5) Promise
Yi-hyeon thought that as long as he was with Han Jun, it would be nothing but a carefree, happy outing. But once it passed noon, the heat radiating from the sun-scorched ground made his breathing grow steadily more labored. Sweat poured down even when he stood still, and every breath he exhaled felt scorching hot.
As he felt the heat slowly rushing up into his face, Yi-hyeon realized that if this kept up, Han Jun would end up discovering his half-puppy state. It was painful to part, but before he got caught, he decided it was best to split up here.
“Jun, I should head back to my group now.”
“Why? Are you not having fun hanging out with me?”
“No, I had a lot of fun. But they keep DM’ing me, asking why I haven’t come back yet.”
Being with Han Jun was fun and comfortable. But the lies and the guilt kept piling up. Oblivious to Yi-hyeon’s inner torment over having lied yet again, Han Jun grabbed onto him, saying there was no need to get dragged around by a big group when they could just keep hanging out like this, the two of them.
“Wait a second, Yoon Yi-hyeon.”
“Sorry. I really have to go.”
When Yi-hyeon twisted his body in the opposite direction of Han Jun’s pull, his arm was yanked taut.
“Let go. I really—”
“That’s not it.”
Han Jun released Yi-hyeon’s arm and unzipped the bum bag he was wearing. Then, quickly, he pulled out a few wet wipes and pressed them against Yi-hyeon’s nose.
“You’ve got a nosebleed.”
Startled by Han Jun’s sudden words, Yi-hyeon had no choice but to roughly shove away the hand wiping his nose. Apparently not expecting to be pushed, Han Jun stumbled back, and the wet wipes slipped from his hand.
“Huh?”
Staring down at the single sheet stained with bright red blood, Yi-hyeon opened his mouth to apologize—but in the end, he couldn’t force the words out. He turned around and bolted forward without looking back.
This is driving me insane……!
Even as he ran, Yi-hyeon repeatedly felt over his head, checking his ears. His condition hadn’t completely collapsed yet, so they hadn’t fully sprung up—but before long, they’d grow large enough to catch people’s attention. Clenching the headband he’d torn off as if he might crush it, he dashed into the nearest restroom, not far from the last ride he’d taken with Han Jun.
“That’s Yoon Yi-hyeon, right? You about to shit yourself or something? Why’re you running in here like that?”
“What’s with the headband? You a baby or what?”
“No empty stalls. Get in line.”
Maybe because it was picnic season, the restroom was packed with students. The moment he felt their eyes on him, Yi-hyeon decided this wasn’t the place and immediately turned back out.
As punishment for having enjoyed himself with Han Jun, Yi-hyeon now had to desperately search for somewhere he could hide his body, his face on the verge of bursting into tears.
But… he didn’t see them, right?
Only now did Yi-hyeon realize how foolish he’d been.
Drunk on the happiness of being with someone, he’d run around under the blazing heat without thinking about how quickly his stamina would drain. He should’ve just ridden the roller coaster and parted ways. No—he should’ve let Han Jun go before it even reached noon.
Yi-hyeon felt like an absolute idiot, despite always believing himself to be fairly sharp.
There…!
Where his frantic steps finally came to a halt was the amusement park’s pride and joy: Ghost School. It was the longest and scariest haunted house in Korea, themed around a possessed school. If it was in there, it’d definitely be dark inside. Planning to hide in the building and use his heightened sense of smell and hearing to find an empty spot, Yi-hyeon sprinted toward the entrance.
“Ticket check, please.”
With no time to waste, Yi-hyeon flashed his ticket at the staff member and hurriedly dashed inside.
Grrrrr.
Sob… sob… sobsob. Sobsobsob.
The moment he stepped in, eerie sounds meant to build fear filled the air, along with thick, acrid smoke that stung his nose.
Not the right side. There’re people there.
Dodging past costumed ghosts lying in wait and weaving around other visitors, Yi-hyeon eventually spotted a temporary wall set up in the most secluded corner. He squeezed through a narrow gap barely wide enough for one person, and thankfully found a space where he could curl up.
Ha… I’m saved.
Leaning his back against the cool wall, Yi-hyeon quietly waited there for his ears to disappear.
Why aren’t they going down?
When he checked his phone, over thirty minutes had passed since he’d parted ways with Han Jun. Even so, his perked-up ears showed no sign of subsiding.
Sob… teacher…… sob……
Baby, sleeping so well.
The crying of ghosts and a child’s sing-song voice drifted in from time to time, but none of it scared him. What terrified him most was the thought of running into Han Jun once his ears were gone. There was no way to know whether Han Jun had seen them or not, and the uncertainty frightened him to no end. On top of that, the fact that he’d coldly slapped away Han Jun’s kind hand weighed on Yi-hyeon so heavily he could barely stand it.
He must’ve misunderstood my actions.
Well… even calling it a misunderstanding felt wrong.
Yi-hyeon had very clearly knocked away Han Jun’s hand as he wiped the nosebleed, and then run off without offering even the excuse of it being a mistake. The thought that their once-in-a-lifetime amusement park memory might fade into something ugly in Han Jun’s mind made Yi-hyeon clutch his head in agony.
I don’t want things to get awkward with Han Jun.
As Yi-hyeon’s body curled in on itself from distress, a sudden “Aaaagh!”—Han Jun’s scream—rang out somewhere nearby. Had he been thinking about him so much that even other people’s screams were starting to sound like his voice? Holding his breath, Yi-hyeon stayed still—then immediately heard someone calling for him.
“Yoon Yi-hyeon! Are you here? If you are, answer me!”
What the hell. That’s really Han Jun?
“Yoon Yi—aaagh! Sir! If I die of a heart attack, are you gonna take responsibility?!”
Han Jun’s voice reached Yi-hyeon’s ears even more clearly than before.
Threatening to hire a lawyer and report it as negligence, the voice angrily shouting was unmistakably Han Jun, arguing with a ghost.
Why is he here?
His heart leapt at the sound of Han Jun searching for him, but Yi-hyeon couldn’t bring himself to face him right now and stubbornly stayed where he was. Being called over and over made him nervous, so he clapped his hands over his ears to block out the sound. But with only two hands, there was no way to cover a pair of perked-up Pomeranian ears.
The two ears jutting out atop his head twitched, instinctively chasing after Han Jun’s voice—
“Aaah!”
There was a loud crash, followed by the sound of Han Jun tripping over something.
“Ah, fuck……”
His groan quickly faded. Yi-hyeon shot to his feet, and before he even realized it, he was sprinting toward the sound of Han Jun’s voice.
“Damn, that hurts like hell.”
Mistaking Yi-hyeon’s urgent footsteps for something else, Han Jun—who was slumped on the floor—suddenly screamed.
“Aaagh! Don’t come any closer! I’m injured right now, okay?! I’m calling my lawyer—!”
“Jun!”
Yi-hyeon dropped down beside him and reached for Han Jun’s leg, and Han Jun reflexively reached out as well. When his hand moved toward Yi-hyeon’s head, Yi-hyeon—who’d been trying to check the injury—jerked back in shock and retreated.
