The movie was a refreshing romance that followed a first love stretching from their school days into their college years. It was a charming work that captured the fresh, unripe love between a male lead and female lead who hadn’t yet fully grown into themselves.
“Damn, this is hilarious. What is that awkward confession from the male lead?”
“Right? It’s seriously funny. And the female lead’s reaction—doesn’t it feel super real?”
“Exactly.”
Whenever a funny scene came on, Yi-hyeon laughed along with Han Jun, and whenever a fluttering scene appeared, he kept reacting with drawn-out “ooohs” in sync with him. Even though he already knew what would happen, watching it together with Han Jun made it feel fun in a completely different way.
As they laughed and joked around, the moment right before the male and female leads’ first kiss approached. Knowing this in advance, Yi-hyeon found himself pointlessly fiddling with his phone even though nothing had come in, or clearing his throat for no reason.
Han Jun glanced sideways at Yi-hyeon, who couldn’t seem to focus on the screen and was acting restless, and asked,
“You don’t like it? Is it not fun?”
“Huh? No, it’s fun.”
“Then why aren’t you watching?”
“I am watching.”
Han Jun tilted his chin toward Yi-hyeon’s phone.
“Oh, I thought maybe something came in.”
“Nothing came in, though.”
“Yeah. Guess I imagined the vibration.”
Just then, a wet, sticky sound began leaking out of the speakers. Han Jun briefly flicked his eyes to the screen, then looked back at Yi-hyeon and asked,
“You’ve seen this already, right?”
“No?”
“You’re not avoiding it because you know a kiss scene is coming, are you?”
“I’m not a kid or anything. It’s just a kiss. What’s that supposed to be?”
“‘That’? You’re talking like it’s totally trivial, like someone who’s done it before.”
“Who’s done it?!”
Yi-hyeon’s eyes flew open like a startled rabbit as his shoulders flinched.
“Why so shocked? Sounds like you have.”
Han Jun narrowed his eyes as he looked at Yi-hyeon. Completely misreading the situation, even more intense friction sounds began coming from the tablet PC.
“Hey, students are supposed to study, not kiss or—just stop saying ridiculous things.”
“Really?”
Han Jun widened the eyes he’d narrowed and curled his lips upward.
“But the way you just talked—it was like some old geezer who’s raised three kids already.”
“What are you even saying?”
Yi-hyeon’s lips twitched before he turned his head away.
“Then what about pecks?”
At the sudden question thrown straight at him, Yi-hyeon clamped his mouth shut. He had shared countless pecks before. And the person he’d done them with was none other than Han Jun, who was now leaning his face close, blinking those prettily double-lidded eyes right in front of him.
Anyway, the question was about pecks. Since he’d exchanged countless kisses with Han Jun, he couldn’t answer right away.
Seeing Yi-hyeon unable to respond easily, Han Jun smoothed the corners of his mouth, which had been twitching.
“Ah… so students can’t kiss, but pecks are okay. You’re pretty cheeky.”
“And what about you? You’ve done it too!”
The words ‘with me’ never made it out of his mouth.
“I haven’t, you know?”
“Yeah right. Like you haven’t.”
After doing it with me. Feeling wronged that he couldn’t tell the truth, Yi-hyeon’s lips kept twitching before he suddenly recalled a childhood photo of Han Jun he’d seen not long ago.
“When did I ever do it? Something I don’t even know about, and you—ah, Jessica? You mean that beach photo? How is that a peck? We didn’t even touch. Didn’t you see how I dodged when she tried to?”
“How would I know whether you touched or not after the photo was taken? I wasn’t there.”
“What kind of misunderstanding is that? You’re making someone feel wronged for no reason.”
“What’s so wronged about it?”
“It’s already unfair enough that I haven’t even tried it, but now I’m being suspected by some guy—wouldn’t you feel wronged too?”
“Then you should just do it too.”
“You’re serious? You really want me to?”
“Go ahead. Do it. Please, do plenty of it.”
Even as he said that, Yi-hyeon’s heart stung sharply. Just imagining Han Jun pressing his lips against someone else made the jealousy lying dormant inside him bare its sharp, prickling thorns.
“You’re taking responsibility for what you just said?”
“You kissing someone—why would I take responsibility for—”
Han Jun’s hand threaded into Yi-hyeon’s hair.
With his hand braced all the way to the nape of his neck, gripping firmly so Yi-hyeon couldn’t escape, Han Jun closed in quickly, not giving him even a second to run.
Startled by the way those red lips parted loosely, Yi-hyeon sucked in a sharp breath—hup—and turned his head away. His heart felt like it was about to burst. The countless thoughts crammed inside his head tangled together more tightly than the worn-out steel scrubber sitting on the orphanage sink.
Han Jun’s hand slid down Yi-hyeon’s nape in a slow stroke before he pulled his head back and spoke quietly.
“See? You can’t take responsibility. So don’t say things you can’t be responsible for.”
Han Jun turned off the tablet PC and rolled over.
Then he puffed his body up once, before settling back down again. From his body, which looked like he was catching his breath, Yi-hyeon felt a warmth hotter than his own for the first time.
The heat transferred from Han Jun left Yi-hyeon absentmindedly rubbing at his flushed nape. Muttering something like a half-hearted complaint about him needing to cut back on the teasing, Yi-hyeon turned his back as well, just like Han Jun.
For a long while, the warmth of their backs pressed together on the narrow bed refused to fade.
***
One day as summer crept closer—the sun blazing down harder, the greenery around them growing thicker and deeper—Yi-hyeon took the final exam slip the class president handed out and slowly unfolded it from the top.
Once again, a single question had slipped away from him in English.
Ah, why do I keep making these stupid mistakes?
Only missing one question on an exam meant he’d done well, but Yi-hyeon couldn’t hide his regret.
He glanced over at Han Jun.
That playful, crescent-shaped smile of his looked like a victor’s badge. Having lost the bet with Han Jun, Yi-hyeon thought it was probably for the best. Even if he’d won, Han Jun wouldn’t have been able to grant the wish he truly wanted anyway. It felt like his lingering attachment had been wiped clean. Yi-hyeon stood up from his seat and walked over to Han Jun, who was grinning at him.
“Judging by that rotting expression, you got something wrong again, huh?”
“And judging by how bright your face is, you must’ve gotten a perfect score again.”
“Ah… what should I do? I was thinking of getting one or two wrong because I was curious about Yoon Yi-hyeon’s wish, but I ended up getting them all right.”
“Wow… what a personality.”
“What? My personality’s perfect, right?”
“Whatever. Just tell me your wish.”
Curious about Han Jun’s wish, Yi-hyeon put on a show of grumbling and told him to hurry up and say it already.
“My wish is this!”
Han Jun, who hadn’t taken his eyes off Yi-hyeon’s face the entire time, opened his phone’s photo gallery and tapped on a picture. Then he thrust it right in front of Yi-hyeon’s eyes and said in a slightly excited voice,
“Go on a trip with me during break.”
He’d assumed it would be something childish—like getting flicked on the forehead, or stripping and writing a name with your butt—some dumb prank like that. This was completely unexpected.
For Yi-hyeon, who had feelings for him, Han Jun’s wish to travel together was something he wanted as well.
Of course, there was another wish he wanted far more desperately.
“Okay.”
Yi-hyeon accepted Han Jun’s wish immediately, smiling softly. Han Jun’s face, beaming as he warned him not to go back on his word later, sparkled brighter than the sun beyond the classroom window.
***
As he counted down the days until vacation, Minseo’s birthday in mid-July arrived first. Yi-hyeon, who had started a convenience store part-time job so he wouldn’t burden Han Jun during their trip, explained his situation to the owner, got an advance, and bought Minseo’s birthday present ahead of time.
With the gift prepared without being too late, Yi-hyeon headed toward the Orphanage. Along the way, he passed by the pet café where he’d once failed to keep an appointment after getting into an accident while trying to work a part-time job.
Figures. It’s locked again.
After returning to his original body, Yi-hyeon had come by this place several times to apologize for missing the appointment due to unforeseen circumstances. But every time, without any notice saying it was temporarily closed or permanently shut down, the lights were always off and the door firmly locked.
