Even though I hadn’t intended to, I had ended up becoming the worst kind of villain. At this rate, even the Joker might learn a thing or two from me. A deflating sigh slipped out of my mouth. A bitter smile hung at the corners of my lips.
My thoughts kept branching into more thoughts. Meanwhile, the party was steadily heading toward its end.
“Kim Bo-jin. I’ll see you later then. I’ll contact you, so please actually pick up.”
“Look who’s talking. The pot calling the kettle black. You’re the one who only calls when you’re bored.”
“Nope. Not true. It’s all because I miss you.”
“Put some spit on your lips before you lie.”
I stuck out my tongue and smeared spit all over my lips.
“…You disgusting bastard.”
“Anyway, see you later.”
“Yeah.”
The seated part of the schedule was finally over. I wandered around the hall looking for Do Jihoon.
Do Jihoon was standing near the far end of the hall. I quickly walked toward him.
“Doji!”
“…Yeah, Yuri.”
His voice sounded like his usual self. The faint smile on his face was the same too.
Relief washed over me.
I ran straight into his arms. Do Jihoon caught me easily. His sturdy arms wrapped tightly around me. It felt warm and drowsy, like slipping under a blanket. A smile spread across my face without me realizing.
Do Jihoon’s scent. Do Jihoon’s scent.
I rubbed my face against his chest.
“You’re especially clingy today.”
“Waaah. I’m baby Yuri.”
“…Honestly. When I’m with you, I can never keep a serious mood.”
Do Jihoon grumbled, but he was smiling.
He didn’t ask anything. Even though there were clearly things he wanted to ask.
But that didn’t mean I could stay silent too.
I was a little scared of what he might say. But easing Do Jihoon’s worries mattered far more than my fear.
“Doji, I’m sorry.”
Still in his arms, I apologized.
“……”
Do Jihoon didn’t speak. His gaze was warm. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to talk to me.
He was simply waiting.
Waiting until I finished saying everything I wanted to say.
I lifted my head and met his eyes, then spoke.
“That guy earlier was a close dongsaeng. Someone I was close to in high school.”
“Yeah.”
“…After the CSAT, I cut off contact with everyone from school. So I guess he was really hurt.”
“I see.”
“I think he hugged me impulsively because he hadn’t seen me in a long time. I tried to pry his arm off, but I guess I’m too weak—it wouldn’t come off. I definitely wasn’t staying in his arms because I wanted to.”
“I know.”
“Really? I’m not the kind of spineless omega who jumps into just any alpha’s arms. I only tuck myself into our Doji’s arms like this.”
“Is that so? That’s nice to hear.”
Do Jihoon gently stroked my hair. He brushed my bangs aside and pressed a kiss to my forehead. Luckily, he didn’t seem to be in a terrible mood.
I rose onto my toes and left a short kiss on his lips. Do Jihoon’s lips curved upward.
“Our Doji even looks pretty when he smiles.”
We were just getting into a sweet mood when—
“…Yuri hyung.”
A watery voice slipped in from the side.
“…Hyung.”
When I turned my head, sure enough—it was Seo Hee-gyeom. He was anxiously chewing on his lower lip.
Seo Hee-gyeom looked back and forth between me and Do Jihoon. Tears slowly began filling his large eyes. That crybaby bastard looked like he was about to cry again.
“Hee-gyeom.”
I mimicked Do Jihoon’s gentle tone.
Seo Hee-gyeom lifted his head and looked at me. His face was full of some kind of hope.
“Hyung. Can I contact you from now on?”
“……”
“If I contact you… will you answer?”
“……”
“…Hyung.”
His complexion gradually darkened.
I was thinking too.
What would be the right answer?
And then I made a decision.
“Hey. Do you like me?”
The moment the words left my mouth, I regretted it. What kind of outdated pickup line was that?
Seo Hee-gyeom’s face turned ashen, like he’d just seen a walking corpse.
“No! Not at all. Hyung—hyung is family to me. How could you say something like that…?”
His voice sounded completely sincere.
I looked at Do Jihoon.
Do Jihoon didn’t show any particular reaction—good or bad—but he spoke.
“Do whatever you want, Yuri. It’s okay.”
I felt both touched and a sharp pang in my chest.
If I followed my original inclination, I wanted to ignore him just like before. Whatever Yeon Yuri’s past relationships had been, what did that have to do with me?
But Seo Hee-gyeom’s words—family—kept lingering in my mind.
If someone like a real older sister or older brother suddenly disappeared, how huge would that sense of loss be?
Damn it.
I kept worrying about it.
In any case, I made my decision.
“Hey.”
My tone was cold. Seo Hee-gyeom’s face filled with disappointment.
“…Let’s at least keep in touch.”
“Really?”
I nodded.
Seo Hee-gyeom broke into a bright smile, as if the gloom from earlier had been a lie.
“But if Do Jihoon asks to see it, I’ll show him. Our messages.”
“……”
“If you don’t like that, then we won’t keep in touch. Sorry, but Do Jihoon is the most important person to me.”
Fuck.
Why was my face getting so hot after saying that? I felt like I was saying all kinds of embarrassing things in front of someone I’d only just met today.
“No. It’s fine. Everything’s fine. Just please answer when I contact you.”
Seo Hee-gyeom accepted my proposal.
And just like that, my already narrow social circle—previously consisting of only Do Jihoon, Kim Bo-jin, and three classmates—gained a newcomer named Seo Hee-gyeom.
After returning home, I gave Doji a hundred kisses as a reward for everything he’d endured today.
Do Jihoon was extremely pleased.
At some point those kisses turned into actual kissing, and by the next day my lips were swollen like blood sausage—but still.
***
In early August, when the sun sat high in the middle of the sky and the air burned with heavy heat—
Do Jihoon and I went on a trip to the beach to celebrate midsummer.
“Doji, look at this! The waves are crashing!”
“Yuri. Stop running around. Don’t slip and fall into the water. Come here first. We should put the luggage down.”
We had just arrived in Busan. The surface of the ocean reflected the sunlight, sparkling like stars.
The hotel stood right in front of the sea. Suppressing my regret about not immediately diving into the water, I walked inside.
After checking in, we arrived at our hotel room, which looked like a luxurious house. It had everything—a living room, a kitchen, a dining table, and even a separate bedroom.
“Doji, hurry up and get ready so we can go out. The ocean is calling this body.”
I spread both arms wide and struck an exaggerated, swaggering pose.
Do Jihoon glanced at me while organizing the luggage.
“For Jack Sparrow, you’re pretty small and gentle.”
“…Did this bastard just attack my complex?”
I clung to Do Jihoon’s back like gum while he kept organizing things. It was punishment for his disastrous mouth.
But the smile never left Do Jihoon’s lips. For him, it probably felt more like a reward than a punishment.
“Baby, am I heavy?”
“Not at all.”
“…I’m going to start working out too. From now on, when you go to the gym, I’m going with you. I’ll be reborn as Healthy-Man Yeon Yuri.”
“Sure, let’s go together. Honestly, I’ve questioned your basic stamina more than once.”
What a ruthless way of speaking.
With my face buried in his back, I nodded gloomily.
Then, to get revenge for what he said, I started tickling his sides like crazy.
“……”
But there was no reaction.
Was this guy made of stone?
A snort escaped Do Jihoon. He clearly found me ridiculously pathetic.
While aggressively tickling his sides, I suddenly changed targets.
My fingers slowly crept upward toward Do Jihoon’s long, thick neck.
But—
“…Not there.”
The moment my fingertips touched the back of his neck, he grabbed my hand.
Tak.
The sound was sharp.
Do Jihoon’s face had stiffened slightly. I shrank back a little.
Before we started dating, Do Jihoon used to speak to me pretty sharply sometimes. We’d even fought a few times.
Maybe because of that, whenever his face suddenly hardened like that, I felt a little scared.
Is he annoyed? Did I go too far with the joke?
Thoughts like that occasionally crossed my mind.
But it felt awkward to say that directly to Do Jihoon. It was such a trivial thing, and it might just stir up unnecessary trouble.
So I forced a light tone and joked with him.
“Why, does it tickle there? Okay, got it. I won’t touch your neck.”
“…Yeah. It tickles. So don’t touch my neck.”
“Got it. Oh, Doji—are you done organizing?”
“Yeah.”
“Honestly. You could’ve just left everything in the suitcase and taken clothes out when you needed them. You barely even brought anything, yet you’re so neat. Such a neat freak.”
“You really don’t think you’re messy at all, do you, Yuri?”
“…Say that again with that mouth of yours.”
Like a charging rhinoceros, I lunged dramatically at Do Jihoon.
He dodged around for a while, but eventually I caught him.
Then I started biting him like a puppy.
He ended up walking around the entire day with round bite marks on his nose like Rudolph, his face scrunched up in irritation.
