Kim Yeonwoo’s mouth, which had been loudly chattering, closed as the pressure constricted his body. Jaeyoon stared at Kim Yeonwoo with an expressionless gaze as he bit his own lips hard in frustration, then sighed and brushed his bangs back.
“Do you have any idea what situation Kim Doha is in, or what opportunity you’ve thrown away today?”
“……”
“No, you don’t even care, do you? The one being criticized is Kim Doha, and in the end, you don’t suffer any consequences. That’s why even when Kim Doha begged you so desperately, you just put your pride first and not only refused to apologize but even caused more trouble.”
“What do you know…!”
“Is there anything wrong in what I just said?”
“You’re the one who made Doha like that! You and your people… Why are you blaming me? You’ve always been like this! Acting like you’ve done nothing wrong, like I’m the bad one!!”
Jaeyoon let out a dry laugh at Kim Yeonwoo, who was breathing heavily in anger. He roughly released the collar he was holding and stood up.
“There’s no point talking to someone who won’t listen.”
From the beginning, Jaeyoon thought it was a waste of time to speak with people he deemed unworthy of his attention. No matter how hard he tried to change their thinking, it was like preaching to deaf ears. Only those who knew how to reflect could be reasoned with.
“I just feel sorry for Kim Doha.”
“What…?”
“Because of you, his family is being destroyed, and his future dreams are being brutally crushed.”
“How is that my fault?!”
“You’re arrogantly assuming Kim Doha will stay by your side until the end, aren’t you?”
“!!”
Looking down at Kim Yeonwoo staring up at him, Jaeyoon smirked with one corner of his mouth lifted.
“I wonder if after losing everything, his feelings for you will be love, or rather hatred.”
“Doha is different from you! He won’t fall for your shallow tricks!”
“Setting aside whether or not he’ll fall for ‘shallow tricks,’ it’s certain that you’ve betrayed Kim Doha’s trust. You’re not thinking that you can act selfishly while expecting others to be devoted to you, are you?”
Seeing Kim Yeonwoo glaring at him with wide eyes, Jaeyoon clicked his tongue. As Jaeyoon turned away as if Kim Yeonwoo wasn’t worth his time, Kim Yeonwoo shouted desperately.
“It’s your fault! It’s all because of you!! You took everything away from me. All of my precious people!! Because of you…!!”
*Wham-!!*
In an instant, Jaeyoon grabbed Kim Yeonwoo by the collar again and, ignoring his choking coughs, spoke in a deeply lowered voice.
“Stop spouting nonsense. You’re the root cause of all this. This happened because of you, Kim Yeonwoo. Your precious people? You never had any such things. They were mine. They were my brother, my friends, and my sunbaes. You lured them away, yet you keep playing the victim? How long do you think your lies will work? Eventually, everything that was taken will return to its rightful place. In the end, you’ll be left with nothing and perish alone!!”
“No… No, no!!”
Watching Kim Yeonwoo shake his head and repeat “no” like a broken toy, Jaeyoon clenched his teeth hard. His breathing was rough. His chest felt tight and his head was hot. Having become unintentionally excited, Jaeyoon swept his bangs back and took a deep breath.
‘Calm down…’
“Are you okay?”
“Sunbae…”
Jaeyoon leaned against Jung Jinhoo, who had somehow approached his side. As he nodded slightly, Jung Jinhoo briefly kissed him on the head as if to say “good job.”
“Shall we go back?”
“Yes, eh?! Sunbae??”
Jaeyoon looked at Jung Jinhoo, who was picking him up, with a startled expression. I have crutches!! At Jaeyoon’s urgent cry, Jung Jinhoo looked at him with a gentle smile.
“Yeah, I know.”
“Are you… angry?”
“Not really.”
Liar!! Jaeyoon’s mind raced as he observed Jung Jinhoo, who was smiling warmly as usual but somehow had a different aura. What is it? What’s he angry about? That I left the hospital? It was possible. He had been overprotective, insisting on absolute rest until discharge. If not that, then throwing aside my crutches and walking? This was also possible. Like the previous reason, I pushed myself when I hadn’t fully recovered. Besides, Jaeyoon had definitely heard Jung Jinhoo shout earlier.
Deliberating between the two possibilities, Jaeyoon carefully asked while gauging Jung Jinhoo’s mood.
“Sunbae, are you angry because I left the hospital? Or is it because of the crutches?”
At Jaeyoon’s question, Jung Jinhoo looked at him with a bright smile. Faced with that juicy, refreshing smile, Jaeyoon suddenly realized.
‘Ah, it’s both…’
“I was in a hurry…”
“I see.”
“I’m sorry…”
In response to Jaeyoon’s words, Jung Jinhoo gave a small smile as if he couldn’t help it.
“I thought my heart was going to drop.”
“Yes…”
“Don’t do it again next time.”
“I don’t think there’ll be any more situations where I’d do something so reckless, right?”
“That’s how it should be. Because I’ll get rid of everything.”
Jaeyoon laughed at Jung Jinhoo’s quiet murmur. Being carried by Jung Jinhoo in front of others was extremely embarrassing, but Jaeyoon comforted himself by thinking it was to improve Jung Jinhoo’s mood.
“WHY!!!”
At the shouting voice, Jaeyoon turned his head slightly.
“Why is it always you… Why does everyone only… Who are you, what’s so different about you compared to me?!!”
“We are different. For one, I don’t lie and trick people to steal them away.”
“-!!”
“And I don’t blame others for my own mistakes.”
“……”
“Before coveting the people by my side, why don’t you cherish the ones by yours? Though it might already be too late.”
Jaeyoon turned his head away from Kim Yeonwoo. He wouldn’t have to face Kim Yeonwoo at school anymore after this.
“Good job.”
“That was so powerful!”
Jaeyoon laughed as he watched Lee Heejun and Sim Hajun each giving him a thumbs up with a word of encouragement.
“Feel better?”
After thinking for a moment at Heejun’s question, Jaeyoon nodded.
“Yeah, I feel better.”
It would have been better if Lee Jaeyoon himself had ended it rather than me. Still, he felt relieved to have cut this toxic connection.
‘Finally, I can have a peaceful school life.’
The hardships of the past days flashed through his mind. Just as he was about to get sentimental with a strange sense of nostalgia, an unfamiliar voice woke him from his reverie.
“We need to lock the art room door, but what do we do about him?”
Jaeyoon awkwardly scratched his cheek as he noticed the Vice President looking in their direction with his pitch-black eyes blinking. So that’s what his voice sounds like. Since the Vice President hadn’t said a word since Jaeyoon accidentally met him and Sim Hajun on the stairs, this was the first time Jaeyoon heard his voice. Contrary to his lynx-like appearance, his voice was surprisingly husky.
“Hmm…”
As Sim Hajun crossed his arms and pretended to think with furrowed brows, the Vice President, who had been quietly watching him, finally spoke up.
“Should we just lock it like this? He won’t die from being trapped in the art room for a day.”
“…Don’t say such things with a straight face so casually.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s scary!!”
Watching the two bicker, Jaeyoon understood why ‘that’ Sim Hajun had headaches because of the Vice President.
‘He’s not exactly normal either…’
“You guys handle it.”
“Ah, wait…!! I’m going back to the hospital too!”
“Are you irresponsibly dumping all the work on me and leaving? You, who are both my senior and the club president?”
“I don’t want to hear about being irresponsible from you of all people! From you of all people!!”
“Why me?”
“You’re asking because you don’t know?! Even today, you couldn’t submit a single document, so I ended up doing it all!”
“What can I do if I’m not good with machines?”
“It’s not just this time!! In the first place, you…”
“Seniors are supposed to help with things like this.”
“Argh!!”
Jung Jinhoo turned away without any lingering attachment, leaving behind Sim Hajun who was clutching his head with both hands. Good work. Heejun patted Sim Hajun’s shoulder.
“Are you leaving too?”
“Yeah,” Heejun responded promptly to Sim Hajun’s question, which was dripping with reluctance. You heartless guy. Is this how I raised you?! Yeah. At the answer without a hint of hesitation, Sim Hajun clicked his tongue in disapproval. Sim Hajun, who had been gazing at them wistfully, turned his head back when the Vice President spoke and resumed bickering with him. Even as they gradually moved away, the voices of the two continued to be heard endlessly.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
