“Jaeyoon?”
As soon as the lunch bell rang, Jung Jinhoo, who came to pick up Jaeyoon, widened his eyes at the large bandage stuck on his cheek. Approaching Jaeyoon with a startled expression, he carefully raised his hand to examine Jaeyoon’s condition.
“How did you get hurt?”
“I was folding paper airplanes and accidentally cut myself on the paper.”
“Paper airplanes…?”
Jaeyoon showed him the paper airplane on his desk. Jinhoo stared blankly at the neat paper airplane folded from an unnecessary survey form, then let out a sigh of relief.
“I was holding it too close to my cheek, and then, haha…”
It was the most innocuous yet not-too-serious excuse that he and Heejun had racked their brains to come up with. Seeing Jinhoo’s expression soften, Jaeyoon subtly sighed in relief.
“Shall we go get lunch now?”
As Jaeyoon quickly changed the subject and smiled sweetly, he slowly blinked at the gentle touch carefully caressing his cheek. Sunbae? Looking at Jinhoo in confusion, he nodded with a gentle smile at the corners of his lips. Hungry? Let’s go.
“Enjoy your lunch.”
“Are you guys going to the school store?”
“Yeah.”
“Enjoy your meal.”
“Enjoy yours too!”
Lee Heejun, who had been watching Jaeyoon and Jinhoo leave the classroom, narrowed his eyes and muttered.
“I think he noticed…?”
“Huh? Noticed what?”
Heejun shrugged at Sim Jaeha, who tilted his head in confusion. Taking his wallet from his bag, he said, “Let’s go before the school store gets crowded,” and stood up.
‘He’s not going to pry into it since Jaeyoon deliberately tried to hide it with an excuse, is that it?’
***
“Sunbae! Enjoy your lunch!!”
“Yeah, sure…”
When a first-year underclassman he had never seen before greeted him, Jinhoo nodded with an awkward smile. A small sigh escaped his lips. This kind of attention was unfamiliar to him since middle school. He fidgeted with his bangs before glancing at Jaeyoon.
“Maybe we should have followed those two and bought something from the school store too.”
Jaeyoon said, stirring his army stew with his spoon before scooping up a square piece of ham.
“Sorry…”
“Why are you apologizing, sunbae?”
Surprised by Jinhoo’s sudden apology, Jaeyoon looked up at him, and Jinhoo answered with a gloomy face.
“Because you can’t eat properly since you’re worried about me…”
Jinhoo sighed, looking at Jaeyoon’s tray that hadn’t decreased at all.
“No, this isn’t your fault, sunbae…”
Jaeyoon, who was about to make excuses in panic, closed his mouth. He swallowed a sigh that was about to escape. As they say, it’s one mountain after another. Jaeyoon gave a bitter smile and put his hand in his cardigan pocket.
Buzz-.
Buzz-.
The phone vibration had been going off incessantly in his pocket. He knew exactly who it was without looking.
‘Ah, seriously, Han Doyoon!!’
From about five minutes after the lunch bell rang, messages had been pouring in non-stop from Han Doyoon. The constantly buzzing vibration was so irritating that he couldn’t eat properly. This guy, surely he’s not planning to keep contacting me until I answer?
“Should we leave? Do you want to buy bread or something else at the school store?”
Jinhoo asked with a worried face, seeing Jaeyoon’s dark expression. Jaeyoon smiled and shook his head. I’m fine. But despite Jaeyoon’s words, Jinhoo’s expression didn’t improve. Perhaps thinking that Jaeyoon couldn’t eat because of him, his face was clearly filled with self-reproach.
Jaeyoon’s brow furrowed deeply. He firmly pressed the power button on the noisy phone in his pocket. A moment later, the phone made a long vibration and turned off. That feels better now. Not only is it annoying to have my time with sunbae interrupted, but I can’t tolerate Han Doyoon making him wear such an expression.
“Sunbae, have you tried the pudding?”
“Huh? Ah, no.”
“Try it quickly! It’s really delicious.”
Smiling brightly to change the mood, Jaeyoon offered the pudding from his tray to Jinhoo. He blinked rapidly in surprise, then picked up a small spoon and took a bite of the pink pudding. Mmm, it’s delicious. As Jinhoo smiled with his eyes turning into crescents, Jaeyoon, who was smiling along with him, noticed cream on the corner of his mouth.
‘Ah, my handkerchief…’
As Jaeyoon rummaged through his pocket for a handkerchief, he recalled what had happened that morning. His busy hands stopped. Glancing at the corner of Jinhoo’s mouth, his lips curved slightly upward.
“Sunbae, you’ve got cream on your face.”
“Hmm? Where…?”
Jaeyoon grabbed Jinhoo’s wrist as he was touching his lips, then reached out to wipe off the cream next to his lips with his finger. Then, with his gaze fixed on the stunned Jinhoo, he licked the cream from his thumb.
“!!”
Jinhoo’s face turned red in an instant. Fortunately, their seats were in a corner, and Jaeyoon was sitting facing the wall, so other students couldn’t properly see what they were doing. Therefore, Jaeyoon, who had boldly done the deed, wore a victorious smile.
‘I can’t be the only one who gets teased.’
Recalling the kiss on his forehead, Jaeyoon smiled sweetly and spoke in a voice full of mirth to the flustered Jinhoo.
“Sunbae, your face looks exactly like an apple.”
Jinhoo, who was moving his lips trying to find something to say, eventually pressed them shut. With his brows slightly furrowed, looking at Jaeyoon with an unjustly treated expression, he looked just like a sulking puppy. Jaeyoon bit the soft flesh inside his mouth, trying hard to hold back the laughter that was about to burst out.
“Isn’t the strawberry pudding delicious~?”
Seeing Jaeyoon ask with a beaming smile while resting his chin on his interlocked hands, Jinhoo let out a small sigh. Looking at him with an expression that seemed to say “what am I going to do with you,” Jinhoo eventually nodded slightly.
“Yeah, it’s delicious…”
Jaeyoon, who had been laughing with his mouth open because Jinhoo’s sulky expression was so cute, grimaced as pain shot through his cheek.
“Ow ow ow…!”
“Are you okay?!”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
He carefully touched his cheek, reassuring the worried Jinhoo. I need to take good care of it so it doesn’t leave a scar. A scar wouldn’t suit Lee Jaeyoon’s face at all…
“Jung Jinhoo~!!”
Jinhoo’s eyebrows crumpled as a student approached, loudly calling his name from afar. Despite Jinhoo’s obvious annoyance, Sim Hajun smiled brightly and naturally pulled out a chair to sit down.
“Oh? Jaeyoon is here too! Hi!”
“Hello, sunbae.”
“Hi~”
Hajun, who greeted them with a beaming smile, took a bite of the toast in his hand while pulling out a notepad and pen from his pocket. His hurried eating made him look quite busy. Click. After clicking his pen, he turned to Jinhoo and asked.
“You’re definitely entering this competition, right?”
Jinhoo sighed and nodded.
“Yeah.”
“Okay~ Then I’ll add your name to the participant list?”
Jinhoo’s name was added to the notepad that already had several students’ names on it. Looking at the notepad with a satisfied smile, Hajun took another bite of his toast and put the notepad and pen back in his pocket.
“Competition?”
“Yeah, a watercolor competition. I’m going around collecting the names of club members who will participate on the art teacher’s orders. Being a club president is really tough~”
Hajun dramatically patted his shoulders. Jinhoo, who was drinking coffee, asked with a puzzled look.
“What about the vice president?”
Hajun’s brow furrowed at Jinhoo’s question. He waved his hand dismissively, then aggressively took a bite of his toast.
“I swear, because of that guy!! He made a fuss about wanting to be vice president so the club members elected him, but he doesn’t do his job properly and only does what he wants to do! Just…!!”
Hajun clenched his fist as if he found it outrageous. Then he started whining to Jinhoo.
“It would have been better if you had been vice president as planned~ All the members recommended you as vice president!”
“Jinhoo sunbae?”
“Yeah, just listen to me, Jaeyoon~”
Hajun leaned toward Jaeyoon as if he had found someone to vent to and drawled on.
“Clearly, it was right for him to be elected by vote! But right after becoming vice president, he resigned!! Said he wasn’t good at managing or taking care of other club members! I was so dumbfounded…, what do you mean you can’t do it? He takes care of Jaeyoon just fine!! Look, even now! Look at how he’s not listening to what I’m saying and pushing his strawberry pudding toward Jaeyoon!!”
Seeing Hajun banging on the table and venting his grievances, Jaeyoon raised both hands to calm him down.
“Huh! Seriously, me!! Is pudding important right now? Huh? It looks delicious…”
“…Isn’t your conclusion a bit strange?”
Jaeyoon looked at Hajun, who had fixed his gaze on the pudding, with a bewildered expression. Do you want some? When he offered the pudding, Hajun shook his head from side to side and refused. No, I’m fine. He ate his toast, saying he could buy some at the school store.
“Anyway, so I’m suffering because of you. So you should help me.”
“How is that my fault? If the vice president isn’t doing his job, go confront him.”
“Ah, if only you hadn’t refused, he would never have become vice president!!”
“You know that’s unreasonable, right?”
“…Well, it’s not completely unreasonable?”
Hajun leaned back against the chair and slumped.
“It’s hard, being a president is so lonely…”
Blinking blankly, Hajun suddenly leaned forward and brought his face close to Jaeyoon’s. Startled, Jaeyoon leaned back and blinked rapidly. Jinhoo’s hand grabbed Hajun’s shirt collar.
“Gack?!”
“What are you doing?”
“No, I’ve been curious… what’s that on your cheek? Are you hurt?”
Even as his shirt was pulled to the side, choking his neck, Hajun persisted in his question. Jaeyoon awkwardly touched his cheek and answered.
“I got cut by paper while flying a paper airplane.”
“How do you get your cheek cut by paper while flying a paper airplane?”
“I was holding it too close to my cheek, and then…”
“Hmm~ You seemed calm usually, but you’re unexpectedly clumsy~!”
Jaeyoon laughed awkwardly and glanced at Jinhoo. He released Hajun’s shirt, who was coughing, and pressed his shoulders to make him sit properly in the chair.
“I’ll help you with your work, so please leave now.”
“Really? Thank you~! Then, Jaeyoon, enjoy your lunch~”
Having achieved his goal, Hajun quickly disappeared. A deep sigh escaped from Jinhoo’s lips. Sorry… His apologetic voice was laden with fatigue.
“Hajun sunbae is really energetic, isn’t he?”
If you had to say which one is the class president, it would be the quieter one. As he was recalling the two brothers in his mind, Jinhoo’s voice, almost like a sigh, was heard.
“…He’s problematic because he’s too energetic.”
It felt like a storm had swept through. When Jaeyoon scooped a spoonful of pudding and offered it to the exhausted Jinhoo, his cheeks turned apple-red, and he shook his head quickly with a flustered expression, refusing and saying he was fine.
“Why not? Sugar is good for stress.”
“I’m, I’m fine! I’m not stressed!”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
