Gentle Giant Chapter 72
“I know, I know! Juho, if there’s anything you want to do, write it all down. Let’s try everything one by one!”
“There’s no backing out of this, right? You’ll really do everything?”
“Of course. I’ll do everything you want to do, Juho!”
Dain took out a sheet of A4 paper and handed it to Juho. Juho started writing all sorts of lewd hopes with his heart’s handwriting on the pure white paper, but quickly stopped his imagination as the intensity kept rising.
He thought he should write down what he really wanted when Dain could actually do it all, and handed the paper back to Dain.
“Then I’ll think about it more carefully and write it down.”
“Really? Yeah, let’s do that.”
“So we’re starting to study from tomorrow?”
“Yeah, tomorrow is exactly two weeks before midterms, so the school library will be open 24 hours now. So it’ll be perfect timing when we come home after studying.”
Dain answered while checking the school library announcements on his phone.
However, there was something in Dain’s answer that didn’t sit well with him. Juho poked Dain’s cheek.
“Hyung, does the school library being open 24 hours have anything to do with us studying?”
“Huh? Of course it’s related. Now we can study at school straight through until dawn?”
“No. We can just study at home.”
“Ah, that’s not allowed!”
“…?”
Juho’s face became sullen at Dain’s head shake. It wasn’t like there was no space to study, and they weren’t going to study while looking for books, so he couldn’t understand why they had to study at school.
Seeing his displeased expression, Dain fidgeted with his fingers. If he said what he was thinking now, Juho would definitely be surprised. He might even be dumbfounded, wondering why his head was filled with only such thoughts.
“What? Hyung, why? Why won’t you do it at home?”
“That’s because.”
“Because?”
“If we study at home, I’ll definitely… you…”
“Hyung will what to me? Hmm? I couldn’t hear well.”
After hesitating for a moment, Dain couldn’t look directly into Juho’s eyes because he felt guilty about many things, and continued speaking while only looking at his nape.
“I, I don’t think I’ll leave you alone, Juho. Think about it carefully, Juho. Late at night, studying alone with my boyfriend in one house, hmm? What man would just study quietly? If you’re next to me, I’d want to hold your hand, and if I hold your hand, I’d want to touch your face a bit, and then… I’d want our lips to bump into each other a bit, wouldn’t I? I’m not that much of a gentleman. I’m a very dangerous person.”
As he spoke, this seemed like a legitimate reason. This was all because he wanted to protect and cherish Juho’s cherry-like lips.
Although Dain put all his energy into this long explanation, Juho couldn’t hide his bursting laughter from the moment he heard the first sentence.
“Juho…?”
Feeling like he heard a deflating sound from somewhere, Dain slowly raised his head. Then he could see Juho’s face trying not to laugh loudly at a glance. He was covering his face, which had turned red from holding back laughter, with his hand and looking at the floor to avoid Dain’s eyes.
“It’s not, it’s not a funny story!”
“Ah, haha! Hyung! Wait, wait a moment. Let me catch my breath…”
“Uh, huh?”
Dain’s movements froze at the completely different reaction than he expected.
He had said it out of concern for Juho, but since Juho seemed to take it as a joke, his mood began to sink.
Meanwhile, Juho, who had been laughing while pondering over who was worrying about whom from what Dain had said, soon composed his expression when he saw how quiet Dain had become.
“Hyung, hyung?”
“Mm.”
“Did I laugh too much? I’m sorry.”
“No. Is, is this a funny story?”
“It’s not a funny story, no. Hyung, I really didn’t laugh because you were funny, but because you were cute!”
Seeing Dain’s eyes getting moist, Juho quickly changed his posture. He lifted Dain up and placed him on his lap, patting his back.
Dain, not even conscious that he was now sitting on Juho’s lap, bit his shoulder gently so it wouldn’t hurt.
“Every time I say something, you call it cute.”
“Because whatever you say is cute.”
“I said all that thinking of you, you know?”
“I know, I know. I know hyung said it thinking of me.”
“You don’t seem to know…”
“That’s why I laughed. I understand well what hyung is worried about.”
Dain lifted his face that had been hidden against Juho’s shoulder. His eyes were asking ‘Really?’
“But I’d be so happy if hyung touched me, so what’s wrong with that? We’re dating.”
“Still, we need to study…”
“Of course we do. Especially hyung needs to work even harder.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Dain’s head nodded up and down.
Because of his hands that couldn’t stay still when looking at Juho, there was over a 90% chance that not only Juho but also his own grades would be in danger.
He apparently had no talent for restraining his impulses toward Juho.
Juho also had a lot to think about after hearing Dain’s words.
If Dain wanted it, he would leave the house so he could study alone, but if he was told to leave, that would be extremely upsetting in its own way.
Well, thinking about this and that, he didn’t have confidence being alone without Dain.
“Then let’s study at the library. Ah, and we need to go buy a desk this week. If studying at the library gets too tough, we’ll have to do it at home.”
“It’s fine without a desk…”
“I need it. How bad is it for posture to do it at the dining table? Since I’m buying mine, I’m getting hyung’s too, so hyung just needs to pick out my desk.”
Juho cut off Dain’s words and quickly added reasons.
Dain nodded only after imagining tall Juho crouched over studying at the dining table. Juho would definitely need a custom desk even at home.
Dain’s eyes, which were about to examine Juho’s tall height once more, suddenly widened.
Strangely, unlike before, he was so close to Juho that he couldn’t take him in at a glance.
‘What?’
At the strange feeling, Dain pulled his body back and moved his gaze around.
At some point, his chest and Juho’s chest were pressed together without even an inch of gap, and his bottom was also touching something hard instead of a chair.
Dain’s eyes blinked rapidly. Putting together the situation he had just examined, the fact was derived that he was currently sitting demurely on top of Juho’s lap.
Eeek! Dain, who screamed internally, quickly climbed down from Juho’s solid thighs.
“How, how did I get on your lap!”
“Huh? You were so upset earlier. I hugged you and patted you, remember?”
“From then? What, I didn’t notice because it was so natural! You didn’t even make a struggling expression, Juho…!”
“Why would I make a struggling expression?”
“I’m so heavy! Didn’t your legs hurt?”
“What’s heavy about hyung?”
Juho said with a fresh smile. Not a trace of falsehood could be felt from that smile.
Dain recalled his last measured weight. It wasn’t a weight that could be called light even as a joke. At best, it would be ‘light for your build.’
“An, anyway, Juho. Don’t do that next time. Your legs will hurt.”
“My legs don’t hurt at all.”
“They don’t hurt now, but they might hurt at dinner later.”
“Then hyung can hug me.”
Juho looked at Dain with raised corners of his mouth and spread his arms. Dain quickly approached and hugged Juho’s head tightly.
Seeing Juho act cute toward him like this was so lovable. He felt like he was looking at a small, delicate little animal that he needed to carefully embrace.
* * *
This is why I didn’t want to. Juho’s eyebrows furrowed noticeably.
Today was the third day of studying with Dain at the school library.
From the first day they settled in the library, whenever they left their seats even briefly and returned, snacks like canned coffee, chocolate, and bread were invariably placed there. Dain, who was initially surprised to see the snacks, was now starting to show signs of being in a bad mood.
It wasn’t like they could guard their seats for hours on end either.
Juho couldn’t handle things according to his usual temperament because Dain was next to him, so he could only give ambiguous smiles.
As for Dain, it couldn’t feel good to experience his handsome boyfriend’s popularity in real time.
Moreover, even though they had chosen a place with as few people’s eyes as possible today, Juho’s seat resembled a convenience store.
Dain looked at Juho’s desk for a moment and then came back out to the hallway. He couldn’t make a loud fuss about feeling bad in front of other people.
As soon as Dain went outside, Juho quickly followed him. There clearly wasn’t a single student visible around, so where were they all coming from to bring things?
“Hyung!”
“Phew, the kids who gave those things don’t know that you have a boyfriend, right, Juho?”
“Ah, um. Probably not.”
“Right? There’s no way they’d give them knowing that, right?”
Their relationship was already famous within the school. Not only in the humanities building but other majors would have heard about it at least once.
However, there was also a famous saying among people who saw this couple: ‘Having a goalkeeper doesn’t mean no goals go in.’ The reaction was even more like this because the person dating Juho appeared to be a beast-man who wasn’t particularly better compared to them.
So students who had only been watching Juho, who usually had no openings, were competing to appeal to Juho, thinking this was their chance.
Dain grumbled while puffing his cheeks as if in a bad mood.
“Everyone knows he’s handsome.”
Juho chuckled at Dain’s muttering.
Honestly, he loved that Dain was jealous like this. If he had praised him with his usual clueless expression saying ‘Juho, you’re really popular, amazing!’ he would have been the one getting angry.
But how should he comfort Dain, who had gotten thoroughly upset?
Juho tapped the wall with his finger while choosing his words.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
