#020
What did I just do? His heart was beating like crazy. Yechan slowly regulated his breathing while touching his lips. His lips were slightly swollen from the kiss with Jiwoon.
Where his sluggish thoughts led was a desire to kiss him once more.
“Ha.”
Yechan let out a hollow laugh as he clenched and unclenched his fist.
It’s just my brain being shocked. Don’t get confused. Yechan repeated this to himself as he closed his eyes. His head kept trying to replay the memory on its own.
With his eyes closed, Yechan began to organize his thoughts step by step. Today he had made intimate contact with a sunbae from the same school, and of the same sex at that.
The kiss with Jiwoon was good. The fact that he couldn’t control himself and kept going at it was proof of that. It was thrillingly euphoric. There was no sense of rejection.
Yechan tried to find the reason for this. But it was strange. He couldn’t come up with any plausible explanation.
Am I gay? The moment he thought that, Choi Yeon’s face flashed through his mind.
With a serious expression, Yechan imagined kissing other male students in school uniforms. It was disgusting. The only person he could possibly do such a thing with was Lee Jiwoon.
Then do I like this hyung? For now, Yechan definitely liked Jiwoon in a human sense.
He liked Lee Jiwoon who was easygoing, not burdensome, didn’t cross lines, wanted nothing from him, and was fine with this or that. Jiwoon, who often made even Yechan’s heavy worries and stress feel light, was an endlessly fascinating person to Yechan.
Moreover, Jiwoon was a good understanding companion. He was smart and rational, someone who thought similarly to himself.
Yechan often read a weariness toward life in Jiwoon’s words and actions. It wasn’t difficult to do so.
Yechan also easily felt boredom in life. The common ground that he couldn’t find no matter how hard he tried with other people overflowed in his relationship with Jiwoon.
Then what about beyond that?
Yechan changed his question. What if Jiwoon got a girlfriend?
Yechan familiarly drew a line. They would spend less time together than now… but it would probably be okay.
After all, wasn’t it someone else’s romantic situation? Still, it would be nice if he occasionally helped with math problems. Yes, that was about it.
Yechan came to a conclusion. He liked Jiwoon and found him fun and comfortable. Yechan got along well with him and was fond of him, and if possible, wanted to be with him.
But it wasn’t romantic feelings. It was the same conclusion as when Jiwoon had kissed him on the cheek that one time. It was also the same conclusion as when Choi Yeon had gotten on his nerves.
Seo Yechan and Lee Jiwoon were close sunbae-hubae.
* * *
Perhaps due to the aftermath of the sports festival, Jiwoon didn’t wake up once.
“…Hyung, hyung. Wake up.”
Jiwoon barely managed to lift his eyelids.
Yechan, who had come out after washing, was waking Jiwoon up.
Ah, I slept at his place yesterday. The scent of body wash wafted from Yechan, who was sitting on the bed gently shaking him.
Jiwoon slowly blinked a few times, then covered his eyes with the back of his hand. To face Yechan’s smiling face right after waking up—this was almost unfair.
An impulse crashed into his sleep-addled mind, and Jiwoon lightly bit his lower lip.
“When did I fall asleep?”
His sleepy voice cracked slightly.
“When I was memorizing vocabulary. Did you sleep well?”
“Ah… yeah.”
Jiwoon answered in a daze and stretched his arms out, yawning.
Yechan took in the sight of the tender flesh on the inside of Jiwoon’s arms. The bare skin with firm muscle definition was pale.
Jiwoon watched Yechan applying cream to his face and lay on his side. Because he was lying sideways with his arm as a pillow, his cheek was pressed and squished.
With eyes still full of sleep, Jiwoon looked at Yechan while slowly blinking his eyelids—he was like a tiger cub. Yechan smiled like a magnolia wet with water.
“Hyung is weak in the mornings.”
“Yeah.”
Soon Yechan stood up, grabbed both of Jiwoon’s hands and pulled him up with a whoosh.
Jiwoon’s head, pulled up along with him, bumped into Yechan’s chest. With his forehead pressed against the firm chest muscles, Jiwoon made an “ah” sound.
Yechan laughed “haha” and raised his hand to massage Jiwoon’s nape. Jiwoon, who seemed noticeably more relaxed than usual, was cute.
“Hmm…”
“Does it feel good?”
“Yeah.”
A pleased sigh escaped from Jiwoon’s mouth. His languid body gradually awakened.
“Hyung, you’re like a grandfather.”
“Where is there such a handsome grandfather?”
Haha. Yechan laughed out loud once more. Jiwoon straightened his upper body and tilted his head back.
Yechan’s face was right there. Feeling Yechan’s touch massaging the back of his neck, Jiwoon smiled and reached out his hand. Then he grabbed Yechan’s shoulder and slowly stood up.
Suddenly, Jiwoon’s lips brushed against Yechan’s chin. At the lips that touched yet didn’t quite touch, Yechan blinked.
“Going to wash up.”
Jiwoon opened the door and left. Yechan touched his chin for a moment, then soon headed to the kitchen.
Perhaps it was too much to satisfy all of a teenager’s vigorous curiosity at once. Thinking this, Yechan put bread in the toaster.
After eating toast and milk, the two left the house and took a taxi to Jiwoon’s place. As always, Jiwoon came out neatly dressed in his school uniform, his cross bag swaying at his side.
The May morning sky was clear. In the blazing sunlight, Yechan walked slowly.
“Yechan.”
Jiwoon took out candy from his pocket and smiled with a subtle expression. It was time to confirm Seo Yechan’s boundaries again.
“Can you kiss well now?”
Yechan, who had opened his mouth to receive candy from Jiwoon, smiled and sucked on the candy.
Yechan traced back the changes his body had experienced yesterday and today. He felt like he could do better than before kissing Jiwoon.
But something was still lacking. Yechan brought his mouth close to Jiwoon’s ear.
“If it’s okay, please teach me again next time.”
At Yechan’s words, Jiwoon’s heart dropped with a thud, and his eyes narrowed. Jiwoon crunched on the candy and asked.
“Do you like me?”
“I like you as a close sunbae. There’s no chance of romantic feelings developing, so don’t worry.”
The tension in Jiwoon’s facial muscles immediately relaxed. Seeing this, Yechan thought Jiwoon was relieved.
Jiwoon took a deep breath and exhaled. Then he looked at the verdant street trees and said lightly.
“Yechan is getting horny.”
“Well. I think I’ll know if I try a bit more. Honestly, it felt good to me.”
Yechan smiled with a subtle expression and spoke quietly. Seeing that face, Jiwoon twisted his lips and smiled.
He couldn’t even confess and got rejected, but it wasn’t without harvest. Having clearly confirmed Yechan’s boundaries, Jiwoon tightly bound his heart again and buried it deep inside.
“Cheeky.”
“So you hate it?”
Yechan tilted his head and looked up at Jiwoon. At the prettily curved lips and subtle gaze, Jiwoon shook his dizzy head and laughed “puhehe.”
Since I seduced an innocent kid and stole his first kiss, I should take responsibility. Jiwoon, who resolved once again not to cross the line, spoke with languid eyes.
“Can you handle it? Do you know what I might do playing with your lips?”
Instantly, a tingling sensation spread throughout Yechan’s entire body. Yechan’s smile deepened.
“What do you want to do playing with them? I’ll let you play with me. Let’s play together.”
“Ha…”
Jiwoon smiled and squeezed his eyes shut before opening them. With a smiling face, Yechan lifted Jiwoon’s hand. Then, making eye contact and grinning, he began to interlock their fingers one by one.
“But while you’re playing with me, you can’t play with other people. Of course, I won’t either. Our bodies are precious.”
Yechan placed their interlocked hands on his chest.
Suddenly, sex education class came to mind. In the end, Jiwoon could only shake his head and laugh. His broken heart kept thumping.
“Yees. I won’t two-time, oppa.”
Jiwoon’s consent had fallen. Give me one more candy. Jiwoon unwrapped a candy and put it in the mouth of the brightly smiling Yechan.
Yechan receiving the candy was pretty. He seemed to be thoroughly smitten.
* * *
“Hey, Kim Minho, come here. Quick!”
Taehyun, who had been looking out the classroom window, urgently called Minho.
“Why.”
“Look over there.”
“Where… huh?”
“That’s Lee Jiwoon hyung and Seo Yechan coming together, right? What’s with their hands?”
“They’re holding hands… together…”
“What the hell is that bastard doing, really?”
“Leave it alone. They always go home together anyway. What’s the big deal about holding hands and coming together?”
“No, didn’t you see yesterday?”
Taehyun grabbed Minho’s ear and whispered.
“Seo Yechan going up to Lee Jiwoon hyung and acting all flirty.”
That thing that made the girls shriek! Taehyun added.
“I saw it. But Seo Yechan is Seo Yechan, but why the hell are they acting like that?”
Minho replied with a fed-up expression.
“I don’t know. Did I scream?”
“Anyway, leave it alone. Don’t mess with them and get dumped by Yechan.”
The conversation between the two, which had briefly gone off on a tangent, soon found its way back.
“But isn’t it super suspicious? Have you seen Seo Yechan act like that before?”
“I’m telling you it’s not like that.”
Don’t you remember Choi Yeon? Please just leave it alone. Minho, with a fed-up expression, pulled Taehyun away from the window.
Yechan and Jiwoon were entering through the front entrance.
* * *
After the sports festival ended, Yechan was busy preparing for performance assessments. Taehyun and Minho were the same.
Seungwoo still ate meals with Yechan’s group. Learning that even Seungwoo, who seemed to have nothing to do with studying, was steadily preparing for performance assessments, Minho became even more enthusiastic about studying for a while.
Taehyun laughed asking what those guys were doing while adjusting his grip on his pen. For once, there was an atmosphere full of academic fervor without any PC room complaints.
The small ball that Han Seungwoo had launched was satisfying. Yechan enjoyed his comfortable daily life.
As always, Yechan spent Tuesday and Thursday after school and weekends with Jiwoon. And he worked on both studying and performance assessment preparation until late at night.
Jiwoon checked if there were similar performance assessments from last year and shared his materials and tips. Actually, there was something else he really wanted to do right now, but he patiently exercised restraint.
He had to maintain boundaries. So Jiwoon decided to focus on studying instead. At least while solving problems, it was somewhat better.
“Tomorrow it’ll finally be over.”
After saving his PPT, Yechan fell backward and spoke. On a Sunday afternoon in late May, Yechan was preparing performance assessments on his laptop while Jiwoon was solving practice Suneung problems.
Jiwoon, sitting at the study desk in Yechan’s room, easily checked answers on the foreign language problem sheet and said.
“Good job.”
“I just have to give the presentation. I want to stop now.”
Lying flat on the floor, Yechan tiredly covered his eyes with his arm.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
