Several more days passed after that. Somehow, everyone started getting along again.
At first, things felt a little awkward and distant—but maybe it was because of everyone’s personalities; it all passed without much fuss.
Whenever Yoo In-ho exaggeratedly tried to liven up the mood, I’d scold him, and that pattern just kept repeating.
Then Go Heemin would look at the two of us and shake his head as if to say there was no helping us.
And Kang Taeyoon trailed along behind Heemin like a bonus attachment.
They didn’t really show us much of their own conversations, but compared to how vicious things had been before, this wasn’t a bad ending.
Finals were finally just around the corner.
Returning to daily life, the first thing I had to do wasn’t dating or anything romantic—it was preparing for final exams. Lamenting my situation, I forced myself to face reality.
If I’d just been a little more honest, I wouldn’t have had to go through all this trouble.
I’d been following the lectures pretty well for once, only to miss a huge chunk right before exams because of a lovers’ quarrel. Now I was in full-on crisis mode.
So today, I was seated in the library again. For once, we all had free time at the same hour, so we gathered to get things done together.
It had already been two hours of focusing on studying, listening to the sound of pages turning.
Sigh. If only I hadn’t said I’d “provide for him.” I stretched my stiff body.
When I turned my gaze, I saw him sitting right next to me, looking over something on his device.
Min Siheon—…I guess I should call him my boyfriend now? Anyway, he was the guy I was in something like a relationship with.
Was he oblivious to what people were saying, or did he just not care? Lately, he’d been busy sticking to my side with a carefree expression.
I’d heard his attendance for the second half of the semester had been bad because of me—but you wouldn’t know it. He looked as calm as ever, as if he’d never skipped a single class.
Unlike me, who had at least halfheartedly attended lectures even while avoiding Min Siheon, I heard he would just scan the classroom and leave right away. Because of that, all kinds of bad rumors had started spreading.
That he’d caused some kind of incident. That he’d gotten into a fight with someone. Or that he’d always had a filthy personality and was only now showing his true colors.
The more I heard, the more ridiculous it sounded.
A delinquent? What, had everyone been watching too many movies?
If you thought about it for even a second, none of it made sense—yet surprisingly, plenty of people seemed to believe it.
Well, he was absurdly good-looking. Even doing nothing, he drew attention. I figured it was just the tragedy of being popular.
The more I thought about it, the more guilt crept in.
I’d been explaining things to classmates I ran into, but correcting a rumor once it had spread would probably take a long time.
Fine. I’ll just work hard and make sure I can provide for him. My eyes felt dry with fatigue, but when I looked at Min Siheon, I somehow regained a bit of energy.
Just then, he lifted his head. He must’ve felt my gaze on him. He turned and looked at me.
Under his neatly styled hair, thin-framed glasses rested on his nose. Behind the lenses, his gentle eyes curved into crescents.
Smirking, huh. A small laugh slipped out of me without meaning to. Since I couldn’t say anything out loud, I reached over and stroked his back instead.
“Jungwoo, if you’re tired, want to stop?”
“No, I’ve gotta keep going. I’m not even halfway through Business Statistics 1. If you’re tired, you can head back first.”
“No, I’m fine.”
Remembering we were in the library, we whispered softly. Maybe he liked the way I was stroking his back, because he subtly leaned his upper body toward me.
Seeing that made me think, Oh really now? As if he’d stop there.
Under the table, a hand I could only assume was his moved.
His hand slid beneath my arm that was stroking his back and crossed over, coming to rest on my thigh.
As if that wasn’t enough, he brushed over it like he was pressing piano keys.
Swoosh— Swoosh— Even through my thin summer jeans, I could clearly feel the touch of his fingers.
It was a strange sensation—somewhere between ticklish and sending chills down my spine.
What if someone saw? Still, I didn’t stop him.
Everyone else was focused on studying anyway. Unless someone sat right next to us and looked down, it probably wouldn’t be obvious.
Maybe I’d gotten more lenient. Resting my chin on my other hand, I looked at him. What was he so pleased about? The corners of his lips curved upward.
Seeing him grin slyly made my chest feel oddly tingly.
So this is what dating feels like. The weight of Min Siheon leaning against my left shoulder felt steady and grounding.
“Ugh.”
A faint gagging sound came from across the table. It was Go Heemin, shaking his head with a pen still in his hand.
Because we were in the library, it was very quiet—but since we were all at the same table, we heard it clearly.
After hearing Heemin’s somewhat disgusted reaction, Kang Taeyoon also shot a look at Min Siheon.
Min Siheon turned his head too, locking eyes with Kang Taeyoon in a meaningless staring contest.
Only Yoo In-ho, sitting between me and Heemin, furrowed his brows as if he had no idea what was going on.
Thanks to In-ho’s grumbling, the crisis seemed to pass.
“What the hell, Go Heemin, did you drink yesterday? That’s disgusting. Ugh…. Hey, you’re gonna make me puke too.”
“I didn’t drink. What about you, Yoo In-ho? You drink yesterday?”
“Shut up. My head’s killing me. I can’t even tell if what I’m looking at is the required major printout or the menu from the bar I went to last night. I was gonna go home and sleep, and now suddenly it’s ‘study, study.’”
I hadn’t known he’d drunk heavily yesterday, but thanks to his gross behavior, Heemin’s jab slid off naturally.
Of course, that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to scold him. That was that, and this was this. If he threw up here, I was going to kill him.
“If you’re gonna puke, do it outside. No wonder you looked like crap today. I won’t stop you—just go home and rest.”
“Are you insane? Why would I do you the favor of leaving while you all study? If I’m dying, we’re all dying together. Even if I have to gag the whole time, I’m gonna sabotage you getting A’s.”
“Hey, who invited him?”
“Sorry. That was me.”
Go Heemin raised his hand and confessed.
Thanks to the commotion, Min Siheon’s upper body, which had been leaning toward me, returned to its original position.
His hand was still on my thigh, but since Yoo In-ho couldn’t see it from his seat, I didn’t bother pushing it away.
I withdrew the hand that had been stroking his back. This time, a dissatisfied sigh came from my left.
“…….”
Now it’s you? Can you please give me a break. Unlike me, who was relieved to have escaped Heemin’s teasing, Min Siheon didn’t seem pleased. The mood being interrupted clearly didn’t sit well with him.
Since things were already disrupted, I raised my hand and suggested we take a short break. It was a little early for dinner, so I figured we could at least get some sugar in us.
“I’m going to Dream Port. Anyone want something to drink?”
“Then I’ll cure my hangover with an Americano. Cha Jung—one iced Americano, please~”
“Sure. What about you guys?”
“Hmm, I’ll have an iced café latte. Taeyoon, you want a hot Americano, right?”
“Yeah.”
Starting with Yoo In-ho, then Go Heemin and Kang Taeyoon, I took their orders. I was planning to buy the coffee as a small apology for the recent mess.
And, while I was at it, to escape Yoo In-ho’s damn gagging. I hurried to get moving, partly to avoid Heemin’s gaze and Min Siheon’s clinginess.
After grabbing my wallet and phone, I turned to take the last order—from Min Siheon—but he didn’t open his mouth.
He simply removed his glasses and looked up at me quietly.
“Come with me.”
Here we go again. I was used to hearing that by now. Maybe he’d developed trauma from when I ran away before. Ever since our feelings had aligned, Min Siheon refused to let me be alone.
It didn’t matter the time or place. I mean, look at this.
He wouldn’t even let me walk five minutes from the library to the cafeteria alone.
It wasn’t like he was going out for a smoke, and it was too humid outside to call it “getting some air.”
The only reason he’d insist on going out was me.
If he’s already like this, what am I supposed to do?
Half touched, half troubled because he looked so cute, I placed a hand on his shoulder.
I wanted to stick by his side too. But in this heat, I didn’t want to drag him out for a ten-minute round trip.
Whenever Min Siheon got sick, he tended to be out of commission for quite a while. Even recently, after the weather had warmed up, he’d caught a cold and been bedridden.
Sure, I could take care of him—but I hated seeing him sick in the first place. So I teased him with a line only he would understand, telling him to endure this much, and started moving.
“It’s fine. Stay here. It’s hot outside. Ah, send me your order on KakaoTalk. If you don’t, I’ll just buy whatever I want, okay?”
I’ll be right back.
I moved so quickly that Min Siheon didn’t seem able to respond.
The moment I stepped out of the pleasantly cool library building, the blazing sun poured down over my head.
“Yeah, I definitely made the right call leaving him behind.”
It hadn’t even been that long, but my skin already felt sticky. Even without sweating, the humidity in the air alone was enough to crank up the discomfort index.
Who knew five minutes to the café could feel this long? I quickened my pace.
“Maybe I should’ve just told them all to buy their own drinks.”
Apparently, I was the one being the most ridiculous. Studying, coffee—none of it mattered. The Min Siheon I’d left behind lingered in my mind.
All I could think about was hurrying back to the library to sit beside him again. The feeling clung to me more persistently than the sticky summer heat.
Clingy Siheonnn~~~~