“Hey, Taeyoon—your phone’s vibrating.”
“Jungwoo, I think you got a text too.”
The phone I’d left in my pocket buzzed in a long vibration. Kang Taeyoon’s reacted at the exact same time.
Wondering what it was, I checked—and found an unfamiliar group chat that had just been created. Spotting a bunch made up of people I knew and people I didn’t, I scratched the back of my head.
Kang Taeyoon quietly knit his brows at the conversation from these strangers. One long message had come in.
[This is Professor Lee Cheolyong for the Business Administration major seminar course. Due to a change in the academic society schedule, today’s lecture will be canceled. I apologize to all undergraduate students for the sudden notice. Lecture content and further details will be announced again later. For urgent matters, please text my personal contact number.]
Right as we were about to enter class, Kang Taeyoon and I were left speechless, our destination suddenly gone.
Min Siheon, who was beside me, leaned in close and asked what was wrong.
“Jungwoo, what is it?”
“Uh, the morning lecture’s canceled….”
“The one you were about to go into?”
Go Heemin peeked at Kang Taeyoon’s phone screen.
“No way. Kang Taeyoon, you’re free starting now too?”
“I don’t think that’s a good thing. We still have to take a general ed in the afternoon anyway.”
“Oh, right. Then Jungwoo’s stuck with that guy for four hours?”
Even though it’s not like we had nothing on the schedule, the entire morning suddenly became a void. If it was going to be like this, I wouldn’t have come to campus this early. When I sighed, Min Siheon rested his head on my shoulder and asked,
“Should I skip class today?”
“Are you insane? Mine got officially canceled. You have to go.”
“Yeah, Min Siheon. You skipped the whole thing a few days ago too. Keep that up and you’re really gonna get on the professor’s bad side, you know?”
“…Mm. I don’t wanna go.”
Even after Go Heemin said that, Min Siheon’s face stayed indifferent. While I was thinking about what the hell we were supposed to do now, someone pushed past Go Heemin and Min Siheon and came up to me….
“Hey, Cha Jungwoo.”
“What.”
“You’ve got time, right. Then come with me somewhere.”
“What?”
It was Kang Taeyoon—the one who hadn’t said a word up until now. He flicked a glance at me with those sharply slanted eyes and continued in a low, heavy voice.
Why are these bastards taking turns causing trouble? Normally, aside from Go Heemin, he was the kind of guy who acted like he was there and not there at the same time.
With Yoo In-ho, he’d chatted a few times because he fooled around, but even that hadn’t lasted long.
So the fact that this guy was walking straight up to me and asking me something was suspicious as hell.
And as if that wasn’t enough, he told me to come with him somewhere. It happened the moment I’d sworn not to get tangled up in annoying stuff.
At the bizarre scene, even Go Heemin—who knew Kang Taeyoon well—looked surprised. He made a flustered face, then before long, smacked Kang Taeyoon on the shoulder and said,
“Sure, whatever. You’ve both got time open anyway—what’s the harm? No clue where you’re going, but try staying together for a bit. Taeyoon, then today too, shall we meet at the same place as last time?”
“No. I’ll come pick you up after class.”
“Forget it. We’ve gotta eat anyway. I’ll come down. Min Siheon, you wanna have lunch with us at one too? You don’t have back-to-back lectures anyway.”
“…Jungwoo, you—”
The two of them, who always met up after class, naturally made plans for later. And in the middle of it, I got swept into something I hadn’t even agreed to.
While I was stammering, Go Heemin took the opportunity to invite Min Siheon to lunch as well.
Min Siheon had been looking this way the whole time. He didn’t even spare Go Heemin a glance as he moved closer—he never took his eyes off me.
Something felt different than usual. Behind that calm-looking expression, his gaze looked fierce.
Inside eyes shaded by long lashes, I caught a sharply honed look. It didn’t seem aimed at me, exactly, but it felt like he’d been dissatisfied about something for a while now.
Wanting to avoid it, I subtly turned my head and looked at Kang Taeyoon.
It’s not like I had anything to do anyway. I didn’t know what this was about, but I planned to play along just enough, then run.
If I slipped away before lunch, that would count as an excuse, right? With that careless thought, I opened my mouth.
“I’ll see.”
“‘I’ll see’ my ass. Whatever—when Taeyoon’s done with his thing, you come down under the lecture building too. Got it?”
Go Heemin nudged my forearm with his elbow. When I nodded reluctantly, he finally smiled like he was satisfied.
“See you later, then. Hey, Min Siheon—let’s go, hurry!”
“…Yeah.”
At the same time Go Heemin spoke, Min Siheon hesitated, taking half a step forward. I saw his fingers twitch—stretching toward this way, then curling back in.
If I met his eyes, I felt like I’d go soft, so without looking at Min Siheon, I turned my body toward Kang Taeyoon.
Kang Taeyoon had been standing there with his arms crossed, wearing a face like this whole thing was absurd. He was the one who suggested going somewhere first, so what was he so annoyed about? Impossible to read.
I caught a glimpse of Min Siheon being pulled along by Go Heemin, almost like he was being dragged.
The hem of the shirt draped across his broad back fluttered as he walked.
Under brown hair, the corners of his eyes—half-hidden—looked like they were angled this way. His furrowed brows and the crease between them were downright vicious.
Doesn’t that bastard Go Heemin get scared? I clicked my tongue, thinking this wasn’t something you could do twice.
Something about it left a bad taste in my mouth, but I knew him well—if you gave him an inch, he’d take a mile. So I deliberately acted cold.
Watching the two of them disappear into the distance, I sighed, my chest feeling tight.
All I did was come for my morning class. And yet, just past 9 a.m., the start of the day already felt exhausting.
I sat back down and looked out the window. Just as I was about to finally let out a breath, a heavy voice came from above me.
“Cha Jungwoo.”
Kang Taeyoon was leaning against the wall in a delinquent-looking stance, one leg crossed over the other. With Go Heemin gone, the atmosphere felt heavier, but it didn’t seem like he was drawing a complete line either.
Maybe he was trying to respect Go Heemin’s social circle until college was over.
…Then what happens after?
The various stories Cha Seung-ah had told me about Kang Taeyoon flashed through my mind. Was I overthinking? At this timing, it didn’t feel like a good option.
Unlike Min Siheon, whose smile could brighten everything, Kang Taeyoon didn’t look particularly soft even when he tried to make a friendly expression.
He really was handsome, but there was a coldness to him that made it feel like no one mattered to him except Go Heemin.
Other people probably thought the two of them were close and had picked similar lectures because of it, but I knew the truth: this bastard Kang Taeyoon had followed Go Heemin all the way to this university.
They called him the obsessive top, right. Because Kang Taeyoon—according to Cha Seung-ah—was the kind of guy who wanted to possess every last thing about Go Heemin.
Back then, I hadn’t thought much of it, but looking again now, I couldn’t help thinking he was seriously intense. A person who didn’t just meddle in someone’s life, but wanted to seize everything.
Kang Taeyoon was Kang Taeyoon, but I honestly felt sorry for Go Heemin too—having to be paired up with a guy like that.
While I was shaking my head, lost in those thoughts, Kang Taeyoon looked at me like I was ridiculous. Like the time he’d have to spend with me from here on out was annoyingly unbearable.
When he was the one who brought up going somewhere first.
For some reason, a sudden urge to rebel bubbled up.
At least let me hear the main point before we go. I lifted the corner of my mouth and asked, crookedly,
“What is it?”
“Hm.”
“Are you messing with me? You said we were going somewhere.”
“Hey.”
“What.”
I think this was about three weeks’ worth of conversation with him. We weren’t even that close to begin with—calling us friends would be awkward.
When I let out a dry laugh, Kang Taeyoon, who’d been watching me, sat down and propped his chin on his hand. I met the face staring holes into me with an equally flat gaze.
“Did you get something ready for his birthday?”
“What?”
“Go Heemin’s. Did you prepare anything for his birthday?”
But what Kang Taeyoon brought up was completely unexpected. Birthday? I vaguely remembered Go Heemin mentioning that his birthday was coming up soon.
Why was he bringing that up now? I frowned, not understanding. Kang Taeyoon leaned back against the sofa like he’d expected this.
“What kind of birthday present is necessary between guys? Just don’t make him pay for drinks—that’s enough.”
“Hey. Go Heemin likes stuff like this.”
“Bullshit.”
At my answer, Kang Taeyoon turned cold. He tilted his head to the side and tapped the desk.
“Go Heemin likes having his birthday celebrated.”
So what, what do you want me to do about it? Throw him a surprise birthday party? I looked at him with a bored expression.
Kang Taeyoon continued in an irritated tone. If you looked only at the content, it was basically a request.
It didn’t sound like one in his delivery, but I ignored that.
“I’ll pay. Get him a gift.”
“Why would I?”
“You’ve got time to kill from now on. Just hand it to him. That’s all.”
“Jesus….”
So this was what Kang Taeyoon meant. Go Heemin liked it, so he wanted me to act like I was celebrating his birthday and play along.
Love really does make people pathetic. Considering Kang Taeyoon’s usual character, it was bizarre.
The Kang Taeyoon I’d heard about from Cha Seung-ah was a man who’d try anything—any means necessary—to make Go Heemin his. Maybe he just hadn’t gotten to that stage yet, because he looked a little clumsy right now.
If he came at me this hard, it was hard to refuse. Thanks to my not-very-firm personality, I eventually nodded and said I got it.
To be honest, Kang Taeyoon’s sharp gaze pressured me into agreeing, too.
Maybe my answer pleased him, because only then did he ease the tension between his brows.
“What are you gonna do about the other guys? You gonna say this to Yoo In-ho too? He’ll run around blabbing it everywhere.”
“I don’t feel like asking him. Go Heemin seems to… kind of expect things from you, so I’m doing this.”
…Isn’t this kind of dangerous?
Kang Taeyoon’s eyes turned cold again. That blade-sharp gaze swept over my face, slowly, from top to bottom.
I couldn’t understand why he was getting slapped somewhere else and then taking it out on me. Given the situation, it seemed best to just do what he asked without causing trouble.
This nuisance couple….
My resentment, with nowhere to go, flailed uselessly in the air.
Fine. I’ll call it my punishment for trying all this time to push Min Siheon and Go Heemin together.
At least that was how I comforted myself—because I felt so damn pitiful, getting caught in the crossfire of a lovers’ quarrel.
“Let’s go.”
Personally, I’m the type who likes to get tiring things over with as fast as possible. With the same intention, I hurriedly got to my feet.
