#018
After finishing homeroom, Jiwoon stood at the entrance with gauze on both knees. Yechan’s fan necklace hung around his nape, exposed above his light pink t-shirt.
Yechan, who spotted Jiwoon receiving much more attention than usual, came running down the stairs with a clatter.
“Hyung, let’s go.”
Yechan, who had rushed over, grabbed Jiwoon’s wrist and pulled him along. At his unusually urgent attitude, Jiwoon’s eyes widened briefly before he moved his steps with a patter.
“Did you only hurt your knees?”
“Here too.”
When Jiwoon showed his palms, Yechan grabbed his hands firmly. Yechan, who frowned and carefully examined both palms, only let go after a long while.
I think I might get addicted to this. Some unknown emotion filled Jiwoon’s heart to the brim.
“Your hands seem okay. Are there any other injuries?”
“Nothing except my knees.”
“We’ll look at those at home. Want to take a taxi?”
“Let’s do that. I’m tired.”
The two caught a taxi that was just arriving and headed straight to Yechan’s house.
“Hyung, go wash up. I don’t think water should touch it. Should I give you waterproof bandages?”
“It’s not that bad. I’ll wash up and then look.”
Since they studied together every weekend, the two had brought a few comfortable clothes to each other’s houses as the weather got warmer.
Jiwoon, who went into the bathroom with his bag and clothes, quickly finished showering. His knee stung a little when water touched it, but it was bearable.
“Sit here, hyung.”
When Jiwoon came out to the living room wearing a loose t-shirt and shorts, Yechan, who had washed first and taken out a first aid kit, patted the sofa.
Jiwoon sat on the sofa while drying his still-wet hair with a towel. Yechan, who sat on the floor, removed the gauze and frowned.
While Yechan held alcohol swabs with tweezers and disinfected the wound, Jiwoon quietly stared at the white face focused on his knee. The face he had thought was just neatly handsome now looked quite fierce.
Jiwoon bit the inside of his mouth and tapped Yechan’s hair with the towel he had been using to dry his own hair.
“You didn’t even dry your hair, what were you doing?”
“Is my hair the problem right now?”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“This is the problem. Did you talk to the person who hit you? No, what kind of idiot keeps running at full speed even after crossing the finish line?”
At the harsh words that came from Yechan’s mouth, Jiwoon raised his hand and tapped Yechan’s lips.
“Don’t curse.”
“I don’t want to. Hyung curses too.”
“Hyung doesn’t curse. What’s cursing?”
Jiwoon spoke cheekily and hung the towel he had used to dry Yechan’s hair around his own neck. Yechan’s face was still fierce.
Am I into this type? Jiwoon leaned back on his arms and looked at the ceiling, trying to cool the heat rushing through him.
“So did the person who hit you apologize?”
“Yeah.”
“Ah… I’m still not satisfied. You’d hate it if I cursed?”
“Try it.”
Jiwoon grinned and said with intensity in his eyes:
“Try it if you can, Yechan.”
“…Never mind.”
Yechan, who saw Jiwoon’s eyes, sighed quietly. After finishing treatment on one knee, Yechan soon removed the wet gauze from the other knee.
At least this side was less injured. Yechan rubbed the alcohol swab with a much more relaxed expression.
“Ah!”
A sound burst from Jiwoon’s mouth at the sudden pain. It seemed to be a narrower but deeper wound.
“Does it hurt?”
“A little.”
“I don’t think it needs stitches, just bear with it a little.”
Yechan, who raised his head, examined Jiwoon’s frowning face. Yechan, who had been gazing at his slightly parted lips, soon raised his eyes to meet Jiwoon’s dissatisfied gaze.
“Something’s flowing.”
At Jiwoon’s words, Yechan lowered his gaze to the knee again. Liquid from the alcohol swab was flowing down his leg.
Yechan swept up the liquid that had flowed down to his ankle with his hand. Jiwoon stiffened as the hand traveled from ankle to calf to knee.
How can a man’s leg be this clean? As Yechan touched Jiwoon’s leg, which was white with sparse body hair and smooth, he suddenly remembered Jiwoon running the short-distance race today.
Thud, thud. Lee Jiwoon running like a swallow filled with water, kicking off the ground.
Yechan, who had wiped off the liquid, removed the alcohol swab from his leg. Jiwoon raised his arm to cover his eyes from the heat rushing to his lower abdomen.
Does it hurt a lot? No. Yechan’s touch was meticulous as he fanned the wound with his hand, applied ointment, and dressed it. After confirming the firmly attached bandage, Yechan stood up.
“It’s not as serious as I thought. But if it gets infected, you must go to the hospital then.”
“Yes, doctor.”
Jiwoon, whose body tension had relaxed, slumped onto the sofa. Yechan, who had organized the first aid kit, opened the refrigerator and brought ice cream.
Jiwoon scooped ice cream into his mouth. The heat that had warmed his body gradually cooled down.
Yechan sat next to Jiwoon and operated the TV remote.
“Yechan.”
Before the ice cream in his mouth completely melted, Jiwoon spoke while chewing. Yechan answered “Yes” while looking for content to watch.
“Congratulations on winning?”
“Ah…”
Yechan, who had maintained a stern expression throughout, finally smiled.
“Are you happy you won even with those legs?”
“Yeah, I’m happy. Won’t you congratulate me?”
Yechan, who had started playing an appropriate movie, scooped ice cream with a spoon and brought it to Jiwoon’s mouth.
His mouth, which had been emptying, was full again. Yechan looked at Jiwoon’s knee once more and said:
“Good job. Honestly, Class 2 won because of hyung.”
“Are you angry you didn’t win?”
“I’m not angry. Just disappointed.”
“I’m sooooo happy I won. What should I do about our Yechan being disappointed?”
Jiwoon grinned while chewing, either melting the ice cream or speaking.
His slightly raised eyes curved smoothly. At Jiwoon teasing him as if genuinely enjoying himself, Yechan sighed with bleary eyes.
“I’ll win next year.”
Yechan wiped the ice cream on Jiwoon’s lips with his thumb. Jiwoon felt both good and tormented by the decreasing distance day by day.
Yechan, who pulled out a tissue to wipe his finger, continued:
“Ah, hyung won’t be there next year. I’ll send you proof of victory, so just wait.”
“Yes, oppa.”
Yechan’s obsession with winning was cute. Jiwoon laughed out loud.
Yechan stared at such Jiwoon and tilted his head:
“That feels weird.”
“What does, oppa?”
At Jiwoon’s grinning question, Yechan shook his head and took a big scoop of ice cream.
In the movie, lovers were passionately kissing. Jiwoon, who was leaning against the sofa back and watching the TV screen, suddenly asked with his face full of mischief:
“But oppa, have you ever kissed?”
“Ah, don’t do that, hyung.”
At Yechan’s disgusted reaction, Jiwoon laughed “ahaha” and shook his body. Yechan lightly pushed Jiwoon with his shoulder. Jiwoon made an “eok” sound.
“Did you just hit a patient? This oppa is violent.”
“Ah, I really told you not to do that. It’s weird.”
Yechan said once more with a strange expression. Yechan, who had straightened Jiwoon’s tilted body, turned his head back to the TV.
“So, have you kissed? You said you only dated a girlfriend once.”
“I told you. How could I kiss when I didn’t even greet her?”
“So Yechan has never kissed even once?”
What? Really? Does that make sense? He’s eighteen? Jiwoon began teasing Yechan as if he had made up his mind.
Yechan glared at such Jiwoon. Jiwoon was looking at Yechan with wide eyes full of mischief, mouth open, giggling. Yechan was tormented by the urge to pinch Jiwoon.
“What should we do with our Yechan? Still haven’t even kissed yet.”
Jiwoon emphasized “still.” His expression of looking pitying while lowering his eyebrows seemed detestable.
“It’s not like you have to do it.”
Yechan grumpily replied and put ice cream in his mouth.
Ah, cute. Yechan’s reaction was amusing. Jiwoon decided to continue the teasing.
“Poor our Yechan… Seo Yechan who still hasn’t kissed…”
Jiwoon shook his head.
“…Hyung must be happy having done it a lot.”
“Happy. Very happy. To think you still haven’t experienced that good thing…”
At Jiwoon’s giggling attitude and childishly ridiculous words, Yechan had to feel like he was getting gradually annoyed. Finally, Jiwoon began laughing out loud with giggles.
“Very, extremely, too, really, completely good.”
The expression slowly disappeared from Yechan’s face. Really too cute.
Jiwoon hugged his knees to calm his body trembling from laughter. He bit his lower lip to hold back laughter at Yechan looking at him seriously, but his mouth corners had no intention of coming down.
Yechan usually didn’t have much emotional ups and downs. Jiwoon, who had wanted to see such Yechan sulk at least once, squinted his eyes and said again:
“It really feels amazing. Too bad Yechan doesn’t know.”
Jiwoon, who emphasized “doesn’t know,” tilted his head slightly. Yechan glared at such Jiwoon.
Ah, Seo Yechan is angry. Just when Jiwoon, who had been laughing for a while, thought he should stop.
Yechan suddenly asked:
“How good is it?”
“Huh?”
“How good, what kind of feeling is it when you kiss?”
“Can that be expressed in words? Ah, you really have to try this to know.”
The thought that he should stop disappeared in an instant. Jiwoon answered while giggling again.
Yechan glared at Jiwoon, even biting his lips.
What’s wrong with not knowing? Can’t I find out from now on? Yechan’s eyes were already directed toward Jiwoon’s smiling lips.
Yechan had no fantasies or yearning about first kisses. As long as he couldn’t understand the feeling of liking someone, kissing was just fleeting contact to Yechan.
But when the situation became like this, irritation surged up. The stubbornness that filled his brain had already pushed aside the fact that Lee Jiwoon was the same sex.
Unaware of such feelings in Yechan, Jiwoon burst into laughter again at the sharp gaze glaring at him.
Cute. Jiwoon, who had been making “ahaha” sounds, couldn’t overcome the sudden mischievous impulse and asked:
Of course, even while trying to pass it off as a joke, Jiwoon also knew. In fact, this was more the conclusion of curiosity and impulse boiling within him than mischievousness.
“Should I teach you?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
