Chapter 10
The next day, in the lecture hall.
“So how long are you going to keep calling me ‘that person’?”
Hyunoh said this as he sat down next to Yeonjae, who had arrived first.
Since last night—even on the bus to school—Yeonjae had been worrying about how he should greet Hyunoh.
But when they actually met, Hyunoh looked completely normal.
“Then just call me ‘hey’ or something.”
“You’re older than me. How can I say ‘hey’?”
Thanks to Hyunoh acting so casual, Yeonjae also felt more at ease.
“Then ‘oppa’?”
“…That’s a bit.”
“See? You can’t bring yourself to say ‘oppa,’ right?”
“What about ‘sunbae’?”
“Oh.”
“Deal? I’ll call you sunbae.”
“Deal.”
Just like that, they smoothly settled on how to address each other.
Right then, Dohan walked into the classroom.
Instead of sitting in his usual seat, he sat next to Hyunoh and Yeonjae.
Since Hyunoh had taken the seat at the very end, Dohan naturally ended up sitting beside Yeonjae.
Yeonjae was stuck between Dohan and Hyunoh.
He had never imagined sitting like this just last week.
While Yeonjae’s eyes darted around nervously—
“Did you get home safely the other day?”
Dohan asked instead of greeting.
Yeonjae assumed he was talking to Hyunoh and stayed quiet.
But when both Dohan and Hyunoh looked straight at him, he realized the question was for him.
“Oh, yes.”
He answered late.
Now that he thought about it, the two close friends must have already checked with each other about getting home.
“You were pretty drunk.”
Dohan added it like he was talking to himself.
His tone was flat, ordinary. Just a common remark.
But Yeonjae felt like his heart would burst.
It was a cliché, but nothing described it better.
“Ah… I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize to me.”
Dohan said that with a smile.
Gwak Sunghyun entered last and, as usual, tried to sit next to Dohan. But when he saw Hyunoh and Yeonjae already sitting there, he looked surprised.
Yeonjae was just as surprised.
Sunghyun had always mocked him before.
Yet now, because Dohan was there, he sat nearby without hesitation.
“Hey. Why are you sitting here?”
Suddenly, Hyunoh cut in.
His low voice made other students nearby glance over.
“Huh?”
Sunghyun looked confused.
“I’m asking why you’re sitting here.”
Hyunoh leaned back and stared at him.
There was no clear malice in his face. He looked like he was just curious.
But his cold eyes made it feel like he was glaring.
Under that dry stare, Sunghyun couldn’t argue.
Eventually, because Hyunoh didn’t look away, he moved one seat over.
“Good. Off you go.”
Only then did Hyunoh lean back into his place.
Yeonjae glanced at Dohan, wondering if something had happened between them.
“Hmm? Is there something on my face?”
…But Dohan didn’t seem to care.
During class, Dohan looked no different from usual. So did Hyunoh.
Only Yeonjae felt like he was still hungover.
He couldn’t focus at all.
When he finally came to his senses, his major textbook was filled with meaningless doodles.
Then a hand reached over his book.
He assumed it was Hyunoh—but it was Dohan.
When the professor said, “This kind of question is good for short-answer,” Dohan circled the keyword in red.
Yeonjae stared at the word inside the red circle.
His ears turned red again.
“This professor often asks for the full meaning of English abbreviations,” Dohan said after class. “If you miss even one letter, you get zero.”
“Ah… okay.”
Yeonjae answered awkwardly.
Everyone says you turn into a fool in front of someone you like.
But Yeonjae felt like he was especially foolish.
He needed to hurry to his next class in another building, but he didn’t want to leave this moment with Dohan.
“Don’t you have another class?”
Hyunoh asked, holding a pen.
“Oh, right. I do. I’ll go first.”
Yeonjae clapped his hands like he had just remembered.
“Okay, Yeonjae. See you next class,” Dohan said.
Yeonjae bowed slightly and left.
As he took out his phone to play music, he saw a message from Hyunoh.
When does your class end?
I have a lot today
Major and elective
He typed while walking. The reply came immediately.
So when?
I have classes straight until 5th period
Wow, you must be starving
Perfect for dinner~
Only then did Yeonjae remember he had promised to buy him a meal. Something ridiculously expensive.
When does your class end, sunbae?
Me? One more class and I’m done
Should I wait?
I live near school, remember
Anyway, message me when you’re done
Yeonjae didn’t reply further.
He put his phone away—then realized he never started the music. When he checked again, there was another message.
It was short enough to read from the preview.
Must!
The exclamation mark felt so unlike Hyunoh that Yeonjae laughed without realizing.
Then he was startled that he had laughed because of Hyunoh.
Class is over
When he received the message, Hyunoh was lying on the old sofa in the club room at the student center.
He had planned to go home after class, but realized it would be more trouble to go back and come out again. So he came to the club room instead.
He had joined the film club in freshman year because of a girlfriend.
Two months later, she broke up with him to prepare for pharmacy school.
She even dropped out, so he didn’t have to deal with awkward campus encounters.
He had never cared about movies.
But there were two benefits to staying in a club.
First, more legal chances to drink.
Second, another place on campus where you could lie down.
Unlike public spaces, the club room was only for members.
When Hyunoh arrived, two junior girls were there.
One was Sieun.
“Oppa, hi.”
Sieun greeted him brightly.
Hyunoh wasn’t good at remembering names, but he remembered hers because she had made her presence very clear.
At a recent club dinner, she had sat right next to him, blinking at him constantly.
“Oppa, want to play Halli Galli with us?”
He waved his hand.
Sieun looked disappointed.
Hyunoh wasn’t stupid. He knew she liked him.
She laughed loudly around others, but covered her mouth shyly when he appeared.
In a world where people hid their feelings, someone so obvious was kind of cute.
But that was all.
He felt no romantic attraction.
Suddenly, he wondered what kind of girl he liked.
Someone who didn’t care about gossip, but was honest about her feelings.
And for some reason—
He thought of Yeonjae.
“Sieun, you’re in Korean Literature, right?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Nothing.”
The conversation ended there.
He lay back on the sofa and watched YouTube.
Then Yeonjae’s message came.
As he sat up and started typing—
“Oppa, I saw you a few days ago.”
Sieun said suddenly.
“Really?”
He answered without looking up.
“You were with some girl.”
“A girl? Who?”
His tone showed no curiosity.
Sieun bit her lip.
“Oppa… are you dating?”
“No.”
“Really?”
“Don’t make things up.”
He stood up.
“Are you leaving already?”
“Date.”
“But you said you’re not dating!”
“I’m not.”
I’m near the student center
Let’s meet at the main gate
After pressing send and putting his phone in his pocket, Hyunoh suddenly wondered—
What kind of person is Shin Yeonjae when he likes someone?
