The wind blowing in was pleasantly cool. The scent it carried with it—Han Jun’s scent—was even more refreshing.
“Ha…… nice.”
No. This isn’t the time to be enjoying his scent!
Yi-hyeon tugged roughly at the hood pulled over his head with both hands, then shifted his gaze toward the children playing in the front yard, kicking up clouds of dust. They were playing basketball with Han Jun. They looked like they were having so much fun that even sickly Yi-hyeon felt like joining in. He’d always envied the students who played ball on the field, even though he’d never been able to participate himself, and for a long while, he couldn’t tear his eyes away.
Just then, Su-ah missed a pass.
“Huh? Ah…… so close. If I’d been just a little faster, I could’ve caught it.”
The moment Yi-hyeon saw the ball roll, roll, roll away toward the flower bed, his hips twitched on their own.
A-Am I losing my mind?!
Yi-hyeon couldn’t take his eyes off the moving ball. His fluffy tail, unable to contain its excitement, burst out of his pants and wagged wildly. It was hard for Yi-hyeon to suppress the urge boiling up inside him.
Ha, this is seriously driving me insane.
Joo Mi-yeon had passed on, and he himself had returned to being human, so why in the world hadn’t these puppy instincts disappeared? And on top of that—ears, a tail—what was all this supposed to be? Yi-hyeon grabbed the tail that had crawled out shamelessly and was swaying side to side, clutching it tightly.
Stop coming out and just disappear already!
He bit down hard on his lower lip and shoved it back into his pants.
“With moves that slow, how are you supposed to become a basketball player? Faster—yeah! That’s it, you’ve gotta move like that!”
“You’re just too fast, hyung!”
“Oppa, pass to me! Pass!”
“You gonna miss it again?”
“I’m not missing it! That one was just a mistake!”
“Oh, really?”
Han Jun was about to throw the ball when he saw Su-ah stretch both arms wide. He lowered his arm and grinned mischievously.
“How do you fall for such an obvious fake? Dummy.”
With that, Han Jun extended his long arm and sent the ball flying toward the hoop. A second later, it went in cleanly with a satisfying clatter.
So cool……
Han Jun casually snagged the ball as it bounced back up from the ground, then dribbled smoothly before passing it to Su-ah—the one he hadn’t been able to pass to earlier. Han Jun’s quick reflexes and athleticism were impressive, but more than that, seeing him genuinely having fun while playing with the kids made Yi-hyeon’s heart feel inexplicably itchy.
Afraid that if he kept watching, he might end up making eye contact with Han Jun, Yi-hyeon decided this was enough and closed the window, turning away. Even after lying back down on the bed, his ears followed only Han Jun’s voice.
***
While worrying about how he should respond when Han Jun came by to say goodbye before heading home after eating, Yi-hyeon heard the front gate open, followed by the children seeing Han Jun off.
“Hyung, come play again!”
“Bring red mango again, Jun-hyung!”
“Yeah. See you next time.”
True to form, Han Jun really did just eat and quietly head home.
Even if I did say I was going to sleep, is he really just going to leave without even saying goodbye?
It had been Yi-hyeon himself who’d said he was going to sleep, hoping Han Jun would go back. And yet, when the front door closed with a dull thud, he couldn’t understand why his chest felt strangely empty.
If only his ears had disappeared a little sooner, he could’ve seen Han Jun off. He resented the soft, downy fur that was still lingering without a hint of shame. Scratching roughly at the spot where his ears had sprouted, Yi-hyeon flopped back onto the bed.
***
By the next day, his cold symptoms had vanished without a trace. Since his colds usually dragged on for over a week once they started, his body’s almost supernatural recovery the moment his ears disappeared felt unfamiliar.
As soon as he arrived at school, Yi-hyeon thanked Han Jun for visiting him and handed him a carton of bunny bunny choco milk. Han Jun stared at the pale hand gripping the milk carton tightly, then smiled softly.
“I’ll enjoy it.”
Watching Han Jun tear it open and down it in one go was oddly satisfying.
Since there hadn’t been a chance to talk to Han Jun for two full periods, Yi-hyeon spent that time sneaking glances at nothing but the crown of Han Jun’s head as he lay face-down on his desk. Then, during art class, he ended up in the same group as Han Jun by chance. Having Wonseok in the same group too wasn’t exactly welcome, but just knowing he could talk to Han Jun naturally was enough to make Yi-hyeon happy.
“Did you bring the materials?”
He worked up the courage to speak first, and Han Jun lifted the art textbook sitting on his desk.
“Yeah.”
“That’s not the materials—that’s the art book. Not that, I mean……”
When Yi-hyeon explained that it was a calligraphy class and they needed drawing paper and brush pens, Han Jun shook his head.
“Ha, what the hell? I seriously hate this group.”
Wonseok, who’d ended up sitting between Yi-hyeon and Jun, shoved a hand into his pocket and bounced one leg irritably, his face twisted in annoyance.
“Did everyone bring their materials?”
At the art teacher’s question, the students answered with an energetic, “Yes!” Wonseok glanced at Han Jun’s empty desk, then opened his mouth, clearly about to point out that Han Jun hadn’t brought anything.
“Teacher, Han Jun, this bastard—”
In that instant, Yi-hyeon was faster than anyone. He slid his own drawing paper and brush pen over to Han Jun.
Remembering how Han Jun never brought his materials, Yi-hyeon had prepared an extra set just in case. He’d asked earlier while feeling a bit smug after seeing Han Jun’s empty desk, but being able to help like this filled him with quiet satisfaction. Unfortunately, that satisfaction seemed to rub Wonseok the wrong way.
Wonseok immediately sneered, as if grabbing onto any excuse to pick a fight.
“Is causing bullshit your passive skill after leveling up or something?”
As Wonseok glared at him, Yi-hyeon brushed it off casually.
“It’s not like that. Han Jun asked me to bring it. Don’t misunderstand.”
“Man, now I really wanna misunderstand.”
“It’s true. You asked me this morning to buy it for you, remember? Right?”
Han Jun smiled, his eyes curving nicely.
“Ah, yeah. That’s right. Thanks for getting it for me.”
When Wonseok shot him a look like he wanted to devour him alive, Yi-hyeon quickly lowered his head, pretending to check the materials he’d brought.
About fifteen minutes into class, Wonseok nudged Yi-hyeon with his foot and jerked his chin toward his own drawing paper. It was still completely blank. Yi-hyeon blinked, his eyes asking, What do you want me to do about it?
“What are you staring at? Write something.”
“This is a creative assignment. If I do yours too—”
Before Yi-hyeon could even finish his sentence, Wonseok snatched the neatest piece of calligraphy Yi-hyeon had already completed.
“Then this works, doesn’t it? Right?”
His words were smooth, but the glare in his eyes was nothing short of a threat.
“No, it doesn’t. Give it back. Now.”
“Huh? What was that?”
“I said give it back.”
“I can’t hear you.”
“Hurry up and give it back.”
“Teacher, Yoon Yi-hyeon keeps trying to steal my stuff.”
Wonseok started acting as if the calligraphy he’d stolen from Yi-hyeon was his own. When the art teacher, who’d been looking at another student’s work, turned to look at Yi-hyeon, he panicked and shook his head.
“That’s not it. Seo Wonseok took mine—”
With his foot planted hard on Yi-hyeon’s, Wonseok twisted his lips and muttered in a low voice.
“Know when to shut up and play along, Yoon Yi-hyeon.”
That was when—
Smack!
“You’re the one who needs to know when to stop.”
Han Jun, his art textbook rolled up, brought it down hard against the back of Wonseok’s head. Not just Yi-hyeon, but everyone in the art room turned to stare at Han Jun and Wonseok all at once.
