The day of the field trip was approaching.
Yi-hyeon, who had been staring up at the sky and sighing, closed the window and turned around. He had been hoping the weather would be a little overcast, but the sky, unaware of Yi-hyeon’s feelings, was nothing but bright and cloudless.
Ah… should I just ditch it and say I’m not feeling well?
With the weather heating up, running around a vast amusement park under the blazing sun would definitely ruin his condition. If only he had realized a little earlier that when his condition worsened, physical changes like ears and a tail would appear, he wouldn’t have agreed to go on the trip in the first place.
Come to think of it… since I submitted that consent form back then, Han Jun will probably be coming too, right?
Regretting it now was pointless. Instead, he decided he’d go fully prepared. Standing in front of his zippered vinyl wardrobe, Yi-hyeon agonized for a long while before picking out an oversized hooded long-sleeve top and a jumper. He also neatly stuffed a cap into his crossbody bag, slung diagonally across his body.
“Well, well, what’s this? Our Yi-hyeon actually caring about clothes? Got yourself a girlfriend?”
The Director, who had opened the door to tell him she’d packed gimbap for him to take along, misunderstood when she saw him standing there seriously thinking over his outfit. Yi-hyeon shook his head in a fluster.
“No!”
“The way you’re panicking makes it seem like something is going on, though?”
“I said it’s not like that!”
At the teacher’s words, which only made him sound even more suspicious, Yi-hyeon hurriedly slung his bag over his shoulder and rushed out of the room.
After getting off the bus, they arrived at the amusement park plaza—the meeting point. Students were already packed near the entrance, all dressed up in their own clothes. Some were decked out in luxury brands, while others had styled themselves with trendy clothes and accessories.
Yi-hyeon glanced down at the hoodie he was wearing.
It was a T-shirt he’d bought years ago, so it was clearly out of fashion, and the neckline was slightly frayed. The ends of the drawstrings for the hood were completely unraveled as well.
Still, buying new clothes feels like a waste. More importantly… has Han Jun not arrived yet?
As he looked around, a familiar scent drifted over on the breeze—Han Jun’s. Following it, Yi-hyeon soon spotted Han Jun, surrounded by female students, with only his face poking out from the middle of them.
“Oh, damn. That’s this season’s new release.”
“Huh?”
“Han Jun’s jumper. That thing’s over four million won.”
“What? That flimsy windbreaker?”
“Fucking bastard, I’m so jealous.”
“At that level, even the life of an affair baby looks worth living.”
“Cut the bullshit.”
Han Jun, wearing a white T-shirt with a lightweight summer jumper thrown over it, looked just as good as ever today. He looked great in his school uniform, but his sense for casual clothes was so good that Yi-hyeon really liked seeing him dressed like this. Slim-fitting pants, pristine-looking combat boots. The bracelet wrapped above the watch on his wrist glittered in the sunlight.
At that moment, Han Jun turned and looked at Yi-hyeon.
His bangs were usually worn naturally down or partially parted, but today his hair was cleanly parted and curled to the sides. Thanks to that, his straight forehead and pronounced brow bones stood out sharply.
Han Jun’s good at styling his hair too, huh. Or is it… does his hair just look good because it’s him?
When Han Jun smiled and waved, Yi-hyeon, who had been zoning out while admiring him, flinched and awkwardly lifted his hand a little.
“You know that playing safely comes first, right?”
“Of course!”
“Safety first!”
The students gathered by class in front of the plaza shouted themselves hoarse in response to their homeroom teachers.
“We’ll be entering together, so move to the ticket booth by your groups.”
Yi-hyeon was in Group 5.
He hadn’t had many close friends at school to begin with, but the students in Group 5 were people he’d barely even exchanged words with. Because of that, he couldn’t naturally blend into the group and gradually became isolated.
The distance between Yi-hyeon and the kids walking ahead of him slowly widened. From the start, they talked nonstop among themselves as if Yi-hyeon wasn’t even part of their group, only looking forward. In the end, Yi-hyeon was left standing completely alone.
It was because the others had already formed their groups with close friends and then just stuck Yi-hyeon in afterward.
It was something he’d expected, so he didn’t feel particularly sad or lonely. If anything, given his body’s tendency to sprout ears when he wasn’t feeling well, moving around alone was actually more comfortable.
Thinking positively, Yi-hyeon trudged along by himself, sniffing the air as he tracked a familiar scent. With no wind blowing, it wasn’t easy to follow, which meant the distance between them was probably quite large.
Did he go off with those girls from earlier?
His shoulders drooped for no reason. Deciding to go around alone, the first place Yi-hyeon headed to was the souvenir shop. He’d come to buy something for Minseo, the youngest at the orphanage who loved plush toys—and there, he spotted headbands on display that looked eerily similar to his own ears.
…Whoa. These look exactly like my ears.
Yi-hyeon fiddled with one of the headbands, lost in thought.
His ears were small, but because of their fluffy fur, they were fairly bulky. While they could be hidden under a hat when they were still underdeveloped, once fully grown, a hat would inevitably sit awkwardly on top, as if something were hidden underneath. That would definitely make students curious, wondering what he was hiding. Even if most students ignored him out of disinterest, Seo Wonseok would definitely try to yank the hat off.
If that’s the case… what if I just had ears from the start?
People might mock him for being a guy with nothing better to do than wear a headband, but even if his real ears popped out and he swapped them, no one would suspect a thing. Imagining himself using the excuse of being sick to leave early and hide somewhere until later, Yi-hyeon picked up the headband that looked exactly like his ears.
“Pfft, holy shit. Hey, hey—look at Yoon Yi-hyeon over there.”
“Wow, he really does everything.”
As he tried the headband on and checked himself in the mirror, just as he’d expected, other students who had entered the souvenir shop pointed at him and burst out laughing. It was a little embarrassing, but being mocked for wearing a headband was better than getting caught with real ears growing out of his head.
After buying the headband and a small, cute plush, Yi-hyeon’s eyes landed on a stand selling beaded ice cream. He slipped his hand into his pocket and found he had exactly 4,200 won left. If he bought ice cream, he’d still have 700 won remaining.
The Director packed gimbap for me, so food’s not a problem.
Figuring he could buy a small bottle of water later with the leftover coins, Yi-hyeon walked over to the stand and ordered a single cup.
“Thank you.”
“Have a great day!”
Carefully holding the cup filled with colorful beaded ice cream, Yi-hyeon turned around, about to sit on a nearby bench to eat. That was when someone smacked the back of his head hard.
The impact sent the colorful ice cream scattering across the gray pavement.
“What’re you glaring for?”
Frowning slightly as he turned his head, Yi-hyeon found himself looking up at the person he least wanted to see today. The corners of the guy’s mouth twitched as he looked down at him. His sly, grinning eyes—like he’d found a toy more entertaining than any ride—made Yi-hyeon feel thoroughly disgusted.
“I saw a mosquito riding on the back of your head, so I smacked it for you. And now this little shit’s rolling his eyes and throwing a fit, not even grateful?”
As if taking revenge for that day, Wonseok held out his palm. The fact that he didn’t even bother pretending to draw a mosquito, showing a perfectly clean hand instead, made it clear he was just mocking him.
“That hurt.”
“Oh, it hurt? I was in fucking agony that day too, you know?”
“I barely touched you back then.”
“What the fuck are you talking about? You slammed me into the ground hard enough to snap my neck. Anyway, since it’s field trip day, looks like the orphanage gave you some money, huh? Buying expensive ice cream and all.”
Wonseok stepped closer to Yi-hyeon’s side and slung an arm around his shoulder.
Yi-hyeon tried to shake him off in irritation, but his small shoulder was gripped tightly by a brutish hand. A crushing pain shot through him, and a small, involuntary groan slipped from Yi-hyeon’s lips.
“What’s that? Your voice is fucking sexy. Do it again.”
“Cut it out.”
“Cut it out, my ass. Is that all you ever say to me? You were laughing and joking your ass off with that bastard Han Jun, though.”
Wonseok twisted his shoulder again. The force was stronger than before, but not wanting to give him the satisfaction, Yi-hyeon clenched his teeth and swallowed his groan. Wonseok shot him an annoyed look, then shifted his gaze to the ice cream cup Yi-hyeon had been holding.
His eyes narrowed slyly.
“Lemme have a bite.”
“There’s barely any left. You made me spill it.”
“The fuck you mean there’s none? Then what, is what’s in there the eggs laid by that mosquito I just killed? Hurry up, asshole.”
