“Ah, he’s not in Business. He’s just a close junior of mine.”
“Oh, I see… then will he be around later when the bar opens?”
“Well… maybe?”
At his vague reply, the woman nodded like she understood and walked away. From the side, Min-hee jabbed Jae-ha in the arm.
“Wow, kids these days are seriously brave. Right?”
“Yeah, tell me about it.”
“For a second I thought you already had someone lined up for you.”
“Please, cut it out.”
Jae-ha said it lightly, but the plea was genuine. Ever since he had slipped up and admitted he liked someone, people wouldn’t stop pestering him—what happened to that girl? how’d things turn out? He’d finally snapped and told them it was over.
That only made things worse. Now, every time he turned around, someone was offering to introduce him to a girl or drag him to a club. Judging from the way tonight was going, he doubted he’d escape more of the same.
“So, how does it feel walking around with a guy as handsome as Jae-ha oppa?”
Luckily, Min-hee wasn’t the obsessive type. She only teased once before moving on, but even so, her mischievous grin and playful question were hard to answer. Jae-ha let out a dry laugh.
“Feels amazing.”
“See? Now I get why you and Min-ho oppa are friends. Did you have dinner yet? If there’s anything you want, let me know—I’ll tell the kitchen.”
“Nah, just give me whatever. I’m fine, but these two haven’t eaten.”
“You’re our pub’s main attraction tonight, no way we’re giving you random scraps. Just wait—Hyung-jun oppa’s got the knife out right now.”
She patted his shoulder and promised to send their best dish, then skipped off toward the kitchen. The sheer energy radiating off her made her seem destined for success no matter where she went. Smiling faintly at his sharp junior’s back, Jae-ha returned to the two who had been waiting for him.
“What were you talking about?”
The moment he sat down, Hae-hyun shot the question.
“With who?”
“With that girl.”
“They were all girls.”
His evasive reply made Hae-hyun scowl. Jae-ha finally relented.
“She asked if you were in Business. Must be nice being so popular.”
“Are you one to talk, sunbae? What about the one with long hair, standing next to you?”
“Who, Min-hee? She just said she’d bring you food.”
“…That’s it?”
Even with a straightforward answer, the suspicion in his eyes lingered. What kind of answer did he want? Annoyed, Jae-ha threw out a careless line.
“Why? Did it look like a good vibe?”
“What? No. Absolutely not.”
…Not like he wanted it to look like that, but the way Hae-hyun dismissed it so firmly irritated him.
“Exactly. It wasn’t a good vibe.”
“Right. Not at all. She didn’t suit you in the slightest.”
…What the hell? He hadn’t been aiming for anything, but the blunt comment still rubbed him the wrong way.
“So, Su-min, how’s the festival? Having fun?”
Cutting off the tension, Jae-ha turned to Su-min. Sneaking glances at the busy kitchen, Su-min nodded. Even under the colorful festival lights, his eyes were bright with excitement.
“If I’d known it was like this, I would’ve come during the festival before.”
“Right? Your nest is right next door, anyway.”
“True.”
His playful reply was met with earnest agreement. Grumbling about how he’d always thought it was just noise and never came out, Su-min sounded a little like Hae-hyun. Without realizing it, Jae-ha smiled before quickly straightening his expression.
Because of that, he didn’t notice Hae-hyun’s face as the latter stared at him.
“Oh, right. Hyung, here.”
Su-min held out a small keyring—a clear, plump cloud-shaped charm dangling with an English-printed strap. Jae-ha blinked, seeing it for the first time.
“What’s this? For me?”
“No, it’s yours. You won it earlier—at the ping-pong ball toss.”
“Ah… right. When did you even pick this up?”
He had forgotten all about it, but apparently Su-min had collected the prize for him. Imagining the freshman dutifully taking it, Jae-ha chuckled.
“Keep it.”
“Huh?”
“You’re a freshman. You should at least have one trendy thing. Consider it a gift.”
“…What do you even do with this?”
Su-min’s doubtful tone made Jae-ha tilt his chin.
“Turn around.”
He tugged Su-min’s backpack closer and clipped the keyring onto it. The neat black bag instantly looked cuter. It suited Su-min’s soft features perfectly.
“See? You wear it like this. Not bad, huh?”
“…Hmm.”
Su-min tilted his head, staring seriously at the dangling charm, but didn’t take it off. Apparently, he liked it more than he admitted.
“Thanks for waiting! Special rolled omelet, coming right up~!”
Yoon-taek arrived with a loud voice, wearing a neon-purple heart-shaped headband and balancing a tray easily with one hand. He looked every bit the seasoned chicken-shop part-timer.
“Damn, that looks good.”
Jae-ha muttered in surprise at the dish. He’d guessed as much when he heard Hyung-jun was in charge of the kitchen, but this wasn’t pub food—it was something you’d expect at a real restaurant.
“Hyung-jun hyung’s crazy. I swear he’s a chef. Here, drinks too.”
Chatting away, Yoon-taek set down paper cups and a bottle of liquor before rushing back to the kitchen. With opening time close, everyone’s frantic energy was a mix of nerves and excitement.
Glancing outside at the noise, Jae-ha noticed some members already lining up the waiting crowd. Watching everyone hustle while he sat around made him feel oddly self-conscious. Finally, he stood up.
“You guys eat. I’ll go give them a hand—”
But before he could finish, a hand clamped around his wrist. Hae-hyun suddenly yanked him to his feet and dragged him off. Puzzled, Jae-ha finally noticed the hard, tense look on his face.
“…Ju Hae-hyun?”
Was he mad? About what? Too busy avoiding his eyes earlier, Jae-ha hadn’t even noticed when that expression had appeared. Pulled along behind the tent, he waved quickly at Su-min to show he was fine. No matter how annoyed Hae-hyun was, he wouldn’t actually hit him… right?
They kept going into an unused patch of festival grounds, lined with neatly tended trees. Away from the bright lights, the shadows were so deep Jae-ha could barely see Hae-hyun’s face.
“What’s wrong?”
Even after stopping, his wrist was still gripped tightly. When he tried to twist free, the hold only tightened, quick and unrelenting.
“Hey, let go—”
Before he could finish, Hae-hyun suddenly stepped closer. Startled, Jae-ha froze as warmth brushed his cheek.
Then a rough hand scrubbed across his face.
“W-what the—hey, Ju Hae-hyun!”
“Stop calling me by my last name.”
Shameless, Hae-hyun kept rubbing until he finally pulled back.
Jae-ha, cheek raw as if he’d been scrubbed with a rag, touched his face and found dried paint flaking off. …Had he just wiped away his face paint? What kind of stunt was this?
“What the hell was that for?”
“That thing didn’t suit you at all. Was that the only design they had? Honestly, it was awful.”
Didn’t he say earlier it looked good? The sudden reversal was absurd. As Jae-ha stared at him in disbelief, Hae-hyun pressed again, voice bristling.
“Why do you keep helping that Imoogi? Is volunteering some kind of hobby? Seriously, why’d you even help a worm like that in the first place? If you hadn’t, he wouldn’t be clinging to you now.”
“…Come on. I even picked up a stray puppy once—what’s the big deal about moving a worm?”
“……”
Hae-hyun clamped his mouth shut, at a loss for words, but his eyes still burned with defiance.
“With him.”
His voice dropped low, almost ominous.
“Don’t get close to him.”
