***
“Want to grab a drink before we go?”
Since Yi-hyeon had paid for the meal, Yeon-seo insisted that she absolutely wanted to buy the drinks and pointed toward a nearby café. Yi-hyeon refused at first, saying it was fine, but when Yeon-seo said the meal he’d treated them to was so good that she really wanted to buy him a drink, he reluctantly gave in and followed her.
When Yeon-seo tried to pay for the drinks, Han Jun, who was standing behind her, reached over her shoulder and held out his card.
“I’ll pay for Yi-hyeon’s and Minseo’s.”
“What is that…… then I’m not treating anyone. I’m just paying my own money to drink my own drink.”
“Exactly.”
“Forget it. Just pay for yours.”
Yeon-seo shoved Han Jun away with her shoulder.
While they waited for the drinks, Yeon-seo asked Yi-hyeon this and that. In between, she kept sneaking sideways glances at Han Jun, who seemed to be staring daggers at her.
Is he interested in her……?
Maybe because she was the only one asking Yi-hyeon questions, Han Jun was glaring at her with jealousy. Yeon-seo was cute and kind. She seemed popular in class too—there were always friends around her. Han Jun was prickly with her now because he was shy, but if they got closer, he might end up liking her. Just imagining that made it hard for Yi-hyeon to hide the faint gloom settling over him.
As he sat there looking spaced out, Minseo, sitting beside him, tapped Yi-hyeon’s hand.
“Hm?”
When Yi-hyeon looked over, Minseo gestured toward Yeon-seo with his eyes.
“Nu-na askin’ somethin’.”
“Oh—what? Ah, sorry. I didn’t hear you.”
“What were you thinking about so deeply?”
Yeon-seo showed no sign of annoyance at all, even though Yi-hyeon hadn’t been listening to her and had been spacing out. That was just how gentle and kind she was. Still, Yi-hyeon didn’t want to think that she and Han Jun suited each other. It was childish jealousy.
“Ah, just… a math problem I couldn’t solve yesterday.”
“Figures. First place in the entire grade really is different.”
Hearing that with the actual top-ranked student sitting right next to him, Yi-hyeon panicked and quickly shook his head.
“No, first place is him.”
“Huh? Ju-yeon said you’re first in the grade.”
“Ju-yeon?”
“Seo Ju-yeon. My friend from your class.”
“Ah…… only up until second year. Once we hit third year, first place changed.”
“Oh, come on. That still means you’re really good at studying.”
Between Yeon-seo’s and Yi-hyeon’s conversation, the clink-clink of ice being aggressively stirred with a straw cut in harshly—Han Jun’s drink.
“There’s nothing I’m really good at…… so at least I have to be good at that if I don’t want to starve. Anyway, what were you asking earlier?”
“Huh? Oh—what your ideal type is. The kind of person you like.”
“Me?”
Yi-hyeon pointed at himself, and Yeon-seo nodded.
“Hmm…… I’ve never really thought about it.”
“You’ve never liked anyone before?”
At Yeon-seo’s sudden question, Yi-hyeon almost turned to look at Han Jun—but miraculously, he held back.
“Yeah.”
Yeon-seo looked surprised.
Having to hide his true feelings, Yi-hyeon could only smile bitterly and scrape at a hangnail next to his thumbnail.
“Hyung, I gotta pee.”
As they left the café and walked toward the bus stop, Minseo started squirming, on the verge of tears, saying he needed to use the bathroom.
“What do we do? I don’t see anywhere nearby that’d have a restroom. I guess we’ll have to go back to that café and just use the bathroom. Should we say goodbye here, then?”
Holding Minseo’s hand tightly, Yi-hyeon said they should part ways here and turned—
“I’ll wait.”
“Me too.”
Han Jun spoke up, and Yeon-seo immediately chimed in, not wanting to lose.
“Hyung, hurry.”
As Minseo stomped his feet anxiously, Yi-hyeon reluctantly said they’d be back in ten minutes, then scooped Minseo up into his arms. He hurried back toward the café.
The moment Yi-hyeon disappeared from sight, Han Jun dropped his dark gaze straight down onto the much shorter Yeon-seo. He finally opened his mouth, which had been twisted in displeasure the entire time.
“How long are you planning to stick around?”
“And why are you asking that?”
“I already did everything I could to tell you to go home.”
“How would you even know whether you did or didn’t? If Yi-hyeon says he’s leaving, then I’ll leave on my own.”
In an instant, Han Jun’s expression turned icy.
After staring down at Yeon-seo for a long moment, he bent at the waist, bringing his lips close to her ear. In a very low voice, he whispered,
“Do you like Yoon Yi-hyeon?”
Han Jun’s assumption slipped into the gap in Yeon-seo’s guard. She flinched, then immediately showed her displeasure.
“I don’t think I have any reason to answer that for you.”
“So you do.”
Han Jun rolled his dark eyes once toward the café. Then he looked back at Yeon-seo, leaned down again, and whispered softly into her ear,
“Give up. There’s someone he likes.”
***
As soon as vacation started, Yi-hyeon increased his part-time work hours. Tuition was one thing, but since he’d also planned a trip with Han Jun, he needed to earn as much spending money as possible, even if it was just one more day’s worth.
The place he worked at was a convenience store about four bus stops away from school. There were part-time jobs closer to the Orphanage, but they didn’t hire minors, which was a shame.
It stung that he couldn’t save on bus fare, but aside from rush times and lunch hours, the store was pretty quiet, so he was fairly satisfied—it gave him time to study.
That wasn’t the only good thing. It was a small convenience store, so he worked alone most of the time and stayed behind the counter. And since he was allowed to wear a hat, even if his ears and tail popped out, he could deal with it quickly.
And best of all……
“Yoon Yi-hyeon, I’m hungry.”
Ding. Along with the sound of the bell, a tall man barged in headfirst. The moment he saw Yi-hyeon, he broke into a grin—and Yi-hyeon ended up smiling back without meaning to.
“You’re here?”
Yi-hyeon’s convenience store happened to be near Han Jun’s academy. He hadn’t chosen the job with that in mind. Yi-hyeon found the job first, and when vacation started, Han Jun increased his academy classes—so it just ended up that way. Ever since, Han Jun had been wearing the place down, dropping by every time his classes ended.
“Haah…… do I really have to go to college, putting myself through this kind of hell?”
Yi-hyeon walked over to Han Jun, who was sprawled face-down on the table inside the convenience store, and handed him a bottle of bunny bunny choco milk—the drink Han Jun had started consuming almost as often as coffee at some point.
After taking the milk and setting it down beside him, Han Jun grabbed Yi-hyeon’s hand and pulled it to his own cheek.
“I’m burning up, right?”
There was no way he’d feel any heat. Compared to Han Jun’s cheek, Yi-hyeon’s hand was much warmer.
“O-of course not?”
Han Jun rubbed his face against the back of Yi-hyeon’s hand, then tilted his head and looked up at him.
The one running hot wasn’t Han Jun—it was Yi-hyeon. Thinking that his overheated face might burst at any moment, Yi-hyeon quickly pulled his hand away and turned his back on him.
“I-if you’re really hot, I’ll get you a cup of ice.”
Listening to his own pounding heartbeat, he trudged over to the freezer, opened the door, and grabbed a cup of ice. The cold air spilling out cooled his face, but the heat boiling inside him showed no sign of going down.
“Oh, right. Don’t you need a tablet?”
Han Jun’s voice came from behind Yi-hyeon, who was standing there blankly with the ice cup in hand.
“Huh?”
“Isn’t it uncomfortable solving problems or watching lectures on your phone? I’ve got two.”
When Han Jun said he could just use the one his mom used to use, Yi-hyeon hurriedly shook his head.
“No, it’s fine. It’s not uncomfortable.”
“One of them’s just lying around at home anyway. It’s not like I can use two.”
Saying that if he just left it alone, it’d turn into an outdated old model anyway, Han Jun trailed off. Yi-hyeon avoided answering, stepped closer, and held out the cup of ice to him.
