“…Suits you… Easter bunny…?”
“It’s a clock rabbit!”
I see…
Jaeyoon looked kindly at the white rabbit ears making a strong statement atop Im Hangyeol’s red hair.
“…Is this a fairytale-themed… café?”
“…A maze.”
“Ah~ So your class was the one that reserved the auditorium.”
Im Hangyeol wanted to disappear from this spot right now. Why did he have to meet the person he least wanted to show this to first of all people?
He had been killing time on a rarely used staircase, but why did this guy have to use this particular staircase?
“…The suspenders suit you well.”
“Shut up!”
Your face is turning as red as a carrot. It matches well with the rabbit. After staring briefly at Im Hangyeol, who was screaming and frantically messing up his hair, Jaeyoon continued up the stairs.
“…So what are you… some young master from a noble house?”
“Well, that’s the concept.”
“Damn it! Why do we have to do this when other classes get cool concepts like that!”
‘Would it be too cruel to tell him it’s too late for regrets now?’
Im Hangyeol tried to take off his rabbit headband to throw it away, but couldn’t bring himself to do it and just crumpled it in his hand instead.
“Are you out here promoting too?”
“No way! It’s break time so… I was hiding…”
“…If you wanted to hide, couldn’t you have gone to the annex building that’s not used during the festival?”
“Ah…”
Im Hangyeol stared blankly up at Jaeyoon with an expression that showed he hadn’t thought of that at all.
“…You could at least spend the rest of your time in the annex…”
“Ugh…!”
“Well then, good luck.”
“Ah, wait!”
Jaeyoon, who was about to continue up the stairs, turned his head at the urgent voice calling him. What? Meeting his gaze, Im Hangyeol chewed on his lips for a moment before taking a deep breath. With a solemn expression, he blurted out something unexpected.
“I’m sorry!”
“…Huh…?”
Jaeyoon’s blue eyes widened. Under Jaeyoon’s silent stare, Im Hangyeol’s cheeks flushed red. Avoiding eye contact, he shouted again, louder this time.
“I said I’m sorry!”
“…For what?”
“Last time… your arm got hurt because of me, right?”
“Ah…”
Jaeyoon nodded as he recalled his arm, which still had a bruise. Im Hangyeol ruffled the back of his hair and said:
“I’ve been wanting to apologize… but never got the chance. And also…”
After hesitating briefly, Im Hangyeol muttered quietly.
“That guy is always guarding you like a watchdog…”
Jaeyoon clearly heard the latter part of Im Hangyeol’s words but chose to ignore it. It was unfortunate for Im Hangyeol who had been hovering around wanting to apologize, but having Jung Jinhoo by his side had given Jaeyoon great mental comfort.
“It wasn’t intentional, so it’s fine.”
“Really?”
“Just don’t do it again.”
Seeing Jaeyoon smile brightly, Im Hangyeol’s face suddenly turned pale. Although his mouth was smiling, the blue eyes looking at him were clearly warning him. ‘I won’t let it slide a second time?’ Having received the warning message clearly, Im Hangyeol nodded his head rapidly up and down.
‘Since my puppy sunbae told me not to hold back, I should let him off a bit.’
Jaeyoon smiled even more.
“If you don’t want to go to the annex, just take off the rabbit headband.”
“Huh?”
“Without the headband, your outfit isn’t that strange, is it?”
“A high school student wearing suspenders—how is that not strange?”
“Adult celebrities wear them all the time, so what’s the problem?”
“How can you compare celebrities to ordinary people?”
Without the rabbit ears, it’s not that strange. Jaeyoon tilted his head curiously but then shrugged. If the person himself disliked it, there was no need to persuade him.
“Fine then. I’m busy, so I’ll be going now…”
“Y-you’re leaving…?”
“…Earlier you looked like you wanted me to leave quickly.”
“Th-that’s because it was embarrassing!”
“And it’s not embarrassing now?”
“…No.”
It still seems embarrassing though? Jaeyoon stared at Im Hangyeol’s reddening ear tips. Feeling the gaze, Im Hangyeol hurriedly covered his ears with his hands.
“What!”
“Hmm…”
“What!”
Jaeyoon shook his head.
“I need to meet Jinhoo sunbae. Bye~”
At the name Jung Jinhoo, Im Hangyeol’s brow furrowed.
“You, are you close with that guy these days?”
“Not ‘that guy’ but sun. bae.”
When Jaeyoon narrowed his eyes at him, Im Hangyeol pouted. It’s only a one-year difference. And Han Doyoon speaks informally too. Me! As if asking Jaeyoon to allow him to speak informally to Jung Jinhoo as well, Im Hangyeol looked at him, and Jaeyoon smiled gently.
“How you address the student council president is none of my business. But address Jinhoo sunbae properly as sunbae.”
“…Why just that guy…”
“Sun. Bae.”
“…Why do you care so much about just that sunbae? You?”
“Because I like him.”
“Huh?”
“Hmm?”
Did I just hear a familiar voice mixed with Im Hangyeol’s? Jaeyoon turned his head and his eyes widened.
‘What is that?’
Today, the fluffy, cream-like silver hair that usually covered the handsome face was neatly tucked behind one ear. Thanks to this, the pink eyeshadow sparkling above the clearly visible golden eyes caught his attention.
As if that wasn’t surprising enough, Jaeyoon blankly looked Jung Jinhoo up and down. White shirt with black pants. And a black apron tied around his waist.
His heart pounded loudly. What is that? What is that!
‘How can someone dress up so handsomely?’
Feeling his face rapidly heating up, Jaeyoon lowered his head. That’s cheating! As he bit his lip while mentally picturing the third-year with glasses, two delicious-looking crepes appeared in his line of sight as a shadow fell over his head.
One crepe topped with strawberries and chocolate syrup on white cream that looked sweet at a glance, and another crepe with lettuce, ham, and cheese that looked good for a meal.
“Jaeyoon?”
At the gentle voice calling his name, Jaeyoon looked up.
Seeing the golden eyes crinkle happily, Jaeyoon smiled bitterly. Ah, why is he so handsome? This person…!
Jaeyoon looked at Jung Jinhoo with flushed cheeks. Smiling at such a Jaeyoon, Jung Jinhoo held out the crepes in both hands. Huh? At the surprised higher-pitched voice, Jung Jinhoo smiled prettily with his eyes and bent his waist slightly to match Jaeyoon’s eye level.
“Which one do you want to eat first?”
“Ah, are they both for me?”
“Yes.”
Jung Jinhoo grinned. Feeling his heart warm up involuntarily at that smile, Jaeyoon smiled back.
“Then, I’ll eat the sweet one first.”
Jung Jinhoo handed over the strawberry crepe with plenty of cream that looked delicious.
Jaeyoon reached out to take the remaining crepe from Jung Jinhoo’s hand. However, Jung Jinhoo firmly shook his head side to side, rejecting Jaeyoon’s action.
“It’ll be hard to eat while holding two. I’ll give you this one after you finish that one.”
“I have a conscience, so I can’t make the person who made them hold them for me.”
“It’s fine.”
Jung Jinhoo, who was smiling brightly with the corners of his eyes creased, was adamant despite his soft appearance. He rejected Jaeyoon, who insisted on holding it himself, by using his height advantage to hold his hand up high.
‘This damn height!’
Swallowing his inner tears at being much shorter than his original self, he finally surrendered in the argument with Jung Jinhoo.
At the sight of Jung Jinhoo smiling happily, Jaeyoon laughed dejectedly. Fine, as long as you’re happy…
Taking a big bite of the crepe filled with cream, Jaeyoon smiled happily as he tasted the sour strawberries, sweet chocolate syrup, and the small colorful candies on top.
‘It’s delicious.’
That face, that personality, and he’s even good at cooking… He’s perfect. Thinking that the soft cream resembled Jung Jinhoo’s silver hair, Jaeyoon began eating the crepe with enthusiasm.
‘I wish I could have seen him making the crepes.’
Jung Jinhoo, who was contentedly watching Jaeyoon enjoying his food, narrowed his eyes at Im Hangyeol watching them from behind. His kind eyes suddenly turned cold.
Im Hangyeol steadied his trembling body and smiled bitterly. He looks obviously dangerous, so why does Lee Jaeyoon say he likes a guy like that?
Frowning, Im Hangyeol noticed Jung Jinhoo saying something to him with his lips. He narrowed his eyes and interpreted what Jung Jinhoo was saying letter by letter.
‘Get.’
‘Lost.’
“What!?”
Im Hangyeol’s face instantly turned red. Feeling the heat rising to his face, Im Hangyeol bit his lip hard.
Get lost? Did he just tell me to get lost?! When he glared at Jung Jinhoo with wide eyes, a languid smile appeared on Jung Jinhoo’s previously indifferent face.
“You bastard!”
“Bastard…?”
Jaeyoon, who had been focused on the crepe, stopped moving. Lowering the crepe he was about to put in his mouth, Jaeyoon frowned and looked at Im Hangyeol.
Seeing the blue eyes directed at him grow cold, Im Hangyeol felt his heart sink.
‘Are you calling my puppy a bastard…?’
“No, that guy…!”
“That… guy…?”
Jaeyoon’s eyes narrowed. After wiping the cream from the corner of his mouth with his thumb, he tilted his head slightly to the side and looked at Im Hangyeol.
With Jaeyoon’s movement, the string decorated with blue beads swayed near his cheek.
“I clearly told you to call him sun. bae. earlier, didn’t I?”
“No, listen to me! That guy just…!”
The words that Han Doyoon always habitually uttered whenever he saw Jaeyoon came out of Jaeyoon’s mouth.
“How rude, Im Hangyeol.”
Im Hangyeol’s body flinched. Even when he had forcibly grabbed Jaeyoon’s arm, he hadn’t been this angry. But now, Jaeyoon was sharply angry just because he called Jung Jinhoo “that guy” (and also called him a bastard), which Im Hangyeol couldn’t understand.
‘What the… it’s not like they’re dating!’
Im Hangyeol felt wronged, but the atmosphere suggested that one more wrong word would undo all his hard-earned apology from earlier.
Im Hangyeol didn’t want to be disliked by Jaeyoon.
For some reason, he liked the suddenly changed Jaeyoon. The expression that had been cold throughout high school had softened and brightened, and his demeanor was much calmer and gentler compared to other peers.
Like most adolescents, Im Hangyeol was naturally drawn to Jaeyoon’s mature atmosphere.
It was a new feeling, different from what he felt for Kim Yeonwoo, whom he liked.
After mumbling and pouting his lips, Im Hangyeol finally apologized in a small voice. Seeing Jaeyoon’s sulky expression quickly soften, Im Hangyeol inwardly sighed in relief.
“Don’t do it next time. I’ll really get angry then.”
Didn’t you just get quite sincerely angry? Im Hangyeol swallowed the words that rose to the tip of his tongue. In the current situation, Im Hangyeol wasn’t tactless enough to say something like that.
“Sunbae, were you upset… um…? Sunbae?”
Jaeyoon looked puzzled at Jung Jinhoo, who was staring blankly at him. When he waved his hand in front of Jung Jinhoo’s face, Jung Jinhoo snapped back to attention and looked at Jaeyoon with an equally puzzled expression.
“What is it…?”
“Why don’t you get angry about things that happen to you?”
“Pardon?”
What do you mean? Jaeyoon blinked and asked, making Jung Jinhoo sigh softly. Shaking his head, Jung Jinhoo smiled as if he couldn’t help it.
“The cream is dripping.”
“Ah?!”
Jaeyoon hurriedly licked the dripping cream with his tongue and began eating the crepe again with determination to finish it all before the cream melted.
Finding Jaeyoon, who was serious about food, cute, Jung Jinhoo frowned at the sight of Im Hangyeol who was slightly blushing.
Im Hangyeol let out an exasperated breath at Jung Jinhoo’s action of shielding Jaeyoon with his body. Why are you treating me like a pervert…!
Although Im Hangyeol wanted to protest loudly at Jung Jinhoo’s gaze, he didn’t have the courage to disturb Jaeyoon, who looked happy, again.
‘If it weren’t for Lee Jaeyoon…!’
Im Hangyeol ended up grinding his teeth inwardly, unable to do anything.
“Come to think of it, sunbae, you managed to escape well? When I saw that glasses-wearing… sunbae yesterday, it seemed like he wouldn’t let you go at all…”
“Ah-.”
Jaeyoon tilted his head curiously as Jung Jinhoo momentarily rolled his eyes.
‘What’s this? Did he run away?? Is yesterday’s chase about to start again?’
As Jaeyoon was determined to protect Jung Jinhoo this time and was contemplating how to escape, he opened his eyes wide at Jung Jinhoo’s words.
“He seemed to have that intention originally, but I persuaded him well through conversation.”
Jung Jinhoo smiled with his eyes. I see, he persuaded him well and logically. Well, Jinhoo sunbae is good at speaking calmly and clearly. Jaeyoon nodded and smiled, saying it was fortunate.
“I was just sent out to promote too, would you like to go around and see the festival together?”
“Yes, I’d like that.”
Seeing Jung Jinhoo smiling brightly, Jaeyoon smiled contentedly. So cute.
“M-me too…!”
“Weren’t you embarrassed by your suspenders and hiding?”
“Ah…”
Im Hangyeol blinked blankly as he remembered his outfit. Jaeyoon, who had been looking at Im Hangyeol with a furrowed brow, offered no resistance as Jung Jinhoo gently took his wrist and led him away. Following Jung Jinhoo closely, Jaeyoon raised his hand to wave goodbye to Im Hangyeol.
“Well then, bye-.”
Left alone in the spot where the two had departed, Im Hangyeol grabbed handfuls of his red hair with both hands and shouted.
“This damn clock rabbit!”
Ah, why did our class choose this! Having forgotten his purpose of hiding, Im Hangyeol shouted loud enough to shake the neighborhood, causing people and students coming to see the festival to flock to the previously quiet staircase.
Im Hangyeol’s face turned as red as his hair. He hurriedly fled, leaving behind the people looking at him with puzzled expressions, when a forgotten fact suddenly came to his mind.
‘Ah, come to think of it, did I just show that guy this appearance?!’
His red face now turned pale blue.
“Aaaaargh!”
Im Hangyeol’s behavior, screaming while crossing the corridor in the middle of the festival, unable to bear the embarrassment, became a regular topic whenever people talked about the festival.
Along with earning the nickname ‘Suspenders Punk’…
***
“Hmm~. This is quite serious, isn’t it?”
Beautiful red lips curved up into a pretty smile. A beautiful platinum blonde that sparkled in the sunlight flipped her hair over her shoulder as the girl smiled, curving her large green eyes.
Everyone passing by stared at the girl as if enchanted. But the girl, used to receiving attention, paid no mind to the enthusiastic reactions around her.
The girl took out her phone from her pocket and pressed the green call button. The long dial tone was suddenly cut off. The girl’s green eyes narrowed.
“So you’re going to ignore my calls… is that it?”
Let’s see how long you can ignore me. A sticky smile formed on the girl’s lips. She opened the Cherry Blossom Festival app installed on her phone.
Third year, Class 1… The girl’s hand hovered over the phone before stopping at one point. Hmm~. The girl smiled, raising the corners of her eyes.
“Found it.”
Tap, tap.
After lightly tapping her phone, the girl looked at the school where the festival was in full swing. She frowned slightly at the sight of people crowding around enjoying the festival.
I’ll make you pay dearly for calling me to such a crowded place!
Her green eyes shone vividly. As the girl walked briskly into the school, her beautiful platinum blonde hair swayed at her waist.
“I wonder what expression our Im will show me?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
