Gentle Giant Chapter 37
“Do we really have to do it like this?”
Dain stopped getting out of the car and furrowed his brows. At Dain’s hesitant attitude, Juho also stopped getting out of the car and made a gloomy expression.
“Hyung. Are you embarrassed by me?”
“What? No!”
“Then why are you talking like that? You said you’d take responsibility for me, hyung.”
Juho sat back down and stared intently at Dain. He looked hollow, like someone who’d been betrayed by a trusted axe that struck their own foot.
At his expression, Dain broke out in a sweat despite the cool air conditioning breeze. It’s not that I’m embarrassed. It’s that I’m shy.
“It’s absolutely not that I won’t take responsibility! But, but isn’t it a little embarrassing…?”
It was embarrassing in many ways for two grown men as big as mountains to walk around holding hands tightly in broad daylight like this. Especially for Dain, who had never done anything to attract other people’s attention before, it was even more difficult.
“Huh? What’s there to be embarrassed about? It’s not like we’re bothering other people just by holding hands. And right now is when we need to let people know that we’re dating well. Hyung, then how were you planning to let people know you’re dating me?”
“Huh? Ah, that’s true…”
Dain, who had no idea that Juho had already declared him as his ‘boyfriend’ on the community, nodded at Juho’s words.
Neither he nor Juho were the type to go around telling others they were dating, and at this rate, rumors would definitely spread even more wildly.
It was a situation where quelling the bad rumors about Juho should take priority over his own embarrassment. Realizing this, Dain quickly got out of his seat. Then he walked around the car and personally opened the driver’s side door.
“Hyung?”
Juho looked at Dain, who had come over in the blink of an eye and was opening the door for him like an escort, and smiled with twinkling eyes.
He’d felt this before, but Dain was a person of action. Once he decided to do something, he immediately put it into practice…
“Juho. Hold my hand here.”
“Yes.”
Juho soon made an embarrassed expression and took Dain’s hand as he got out.
When Juho stretched his long legs and got out of the car, Dain dutifully closed the door for him too. It was as if he didn’t want Juho to move a single fingertip.
And that scene was being captured without fail by the eyes of students around the parking lot. It was already strange to see a foreign car worth hundreds of millions parked not at the business or arts building but at the humanities building, and the person who got out of that car was Lee Juho. On top of that, he was even holding hands with the gray-haired person who got out with him.
Anyone could see that there was a pink atmosphere between the two. Especially Juho’s expression looking at Dain seemed as warm as sunlight shining on a spring day.
People logged onto the community one by one to post their sightings. However, they soon had to silently press the delete button due to the comments posted below.
[Anonymous1: If you post anything about Lee Juho here, you’ll get sued. Delete it quickly!
Anonymous2: It was chaos at dawn lol If you don’t know, it’s better to delete it first!
Anonymous3: But seeing them being so obvious the day right after that post yesterday, it seems real. Delete it quickly before you get sued!!]
While the community was in an uproar with Ho-nim’s boyfriend’s appearance and the lawsuit threats, Dain was in an internal uproar because of excitement. It was his first time holding hands with someone else, and becoming that famous campus couple too…
Jung Dain, you’re crazy! A c-couple! Screaming internally, Dain started fanning himself with his free hand that wasn’t holding Juho’s. It felt like heat kept rushing to his face.
Juho, watching this from the side, bit his lips tightly to keep from laughing. The redder Dain’s face and ears became, the more strength went into the hand holding him. The space between their hands was getting moist, seeming like Dain was sweating from being too nervous.
Juho stopped the walking Dain and brought that hand to his mouth.
With a ‘hoo’ sound, he gently blew on Dain’s moist palm. At that ticklish feeling, Dain jumped in place and looked up at Juho with bewildered eyes.
“J-Juho?”
“Yes.”
“That, that… the breath…”
“Your hand seemed sweaty, hyung. Why?”
“Huh? Oh, no. Was it uncomfortable because it was clammy…?”
Dain wiggled only the fingers that could move freely while his palm was held in Juho’s hand. Why was that small movement so cute? This time Juho lightly bit Dain’s fingers with his lips.
Dain jumped again and this time looked at Juho with tearful eyes. He wanted to tell him to stop, but it wasn’t that he disliked it, and it wasn’t that he really liked it either. His eyes were confused about what to do in this situation.
Unable to resist that deadly cuteness, Juho hurriedly said:
“Hyung, you’re cute.”
“Oh, Juho, you’re cute too!”
“Hyung, you’re handsome.”
“Oh! Juho, you’re handsome too!”
“Hyung, want to kiss?”
“Oh!! Juho, do you want to kiss too?”
What did I just say… I was just trying to follow Juho’s compliments. As soon as Dain realized what he had shouted at the end, his face turned bright red.
Juho seemed to hold back his bursting laughter for a moment, then started laughing outright.
Dain was initially flustered by Juho’s prank and blinked his eyes, then immediately hung his head low.
But the people around them had already started whispering while covering their mouths with their hands as they looked at the two. He couldn’t say anything to those people since he himself would probably turn around if someone loudly shouted ‘kiss.’
“Hyung, I’m sorry. Your reaction was too funny.”
“Whew, it’s not something to be sorry about.”
“Still, now everyone knows we’re dating, hyung. Right? Thanks to you shouting so boldly. As expected, our hyung is a real man.”
Juho patted Dain’s head and praised him. Even knowing that was also teasing, Dain smiled along with Juho’s laughter.
Rather than feeling bad about Juho teasing him, it kept tickling him, which was a big problem. Of course, having sweaty hands was a little very embarrassing.
To others, it would seem like ordinary couple’s playfulness – that’s how close the two had become. And that closeness continued even after they entered the lecture hall.
Juho was confident in expressing himself to Dain, and Dain also clumsily tried to follow Juho’s lead in expressing himself.
This change between the two was already spreading widely through the students’ talk.
Knowingly or unknowingly, the two had become a hot topic among students.
* * *
On the way home after the lecture ended, Dain tried to check the community to see if there were any posts about the two of them today. He was concerned about having openly shown that they were dating.
Although Juho had found out yesterday, continuously quelling bad rumors about Juho was still one of the things that needed to be done steadily.
Dain tried to check if today’s events were flowing in a good direction for Juho. However, seeing this, Juho persuaded Dain.
“Hyung, don’t worry about the community. They’re all stories that will disappear over time anyway. I don’t like you going in there and worrying about what people say.”
“Mmm. But what if there are more mean things written about you on the bulletin board? I just need to take a quick look and report them.”
“They’re not even true things. I’m fine. Rather, I’m more upset when hyung worries and gets anxious about the community.”
“Really? You were upset? Then I won’t go on the community anymore! Don’t be upset, Juho.”
Dain quickly nodded while looking at Juho. To think that just me going on the community made him upset. Even though Juho didn’t say it, he must have been very shocked seeing me cry yesterday. Dain was moved by Juho’s heart that worried about him.
Juho felt relieved seeing Dain nod so obediently.
If he went on the community now, there would definitely be content about the post uploaded at dawn yesterday, and he hoped Dain would go through life never knowing about it if possible.
The two people with different thoughts looked at each other and smiled affectionately as they headed to Dain’s house.
* * *
“Oh? Dain!”
On Friday afternoon, Dain, who was sitting alone in the lecture hall without Juho, turned around at the sound of someone calling his name.
Where Dain’s gaze reached, Dohyeon was waving his hand.
“Oh? Dohyeon! You’re taking this lecture too?”
Dain lightly waved his hand following Dohyeon. At that answer, Dohyeon quickly came to where Dain was and sat in the front seat.
“Ah, last week was the first lecture and the baby was sick, so there was no way I could come. So I started coming from today.”
“I see. Is the baby okay? Was he very sick?”
“Originally babies get fevers often and stuff. But still, you have to go to the hospital to feel at ease. My husband went to work, so I had to go to the hospital with my mom, and after going and coming back, the whole day was gone. Whew, there were so many people at the pediatrics!”
Dohyeon rattled off his words in a stream. Dain just nodded at that dazzling feast of words.
Dohyeon properly turned his body and came close to Dain.
“But you got a boyfriend, right? Isn’t he taking the same lecture today?”
“Oh? Mmm. I did get a… boyfriend. T-today is the day he goes to the company for his internship, so he’s not coming to school.”
At Dohyeon’s direct question, Dain answered with a reddening face. At that reaction, Dohyeon giggled and excitedly continued the conversation.
“From what I heard, it’s that guy who was with you at the hotel that time, right?? Back then you said he was just a close younger brother! What, he was your boyfriend!”
His voice was so lively and refreshing that what Dohyeon said reached the ears of the surrounding students.
‘H-hotel!’
The students who were listening to Dohyeon’s words with perked ears gasped at the word that came out of his mouth. They had already been to a hotel together!
The students who discovered this new fact quickly moved their fingers to their phones. Even if they couldn’t write posts on the community, they could write as much as they wanted in group chat rooms with friends.
“Ah, back then? Back then he really was just a close younger brother… We’ve only been dating for a few days. Really.”
“Eh? Really? Anyway, that’s great! He was handsome, and he’s a tiger beast-man, right? Are tiger beast-men really rich like chaebols? Do they have a lot of money?”
“Huh? Oh, no! He doesn’t seem to have as much money as a chaebol…”
Dain shook his head, having never felt that Juho’s spending was extraordinary.
Of course, he didn’t seem to have grown up lacking anything, but he had never once gotten the ‘chaebol’ feeling that Dohyeon was talking about. Rather, Juho was working hard to build his specs more than others, even doing an internship as an exchange student in Korea.
“Is that so? I thought all top-tier beast-men like tiger or lion beast-men were all rich chaebols, but I guess that’s not the case either. I had expectations since I heard he came driving a nice car.”
“Mmm. He said that was also temporarily borrowed from an acquaintance he knows. He doesn’t usually drive around, but it’s been a bit hot lately. Since I’m sensitive to heat… he only drove it that day.”
“Ah! Is that so? I thought…”
Dohyeon spoke with a disappointed expression. The fingers of the people around also moved slower than before.
Dain burst into laughter at Dohyeon’s honest reaction. It was exactly like an entertainment reporter interviewing a celebrity’s acquaintance.
“Is there anything else you’re curious about?”
“There is, I have one thing I’m totally curious about. But let’s only talk about that when we’re alone later.”
“Huh?”
Dain’s head tilted in confusion. At his reaction as if he completely didn’t understand, Dohyeon leaned forward and came close to Dain, whispering quietly.
“You know, that thing. That adult stuff. That’s not something to talk about here.”
“…!!”
Dohyeon squinted his eyes and let out a sly smile. Dain finally understood the meaning and didn’t know what to do.
What should I do when I have absolutely nothing to say about ‘that stuff’? Dain’s ears turned red. Dohyeon, who misunderstood that look in a different way, giggled again.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
