#013
“Fuck, what is this? Whoa, this is your clothes, right?”
Taehyun, who had gone into the bathroom, briefly pressed his forehead, then lifted up the clothes and looked at Yechan.
Yechan’s clothes were soaked with water and shoved into the sink. The t-shirt and black jeans he had worn around the day before, along with his belt.
“Hah…”
Yechan let out a hollow laugh and snatched the clothes from Taehyun’s hands. Then he roughly shoved them into the bathroom trash can.
“Throw it away.”
“Hey, this is Balenciaga.”
“Just throw it away.”
Yechan washed his hands as if he had touched something dirty, then went into the room and opened his suitcase.
The kids were still asleep, and all the other luggage was intact. The intention was clear – they had specifically targeted only the clothes he wore yesterday.
Haha. A laugh escaped involuntarily. Yechan genuinely found this situation funny. A moment later, seeing Minho come out after washing up, Yechan headed to the empty bathroom.
When he came out after showering, the kids who had groggily woken up were chattering. Yechan quickly finished preparing to leave, organized his luggage, and closed his suitcase.
“Class president, besides our room kids, who else came here yesterday?”
“A few kids from Class 5 and… oh, Choi Yeon and some friend of his came in the middle.”
“Did the kids play for a long time?”
“Yeah. We played games a lot and had fun. Why?”
“Just curious if you had fun on the last night since it was the last night.”
For a while, the room was busy with kids preparing to leave and organizing their luggage. Watching this, Yechan took out a bottle of water from the refrigerator and drank it. He felt thirsty for some reason.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door. Han Seungwoo and Choi Yeon came in. Yechan’s mind raced quickly at their behavior with obvious ulterior motives.
“When did you guys wake up and leave?”
Han Seungwoo, dressed neatly, asked. Instead of answering, Yechan looked at Choi Yeon. His shining eyes and sly smile were disgusting.
Kids busy moving around filled the small living room. Yechan approached Choi Yeon with a grin, then instantly erased his smile and raised his voice.
“Hey. Choi Yeon, you crazy gay bastard. What are you going to do about my clothes?”
The smile disappeared from Choi Yeon’s face.
“Wh… what?”
“A gay bastard should do dirty things by himself, why are you causing trouble for someone who’s just minding their own business?”
The kids’ attention was drawn to the harsh conversation mixed with provocative words. Someone turned off the TV.
Taehyun and Minho, who had been organizing luggage in the room, came running out with shocked faces. Ah… Seo Yechan. Taehyun, who had assessed the situation, pressed his temples.
“You, you… what did you say…?”
Choi Yeon trembled. His pale face crumpled miserably.
“Are you dating Lee Jiwoon hyung?”
At Yechan’s words, Minho flailed his body. Taehyun, who had gasped, pressed down on Minho’s shoulder.
“Wh-what bullshit!”
“Then are you dating him in your imagination alone? That hyung has an endless stream of girlfriends. He doesn’t even treat you like a person. You’re so desperately in one-sided love, isn’t it delusions, schizophrenia or something like that?”
Choi Yeon couldn’t even open his mouth and glared at Yechan as if he wanted to kill him. Yechan snickered.
Whoa. They say Choi Yeon likes Lee Jiwoon hyung. Then is Choi Yeon gay? He’s gay! Whispers began to circulate among the kids.
Yechan walked to the bathroom and eventually brought the trash can, throwing it down in front of Choi Yeon. The damp, ruined bundle of clothes spilled out along with the garbage.
“I can see very clearly that you have a one-sided crush on Lee Jiwoon hyung, but you can’t harm others because of it. You immediately pulled this shit when I said Lee Jiwoon hyung picked out clothes for me… How can I live in fear?”
“F-fuck… I never put that in the trash can!”
“Then you only put it in the sink?”
Tears welled up in Choi Yeon’s eyes. His clenched fists turned white.
Isn’t that Seo Yechan’s clothes? He said that hyung picked them out? He’s like that? The kids’ whispers made Choi Yeon’s trembling grow worse.
“Huh? Choi Yeon. As if you have kleptomania, you rummaged through someone else’s suitcase and took out clothes, and on top of that, you shoved them in the sink?”
“Do you have proof that I did that?”
“You just said it yourself, that you didn’t put it in the trash can. You gay bastard, what I found was in the sink.”
Wow. Choi Yeon is trash. Those clothes are luxury brands. Hey, money isn’t the issue. So fucking scary, what he does is so creepy… The whispering voices gradually increased in volume.
“You threatened me not long ago too, crazy with jealousy. How did we become close, you asked. Just because that hyung treats me well, you acted like I became something special, saying you wouldn’t let it slide. Now threats aren’t enough, you’ve turned clothes into rags too. This is school violence.”
Yechan said while kicking the trash can with his foot. Choi Yeon belatedly struggled.
“Why don’t you shut up?”
“Nah. I have to say what needs to be said. I get that you’re a dirty gay bastard, but don’t drag me and Lee Jiwoon hyung into it. It’s fucking disgusting. I don’t want to get involved in your filthy fantasies during such an important time. I don’t have enough time even studying until my blood bursts, so please do me a favor.”
“You son of a bitch!”
Choi Yeon screamed and threw a punch. Yechan easily dodged the punch with a whoosh and caught the other punch that followed.
“Get tested for paranoid delusions. I heard homosexuality isn’t a mental illness, but delusions can be quite dangerous if severe. You even show signs of kleptomania and violence.”
Yechan lightly brushed off Choi Yeon’s fist and immediately went to the sink to wash his hands as if he had touched something dirty.
Watching such Yechan, Choi Yeon grumbled and eventually screamed, bursting into tears. The room was filled only with the sound of Choi Yeon crying and the sound of water Yechan had turned on.
“Hey… Yeon. Let’s go out first.”
Only then did Choi Yeon get dragged out of the room by Han Seungwoo’s hand, who had suddenly come to his senses. When Yechan came out of the bathroom, questions from the roommates burst out in succession.
“What’s this? Is Choi Yeon really gay?”
“He likes Lee Jiwoon hyung?”
“It’s one-sided love. That hyung is a victim too.”
“Fuck, so disgusting. I think I’m going to throw up.”
“Wow, but then he ruined clothes like that just because Seo Yechan is a bit close to that hyung?”
“Really fucking creepy. Wow… seriously scary. I’m worried he’ll appear in my dreams.”
Yechan said gloomily with his eyes downcast.
“All the clothes are ruined and can’t be worn. They were clothes I cherished.”
The kids comforted Yechan and continued chattering for a while. After doing so for a long time, breakfast time was approaching.
The class president pushed the kids’ backs, saying let’s go eat. The stories didn’t stop even while moving to the dining hall.
“Yechan-nim, who gently pointed out Choi Yeon’s mental illness. Please look at my psychology too.”
At those words, Yechan pressed his forehead and rubbed his temples.
“Huh, what? Sorry. I’m a bit tired right now.”
“Oh, right. If I experienced something like that too… You must have had a hard time.”
Pity bloomed again in the eyes of the kids who had been chattering playfully. Yechan massaged his neck a bit more.
“No. Well, liking someone isn’t a bad thing… I guess I got a bit angry because he harmed me for no reason.”
“Ugh, but still, gays are a bit… From now on, I shouldn’t even make eye contact with Choi Yeon. What if it’s contagious?”
“But doesn’t that bastard Choi Yeon look a bit gay from his appearance? He’s always been like an attention seeker since he was being annoying. Maybe that’s because he’s gay too.”
“Seo Yechan, cheer up. What kind of incident is this when you should be studying hard?”
The room kids who had been chattering noisily soon received their meals and scattered here and there. Taehyun and Minho, who had moved to the dining hall together without saying a word, had haggard faces.
“Feel better?”
“Of course.”
Yechan answered brightly to Minho’s words.
“Wow, what are you going to do about Choi Min hyung and Lee Jiwoon hyung?”
“I’m going to meet Jiwoon hyung today.”
“Taehyun, Yechan has everything planned.”
Minho said to Taehyun like a sigh. At that moment, a food tray was placed on the table with a thud. Han Seungwoo, who had somehow arrived and put down his tray across from Yechan, pulled out a chair and sat down.
“Hey. Seo Yechan. …Yeon isn’t eating and is crying.”
“So?”
Yechan responded calmly to Seungwoo’s words, whose eyebrows were drooping.
“Did you have to escalate things like that? Don’t you feel sorry for that bastard? He’s liked Lee Jiwoon hyung for a really long time.”
“Who told him not to like him? I’m saying don’t drag innocent people into it for no reason.”
“No, it’s true that Yeon was really mean to you. But still… Ah, I know this isn’t something I should interfere with.”
“Don’t pretend to be good half-heartedly either, Han Seungwoo. Choi Yeon isn’t a little kid, he’ll handle it himself.”
“Ah, I hate this kind of thing! Conflict, conflict! I really fucking hate this kind of thing!”
“We hate it too.”
Minho sighed deeply and replied to Seungwoo’s words. Yechan silently began eating. The cool bean sprout and dried pollack soup settled his stomach.
* * *
Kids returning from the school trip got off the bus that entered the school in droves and soon dispersed. Jiwoon spun his mechanical pencil and watched the scene, then concentrated on his workbook again.
Seo Yechan: Hyung ã… ã…
Me: ?
Seo Yechan: You’re not angry, right?
Me: ?
Seo Yechan: What time will you arrive? I’ll make dinner
Me: ?
Seo Yechan: ã… ã… You are coming, right?
Jiwoon, who had been consistently responding with question marks to Yechan’s messages, headed to Yechan’s house as soon as class ended.
In his bag were the clothes Yechan had lent him before, washed and packed. He had no intention of wearing his school uniform, which he had worn all day, even at Yechan’s house.
But wouldn’t it be better to just bring my own clothes? Jiwoon crunched the candy in his mouth and pressed Yechan’s house doorbell.
“I was surprised because you didn’t reply, hyung.”
Yechan, who opened the front door, was wearing a gray apron around his waist. Seeing his face after a long time, Jiwoon unconsciously bit his tongue.
“If hyung didn’t come, I was going to eat alone. You were going to come anyway, so why didn’t you reply?”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure.”
Jiwoon answered strangely to Yechan’s words and entered the house. The childish prank that had continued all day was still just amusing.
The arm muscles revealed under Yechan’s black short-sleeved t-shirt were distinct. Jiwoon tilted his neck at his increasingly sharp vision.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
