***
Han Jun’s basketball game overlapped with Yi-hyeon’s balloon-popping event. Wanting to watch Han Jun’s game, Yi-hyeon ended up failing to hide the gloom that crossed his face as the timing slipped past each other.
While the other students were warming up, Yi-hyeon sat alone at a distance in the stands, staring down at Han Jun on his phone. Then, letting out a long sigh, he blankly looked up at the sky.
In front of Yi-hyeon, he acted bright and never showed it—but in places where no one was around, he thought about Louis. He wondered if he should just confess now that he was Louis, tell him the truth. But at the same time, fear crept in: after watching Han Jun desperately search for Louis all this time, wouldn’t he get angry, accuse Yi-hyeon of deceiving and lying to him, and turn away?
Still, someday I’ll have to tell him.
Unable to approach because of his tangled emotions, Yi-hyeon watched from afar. Perhaps sensing his gaze, Han Jun turned around first.
“Yoon Yi-hyeon!”
Han Jun quickly stuffed his phone into his pocket, stood up, and waved at Yi-hyeon. The moment Yi-hyeon saw that bright, smiling face, his mouth clamped shut. What if he said something unnecessary and ended up never seeing that smile again?
Unaware of Yi-hyeon’s thoughts, Han Jun jogged over and asked why he was standing there looking sulky, then pinched his cheek.
“Ah—hey, that hurts!”
“I barely pinched you. You’re exaggerating. Anyway, it’s crazy hot today. If you get a nosebleed, hide somewhere decent and contact me.”
“Yeah. Thanks for worrying about me.”
The human heart really must be as light as a feather.
Just moments ago, Yi-hyeon had been agonizing over whether to reveal his secret, yet Han Jun’s gentle concern—directed at him—made those thoughts quietly fade away. It seemed that, for now, Yi-hyeon still wasn’t ready to be hated by Han Jun.
***
“Alright, get ready!”
The student officiating the balloon-popping event brought the whistle to his mouth. Hoping that if his own match ended quickly, he might still catch at least part of Han Jun’s game, Yi-hyeon deliberately positioned himself closest to the balloons—even knowing beanbags would be flying at him.
Tweet—!
At the clear sound of the whistle, Yi-hyeon grabbed whatever beanbags he could get his hands on and started flinging them wildly. Despite his determination to finish fast and go watch Han Jun’s game, his actual skill was abysmal.
“Alright, stop! Class 1 wins!”
In the end, Yi-hyeon’s class came in dead last. Of course, it was a collective failure, but Yi-hyeon blamed it on his own lack of stamina, his shoulders drooping lower and lower.
“Figures. It’s Yoon Yi-hyeon.”
“If that bastard’s in the event, you might as well give up.”
Those voices—Haejun’s—reached Yi-hyeon’s ears as he was already blaming himself. Already irritated that morning because his friend Seo Wonseok hadn’t been able to attend, Haejun found Yi-hyeon, returning from a loss, to be perfect prey.
Not wanting to hear people blaming him, Yi-hyeon lowered his head and turned away from the group. Just then—drip, drip—red liquid fell in droplets onto the concrete floor where he was about to step.
It made him dizzy.
Yi-hyeon’s heart went cold as he froze in place. As if trying to escape reality, he swiped at the edge of his nose with the back of his hand. When he saw the blood thickly staining his pale skin, he realized he could no longer avoid it, and it felt like being sucked into a deep swamp.
No…!
If he lost consciousness here, his secret would be exposed to the entire school—no, worse, to parents and teachers too. Clutching tightly to the thread of his awareness, Yi-hyeon forced his increasingly heavy legs to move.
Walking in a daze, his mind blurred like sea fog, he spotted a group of parents gathered in the distance. If he ran into them, they’d surely stop him under the pretense of concern. Worse still, if they took him to the infirmary, it would be disastrous. On a day like today, with so many minor injuries happening, there was no place more dangerous than that.
This is driving me insane!
Sweating profusely as he avoided adults’ gazes, Yi-hyeon spotted the old gym storage building in the distance. His legs were trembling badly, and unable to waste any more time, he changed direction and sprinted toward the old storage room.
Clatter, clatter.
When he tried the doorknob, it was locked, just like always.
Maybe that’s actually a good thing.
To get inside, someone would have to squeeze through the narrow window gap, and unless they were very slim, it wouldn’t be easy. Figuring that no one would bother crawling into an unair-conditioned place like this in such heat, Yi-hyeon headed for the window he always used.
When he pushed it open, a gap appeared—just barely wide enough for Yi-hyeon’s thin body to squeeze through. After climbing into the gym storage room, he still didn’t feel safe and burrowed himself between the stacks of layered mattresses.
How long do I have to live like this—so uncomfortably? When is my body ever going to come back to me?!
Hiding there, watching dust from the old gym storage room float lazily through the sunlight streaming in through the window, Yi-hyeon lamented his fate. Tormented by the thought that there truly might be no way to separate himself from Louis, his phone suddenly buzzed.
It was a DM from Han Jun.
[Louis paw-pad photo] xxhanjunini
– – –
[Louis paw-pad photo]
—[where r u?]
[Louis paw-pad photo]
—[If your match is over, you should be sitting in the stands]
[Louis paw-pad photo]
—[You’re not even feeling well]
Why did those words feel so comforting? His eyes welled up, and for a moment, he almost let tears spill over.
[I got another nosebleed T_T]
[I was scared so I’m hiding]
[Louis paw-pad photo]
—[You]
[Louis paw-pad photo]
—[I told you to contact me if something like that happened]
[Louis paw-pad photo]
—[Where are you? I’ll come right now]
At that moment, the sound of hurried footsteps running around the old gym storage room reached him. Yi-hyeon held his phone tightly in his hand and held his breath. Swiping away the liquid trailing down his face—whether it was sweat or tears, he couldn’t tell—he waited until things quieted down before sending his location to Han Jun.
How much time passed after that? Tap, tap—at the sound of the window being knocked on, Yi-hyeon flinched and tucked himself even deeper into the mattresses. Just then, his phone—gripped so tightly his palm was damp with sweat—vibrated.
[Louis paw-pad photo] xxhanjunini
– – –
[Louis paw-pad photo]
—[It’s me]
[Louis paw-pad photo]
—[I was gonna go to the teachers’ office to borrow the key, but I didn’t wanna look suspicious, so I just came]
[Louis paw-pad photo]
—[Open the storage door a bit]
[I’ve got my tail out too]
[I’m scared so I can’t go all the way to the door]
[Louis paw-pad photo]
—[Just unlock it, and if you hide again]
[Louis paw-pad photo]
—[Send me a DM]
[Louis paw-pad photo]
—[Then I’ll open it myself and come in]
[Louis paw-pad photo]
—[And because of the dust on the window, I can’t see you move at all from here]
[Really?]
[Louis paw-pad photo]
—[Yes]
After checking Han Jun’s DM, Yi-hyeon slowly poked his head out from between the mattresses. Staying like that, he focused—sniff, sniff—on his sense of smell. But with the space sealed off on all sides and no airflow, it was hard to pick up Han Jun’s scent.
Then, catching sight of a wavering silhouette reflected in the window, Yi-hyeon realized Han Jun was nearby. In this entire school, only Han Jun had that kind of tall stature and flawless physical build.
