When Suhwan opened his eyes, bright sunlight poured over him. He blinked blankly as he stood there.
What was I doing here? Suhwan tilted his head in confusion, then let out a short groan, “Ah.”
I need to hurry. Today is the day I meet that boy.
He moved his legs that had momentarily stopped. The old school building, soon to undergo construction, was abandoned and no one entered it.
Suhwan shivered slightly at the gloomy atmosphere and found his way with familiarity. The last classroom after turning this corner. That boy was always there.
Suhwan stopped in front of the old door. Then he needlessly tidied his clothes. Although comparisons were inevitable, he still wanted to look as neat as possible in front of that boy.
Craning his neck, Suhwan peered into the classroom. His eyes moved restlessly. Soon, upon spotting someone, Suhwan froze in surprise.
A boy was sitting by the window. He was reading a book with one hand, his head lowered. Light brown hair fell over his tilted cheek.
The sunlight streaming through the window, even each dust particle floating in the air—everything seemed to exist just for the boy, fitting him perfectly like a painting. Looking at the beautiful face of the boy—who might have been mistaken for a fairy if not for wearing the same school uniform—Suhwan blinked blankly.
Then, the boy who had been reading with an expressionless face looked up.
“What are you doing there?”
“…!”
A voice as beautiful as his face resonated in Suhwan’s ears. Suhwan looked at him, startled. Then the boy made a small gesture as if calling him over.
At that, Suhwan approached him as if entranced. The boy’s face, which had been expressionless while reading, now held a sweet smile.
“Come here.”
“U-um, okay.”
Suhwan took the hand that the boy extended. Slender, snow-white fingers intertwined perfectly with Suhwan’s hand. Suhwan’s face turned bright red.
“You’re a bit late today.”
“Ah, I… I was on classroom duty today.”
“Is that so?”
A subtle smile hung on the boy’s lips as he tilted his head to the side and looked up. Suhwan stared at his face blankly once again.
“So, did you bring it?”
“Huh?”
Suhwan asked back, startled by the boy’s question. The boy’s eyes curved roundly.
“You said you’d give me a present.”
“Ah, the present.”
Belatedly remembering, Suhwan scratched his head awkwardly.
It hadn’t been long since he learned that today was the boy’s birthday. The boy, who had been extremely reserved since they first met, didn’t speak much about himself.
But after the boy, who had built strong walls against others, allowed only Suhwan by his side, Suhwan learned that his birthday was approaching.
So he had boldly promised to give him a present when they met today. After much deliberation, he ended up not bringing anything. It was because he couldn’t guess what the boy would like to receive.
“About that… Could you tell me if there’s something you want? I’ll definitely bring it next time.”
“Hmm.”
The boy made a considering sound at Suhwan’s question. Hearing that voice, Suhwan felt his heart tighten. He was anxious that the boy might hear his heart pounding loudly without any discretion.
After a moment, the boy looked up at Suhwan again and said:
“Can it be anything I want?”
“Uh…”
After rolling his eyes briefly, Suhwan reluctantly nodded.
“Yeah, but I don’t get much allowance. Just so you know…”
Suhwan’s family wasn’t particularly well-off, so it would be difficult if the boy wanted something expensive. Of course, the boy in front of him didn’t seem like he would trouble Suhwan that way, but he added the comment just in case.
The boy smiled, eyes curving, and spoke again.
“It’s okay. It doesn’t cost anything.”
“Really?”
Then what is it?
The boy gestured with his chin to the confused Suhwan.
“Sit here first. Don’t keep standing.”
“U-um, okay.”
Suhwan sat awkwardly beside the boy. Sitting by the window, their eye levels became similar.
But their hands remained intertwined. Suhwan was needlessly more conscious of that. So he failed to notice the boy’s face approaching.
“Would you close your eyes?”
“Huh?”
When Suhwan turned his eyes, the boy’s face was right in front of him. Suhwan was flustered. So he didn’t immediately understand what the boy had said.
“What did you say?”
“I said close your eyes.”
“…?”
Though puzzled, Suhwan soon obediently closed his eyes. He thought it was better to close his eyes than to keep looking at the surreal face right in front of him.
Soon, he felt something soft on his lips. Though he had never experienced it before, he instinctively knew what it was. It felt like the hair on the back of his head was standing up. Unconsciously, he tightened his grip on the hand he was holding.
“…How was it?”
As soon as he felt the lips detach, Suhwan opened his eyes. He looked at the boy with dreamy eyes.
How did it feel? Honestly, he couldn’t tell. The lips that had touched his were soft and tender. The emotion he felt then was simply impossible to define as one thing. It was because too many feelings swept over Suhwan all at once.
“I… don’t really know.”
As he inevitably evaded the answer, the boy smiled again with curved eyes.
“Then once more…”
“…!”
This time, the boy’s lips approached without warning. The fragrant scent brushing his nose made him dizzy.
Even though they just pressed their lips together, his body trembled uncontrollably. He couldn’t even breathe. Suhwan just closed his eyes tightly in confusion.
“…Open your eyes.”
“…”
“Suhwan.”
Even after the boy’s lips moved away, Suhwan couldn’t open his eyes for a while. At the boy’s quiet murmur, Suhwan slowly opened his eyes.
Brown eyes filled with a peculiar heat were staring at Suhwan. Looking at those eyes, Suhwan called the boy’s name with a trembling voice.
“Seunghyun…”
***
“…Ah.”
Suhwan, who opened his eyes with a start, blinked deliberately.
Just now… I think I had some kind of dream. When I opened my eyes, I couldn’t remember anything.
What was it…?
Though he couldn’t recall, the dream left a strange lingering feeling, and Suhwan exhaled quietly without even thinking of moving his body.
“…Senior.”
“Huh?”
At that moment, a white hand extended from behind and embraced Suhwan’s body. Startled, Suhwan looked back.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Huh? Oh.”
Seunghyun kissed the corner of Suhwan’s eye, his eyes curving. Suhwan, closing his eyes reflexively, recalled the events of last night.
“Senior?”
“S-Seunghyun… yesterday I… um…”
“…?”
Suhwan stuttered with a flustered face. He vaguely remembered confessing with a mind that wasn’t fully aware after being affected by Geonyul’s pheromones yesterday.
Why, why in that way… Couldn’t I have said it more impressively? Why did the confession of a lifetime end up like drunken ramblings?
Suhwan’s face turned red with embarrassment. And seeing this, Seunghyun’s eyes narrowed.
“Do you not remember what happened yesterday?”
“Huh? No, that’s not it…”
While his memories were intermittently cut off like being drunk after coming home, he didn’t completely forget. Seunghyun looked down at the embarrassed Suhwan and then smiled.
“Then that’s fine.”
With a soft kiss, Seunghyun’s eyes looked as if honey would drip from them. Suhwan’s face turned even redder.
That ungraceful confession from yesterday. Although it was done in a state of mind that wasn’t fully aware due to being attacked by Geonyul’s pheromones, the confession was sincere. So he didn’t regret confessing to Seunghyun itself.
“I’ll… definitely make you happy.”
Suhwan, who had possessed a foreign substance, said that to the main character. He had now decided to take the place of the main male character.
Suhwan recalled the contents of the original story that would soon unfold. Originally, around this time, Geonyul would rescue Seunghyun from Jin Suhwan and devotedly care for him to win his heart.
And Seunghyun, who had barely recovered his mind, would help his brother who had been researching a drug for a long time to develop a new medicine, which would become a groundbreaking drug to treat an epidemic that would spread in Europe around winter.
But with HS Pharmaceuticals in name only, they couldn’t distribute and sell the drug, let alone properly conduct clinical trials. In such a situation where they couldn’t do anything despite developing the drug, it was the main character, Ju Geonyul, who helped.
He persuaded his father, the chairman of Hansung, to help HS. He helped HS, whose trust had been shattered once, to conduct clinical trials and actively promoted getting approval for the drug. And it was Hansung that distributed the drug to Europe. It became the biggest investor for HS.
In that way, HS was revived, and suspicious points were discovered during the clinical trials and production process regarding the side effects of the previous new drug, so a reinvestigation was initiated. Eventually, HS completely cleared its name and regained its past glory.
Investing in the new drug that Seunghyun and his brother would soon create and clearing their name—couldn’t Hwamyeong, a conglomerate as large as Hansung, do that sufficiently? Suhwan’s face tilted slightly.
“Yes, please make me happy.”
“…!”
Lost in thought, Suhwan opened his eyes wide upon seeing Seunghyun’s face approaching. His fiancé, still possessing surreal looks, was smiling happily.
Yes, if he could protect this smiling face, Suhwan felt he could do anything.
“Seunghyun.”
“Senior Suhwan.”
The two, gazing at each other, carefully kissed. Though he had kissed Seunghyun many times, now it felt even more special. Perhaps because their feelings had connected. Suhwan closed his eyes and enjoyed the pleasant sensation.
“…But, senior.”
“Yes?”
Seunghyun, who had been gently caressing Suhwan’s cheek, spoke with a somewhat hesitant air. Suhwan, lost in the afterglow of the kiss, asked languidly.
“What is it?”
“What happened with Ju Geonyul?”
“…”
Here it comes. Suhwan’s body momentarily stiffened.
