“H-hyung, why are you coming?!”
“Because I want to play too.”
“No, what does that even…?!”
Rather than Sim Hajun who was brazenly confident, it was Sim Jaeha who was flustered. He looked at his older brother with trembling eyes.
“…You’re joking, right?”
“No?”
With his last hope mercilessly crushed, Sim Jaeha slightly turned his head to check Lee Heejun’s reaction who was standing beside him.
“Eek?!”
Sim Jaeha’s face was drenched in cold sweat as he saw Lee Heejun glaring at him with a murderous gaze like an assassin. Slowly shuffling sideways like a crab, Jaeha hid behind Jaeyoon’s back and then whistled while staring off into the distance.
“Don’t butt in when the kids are playing.”
Jung Jinhoo grabbed Sim Hajun’s shoulder and looked at him with slightly furrowed brows. In response, Hajun smiled awkwardly and struggled to remove Jinhoo’s hand from his shoulder while making excuses.
“When your head hurts from preparing for the competition, it’s good to take a little break like this!”
“If you want to rest, do it alone, quietly in your room.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine~”
“It’s only fine for you. It’s not fine at all for your juniors.”
Jaeyoon secretly gave a thumbs-up to Jinhoo who was countering Hajun’s words with logical arguments.
‘Our sunbae is doing great~!’
“You’ve always been cool, but today, right at this moment, Jinhoo sunbae, you’re really cool. I wish you would completely destroy that guy…”
Jaeyoon pretended not to hear Heejun’s heartfelt words that were flowing out without him realizing. How much must he have suffered normally…
Sim Hajun, who had been struggling desperately in Jinhoo’s grasp, suddenly turned his head and looked at Jaeyoon. As Jaeyoon blinked blankly, Hajun pointed at him with his finger and shouted.
“You, you’re doing this because of Jaeyoon, right?! Even though you don’t care about this stuff at all!!”
“Yes.”
Contrary to the expectation that he would be embarrassed and flustered, it was Hajun who was taken aback by Jinhoo’s clean admission. He silently stared at Jinhoo’s face for a moment, then pouted his lips and grumbled sulkily.
“…Hey, if you admit it so smoothly, what does that make me?”
“An out-of-touch senior who lacks the sensitivity to know when not to intrude on juniors having fun.”
“I’m not out-of-touch!”
Grumbling as he grandly explained why he wasn’t out-of-touch, Hajun soon began throwing a tantrum, waving his arms wildly.
“Jaeyoon, let’s play together~! I want to play too! Jaeyoon!!”
‘…The brothers are exactly the same…’
Sim Jaeha’s image overlapped with Sim Hajun’s. As Jaeyoon narrowed his eyes watching the scene, he heard someone clicking their tongue and muttering beside him.
“Tsk, the two brothers act exactly the same.”
Heejun’s fierce gaze turned toward Jaeha. Jaeha flinched and pretended to be distracted with an awkward smile on his face. Haah, Jaeyoon let out a sigh that was about to burst and met eyes with Hajun who was looking at him with pitiful eyes.
“I’m sorry, sunbae.”
“Jaeyoon, even you…!!”
Jaeyoon apologized with his hands clasped together at Hajun, who looked as if he had been betrayed by someone he trusted. If the room owner doesn’t want it, I can’t allow it.
‘In the first place, Heejun is lending his room because I can’t get proper sleep with the next room being so noisy…’
Heejun, who had glanced sideways to check on Jaeyoon who was lost in thought with furrowed brows, let out a small sigh and shrugged his shoulders. What can I do… He brushed back his fairly long bangs, folded his arms, and stared at Hajun. Then, wrinkling his forehead harshly, he said:
“Fine, you can come.”
“Really?!”
Hajun’s eyes lit up at Heejun’s permission. Jinhoo, who had lost his grip on Hajun’s shoulder in surprise, blankly watched as Hajun rushed over to Heejun.
Heejun frowned and sighed again at Hajun, who was rejoicing with a bright expression like a dog going for a walk. He felt like he could see nonexistent dog ears and a tail.
“But there’s a condition.”
“Condition…?”
Hajun, who was blinking with a puzzled expression, turned his gaze to where Heejun was pointing. At the end of his finger was Jinhoo.
“If you want to come to my room, come with Jinhoo sunbae.”
“Huh?”
To Hajun, who was blinking slowly at the unexpected condition, Heejun folded his arms and said:
“Otherwise, you’re banned from entering.”
“I’m fine with that!!”
Hajun, who answered brightly without a moment’s hesitation, put his arm on Jinhoo’s shoulder who was standing next to him and smiled, asking, “You’ll come, right?” Jinhoo’s forehead wrinkled. After looking at Hajun with a sullen expression, he turned his head to look at Jaeyoon. It meant, is it okay if we join and don’t play just the three of you? In response, Jaeyoon nodded his head with a happy smile.
‘If I can be with him, of course I’m happy. But…’
Jaeyoon turned his head to look at Heejun. He couldn’t understand why he suddenly changed his mind after being so opposed. When he looked at him with a questioning expression, Heejun fixed his gaze on Hajun who was jumping up and down with joy, and spoke in a low voice that only Jaeyoon could hear.
“That guy is going to come whether he gets rejected or not.”
“Ah…”
“So at least Jinhoo sunbae needs to be there to help control him.”
“You had a plan all along.”
“Haah, if only I wasn’t neighbors with this Sim family, my life would have been much less exhausting…!!”
Frustration could be felt in Heejun’s voice. Jaeyoon patted his back gently. Somehow, the image of him struggling because of those around him seemed familiar.
‘This is why they say you should choose your surroundings carefully…’
***
As soon as school ended, they gathered in Heejun’s room as if they had been waiting and began playing intensely, bringing everything from mobile games to Jenga to ice cream stacking and more… all the popular things these days. They didn’t forget to neatly eat the snacks they had bought in advance and the chicken they had delivered.
“Done.”
Jaeyoon exclaimed as he put down his cards on the floor and slowly drank cola from his cup.
“Even Jaeyoon… now it’s just the two of us left?”
“You’re already in the palm of my hand anyway~”
“No, I’m not!!”
Jaeha bristled, furrowing his eyebrows harshly as he stared at Sim Hajun in front of him, or more precisely, the poker cards in his hand. Tension filled the air between them. Seeing his younger brother’s anxious, rapidly shifting pupils, Hajun’s light pink lips curved into a smile.
“The left one is the joker.”
“Ah, don’t do that!!”
Hajun had started psychological warfare. Jaeha wiped the cold sweat flowing from his temple with his sleeve and took a small deep breath. Then, hesitating with the left card, he picked it with desperate fingers.
“Please please please…!”
After carefully checking the card, Jaeha screamed and threw the card on the floor. The card he picked was indeed the joker, just as Hajun had said. Hajun raised the corners of his eyes and spoke to Jaeha in a seemingly sympathetic voice.
“See, you should have trusted your big brother~ I deliberately told you so you could win, but you couldn’t believe that~”
“Urgh-!”
Jaeha bit his lip with a resentful expression. He doesn’t have any intention of letting me win at all…!! Though he didn’t say it aloud, Jaeyoon looked at him with a pitiful expression, sensing his inner thoughts. This doesn’t look good…
“Now it’s my turn~!”
“I absolutely won’t lose! Absolutely!!”
Passionately mixing the two cards back and forth, Jaeha thrust the cards in front of Hajun’s eyes. “Come on, choose!” At his brother’s loud shout, Hajun, who was rolling his eyes to check the cards, eventually smiled brightly and asked.
“Which one is the joker?”
“W-why are you asking me that?! You’re supposed to find it!”
“I told you mine~”
“T-that was you just arbitrarily…!”
“How unmanly~”
“N-no! I, I!!”
Jaeha’s pupils shook rapidly. He made a tearful face and looked to Jaeyoon and Heejun for salvation.
“Hey-!”
But he was immediately stopped. Hajun pressed Jaeha so he couldn’t think of anything else, and overwhelmed by that momentum, Jaeha finally shouted that the card on the right was the joker.
“Hmm, the right one~”
Hajun’s eyes narrowed. He stared intently at Jaeha’s pupils, then narrowed his eyes and said, “Then I’ll take the left…”
“Phew…”
“I-I mean the right one~!!”
“W-why?!”
Taking the cards from the confused Jaeha’s hands, Hajun checked them and smiled with his eyes half-closed.
“My victory!!”
Hajun threw the cards into the air to celebrate his victory. The two cards that fluttered to the floor both had the number 7 written on them. Looking at them hopelessly, Jaeha put his hands on the floor and despaired. It was the moment the winner and loser of the joker game were determined.
“Hahaha!! What did I tell you? That you’re in the palm of my hand?”
“This is unfair!”
Jaeyoon, who had been watching the two while eating chicken, gently patted the dejected Jaeha’s back.
“Then on Saturday, watch the movie and upload proof shots to the group chat~”
“…Do I really have to do that?”
“Yes.”
Seeing his brother nodding without a moment’s hesitation, Jaeha felt like tears were about to burst out.
“Here, take it.”
Hajun handed Jaeha a crumpled piece of paper he took from his pocket. Jaeha sighed deeply and took it from his hand. Jaeha’s expression became tearful at the words “That Day We” written largely on the paper. The paper that Hajun gave to Jaeha was a movie ticket. And as you could tell just by reading the title, it was a ticket to a romance movie.
“Arghhhh!!”
Jaeha suffered, grabbing and pulling his hair with both hands.
‘The class president is really bad at games…’
From mobile games to rock-paper-scissors and card games, from analog to digital… Jaeha, who had lost in all the games they had played so far, naturally remained until the end in the final game with a penalty, the joker game, and ended up losing as expected. As a result, he had to take the movie ticket that Hajun had passed on from his friend (who was originally supposed to go with his girlfriend, but apparently had a big fight and broke up), go to the cinema alone on Saturday, watch the movie, and even take a selfie as proof.
‘And to make it worse, it’s couple seats. Fighting, class president…!’
Jaeyoon sent a message of encouragement inwardly.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
