Im Hangyeol’s eyes widened at Jaeyoon’s words. He approached Jaeyoon with a flustered face and asked in a raised voice.
“Don’t tell me that bastard called you and spouted nonsense?”
“No, it’s not like that…”
“I’m sorry! When he asked for your phone number, even begging me which he never does… Still, just to be safe, I monitored what messages he was sending from beside him…”
‘He went that far…?’
Jaeyoon quietly observed Im Hangyeol biting his lip while clutching his forehead, then spoke.
“That message was all. I was just curious how he got my number, so I asked.”
“Ah…”
Im Hangyeol scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed face. After briefly rolling his eyes and gauging the situation, Im Hangyeol eventually said to Jaeyoon.
“If you felt uncomfortable, I’m sorry…”
“For what?”
“For giving out your phone number without permission…”
“It doesn’t really matter. Besides, you even watched over him to make sure he didn’t send any weird messages, right?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah…”
“Then it’s fine.”
“R-really?”
When Im Hangyeol closed his mouth, the infirmary suddenly grew quiet. Feeling the awkward atmosphere between them, Jaeyoon was about to gently close the bed curtain, saying, “Well, get treated and go.” But Im Hangyeol quickly stopped Jaeyoon’s action. Hey, wait! At the urgent voice, Jaeyoon peeked his face out from behind the curtain with a questioning look.
“Umm…”
“What?”
“You know…”
“Know what?”
Jaeyoon’s brows gradually furrowed as Im Hangyeol kept moving his lips as if about to speak but then hesitating.
“Say it quickly.”
“STUDYING!!”
Im Hangyeol shouted loudly at Jaeyoon’s irritated, crumpled expression.
“Studying?”
When Jaeyoon stared at him with round eyes, Im Hangyeol spoke with a pout, as if he had expected this reaction.
“You said you’d teach me how to study…”
“Ah~”
‘I forgot.’
Jaeyoon pressed his lips together, realizing he had completely forgotten about it. With everything that had been happening lately, plus getting injured, the matter of Im Hangyeol had completely slipped his mind. Jaeyoon felt somewhat sorry toward him. After all, he had been the one to offer to teach him first, yet he had forgotten all about it until now…
“Sorry…”
“No, you couldn’t help your situation. It wasn’t on purpose, so there’s no need to apologize.”
“Thanks for understanding.”
“But still!!”
Jaeyoon blinked rapidly at Im Hangyeol’s sudden shout. Seeing Im Hangyeol looking at him as if he had made some kind of resolution, Jaeyoon unconsciously leaned his upper body back.
“Your wounds are all healed now, and you’re coming back to school, right?”
“I guess so…?”
“Then teach me how to study from now on!”
Jaeyoon stared blankly at Im Hangyeol, whose face had turned bright red as if it might burst at any moment. With even his earlobes flushed, he looked extremely embarrassed. The corners of Jaeyoon’s mouth gradually crept upward. Pfft! At the sound of laughter erupting, Im Hangyeol looked up at Jaeyoon. Seeing Jaeyoon trying to hold back his laughter with a hand over his mouth while his shoulders trembled, Im Hangyeol’s already red face grew even redder, radiating intense heat.
“Y-you! I’m being serious here, why are you laughing?!”
“I was wondering why you were speaking with such a serious face, pfft!”
“Stop laughing!!”
At Im Hangyeol’s outburst, Jaeyoon finally burst out laughing. Im Hangyeol’s face filled with embarrassment as he watched Jaeyoon laugh cheerfully while holding his stomach. Ugh, I said stop laughing! But despite his desperate plea, Jaeyoon’s laughter showed no signs of stopping. Finally giving up, Im Hangyeol glared at the innocent infirmary ceiling until Jaeyoon’s laughter subsided.
“Ahem!”
“…Are you done laughing?”
“No, I’m not done yet. But if I laugh any more, I think you’ll get upset.”
“Who says I’m upset?!”
“Right, right.”
When Jaeyoon casually waved his hand in response, Im Hangyeol narrowed his eyes and stuck out his lower lip.
‘He’s such a child.’
“I’ll teach you how to study after school starting tomorrow.”
“!!”
Im Hangyeol looked up with sparkling eyes at Jaeyoon’s words. Really?! Seeing his joy-filled expression, Jaeyoon nodded.
“Come to our classroom after classes end. We can go to the library or somewhere to study.”
“Oh, got it!!”
“Is there any particular subject you find difficult?”
“All of them!!”
Jaeyoon smiled kindly at Im Hangyeol’s bright response.
‘Don’t answer something like that so cheerfully…’
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow!”
Im Hangyeol was waving his arms in the air so vigorously you could hear the wind, but suddenly stopped his steps as he was about to open the infirmary door and leave. Jaeyoon, who had been watching him with confusion, tilted his head to the side as Im Hangyeol hesitated before slowly turning around to look at him.
“Do you have something else to say?”
“…Well…”
Im Hangyeol glanced at Jaeyoon briefly before lowering his eyes and biting his lip hesitantly. What is it? As Jaeyoon asked with a puzzled face, he smiled slightly, thinking, what is he going to say now with all this build-up? Since there was no rush, Jaeyoon waited patiently, but his eyes widened at the words that came out of Im Hangyeol’s mouth.
“I’m sorry.”
“…What…?”
‘Suddenly? For what?’
Im Hangyeol, who had been quietly staring at the blankly blinking Jaeyoon, finally spoke.
“I’m really sorry for misunderstanding you on my own and speaking harshly to you.”
“…”
“I shouldn’t have done that. I’ve known you for a long time, and I shouldn’t have misunderstood you like that… I’m sorry, Lee Jaeyoon.”
Jaeyoon couldn’t give any answer to Im Hangyeol’s apology. He felt he had no right to either accept or reject this apology on his own. He believed it wasn’t his place to decide on this matter, as he wasn’t Lee Jaeyoon. The apology hung in the air, with nowhere to go. Seeing Jaeyoon staring at him without a word, Im Hangyeol gave a bitter smile.
“I’ll be going then…”
Jaeyoon watched Im Hangyeol’s back as he left the infirmary, then let out a small sigh.
“The one who should be apologizing isn’t doing it, and instead I get an apology from an unexpected place…”
***
“Those who want to join the summer camp should apply to me by next week.”
After finishing his explanation, Sim Jaeha handed out the questionnaires he was holding to the students in the front row. The questionnaires moved back one seat at a time and soon reached Jaeyoon’s hands.
‘Summer camp…’
Jaeyoon tapped his desk slowly with his finger, then put the questionnaire into his desk drawer. Summer camp… He had never been to one before, but somehow it felt like he already had. Lee Jaeyoon’s memories, which he had glimpsed through dreams, were incredibly vivid.
His expression crumpled when he recalled Han Doyoon’s expression as he looked at Lee Jaeyoon. That unpleasant gaze, like looking at a bug. How could he look at a junior who followed and liked him in such a way? Feeling his heart tighten again, Jaeyoon clutched his uniform tightly.
“What’s wrong? Are you sick?”
Lee Heejun, who was approaching Jaeyoon, asked with surprise when he saw him clutching his uniform with a serious face. Jaeyoon shook his head slightly in response.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, I just remembered an unpleasant face.”
“An unpleasant face?”
Seeing Jaeyoon’s expression as he frowned while only lifting the corners of his lips in a smile, Heejun decided not to ask further.
“What are you going to do about the summer camp?”
“Ah… I don’t really like going to those kinds of places.”
“But Jinhoo sunbae is going too, you know?”
“Huh?! Why would sunbae go there??”
Heejun made a gesture with his hands moving up and down as if telling the startled Jaeyoon to calm down, then shrugged his shoulders as if it was no big deal.
“All club members have to participate.”
“Why?”
“It’s just the tradition.”
‘Come to think of it, I think there was such an explanation in the game…’
Jaeyoon, who hadn’t paid much attention to it as it was just a passing setting, bit his lip hard and swept his bangs back.
“We do things like stay together with other schools, appreciate each other’s work, have discussions, and have fun doing such things.”
“That’s not really having fun, is it?”
“It is fun. We swim in the ocean, and we get free time too.”
“Hmm…”
As Jaeyoon held his forehead, Heejun tilted his head to the side curiously.
“Why do you dislike it so much?”
“What?”
“The summer camp. It seems like you’ve never been to one, yet you openly dislike it.”
“No, it’s just that… I don’t like going out in summer because I’m sensitive to heat.”
Heejun didn’t seem to believe Jaeyoon’s excuse, but he let it slide. Taking a long breath, Jaeyoon crossed his arms and frowned.
‘If sunbae is going, I should go too, right? I don’t want to be apart from him… But I don’t want to see Han Doyoon’s face… Argh!! To go or not to go, that is the question-!’
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
