Jaeyoon, who had been watching the sunset sky, read the message that appeared on his phone screen and smiled softly. “Please stop promoting now!” The class president’s desperate cry for help was conveyed through the message. But he hadn’t even promoted that much… Jaeyoon put his phone in his sleeve pocket with an embarrassed smile.
All he had done was have fun with Jung Jinhoo and Yuna, eating delicious food. But just the three of them walking together had an amazing promotional effect. Thanks to that, not only Jaeyoon’s class but also Jung Jinhoo’s class was bustling with people all day. Students were predicting that one of these two classes would take first place in sales at this Cherry Blossom Festival.
Against the red sky, pink cherry blossom petals showered down. So pretty. A gentle smile formed on Jaeyoon’s lips. As he stared blankly at the fluttering cherry blossoms, he spotted some petals floating toward him and slowly extended his hand.
Three or four cherry blossoms landed on his hand. He liked cherry blossoms. There was no special reason. If he had to name one, it was because they brought a sense of excitement. Cherry blossoms announced the arrival of spring, and for Koreans who loved festivals, the cherry blossom season made them look forward to flower viewings. Plus, he liked the seasonal desserts that were only available during this time.
“Ah…!”
When a strong wind blew, the cherry blossom petals that had been resting on Jaeyoon’s hand flew into the air. His hanbok sleeve fluttered. As he quickly grabbed his gat to prevent it from flying away, the bead strings by his ears swayed with a tinkling sound.
After letting out a small sigh of relief, he spotted two people walking toward him. They seemed to be bickering about something, as their mouths were moving non-stop. A pleasant smile spread across Jaeyoon’s face.
“Sunbae! Yuna!”
The two who had been quarreling stopped and turned their heads to look at Jaeyoon when they heard him calling. Jaeyoon’s eyes softened into crescents as his lips curved into an arc.
“Wow…”
Yuna, who was gazing admiringly at Jaeyoon standing like a painting against the backdrop of cherry blossoms, subtly rolled her eyes to look at her brother standing beside her.
‘He’s fallen for him, totally fallen.’
Yuna chuckled as she saw Jung Jinhoo staring only at Jaeyoon, completely unaware of her gaze.
‘I’m glad he looks happy.’
Jung Jinhoo, who had loved drawing since childhood, wanted to become an artist instead of inheriting the family business. But after repeatedly failing in competitions and not receiving recognition, Jung Jinhoo fell into a slump, wondering if there was something wrong with his art.
He wasn’t originally someone who enjoyed socializing much, but he increasingly began to avoid people and became more quiet. Yuna and their parents worried about Jung Jinhoo, but all they could do for him was offer comfort and encouragement.
But recently, Jung Jinhoo had changed. Just by hearing his voice over the phone, she could be certain. He had brightened up. His voice was full of energy, as if each day was enjoyable, and Yuna thought:
‘He must have a girlfriend!’
The reason for a man’s change was obvious.
‘…But isn’t his school an all-boys school?’
…He must have a boyfriend!
Yuna was a person without prejudice.
Woman or man, what did it matter? As long as they made her brother happy, anyone was fine. After putting their heads together with her parents to figure out who it might be, Yuna finally came to the festival under the pretext of meeting this person directly.
The person she met was much cuter and kinder than she had expected. His clear blue eyes forming crescents when he smiled was so pretty. She liked his thoughtfulness in being considerate of both her and her brother. And above all, Jung Jinhoo looked so happy when he was with Jaeyoon.
“It’s a lie that I’ll stay for all three days.”
“Huh…?”
“I’m going back home tomorrow morning.”
At Yuna’s bright smile, Jung Jinhoo slightly furrowed his brow before letting out a small sigh. Jung Jinhoo looked at Yuna as if he couldn’t help it, then patted her head.
“I’ll take you to the airport.”
“No need. I’m not a child, and besides, there’s still the festival tomorrow, right?”
“Being in middle school makes you plenty of a child.”
As Jung Jinhoo roughly messed up her hair, Yuna exclaimed “Oh!” and quickly fixed her hair.
“I’ll cheer for you!”
“W-what…?”
Yuna laughed cheerfully as she watched Jung Jinhoo’s cheeks turn red.
***
“Ah, I’m tired…!”
Jaeyoon dove onto the bed with his tired body. He gradually became one with the soft sheets. As he was turning into a mushy rice cake, his phone vibrated, calling out to him.
After fishing his phone out of his pocket, Jaeyoon smiled slightly at Yuna’s name on the screen. Jung Jinhoo had tried to stop Yuna from exchanging phone numbers as they were leaving, but it was no use. When Jaeyoon said it was fine with a smile, Jung Jinhoo showed a truly apologetic expression.
Photos were uploaded one after another to the group chat with Jaeyoon, Jung Jinhoo, and Yuna. A smile naturally formed on Jaeyoon’s lips as he checked each photo one by one.
They were photos taken while the three of them were going around together today. After checking the last photo taken under the cherry blossom tree, Jaeyoon sent a message to the chat.
[Jaeyoon/You took good photos]
[Yuna/Right?]
[Yuna/I’m pretty good at taking photos!]
[Yuna/This one!]
[Yuna/This one is good too, right?]
[Yuna/It’s my masterpiece~!]
[Photo attached]
[Sunbae Jinhoo/Ah!]
[Sunbae Jinhoo/You!]
[Sunbae Jinhoo/When did you take a photo like this??]
[Yuna/When oppa was distracted]
[Yuna/See~]
[Yuna/People should never let their guard down for even a moment~]
[Yuna/ㅍVㅍ]
[Sunbae Jinhoo/…]
Jaeyoon burst into laughter, easily imagining what expression Jung Jinhoo must be making now.
[Yuna/Well then]
[Yuna/Good night~]
[Yuna/(Emoticon of a rabbit sleeping with drool)]
[Jaeyoon/Yeah, good night, sweet dreams~]
[Jaeyoon/(Emoticon of a peach hugging a pillow and yawning)]
[Sunbae Jinhoo/Good night]
Starting with Yuna’s message, Jaeyoon and Jung Jinhoo also exchanged good night greetings with each other. After staring at the now quiet chat room for a while, he turned off his phone screen.
‘Should I take a bath and go to sleep…?’
After subtly rolling his eyes to check the time, Jaeyoon got up from the bed unsteadily. Taking a half-body bath in warm water before sleeping would somewhat relieve his fatigue. After turning on the water in the bathtub and confirming that hot water was coming out, he left the bathroom.
‘Maybe I’ll have some tea while the tub fills up?’
Jaeyoon took out the jasmine tea that Jung Jinhoo had given him as a gift from his bag and rummaged around the room looking for snacks to eat with it. He had definitely stocked up on various things in case he couldn’t eat breakfast… While opening drawers to find the snacks, he discovered a box of chocolate pies in a drawer and slowly looked at the jasmine tea he had placed on the table.
‘They don’t go well together…’
Jasmine tea and chocolate pie. Just listing the words together created an awkwardness. But right now, there were no snacks other than chocolate pie. After contemplating for a moment, Jaeyoon approached the table with the box of chocolate pies in one hand. Better to eat chocolate pie with it than nothing at all… The option of enjoying tea without a snack didn’t exist for Jaeyoon.
Sipping warm tea and eating sweet chocolate pie gave him a relaxed feeling for the first time in a while. Jaeyoon’s gaze subtly shifted to the wall. It would be quiet today, right? Recalling the image of Lee Minho with Kim Yeonwoo, he narrowed his eyes again as he drank his tea.
Fortunately, Lee Minho was a person with common sense. Although he liked Kim Yeonwoo, he didn’t come to Kim Yeonwoo’s room to be lovey-dovey like the other romance options. That was because Lee Jaeyoon was in the next room. A normal person wouldn’t let their brother hear all about their love life in a situation where it might be audible, and Lee Minho was a normal person.
‘Thankfully, he doesn’t have a twisted personality like Han Doyoon…’
Thanks to that, the next room was quiet on the days when he met with Lee Minho. Maybe they were being lovey-dovey in Lee Minho’s room…?
As far away from Lee Jaeyoon’s sight as possible.
‘Whoever is in the room next to Lee Minho… I don’t know who you are, but hang in there!’
After briefly sympathizing with whoever might be suffering from the noisy couple, Jaeyoon sighed again, realizing that he was in no position to talk.
‘But it does seem like the nuisance from the next room has definitely decreased lately…?’
The noise that used to be heard almost every day of the week now came sporadically. He guessed it was probably because the romance options were busy and tired from festival preparations.
‘Come to think of it, Im Hangyeol hasn’t been coming recently?’
After Jaeyoon mentioned that he could hear all the noise from the next room, Im Hangyeol stopped visiting Kim Yeonwoo’s room. Since he occasionally witnessed them meeting outside, it seemed like Im Hangyeol was being mindful of what Jaeyoon had said.
‘It’s fine with me if he doesn’t come.’
Jaeyoon nodded his head and drank the remaining tea in one go. Creeak, the chair made a sound as it dragged across the floor. The bath water should be filled by now, right? As Jaeyoon was cleaning up after his tea and heading to the bathroom, he stopped in his tracks at the sound of someone knocking on his dormitory door.
Jaeyoon’s gaze shifted to the clock. 9 o’clock—it wasn’t that late, but there was no one who would come looking for Jaeyoon at this hour.
‘Is it Sunbae Jinhoo…?’
Bringing to mind the person who was most likely to visit, Jaeyoon opened the dormitory door and his eyes widened at the unexpected figure.
“May I come in for a moment?”
Jaeyoon blinked slowly at the sight of Lee Minho asking with his eyes gently creased. Why does he always come at night? Thinking that at least it wasn’t dawn like last time, Jaeyoon let Lee Minho into the room.
“What’s the matter?”
“…I have something to say.”
“What do you have to say… huh?”
After seeing Lee Minho’s face, Jaeyoon couldn’t hide his surprised expression. He hadn’t noticed in the dark corridor, but once they entered the bright room, Lee Minho’s reddened eyes were visible. It was clearly the face of someone who had been crying.
Jaeyoon’s pupils trembled. What’s going on? Why was he crying…? And why did he come to me? As Jaeyoon was quickly running through possible scenarios, the image of Lee Minho and Kim Yeonwoo kissing in the annex came to mind.
‘Last time when he came at dawn, it was because he saw me kissing Kim Yeonwoo in the infirmary, right? Could it be that he’s come for the same reason this time…? Because he witnessed his brother’s affectionate behavior?’
Jaeyoon thought Lee Minho was certainly capable of that.
“Ah, perhaps earlier when I…”
Jaeyoon couldn’t finish his sentence. His eyes widened. His trembling eyes looked at Lee Minho, who had embraced him. Due to Lee Minho suddenly rushing toward him without any warning, Jaeyoon’s mind was thrown into confusion.
‘What is this? What is this situation…? Is he drunk? Did he eat something wrong at the club? Why is he suddenly acting like this…?’
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
