Gentle Giant Chapter 31
Sitting on pins and needles. Dain’s current state of mind could be defined by these words.
After the weekend ended, people’s gazes began to feel more piercing. It was clear that not only the students listening to lectures together in the classroom, but even people who made eye contact while passing by would glance at the two of them, then look again.
Even when he tried not to be conscious of those gazes, he couldn’t help but feel intimidated because of the post he had already seen.
“Hyung. Are you listening to me?”
“…Huh?”
Juho said, waving his large hand in front of Dain’s eyes. Dain was spacing out even at that fluttering movement, then startled and asked back.
Dain and Juho had come to eat lunch in front of the school. It was a snack bar that Dain liked, so this was already their third visit.
He definitely said he liked the tteokbokki here the most…?
Juho narrowed his eyes and watched Dain, who was less responsive than he expected.
Under Juho’s gaze that stared at him intently without saying anything, Dain’s shoulders stiffened.
He had thought that school life with Juho would only be enjoyable… When Dain saw that the rumors he thought would be limited to himself were becoming entangled with Juho, he became noticeably dejected.
And Juho wasn’t someone who wouldn’t notice that change. However, there clearly seemed to be something wrong, but no matter how many times he asked, Dain just kept shaking his head… Juho seemed to be gradually running out of patience.
“Hyung. Something’s wrong, isn’t it?”
“N-no. What could be wrong…”
Dain, who denied it once again at Juho’s question, lowered his head. Having many things that made him feel guilty, he couldn’t look at Juho properly and just fidgeted with his fingers placed on his thighs.
“Really? Really nothing happened?”
“Mm-hmm. Really nothing. Really.”
“Then why won’t you look at me? You haven’t made eye contact even once since earlier.”
Juho’s long fingers tapped the table in front of Dain. It was close enough for him to see even with his head down.
At that gesture calling him, Dain exhaled briefly and lifted his head. And as soon as he raised his head, he could see Juho’s face smiling brightly while making eye contact with him.
Ugh, so dazzling. At Juho’s smiling face that he was seeing for the first time in hours, Dain squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again.
At Dain’s honest reaction, a languid sigh finally flowed from Juho’s face.
He propped his chin on one hand in that same expression and observed Dain.
Jung Dain, who was sneakily lowering his head again as if asking when he had made eye contact. Even so, he couldn’t hide his reddened ear tips.
A short laugh escaped.
Dain perked up his ears at Juho’s laughter while internally making a tearful expression. No matter how much he racked his brain about how to resolve this situation, he couldn’t think of any particular solution.
“Welcome. How many people?”
“Three people.”
Befitting a popular snack bar, students were steadily coming in. And Dain’s shoulders flinched when he heard the voices of the group that had just opened the door and entered.
“Uh…?”
And one of that group also seemed to have spotted Dain, letting out a subtle sound.
Of all people…! It was the student who had framed Dain before summer vacation and caused trouble in the community this past weekend.
Cold sweat flowed down Dain’s back. What kind of story would he make up after seeing him with Juho again like this? He felt like he was getting indigestion even though he hadn’t eaten lunch yet.
“Hey! Have you guys checked out our school’s community lately?”
“Huh? There’s such a thing?”
Sure enough, male students’ chatter was starting nearby. The guy excitedly brought up the topic of the community. It was clear he was deliberately trying to provoke after spotting Dain.
Dain’s expression crumpled again. Having no idea that Juho was still observing him, he just focused on the conversation at the next table.
“Fuck, if you’re a student at this school, shouldn’t you go into the community and check what’s trending at our school these days? You guys don’t have the basics down?”
“What are you saying? Since when have you been so interested in school life, you moron?”
“Me? Since the weekend. It’s fucking interesting. Fuck.”
The man’s eyes glanced toward Dain while he was having a conversation with his friends using crude words. Seeing how obviously intimidated he looked made his mood even better. The male student’s mouth twisted.
“It might be fucking interesting to watch. But could there be anything as fun as watching you fail interview after interview?”
“Ah! Fuck!! Why do you keep bringing that up?!”
“Why? That’s the most fun thing in the world for me?”
“Hey hey! I got a call yesterday saying I passed Scarlett’s document screening, okay? Where do you guys even get the grades to submit applications!”
The man’s voice rang loudly throughout the entire snack bar. When people around heard that sound and focused their attention on him, the man’s shoulders rose proudly as he spoke even louder and faster.
“Just wait until I get into Scarlett. Then I’ll be the first among our classmates, won’t I? Fuck, it’s so thrilling?”
“Wow, that bastard. He managed his grades so ruthlessly. He got into Scarlett. I heard their document screening is fucking tough!”
“This is all thanks to how great I am. You guys better serve me well, okay? Huh?”
The man bragged while patting his friends’ shoulders. It was only passing the document screening, but that alone was an achievement worth boasting about.
And the gaze of the man who was packaging that fact abundantly and talking about it like a heroic tale was still directed at Dain. Having a pathetic loser of a life next to him made him feel like he had become a more amazing person.
It was when the man, who had been enjoying Dain’s reaction over and over, turned his head to look to the side. At some point, his eyes met with the tiger beast-man who had been staring at him intently.
“…!”
Ah, fuck. That’s fucking menacing.
The man was seeing Juho, the famous tiger beast-man, in person for the first time. Even though he wasn’t a beast-man himself but an ordinary person, he could fully feel the atmosphere unique to top-tier beast-men who seemed to reign above others.
Instantly, cold sweat trickled down the man’s back. The man was about to say something more provocative to Dain when he turned his head. He judged that it would be better not to mess around when that tiger beast-man was present.
If he got properly hit even once by those huge hands… Just thinking about it made him shiver.
Meanwhile, Dain, who couldn’t even eat his favorite tteokbokki properly because of the man at the next table, felt increasingly unsettled inside.
He was only worried about whether photos of him and Juho would be posted on the community again today, or whether that man would write strange stories as comments on ordinary posts as if they were facts.
“Sigh.”
In the end, Dain let out a big sigh and gulped down cold water.
Juho, who had been watching Dain’s restless movements with disapproving eyes, glanced briefly toward the next table.
Scarlett… No, before that, community? He definitely said that. And while saying that, he had even blatantly observed Dain. In addition, Dain’s suspicious behaviors seemed to be connected to something.
Even though he wanted to interrogate Dain right away, Juho mustered his patience. And he mentally noted words like ‘Scarlett’ and ‘interview’ that the male student at the next table had mentioned. There was more content to look into when he went to the company tomorrow.
“Hyung, is the tteokbokki not good today?”
“Ah, um… I guess so, my stomach doesn’t feel too good.”
“Is it really bad? Then should we just go outside and have a drink instead?”
“Should we…? That would be good. Then let me go to the bathroom first.”
“Understood.”
After confirming that Dain had entered the bathroom, Juho moved his steps to the next table.
Tap. Tap.
At the sound of precisely striking the wooden table, the gazes of the male students who had been chattering excitedly turned toward him. Ignoring the others’ gazes, Juho made eye contact with the man who had been looking at Dain and spoke.
“Fuck. If you came here to eat, you should only open your mouth when you’re eating. Don’t open your mouth uselessly at random times.”
“…What?”
At Juho’s menacing voice that spoke just loud enough for their table to hear, the three male students’ faces turned pale. They wondered if the person who had just spoken crudely to them was really the famous ‘Lee Juho’ from school.
Juho himself had not even a shred of interest in the confusion the male students were feeling. He was just annoyed by the situation where this was all he could do.
If only Dain weren’t here, making them unable to speak for a few days would be nothing.
“Bastards who aren’t even beasts are barking without knowing table manners.”
“…”
“Hah…”
At the situation where a stranger had suddenly come and started cursing, the male students let out bewildered laughs, finding it absurd. However, Juho, who didn’t even blink at such a reaction, approached the ear of the man who had been looking at Dain and warned him.
“Don’t run your mouth carelessly. Okay? You’ll really regret it if you do.”
At the voice that sounded like scraping the floor, the man’s shoulders shrank. Not liking even that movement, Juho clicked his tongue briefly. However, after seeing the bathroom door inside the snack bar open, he quietly returned to his seat and sat down. As if he had been sitting in that spot all along.
“Juho, shall we go now?”
“Yes, hyung. I ate a bit while waiting for you, so I’m full.”
“Huh? Really? Good job. I felt like you couldn’t eat much because of me…”
“No. I ate well and I’m full. Let’s hurry to the cafe.”
Juho made Dain, who had just sat down, stand up. Following Juho who walked ahead to pay the bill, Dain turned his head back as he left the snack bar. And his eyes met directly with the male student who had been staring at him intently.
Dain’s eyebrows furrowed. For some reason, the man’s blank expression as he looked at him felt unpleasant.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
