“Hello.”
“Oh, hi. Hello.”
Of course he showed up again. At this point, if he didn’t come, it would’ve felt a little strange. With that thought in mind, Jae-ha returned the greeting as if it were nothing.
“Would it be alright if I sit here…?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
Even before he finished speaking, Jae-ha nodded lightly, and the guy promptly set his bag down with his usual blank face. His reactions were always so straightforward.
He seemed to be the freshman who had once asked if he could sit next to him during this elective. Ever since then, every single class, he showed up with the same question. And every time, Jae-ha said it was fine. By now, they had naturally fallen into the routine of sitting side by side, almost like friends.
The odd part was that once he settled in, he never spoke. Normally, sitting next to someone was the first step toward small talk, but this guy seemed to think just sitting there was enough. After that, he didn’t fidget or get distracted—he just focused entirely on the lecture. When Jae-ha sneaked a glance at his notes, he realized the guy had written far more than he had.
At first, it had seemed strange, but by now Jae-ha had grown used to the quiet presence. Today, as the guy calmly laid out his things again, Jae-ha suddenly asked,
“What’s your name?”
“…Huh?”
The guy lifted his head, eyes wide, as if he hadn’t expected Jae-ha to speak to him. Jae-ha repeated,
“Can I ask your name?”
“Im… Su-min.”
It was the first time Jae-ha had seen him stutter. Until now, all he’d shown was that emotionless face. It was unexpectedly human. Was asking someone’s name really that surprising?
“Im Su-min, huh. I’m Seo Jae-ha. I’m twenty-five.”
For a freshman, twenty-five probably sounded ancient, but it wasn’t like Jae-ha could skip an introduction. He ignored the slight awkwardness and spoke anyway, and Su-min nodded.
“Ah, I’m… twenty.”
“Yeah, you look it. Do you usually take this class alone?”
“Yes.”
Su-min nodded again, slowly, almost innocently, which made Jae-ha smile faintly.
“Since you always sit next to me, I thought I should at least know your name.”
“Oh… right.”
“Alright, you can get back to it. Sorry for interrupting.”
Jae-ha ended the short conversation with ease. He had no intention of pestering this hamster-like, poker-faced junior. He’d just been curious. Honestly, even if Su-min hadn’t answered, Jae-ha would’ve shrugged it off.
“…Um.”
It was Su-min who stopped him. Jae-ha turned his head back, puzzled. The same expressionless guy was now looking up at him, as though he had finally decided to speak.
“Yeah?”
“Well… do you, um…”
For a second, his face turned oddly solemn—like someone about to propose—before it vanished.
“Do you like lakes?”
“…What?”
Jae-ha blinked, a beat too late. What the hell? Is he trying to ask me to go to a lake with him? The thought crossed his mind, then he quickly dismissed it. Surely he wasn’t that strange.
“Maybe? I guess so.”
Jae-ha did enjoy trips to the mountains or valleys, so it wasn’t exactly a lie. Su-min seemed to catch the hint of agreement, because his face brightened ever so slightly. His eyes even seemed to sparkle.
“Then maybe we could—”
“Hello, everyone!”
Before he could finish, the professor strode in, greeting the class in a booming voice. His big personality filled the room, cutting them off instantly.
As roll was called, Jae-ha half-expected Su-min to continue, but all he did was straighten in his seat with a faintly disappointed look. And for the rest of class, he stayed perfectly quiet, listening intently.
***
“What on earth was he about to say…”
“Sorry? What was that?”
Walking beside him, Hae-hyun gave him a questioning look. The hallway buzzed with students pouring out of classrooms.
“Nothing. Forget it.”
Jae-ha shook his head. It wasn’t quite unusual enough to bring up with Hae-hyun. …Though, maybe it was.
They say one of the most frustrating things in the world is when someone starts talking and then doesn’t finish. And it was true—it was eating at him. If you like lakes, then what? Was that some kind of new flirting trick? Leaving someone curious? If that had been the intention, it was a damn good one.
“Sunbae, are you okay?”
Hae-hyun must’ve noticed how distracted he was. He leaned in slightly, his neatly shaped brows drawn together. Jae-ha snapped out of it.
“I’m fine. I’m free now—do you have plans?”
“Ah, I was going to…”
Just then, a group of students ahead of them spotted him and stopped in their tracks.
“Oh, Jae-ha oppa!”
“Hello, hyung.”
“Oppa, is this your class?”
They were juniors from the department, probably moving to their next class. Jae-ha answered with a smile.
“Yeah, I was just heading home. What about you guys?”
“We’ve got another class.”
“Ugh, I wanna skip.”
“Wanna head to Jjayu instead?”
They giggled among themselves—until they noticed Hae-hyun walking beside him. Their faces froze in surprise, a scene reminiscent of the student lounge not long ago.
“O-oh, oppa, this is…?”
“Oh. Just a friend. These are my juniors.”
At the simple introduction, Hae-hyun gave only a brief nod. The juniors were older than him, technically, but his curt acknowledgment bordered on rude. Not that he seemed to care.
“Ah, I seeee.”
“He’s really handsome!”
“Geez, don’t embarrass us like that. Sorry, oppa.”
“Choi Seongji’s just acting cool since she already claimed Jae-ha oppa.”
“She even got a Black Knight from him not long ago.”
“Oh yeah! You two aren’t secretly dating or anything, are you?”
At that, Jae-ha instinctively glanced at Hae-hyun. Thankfully, his expression hadn’t changed.
“No, nothing like that. Sorry about them.”
“Now I’m embarrassed. Let’s go.”
Flustered, the juniors bowed quickly and hurried off. After waving them goodbye, Jae-ha continued walking. Right away, Hae-hyun asked,
“What did they mean by ‘claimed’?”
He’d expected this question. Jae-ha paused for a moment. …Maybe he’d play it cool?
“They’re just messing around. You know how kids are.”
He conveniently left out the part about the confession. That wasn’t something to toss around casually.
“So you even did the Black Knight thing?”
“Uh… yeah. She was too drunk to leave alone. It was a while back.”
Jae-ha tried to brush it off. It was true—it had happened before anything started with Hae-hyun.
“That was the girl you drank with that time, right? When you came home late.”
It was correct, but strange how firmly he said it. How could he know? They hadn’t even drunk together. Maybe his doubt showed, because Hae-hyun added,
“The smell was the same.”
“…Aren’t you supposed to be human?”
“Of course I remember scents. That smell was all over you that night.”
His sulky face sparked guilt in Jae-ha, and he found himself making excuses. Any thought of playful teasing had long vanished.
“I just drank too much, that’s all. And it wasn’t just her—there were tons of people.”
“True. There were a lot of other smells too.”
“……”
Not exactly helpful. When Jae-ha fell silent, Hae-hyun turned his head away, pouting. Jae-ha sighed inwardly. Alright, no more drinking.
But first, he had to handle the one in front of him. Judging by that expression, this wasn’t going to pass on its own. …Had he messed up more than he thought?
“Are you mad?”
“Why would I be?”
The exact kind of thing angry people usually said. He didn’t even bother to hide it. Jae-ha reached out, patting lightly between his arm and back. The gentle touch, almost playful, brushed warm skin stretched over firm muscle.
“Don’t be mad.”
“I said I’m not.”
“Really?”
“Why would I be mad?”
“Why? You’re like my dog.”
“……”
“Dogs have sensitive noses—how could I not notice?”
