“Hey. I seriously didn’t do anything with that sunbae. After giving him the coat that time, I haven’t contacted him privately even once.”
“……”
I released my pheromones and slowly stroked baby Jihoon’s hair. Unlike my curly hair, his was straight and stiff. The smooth strands slipped between my fingers.
Do Jihoon stayed still for a while, then quietly lifted his hand and wrapped it around my waist.
I felt like laughter might burst out, but I barely held it in by mentally singing the national anthem. If I laughed here, my next meal would definitely be raw paprika.
“…Alright, stop. Sit down and eat. Sorry for getting irritated.”
Only after some time did Do Jihoon finally speak.
That was when I chuckled lightly, kissed his forehead, and returned to my seat. Then I began picking out the finely chopped carrots inside the omurice one by one.
“You bastard. Did you really have to chop them this small? If you were going this far, you might as well have blended them and poured them in as sauce.”
“Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll keep it in mind for the next dish.”
“……”
Even though we were dating now, Do Jihoon was still Do Jihoon.
That bastard. His mouth was always running.
Still, what could I do? He was cute. I sniffed bitterly.
***
Late June.
After being dragged around like a dog by the top students while studying for an entire semester, that long and exhausting battle had finally ended.
Which meant—
Now all that was left was to play!
I had two whole months of free time ahead of me.
Yuri is a free college student!
Happily, I started planning my vacation.
Wear hanbok and visit Gyeongbokgung.
Visit Do Jihoon’s house.
Throw Do Jihoon a surprise birthday party.
Go on a trip with Do Jihoon.
Wow. Just thinking about it was fun.
Rolling around on the wide bed, I squirmed my way into Do Jihoon’s arms. He put down the book he had been reading and looked at me.
“Doji. What are your plans for this vacation?”
My gaze clearly said: I already have the plan, so you just need to match it.
But Do Jihoon’s answer was different from what I expected.
“I have quite a few things to do. Extracurricular activities, volunteer work. And there are things related to Kipyeong I need to learn.”
“……”
I looked at him bitterly.
I felt really sad. I had been so happy just thinking about playing together.
Unlike me, who had absolutely no obligation to inherit Bumong Pharmaceutical, Do Jihoon was an only child. He already had a mountain of responsibilities.
I fiddled with his pajama sleeve with my fingers. My lips were probably sticking out a mile.
Do Jihoon tapped my lips with his finger.
“Are you a duck? Why are your lips sticking out like that?”
“It’s nothing.”
I didn’t want to act childish and complain to someone who was already busy. I pursed my lips, trying to hide my disappointment.
“Yuri. You said this yourself.”
“…What did I say?”
“If you have complaints, you’re supposed to say them. Don’t you remember?”
Do Jihoon lightly tapped my nose and smiled playfully.
That smile was so pretty that my face heated up.
This pretty and adorable alpha is my alpha!
I seriously wanted to tell the whole neighborhood.
“It’s just… I was making plans to spend this vacation with you. But you seem busy.”
“You were?”
“Yeah. So I felt a little disappointed.”
Do Jihoon’s expression darkened.
Seeing that, I hurriedly added—
“Hey! I didn’t say that to make you feel guilty! I’m just telling you how I felt. Your hyung will plan everything, so you just tell me the days you’re free. Okay?”
“…Alright. I’ll finish the things I need to do quickly. Don’t worry.”
Do Jihoon pressed his lips to my forehead.
I slipped my arms beneath him and hugged him tightly. Resting my head against his solid chest made me feel much better.
“Doji. You know your hyung loves you, right?”
“Yeah. I do too.”
“Aww, so cute. Whose Doji is this?”
“……”
Do Jihoon opened his mouth but couldn’t say anything.
He still had no immunity to cheesy lines.
So cute.
“Then share your schedule, little cutie.”
“…Your nicknames for me keep increasing.”
“Schedule!”
“Alright. Fine.”
Even while sighing, Do Jihoon sent me his schedule.
I stared at the empty dates with nothing marked and began enthusiastically filling them with plans.
***
“This is bad… really bad….”
My trembling hands moved quickly.
In front of me were still 668 long paper strips and 67 small square pieces of paper.
Watching me, Lee Daeju shook his head like he was completely fed up.
“What are you doing, Yeon Yuri?”
“Ah. I need to fold 100 paper cranes and 1,000 crane eggs.”
“What are you even going to use that for?”
“I’d hate to damage single Lee Daeju-nim’s fragile cookie-like heart by saying it out loud…”
“It’s for Do Jihoon, right?”
“Yep.”
“Excuse me? For someone who said you couldn’t even bring it up, you gave up awfully fast.”
“I couldn’t ignore Lee Daeju-nim’s curiosity with my own two eyes.”
I pretended to wipe tears with my sleeve.
Lee Daeju and I bickered for a while.
In the end, the one without a lover—Lee Daeju—lost.
“Hey, Yuri. The most useless gifts in the world are things like that. Cross-stitch, paper cranes—stuff like that. They take effort, but there’s nowhere to store them. They’re just burdens.”
“You’re killing the mood.”
I punched Lee Daeju in the stomach.
“Ugh! But why are you doing that in my apartment?!”
Groaning, he complained.
I answered calmly.
“To celebrate your first place living alone.”
“You really just say anything with that mouth.”
“Why? You said I could come hang out often. Your place is perfect.”
“What about Shin Gi-hyeok?”
“Do Jihoon doesn’t like it. That guy’s an alpha too, idiot.”
He’s such a cute guy.
I smiled to myself.
Lee Daeju’s look of disgust—like he was watching cockroaches—was just a bonus.
“So why did you pick that as the gift?”
“Do Jihoon already has everything. So I thought a heartfelt gift would be best. I didn’t want to give something typical like clothes or a watch.”
“Didn’t you give me a watch for my birthday?”
“You were happy when you got it. Now you’re pretending otherwise?”
“Hey, that just means I was grateful.”
Even while talking, I never stopped folding.
After a long time filled with the rustling sound of paper, I finally succeeded in folding 46 paper cranes and 467 crane eggs.
“Hey. Didn’t you say you were folding 100 cranes? Then why are you alternating instead of finishing the cranes first?”
I touched the bridge of my nose and pretended to push up imaginary glasses like a genius.
“Both need to go evenly into this glass bottle. So every time I fold ten crane eggs, I fold one crane.”
“…Didn’t you say your MBTI was P?”
“Yeah. I’m a P. But selectively a J.”
Ignoring Lee Daeju’s expression that clearly had a lot to say, I finished today’s origami.
I sealed the cork on the fishbowl-like glass jar.
The colorful paper reflected beautifully in the glass.
Choosing paper cranes really had been a good idea.
I felt extremely proud.
“Alright, I’m heading out.”
“Yeah. Please disappear. You’re going to your part-time job, right?”
“Yep.”
During my first-year summer break, I had started a part-time job.
Do Jihoon had many activities piled up at the beginning of vacation, so he was extremely busy.
Without him around, I spent my days rolling around at home until I felt like mushrooms would start growing on me.
Then Kwon Jisoo mentioned that a spot had opened up at her cousin’s workplace, so I got a weekend job.
It was truly a tearful, pitiful story of job-hunting—fit for a widow from the Joseon era.
“Where did you say your part-time job was again?”
“A café. LIT Café in front of the main gate, you idiot. Something wrong with your hippocampus?”
“That’s harsh. Whatever, hurry up. You’ll be late.”
Lying on his bed, Lee Daeju lazily waved his hand.
That wasn’t even seeing me off. It was basically an eviction order telling me to get lost.
“This bastard. I even bought you a coffee machine…”
Grumbling, I ran out of his apartment.
The glass jar stayed there.
If Do Jihoon saw it, it would be awkward for various reasons, so I had decided to leave the cranes and crane eggs at Lee Daeju’s place until Do Jihoon’s birthday.
Imagining Do Jihoon’s reaction when he received the gift, I happily headed to the café.
When I arrived and opened the door—
Ding.
A clear chime rang out.
