Judging by the vaguely recalled storyline, Kang Taeyoon and Go Heemin probably hadn’t become a complete couple yet.
It hadn’t even been a few months since Min Siheon had gotten acquainted with them, so unless something unexpected had happened, it wasn’t as though there was no opportunity left.
Thinking I might as well do a good deed, I contacted Go Heemin right away.
“Hey, Heemin. Send me your schedule.”
—Me? Why? (Who is it?) Jungwoo. (Why is Cha Jungwoo calling you at this hour?) Ah, come on! Friends can call each other, can’t they…?
“Is Kang Taeyoon next to you?”
—Huh? Uh, yeah… Taeyoon said we should grab a drink.
A familiar voice drifted through the phone. Even though it was late, it seemed Kang Taeyoon was with Go Heemin. Maybe because he was conscious of me, Go Heemin went quiet for a few seconds.
They weren’t even a couple yet, but judging by how they’d already locked lips and were still together at this hour, they seemed to be walking that precarious line—more than friends, not quite lovers.
If things tipped fully into mutual feelings at this rate, there’d be no room left for Min Siheon to wedge himself in.
Min Siheon acted like he wasn’t, but he was the slow type when it came to relationships.
Seeing how attached he’d grown—and now this side of him too—I couldn’t just stand by without helping.
It wasn’t that I held any grudge against Kang Taeyoon, but at the very least, I felt Min Siheon deserved an equal shot. So for that frustratingly passive bastard’s sake, I rolled up my sleeves.
Of course, I was scared of Kang Taeyoon too. He had backing, power, and when it came to anyone but Go Heemin, he was a no-brakes kind of guy. If he found out I harbored intentions like this, he might try to get rid of me quietly, without a trace.
So before Kang Taeyoon could catch onto anything suspicious, I made the first move.
I planned to build a foothold for Min Siheon—just up to the point where it wouldn’t be dangerous—and then step out.
“Looks like Siheon has a lot of free periods. He’s probably planning to work on assignments during the gaps, but I guess you two might feel a bit bored. So I figured I’d send him your schedule. If I get yours, Heemin, Taeyoon’s is basically the same, right?”
—…Min Siheon wants to do assignments with us? (What?) Ah, hold on. Taeyoon, can you be quiet for a second? (What kind of nonsense is that?) Tsk, don’t call it nonsense. …Okay. I’ll send it for now.
“Thanks.”
—Yeah. But, Jungwoo…
“Yeah? What?”
—Are you meeting up with us tomorrow too?
“What are you talking about? I said I’m working with a junior. You two really are friends, asking the same thing. If there’s time, let’s at least see each other’s faces. Anyway, sorry for calling so late.”
—Uh… okay.
After the call ended, I saved the lecture schedule Go Heemin sent me. Then I immediately forwarded it to Min Siheon, adding a message telling him to have a good meeting tomorrow.
[Here’s Go Heemin’s schedule. You know Kang Taeyoon’s is almost the same, right? Good luck with the assignment tomorrow. See you next time.]
After that message, I didn’t receive any further contact from Min Siheon. Or rather, I did—but I was asleep and missed it.
When I saw the pile of missed calls in the morning, I shook my head, wondering what had been so urgent.
I’d meant to reply right away, but I ended up on the verge of being late and kept putting it off until now.
“Hyung! Your hands stopped moving.”
“Sorry.”
The junior waved his hand in front of my face. I must’ve frozen up while recalling yesterday.
After apologizing, I tried to focus on the assignment again, but the phone I’d left on the table vibrated.
[Min Siheon]
Min Siheon? The very person who’d been floating around in my thoughts since yesterday. I’d thought things were quiet after the morning, so I felt a flicker of worry.
“Hyung, aren’t you going to answer?”
“I’ll step out.”
Grabbing my phone, I went outside the café. The sky was still bright—broad daylight. The vibration didn’t stop, as if he had no intention of hanging up.
What was so urgent? It made me uneasy.
“Why’d you call? Aren’t you working on the assignment with the guys right now?”
The moment I tapped the call button, Min Siheon’s voice came through—low and sunken. His usual tone was already on the deeper side, but today it sounded even lower.
“…Jungwoo. I’m sick.”
“What?”
“Can you come?”
At the voice coming through the phone, I lost my words. I didn’t know why, but my chest dropped heavily.
***
I decided to end things with the junior there. Class was starting soon anyway, and Min Siheon’s weak groan had felt unfamiliar.
“Get home safe.”
“Yes~ Hyung, I’ll contact you again!”
Watching the junior wave and walk away, I turned my own steps elsewhere. I still had class left, but I’d given in to Min Siheon’s stubbornness.
“So when he said he was cold yesterday, it wasn’t an excuse—it was real.”
I’d thought he was just scheming to sit in front of Go Heemin. But now it seemed he’d really been coming down with a cold. I felt a little sorry for thinking he should be satisfied just sitting in front of Go Heemin.
Maybe I shouldn’t have contacted him so late at night. Sure, he’d called first—but if I hadn’t replied, maybe he could’ve rested earlier.
A pointless sense of guilt pricked at my chest. So I made up my mind and went to check on the sick guy.
As I retraced my memory and moved, a thought occurred to me—did Min Siheon even have medicine at home?
“He’s not the type to take care of that stuff.”
He acted like he wasn’t, but he was indifferent to his surroundings. I doubted he’d take good care of his own body either.
Sure, he had a solid build and well-defined muscles, but that was a separate matter.
I’d once visited Min Siheon’s studio apartment with some classmates, and I remembered it being empty like a model house.
The bleak interior, devoid of any lived-in warmth, felt at odds with his usual smiling face.
To our stunned classmates, he’d explained that he only kept the bare necessities—just a place to sleep.
So I assumed there’d be no medicine there and stopped by the pharmacy in front of campus.
Maybe because classes were in full swing, the pharmacy was nearly empty. I felt awkward being the only customer, but I ordered what I needed as if it were nothing.
“I’d like some cold medicine.”
“What symptoms do you have?”
“Uh… he seems to have a fever and body aches. Something with a fever reducer in it, please.”
Recalling Min Siheon’s voice, I described the symptoms I expected. Judging by how rough his voice had sounded, he must’ve caught a nasty cold.
For a guy with that kind of build to whine about being sick, he must’ve really been bedridden. I asked for something strong and bought a few additional over-the-counter medicines.
For someone built like a mountain, he unexpectedly had a childlike side that made you want to take care of him.
Then again, technically speaking, they were nearly six years younger than the real me. Twenty-three—an age that felt quite distant.
Looking at the plastic bag filled with medicine, I boarded the bus to Min Siheon’s place.
His studio was in the middle of an officetel complex not far from campus.
“I should probably get some porridge too.”
After checking the location of a porridge shop near the destination, I texted Min Siheon that I was on my way.
If he didn’t reply, I planned to hang the bag on his door and head back home, in case he’d fallen asleep.
[I’m on my way. You haven’t eaten yet, right? I’ll bring porridge and medicine, so just sleep.]
Bzzzz—
It hadn’t even been long since I sent it, but my phone vibrated sharply.
I’d assumed he’d fallen asleep after twenty minutes, but judging by this, he must’ve improved a lot.
I tilted my head at the string of unfamiliar information on the screen. It listed the address of Min Siheon’s place—which I’d been to before—followed by a long sequence of numbers I’d never seen.
[Seoul, ○○ District, ○○-dong, Metros 1902. Entrance password is #]
I almost laughed, wondering if he was kindly telling me where his house was despite being sick.
As I replied that I got it, unable to believe this uncharacteristic display, another message came before I could even finish typing.
[********** This is our house password]
“This crazy bastard. Even if we’re friends, who just sends stuff like that?”
Maybe he really wasn’t in his right mind because he was sick. Afraid someone might see, I hurriedly minimized the message window.
Min Siheon’s place was the most luxurious-looking officetel near Daehangno.
Just by glancing at the people going in and out, you could tell it housed kids from wealthy families or office workers at good companies.
Knowing the entrance passcode to a place like that made me strangely conscious of the people around me. And that alone wasn’t enough—Min Siheon had casually handed over his own door lock code too.
I scratched the back of my head, thinking he was surprisingly easygoing. Well, I’d just visit today and delete the messages afterward.
After sending a reply telling him to just sleep, I looked out at the bright weather. Late spring was giving way to early summer, and warm sunlight poured down.
Even the rustling of the medicine bag on my lap felt peaceful in the quiet weekday afternoon. As I watched the trees dyed green, my first meeting with Min Siheon came to mind.
The weather had been nice that day too. It was early April, just a few days before midterms.
***
At the time, I’d been going back and forth between home and the school library, preparing for my first exams.
My head hurt from studying after so long, but as a returning student who’d even completed military service, I didn’t feel like I had a choice.
It was around the time I was trying to adapt to the unfamiliar status of being a college student that I found out two of my classmates were the protagonists of the BL novel Love Prequel.
Since I hadn’t read the book, I had no idea which point in the story I was currently in. I’d only sensed that something had begun while watching Go Heemin, who seemed oddly unsettled.
Drained from lectures that had started in the morning, I packed up my things. Thinking about the class that would continue in the afternoon, I figured I should catch my breath first.
The moment the professor left the classroom, Go Heemin began shoving his books into his bag. Even though we’d promised to have lunch together, he moved as if he’d forgotten all about it.
The rough, hurried movements didn’t suit his usual calm and mature demeanor. It was suspicious.
While I stared blankly at Go Heemin, he slung the messily stuffed bag over his shoulder and bolted like he was running away.
“…I-I’ll go first!”
“Huh? Hey! Go Heemin! …We have the same class next—where’s he going?”
Behind Yoo In-ho, who’d frozen awkwardly with his hand half-raised, Kang Taeyoon’s eyes flashed sharply.
Whether it was good luck or bad, the face that briefly met mine carried the icy aura befitting the so-called main top.
Pretending I hadn’t seen, I quickly looked away and finished packing my stationery.
“…I’m going too.”
Kang Taeyoon seemed to grind his teeth at Go Heemin’s escape. Crack— I heard the chilling sound of bones, though I couldn’t tell where it came from, and quietly bit my lip.
But it seemed Kang Taeyoon didn’t care about us at all. He strode out of the lecture hall after Go Heemin.
I decided I’d leave the classroom too. Whether they fought or not, I was determined to at least go eat.
