The purple eyes that had been quietly observing Jaeyoon’s rapidly shaking pupils soon narrowed into thin crescents as they smiled. Heejun asked in a casual tone, “Why are you so surprised?” as Jaeyoon’s light pink lips trembled.
“Have you completely moved on from your feelings for the student council president?”
“Yes, well…?”
‘What did he just say…?’
He knows that Lee Jaeyoon had a crush on Han Doyoon? How? Jaeyoon’s eyebrows furrowed. Wait, how was he acting that his crush became public knowledge? Was it that obvious on his face? Jaeyoon felt bewilderment beyond confusion.
“Don’t worry.”
“Huh…?”
Seeing Jaeyoon’s serious expression with his mouth shut, Lee Heejun, who had been resting his chin on his palm with his elbow on his leg, spoke up. Jaeyoon raised his head to look at Heejun. After staring at Jaeyoon’s trembling blue eyes, a slight smile formed at the corner of his mouth.
“I noticed because I’m the same as you.”
“The same…?”
At Jaeyoon’s question, Heejun slowly blinked his eyes before speaking.
“I noticed because I have a one-sided love too.”
Jaeyoon’s eyes widened at his words. A one-sided love? Present tense…? Seeing Jaeyoon’s surprised expression, Heejun chuckled.
“You really had no idea, did you?”
“Well…”
He had no idea at all. Despite Heejun’s straightforward way of speaking, his expressions barely changed. The most emotion he ever showed was irritation, and yet this Heejun was in love with someone…? Jaeyoon had never once seen him look at anyone lovingly or affectionately.
“Is it a student from another school…?”
“No, our school.”
“Hmm…”
Jaeyoon furrowed his brow, trying his best to deduce who Heejun might have feelings for, but it was useless. Heejun casually conversed with everyone in class, but he didn’t seem particularly close to anyone except the class president. Was it a student from another class? Hmm… But Jaeyoon had never seen him visiting other classes or anyone coming to see him. He was usually with the class president wherever he went, and the only person he seemed to care about was the class president…
“Ah!”
A short exclamation escaped Jaeyoon’s lips. Seeing this, one corner of Heejun’s mouth curled upward.
“Could it be…?”
“There’s only one person you could be thinking of. Yes, it’s him.”
Jaeyoon’s mouth fell slightly open. Really? He blinked rapidly as he looked at Heejun. Despite having watched them closely, there had been no sign of it at all. This wasn’t a matter of Jaeyoon’s observational skills. The two simply appeared to be close friends, nothing more. They did stick together unusually often, but there’s a saying about best friends, and it wasn’t that strange for friends to always be together. Moreover, when Heejun looked at the class president, there was no sign of butterflies or excitement.
As Jaeyoon stared blankly at him, Heejun changed the direction of his crossed legs and smiled.
“Is it that surprising?”
“Well, I didn’t notice at all…”
“We’ve been friends since elementary school. We’re practically family, so I don’t have that fresh, fluttery feeling like you do. Sometimes I just want to beat him up.”
“Beat… him up?”
“Yeah. For example, like yesterday when he was called ‘pretty boy’ but didn’t even listen? Or when he dumped the hanbok stuff on me…?”
“Ah…”
His purple eyes rolled slowly. After appearing to think for a moment, Heejun opened his lips.
“Besides, he’s straight.”
Jaeyoon’s eyes widened. When he raised his head to look at Heejun, he lifted the corner of his mouth as if it was nothing.
“Honestly, from the moment I realized I liked him, I thought there was zero chance of this love succeeding.”
“Heejun…”
“More than that, it hurts my pride and makes me so angry that I like such a guy, I almost pushed him down the stairs once.”
“…What did you just say?”
“Anyway, so.” Heejun ignored Jaeyoon’s interjection and continued the conversation casually.
“I was concerned about you.”
“Huh? Me??”
“Because you were in the same failed one-sided love as me.”
“Ah, well…”
Jaeyoon smiled bitterly, thinking of Lee Jaeyoon who had a crush on Han Doyoon.
“And for such a jerk too.”
“A jerk…?”
“You did well to get over it. For an easy life, it’s better not to get involved with someone like the student council president. When I think about how my acquaintance got involved with a similar type of person and had their life ruined…”
Heejun’s expression crumpled. Seemingly angered by the mere thought, he clicked his tongue loudly and gave Jaeyoon a thumbs up.
“Good job.”
“Ah, yeah…”
Jaeyoon smiled awkwardly. As he scratched his head, Heejun asked,
“So, what happened with Jung Jinhoo sunbae that’s got you like this?”
“Eek?!”
Jaeyoon yelped in surprise at the sudden mention of Jung Jinhoo. Heejun’s purple eyes, which had been looking at him with surprise, filled with mischief. Seeing Heejun smiling slyly, Jaeyoon regretted his reaction and bit his lip slightly.
“Ah, nothing happened?”
“You’re lying.”
“…Really, nothing happened?”
“Why do you think I revealed my one-sided love story?”
“Um… I don’t know…?”
“It’s obvious you’d suffer alone and reach a negative conclusion, so I wanted to give you some advice.”
“No, I wasn’t really suffering alone…?”
“But you will suffer alone in the future, right? That’s just like you.”
So just spill it already? Seeing Heejun looking at him with narrowed eyes, Jaeyoon let out a small sigh. Getting relationship advice from someone 10 years younger than him—it didn’t seem possible. As he hesitated to speak, Heejun’s brow furrowed.
“What, did you receive a confession or something?”
Jaeyoon’s eyes widened. Seeing his shocked expression, Heejun sighed deeply. He tilted his head to one side and said,
“Are you debating whether to accept it or not?”
Is this what being interrogated at a police station feels like? Jaeyoon mentally waved a white flag. Surrender. You’re really perceptive. Jaeyoon looked at Heejun with a defeated smile.
“Yes.”
“What’s there to think about? Don’t you like that sunbae?”
“I do. But I’m someone who might leave at any time.”
“Moving? Or studying abroad after graduation?”
“Something like that.”
Though it’s actually somewhere much farther away. Jaeyoon swallowed the rest of his words. Hmm. Heejun’s eyes narrowed. After briefly stroking his chin, he opened his mouth.
“So what?”
“Huh…?”
“It’s not like you’ve decided exactly when you’re leaving, right?”
“That’s the problem. I don’t know when I’ll leave.”
“It’s not like you’re leaving tomorrow.”
I could leave tomorrow. I could even go back suddenly today. Jaeyoon bit his lip to stop the words that rose to his throat. This was the first time he’d felt so frustrated since being possessed. He almost wanted to confess everything—that he wasn’t originally Lee Jaeyoon, that he came from another world, and therefore he was an unstable person who didn’t know when he would return to his original world. But who would believe such a thing?
‘I’d be lucky if I wasn’t dragged to a mental hospital…’
“You think too much.”
Heejun bluntly said to Jaeyoon, who was lost in serious thought. As Jaeyoon looked up at him, Heejun let out a small sigh and spoke.
“Are you going to let the present slip away because you’re worried about the future from now?”
“It’s not like that…”
“What do you think the chances are of the person I like liking me back? Let alone the probability of that person liking someone of the same gender?”
Life isn’t as romantic as dramas. At his low murmur, Jaeyoon’s eyes lowered. This wasn’t just lip service. Heejun sincerely wanted Jaeyoon to make a better choice. To him, stuck in an unrequited love, Jaeyoon’s situation seemed somewhat frustrating.
“Even if it were just for today, or even just for one hour, I’d be happy to be that guy’s boyfriend.”
Jaeyoon’s eyes rounded at Heejun’s words. The choice is yours. Think about it carefully. Heejun got up from the bed. After glancing at Jaeyoon, who wore a stiff expression, he stretched his stiff body. Then he briefly placed his hand on Jaeyoon’s shoulder before turning away.
As Heejun slowly grabbed the infirmary doorknob and opened the door, his eyes widened. “Huh?” A dumb sound escaped his mouth.
“What’s wrong?”
When Jaeyoon looked up towards Heejun with a puzzled expression, Heejun stared quietly at what was in front of him before turning his head. Meeting Jaeyoon’s gaze, he shook his head from side to side.
“It’s nothing. Just stop working today and think about your problem.”
“No, it’s fine…”
“Don’t cause any more trouble.”
“Okay…”
Remembering what he had done in class earlier, Jaeyoon had no choice but to nod in agreement. Having received the answer he wanted, Heejun left and closed the infirmary door. Silence fell over the now-empty infirmary.
Jaeyoon brought his clasped hands to his lips. His blue eyes narrowed in thought. His mind was too complicated. Amid all this, Heejun’s words kept echoing in his ears, refusing to leave.
Would he stop here out of fear that they would hurt each other in the future, or would he make a selfish choice for present happiness and disregard what might happen later…?
“‘Even if it were just for an hour, I’d be happy to be his boyfriend,’ huh…”
He furrowed his brow and messed up his hair. He squeezed his eyes shut, lay back, and placed his arm over his eyes. A deep sigh escaped from Jaeyoon’s lips.
Even with his mind in chaos, he missed Jung Jinhoo. He loved those golden eyes that crinkled when they looked at him. He adored that bright smile on his fair face. He wanted to touch that soft, snow-white silver hair. And he wanted to overlay his hand on those slender, pretty fingers. Jaeyoon bit his light pink lips hard as the urge to run to see him right now kept rising. What might Jinhoo sunbae be doing right now? What expression would he be wearing? Is he thinking of me? Even when he tried to stop thinking, thoughts of him kept coming up, making his heart flutter.
A bitter smile formed on Jaeyoon’s lips. His condition was clearly much worse than he had thought.
“…This is driving me crazy.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
