“It’s super simple, why on earth can’t you do it?!”
“People all have things they’re good at and things they’re not. I’m weak when it comes to machinery.”
Annoyed that he wouldn’t concede a single point, Sim Hajun glared once at the vice president walking beside him, then jumped back in surprise when he suddenly felt hands touching his hair.
“What, what are you doing?!”
“Your hair is a mess.”
“My hair?”
The vice president stared at Sim Hajun as he touched his own hair, then raised both hands and firmly pressed down on Sim Hajun’s head.
“Argh!!!”
“It’s not settling down well. Should I wet it?”
“Are you determined to reduce my height?!”
“Your height won’t decrease from something like this. Besides.”
“Besides?”
“You don’t look like you have any height left to lose anyway…”
Sim Hajun didn’t even listen to the end and kicked the vice president’s leg. Ah! Why are you hitting me? Sunbae, did you know you have quite a hot temper? At the vice president’s words, Sim Hajun’s eyes narrowed sharply upward. Fortunately, the vice president hadn’t completely lost his sense of awareness and stopped speaking, closing his mouth.
“By the way, why are you following me?”
“I wanted to see Jung Jinhoo sunbae’s face after a long time. He hasn’t shown his face at the club lately, right?”
“Why do you want to see Jinhoo??”
“Because I’m his junior.”
“Since when did you become so respectful to your seniors…”
“I’ve always been respectful, you know?”
Sim Hajun looked at him as if telling him not to talk nonsense. But despite Sim Hajun’s gaze, the vice president remained confident. I’m a respectful junior. Seeing him speak while squaring his shoulders, Sim Hajun frowned as if he had swallowed something bitter.
“Jinhoo doesn’t care about you at all. Jinhoo has a very, very cute~ junior…”
“Is he cute?”
“Huh? Yeah. Very, very…”
“Cuter than me?”
“…”
Sim Hajun just closed his mouth in response to the continued nonsense. I should just hurry back to the hospital with Jinhoo. What kind of conversation am I trying to have with this guy… While shaking his head from side to side as he walked down the hallway, Sim Hajun’s eyes widened as he saw two students coming up the stairs.
“Huh?!”
***
“You’re saying I’m being deceived by Jaeyoon?”
“Yes!”
Jung Jinhoo’s lips curved crookedly at the answer given without a hint of hesitation. He turned his gaze away from Kim Yeonwoo as if he wasn’t worth dealing with. Surprised by this, Kim Yeonwoo hurried in front of Jung Jinhoo.
“It’s true! Please believe me!!”
Jung Jinhoo deeply furrowed his brows at the action blocking his way. This made Kim Yeonwoo shrink back. As Kim Yeonwoo rolled his eyes back and forth, checking his reaction, Jung Jinhoo sighed and swept back his bangs.
“Why should I believe you?”
“What?”
“I’m too annoyed to deal with you. Get out.”
Kim Yeonwoo bit his lip hard as Jung Jinhoo looked at him with cold eyes. Thinking he needed to somehow turn his attention toward himself, Kim Yeonwoo grabbed Jung Jinhoo’s arm. At that moment, Jung Jinhoo’s expression contorted. Jung Jinhoo’s golden eyes wavered with displeasure as he harshly pushed away Kim Yeonwoo’s hand.
“Why can’t you people understand what I’m saying?”
Kim Yeonwoo could tell who Jung Jinhoo meant by “you people” without being told. Kim Yeonwoo clenched both his fists tightly.
“I’m doing this for your sake, sunbae! Lee Jaeyoon is deceiving you, he’s only using you!”
Haah, a long sigh escaped from Jung Jinhoo’s mouth. He slowly rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at Kim Yeonwoo with an expressionless face.
“Lee Jaeyoon is using you to get Doyoon sunbae.”
“Ha-!”
Jung Jinhoo let out a hollow laugh at Kim Yeonwoo’s words. Kim Yeonwoo’s face filled with confusion.
“It’s true! Lee Jaeyoon liked Doyoon sunbae! He’s been in one-sided love with Doyoon sunbae since middle school!!”
“Is that all you and Han Doyoon can come up with to drive a wedge between us?”
“What…?”
Jung Jinhoo smiled lazily, drooping his eyes at Kim Yeonwoo who had a dumbfounded expression.
“Han Doyoon told me the exact same thing.”
“See! What I’m saying isn’t a lie…”
“He had a one-sided crush, so what?”
“Even now, Lee Jaeyoon still likes Doyoon sunbae!”
“Jaeyoon likes Han Doyoon?”
Jung Jinhoo recalled Jaeyoon’s expression when looking at Han Doyoon. The way he contorted his face using every facial muscle was clearly disgust to anyone who saw it. Jaeyoon disliked Han Doyoon. Extremely so. That was a fact that couldn’t possibly be mistaken.
“I think you have bad eyesight. Why don’t you try wearing glasses?”
“You think I’m lying, right? Because you’ve only heard Lee Jaeyoon’s side. But this is real. You just haven’t seen the way Lee Jaeyoon looks at Doyoon sunbae!”
“I’ve seen that plenty of times, though?”
“No, no! That’s fake. He just changed his approach to get Doyoon sunbae’s attention! How desperate he was. How can such emotions disappear overnight? It’s not like he became a different person. Isn’t it strange??”
At that moment, Han Doyoon’s strangely confident demeanor flashed in Jung Jinhoo’s mind. That self-assured expression, firmly believing that Jaeyoon would definitely return to him. Jung Jinhoo frowned. At this, Kim Yeonwoo’s face brightened.
“You know it too, right? That human emotions don’t change so quickly. Lee Jaeyoon is using you to get Doyoon sunbae’s attention, and afterward, he’ll discard you!!”
“…”
“Sunbae, don’t be deceived. Everything Lee Jaeyoon says is a lie. Lee Jaeyoon was jealous of my relationship with Doyoon sunbae and always tormented me. That’s why Saturday happened, that’s why!”
What kind of look did Jaeyoon give Han Doyoon that made both Han Doyoon and Kim Yeonwoo speak like this? Jung Jinhoo’s eyes lowered. Thinking of Jaeyoon’s middle school days made his heart sink heavily. Even while knowing it couldn’t be helped, he kept feeling jealous.
If only he had met Jaeyoon a little, just a little earlier. Then Jaeyoon wouldn’t have had a one-sided crush on someone like Han Doyoon. It was a pointless assumption to consider, but still, the words “what if” kept circling in his mind. The fact that he couldn’t be with Jaeyoon during that time, that Jaeyoon once showed his lovely expressions to someone else, made him incredibly jealous.
Even he thought it was childish, so he would never show it to Jaeyoon. But right now, he wanted to run to Jaeyoon and pull that small body into his arms. And Jaeyoon would surely hug him back.
“Is that all you have to say?”
“You, you don’t believe my…”
“Yeah, I don’t believe it. And even if it’s true, it doesn’t matter.”
“What…?”
“If that’s the case, I’ll just have to work harder to make Jaeyoon like me.”
At Jung Jinhoo’s words, Kim Yeonwoo’s lips quivered. Looking at him with trembling eyes as if what he heard was nonsense, Kim Yeonwoo finally managed to push out his voice with difficulty.
“Why, why go that far? What exactly do you like about Lee Jaeyoon?!”
“I like everything about him. His bright smile, his love for animals, his mature aspects, and sometimes how he sulks like a child. I like everything about him. So stop wasting your time and get lost.”
Jung Jinhoo turned away from Kim Yeonwoo, who had gone quiet with his head lowered. As he was debating whether to retrieve Sim Hajun or just leave him at school, Jung Jinhoo scowled when he felt someone grab his arm. As he turned around with a coldly composed face, Jung Jinhoo’s eyes widened at the face approaching right in front of him. And at that moment, the art room door opened.
“Sunbae, are you done with your business…”
Thud!
Jung Jinhoo roughly pushed Kim Yeonwoo away. His golden eyes, which had been distorted with anger, widened when he saw Jaeyoon. Jung Jinhoo blinked slowly at the sight of Jaeyoon standing there with Lee Heejun, leaning on crutches. Why is Jaeyoon here…? As Jung Jinhoo stared at him blankly, Jaeyoon calmly looked at him, then shifted his gaze to Kim Yeonwoo who had fallen to the floor.
“I’m sure I warned you to keep things moderate, Kim Yeonwoo…”
“Don’t be ridiculous! Why should I listen to your warnings? Jung Jinhoo sunbae knows now. Your lies! It’s only a matter of time before your mask comes off!!”
Jaeyoon quietly looked at Kim Yeonwoo, who was shouting and struggling.
“You’re much more stupid and selfish than I thought.”
“What? I’m stupid and selfish? What about you? You take away all the people around me, and even use Jung Jinhoo sunbae…”
Bang!
Jaeyoon threw the crutch he was holding onto the floor and strode toward Kim Yeonwoo. Jaeyoon, your leg!! Jung Jinhoo’s voice called out in alarm. Since he was going to be discharged next week anyway, his leg was almost completely fine by now. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to be careful, but right now, Jaeyoon couldn’t care less about such things.
Jaeyoon reached out and grabbed Kim Yeonwoo by the collar. The brown eyes that had been trembling with surprise narrowed and squinted.
“This is your true nature in the end! Violent and barbaric!!”
“My mistake was trying to end this amicably. Even though you’re irredeemable trash, I thought you were just a kid who didn’t know any better, so I gave you a chance and tried to resolve this quietly. But you’re doing something sneaky?”
“The trash is not me but you! Who are you to give me a chance…”
“Shut up.”
“Don’t be ridiculous! Why should I…!!”
Jaeyoon raised his index finger and brought it to his lips.
“I said shut your mouth.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
