“You thought well.”
“Huh?”
Im Hangyeol looked at Jaeyoon with wide eyes. Jaeyoon picked up the books scattered around the staircase, handed them to Hangyeol, and smiled.
“It’s never a bad thing to keep up with your studies.”
“…Sometimes you really seem like an old man in a high schooler’s body.”
“I heard the same thing from Heejun recently.”
“Heejun? Who’s that?”
“A friend from my class.”
“Friend…?”
Seeing Hangyeol’s confused expression at the word “friend,” Jaeyoon furrowed his brow.
“What’s with that face? Is it that strange that I have friends?”
“Huh? Ah, that’s not what I meant…”
Hangyeol awkwardly scratched his head and shifted his gaze around before hesitating momentarily. Then he looked at Jaeyoon and spoke.
“Hey.”
“What?”
“What am I to you?”
“…”
“…”
‘What the hell?’
Jaeyoon’s face crumpled as he stared at Hangyeol with a look that said he had goosebumps. Hangyeol seemed to realize how strange his question sounded and shouted in embarrassment.
“No, that’s not what I meant!!”
“If that’s not it, then what? You know what you just said sounded like a pickup line, right?”
“I know! I know, but I didn’t mean it that way!!”
Seeing Hangyeol’s face turn red, Jaeyoon said he understood and tried to calm him down. Watching Hangyeol take deep breaths to settle his excitement, Jaeyoon let out a small laugh.
“Why are you laughing?!”
“Because it’s funny.”
“Oh, come on!!”
Hangyeol messed up his hair with both hands. Then he let out a big sigh.
“It’s just… after graduating middle school, you and I kind of… you know?”
“Ah~”
Realizing what Hangyeol wanted to talk about, Jaeyoon nodded slightly. The two had been middle school friends, but their relationship soured because of Kim Yeonwoo. Hangyeol had accidentally witnessed Jaeyoon grabbing Yeonwoo by the collar and had gotten very angry, asking what he was doing. When Jaeyoon didn’t explain, they had a huge fight that day. After that, the two grew increasingly distant.
‘But I understand how Jaeyoon felt…’
Yeonwoo had stopped Jaeyoon while he was walking through the hallway and asked him to reconcile with Minho. Please, don’t hurt Minho sunbae anymore, he’d said. Yeonwoo kept pestering Jaeyoon, saying that Minho sunbae suffered every time he saw Jaeyoon. He had kept bothering Jaeyoon, telling him to apologize for causing the fight, asking why he was tormenting his brother. When Jaeyoon’s patience finally ran out, he grabbed Yeonwoo by the collar and threatened him. That’s the moment Hangyeol had witnessed.
‘I’d be annoyed too if I were him…’
But since Hangyeol had only heard Yeonwoo’s side of the story, he had no way of understanding Jaeyoon’s position. Jaeyoon also didn’t want to explain because it involved family matters. And so, misunderstandings between the two piled up and remained unresolved.
‘They used to be really close friends.’
Jaeyoon and Hangyeol were so close they could be called best friends. In middle school, they were always seen together. The fact that Hangyeol had brought warm soup when Jaeyoon was having stomach problems and couldn’t eat properly showed that their relationship wasn’t just a brief acquaintance.
‘They were like Heejun and the class president.’
But all of that had shattered in an instant. Because of just one person.
‘Han Doyoon, Lee Minho, and now Im Hangyeol…’
The people around Jaeyoon, those he cared about, had their relationships with him ruined because of Kim Yeonwoo.
‘Coincidence…?’
Jaeyoon’s brow furrowed. When he had read the game story, he hadn’t noticed anything unusual, but seeing the situation from Jaeyoon’s perspective, it was truly strange. Why were most of the pursuable characters people connected to Jaeyoon?
“Hey, what’s wrong? Why are you suddenly looking serious and keeping quiet?”
“Huh? No, it’s nothing.”
Jaeyoon shook his head at the curious voice. Hangyeol narrowed his eyes for a moment, then looked around to make sure no one was nearby before cautiously speaking.
“Are you good at studying?”
“Somewhat, why?”
Jaeyoon frowned at Hangyeol’s sudden question, then his eyes widened.
“Are you asking me to tutor you?”
“H-How did you know…?!”
Hangyeol opened his mouth in surprise, then quickly denied it.
‘What do you mean no? It’s written all over your face.’
Hangyeol was the type who couldn’t hide his emotions, and his thoughts were immediately visible on his face. He tried to cover it up by getting angry, but while it might work with his peers, Jaeyoon could see right through him. His blue eyes, full of mischief, narrowed slightly. His light pink lips curved into a smile.
“No?”
“No!!”
“If you say so. I was going to help you study, but if you don’t want that…”
“Huh?! W-wait a minute…!!”
“I have to meet my sunbae, so I’ll be going~”
“Wait, hold on a second!!”
Hangyeol called out urgently as Jaeyoon turned to leave. Jaeyoon turned back with a bright smile, making Hangyeol frown.
“You seem like your personality has gotten worse.”
“Thanks for the compliment~”
“Seriously…”
Jaeyoon watched as Hangyeol rubbed his forehead and sighed, then smiled slightly.
“But isn’t it strange to say I’ve gotten worse? You were the one picking fights with me, calling me the bad guy who always bullies the good Yeonwoo.”
Hangyeol’s eyes darted around quickly. He raised his head to look at Jaeyoon, moved his lips as if to say something, but then bit his lip.
Seeing Hangyeol suddenly go quiet, Jaeyoon narrowed his eyes and sighed softly. He’d expected Hangyeol to get angry and defend Kim Yeonwoo, so why was he suddenly looking guilty and miserable? After observing Hangyeol silently for a moment, Jaeyoon finally spoke.
“Come to the library after school.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll tutor you.”
“Really…?”
“Only for two weeks. Until my sunbae’s competition is over.”
Hangyeol frowned at the word “sunbae” but thought for a moment before nodding.
“Great! But no phones while studying. No texting with that sunbae guy!”
“Do you want to study alone?”
“No, but you shouldn’t use your phone while studying!!”
“So you want to study alone.”
“Ah, fine! Fine!!”
Jaeyoon sighed deeply as Hangyeol shouted.
‘His body may be in high school, but his mind seems like an elementary schooler?’
“Then we’ll meet at the library starting Monday.”
“Can’t we start right now?”
“I need to go meet my sunbae.”
“Aren’t you spending too much time with that sunbae guy…?”
“You know, everything you’ve been saying sounds weird?”
“W-What did I say?!”
“Stop talking nonsense and go study in your dorm.”
“You need to study too!!”
“I already do it consistently.”
Jaeyoon’s expression hardened as Hangyeol kept persisting. When Jaeyoon fixed him with a sharp gaze, Hangyeol’s shoulders visibly flinched.
“If you keep nitpicking one more time, you can forget about any tutoring.”
“That…!!”
“Shut your mouth.”
Jaeyoon put his index finger to his lips to signal silence, and Hangyeol pressed his lips firmly together. Sighing softly, Jaeyoon strode up the stairs. After dealing with Hangyeol for just a short while, he felt like his recovered energy was rapidly draining again.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t have offered to tutor him…?’
He’d unconsciously offered to teach Hangyeol because he found it quite admirable that Hangyeol had decided to study after hearing his words.
“What’s done is done, no use regretting it now.”
Jaeyoon shrugged and was heading to the art room when someone suddenly grabbed his shoulder. He frowned and turned his head. The grip on his shoulder was so rough that it couldn’t possibly be interpreted as friendly.
‘Who is this?’
As far as Jaeyoon knew, the only person who would treat him like this was either one of the pursuable characters or…
“Everything’s changed because of you!!”
Kim Yeonwoo.
“Ha-…”
A long sigh escaped as soon as he saw the face. Jaeyoon swept his bangs aside and narrowed his eyes.
‘What are you crying about today as you come to pick a fight with me?’
The path to Jung Jinhoo seemed especially long and difficult today.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
