Less than ten minutes after Park Ki-cheol contacted them, Kim Yeo-jin arrived at the café. She must have rushed over right after her class ended—no sooner had she pushed open the glass door than she stood there, panting heavily.
“Sorry I’m late…!”
“It’s fine. Catch your breath while you have a drink.”
Bae Jung-yoon handed her the iced café latte he’d ordered in advance, as she bowed deeply and kept apologizing. Yeo-jin took the drink and gulped it down too quickly, which made her choke and cough uncontrollably. Watching silently from the side, Hoon handed her a napkin.
“Ah, thank you.”
Bowing her head again, she took the napkin and slowly steadied her breathing. Then she looked around.
“…But I don’t see Ki-cheol sunbae.”
“He said he’s not feeling well, so he won’t be joining the meeting today.”
“Ah, I see….”
Hearing Jung-yoon’s response, she looked somewhat relieved, but Hoon didn’t bother to ask why. To be honest, one particular possibility did come to mind.
But there was no need to pry. With two years left of school, it was best to stay away from any kind of conflict if he wanted a peaceful campus life.
After that brief exchange, the three of them soon dove into their meeting. The discussion mostly revolved around Go Hoon and Bae Jung-yoon, with Kim Yeo-jin chiming in here and there.
Throughout the meeting, Hoon quietly studied Jung-yoon’s face. Despite their earlier conversation, Jung-yoon remained completely focused, talking seriously about how best to organize their materials. Thanks to that, Hoon was able to clear his head and stay focused on the task at hand.
Without Park Ki-cheol, the meeting went remarkably smoothly. Without the troublemaker, the hour he had dreaded passed peacefully. Yeo-jin wasn’t exactly outgoing, but it was clear she was making an effort not to burden the group, which he appreciated.
If only the three of them had been assigned the group project from the start. That thought crossed his mind as the meeting continued without any real conflict, the group dynamic surprisingly good.
After about forty minutes of discussion, they had more or less wrapped things up. Hoon reflexively checked the time on his phone. It was nearly 3 p.m.
“All that talking made me a little hungry. If no one’s in a hurry, how about we get some dessert before wrapping up?”
Just as he was about to suggest they call it a day and leave, Hoon paused at Jung-yoon’s suggestion.
“I’m down.”
He’d expected Yeo-jin to hesitate or look uncomfortable, but instead she nodded immediately. Both of their eyes turned to him next. Faced with two pairs of genuinely expectant gazes, Hoon reluctantly gave in with a nod.
“Alright. Let’s have something.”
Jung-yoon said he’d go order dessert and got up to head to the counter, leaving Hoon alone with Yeo-jin by chance.
With nothing in particular to say to her, Hoon began typing out notes on his phone, summarizing today’s meeting. Though Jung-yoon had acted as scribe, Hoon wanted to jot down anything that might’ve been missed while it was still fresh in his mind.
It was also his way of being considerate. From what he’d observed, Kim Yeo-jin didn’t seem like someone who enjoyed talking with unfamiliar people. Rather than forcing conversation and making her uncomfortable, he figured it was better for both of them to focus on their own tasks.
“…Um.”
After a long silence, Yeo-jin suddenly spoke up in a quiet voice. Surprised by the unexpected move, Hoon looked at her. Receiving only his silent gaze in response, Yeo-jin hesitated for a moment, then cautiously asked her question.
“Were you two always this close?”
‘You two’—she must be referring to him and Bae Jung-yoon. He hadn’t expected that question at all.
It was hard to tell if she was really curious about the nature of their relationship, or if she just wanted to know more about Jung-yoon himself. Maybe this was just a lead-in to a deeper question about him.
After a brief moment of thought, Hoon shook his head.
“No. We only started talking recently. I just came back to school.”
He answered her in formal speech. He still wasn’t quite sure how to approach her yet.
“Ah, I see.”
She nodded in simple admiration and added,
“But you two seem really close.”
Do we really look that close? I don’t know about that.
“Do we?”
His lukewarm response—neither confirming nor denying—made it hard to keep the conversation going, so she quickly switched topics.
“By the way… you don’t have to speak so formally. You’re my sunbae.”
He’d been waiting for that. At some point, even Bae Jung-yoon had casually started speaking informally to her, and since Hoon didn’t particularly prefer formal speech, there was no reason to refuse.
“Alright, I’ll do that.”
“Okay!”
She nodded and smiled brightly at his easy-going reply. And just then, a voice came from beside them.
“What are you two chatting about so sweetly?”
Turning his head, Hoon saw Bae Jung-yoon returning to the table with two different slices of cake on a tray. His pitch-black eyes flicked between Hoon and Kim Yeo-jin.
“The vibe’s looking pretty sweet between you two without me here.”
“Ah, it’s not like that… We were just talking about how close you guys seem….”
Flustered by Jung-yoon’s teasing, Yeo-jin waved her hands and replied awkwardly. Hoon watched her in silence. As soon as there was one more person to deal with, her movements grew stiff and clumsy. It really seemed like Yeo-jin was more comfortable with one-on-one interaction.
“She says Hoon and I look close.”
Jung-yoon’s calm voice rang out more clearly than usual. Naturally, Hoon’s gaze shifted to him. Their eyes met, almost like Jung-yoon had been waiting for it.
“Do we really look like that?”
He was still speaking to Yeo-jin, but there was something strange about the nuance of his words. Hoon didn’t avoid his gaze and stared back steadily.
“U-uh… yeah… it kind of seems that way….”
Sensing something odd in the atmosphere between the two men, Yeo-jin’s eyes darted about uneasily. After a pause, Jung-yoon’s gaze softened and he responded in a deliberately breezy tone.
“Honestly, we’re still in the getting-to-know-each-other phase. I’m just doing my best to get closer to Hoon.”
‘Getting to know each other phase?’ What was this, the headline of a tabloid celebrity dating rumor? What kind of nonsense was that supposed to be?
“…Haha, I see.”
Yeo-jin stammered and gave a small, awkward laugh. Hoon, stuck between the two of them, had nothing to add and chose silence instead.
Then, as if nothing had happened, Jung-yoon offered Yeo-jin a slice of cake. She hesitated for a moment, then picked up a fork and took a bite of the strawberry-topped whipped cream cake, followed by a nibble of the fig-topped cheesecake.
“Wow… I’ve never had cake from here before. They’re both really good.”
“Right? All the girls in our class love this place.”
Jung-yoon chuckled at her brightened expression and picked up his own fork. Meanwhile, Hoon, not really in the mood for sweets, just watched them quietly. Noticing this, Jung-yoon picked up Hoon’s untouched fork, scooped up a bite of whipped cream cake, and held it out to him.
“You should try some too, Hoon. It’s good.”
Then, he even added a soft “Ahh,” as if telling him to open wide. Hoon had to force his eyebrows not to knit together. ‘What the hell is this guy doing now?’ Even if he tried to hide his displeasure, it was probably obvious—but Jung-yoon didn’t seem to care in the slightest.
“Hoon, you’re not gonna give me some sympathy here? My arm’s getting tired.”
His voice was laced with amusement, filled to the brim with enjoyment.
“I’ll feed myself.”
Hoon raised his hand to take the fork from Jung-yoon, but Jung-yoon resisted, gripping it tighter. Hoon gave him a look, as if to ask, ‘What the hell are you doing?’
“C’mon, ah.”
Even after reading the message in Hoon’s eyes, Jung-yoon didn’t budge. In those clear, unwavering eyes was a stubborn intent: he wouldn’t back off until Hoon took the bite.
Yeo-jin, eyes wide, quietly watched the scene unfold. Two fully grown men locked in a battle of wills over a piece of cake probably looked ridiculous to any outside observer.
In the end, Hoon let go of the tension in his hand and obediently opened his mouth. The fork, still gripped by both their hands, moved slowly and placed the small bite of cake inside. The moist whipped cream settled on his tongue, and the sweet, milky flavor bloomed across his taste buds.
“Good, right?”
Jung-yoon’s honeyed voice brushed past his ear. Hoon, face still stiff, muttered under his breath.
“Yeah. Tastes good.”
Yeo-jin, who’d been forcing a polite smile earlier, finally burst out laughing and covered her mouth with her hand. In Jung-yoon’s eyes, which were locked on Hoon, amusement shimmered brightly.
***
Two days had passed since the team project meeting.
Park Ki-cheol, who Hoon hadn’t trusted to contribute properly, was surprisingly at least pretending to do research. It wasn’t anything impressive by Hoon’s standards, but still—better than during their last team project three years ago.
So Hoon didn’t say a word to him when they crossed paths during class today. No point in starting a conversation and drawing unnecessary attention. Hoon already knew that nothing good would come from it, and he deliberately avoided even making eye contact with him.
“Hoon, have you tried that new restaurant that opened near campus?”
On top of that, what really distracted him was Bae Jung-yoon sitting next to him, continuing to chat without pause.
