It was after we finished eating. Leaving Min Siheon to clean up, I headed alone to his walk-in closet.
He’d said I could wear whatever I wanted, so I was in the middle of picking out something suitable and changing into it.
It seemed Min Siheon’s natural build couldn’t be helped. I chose what looked like the smallest option, but even then the short-sleeved T-shirt hung loosely on me, making me feel oddly self-conscious.
The jeans looked completely hopeless, so I put on a pair of cotton pants that could be tightened with a drawstring. Checking myself in the full-length mirror in front of me, I decided I didn’t look too terrible.
I’d washed up and changed into fresh clothes. At least I looked presentable now.
“Ah, what am I supposed to do about this?”
The marks someone in the living room had sucked into my skin felt awkward beyond words. They were the blotchy hickeys left on the back of my neck.
If there had only been one or two, I could’ve brushed it off as bug bites and made up some excuse. But that wasn’t possible right now.
Because layered over the blue and red bruises were clear bite marks.
My arms were relatively clean, aside from the upper arm near my shoulder. I could get away with wearing short sleeves.
But the back of my neck couldn’t be covered by a T-shirt no matter what I did. For someone who had to go about their daily life, this was an absurdly cruel ordeal.
“I didn’t think about the season. Cha Jungwoo, you idiot.”
It was a bit early to call it full-blown summer, but this month had already turned unusually hot, as if the earth had decided to be fickle.
There was no way I could wear thick clothes that came up to my neck in this weather. I couldn’t even use winter accessories like a scarf. It was a total disaster.
In the end, muttering that there was no other choice, I rummaged through a drawer in the corner.
Inside a box that looked like it held miscellaneous items, I found what I was looking for—a fairly large bandage and some pain relief patches.
I stuck the patches and bandages along the boundary where the T-shirt met exposed skin.
“…This really is the best I can do.”
The areas too big to cover with bandages were hidden with patches, and the smaller bruises were concealed with bandages.
His mouth is ridiculously big. Anyone would think I’d been in a street brawl.
If I had to put it realistically, I looked more like a full-body contusion patient who’d tumbled down a flight of stairs.
“Min Siheon, that bastard….”
He knew there was still time left before the semester ended. And yet he’d pushed me like he’d forgotten the concept of weekdays altogether.
But I soon corrected myself. If I’d told him to stop, he would’ve listened. The truth was, I was responsible too.
“It’s pointless. We were both in a hurry.”
That was when Min Siheon appeared in the mirror behind me, smiling faintly.
“What is?”
“Ah! You scared me!”
Min Siheon was dressed simply in a white short-sleeved T-shirt and gray sweatpants.
I tapped the tip of his nose with my finger, meaning for him not to sneak up on people like that.
As if he hadn’t been startled at all by the sudden touch, Min Siheon rested his chin on my shoulder. Then he reached out and wrapped an arm around my waist.
“It’s hot. Stop sticking so close.”
“You were hugging me just fine earlier.”
“That was different from this.”
“I wouldn’t mind doing it again and again. So I’m going to keep sticking close.”
“Are you a kid?”
“Then I’ll be a kid. A kid dating Cha Jungwoo.”
“…I don’t date kids.”
I didn’t know about anything else, but it was obvious Min Siheon was in a good mood today. He was the type to act spoiled sometimes but not to joke around like this—yet today he seemed to have forgotten all about keeping up appearances.
I couldn’t even shove him away properly, so we ended up bickering playfully. I pushed him, but he didn’t budge, and my back bent backward instead.
“Hey, why are you so strong?!”
“Haha, so you wore this. It looks good on you. But Jungwoo, aren’t you too skinny? I’m going to have to feed you lots of good food.”
“I eat way better than you do, you know?”
Was it really okay to be like this on a weekday morning? I finally managed to pull myself free and brushed down my rumpled clothes, checking my outfit.
I turned back to the mirror to inspect my thoroughly mussed hair. Min Siheon frowned at something.
Did I say something wrong? Just as I followed his gaze—ah. That was where the closet stood open while I’d been looking for clothes.
I hadn’t made a mess, but the compartments left ajar made it look chaotic.
I’d meant to close everything before leaving the room, but knowing how neat Min Siheon usually was, it might’ve bothered him. So I hurried over to his closet.
“Sorry. I’ll tidy it up.”
“No, it’s fine.”
His slow voice came from behind me. He busied himself straightening the open closet doors and arranging the contents.
…What? I was about to close the second drawer when I spotted something that seemed oddly out of place among the neatly stacked clothes.
“…A cap?”
It was a simple black cap. I must not have noticed it earlier because I’d been too busy choosing clothes.
Thinking Min Siheon had unusually made a mistake, I picked up the cap to move it to where the accessories were kept.
That was when I felt something oddly familiar about it. It felt like I’d seen it somewhere before.
It was just a plain design with no particular pattern. I tilted my head at the strange sensation.
Then I remembered—I used to have a similar cap. I’d given it to someone, so I couldn’t wear it anymore.
That must be why it caught my eye. It’s such a common design, after all, I concluded casually.
Come to think of it, I wonder if that person’s been okay since then. In my hazy memories, the shape of someone flickered faintly.
The atmosphere back then had been rather ominous. In the end, I shook my head, telling myself it was all pointless. I barely had the capacity to focus on my present reality as it was.
Maybe because it had been stored in the drawer for so long, the side of the cap was crumpled.
After dusting off the fine debris and reshaping it, it didn’t look brand new, but it looked fairly neat.
I was about to turn around to hang it on the hanger beside the mirror when I nearly jumped at the sight of Min Siheon standing right in front of me.
“I told you to make some noise when you move.”
“Yeah. But Jungwoo.”
“Hm? What?”
I brushed past him and hung up the cap. The atmosphere around Min Siheon, who was standing behind me, shifted.
He was much calmer than before when he’d been teasing me. His voice seemed a little lower, too. Anyway, he was impossible to read.
“…Do you like that cap?”
“The cap?”
What was he even talking about? It was just an ordinary item—nothing to like or dislike.
If he liked it that much, he should’ve kept it somewhere more visible. I let out a short laugh and waved my hand dismissively.
“What’s there to like or not? Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear a cap. That’s interesting.”
“Really? That’s something I like very much.”
The open smile on Min Siheon’s face seemed suspicious. It felt like he was hiding something, but that thought didn’t last long. I’d noticed the clock hanging on the wall behind him.
“…I’m screwed.”
It was cutting it dangerously close to class time. If I’d been leaving from my family home, I probably would’ve just given up on the lecture.
But this place was only a few stops away from campus. If I hurried, I might make it. So I decided to abandon Min Siheon and head to school first.
“Hey, hey. Siheon, I’m late!”
“Huh?”
“Min Siheon, your class is in the afternoon, right?”
“Yeah, it is, but—”
“Then I’m heading out first, okay?”
“Why? Let’s go together.”
“You haven’t even changed your clothes. Sorry for making you clean up alone earlier. I’ll buy you something good later.”
A lover was a lover, and class was class. If he hadn’t started talking about feeding me and all that grand ambition, I might’ve dawdled and left together with him.
I’d rushed out last night, so I didn’t even have a proper bag. I grabbed my phone, wallet, and a few essentials, and borrowed what looked immediately necessary from Min Siheon’s major textbooks and printed materials.
I probably looked like a delinquent rather than a student, but there was nothing I could do. I ran toward the shoe cabinet.
At some point, Min Siheon, who had been following me with a stiff expression, stood in front of the shoe rack and grabbed the hem of my T-shirt just as I turned to leave.
“Are you really going to leave me behind?”
“What are you talking about? It’s not like we’re never seeing each other again. We even have an afternoon class together.”
Min Siheon, his expression set hard, switched tactics to acting cute. With a dejected face, he begged me not to go.
Since when did a grown man’s sulking look cute? I must be out of my mind too. But I firmly held up my palm to stop him.
Then Min Siheon stepped closer, trying to close the distance between us. Was he seriously trying to seduce me with his body again? How underhanded. I leaned my upper body back.
“Min Siheon, I said I’m late.”
“Am I the only one who wants to stay together?”
I didn’t have much of a choice. He wasn’t the type to hold grudges, but he might still feel hurt. We’d only just started dating, so it was embarrassing, but I decided to comfort him like a proper lover.
I stepped toward him and lifted my arm. Then I looped my right arm around the back of his neck.
Pulled by the nape, Min Siheon’s upper body bent down. Looking at his face now so close to mine, I turned my head and pressed a kiss to his right cheek.
“Be satisfied with this for today.”
“Ah.”
Grinning as I held his gaze, I planted another kiss right between his brows. Beyond my lips as they touched and pulled away, I saw him squeeze his eyes shut in surprise. He was twenty-three, after all.
Suppressing the laughter that threatened to spill out, I turned on my heel. It might’ve been cheap, but while he was still out of it, this was my perfect chance to escape.
I twisted the doorknob and looked back. Min Siheon was blinking, one hand pressed to his cheek. Judging by how quickly his face settled, he wasn’t an easy opponent.
“If you miss me, call. I’ll come running.”
“…Yeah.”
At last, Min Siheon granted me permission. Beneath his low, firm voice lingered a faint trembling atmosphere. Ugh, goosebumps. Still, it didn’t feel that bad.
If you miss me, call. Honestly, that was closer to something I should’ve been saying to him.
The door closed behind me. Breathing in the outside air, I headed toward the elevator. From behind, I heard a fairly loud burst of laughter. It was Min Siheon’s voice.
[…Haha!]
Ugh, is he crazy? What was so good that he was laughing so heartily?
Hearing his voice made heat rush to my face. I raised the hand that had pulled him by the nape earlier and covered my mouth.
“…That bastard, why does he look so happy?”
Beyond the palm covering the lower half of my face, I could feel the burning warmth. Judging by the heat radiating from my skin, my face was definitely bright red right now.
Cuties!! Curious to see how long Siheon can keep the act tho