Chapter 18.
Whether he didn’t hear the small muttering, Jeongwoo shook his head at Sejong who was asking what he said to him.
When he said it was nothing, Sejong turned his gaze back to where the problem book was. Jeongwoo, who glanced at Sejong, also turned his head back to the window.
“Oh? That’s that guy. The kid who confessed to that hyung saying he liked him.”
He was looking at the male student with spiky hair and Jihan when Sejong, who he thought was studying, interrupted.
Following Sejong’s finger, there was a female student with a flushed face. The female student with a bob cut and a red headband had pale skin and looked like Snow White from a fairy tale book. Plus, her slightly pink cheeks looked cute.
Jeongwoo frowned remembering the school rule that didn’t allow headbands.
“That kid also confessed.”
“……”
“You know what? That male student who’s with that hyung and that small female student next to him are dating.”
Sejong pointed to the female student with long straight hair next to the girl with the headband.
Jeongwoo’s eyes stayed on the female student for a moment, then turned to the male student playing with Jihan again.
The male student, whose nape was grabbed by Jihan, was whining and hugging his waist. Far from detaching the male student hanging on his side, Jihan was stretching his cheeks and messing up his hair thoroughly.
“That one and that one, those two?”
“Yeah. They’re super famous in Class 8. They don’t study and go out to play every day, so even the teachers just let it be?”
The skinship was excessive to just say he was playing with a friend in front of his girlfriend. That wasn’t the only thing Jeongwoo couldn’t understand with his common sense.
‘The one who confessed, the one who received the confession, and the one who’s dating. How can the three of them get along so well like that? And what’s so good that she’s blushing? She’s blushing while looking at Moon Jihan, but doesn’t she care about the boyfriend guy?’
Jeongwoo’s face gradually distorted.
Now that he looked, whether it was because of the eye-catching red headband or because he didn’t like that group, even Jeongwoo couldn’t know his own mind.
He just felt worse and worse.
Around the time his gaze became thick to the point where it would be amazing if Jihan couldn’t feel Jeongwoo’s gaze.
Jihan released the nape of the student at his side. The girlfriend was glancing at Jihan while straightening his clothes.
“…What is that.”
“Hm? What did you say?”
“Nothing.”
Jeongwoo, who shook his head, tried to turn his gaze away. That would have been the case if he hadn’t heard Jihan’s voice.
“Let’s go to the school store.”
“Are you buying, hyung?”
“Do you guys always mooch off me and still ask me to buy?”
It was something he’d seen every time, but Jihan’s actions particularly caught his eye today.
The attitude of treating the surrounding friends intimately, the natural skinship, the face full of playfulness. Though the skinship was only with male students, laughing and chatting was more natural with female students.
The female students watching Jihan who was smiling throughout blushed, and the male students surrounding him sparkled their eyes as if admiring him.
“Are you buying or not.”
“Whatever! Let’s go, go! Hyung will buy!”
Jihan led the group of friends. Naturally putting his arm around the shoulder of another male student right beside him.
Looking at it this way, it wasn’t much different from what he did with himself. It wasn’t like there was no such skinship at all. Occasionally holding hands or putting an arm around shoulders was something he also did to Jeongwoo.
There was nothing different except that unlike students who accepted it, Jeongwoo didn’t accept it.
Buying food at the drop of a hat and taking care of various things from the side were also no different.
There was nothing different.
Nothing different.
“Ah.”
Jeongwoo, who was watching Jihan, had a dazed face as if he’d been hit hard on the back of the head with a hammer.
‘He didn’t like me.’
The things that had happened so far passed quickly through Jeongwoo’s mind.
Jeongwoo, who recalled Jihan whom he’d only heard about through rumors and Jihan he’d directly encountered, who kept talking to him, and playing with other friends, finally recalled Jihan’s rumors.
The rumors about Jihan being famous for becoming close with even people he’d just met in less than 5 minutes.
Jihan, who became close quickly without much effort, but he had kept his distance and drawn a line with such a person, so it was natural for Jihan to be anxious. Because looking at his personality, it seemed he could only be satisfied if he became close with everyone.
He thought he was a special person to Jihan, but looking carefully, far from being special, he thought he himself probably felt the same as other people too.
“His personality was just like that.”
To realize that only now. Jeongwoo’s eyes, who was muttering, sharpened. Though it changed very subtly with no big difference, his gaze looking at Jihan also became cold.
Though he didn’t show it at the words that he was interested, he thought he was going crazy being bothered, but that time felt wasted.
Jeongwoo, who had been denying it saying it was just being bothered, felt the slight favorability that had formed drop sharply. The favorability that was 0.01% due to the worst first impression had risen to 30%. After realizing everything, it dropped like when he first saw him.
“Let’s go.”
Jihan led his friends and gradually moved away.
Jeongwoo, who was watching the back of the distancing Jihan, hit Sejong’s back. Because Sejong was the one who first started that talk about Jihan seeming to like Jeongwoo.
That’s how it was in Jeongwoo’s memory.
Though vaguely, it seemed like Hyewoon, who was into romance novels, had slyly brought it up, but since the only one here now was Sejong, the only one being hit was also just Sejong.
Sejong, who had been studying after conveying all the information he knew to Jeongwoo, flailed like a freshly caught fish at being hit out of nowhere.
“Why are you hitting me!”
“This is all because of you guys. Because of you guys.”
“So what is?!”
Sejong, who was hit in a place his hand couldn’t reach, kept rubbing his back.
With his eyes, he forced an explanation of what he meant, but Jeongwoo lay face down on the desk.
***
Weekend. The three people who gathered at Hyewoon’s house again were doing homework and studying.
Jeongwoo, who couldn’t concentrate, drew streaks on his notebook with his pen and threw out a story.
“That person, I don’t think he likes me but his personality was originally like that.”
“Who’s that person?”
Hyewoon, being clueless, asked who it was. Sejong, who jabbed Hyewoon’s side with his elbow, asked “Moon Jihan hyung?” Looking at the expressionless Jeongwoo, even without hearing, you could tell with just a hint.
Jeongwoo, who withdrew his gaze from glaring at Hyewoon who was groaning while holding his side, nodded.
Though he tried to erase his expression, inside felt like it was burning up.
He wondered if it was okay to bring up the story at this timing, and he also worried whether the quick-witted Sejong might tease him.
But there was no one else to talk about this with besides Sejong and Hyewoon. In the first place, it was the two of them who fanned the flames at Jeongwoo who had been still. The two weren’t completely without responsibility.
Unlike his expectation that they would tease him, Sejong, who pushed Hyewoon’s notebook aside, sat up properly.
As if to listen to the story in earnest, even stretching out his neck.
“What about that hyung?”
“If you don’t know, just be quiet.”
Jeongwoo opened his mouth watching Sejong pinching Hyewoon’s side, who still hadn’t grasped the situation.
At the words that he asked if he was interested, both nodded saying it seemed like he would. Separate from ignoring and enduring, Jeongwoo had a personality that didn’t endure, so there were times when he spoke bluntly.
“You asked bluntly again, right? Or you probably asked scarily.”
Jeongwoo conveyed without hiding the reason he sat in Hyewoon’s seat and the things he saw from there. That the Jihan he saw didn’t act that way because he was interested in anyone.
Though he himself didn’t seem to know, he just treated everyone well, but the comments and actions from those behaviors looked like habitual flirting.
He added at the end that his actions that made people misunderstand were wrong.
“Seems like it.”
Hyewoon, who silently listened to Jeongwoo’s story, muttered.
At such a calm reaction, Jeongwoo’s eyes became fierce.
“Seems like it? ‘Seems like it’?”
“That hyung must be really tired too. If he’s doing it without knowing, people will misunderstand everywhere and confess, won’t they?”
“Is that all you have to say?”
“Yeah. It’s short? What more should I do? Ah, then is the rumor about that hyung receiving many confessions all because of that habitual flirting or whatever?”
“Who was it that said that hyung likes me or whatever to me who was just sitting still?”
Jeongwoo alternately looked at the two and threateningly waved his pen.
The words saying why did you make me bothered with such talk rose to his throat. But he barely swallowed those words about to come out of his mouth.
“Why? Do you like that hyung? Should you confess?”
But however he took Jeongwoo’s words, Hyewoon opened his mouth.
Though he said he had no prejudice every time, hearing that his friend was gay, he seemed newly surprised.
Of course, it wasn’t that Jeongwoo said he liked Jihan or came out as gay. While Jeongwoo, who was dumbfounded at such a misunderstanding itself, stayed still, Hyewoon alone was building up the misunderstanding.
“My friend is gay. Y-yeah. I understand everything. It’s not like you can control who you like. There must be many cases like you where you suddenly realize your identity.”
“…Are you crazy?”
Unable to endure Hyewoon who was misunderstanding on his own, Jeongwoo threw the pen he was holding. Like someone from the sports club, Hyewoon quickly dodged the flying pen.
Jeongwoo, who got more irritated by that, rolled up even the problem book with the momentum to throw it.
“Just stay still. You’re making me dizzy.”
The one who stopped him was Sejong, who had been silently watching the dumb Jeongwoo and Hyewoon, not Dumb and Dumber.
“Jung Hyewoon, that bastard is talking nonsense.”
“I only listened hard and answered.”
Hyewoon made an aggrieved expression.
Jeongwoo, who wouldn’t fall for that, reached out his arm to hit him once.
“Are you guys that clueless?”
“Huh?”
“What?”
“Have you seen that hyung following anyone around closely?”
At Sejong’s words, Hyewoon shook his head while dodging the flying problem book. Hyewoon, who quickly dodged everything that flew after that, smiled leisurely and said.
“Most of the time, other kids follow him around, that hyung never followed anyone around. Except Kwon Jeongwoo.”
How annoying that he didn’t get hit even once. Jeongwoo, who was glaring at Hyewoon, also seemed to think for a moment then shook his head.
Though he hated to admit it, Hyewoon’s words were right.
Everyone was anxious not being able to play with Jihan, but there were no cases where Jihan was anxious. Because Jihan had many friends, so it seemed he didn’t care who he played with. Because he was someone who blended in naturally even if he joined a group belatedly.
Sejong, who sighed at the two’s reaction, continued speaking again.
“Though he buys food well, he doesn’t really buy it unless you ask first. But Kwon Jeongwoo, you, have you ever asked him to buy?”
“No, I only told him not to buy.”
Jeongwoo’s eyes became fierce recalling Jihan who kept bringing something even when rejected saying it was fine.
That face grinning every day and the habitual flirting!
As if he was irritated just thinking about the habit stemming from his personality, he downed the juice on the table in one shot.
“See, he keeps buying even though you didn’t ask. And it’s not once or twice that that hyung’s group curses someone, but did you see his eyes change every time Kwon Jeongwoo’s name comes up?”
“No.”
“Didn’t see it.”
Unlike the frustrated gaze, the voice was gentle like teaching a child, Sejong’s voice was soft.
Jeongwoo and Hyewoon, who were listening attentively to Sejong’s words like students in front of a teacher, shook their heads.
“It’s really fierce. As if he’ll kill Jo Yumin and Chae Seowon right away. Even seeing a hyung who doesn’t get angry at his friends get that angry, don’t you have any thoughts?”
“…Messenger of justice? Hero protecting Kwon Jeongwoo? Superman?”
Hyewoon muttered quite seriously, but Sejong, who dismissed it as nonsense, lightly tapped his forehead with a pen. Hyewoon, who couldn’t find time to dodge, rubbed his stinging forehead.
Jeongwoo, who was looking at the hurting Hyewoon with tempting eyes, thought carefully then shook his head.
“I’m not sure.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
