Just at the mention of Han Doyoon’s name, Jung Jinhoo nodded slightly as if he understood the whole situation.
“Jaeyoon, you’d probably be more comfortable staying here where you don’t have to see Han Doyoon’s face.”
“It would be nice not having to see that face for a week. But…”
“But?”
Seeing Jaeyoon’s furrowed brow, Jung Jinhoo worried there might be another problem. However, what came out of Jaeyoon’s mouth was completely different from his concern.
“Then I wouldn’t see you for a whole week, sunbae.”
“Ah…”
Jung Jinhoo’s cheeks turned slightly pink. Embarrassed by the unexpected answer, he poked at his braised tofu with his chopsticks.
“I guess I have no choice.”
“Huh?”
Jung Jinhoo looked up at Jaeyoon’s words. Meeting the golden eyes that blinked with large eyelids while staring at him, Jaeyoon smiled with his eyes narrowed.
“I’ll just have to follow you to the summer camp, sunbae.”
“Will you be okay?”
Despite his words, Jung Jinhoo’s face couldn’t hide his joy. He looked at Jaeyoon with sparkling eyes, resembling a puppy who had just heard it was going for a walk, making Jaeyoon chuckle softly.
“If I stick close to you, no one will bother me. And Heejun, the class president, and Hajun sunbae will be there too.”
Jung Jinhoo rolled his eyes in thought for a moment, then lowered his voice as if revealing an important secret.
“If I happen to be away and Han Doyoon approaches you, find Sim Hajun right away.”
“Hajun sunbae? Why?”
Jung Jinhoo smiled at the confused Jaeyoon, lifting the corners of his mouth.
“He avoids dealing with him. So he’s unlikely to approach you.”
“Oh…”
Han Doyoon avoids Sim Hajun? Jaeyoon furrowed his brows, finding it hard to imagine. Jung Jinhoo explained as if it were no big deal.
“No matter how self-centered Han Doyoon is, it’s not easy to deal with someone unpredictable. For someone like Han Doyoon, Hajun is the worst match possible.”
According to Jung Jinhoo’s explanation, Han Doyoon enjoys playing with others, so he instinctively avoids types like Sim Hajun who act unpredictably. Given his personality that requires always being in a superior position, unpredictable Sim Hajun is like an unpleasant unknown life form. Jaeyoon couldn’t help but laugh at this.
“Looks like I’ll need to keep an eye on where Hajun sunbae is at all times.”
“If you can’t find Hajun, find Inhoo… remember the art club vice president? You saw him once before.”
“Yes, I remember.”
“Find him. Hajun will be nearby.”
“Oh, is that because they’re the president and vice president, so they move around together?”
Jaeyoon asked, recalling the vice president with sharp black eyes. Jung Jinhoo shook his head slightly.
“Not exactly, but whenever I find the vice president, he’s always near Sim Hajun. So when I can’t find Sim Hajun, that’s how I look for him. The vice president is tall, so it’s easy to spot him from a distance.”
“Ah…”
They didn’t seem that close, but if asked if they were on bad terms, that wasn’t it either… Jaeyoon nodded to Jung Jinhoo, saying he understood. In any case, the information that Han Doyoon avoids Sim Hajun was valuable intelligence.
“Sorry I can’t walk home with you again today…”
“Don’t worry about me, and good luck with your competition preparation! Can you show it to me when it’s finished?”
“Huh…?”
Jung Jinhoo’s eyes widened. After blinking rapidly with a momentarily puzzled expression, he answered slowly.
“Y-yes…”
“Are you still nervous about showing me your drawings?”
“I think I always will be…”
Jaeyoon smiled fondly at Jung Jinhoo as he slumped against the chair.
“Oh, and I’ll be able to match your after-school time for a while, sunbae.”
“Huh? How?”
“I agreed to tutor Im Hangyeol.”
The moment he heard Im Hangyeol’s name, Jung Jinhoo’s eyebrows twitched.
“Im Hangyeol? Why are you tutoring him…?”
“It just happened. I nagged him to study, and he actually started studying. I found that admirable, so I agreed to tutor him.”
So I can wait until you’re done and we can go home together. Isn’t that great? Jung Jinhoo awkwardly lifted the corners of his mouth into a smile at Jaeyoon’s bright expression.
“Yeah, that’s… great…”
“Sunbae, call me when you’re done. I’ll finish up according to your schedule!”
“Okay…”
Unlike Jaeyoon, who was happy they could walk home together, Jung Jinhoo couldn’t be entirely pleased. While Jaeyoon was busy eating his meal, he took out his phone and quickly sent a message somewhere. He was burning with determination not to leave Im Hangyeol and Jaeyoon alone together.
***
“You’re early?”
Im Hangyeol, who was waiting for Jaeyoon at the back door of his classroom shortly after the dismissal bell rang, answered with reddened cheeks.
“My class finished earlier than yours!”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes! Really!”
Jaeyoon looked strangely at Im Hangyeol, who was raising his voice for some reason, but then turned his head away, thinking it didn’t matter.
“We’ll study in the library, if that’s okay?”
“Huh? Not in the dormitory room?”
“The dormitory room is cramped, right? The library is spacious, quiet, and comfortable.”
“Oh, oh…”
Swept along by Jaeyoon’s rapid listing of the library’s benefits, Im Hangyeol nodded in agreement almost reflexively. I see… Seeing Im Hangyeol blinking blankly, Jaeyoon clenched his fist out of sight. With this, all preparations for walking home with Jung Jinhoo were complete. When Jaeyoon arrived at the library with the innocent and unsuspecting Im Hangyeol, his eyes widened in surprise.
“Heejun?”
Jaeyoon blinked in surprise to see Lee Heejun sitting in a library chair, when he thought he had gone to the fashion club first. Heejun raised his hand in a leisurely greeting.
“Nice to see you again less than 5 minutes after we parted.”
“Didn’t you go to the club?”
In response to Jaeyoon’s question, Heejun showed him a stack of fashion magazines beside him.
“Research.”
“Ah~”
“What brings you here? With baggage in tow.”
Who are you calling baggage?! Im Hangyeol’s outburst was met with a warning from a library staff member to be quiet.
“You have to speak quietly in the library.”
“But that guy…”
“Lower your voice.”
“…”
When Im Hangyeol glared at Heejun with a look of indignation, Heejun responded by lifting one corner of his mouth in a mocking smile. This made Im Hangyeol boil with anger, but Jaeyoon didn’t care about his grievances at all.
“Did you design this?”
“Yeah.”
Heejun pushed his notebook toward Jaeyoon, who was looking at his sketch notebook with sparkling eyes of curiosity, asking, “Want to see?” May I? Jaeyoon took the notebook with a bright smile and exclaimed, “Wow, wow,” admiring the various clothing designs drawn in it.
“Amazing. These are all designs you created, Heejun?”
“That’s right.”
“Really well done.”
“Don’t flatter me too much.”
Jaeyoon smiled softly at Heejun, who appeared pleased despite his words.
“Am I invisible?”
“Ah-.”
Only then remembering Im Hangyeol, Jaeyoon awkwardly smiled and returned the notebook to Heejun.
“What are you doing with him?”
“I agreed to tutor him.”
“Preparing for final exams?”
“You could say that.”
Jaeyoon nodded and looked around for a seat. Heejun pointed to the seat next to him.
“Sit here.”
“Won’t it be noisy?”
“It’s fine. Compared to our club, this is like a lullaby. And if it gets noisy, I’ll put on earphones, so don’t worry.”
Since there weren’t any other suitable seats nearby, Jaeyoon thanked him and sat down next to him. Im Hangyeol sat down heavily in the chair opposite Jaeyoon, wearing a sullen expression.
What is it? Something has been oddly irritating me. Unable to identify what this irritation was, Im Hangyeol frowned. Jaeyoon looked at him as if to say, “What are you doing?”
“Aren’t you going to take out your textbooks?”
“Oh, I will.”
Im Hangyeol reluctantly tried to ignore the irritation as he took out textbooks and problem sheets from his bag and spread them on the desk.
“What subject do you find most difficult?”
“All subjects!”
“Among them…”
“English and Korean? Oh, and social studies too…”
It’s almost all subjects. At the sound of Heejun’s voice from beside them, Im Hangyeol frowned deeply. His insides boiled as Heejun completely ignored the glaring look directed at him.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
