“Huh?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Jae-ha blinked. What surprised him more was that Ji-hyang even knew who Hae-hyun was.
“You know him?”
“Dude, how could you not know Ju Hae-hyun? If you go to our school and don’t know him, you’re basically a spy.”
“……”
While Spy Seo Jae-ha fell silent, Ji-hyang kept the intel coming.
“He got super hot after he started school last year. He was all over the anonymous board—like, literally every day. People were constantly asking, ‘Who’s that guy in the gym?’ They say he’s the top talent in the Sports Science department. He’s probably as famous as you.”
“Really?”
“His account’s crazy popular too. He pops up in my recommendations all the time. He’s basically an influencer.”
That was news to Jae-ha. The Hae-hyun he knew was just… a puppy.
Even at home, all he did was trail people around. Jae-ha had barely seen him take selfies, let alone obsess over social media. The most he ever did on his phone was check a few messages or watch cooking videos. Sure, the guy was ridiculously good-looking—but when Jae-ha heard “influencer,” this wasn’t exactly the image that came to mind.
“He really puts that much effort into it?”
“Not really. Even if he doesn’t post anything fancy, people still hit like. He’s just that good-looking. And his photos turn out great, too.”
“Show me.”
Jae-ha leaned in closer, nudging her.
Ji-hyang glanced at the professor still calling roll, then opened her phone and pulled up her social media. Sure enough, barely a few scrolls in, one of Hae-hyun’s photos popped up in the feed. She tapped on his profile, and the follower count showed five digits.
“Damn, that’s intense…”
“Eh, it’s actually less than I expected. People go absolutely feral over hot guys. If you made your account public and put in any effort, you’d hit that number easily. People tag you constantly.”
Jae-ha did have an account, but it was private—just followed by a handful of friends. Like Ji-hyang said, his more social friends or hobbyist photographers often tagged him in their posts, especially when they took pictures together. But since his account was locked, it didn’t really go anywhere.
Without even realizing it, Jae-ha started scrolling through Hae-hyun’s account himself. The feed wasn’t flashy—just some food shots here, a few aesthetic photos there. But even the most casual posts had hundreds of likes and dozens of comments lined up beneath them.
“Hey, class is starting.”
Ji-hyang, ready to focus, handed the phone back and straightened up.
Unlike his model student friend, Jae-ha half-listened to the lecture, distractedly browsing through the rest of Hae-hyun’s feed.
They hadn’t even known each other that long, and yet here Hae-hyun was, already living with him. Jae-ha hadn’t expected him to be this popular—but thinking about it, it made sense. If he followed others around like he did with Jae-ha, calling them “sunbae” with those puppy eyes… who wouldn’t fall for it?
Huh. Why does this feel kind of annoying?
It felt like discovering that his picky, aloof dog wagged its tail for strangers too. Maybe he should just out him—tell everyone that this “cute puppy” behavior was really just part of his passive-aggressive protest lifestyle.
He lazily flicked through the rest of the account. There weren’t that many posts, and it didn’t take long to hit the bottom. Staring at the now-empty screen, Jae-ha finally handed the phone back to Ji-hyang and turned to his tablet, a slight pout tugging at his lips.
He’d spent the whole class zoning out and couldn’t remember a thing the professor said. He’d probably have to beg his top-ranked friend for a crash course later. With that decision made, he and Ji-hyang were just stepping out of the lecture hall when a voice called out.
“Sunbae.”
Oh. Right—that guy.
Jae-ha had completely forgotten. He turned toward the voice, and sure enough, Hae-hyun was leaning casually against the wall, eyes fixed on him.
Standing beside him was a friend who must’ve shown up during class. Jae-ha recognized the guy from a few of Hae-hyun’s photos—lively, mischievous-looking, and just short enough compared to Hae-hyun that he looked more like a boy than a young man.
“…Seo Jae—wait, is he waiting for you?”
Ji-hyang, following behind, slowed down when she saw Hae-hyun and asked cautiously.
Judging by their pre-class convo, this was clearly just part two of Hae-hyun’s “let’s eat lunch” campaign. Jae-ha had completely forgotten to warn her.
Looking a little sheepish for once, Jae-ha leaned over to clue her in. The two of them stood close, almost whispering.
“So, actually—”
“Sunbae, we said we’d get lunch together.”
But before he could even explain, Hae-hyun strode over and tugged him forward.
The sudden pull broke the distance between him and Ji-hyang in an instant. Jae-ha nearly bumped into Hae-hyun’s chest and scowled.
“Hey, don’t just grab people—”
“What do you want to eat? I know all the good spots.”
And again, he was cut off. Hae-hyun rattled off his words like a rapper, staring at Jae-ha with an unusually stiff expression.
What the hell is wrong with this guy today?
Jae-ha was genuinely thrown off.
Just then, the guy beside Hae-hyun leaned in, curiosity written all over his face.
“Seo Jae—Seo Jae-ha? Aren’t you Seo Jae-ha?”
He seemed to be trying to whisper, but his voice was loud—and Jae-ha was right there.
“It’s Seo Jae-ha sunbae, not just Seo Jae-ha.”
He didn’t know the kid’s age exactly, but if he was around Hae-hyun’s, “sunbae” was definitely the right call. At Jae-ha’s correction, the guy flinched and blinked in surprise.
“Oh! Sorry. I’m Kang Gyeong-jin, by the way.”
“Have we met before?”
Jae-ha didn’t have a bad memory, but he wasn’t the type to remember every face either.
How does he know my name?
Curious, he asked, and Gyeong-jin quickly explained.
“Ah—no, we haven’t met! I’ve just seen you online a few times!”
Online? Me?
“Where?”
“You showed up on some accounts I follow. You’re so handsome, I tried to find your profile, but it was private.”
“Ah… yeah, I don’t really check it much.”
He must’ve seen one of Jae-ha’s tagged photos through a mutual friend. Makes sense—after all, Jae-ha had spotted him through Hae-hyun’s account earlier.
“Um, hyung—do you think we could follow each other? I’m friends with Hae-hyun. Or like, maybe we could take a photo together…?”
Friendly, this one. Probably a side effect of being Hae-hyun’s friend. Gyeong-jin stepped in eagerly, eyes sparkling as he pulled out his phone.
“Why are you trying to follow sunbae?”
Jae-ha had been half-considering it—it wasn’t like he screened followers on his private account—but before he could answer, a sharp voice cut in.
With just a step, Hae-hyun wedged himself between them, glaring daggers at Gyeong-jin.
Gyeong-jin, unbothered by the outburst, just laughed and shrugged.
“Huh? Come on, it’s fate…”
“Oh, please.”
The scoff was so sharp it could’ve blown someone over.
“And call him sunbae. Not hyung.”
“What? Who even made you the—?”
“Why would Seo Jae-ha sunbae be your hyung?”
His brows were scrunched up in genuine irritation.
Was it really that serious?
The exact same thought passed over all three of their faces, but Hae-hyun stood firm, as if he were righteously outraged.
“Sunbae, let’s go.”
He grabbed Jae-ha’s hand again, more forcefully this time. Okay, fine, but what about your friend? Jae-ha glanced at Gyeong-jin, who just waved him off with a smile like, Go on, have fun.
Even with his friend acting like a jealous lunatic, he didn’t seem the least bit fazed.
“If you follow me later, I’ll follow back~.”
Not only that, he teased him on the way out. Guy had nerves of steel.
“Stop talking nonsense. Let’s go, sunbae.”
Hae-hyun, clearly provoked, snapped irritably and tugged harder. His grip kept tightening like he was really about to drag Jae-ha away by force.
Jae-ha glanced back at Ji-hyang, still frozen in place.
“Ji-hyang, looks like I’m grabbing lunch with someone else today.”
“Oh—uh, yeah. See you tomorrow.”
Ji-hyang nodded, waving him off. She still looked dazed. Her message inbox was probably about to explode.
Practically being dragged along, Jae-ha struggled to keep up with Hae-hyun’s long strides. They quickly reached the stairs. Hae-hyun kept walking ahead, not even looking back, though his grip had loosened a bit.
Jae-ha muttered under his breath.
“Ju Hae-hyun, why are you being so pushy?”
Hae-hyun froze mid-step and turned to look at him.
He looked… genuinely hurt.
“Why’d you call me Ju Hae-hyun?”
