“Jaeyoon, spit it out!”
Jung Jinhoo said, extending his hand, but Jaeyoon shook his head in refusal. Jaeyoon, who never carelessly discarded food unless it was something strange like an insect, swallowed the muffin and looked at Lee Minho with a cold expression.
“S-Sorry…!”
Did you just feed me that? As Jaeyoon conveyed with his eyes, Lee Minho apologized once more. I’m sorry!
“What did you… what did you do to the bread?”
“It’s something my junior in the club made… a muffin made with dark chocolate, spinach, cheese, coffee… and ground herbs.”
“…What are you doing to food?”
Why make a delicious muffin unpleasant on purpose? Dessert Club, do you want to fight with desserts? Are you going to sue for defamation of dessert?
Jaeyoon, who was surprisingly serious about food, didn’t hesitate to get angry at a high school student, unlike his usual self.
Although harsh words weren’t audible, Lee Minho, who clearly understood what Jaeyoon was thinking just from his gaze, smiled awkwardly and apologized repeatedly.
“It’s a school tradition to serve creative desserts at the Cherry Blossom Festival… I’m sorry, Jaeyoon.”
This one is fine. What Lee Minho offered as an apology was a pink macaron with a cat drawn on it. That’s cute. After staring at the cat intently, Jaeyoon gazed at Lee Minho with eyes full of suspicion. This one is really fine! Though he couldn’t trust Lee Minho’s words, the cat was cute.
Carefully removing the plastic wrap, Jaeyoon hesitated for a moment before taking a bite of the macaron. Jaeyoon’s eyes widened. The sweet and sour strawberry flavor, cream that tasted like white chocolate, and dark chocolate in the middle. Plus, the soft and fluffy texture!
“Delicious.”
Jaeyoon, who was looking at the macaron with sparkling eyes as it completely washed away the taste of the muffin he had eaten earlier, offered it to Jung Jinhoo, who was staring at him blankly.
“Huh?!”
“Sunbae, this is really delicious. Try a bite.”
“B-But…!”
“Do you trust me??”
Jung Jinhoo, who had been flustered, rolling his eyes around, eventually closed his eyes tightly and carefully took a bite of the macaron. Munch, munch. Jaeyoon smiled as he watched Jung Jinhoo eating the macaron, moving his reddened cheeks.
“How is it? Delicious, right?”
“…Yes.”
When Jung Jinhoo nodded slowly, Jaeyoon showed a satisfied expression. Who made this? Turning his head to look at Lee Minho, Jaeyoon frowned at the sight of Lee Minho frozen with a surprised expression.
What’s wrong with him?
When Jaeyoon raised his hand and waved it in front of Lee Minho’s face, Lee Minho snapped back to his senses and looked at Jaeyoon and Jung Jinhoo with a complex and subtle expression.
“Jaeyoon, are you two possibly…”
“Hmm?”
You two, what?
As Jaeyoon stared at him, Lee Minho stopped mid-sentence and closed his mouth. After blinking his deep green eyes rapidly with a momentarily confused expression, Lee Minho soon smiled and said it was nothing.
“I made that.”
“Oh? Really…?”
Come to think of it, he had a setting of being good at cooking. A promising talent they say…
Remembering the setting he had forgotten, or rather hadn’t been particularly interested in, Jaeyoon said it was delicious and put the rest of the macaron in his mouth in one go.
“I’m glad you liked it.”
“Make everything else like this too. Please.”
“Hahaha.”
‘Why are you avoiding my eyes? Are you still planning to do more of that?’
When Jaeyoon narrowed his eyes and glared, Lee Minho hurriedly took out various flavored macarons from his arms, placed them on the table, greeted Jaeyoon, and quickly ran away.
‘Should I go stop him before the Cherry Blossom Festival begins…?’
Jaeyoon seriously contemplated whether he should go stop the Dessert Club’s rampage to prevent victims other than himself as he watched Lee Minho’s retreating figure. No one’s going to be carried away, right?
“Sunbae, has anyone ever been taken away in an ambulance after eating something made by the Dessert Club during the festival…?”
“…Ah…”
What kind of reaction is that?!
After rolling his eyes and thinking for a moment, Jung Jinhoo soon smiled slightly and answered.
“No.”
“Thank goodness.”
“But there were people who lost consciousness.”
“What…? What did you just say…?”
“But they regained consciousness quickly, so they weren’t taken away in an ambulance.”
Looking at Jung Jinhoo smiling brightly, Jaeyoon made up his mind.
‘I must stop them… absolutely!’
***
“Hmm-.”
Jaeyoon looked intently at the beautifully displayed snacks in various colors. They all look delicious. He unconsciously swallowed his saliva.
Jaeyoon’s role in the festival preparation was to choose the desserts and tea to be served during the festival. Recalling how the class president had handed him the budget with a wink, knowing Jaeyoon was knowledgeable about food, he smiled slightly.
Since we’re doing a tea cafe, it might be good to choose Korean snacks that people don’t usually have access to. Of course, within the budget.
But Jaeyoon wasn’t too worried about the budget. Thanks to the school he was attending being set as a rich school in the game, the budget exceeded the level of a typical high school festival. There was little chance of running out of budget.
‘Unless we really do a seafood restaurant…’
Jaeyoon picked up and ate a vibrant red raspberry fruit jelly from the tasting corner. He quite liked the jelly-like texture of the sweet and sour fruit.
“Sunbae, how about this?”
Jaeyoon picked up another raspberry fruit jelly and handed it to Jung Jinhoo, who was looking around at various snacks. Ah, when Jaeyoon made a gesture of opening his mouth, Jung Jinhoo hesitated for a moment before carefully accepting and eating the fruit jelly.
‘He’s cute. It feels like giving treats to a puppy.’
Jung Jinhoo nodded his head in a sign of approval. Jaeyoon smiled at that and picked up a handful of boxes containing the fruit jelly.
“And for the others, walnut jeongwa and…”
Jaeyoon frowned while looking at the jeungpyeon and baekseolgi. Jeungpyeon? Baekseolgi? After seriously contemplating for a moment, Jaeyoon decided to choose the jeungpyeon that he currently wanted to eat. It was a benefit of being in charge of shopping.
After picking up a handful of boxes containing jeungpyeon, Jaeyoon let out a small sigh as he noticed his arms trembling.
‘What a fragile body.’
I should exercise to build muscles and grow taller… This way, there are too many limitations in daily life…
As Jaeyoon gritted his teeth and extended his hand to the walnut jeongwa box while holding the other boxes in one hand, Jung Jinhoo took the boxes Jaeyoon was holding. Blinking blankly at his left hand that suddenly became lighter, Jaeyoon looked at Jung Jinhoo. He makes it look so light. Unlike when he was holding them, Jung Jinhoo looked stable, which made Jaeyoon laugh dejectedly.
“Sunbae, I can carry them.”
“It’s okay.”
“No, still…!”
“Your hand and arm haven’t fully healed yet, right? You shouldn’t overdo it.”
At Jung Jinhoo’s firm attitude, Jaeyoon sighed slightly and smiled. Thank you. At Jaeyoon’s words, a smile formed on Jung Jinhoo’s lips. Is it my imagination that he looks happy, straightening his shoulders…?
Jaeyoon picked up several boxes containing walnut jeongwa and headed to the checkout counter with Jung Jinhoo. Watching the amount steadily increasing, Jaeyoon made sure not to forget to ask the clerk for a receipt.
With their hands full of snacks, the two headed to the tea shop located next door.
‘It’s convenient being nearby.’
Jaeyoon put down the bags on one side and waddled over to the Korean tea section. Jung Jinhoo watched with a gentle smile as Jaeyoon intently looked at various lists, choosing teas. The sight of him furrowing his brow and seriously selecting teas looked quite adorable.
“Ssanghwacha… no. This isn’t it.”
Shaking his head, Jaeyoon chose the persimmon leaf tea, yuzu tea, and sujeonggwa that he had thought of in advance.
After paying and leaving the store, Jaeyoon’s hands became even heavier.
Jaeyoon, who had stubbornly refused Jung Jinhoo’s offer to carry everything, eventually entrusted him with two relatively light bags as Jung Jinhoo wouldn’t give up.
“Sunbae, you said you needed art supplies, right?”
“Yes, most of the paints I’ve been using are almost gone.”
Jaeyoon, who was going out to buy traditional Korean snacks for the festival at the class president’s request, ran into Jung Jinhoo at the main gate, who was also going out to buy paint for festival preparation. Thanks to that, they didn’t have to shop alone and lonely.
“Then shall we go to the art supply store?”
Jung Jinhoo nodded with a smile at Jaeyoon, who was smiling brightly. This way. Jaeyoon’s feet stopped abruptly as he walked in the direction Jung Jinhoo pointed. Oh no…, Jaeyoon’s brow automatically creased. What’s wrong? When Jung Jinhoo asked with a puzzled expression, Jaeyoon shook his head from side to side.
“Sunbae, if you’re not in a hurry, shall we rest a bit? That cafe over there looks nice…”
“I don’t… mind…”
Jung Jinhoo’s gaze turned to where Jaeyoon had just been looking. At that, Jaeyoon quickly grabbed Jung Jinhoo’s arm and led him to the cafe. Come on, let’s go~ As a thank you, I’ll buy you a drink! I’ll buy it for you. No, I absolutely can’t yield on this one.
He couldn’t accept a drink after making someone carry heavy luggage. Jaeyoon wasn’t that unconscientious a person.
Jaeyoon’s blue eyes glanced toward the alley and then quickly turned away. So they do this outside of school too. Dangerously. He erased from his mind the image of Kim Yeonwoo and Kim Doha kissing each other, leaning against the dark alley.
‘I can’t show such indecent things to the pure Jinhoo Sunbae.’
Ding-.
The bell attached to the cafe door rang with a refreshing sound. Jaeyoon, who was smiling with a relieved expression, unconsciously frowned at the sight of a red-haired figure turning around after receiving a drink. Why is everyone in town today?
Im Hangyeol, who was bringing the straw to his mouth, opened his eyes wide when he spotted Jaeyoon standing at the cafe door.
“You!”
As Im Hangyeol approached, pointing his finger at Jaeyoon, he noticed Jung Jinhoo standing behind Jaeyoon and quickly put on the brakes. Appreciating in real-time how Im Hangyeol’s face turned pale, Jaeyoon took a step back and stuck close to Jung Jinhoo’s side. I don’t like troublesome things.
Im Hangyeol looked back and forth between Jung Jinhoo and Jaeyoon. Im Hangyeol’s orange eyes shook as if there was an earthquake. After gulping down his saliva, Im Hangyeol eventually gave up on picking a fight with Jaeyoon and left the cafe, kicking the door open while walking sideways, pressed against the wall to avoid Jung Jinhoo.
‘Being thrown once was that shocking, huh.’
Jaeyoon waved his hand at Im Hangyeol’s retreating figure, who was running at full speed regardless of whether coffee was spilling from his hand or not, and then smiled brightly at Jung Jinhoo.
“What would you like to drink?”
“Hmm-.”
After quietly looking at the cafe menu, Jung Jinhoo lifted his head to look at Jaeyoon and said:
“Iced Americano.”
“Okay, I’ll be right back after ordering.”
After putting down the luggage at the table, Jaeyoon ordered an iced Americano for Jung Jinhoo, a cafe mocha for himself, and a blueberry cheesecake.
While standing near the counter waiting for the ordered drinks and cake, Jaeyoon rolled his eyes slightly to look at Jung Jinhoo sitting by the window. The sight of Jung Jinhoo resting his chin on his hand and looking outside was like a scene from a movie. He’s handsome even with his bangs covering his face.
Jaeyoon, who received the drinks and cake from the clerk, returned to the table where Jung Jinhoo was sitting. I’ll enjoy it. Jaeyoon smiled slightly at Jung Jinhoo, who spoke with a bright smile.
“Eat the cake too.”
Just as Jaeyoon was handing a fork to Jung Jinhoo, the vibration sound of a phone rang from Jung Jinhoo’s pocket. Jung Jinhoo’s brow furrowed slightly as he checked who was calling.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing. I’ll just take this call and be right back.”
Jung Jinhoo smiled at Jaeyoon, then got up from his chair and went outside the cafe. Watching him move away from the cafe, Jaeyoon murmured, puzzled:
“What kind of call makes him act like that…?”
Drinking his cafe mocha and staring blankly out the window without touching the cake until Jung Jinhoo returned, Jaeyoon lifted his head with a bright smile at the sound of the store bell ringing. However, the person who entered the cafe wasn’t the one he was waiting for. His expression crumpled when he identified the person.
“Ah, Jaeyoon… hello?”
“…Hello…”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
