“What did you just say…?”
Jaeyoon’s pupils shook. A trembling voice flowed out between his light pink lips. After looking down for a moment at their clasped hands, Jinhoo raised his head. Jaeyoon’s image was reflected in those golden eyes visible through his slightly parted bangs.
“I like you. I, like you. Jaeyoon.”
Jaeyoon’s eyes widened. Seeing Jaeyoon staring at him blankly, Jinhoo’s eyes lowered. A sad smile appeared on his lips.
“I’m sorry. Are you, uncomfortable…?”
“What…? No, no! No!!”
Jaeyoon, who had been quietly listening to Jinhoo’s words, came to his senses at his question about feeling uncomfortable. Seeing Jinhoo’s face contorted as if he was about to cry, Jaeyoon felt his heart sink. He quickly shook his head.
“How could I feel uncomfortable! I’ve been so…!”
Jinhoo’s eyes widened at the sight of Jaeyoon suddenly shouting loudly.
“I’ve been so…”
Their eyes met. His open lips closed. Jaeyoon’s face turned bright red. Watching Jaeyoon bite his lip and lower his head, a smile slowly bloomed on Jinhoo’s lips.
Looking lovingly at his junior whose ears had turned red to the tips, Jinhoo tilted his head slightly to look at Jaeyoon.
“Jaeyoon.”
At the affectionate voice calling his name, Jaeyoon lowered his head even more. From above, he heard a soft ‘puh’ of laughter. At that, Jaeyoon raised his head with a slightly furrowed brow and a sulky expression to look at Jinhoo. And his eyes directly met the golden eyes that were watching him.
“Jaeyoon.”
There was something ticklish about the voice that called his name in an almost whisper. Seeing Jaeyoon trying to avoid his gaze again, Jinhoo tilted his head toward where Jaeyoon’s eyes were looking.
Jaeyoon swallowed at the sight of Jinhoo smiling broadly with his eyes forming crescents. This person really… it’s not like he’s determined to make my heart explode…!
Since Jinhoo’s image appeared wherever he looked, Jaeyoon gave up trying to escape. After taking a deep breath, he looked at Jinhoo, who was watching him.
After hesitating for a moment, moving his lips, Jaeyoon finally opened his mouth as if he had made a decision.
“Sunbae…”
“Yes.”
“I, I…”
“Jaeyoon.”
He couldn’t believe that Jinhoo felt the same way he did. He realized for the first time how joyful it was to have someone you love feel the same way about you. He wanted to say right now that he liked him too, that he was so happy that Jinhoo had confessed like this. But a practical issue held him back.
This was a world within a game, and he was someone who had to return somewhere. Just as if he had suddenly possessed this body, he didn’t know when he would suddenly return to his original body.
What would be the best choice to make?
“Jaeyoon, look at me.”
At the voice calling him, Jaeyoon’s gaze turned to Jinhoo. After quietly looking at the blue eyes full of worry, Jinhoo gently cupped Jaeyoon’s cheek with his hand. The warmth on his cheek seemed to calm his confused feelings.
“You don’t have to force yourself to answer. The sudden confession surprised you a lot, didn’t it?”
“No, I…”
“Take your time, think about it, and then give me your answer.”
“…”
“I’ll wait until then.”
After pondering for a moment, Jaeyoon nodded slightly. At that, Jinhoo smiled softly and took his hand to help him up.
“Shall we go back now? I left the art club work behind and came.”
“Ah, I should go back to the classroom too…”
“Yes, see you later then.”
“Yes…”
Jinhoo lightly patted Jaeyoon’s head and then left first. He was being considerate, thinking Jaeyoon might feel uncomfortable if they stayed together.
Jaeyoon watched blankly as Jinhoo disappeared, then sat back down. His heart was still beating fast. It was a strange feeling where joy and anxiety coexisted.
“Now, what should I do…?”
***
“Ah, there he comes.”
Lee Heejun, who was standing in front of the classroom, pointed to Jaeyoon with his chin. Then Lee Minho, who had been chatting with Heejun, turned his head to look at him.
“Jaeyoon!”
Minho, smiling brightly, was like a dog who had found his owner. Jaeyoon, whose shoulders flinched at the voice calling him, raised his head to look at Minho. His tense face relaxed again when he recognized Minho. His expression revealed his inner thoughts: So it’s you?
“Are you here to give me red ginseng again?”
“Huh? Ah, yeah…”
Minho rummaged in his bag and pulled out a red ginseng extract to give to Jaeyoon. Jaeyoon naturally took the red ginseng.
“Thanks.”
“Yes. Y-yes???”
Minho’s eyes widened when Jaeyoon, who had always shown a displeased expression whenever he gave him red ginseng, thanked him. Did I just hear what I think I heard? Whether he noticed Minho’s confusion or not, Jaeyoon walked past him and entered the classroom.
Minho slightly narrowed his eyebrows at Jaeyoon, who seemed to have left his mind somewhere, wearing a dazed expression. What’s wrong with him? Did something happen? Worried, he tilted his head to peek into the classroom and was startled to see Jaeyoon bump his forehead against the wall with a ‘kong’ sound.
W-what’s going on?! Before he could even ask what was wrong, Jaeyoon this time bumped his waist against a table. After absentmindedly rubbing his waist, he staggered forward again and tripped over a chair. Bang! He fell with such a loud noise that even the customers asked if he was okay, but Jaeyoon, neither in pain nor embarrassed, replied that he was fine with a nonchalant expression and continued to stagger away. Minho was shocked at the sight of Jaeyoon continuing to have accidents one after another.
“Ja-Ja-Jaeyoon is…!!”
“What’s up? Why is he like that…?”
Heejun, who was watching Jaeyoon while leaning his back against the classroom door, frowned at his abnormal state.
“Did something happen after he was called by the student council president?”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“Huh?”
Heejun turned his head to look at Minho, hearing his lowered voice. Heejun’s eyes widened at the sight of Minho’s expressionless face with furrowed brows.
‘So this person can get angry too. I thought he was just a pushover… surprising.’
Since Minho always showed a smiling face even when Jaeyoon made an obviously displeased expression or when other students made unreasonable requests, in Heejun’s mind, Minho was ‘diligent and kind but easy to swindle.’ That’s why Minho’s current expression was both unfamiliar and refreshing.
“This morning, the student council president came and took Lee Jaeyoon away.”
“Doyoon… took Jaeyoon…?”
“Yes, he practically dragged Jaeyoon away forcibly, even though it was obvious he didn’t want to go.”
“…I see.”
Heejun, who was quietly watching Minho’s complexion darken rapidly, glanced at Jaeyoon. Still looking like he had left his mind elsewhere, he was serving with a dazed face and almost spilled a dessert on a plate, which the class president hurriedly caught.
Heejun turned his gaze back to Minho.
“But why do you keep giving him red ginseng?”
“Huh? Ah… because Jaeyoon has a weak constitution…”
A weak constitution? He might have some insomnia, but he doesn’t seem that weak? Heejun narrowed his eyes in thought, then shrugged.
“Hmm-. Well, I’ll go back in now.”
“Ah, y-yes! Sorry. Did I keep you too long?”
“No. Then, goodbye, hyungnim.”
“Hy-hyungnim…?”
Leaving behind the surprised Minho, Heejun caught Jaeyoon, who was wandering around the classroom with his mind elsewhere, and gently sat him down in a chair. His cheeks looked slightly flushed—could it be a cold? Heejun slightly narrowed his brows, then checked his temperature by comparing his forehead with Jaeyoon’s.
“Hey, go to the infirmary.”
“Why…?”
“You have a fever.”
“What? Jaeyoon has a fever?!”
At Heejun’s words, the class president came running and, just like Heejun had done, compared Jaeyoon’s forehead with his own to check the temperature. Then, with round eyes, he grabbed Jaeyoon’s shoulders with both hands.
“Jaeyoon, you’re burning up!”
“So the claim about his weak constitution wasn’t complete nonsense.”
“Ja-Jaeyoon has a weak body?! And I’ve been giving him so much work…!”
Watching the class president’s pupils shake rapidly, Jaeyoon raised his hand to feel his own forehead. It was definitely hot. But this wasn’t a cold…
“Gasp! Jaeyoon, your face is getting even redder!! L-let’s go to the infirmary right now!”
“No, this isn’t a cold…”
Jaeyoon was too embarrassed. To have a fever from first love at this age! The class president panicked and asked if he was in a lot of pain as Jaeyoon hung his head low. The more the class president fussed, the higher his embarrassment rose. Unable to bear it any longer, he covered his face with both hands.
Heejun, who had been quietly looking down at Jaeyoon, let out a small exclamation as if he had noticed something. He grabbed the noisy class president and said,
“Hey, calm down. I’ll take him to the infirmary. You don’t worry and just do your work.”
“No! When Jaeyoon is sick, I should take him to the infirmary! Jaeyoon has always been so considerate whenever I’m struggling, this time I should…!”
“Then I’ll leave the rest to you~”
“Ah…!”
While the class president was talking, Heejun took Jaeyoon out of the classroom, waved goodbye to the class president, and quickly disappeared with Jaeyoon. The vice president patted the shoulders of the class president, who had been left behind in vain.
“Let’s work, class president.”
“…Okay.”
***
Having somehow ended up in the infirmary, Jaeyoon blinked blankly. Somehow it felt like skipping class with a fake illness. By the way, he had been to the infirmary a lot since being possessed. In the past, he never had any reason to go near it. He laughed helplessly as he recalled his originally robust body. At this rate, I’ll become a VIP at the infirmary.
“I’m really okay though…?”
“How can you be okay when your mind is elsewhere?”
“Huh…?”
Heejun, who was sitting across from Jaeyoon with his legs crossed, supported his hands on the bed and leaned back.
“Did the student council president kiss you or something?”
“…What? Suddenly saying such a terrible thing…”
Jaeyoon, who had just heard the most terrible thing in his 28 years of life, crumpled his expression. Heejun, who had been quietly looking at such a Jaeyoon, tilted his head to the side and slightly narrowed his eyebrows.
“If it wasn’t the student council president, then…”
After being deeply lost in thought for a moment, Heejun looked at Jaeyoon as if something had suddenly occurred to him. Blinking his eyes in surprise, Jaeyoon widened his eyes at Heejun’s words.
“Jung Jinhoo Sunbae?”
As soon as Jinhoo’s name was mentioned, his face, which had returned to its original color, instantly turned as red as an apple again. At that sight, Heejun grinned.
“Ah, so it was that sunbae.”
‘W-what…?!’
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
