Han-gyeom slowly set down the spoon he’d been holding. He was so startled that his heart was pounding wildly. All this time, he’d been trying to hide the fact that he was dating Won-hyeok no matter what—but now, to hear Won-hyeok casually say they were dating, just like that.
His mind was in chaos. Why? Hadn’t he been the one who wanted to keep their relationship hidden?
At that moment, beneath the table, Won-hyeok reached out and covered the back of Han-gyeom’s hand as if to hold it. Han-gyeom looked once at the large hand firmly gripping his own, then turned his gaze back to Won-hyeok. His clean side profile was facing straight ahead, but somehow, the warmth he felt through their joined hands seemed to soothe his startled, racing heart.
The atmosphere at the table of four had already frozen solid like ice. Meanwhile, the one who had thrown the bomb sat there calmly, holding Han-gyeom’s hand as if to drive the point home even further—that they were dating.
“You’re…… dating Han-gyeom?”
“Yeah.”
Kang Yubin had been so shocked that his mouth had been hanging open this whole time. He nudged Sun-woo, who sat beside him, with his elbow.
“H-hey, did you h-hear that?”
“Yeah.”
Having finished his meal, Sun-woo wiped his mouth with a napkin and answered without even a hint of surprise.
“You actually heard that?”
Unlike Yubin, Sun-woo maintained a remarkably calm demeanor. In fact, he was so unfazed that even Won-hyeok found it a little unexpected.
“I heard. He said he’s dating Han-gyeom.”
“Aren’t you shocked?”
“I mean, I am…… but how should I put it?”
Resting his chin on his hand, Sun-woo stared straight at Won-hyeok. After looking meaningfully at the guy smiling faintly, he soon shifted his gaze to Han-gyeom. Going back and forth between the two, Sun-woo nodded to himself.
“I kind of had a feeling it might be like that.”
“What? Hey, Do Won-hyeok. You didn’t tell Kim Sun-woo in advance, did you?”
“It’s the first time I’m telling you guys. But I didn’t know Sun-woo was thinking that. That’s unexpected.”
Won-hyeok spoke with his eyes slightly widened, and Sun-woo stared at him. Was he seriously saying he hadn’t realized? At this point, Sun-woo felt like his disbelief had long since run off and turned to ashes.
“Kang Yubin, calm down. It’s not that Do Won-hyeok told me—I just noticed it myself.”
“Th-then could it be because of m-me……?”
When Han-gyeom asked worriedly, Sun-woo blinked and then shook his head, saying no.
“If anything, it’s because of this guy.”
Sun-woo pointed at Won-hyeok, but he only wore a clear, uncomprehending expression as if he truly didn’t get it. Whether to call that shameless or something else entirely, Sun-woo decided it wasn’t even worth trying to find the right word anymore.
He couldn’t clearly remember exactly when he first started feeling that something about Do Won-hyeok’s behavior had subtly changed. Sun-woo personally admired his friend, who seemed flawless, but this semester, something had felt distinctly off.
It was like he was still Do Won-hyeok, but also not. The exterior was the same, but the inside had changed—that was probably the most accurate way to put it.
The guy who was always relaxed and good at taking care of everyone had, this semester, started focusing all his attention on just one person—and that was Han-gyeom.
To be honest, even to Sun-woo, Han-gyeom was a cute junior he wanted to look after. At first, his dull appearance had been a bit surprising, but it didn’t take more than a few conversations to realize he had an inherently kind personality.
At first, Sun-woo thought Won-hyeok was simply taking extra care of Han-gyeom for that reason. But not only was he eating lunch with him every day, during that last gathering with people from the English Department, he’d kept Han-gyeom right by his side the whole time, and even when leaving, he’d taken him along. Sun-woo had witnessed several instances that felt excessive for simply “looking after a junior.”
That was when things started to feel strange. Then, when they went to a café together to supposedly study for exams, that subtle sense turned into suspicion—and after seeing how he acted at the PC bang, that suspicion was just about ready to become certainty.
Though before he could even fully confirm it, Won-hyeok had already revealed it right here.
“Man, was I just oblivious? Still, I’m seriously shocked. I never thought you two would be dating…….”
At Yubin’s remark that this was the most shocked he’d been all year, Han-gyeom nodded in agreement.
“I guess so. Sunbae and I don’t really match that well.”
“Huh? No, it’s not about that—it’s just that it’s my first time seeing Do Won-hyeok date someone. And it’s also the first time he’s told us directly like this.”
At the word “first,” Han-gyeom’s heart fluttered for no reason. His flustered feelings lingered as his ears gradually turned red on their own, and Won-hyeok, who had been staring at him, began gathering his bag.
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
Won-hyeok stood up first, bringing Han-gyeom with him.
“Huh? Leave what?”
“I asked you to spread the word. We’ll head out first. See you later.”
Won-hyeok covered both of Han-gyeom’s ears with his hands and walked out toward the entrance. In the end, after the storm had passed, only the two of them were left sitting there.
“Hey, doesn’t Do Won-hyeok seem kind of weird?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Yubin tilted his head while picking at the remaining side dishes.
“I mean…… I can’t explain it well, but hasn’t he changed a bit this semester?”
“Has he? I don’t really know.”
Kim Sun-woo narrowed his eyes and stared at the seat Won-hyeok had just vacated.
“But don’t you think that ‘favor’ he asked is kind of weird? Asking us to spread rumors. Why bother? Why would he do that?”
“I think I might know.”
Sun-woo let out a small chuckle as he spoke, and Yubin immediately pressed him for an answer. But he didn’t bother explaining. Instead, he simply offered silent sympathy for his somewhat oblivious friend.
Outside, having brought Han-gyeom out with him, Won-hyeok checked Han-gyeom’s ears, which he had been covering with his hands. After confirming that the flushed redness had subsided, he slowly removed them. Since his skin was so pale, even the slightest flush would show immediately, so he had to keep a close watch.
“Sunbae.”
“Since we ate, want to grab something to drink?”
“No, um…….”
Han-gyeom tried to say something, but Won-hyeok grabbed his hand and headed to a nearby café. At a takeout-focused shop, he bought himself a coffee and a strawberry yogurt smoothie that seemed like something Han-gyeom would like, then handed it to him.
“Come to think of it, sunbae, you’ve only been buying me strawberry drinks since last time, haven’t you?”
Han-gyeom looked at the soft pink smoothie in the plastic cup as if finding it newly fascinating. On the day Won-hyeok had confessed, he’d given him strawberry ice cream, and even during their date, whenever they went to a café, he only bought him drinks like this.
“Hm? You don’t like it?”
“No, I like anything as long as it’s not coffee. I just suddenly got curious.”
Won-hyeok sipped his Americano and looked down at Han-gyeom standing beside him. The smoothie in his hand resembled a scene of pale pink liquid seeping into freshly fallen snow in the middle of winter. Watching that pink liquid pass through red lips, Won-hyeok smirked.
“Just because. It suits you.”
“Huh?”
What kind of person “suited” a strawberry smoothie? Han-gyeom tilted his head in confusion, then suddenly realized there was something far more important he needed to address.
“But, sunbae! About earlier—w-why did you suddenly say we’re dating?”
Han-gyeom asked if that was really okay. That condition had been set by Won-hyeok himself. But now he was the one acting against it, so how could Han-gyeom not feel confused?
“Ah, about that, Han-gyeom. From the start, I didn’t really want to hide the fact that I’m dating you to that extent. It’s not like I insisted on keeping it a secret relationship.”
“What?!”
Han-gyeom’s voice shot up in volume. His widened eyes clearly showed just how shocked he was.
Everything he had believed to be true up until now shattered in his mind with a loud crash.
“But the condition…….”
“Your interpretation was wrong from the beginning.”
“Wasn’t ‘not interfering in each other’s lives’ supposed to mean that?”
When Won-hyeok nodded, it felt like Han-gyeom had been hit over the head. To think he’d been wrong from the very premise. Then what had all his efforts up until now even been? He’d thought so hard and carefully figured it out, only to realize he’d been completely off.
“Then what does it mean? H-how am I supposed to do this?”
Han-gyeom suddenly reached out and grabbed Won-hyeok’s sleeve. If his interpretation had been wrong, then he needed to know the right way—even now.
From that perspective, Han-gyeom was quite desperate.
“I don’t want to do anything you hate, sunbae.”
He didn’t want this relationship to end just because he broke the one condition set at the start of their relationship.
“……”
“Please tell me what it means, and what I’m supposed to do.”
Faced with Han-gyeom’s wide-eyed, desperate approach, Won-hyeok unconsciously tightened his grip. The condensation from the coffee cup in his hand dampened his palm.
He already knew Kang Han-gyeom had never dated before—that he had no experience with relationships at all. Beyond that, he was simply inexperienced with forming close relationships with anyone. So it made sense that he hadn’t been able to easily grasp what others might have understood right away—that phrase about not interfering.
Won-hyeok parted his lips slightly.
What did it mean? It meant not being clingy about constant contact, not pestering him to understand his feelings without saying anything, not demanding empathy or seeking validation for every thought, not worrying about or trying to find out where he was, what he was doing, or who he was meeting.
Won-hyeok knew well how most couples in this country behaved. They tried to monitor each other’s every move, constantly sought reassurance, and craved affirmation at all times. Since entering university, he’d seen that kind of thing countless times.
And whenever he saw it, the only thoughts that came to mind were things like, Don’t they ever get tired of that? or Why would anyone want to act like that?
In the end, he’d also seen plenty of people who, after repeating those kinds of relationships, would struggle miserably and feel overwhelmed when they broke up. That was why he’d set that condition for Han-gyeom in the first place.
“Sunbae. I-I can do it well.”
Maybe because Won-hyeok wasn’t answering, Han-gyeom tightened his grip on his sleeve.
“……Forget it.”
Looking off into the distance, Won-hyeok replied.
