And yet this bastard dared to ditch me and go with that thing…. While grinding his teeth, Yunsu realized the reality.
“What? Then I’m sorry.”
He had promptly apologized to his unreasonable scolding.
“But did you do well on the exam?”
And then he grabbed his arm and subtly changed the subject. The laugh-worthy point was that he thought he was being very natural about it.
“Did you fail? Is that why you’re this angry?”
“Shut up.”
Climbing the stairs with the convenience store bag full of alcohol, Euishin clicked his tongue. On the night after the first exam, he had planned to grill meat for Yunsu, get him drunk, and have a thorough talk. They had never drunk together just the two of them. He was going to stroke his flushed cheeks and nape with his fingertips and deliberately try to seduce him.
Euishin turned around. Shin Jaewoo, who had been climbing the stairs a couple steps behind, smiled sweetly when their eyes met. It was a calm but somehow amused expression.
Euishin was certain.
That bastard hit on my country bumpkin today, fuck.
The drinking session was shit. Fucking shit.
Euishin, who was already a man of few words, was even more sparing with his words in the club. He had no interest in soccer games to begin with, hated soccer even more, and hated most of all the perverted bastards clinging to Kwon Yunsu.
‘When Euishin first came, I thought he was some kind of surveillance officer. The way he sat right by the door suspiciously surveying here and there.’
Lee Eunsub’s words were accurate. Surveillance officer. He had joined to clearly watch which fucking bastard was going to pull something on Kwon Yunsu. There was no other intention whatsoever.
At that drinking session, romance became the topic of conversation. From the moment the topic first came up, Euishin frowned. It was a subject that was of no help whatsoever to life. And without a doubt, he was certain. The one who led that flow was Shin Jaewoo. In a drinking session without Song Taesu, there was no one else who could lively lead the atmosphere but that bastard.
Anyway, the talk went round and round, and,
“Is Kwon Yunsu a romance virgin?”
Kim Younghwan presumptuously put his arm around Yunsu’s shoulder and asked.
“No. I had a girlfriend in my third year of middle school.”
“For how long?”
“A month.”
“That’s a romance virgin.”
“He’s a romance virgin.”
“No, that’s not….”
As if. You’ll be officially a romance virgin for life. Thinking thoughts close to a curse, Euishin drank his beer. What the hell does this even taste like, while Yunsu was also gulping it down well.
“You’re a college student now, you should work harder. Didn’t you hear earlier? Song Taesu is already getting close to someone.”
“Why are you cornering me, except for Eunsub hyung, everyone here is a solo virgin. Hyung should work harder first.”
“I have to protect the club.”
“What is there to protect in this club?”
“Then I’ll protect it with you.”
This damn club should just completely collapse.
“Does Euishin have no thoughts about it?”
Suddenly the topic turned to him.
“Why are you asking that?”
Euishin, who had many thoughts, replied bluntly.
“Why? Because people interested in you are everywhere.”
It wasn’t particularly surprising since he’d lived his whole life like that.
Unconsciously, his gaze landed on Kwon Yunsu. He was about to glance at him as usual and quickly look away, but Yunsu was looking at him with somehow unfamiliar eyes. Why? The moment he was about to ask,
“……”
…Yunsu glanced at Shin Jaewoo. And then back at him. Then he threw out an unexpected comment.
“When is Euishin going to date a girlfriend?”
“……”
“……”
It wasn’t just Euishin who showed interest at those words. Shin Jaewoo, and Ahn Shinwook. Seeing Euishin’s face instantly turn cold, Shinwook suddenly grabbed a fistful of snacks and shoved them into Yunsu’s mouth.
“Ah, eat some snacks too. Eat and….”
Kwon Yunsu, who never refused food in any situation, chewed on the snacks filling his mouth while looking at Euishin. His eyes sparkled. He was genuinely curious. Fuck, you fucking bastard. Why the hell are you curious about that?! Glaring at Yunsu as if he’d devour him, Euishin emptied an entire can of beer. No matter how sharp Euishin was, there was no way he could have known. That in that moment,
‘Let me prepare myself mentally.’
Yunsu was having such a cute thought.
How on earth could he read such a delicate thought from the dull face of elementary schooler Kwon Yunsu?
“We’ll see.”
Euishin reluctantly answered. Yunsu nodded and picked up his beer again. ……Right. Before his lips touched the can, the guy had replied like that, it seemed.
Yunsu seemed pleasantly drunk and in a good mood. And that face looked cold and indifferent to Euishin’s eyes.
Euishin suddenly thought. Though he must have endless minor worries about parental deficiency, studying, allowance, etc., twenty-year-old Kwon Yunsu’s life seemed to have a much higher happiness index compared to his own. Anxiety. Impatience. Jealousy. Desires that must always be concluded with restraint and postponement…. Would you know about such things? Have they even scratched past you? He wanted to see Kwon Yunsu’s face distorted with pain.
And so, some time later, Euishin decided to throw a small pebble.
***
“Where are you going?”
While preparing a large batch of stir-fried potatoes to last the next week, Yunsu kept glancing at Euishin. It was rare to see the guy waking up early like a bird on a Saturday morning and moving around the house.
Euishin had been in a bad mood all week. Being tactful, Yunsu had come home earlier and put more effort into cooking, but he seemed twice as prickly as usual. He must have failed his last exam. Or perhaps at some point he didn’t know about, he had said something tactless. Anyway, he had no choice but to watch. When his mood improved, he’d crawl out on his own. Euishin had somewhat cat-like tendencies.
“Are you going out?”
Standing at the doorway looking into the room, he asked again, and Euishin, who had been looking at the closet wearing only pants, turned around. Huk, Yunsu swallowed. When the handsome man with a slender, muscular body and a cold face glared at him, he was instantly intimidated. Euishin seemed to have gotten taller. At the physical exam in his senior year of high school, the guy’s height was 186cm. What kind of fortune did you have to be born with to turn out like that?
After glaring at him for a while, Euishin turned his head again and took out a shirt. That’s something he doesn’t wear much because it’s uncomfortable.
“You.”
And finally, he opened that expensive mouth of his.
“Huh?”
“I’m asking where you’re going.”
“……”
How did he know I have plans? As Euishin took the shirt and went in front of the mirror, he openly let out a sneer.
“Saturdays with plans, 8 o’clock. Without, 10 o’clock. Sundays fixed at 9 o’clock.”
…Right. Originally he used to wake up at 7, but his sleep gradually increased and his wake-up alarm was fixed exactly as Euishin said.
“You’re a ghost, Euishin.”
“Where are you going?”
“……”
“The soccer field?”
Huk.
“Originally you were going to go with just Shin Jaewoo, but you got several free tickets so you’re taking all sorts of riffraff?”
“What, you knew?”
Yunsu drooped his shoulders as if deflated.
Buttoning up his shirt one by one, Euishin glared at Yunsu through the mirror. Though he’d never lifted a finger, he’d been diligently checking that damn club’s group chat. Ever since Yunsu had asked to hang out, dropped a location pin, and then went missing for three whole hours.
Just the two of them going to the soccer field with Shin Jaewoo. If he had only obtained information up to that point, he would have canceled today’s appointment and kept Yunsu locked up at home no matter what. Only after checking that the scale of the gathering had ballooned yesterday dawn—with several new materials kids joining, a couple of Yunsu’s classmates getting involved, and club members all flocking there—in other words, only after Shin Jaewoo’s plan to lure Yunsu into a one-on-one scheme was completely fucked—did Euishin fall asleep. And he woke up earlier than usual.
「Then how about brunch?」
Lunch was annoying, dinner was annoying, having a cup of tea and parting ways would be perfect but that seemed a bit rude. It was all bothersome so when he vaguely replied that the time was awkward, the woman made that proposal. Thinking it was better to get it over with quickly, he agreed. A Saturday morning appointment—it was the first time in his life.
As soon as it struck 8 o’clock sharp, a faint alarm sound could be heard from beyond several walls. Following that were signs of Yunsu moving between the bathroom, living room, and kitchen, and then breakfast preparation.
