#025
Jiwoon let out a hollow laugh and soon sat up. Perhaps because he had taken a nap uncharacteristically, his body felt extremely sluggish.
After rubbing his face vigorously, Jiwoon filled the bathtub with water. After soaking his body thoroughly and coming out of the bathroom feeling much more refreshed, a delicious smell was coming from the kitchen.
When he went to the kitchen, Yechan hurried over and led Jiwoon to the dining table. The two quickly finished their late dinner.
Since the exams were over, the two spent time watching a famous variety show and laughing mindlessly. Then they didn’t lie down in bed until nearly midnight.
However, both were wide awake. Yechan, lying in bed, whispered toward Jiwoon.
“Are you really going to sleep? Really?”
“Haa…”
Eventually, Jiwoon decided to give in once more to Yechan, who kept tapping his palm and chattering away constantly.
The play continued until dawn, and the two fell into sweet sleep until late afternoon.
* * *
The two, who had slept like corpses, quickly got ready as soon as they woke up and headed straight to a restaurant. The Korean beef on the grill was golden brown.
“You’re hungry, right? Eat a lot, hyung.”
“I will. Life and death depends on it right now.”
Me too. Yechan giggled in response and moved several more pieces of beef to Jiwoon’s side.
Jiwoon ate the beef that the server had grilled properly in a combative manner. Only after eating rice and cold noodles as well did he finally feel the reality of being alive.
After completely emptying even the plum tea that came for dessert, the two called a taxi. Tomorrow was Monday.
“Send me the car number.”
Jiwoon, who had been blinking for a moment, soon sent Yechan the license plate number of the taxi he had called. For Jiwoon, it was the first time in his life hearing such words, so it was fascinating.
He’ll be well-loved when he gets a girlfriend. At the thought that suddenly came to mind, Jiwoon’s mouth, which had been full of only sweetness until now, turned slightly bitter. Yechan, who opened the door to the back seat of Jiwoon’s taxi that arrived first, greeted him.
“Take care, hyung. If you feel sick anywhere, tell me right away.”
“Okay. Go inside.”
Yechan looked at Jiwoon who had gotten in the taxi, smiled brightly, and closed the car door. Tang, the sound of the door closing was cheerful.
As soon as Jiwoon arrived home, he went straight to bed.
Yesterday he had been so sleepy, but today, even though he had eaten so much food, sleep wouldn’t come easily. Jiwoon, who had been thinking about his and Yechan’s relationship evolving from just ordinary close sunbae-hubae to close enough sunbae-hubae to kiss all night, kicked off his blanket.
Ha. Jiwoon chuckled briefly and soon folded away his thoughts, throwing them into the bottom of the pit inside him.
Then he repeated to himself several times. Don’t be greedy. This much was enough for Jiwoon. It had to be.
Yechan thought about Jiwoon while showering. Jiwoon was someone who accurately recognized and understood his worries, and ultimately made his concerns scatter away like petals.
Now Jiwoon was starting to scatter away not just psychological concerns but even physical ones. Yechan’s lips curved upward. He suddenly thought of Jiwoon, who would be sleeping alone at home with no one around by now.
Yechan fiddled with his phone and soon fell asleep.
* * *
Now that finals were over, what remained was vacation. The school ahead of vacation was bustling. Except for the third-year classrooms that had become sensitive due to the approaching Suneung and hot weather, the unique energy of high school students was vibrant throughout the school.
“It’s hot enough to die, but how do they go around like that?”
Kim Minho, who was looking out the window while eating lunch and enjoying the air conditioning, suddenly said. Outside the window, several couples could be seen walking through the courtyard holding hands tightly. Some kids were even linking arms.
“Don’t you know the power of love? You don’t know because you don’t have a girlfriend?”
“I’m in the middle of a thing with someone.”
“What? With who?”
At Minho’s thunderbolt-like words, Taehyun let out a scream-like sound and jumped up. Minho grinned and answered triumphantly.
“She’s in class 6.”
“What? You didn’t say a single word until now, when exactly did this start?”
“It’s been a week.”
“Not an AI crush, right?”
“AI, really. It’s real though?”
Minho, who straightened his shoulders and stuck out his chest, snorted and showed Taehyun a photo of a short-haired girl in school uniform. Taehyun, who had his mouth wide open, clutched his stomach and said as if he couldn’t believe it.
“Holy shit, is this real? That’s impossible. Ah! My stomach fucking hurts. Hey, introduce me to her friends.”
“You can’t, Taehyun-ah. Maybe if it were Yechan.”
Minho firmly refused. Fuck. Taehyun cursed and sighed, then soon stood with one leg bent.
“It’s okay, I’m going to the beach this summer and play with cool noonas.”
“Those noonas are going to play with you?”
At those words, Taehyun finally lunged at Minho. Die, die! As Taehyun put him in a headlock and gave him knuckle punches on his head, Minho didn’t back down either and responded with back smashes.
Smack! A sharp sound echoed through the classroom. Taehyun, who made an “aah” sound, released the headlock and moved away.
“Yechan-ah. Want to go to the beach during vacation? His friends are interested in you.”
“Not going.”
To Minho’s question as he giggled, Yechan answered dryly. Taehyun had already returned to his seat and grabbed Yechan’s shoulders, shaking him.
“Kim Minho, this bastard, he’s going to introduce you but acts reluctant. Hey, Seo Yechan. Let’s go, let’s go!”
“I said I’m not going.”
Yechan brushed off Taehyun’s hands with an annoyed face. Then Taehyun slumped down and grabbed Yechan’s calf.
“Let’s go! Think of it as saving someone’s life and come with us, huh, huh? Just once! Really!”
“Yeah, you two go.”
“Going with just Taehyun won’t work. Then the girls won’t come.”
“Crazy. It’s fucking pride-damaging but I can’t argue back. Hey, please let’s go. Please, Seo Yechan. Huh? We haven’t even played together since becoming second-years. Let’s check out some good restaurants too while we’re at it. Huh?”
Taehyun almost rolled on the floor while clinging to Yechan’s calf. Yechan, who was about to refuse immediately again, hesitated for a moment.
These two had kept asking him to go to PC rooms together despite his persistent refusals every time. Remembering that, Yechan fell into thought for a moment.
“Let’s go. If you’re really uncomfortable with the girls, we can just go by ourselves. We really haven’t been able to hang out.”
At Minho’s rather serious expression and careful suggestion, Yechan eventually answered reluctantly.
“I have to check my schedule. The academy might not take a break during vacation.”
Yechan, who spent vacation with the same daily routine as during the semester anyway since it was vacation in name only, had to attend academy classes. Moreover, there were often new special lectures on weekends during vacation, so he did need to check his schedule if he wanted to go out and play.
“Then if you have time, you’re definitely going! Preferably with the girls included! Ah, starting today I’m going to pray for your academy to fail.”
“See, Taehyun-ah. You’re not confident without Yechan either?”
“Want to die? I’m praying for your thing to fail too.”
“Cruel. That’s not called praying, that’s called cursing.”
“Whatever. Ah, it’s going to be fucking fun. Let’s eat sashimi and knife-cut noodles.”
“I want to eat pork belly though.”
“What pork belly at the beach?”
Vacation hasn’t even started yet. Yechan chuckled watching the two who were excited about playing.
From the next day, Taehyun sang about the beach every day. Like the saying goes, even flower songs get old after a couple times, Yechan quickly got sick of such Taehyun and studied with earphones plugging his ears that felt like they might bleed.
Not long after, the final exam rankings came out. The number written on the tag the homeroom teacher handed out was 2. Yechan sat down after answering Taehyun’s question about how it went half-heartedly.
Suddenly he remembered Jiwoon’s voice saying to think of the dropped ranking as motivation. As soon as break time came, Yechan texted Jiwoon.
Me: Hyung I got 2nd place ã… ã… Â Â
Lee Jiwoon: You did well Â
Me: I’m going to restore it to original state from next time I absolutely won’t get sick Â
Lee Jiwoon: ã…‹ã…‹ã…‹ 1st place suits you Â
While Jiwoon smiled at Yechan’s competitive spirit, Yechan smiled satisfactorily, pleased with Jiwoon’s evaluation of him.
Me: Did hyung’s rank go up? Â
Lee Jiwoon: 9Â Â
Me: You did well Â
Lee Jiwoon: That’s it? Â
Me: You really did well, amazing hyung Â
Lee Jiwoon: I know Â
Me: ã…‹ã…‹ã…‹ã…‹ã…‹ã…‹ Congratulations I’ll buy you something delicious Â
Me: Is this weekend okay? Â
Lee Jiwoon: ㅇㅇ Â
Me: Good let’s go eat something delicious Â
Lee Jiwoon: Okay Â
It was Yechan who couldn’t meet Jiwoon all weekend last week because he had to spend time with his mother. His lips curved upward.
Yechan naturally thought about what would happen after the meal. His heart was already beating with anticipation.
The time spent with Jiwoon was no different from before. They went home together twice a week and snacked together during lunch or cleaning time.
However, the only day they could do that ‘play’ was weekends. Neither of them expressed it in words, but it was an implicit rule between Jiwoon and Yechan.
Yechan had thought he was sexually plain until now. It was just that very occasionally, there were often days when his body would get excited for unbearably long periods due to the influence of adolescent hormones.
Since it was a natural physical change, Yechan didn’t think much about it either. Of course, it was a bit disappointing that he always had to resolve it insufficiently, but even so, Yechan wasn’t mentally weak enough to be swayed by his body.
However, after tasting pleasure with another person, the greed that his brain created on its own often swept over Yechan. Impulses that arose like inertia shook him morning and evening.
Thanks to that, Yechan had been in a difficult state for the past few days. And that was why. He had pestered Jiwoon for more intimate play.
Of course, when Yechan said those words, he was half-joking, half-serious. He was just curious. And he wanted it.
In that situation, Jiwoon’s words telling him to come back when he was older were a bit disappointing… but therefore even more satisfying. He felt like he had been promised that Jiwoon would continue playing with him until then.
Yechan absolutely did not regret playing around with Jiwoon. Although the other person was Jiwoon, it was something he would have had to experience someday anyway, so even more so.
Rather, he thought it was fortunate he didn’t experience it during his senior year. Also, right now Yechan had no intention of filling the place that Jiwoon was filling with someone else.
A relationship defined by the name girlfriend was only burdensome to Yechan. He didn’t really know what love was, and didn’t want to know for a while.
Most of all, there was no need for that right now. Wasn’t Jiwoon there?
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
