After leaving the two people in the room, Lee Heejun walked slowly down the dormitory hallway. Where should I kill time? He planned to spend about an hour outside before returning. If I just give them a little push, they could start dating right away, right?
Originally, Heejun wasn’t the type to meddle in others’ affairs. He couldn’t care less about what other people did. But Jaeyoon kept bothering his mind. At first, he was concerned because Jaeyoon reminded him of himself with his unrequited love. But now it was the opposite. Unlike himself, Jaeyoon seemed capable of having a happy love, so he wanted to help. It was a sort of vicarious satisfaction.
[Heejun…?]
“Ah!”
Lost in thought, he had completely forgotten he was on a phone call. He had texted asking for a call, but then didn’t say anything once he received it—if the roles were reversed, he would have cursed out the other person.
“I’m sorry. I was heading outside.”
[Outside?]
“Yes, I needed an excuse to get out, so I asked you to call me. Thanks to you, I got out successfully. Thank you.”
[No problem. I’m glad I could help.]
Heejun stared at his phone screen for a moment. Isn’t he too nice? Won’t he get scammed someday at this rate? As he frowned slightly while glaring at his phone, the person on the other end called his name.
[Heejun?]
“Yes, what is it?”
[Nothing, you just suddenly went quiet…]
“I was going down the stairs. Hyungnim, where are you—”
As Heejun opened the glass door of the dormitory, he was startled to see the person in front of him and his eyes widened. After raising his head to confirm the person’s face, he quietly muttered, “Déjà vu?” The other person seemed quite surprised as well. Lee Minho, who had been blinking his dark green eyes blankly, awkwardly smiled, lowered the phone from his ear, and greeted him.
“So you were in the dormitory?”
“Yes, Lee Jaeyoon…”
“What about Jaeyoon?”
Heejun quickly shut his mouth. If I tell him Jaeyoon is sick, he’ll rush over right away, right? Then not only would their intimate time together be ruined, but Jaeyoon might collapse with an even higher fever from worrying about Hyungnim—the worst possible scenario. Having finished his thought, he shook his head from side to side.
“It’s nothing.”
“Huh?”
“I was just delivering pudding to Lee Jaeyoon.”
“Pudding? Did Jaeyoon say he wanted pudding?”
Seeing Minho looking ready to rush to the convenience store immediately, Heejun quickly shook his head from side to side. This hyungnim really has a brother complex.
“No. There was a buy-one-get-one-free sale, and it was too much for me to eat alone, so I shared.”
Of course, it was a lie. But Heejun smoothly told the lie without changing his expression. He couldn’t tell if this skill was innate or if he had become proficient from telling so many lies to hide his unrequited love for so long.
“All of this because of that Sim Jaeha bastard…”
“Sim Jaeha…?”
“Just talking to myself.”
Minho stared at him blankly before his eyes curved gently into a smile. I see. Seeing Minho accept whatever he said without suspicion, he was genuinely worried that Minho might get scammed in the future.
Minho didn’t particularly doubt what others said to him. If someone lied, they had their reasons, and if they wanted him to believe the lie, he would. He was also tight-lipped and kept secrets firmly.
Heejun recalled meeting Minho at the infirmary yesterday. Seeing Minho right as he opened the door was the biggest shock of his life. All the conversations he had just had with Jaeyoon quickly flashed through his mind. Minho seemed equally surprised, his dark green eyes shaking rapidly. After blinking blankly for a moment, Heejun snapped back to reality at the sound of Jaeyoon calling him. He told Jaeyoon it was nothing and grabbed the frozen Minho’s wrist, leading him away. Jaeyoon needed some time to think calmly alone. He didn’t want to disturb that.
Fortunately, Minho didn’t resist and obediently followed his lead. After getting as far away from the infirmary as possible, he entered an empty classroom that no one visited during the festival. After checking the surroundings to make sure no one was around, he slowly closed the classroom door. Haah, a long sigh escaped. After pushing back his sweaty bangs with his hand, he turned around to look at Minho.
“Did you hear?”
Heejun’s question was cut off at both ends, but Minho understood immediately what he was asking.
“Yes…”
“From where?”
“…From ‘What about your feelings for the student council president?'”
“So you heard almost everything from the beginning?”
“Yes, sorry…”
Seeing Minho looking like he had committed a grave sin, Heejun let out a small sigh.
“If you’re going to be this sorry, you shouldn’t have eavesdropped in the first place, right?”
“When I heard Jaeyoon’s voice, my body froze and I couldn’t move… I’m really sorry.”
Ah, this brother complex really…, the words rose to Heejun’s throat, but he didn’t speak them out loud. Minho already looked like a criminal about to drink poison.
“I’m sorry for listening to your story without your consent.”
Minho raised his head to look at him. After quietly staring at his trembling dark green eyes, Heejun sighed deeply and slowly nodded.
“You won’t spread rumors, right?”
“Of-of course not!”
“Then it’s fine. What’s heard can’t be unheard.”
Minho’s eyes widened. He had expected anger or blame. Prepared to hear curses, he stared blankly at Heejun, who forgave him easily and wrapped things up so simply. Blinking his purple eyes at him as if to say “what?”, Heejun suddenly seemed to remember something and took his phone out of his pocket, holding it out to him.
“In exchange, help me when I need it later.”
“Huh?”
“Give me your number. So I can text you when I need to.”
“Ah, okay!”
After Minho saved his number, Heejun called it and said, “This is my number,” then left the classroom. Fortunately, Minho didn’t follow him or try to stop him. He returned to the classroom and helped Sim Jaeha until the festival ended. Then, worried about Jaeyoon who hadn’t returned to the classroom even though it was late, he went to the infirmary only to find Jaeyoon burning up with fever.
“You calling right away saved me. If it weren’t for you, Hyungnim, I would have been really late.”
‘For those two to progress.’
“I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m glad I could help.”
Minho smiled gently. Heejun waved his phone in his hand and said,
“With this, I’ll forgive you for eavesdropping yesterday. But please continue to keep it a secret.”
“What?!”
“Why are you reacting like that? Do you want to spread rumors around the neighborhood?”
“No, that’s not it… Is just calling you enough?”
‘Ah, what was I thinking?’
Heejun nodded at the bewildered Minho. He never intended to ask for anything grand in the first place. It’s just hearing about a one-sided love, what’s the big deal? Besides, this hyungnim wasn’t the type to spread other people’s stories around. From the beginning, he had planned to just ask for something simple and be done with it, but the opportunity came sooner than expected.
“But…”
Seeing Minho’s gloomy expression, Heejun let out a small sigh. If it was someone else, they would have welcomed with open arms the fact that there was nothing unfavorable for them. Is he kind or just stupid…?
“If you’re that concerned, take good care of your cute junior.”
“Cute junior?”
When Heejun pointed at himself with his thumb, Minho, who had been staring at him blankly, burst into laughter.
“Ahahaha!!”
“…Does it not suit me? Being a cute junior?”
“No, it’s just that you said it with such an expressionless face… Pfft!”
Seeing Minho unable to calm his laughter, Heejun shrugged his shoulders. Yeah, this is better than him being depressed. No matter how handsome someone is, if they have a gloomy face, it brings down my mood too.
‘…But he’s laughing too much?’
Heejun’s brow furrowed deeply. When he narrowed his eyes and glared, Minho quickly contained his laughter and cleared his throat.
“You’re aware you laughed a lot, right?”
“Yes…”
“Buy me coffee in return. An iced Americano.”
At his words, Minho chuckled softly and nodded.
“Is just coffee okay? What about cake?”
“I can’t eat sweet things.”
“Then shall we go to the cafe at the intersection? Their pound cake isn’t too sweet and tastes good.”
Is that really necessary? I would have been fine with just coffee. Heejun was about to decline, but when he met those clear, shining dark green eyes, he closed his mouth. Since I was planning to kill time anyway, why not go into town and get some coffee too? When Heejun nodded in agreement, Minho smiled brightly and said happily,
“Their other desserts and coffee are good too. Yeonwoo didn’t like them because they weren’t sweet…”
Minho, who had been talking happily, suddenly closed his mouth. Heejun, who had slightly furrowed his brow, looked at him with a puzzled expression. Minho smiled gently again and said it was nothing.
“Let’s go.”
‘Yeonwoo?’
Heejun murmured the name that had come from Minho’s lips. It seemed familiar, but from where? After frowning for a moment, he gave up trying to remember.
Just now, the expression Minho wore when he mentioned the name Yeonwoo was an expression he knew all too well. The expression of someone in love, but someone who had given up on that love.
‘So even someone like him can’t be with the person he loves.’
Good-looking, excellent grades. Popular regardless of gender… Minho was like someone straight out of a manga. Usually, if one aspect is superior, another is lacking—like the student council president. Good-looking but with a trash personality… But Minho had a good personality too.
Many people admired him, and many people liked him. And yet, even someone like him was struggling with an unfulfilled love. Heejun’s purple eyes narrowed. It’s a terrible thought, but it’s somewhat comforting. The fact that I’m not the only one suffering like this…
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
