In the bathroom, after checking Han-gyeom’s message, veins bulged on Won-hyeok’s forehead as well. This entire week, he hadn’t managed to stay with Kang Han-gyeom even once. Still, their lunch times had roughly aligned, so they ate together, and if they had a long break, they’d go to a café.
If the break was short, they would spend time together in the club room—but what the hell was this situation now? Up until now, Won-hyeok had been slowly picking up on Han-gyeom’s strange behavior, but he’d tried to deny it.
But after seeing this latest message, clearly filled with rejection, he was certain. No—even if he didn’t want to be certain, he had no choice.
Is he avoiding me right now?
All week long, Kang Han-gyeom had been avoiding him. Not trying to be with him.
The moment he recognized that fact, the volcano that had been bubbling inside Won-hyeok began preparing to erupt once more. Unable to hold back his anger, he suddenly jerked his hand—still holding his phone—up into the air. Just then, another student walked into the bathroom, flinching at the sight of him holding his phone up so high.
“…Hm.”
As if nothing had happened, Won-hyeok smoothly put on a gentle smile, lowered his raised hand, and pretended to check his reflection in the mirror.
What is this? What the hell is this? Countless question marks floated through his mind, making it spin. Why is he avoiding me? We’re lovers. We’re dating. He’s my partner. My boyfriend.
“…Fuck.”
And on top of that, didn’t Han-gyeom like him? He made a face so happy it looked like stars were bursting out of his eyes every time Won-hyeok appeared.
Without realizing it, Won-hyeok bit down on his thumbnail. He didn’t think Kang Han-gyeom’s feelings had changed. Even so, he had no way of understanding this maddening anxiety, and it left him feeling suffocated.
“You taking that long in the bathroom for a reason?”
Sun-woo approached him as Won-hyeok came out, gnawing at his nail. He had been leaning against the wall, looking at his phone, but now he examined Won-hyeok, who seemed oddly distracted.
“Hey.”
“What.”
“You can make a face like that too, huh.”
“Huh?”
Won-hyeok asked, startled. When he came to his senses and looked, Sun-woo’s face was filled with interest, like a top student who had just discovered a new formula.
“It’s my first time seeing you look that serious.”
Won-hyeok’s lips twitched. An unpleasant sensation rose from the nail he’d been biting. The rationality he’d maintained so well until now had been wavering dangerously these days.
On the outside, Do Won-hyeok appeared diligent, attentive to those around him, kind to the point of being called a bit of a fool, handsome, and wealthy—a being almost like a unicorn from legend.
Of course, his core had long since burned pitch-black and turned to ash, but regardless, from the time he’d grown up, Won-hyeok had put effort into maintaining that exterior, acting the part of a proper “normal person.” Now that he was completely accustomed to that image, his true personality rarely surfaced.
But lately, that was the problem. At any moment, the mask threatened to slip off. Before he knew it, he’d lose his composure, or when he came to his senses, the emotions and words he’d been suppressing deep inside would spill out of his mouth one after another.
“I’m human too. Of course I make serious faces.”
Won-hyeok lightly tapped Sun-woo’s shoulder in a playful manner. He’d let his guard down for a moment, but it wasn’t enough to shake him that much. With a fresh smile, he naturally deflected Sun-woo’s comment.
This was all a problem that started after meeting Kang Han-gyeom. This wouldn’t do. At this rate, it was definitely not good, so he needed to be more careful.
“If it’s something all humans do, then it’s weird that I’m seeing it for the first time in three years. Anyway, we’ve got a lot of time—what are you going to do?”
Sun-woo knew that recently, instead of hanging out with their classmates, Won-hyeok had often been spending time with Han-gyeom—eating lunch together or passing time during breaks. So when lunchtime came around, he didn’t bother asking him to eat. He already knew Won-hyeok would go with Han-gyeom anyway.
But this week, Won-hyeok hadn’t gone to meet Han-gyeom. So even now, he was asking cautiously.
“Not sure. Nothing in particular. We’ve got a lot of time, right?”
Even as he said that, it felt like he was confirming all over again that he’d been rejected by Han-gyeom, which put him in a very foul mood.
“Yeah. Kang Yubin said he has something with his club… Oh, want to go to a PC bang? Some of the guys are there right now.”
Sun-woo suggested, tapping his phone screen. A PC bang, huh. To be honest, Won-hyeok didn’t really like those places. It wasn’t that he disliked games, but places filled with stale cigarette smells and cheap food odors naturally repelled him.
“…Sure. Let’s go. It’ll be nice to play a game for once.”
But right now, he needed to do something. He needed somewhere to divert his attention away from thoughts of Han-gyeom. At this rate, just like earlier in the bathroom when he’d almost thrown his phone, he had no idea when or where his true nature might burst out.
And besides, games—weren’t they perfect for relieving stress?
***
Entering the PC bang closest to the university, Han-gyeom sat down next to Han-ul with a determined expression. He’d been there before to do assignments, but this was his first time coming for the purpose of gaming. People might ask what he’d been doing all through middle and high school without ever coming with friends, but as always, Han-gyeom hadn’t had any friends who would come with him.
“To be honest, I’m not that good at games either. Is it okay if I just show you the one I usually play first?”
“Of course.”
The game Han-ul logged into was a fairly popular FPS game. It was a team match where the side that completed their assigned mission would win.
Han-gyeom created an account for the first time and, following Han-ul’s guidance, completed the tutorial. After learning the basic settings, controls, and mechanics necessary for the game, he entered matches against the computer to get a better feel for the overall flow.
After about thirty minutes of building up practical sense in a beginner pool, Han-gyeom completely lost himself, immersed in the world of the game. Though it was difficult as a first-time experience, it was fun. He liked the way he could achieve results using a character that moved according to his own control.
He was so absorbed that he completely forgot about the phone sitting in his bag.
“Th-this is really fun.”
After finishing another round, Han-gyeom looked at Han-ul with a flushed face.
“Right? Then want to try a slightly harder match this time? Let’s play together.”
“Yeah! Sounds good.”
But he couldn’t quite see where to click to enter. Noticing this, Han-ul pointed at the screen and placed his hand over Han-gyeom’s, which was holding the mouse, guiding it.
And behind the two of them, a dark shadow fell.
The moment they sensed someone’s presence and turned their heads, an arm suddenly pushed in between them, forcefully grabbing Han-ul’s hand.
“Uh….”
Startled by the strong grip, Han-ul looked back—and there stood none other than Won-hyeok.
“Sunbae!”
Han-gyeom called out happily, but Won-hyeok only stared coldly at Han-ul. At that moment, the incident from before, in front of Han-gyeom’s house, flashed through Han-ul’s mind.
“Just in case… this is a misunderstanding?”
“A misunderstanding? That sounds fucking annoying, so drop it.”
“If it’s a misunderstanding, then what else would you call it…?”
Han-ul let out a dry laugh and repeated what he’d said back then, but once again, Won-hyeok shut him down. On top of that, he didn’t let go of his hand. Instead, he turned his head and stared at Han-gyeom sitting beside him—
As if he were going to bore a hole through his face.
“…Is your phone really just for decoration?”
“Oh! I’m sorry. I was learning a game from Han-ul. But it was so fun that I didn’t notice it.”
Han-gyeom looked up at Won-hyeok with sparkling eyes. Since they hadn’t seen each other much all week, just being in Won-hyeok’s presence right now made his heart pound like crazy.
“B-but what brings you here…?”
“Hey, Do Won-hyeok, I told you to come over—what are you doing?”
At that moment, Sun-woo approached from behind. Only then did Han-gyeom realize he’d come with him, letting out a small gasp before quickly averting his gaze.
At that moment, Han-ul heard the low curse slipping from Won-hyeok’s mouth and looked back and forth between the two.
“Huh? Han-gyeom?”
“Hello.”
“So you came to the PC bang with a friend. But did you cut your hair? What about your glasses?”
Seeing Han-gyeom’s changed appearance, Sun-woo asked with clear curiosity. It was quite a drastic transformation, so he leaned in, examining Han-gyeom’s face from different angles—but Won-hyeok immediately stepped in. With the same hand that had been holding Han-ul’s, he pushed Sun-woo’s face back.
“Sun-woo, you’re making Han-gyeom uncomfortable.”
Won-hyeok was smiling, but there was definitely a bit of force in his hand. Sun-woo rubbed his squished nose and shot him a meaningful glare.
“Hey, whatever. The others are over there. Come on, let’s grab seats.”
Sun-woo pointed to seats a little distance away from Han-gyeom and Han-ul.
“Tell them to come here.”
“Huh?”
“There are plenty of seats here too. It’s nice and spacious. Let’s just play here.”
It was all the same PC bang—what difference did “spacious” make? That was exactly the look Sun-woo gave him, but Won-hyeok had already gone and sat down across from Han-gyeom.
With no other choice, Sun-woo called the others over from where they were.
“Han-woo.”
Won-hyeok suddenly popped his head over the partition. Since he was quite tall, even a slight lift of his hips made his face appear above it.
“Sunbae, it’s not Han-woo, it’s Han-ul!”
“You stay quiet.”
After snapping once at Han-gyeom, who had popped his head over the partition, Won-hyeok looked back at Han-ul.
“You good at that game?”
“I’m not bad, but….”
“Really? Then want to play a few rounds with us?”
Han-ul swallowed hard. It was the first time he realized that a smiling face could be scary. He really didn’t want to play games together like this. He looked at Han-gyeom with the desperation of someone sending an SOS—but Han-gyeom was already far too busy sitting across from Won-hyeok, practically shooting hearts at him.
“…S-sure. Why not.”
With tears welling up, Han-ul nodded.
