Chapter 39
Joo Kwon-oh’s smooth, moist tongue lightly licked my lower lip. This sensation was no longer unfamiliar. I naturally closed my eyes and welcomed his tongue.
“Haa, ah…”
Our lips and tongues intertwined like one mass. Wet, smacking sounds clearly filled the club room.
Joo Kwon-oh deeply mixed our breaths, one hand on my waist and the other cupping my face. I steadied myself on his shoulders as I received the kiss.
Our four shoes moved frantically in place. All the gestures emanating from us were hasty. We were desperate to pull each other closer to ourselves.
In that brief moment, I worried that my overheated head might explode.
“…Haa.”
Just then, I faintly heard someone laughing outside the window. Startled by the loud voices brushing past my ears, I opened my eyes wide.
And I vaguely pulled out my locked reason, remembering that this was school.
“Kw-Kwon-oh. I don’t think we should… do this here.”
“Ha.”
“Someone might come in… at any time.”
If people found out that we had locked ourselves in together, wouldn’t they think it strange?
As I carefully separated myself from him, Joo Kwon-oh firmly grasped both my arms.
“Jeong-ha. Wait.”
Suddenly muttering a curse, he then buried his forehead in my shoulder. A long sigh flowed from Joo Kwon-oh’s mouth.
I froze, trying to figure out why he was acting this way, when I became aware of a firm sensation from his lower body.
“Ah. Shit. Don’t look.”
I had only slightly lowered my head, but Joo Kwon-oh immediately noticed the subtle movement.
He pushed me back and flopped down on the sofa, covering his entire face with his hands.
“Huu…”
An excited sigh escaped Joo Kwon-oh’s lips.
For a moment, I hesitated, not knowing how to react. At the same time, heat rushed to my face, making it hot.
While I was pleased that Joo Kwon-oh was excited because of me, given our location, it wasn’t a problem I could help solve.
“Um, are you okay?”
“No.”
I glanced at Joo Kwon-oh, who was suffering from his unsubsiding lower body problem, and cleared my throat. Strangely, even though it was the other person who should be embarrassed, I felt more awkward.
“Do you want to go out first, Jeong-ha?”
“What about you?”
Joo Kwon-oh pressed his temples as if he had a headache.
“I’ll calm this down first.”
“Can’t I wait beside you?”
“If you’re next to me, I’ll keep being like this.”
“Ah.”
I awkwardly nodded and left the club room as if escaping. I could hear Joo Kwon-oh’s sigh through the closing door.
Suddenly, I remembered how Joo Kwon-oh had acted strangely after our first kiss in the storage room last time. Now I understood why he had sent me out first then too.
I was also in a daze from the heat filling my head, so I leaned against the corridor wall and wiped my forehead.
Feeling awkward just standing there doing nothing, I went down to the first floor and got a drink from the vending machine. I thought Joo Kwon-oh might be thirsty after sweating so much from basketball.
Holding the cold can of sports drink made me feel like the heat spread throughout my body was cooling down. It felt good to be refreshed.
After a few minutes, Joo Kwon-oh opened the club room door and came out.
“Are you okay?”
I smiled as I held out the can, and Joo Kwon-oh nodded and immediately drank the sports drink.
“I’ve never had this happen outside before.”
“Liar.”
“It’s true. Why do you always say I’m lying?”
Joo Kwon-oh, who had downed the drink in one go, pinched my cheek as if annoyed. There was no strength in his hand, so it didn’t hurt, just tickled.
But from my perspective, it really did sound like a lie.
“…It happened in the storage room before too.”
“That’s why I’m saying you’re a fox. You bewitch people.”
“I’ve never heard that before.”
“Everyone’s too bewitched to notice. Don’t look at other guys with those eyes.”
“The fox isn’t me, it’s you, Kwon-oh…”
“Huh? Me?”
Joo Kwon-oh pointed to himself and asked back, as if incredulous.
“Anyone would say it’s you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t get aroused at all times like this.”
“W-what are you saying.”
“Later, I’m really going to check properly if you have a tail or not.”
At his threatening voice, I couldn’t help but laugh softly. At the same time, a subtle expectation rose in a corner of my heart.
*
[Joo Kwon-oh: What are you doing today]
[Joo Kwon-oh: ?]
As I was tidying up in the studio, I read Joo Kwon-oh’s KakaoTalk message and fell into thought for a moment.
If I honestly answered that I was about to go home, he would probably ask to meet nearby for a while.
Seeing his face would be nice, but the problem was my clothes. I was wearing the same t-shirt and pants as yesterday, so it was embarrassing to meet like this.
To be precise, they weren’t exactly the same, but slightly different in design, though to others they would look no different in style.
Unfortunately, this morning I had seen a photo where Joo Kwon-oh was tagged in another student’s Instagram account. Unlike me who always wore dull and similar clothes, Joo Kwon-oh, who had attended a Business Administration study session early in the morning, was dressed stylishly by anyone’s standards.
A deep beige corduroy shirt with a matching Apple Watch strap, and even the oversized cross-body bag that’s trendy these days. Every piece of clothing and accessory on his body blended with him so well that there was no sense of incongruity at all.
To meet such a radiant Joo Kwon-oh in this shabby studio attire – it was quite an awkward situation.
I had never questioned my fashion before. But since meeting Joo Kwon-oh, the word ‘fashion’ had become my headache.
I glanced at the window, checking my faint reflection in the glass.
No matter how I looked at it, I was just an ordinary, scruffy art student. I suddenly felt ashamed of my coordination that lacked any sense of style.
It was a moment that made my previous judgments about other people’s tattoos seem hypocritical.
[Me: I think I’ll stay in the studio longerㅠ]
[Me: I’m a bit busy with an assignment..]
In the end, unable to shake off the feeling of becoming infinitely small, I lied. I felt guilty, but I didn’t want to meet Joo Kwon-oh in this state.
After sending the reply, I pondered how I could successfully change this boring fashion.
While racking my brains, my gaze suddenly went to Bae Yu-rim, who was sitting with her legs crossed in front of an easel.
I hesitantly got up from my seat and approached Bae Yu-rim.
“Yu-rim. What are you doing today?”
“I have to work late. Are you leaving already?”
“Yeah.”
“……”
“……”
When I didn’t leave and lingered around, Bae Yu-rim, who was mixing colors on her palette, turned towards me again.
“Jeong-ha, what is it? Do you have something to say?”
“Yeah. I’m going to buy clothes today… If you’re not busy, could you come with me?”
“You’re buying clothes?”
“Yeah.”
“Order from Coupang. They have plenty of dark clothes there.”
Bae Yu-rim moved her brush busily again, as if she had heard something ridiculous. As expected, even Bae Yu-rim, who sees me most often, had no expectation that I would choose anything other than dull clothes.
“Not those kinds of clothes. I want to buy something in a different style from what I usually wear.”
“……”
“I don’t know what kind to buy…”
“Why are you suddenly talking about clothes? Do you have a blind date or something?”
“No?”
Although I firmly denied it, it seemed to cause an even bigger misunderstanding. Interest suddenly spread in Bae Yu-rim’s eyes.
Kim Jae-hyun, who had been listening nearby, also showed interest and approached like a hyena.
“Right. Good thinking. You did have too few clothes. You always wear the same ones. Do you wash and wear them?”
I wanted to explain that I actually wear different clothes every day and do laundry regularly, but it seemed too pathetic to argue so earnestly, so I decided to ignore Kim Jae-hyun’s words.
“What kind of clothes do you need?”
“Something that looks clean. Like what college students wear these days…”
“Aha.”
“But not too stylish, something natural.”
“Aha.”
“B-but I’d like a style that’s not too ordinary.”
“Aha.”
Every time I opened my mouth, larger and deeper curiosity rose in Bae Yu-rim’s expression. Kim Jae-hyun was also listening attentively to my words while adjusting his glasses.
I didn’t want to make such an embarrassing request if I could help it, but it was impossible for me alone to coordinate a look that was appropriately clean and sophisticated, something I wouldn’t be ashamed of when alone with Joo Kwon-oh.
Among the people I knew, Bae Yu-rim was the best dressed, so I needed her help.
“Okay.”
Fortunately, Bae Yu-rim readily accepted my request.
“Jeong-ha, you have jeans, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then we just need to buy tops?”
“Probably…”
I answered with an uncertain voice. Bae Yu-rim narrowed her eyes and looked me up and down.
“Let’s go and see.”
“When?”
“Now.”
