#81
***
In the dormitory elevator, Bonoh stared blankly at himself in the mirror. His eyes were puffy and swollen, making his face look terrible. Anyone could see it was the face of someone who had cried all night.
“I can’t be like this…”
Bonoh pressed his eyelids firmly, hoping the swelling would go down even a little. He needed to look good for Taeseong, even just a bit, but this appearance was troublesome. However, his face in the mirror still looked awful. Bonoh sighed and lightly slapped his cheeks twice.
Last night, after entering the dormitory, a message had come from Taeseong.
[Joo Taeseong♥: I have something to say, so let’s meet.]
After checking that short one-line message, Bonoh had held his phone for a long time. It was obvious what Taeseong wanted to say. He probably wanted to break up. Bonoh closed his eyes, opened them, and took a short breath.
“Alright, even if he’s going to dump me, let me confess properly one last time.”
Since he couldn’t remember the previous one, he planned to do it properly again while sober. Just imagining breaking up with Taeseong made Bonoh’s eyes well up. Afraid that tears would spill, Bonoh hurriedly lifted his head and swallowed his tears.
Bonoh had called Taeseong to the festival again. This was the third time. Even Bonoh himself honestly thought it was crazy. Taeseong already hated crowded places, so what if he got fed up with being called out repeatedly? But this time, Bonoh had a reason for calling Taeseong to the festival. That reason was also his “secret weapon.” Bonoh gripped his phone tightly.
Just then, the notification sound rang that the elevator had arrived at the first floor. The doors opened, and Bonoh took a deep breath before stepping outside.
As soon as he walked out of the dormitory entrance, he could see Taeseong. He was standing with his arms crossed, slightly frowning. Had someone spoken to Taeseong again? His already cold face felt even sharper. But to Bonoh, even that look seemed cool.
Hah… That person is my boyfriend. I don’t know how long he’ll be my boyfriend though. Bonoh firmly suppressed his surging emotions. I can’t cry like this in front of Joo Taeseong. Feeling like tears were about to well up again, he rubbed his eyes roughly with his sleeve.
Then Taeseong looked up. As if he had spotted Bonoh, Taeseong narrowed his brow even more and approached directly. Taeseong stopped in front of Bonoh, then reached out and cupped both his cheeks. His cold palms enveloped Bonoh’s swollen face. Bonoh’s breath caught for a moment.
“…!”
Taeseong’s face came closer. Bonoh reflexively avoided eye contact, but soon met Taeseong’s deep, clear eyes again. It was too close.
“J-jagi. We’re outside…”
When it seemed like Taeseong put slightly more strength into the hands cupping his cheeks, Bonoh said this, not knowing what to do. At the same time, it was the moment he was instinctively about to close his eyes.
“Kim Bonoh.”
“……”
Taeseong called Bonoh’s name in a low voice. Bonoh’s chest trembled at the sexy voice, and he couldn’t even answer.
“Did you cry?”
At those words, Bonoh froze. Taeseong’s eyes became seriously concerned. Bonoh twisted his body to escape from Taeseong’s hands, hiding his embarrassment.
“N-no!”
“Don’t lie. What happened?”
Taeseong looked down at Bonoh quietly. Bonoh bit his lips and avoided eye contact. Then he frantically racked his brain and came up with an excuse.
“I just… ate ramen before going to bed.”
Taeseong looked Bonoh over. Maybe I should have come up with a more plausible excuse. Even to Bonoh himself, it felt like an obviously fake lie. However, after examining Bonoh’s face for a moment, Taeseong nodded without much suspicion.
“Ah, ramen.”
Then he chuckled and turned his head.
“Anyway, Kim Bonoh, you really love ramen.”
He remembered when Bonoh had cooked and eaten ramen in their room when they had just started living together. Back then, Taeseong had been displeased with the smell and even called people over. Taeseong had definitely remembered that time too. While Bonoh was relieved that it had passed, he was confused whether he should be happy or sad that Taeseong had believed him.
“So, Kim Bonoh. What I was trying to say yesterday…”
“Wait! Just wait.”
Bonoh quickly waved his hands to prevent Taeseong from continuing. At his urgent voice, Taeseong hesitated.
“Let’s look at the festival first… Can’t we talk about that later?”
Bonoh couldn’t avoid what Taeseong wanted to say forever. But not now. Before Taeseong announced their breakup, Bonoh had something he absolutely had to say. He tried to speak brightly, but even Bonoh himself could tell his voice was shaking. Taeseong parted his lips as if to say something, but Bonoh’s earnest gaze held him back.
“…Alright.”
Only then did Bonoh relax his slightly tense shoulders. Relief washed over him, and at the same time, his heart became complicated. Bonoh suppressed his emotions and smiled awkwardly. Then, pretending nothing was wrong, he pointed toward the athletic field as naturally as possible.
“Over there! I heard they’re doing something there today. Let’s go check it out.”
Saying that, he moved his feet first. Good! At least I’ve secured an opportunity. Now I just need the plan to succeed. Bonoh walked with a determined expression like a general going to war.
On one side of the athletic field, the large stage where performances had been held until the day before remained. But today, there were no flashing lights or ear-splitting music on it. Since it wasn’t a celebrity performance, there weren’t many people on the athletic field either.
Bonoh led Taeseong through the sparsely standing people. On the stage, a host was standing with a microphone.
“Now, everyone! To commemorate the last day of the festival, we’ve prepared an anonymous message event! Let me introduce it to you now.”
“Did you come to see this?”
Taeseong looked at Bonoh with a bored expression from beside him.
“Huh? They have something like this too? Interesting! Haha, shall we take a look at this before we go?”
Bonoh answered with an awkward smile. His voice carried tension. It was a tone that sounded like acting to anyone who heard it.
Taeseong looked at Bonoh with a puzzled expression for a moment, then nodded. He looked uninterested, but didn’t bother to refuse. Bonoh watched Taeseong’s reaction and secretly took out his phone to text Junghwan.
[Hey, they’re definitely going to read my story, right?]
He stared at the screen anxiously, and a reply came immediately.
[ㄱ Park Junghwan: ㅇㅇ I squeezed your story in near the end. But you know the deal, right?]
“This bastard…”
Bonoh muttered quietly and typed a reply.
[I know, fuck, I’ll give you my item. Such a suspicious bastard..]
Bonoh had written what he wanted to say to Taeseong as an anonymous story and submitted it. Since Junghwan happened to be volunteering as a festival staff member, he could make a secret deal. Junghwan grumbled about whether it was okay to ask a mere student volunteer for such corruption, but he didn’t refuse, probably because he coveted the game item.
The game item Bonoh had promised to give Junghwan was worth 200,000 won in cash. Bonoh had barely managed to obtain it through luck, and when he first got it, he was so happy that just looking at the screen made him feel satisfied. But for Taeseong, a mere item like that was nothing. Although one corner of his heart ached, Bonoh gritted his teeth. He felt like crying for a different reason than before.
On stage, the host read various stories one by one. There were pleasant happenings and stories about suffering from group project villains. After reading each story, they would spin a roulette wheel on stage to decide what gift to send to the story submitter.
Taeseong was clearly getting more and more bored. Bonoh glanced at his expression. Since they said it would be near the end, he earnestly hoped Taeseong would focus on the event just a little longer.
Thinking about when his story would be read, Bonoh’s heart pounded. Would Taeseong be moved after hearing it? What if he doesn’t realize I wrote it? Then should I give him a subtle hint from the side? Anxiety and excitement alternated.
“Unfortunately, this is the last story! Yes, the next story is…”
Finally, the host took out the last story. Bonoh’s heart sank. Finally, it was his turn. Bonoh tapped Taeseong with an excited voice.
“That! Listen carefully!”
But then the host suddenly started talking with the staff below the stage. Since the host had taken the microphone away from his mouth, their conversation couldn’t be heard. Bonoh watched the host’s serious expression with anxious eyes. What happened? Ah, at least read my story first.
After a moment, the host grabbed the microphone again and said.
“Yes! Due to time constraints, we’ll skip the last story.”
Fuck, what? In that moment, all color drained from Bonoh’s face. How long does it take to read a story that they’re skipping it! In the time they just spent talking, they could have read the story two or three more times! As what he had prepared went to waste, emptiness washed over him. My secret weapon ended so futilely…
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
