth drama.
“What, what’s going on…! What is this…!”
Even the MC, who should have been bringing order to the chaotic situation, was flustered and giving Junjae a look demanding an explanation. Junjae, who had dropped the bombshell and was just quietly smiling at Jeonggwan, finally opened his mouth.
“Jeonggwan.”
“…”
“That day, at the graduation ceremony…”
“…”
“I knew you weren’t really sleeping.”
“…What?”
Junjae’s voice was very calm as he calmly talked about the kiss incident everyone was curious about, but his hands inside the gloves, drenched in sweat, revealed just how nervous he actually was.
“But since you pretended not to know…”
“…”
“I thought… you rejected me.”
Junjae’s bitter smile looked somehow both sad and happy. Perhaps half hopeful that he hadn’t been rejected, half fearful that he would be definitively rejected now.
And Jeonggwan, looking at Junjae, didn’t know what to do with his astonishment. On graduation day, when everyone had gone to the auditorium. When Junjae approached him as he pretended to sleep, kissed him, and left, Jeonggwan thought his heart would burst. But because he had been pretending to sleep, he deliberately pretended not to know, pretended not to have seen even when he saw Junjae, and waited. But there was no further reaction from Junjae. Because of that, he thought Junjae had just played with him out of curiosity. So today he had called him to demand an apology for stealing his first kiss…
“I, I…”
“…”
“I thought you were playing with me…”
“What…?”
To think they had wasted a full year and a half because of their mutual misunderstanding. To think they would never have known the truth if they hadn’t applied for and appeared on this program. Jeonggwan was both bewildered and happy to learn that Junjae hadn’t been playing with him.
“That would never be possible.”
“…Really?”
“Yes. I still…”
“…”
“Like you, Jeonggwan.”
[Popular Board] Are You Strong Won Junjae Student x Kim Jeonggwan Student Home5 Month Post 2nd Round.
This is the anonymous board for fans of Are You Strong’s Won Junjae x Kim Jeonggwan.
Since Won Junjae and Kim Jeonggwan are ordinary people, we do not accept any hearsay or defamation.
Won Junjae and Kim Jeonggwan are “STUDENTS.” Excessive adult content is… *sound of harsh eraser*… *sound of harsh eraser*…
Enjoy.. your.. brain fantasies…
[9999 comments]
– Really… so sweet… so sweet…
– Why watch dramas? When we have this real drama restaurant here…
ㄴ Perfect from storyline to faces. A masterpiece. Tomato rating 9999.9999
ㄴ Despite being just high schoolers… making us all flutter…
– That person who was making predictions turned out to be right… stolen kiss at graduation… pretending not to know… the cliché of finally confirming feelings…
ㄴ That person must be either Junjae himself or his best friend…
ㄴ How is this real life…?
– Have you seen their Instagram? It’s absolutely insane.
ㄴ LOLOL Junjae student acts so differently from how he looks;
ㄴ I know; He’s a like-villain who likes all the comments Jeonggwan student leaves on Jihoon student’s Instagram…
ㄴ But isn’t Jeonggwan student’s amusement park photo really cute? I’d also carry him in my arms like in the picture…
ㄴ Carry… wouldn’t that be difficult…? The weight…
ㄴ Why are you putting down our chubby kitty?
ㄴ A pig wearing a pig hat LOL
ㄴ No defamation of regular participants allowed; what’s wrong with your character;
ㄴ It’s not defamation, it’s a fact LOL
ㄴ The unfunny fact is that your parents gave birth to and raised someone like you in this society.
ㄴ Wow… at this point, it might hurt less to just get your head cracked open…
– By the way, Junjae student is also rich… Why are all his casual clothes luxury brands…
ㄴ I think his dad is an executive at a major corporation…
ㄴ Crazy? He really has it all…
ㄴ But what’s even more impressive is… all his items have no visible logos…
ㄴ True… the fact that it’s absolutely not for showing off is so impressive… Is he really 18…?
– But they really give me that couple vibe from that novel LOL
ㄴ Oh, the one with the pig something?
ㄴ Yeah, that one.
ㄴ Ah, that was fun. I should reread it soon.
