Chapter 17.
“Aren’t you tired of this every morning?”
“Nope. I get to see Jeongwoo’s handsome face too, so it’s great.”
He was at a loss for words at the shameless remark.
Jihan, who grinned at Jeongwoo who had an absurd face, tilted his head left and right cutely.
“That’s enough, just hurry up and go in.”
“Are you worried I’ll be late right now?”
“As if.”
“You told me to hurry and go in. Not to be late……”
“I said that because other kids can’t get in because of you, so don’t misunderstand.”
He pushed the shoulders of him who was standing firm as if he had no intention of going in until he heard what he wanted to hear.
He thought he’d be pushed easily, but he wasn’t. Jeongwoo, who ignored Jihan standing as if his feet were rooted to the ground, stepped aside altogether.
Jihan, who had blocked Jeongwoo’s way several times playing around, finally went inside after a full 10 minutes had passed.
Jeongwoo, who was completely drained from dealing with him, sighed and passed his work to his junior.
Since it was work Jeongwoo didn’t have to do anyway, the junior naturally took on the work.
Jeongwoo, who was pressing down on his throbbing head just from dealing with him, headed to the classroom saying he’d go in first.
The juniors remaining where Jeongwoo had passed worried about Jeongwoo who wasn’t like usual.
“Kwon Jeongwoo! You came early?”
“Yeah, I’m tired.”
He heard Hyewoon’s voice calling him from behind. However, Jeongwoo, who waved his hand in greeting, entered the classroom without looking back.
Jihan, who had been chatting at his seat, saw Jeongwoo coming in and dispersed all his friends.
Jihan, who sent away all the friends who said they wouldn’t go, welcomed Jeongwoo. As if meeting after a very, very long time even though they’d just seen each other moments ago.
Then, when Jeongwoo got closer, he dusted off Jeongwoo’s desk and chair that didn’t have a speck of dust. Watching his hands, questions arose.
‘Why does he go that far?’
His mind was already unsettled because of his friends, and such trivial actions bothered him.
To be precise, there was no reason but it bothered him. It was just pure curiosity, not particularly that his heart was moved or anything like that.
Even if Jihan said he liked him, enough to just pass it by with ‘I see.’
Was that why?
“Excuse me. Are you interested in me?”
Jeongwoo threw the question he’d been curious about since last time at Jihan.
“Yeah. I kept telling you.”
There wasn’t even a second of hesitation in the answer that came back.
“…What?”
From the beginning, it was a question asked to hear him say no, so Jeongwoo never thought he’d answer yes.
But to think this kind of answer would come back.
At his answer, Jeongwoo’s eyes widened. Though the Jihan Jeongwoo knew was honest about everything, he was flustered not knowing he’d be this honest.
To say he’s interested so casually, in a place where all the classmates were. Should he say he’s bold, or should he say he’s thoughtless.
He thought he might be a person without prejudice like Hyewoon and Sejong.
‘Right, it must be like that. Saying he’s interested openly in a place with many people, there’s no way he’d have prejudice!’
As if driving in a wedge to Jeongwoo who was making a fuss inside with silent clamor, Jihan grinned and added.
“I’m very interested in you.”
Not just interested, but very. Jeongwoo, who became burdened by Jihan’s eyes that were especially sparkling today, turned his head sharply without a word.
“Jeongwoo, Jeongwoo.”
“……”
“I said I’m very interested in you, don’t you have anything to say?”
“……”
“Really nothing? Hm?”
As if there was an answer he wanted, Jihan tried to draw Jeongwoo’s gaze. He tried waving his hand in front of his eyes, and tried shaking Jeongwoo’s shoulders.
However, Jeongwoo, who held out firmly, thoroughly ignored him.
“Like wanting to get close. Or being interested in me, something like that.”
“……”
“Really nothing?”
Jeongwoo, who was chewing his lips, had many thoughts and couldn’t hear Jihan’s words.
“Jeongwoo, are you even listening to me?”
“No.”
“You kept ignoring me. You didn’t need to answer just that.”
Because with vacant eyes fixed ahead, he was just spitting out any answer.
Jihan, who tried to talk a few more times, seemed to give up soon and laid face down on his desk. Since Jeongwoo ignoring him was like a daily routine, he planned to sleep before class started.
Jihan, who was about to fall asleep, opened his eyes bothered by the busy activity beside him wondering what he was doing.
But Jeongwoo, who should be beside him, wasn’t there.
Jihan, who lifted his upper body and looked around, found Jeongwoo. Jeongwoo was sitting next to Sejong, who was in the exact opposite position from him.
“Why is he over there……?”
While Jihan trailed off.
Not knowing he was watching, Jeongwoo sat in Hyewoon’s ownerless seat.
Since the exams were over, it was time for Hyewoon to devote himself to training. Since there wasn’t much time left until the competition, he spent more time in the gym than attending classes.
“Ah, go to your seat.”
“Be quiet.”
“It’ll be quiet if you go to your seat.”
“I have a lot to think about, so don’t make me talk.”
Sejong, who was Hyewoon’s desk partner, opened his eyes wide and grumbled asking why he was sitting here. Even when Sejong said he was used to sitting alone so it was uncomfortable and told him to go, Jeongwoo didn’t budge.
After sitting down, he felt Jihan’s gaze from the seat on the exact opposite side, but Jeongwoo pretended not to see as always.
He didn’t have the confidence to look. Very interested with a nonchalant face. Rather, he himself seemed more embarrassed.
Jeongwoo, who hadn’t even had the desire to get close, was confused.
Still, he acknowledged that he’d become much more lenient with himself since he didn’t look at Jihan with contemptuous eyes like before.
A little, just a little, he also had thoughts of getting closer.
‘I thought the kids were just joking, but he’s really interested in me.’
But to be interested. At the thought that he might like him, his head became complicated.
“Ugh, I don’t know.”
“What don’t you know? I told you to go to your seat.”
“This is all because of you guys.”
“What did we, no, what did I do that you’re snapping at me?”
Sejong, who said something to Jeongwoo who was noisily tearing at his hair and making a fuss, and instead got told off, pouted his lips.
Normally they would have bickered, but Jeongwoo, whose head felt like it would burst just thinking of Jihan, had no attention left to give to Sejong.
“If you two hadn’t said such things……”
Jeongwoo’s deep sigh settled on top of Hyewoon’s desk.
There’s one thing to point out here. The definition of ‘interest’ that Jeongwoo mentioned and the ‘interest’ that Jihan understood were different.
Instead of asking if he liked him, Jeongwoo asked if he was ‘interested.’
Jihan, who wanted to get close with Jeongwoo, understood that ‘interest’ in a different meaning. Jihan, who naturally understood it as meaning whether he wanted to get close, answered yes without hesitation.
So to Jihan, ‘interest = getting close.’
Jihan, who couldn’t even imagine Jeongwoo was asking if he liked him, was excited thinking he’d finally developed the desire to get close. He thought his efforts were bearing fruit.
However, Jeongwoo ignored him without even answering and went over to Sejong’s side altogether.
“Does he dislike getting close that much?”
Jihan, who was bewildered by this situation itself, muttered with a gloomy face while unable to take his eyes off Jeongwoo.
Like this, misunderstandings were piling up.
***
Once he started thinking ‘does he really like me?’, Jeongwoo started being bothered by Jihan.
Even when friends said “That hyung definitely likes you” and fanned the flames from the side, he had assured them that whether he liked him or not, it would be fine.
Unlike his confident assurance, at school where he was with Jihan, he was bothered by him every day.
At the study hall they’d gone to together, the manager still brought up Jihan’s story, so it had been quite a while since he’d gone. He had no choice but to study at home instead of the study hall.
At first, being bothered was flustering, but now he just accepted it.
Though it was a carefree sound, at first he’d reproached himself a lot saying why he kept being bothered when he didn’t even like Moon Jihan.
But he decided to accept this as something even Jeongwoo himself couldn’t help. He also rationalized a bit saying it was natural to be bothered since he was interested in him.
Plus, even though quite some time had passed, he kept remembering how he took his side.
Actually, it was largely Jihan’s fault for acting in ways that made him remember again whenever he was about to forget.
Yumin and Seowon, who came to Jeongwoo taking advantage of Jihan going out with other friends, cursed many times behind Jihan’s back.
Every time friends cursed Jeongwoo behind his back, Jihan, who appeared from somewhere, severely scolded his friends. Then, instead of apologizing himself, he brought his friends and made them definitely apologize.
When Jeongwoo himself was ignoring it pretending not to hear.
That wasn’t all.
When he couldn’t eat lunch with Sejong, somehow knowing, he’d find Jeongwoo in the large cafeteria and definitely eat with him.
He persistently followed Jeongwoo around saying he was disappointed because it seemed they’d gotten a bit closer but had become distant again.
Even at Jihan’s honesty, Jeongwoo drew a line.
The more he remained consistent with ignoring him like at first, the more persistent Jihan became.
It was the same in front of the school gate.
After becoming desk partners with Jeongwoo, Jihan wore his uniform properly and never came with piercings. He’d only leave out his name tag or tie at a cute level.
But after Jeongwoo drew a line, he started coming with sparkling piercings in his ears, and didn’t wear his uniform properly.
When told to take out the piercing, he’d thrust his ear forward asking him to take it out directly. When pushed away telling him to just go, he’d grin and take out the piercing.
When asked why he wore it when he’d take it out right away after entering the school gate anyway, he answered “That’s the only way I can have a conversation with you.” His methods of starting conversations were evolving daily.
Jihan’s words did have a point. If he didn’t follow him around, Jihan and Jeongwoo had no time to converse at all.
The groups they hung out with were different to begin with, and since the day he asked if he was interested in him, Jeongwoo had been sitting in Hyewoon’s seat continuously.
Since Hyewoon didn’t stop by the classroom at all and went straight to the gym, Jeongwoo sat in that seat as if it were his own.
Since the 1st and 2nd place in the whole school were sitting together, even the homeroom teacher didn’t say anything. Rather, he liked it more saying the synergy would go up.
Jihan pestered him to sit together whenever there was a chance, but sitting separately was a good thing for Jeongwoo.
Unlike Jeongwoo’s seat by the window where the playground was clearly visible, Hyewoon’s seat was attached to the hallway. It was in a position where the classroom could be seen at a glance and even the hallway in front of the classroom was clearly visible, so it was perhaps also beneficial as he could see Jihan a bit more objectively.
Though Jihan still bothered him, he could clearly see him playing in the hallway with students from other classes and other friends who couldn’t enter the classroom. Even how he treated his friends like now.
Jeongwoo, who rested his chin on the desk, was watching the group playing in the hallway.
“Hey, Moon Jihan.”
“Moon Jihan? Don’t you use proper titles?”
“Why, what, whatever. We’re the same year anyway.”
Jihan was playing with students from other classes in the hallway.
He stood out towering among over seven students, so he could be found at once. His face particularly stood out too.
“You’re always messing around like this. When you don’t even have the strength to beat this hyung-nim.”
“Can’t beat me? I’m going easy on you. Because you’re old, I’m going easy on you, Jihan.”
“This guy keeps calling my name. Don’t mess around, okay? Don’t mess around and then get scolded and cry.”
Jihan’s face, messing up the hair of the male student calling his name, was full of laughter.
The eyes looking at his friend as if he was cute even when messing around weren’t much different from when he looked at Jeongwoo.
“Childish.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
Sejong, who had been solving his problem book, raised his head at Jeongwoo’s voice.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
