“No, not that. Um, Word? Teach me that. You said we have to write the report with it.”
The general education class they were both taking replaced the midterm with a report. When the instructor announced it, Su-min had calmly written it down, but inside he must’ve been panicking. Jae-ha nodded easily.
“Alright.”
“When? I’m fine even today.”
His enthusiasm promised good results, but unfortunately Jae-ha already had plans.
“Not today. It’s the festival. I promised I’d help out at the bar later.”
The others had said he only needed to show up in the evening and sit at a table, but knowing how hectic it would get, there was no way he could just do that. They wouldn’t put him to hard labor—he was practically treated like an old man in terms of year—but still, having one more set of hands always helped.
“Sunbae, you’re working the bar too?”
“The Business Department bar always pulls in massive sales.”
That was their competitive streak. It wasn’t like everyone was going to become a CEO, but the moment anything even remotely tied to “business” came up, they dove in like it was life or death. While Jae-ha shook his head, Su-min paused, then suddenly asked:
“Can I come see?”
“Huh?”
“What do people actually do at the festival that makes everyone so excited? I want to see it for myself.”
“Well, I don’t mind, but…”
Jae-ha trailed off, eyeing him. Su-min’s face looked so innocent it was obvious he’d never once experienced a university festival. Maybe he’d gone to a small village fair at best. Jae-ha grinned.
“Just checking out the bar wouldn’t be much fun, would it?”
When they stepped outside, the noise hit them immediately—far louder than usual, echoing from every corner. Normally neat, even deserted streets now swarmed with students waving signs and shouting to lure people in. Watching bewildered freshmen dragged off to booths without even a word, Jae-ha couldn’t help but think that if Su-min hadn’t been with him, he’d have been easy prey too.
“What do you like? Want to walk around once and see?”
“Yes.”
Since it was still early afternoon, the department bars were nowhere near opening yet, so they headed toward the square with the club booths. As they walked, Jae-ha pulled out his phone.
[Me]
Class ended early today, so I already left. Don’t come.
After a moment’s hesitation, he tapped out the message and hit send. The instant the “sent” mark appeared, he shoved his phone back into his pocket. If he didn’t text, Hae-hyun would come running later, grilling him about where he’d gone, who he was with, and what he’d done. It would be annoying, but he couldn’t just leave him waiting in an empty classroom either. Not that it mattered—Hae-hyun never listened even when told not to wait. Jae-ha let out a short sigh.
Ever since the night he’d slept over at Hae-hyun’s, the guy had gotten noticeably clingier.
Sure, he’d always been affectionate, but these days he was practically a puppy with separation anxiety. The moment he spotted Jae-ha, he’d beam and come running. He was desperate to share every little detail of his day, and at home he clung for no reason at all. And he did it even though Jae-ha no longer responded the way he used to.
In fact, the more Jae-ha subtly pushed him away, the more relentless he became. He acted like he had no idea Jae-ha was trying to create distance—or as if that distance didn’t exist at all. With that bright, guileless smile, he clung to him with everything he had. It was almost impressive.
Jae-ha didn’t know what to make of him anymore. This wasn’t exactly hot-and-cold treatment, so what was he even trying to do? He stared down at the ground, sullen.
Honestly, Hae-hyun’s tactics worked on him—at least halfway.
No matter how much Jae-ha tried to keep away, when Hae-hyun came bounding up with his playful antics, he couldn’t help but give in. Even if Hae-hyun himself didn’t realize it, Jae-ha still liked him. Getting rejected once or twice didn’t erase feelings overnight. Unfortunately, Jae-ha still liked him.
And part of it was his own fault. He’d acted like they were flirting, after all. From Hae-hyun’s perspective—someone who hadn’t been thinking along those lines—he might’ve just wanted to go back to the easy closeness they’d had before, instead of dealing with Jae-ha suddenly pulling away.
But that wasn’t possible unless they were actually dating.
So the only thing Jae-ha could do was avoid him as much as possible. There wasn’t really any other option. He didn’t want to hurt him with harsh words, and he didn’t want to be hated that much either. Even after their cohabitation ended, he wanted to at least be able to greet him casually if they happened to meet again. All he could do was hope Hae-hyun would hurry up and get used to this distance.
“Hyung, what’s wrong?”
His mood must’ve shown on his face. Su-min peeked at him with concern. Jae-ha smiled lightly.
“It’s nothing.”
The walk from the lecture building to the square was short. Soon, they could see the throng of people buzzing in the distance. And this was still early—once the main stage shows and the bars opened, it would be completely jam-packed.
Would he even be able to walk home through that mess? Pushing aside the vague worry, Jae-ha stepped forward boldly. A noble sacrifice for the Imoogi’s first-ever university festival.
The nearest booth belonged to the swim club: a water balloon toss. A huge basin brimmed with homemade balloons filled with water, and beside it stood a big rectangular panel.
The setup was simple: the panel was studded with sharp nail-like spikes, and three face-sized holes were cut at varying heights in the center. Club members poked their faces out through the holes, and judging by their dripping hair and cheeks, they’d already been pelted plenty.
“Try the water balloon toss! Perfect stress relief!”
One of the guys shouting in front of the booth locked eyes with Jae-ha. Spotting his chance, he walked straight over.
“Hey, handsome! How about it? A festival isn’t complete unless you try something like this at least once!”
With practiced ease, he grabbed Jae-ha’s arm and tugged him along. Playing along, Jae-ha let himself be dragged, throwing Su-min a glance. Though Su-min looked blank, he followed. After paying, Jae-ha was handed three balloons. He passed two to Su-min.
Since it was one of the first booths people saw, and since the club members were so aggressive about pulling people in, plenty were already lined up. Standing at the end, Jae-ha explained briefly:
“See that spot where the guys are sticking their heads out? You throw it there.”
“And what happens when you throw it?”
“You hit them.”
“And what’s good about hitting them?”
“…The satisfaction of hitting the target?”
Truthfully, Jae-ha never really liked water balloon tosses. Playing in the water together was one thing, but one person getting drenched over and over while everyone else laughed felt off. Before he could come up with a better explanation, the recruiter butted in again.
“When you hit, it’s actually great stress relief! Plus, it’s fun to see the balloons burst. Give it a try!”
Su-min still looked unconvinced, but he quietly waited his turn, apparently curious enough.
Since the game was simple, the line moved quickly. At the front, Su-min swung his arm. With a loud splat, the balloon burst right beside the guy’s face. Water sprayed everywhere, and the poor guy squeezed his eyes shut.
“…Is he being bullied?”
“Haha! No, don’t worry.”
The serious question made the recruiter burst out laughing. Even after tossing all three balloons, Su-min couldn’t figure out the point of the game and left the booth looking bewildered.
“Getting splashed doesn’t look that fun. People these days sure have strange ways of enjoying festivals.”
“…Yeah, I guess.”
That innocent observation made Jae-ha reflect too. It felt like he’d just introduced him to the stimulation-craving, violence-soaked side of modern life. He felt oddly guilty.
“Then how about that one next?”
Jae-ha pointed at the ping pong club’s booth. Underneath a ping pong table decorated with colorful paper, a big sign read ‘Ping Pong Toss! Incredible Prizes!’ On top of the table, an assortment of baskets and cups of different sizes were clustered together.
