Fortunately, thanks to hurrying over at a quick pace, Han-gyeom managed not to be late for his general education class. As expected of a required gen-ed he had to take for graduation credits, the lecture was still boring. Han-gyeom replayed the conversation he’d had with Won-hyeok earlier and hoped that he wouldn’t carry excessive guilt over it.
He also hoped that this wouldn’t make the relationship they had only just managed to build drift apart again. Maybe because he was wrapped up in all those worries and concerns, the lecture, which lasted nearly two hours, seemed to fly by in a blur.
When class ended, Han-gyeom came straight out of the building. Wondering over something as small as what he should make for dinner tonight, he walked toward the bus stop.
“Huh?”
Someone waving cheerfully at Han-gyeom caught his eye. Startled, he looked more closely and saw some unexpected faces. Kim Sun-woo, Kang Yubin, and Won-hyeok.
The one who had spotted Han-gyeom and waved was none other than Kang Yubin.
“It’s you, right! The second-year who asked us where Won-hyeok was that time!”
“Ah, hello.”
Han-gyeom bowed his head awkwardly. For a brief moment, his eyes met Won-hyeok’s. He was flustered by the fleeting blankness that crossed his face, but then, as if nothing had happened, Won-hyeok put on a gentle smile.
“How was your gen-ed class?”
“It was fine.”
“But how do you two know Han-gyeom?”
“Huh? Didn’t we tell you? You know, last Friday when you were out sick.”
At Kim Sun-woo’s words, Han-gyeom and Won-hyeok both flinched at the same time.
“He was looking for you because he said he had something to return to you. So did you go to Won-hyeok’s house?”
“Huh?”
His voice trembled slightly at the sudden question that came flying at him.
“You asked like you were going to go find his house yourself that time.”
Han-gyeom swallowed hard. Cold sweat broke out on him as if he’d been caught with evidence of a crime. Considering it carefully, it wasn’t as though he’d done anything all that wrong. Was this why people said you shouldn’t live your life committing sins?
“Yeah, he came. But I had a really bad cold, so I just got the thing from him and sent him back right away.”
You can’t exactly pass your cold to someone, can you? When Won-hyeok explained smoothly, the other two quickly accepted it.
“But Do Won-hyeok, you had a close hoobae in your department like this too?”
Kang Yubin asked slyly, nudging him in the side. At the words “close hoobae,” Han-gyeom, pleased, shyly rubbed the back of his neck.
“Ah! Since meeting like this is fate, should we take Han-gyeom with us too?”
“Oh, nice!”
He couldn’t keep up at all with the excited conversation between the two of them, and while he was just nervously reading the room, Kang Yubin suddenly grabbed Han-gyeom’s hand.
“Hoobae, do you have plans tonight?”
“Huh? Ah, no.”
“Then come drink with us.”
Drink? Han-gyeom’s eyes went wide. Was this the drinking gathering with sunbaes he’d only heard about?
“Yubin-ah, if you suddenly ask like that, won’t Han-gyeom feel uncomfortable?”
“Ah… is that so?”
Won-hyeok said it as if he were being considerate, but the truth was Han-gyeom was currently swollen with enormous anticipation. He didn’t particularly like drinking, but it was different if Won-hyeok was going to be there. Besides, weren’t the people going with them the very two people in the department who suited him best right now?
“I-I’m… okay with it.”
Han-gyeom glanced at Won-hyeok.
“I-I want to go.”
It wasn’t even such a big statement, but his shy voice as he said it carried a slight excitement. Won-hyeok stared blankly at him for a moment, then nodded.
“Okay. As long as you’re really fine with it.”
And so the group of one hoobae and three sunbaes headed to a bar near the university district. It was a restaurant-bar known among students nearby for having large portions of food at cheap prices, so maybe that was why the place was packed with students.
“Ah, so you got close because you’re in the same club?”
After settling into a suitable spot and placing their order, drinks and side dishes were spread across the table in front of the four of them. And naturally, the conversation’s focus turned to Han-gyeom, who was basically the new face in the group.
“Yes, that’s right.”
So to other people, he and Won-hyeok looked close. Han-gyeom, who didn’t let even the smallest remark slip past him, smiled softly and took a sip of the beer in front of him.
“Still, I’m disappointed in Do Won-hyeok. We asked you so many times to join our club, and you never did.”
“That’s a university-wide club. There are too many members.”
“Do you know how much those members nagged us to bring you in?”
It seemed Won-hyeok really was a famous figure even in a large club. Then again, out of the hot posts constantly updated on the Everytime app, at least one was always about Won-hyeok. Who’s that handsome guy in the English Department, or I saw someone on campus today who looked like a celebrity, does anyone know who he is—posts like that never stopped appearing.
Feeling a renewed sense of admiration for no reason, Han-gyeom stared openly at Won-hyeok, seated beside him. Then Won-hyeok, sensing the gaze, turned his head and their eyes met, and Han-gyeom quickly looked away.
Worried that what he had just done might have seemed awkward, he deliberately poured the alcohol in front of him straight down his throat.
“Han-gyeom, he’s famous in your year too, right?”
“Stop it, Kim Sun-woo.”
“Yes. He’s famous. There are a lot of people who want to get close to sunbae because he has such a great personality.”
Han-gyeom grinned.
“Yeah, he really is pointlessly like some kind of bodhisattva. I’m seriously telling you, Do Won-hyeok is the first person I’ve ever seen who doesn’t swear even once.”
“Swear…”
Han-gyeom muttered softly just then. That reminded him. On the day Won-hyeok had gone into rut, the way he spoke and acted had been a little different from normal. His voice had been much gloomier, and he hadn’t smiled. Well, that wasn’t exactly the kind of situation where anyone would smile, but he definitely had sworn too.
Won-hyeok’s sharp gaze landed on Han-gyeom, who tilted his head in puzzlement.
“Are you really going to keep saying things like that right in front of the person himself?”
“Okay, okay. Look at you getting embarrassed. Let’s just do a cheers.”
When Sun-woo held out his glass, Won-hyeok glanced over at Han-gyeom as he hurriedly picked up his own.
Han-gyeom was usually timid and shy around people, so Won-hyeok had been worried that he might not be able to blend in and would just hover awkwardly on the outside. But proving that worry unfounded, the drinking gathering was enjoyable enough. More than anything, the two sunbaes aside from Won-hyeok were good at carrying the mood.
Before they knew it, the drinking session had ripened, and several empty bottles had begun piling up under the table. In front of Han-gyeom, who had initially only been sipping beer, there was now a soju glass.
“Alright, alright, Han-gyeom, have one more.”
With his words slightly slurred, Kim Sun-woo filled Han-gyeom’s glass to the brim with soju. Han-gyeom was now nearly unconsciously reaching for it when a hand suddenly shot in from beside him.
“Let’s stop drinking. If you have any more, you’ll get drunk.”
Smiling gently, Won-hyeok made Han-gyeom set the glass back down.
“Hey now, when a sunbae pours you a drink, you finish it.”
Kim Sun-woo, who had been chatting away with Kang Yubin, uncannily caught the fact that Han-gyeom’s glass was still untouched. Flustered, Han-gyeom didn’t know what to do and hurriedly threw the soju down his throat.
“……”
Han-gyeom winced and wiped at the corner of his mouth. The eyes of Won-hyeok, sitting beside him, saw it very clearly. Han-gyeom’s pure white earlobes and the back of his neck had flushed red. Maybe it was because his skin was so pale to begin with, but even under the dim lighting of the bar, the redness stood out noticeably.
“But Han-gyeom, doesn’t your fringe bother you?”
“Seriously. Let me see. I think it’d be more comfortable if you pushed it back.”
Kim Sun-woo reached out, about to lift Han-gyeom’s bangs. In that instant, Won-hyeok smacked his hand away as if brushing off a bug.
A chilly silence passed around the table for a moment. Even Han-gyeom, whose eyes had begun to blur sleepily as the alcohol slowly hit him, opened them wide.
“…He’d feel uncomfortable. You only met him for the first time today.”
“Ah… is that so? Sorry, Han-gyeom.”
Kim Sun-woo laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head for no reason. Han-gyeom was about to say it was okay, but Won-hyeok picked up the bag next to him and abruptly stood.
“Han-gyeom looks pretty drunk, so I’ll take him home.”
“Uh, sunbae….”
“What are you doing? Get up.”
Han-gyeom shifted uncertainly in his seat. He still had enough stamina left to stay. Of course, he had gone a little past his limit and was slowly reaching his breaking point, but he still wanted to remain there. But from Won-hyeok’s smiling face, he could feel a faint pressure.
“T-then I’ll head out first.”
Leaving behind the other two, who were telling him they should eat together again sometime, Han-gyeom followed Won-hyeok outside.
“Sunbae, I can go by myself. If you give me my bag…”
“Which way is your house?”
“Ah, I can go alon—”
Haah. At that moment, Won-hyeok deeply sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
“Han-gyeom, how could I send a drunk hoobae home by himself? I’ll take you.”
He had definitely sighed. Han-gyeom unconsciously clenched his fists. It really did seem like Won-hyeok was angry.
But why? Even while explaining which direction his place was in, Han-gyeom kept thinking about it. The only thing he could immediately think of as the reason for Won-hyeok’s foul mood was just one thing.
Did he want to drink with his classmates, and I cluelessly inserted myself in?
That really seemed like the answer. On top of that, Han-gyeom had drunk whatever was handed to him, and in the end, Won-hyeok now had to escort him home, meaning he couldn’t properly enjoy his time with his classmates and was just wasting it instead. Han-gyeom wanted to say that he really could go on his own, and that Won-hyeok should hurry back and have fun with his classmates, but for some reason, it felt like he absolutely shouldn’t say that to Won-hyeok right now.
Han-gyeom’s rented room was about a 10-minute walk from the university district. It wasn’t all that far in terms of location, but there was a hill in the middle and it was tucked away in a corner, so it still took a decent amount of time.
The two slowly entered a dark alley. Cats were tearing open trash bags on top of piles of garbage stacked here and there. A streetlamp, as if burning through the last of its life, flickered noisily. Washed in orange light, the alley gave off the sort of atmosphere that seemed to belong in a crime movie.
While they walked, not a single conversation passed between them. Except for when Han-gyeom had asked to carry his own bag.
Now, if they just turned into that last alley, Han-gyeom’s one-room apartment would appear.
“S-sunbae.”
Before entering the alley, Han-gyeom stopped beneath an old streetlamp.
“Are you angry, by any chance?”
“No? Why would I be angry?”
“Um… I’m sorry for carelessly barging into a gathering like that.”
Won-hyeok’s eyebrow twitched slightly.
“The truth is, I wanted to get close to the other sunbaes too.”
“…Why would you?”
Han-gyeom lifted his head. In his eyes, visible through his hair, there was not a trace of falsehood.
“They’re the sunbaes you’re closest with. And I wanted to drink with you too, sunbae. At the club welcome party, we sat separately….”
The flickering streetlamp shone down on Han-gyeom as he timidly murmured the words. His voice was small, but because everything around them was so quiet, the slight tremble in it reached Won-hyeok’s ears clearly.
“Anyway, I guess I got too excited thinking I’d get to drink with your friends and with you too, sunbae. I’m sorry. My place is right up ahead, so from here I can go on my own. Then I’ll see you next time. Thank you for bringing me home.”
Even to the very end, Han-gyeom bowed his head, then lightly broke into a quicker pace and ran to the building. Unaware that Won-hyeok’s gaze continued to follow his back the whole way, he reached the front of the apartment and let out a short breath.
Now he just had to go in, wash up, and sleep. He was approaching the entrance at a brisk pace when a figure suddenly stepped right out in front of him.
“Han-gyeom-ah, long time no see?”
