Keep Us Together
Although he ate well, slept well, and was spirited in all things, Kwon Yunsu wasn’t entirely trouble-free.
Even excluding major illnesses like the one he’d had recently, he’d come down with a cold, anemia, or something else at least once every season. During the summer of his senior year of high school, on top of exam stress, he’d suffered from the heat and had to take herbal tonics—and even those tonics didn’t go down smoothly. He’d stubbornly refused to take them, claiming he couldn’t stomach them, so they’d had to coax and threaten him into finishing the regimen. After that, his stamina gradually recovered, and he was able to hold out through the college entrance exam.
It was probably just before that. In July, when Kwon Yunsu’s stamina had sharply declined, during the height of the rainy season. After groaning all day, he’d crawled into the nurse’s office along with the afternoon classes. He’d left behind a single note while Lee Euishin was detained in the teachers’ office.
While it was annoying when Kwon Yunsu bounced around cheerfully, mooching snacks and winning everyone’s favor, it was even more unbearable to see him weak and sickly. The rain poured heavily, and darkness fell early—by the seventh period, Kwon Yunsu still hadn’t returned to the classroom. Unable to bear his impatience any longer, Lee Euishin bought strawberry milk and yokan—what Kwon Yunsu called a cure-all—and went to the nurse’s office.
‘You’re here? He’s not waking up easily today.’
It was Lee Euishin who’d brought him to the nurse’s office every time Kwon Yunsu scraped his knee, cut his hand, sprained his ankle, or ate something that upset his stomach. The school nurse, who seemed to think of him as something like the country bumpkin’s guardian, started with that and added:
‘He looked so exhausted that I just let him sleep. Shouldn’t his parents come?’
Didn’t he say his father’s been working overtime constantly these days? His sister who attends school in the provinces won’t come either. …It’d be perfect if I could just take him to my room at home.
‘I’ll call them.’
‘Okay. I need to go to the teachers’ office for a bit. I’ll be back before the bell rings, so can you stay until then?’
‘Yes.’
The moment he answered curtly and turned toward the bed where Kwon Yunsu was sleeping, the school nurse pointed at Lee Euishin’s hand and chuckled.
‘Did you bring that for Yunsu?’
‘……’
How cute.
Leaving that brief impression behind, the school nurse left.
Lee Euishin looked down at his hand holding the strawberry milk and yokan. Kwon Yunsu’s movements and physical condition, his relationships with friends, what he liked… when had keeping track of such things become so natural? It’s so natural, yet why don’t you know? If it were the original me, none of this would be natural. To anyone who knows me, none of this is natural, so why……
‘……’
If you’re going to be so oblivious, at least don’t get sick.
He sat down in a chair, carefully brushing back the sleeping Kwon Yunsu’s forehead. Kwon Yunsu, his haggard face peeking out, was sleeping an exhausted sleep. Lee Euishin let out a quiet sigh as he traced in order the cold sweat on his forehead, his eyes showing signs of illness, his pretty nose and lips, his flushed cheeks and pointed chin. …What kind of guy is this. A pathetic country bumpkin who’s fucking pretty as hell. Why are you sick again, damn it? Open your eyes and eat this, you bastard. It’s not like my insides are rotting away…….
‘…Hah……’
He let out a quiet breath and reached out his hand. The hot cheek, nose, …lips that touched his fingertips. Kwon Yunsu’s lips, slightly parted and exhaling gentle breaths.
Come to think of it, this kind of place is perfect for doing this kind of thing.
I never planned to hide it for life anyway.
Rationalizing it that way, Lee Euishin pressed his lips to Kwon Yunsu’s lips.
He pressed their lips together, endured the moment quietly, then licked slightly.
Thinking it was quite bold for a first kiss, when he pulled his lips away, cold sweat was running down his back. Lee Euishin didn’t take his eyes off it until Kwon Yunsu’s wetly reddened lips dried to pale.
‘Am I your first?’
It felt like somewhere in his heart, which was thinking thoughts that would only appear in a third-rate movie, was about to burst.
The first kiss tasted like ssanghwatang.
Does Kwon Yunsu know about that kiss?
The answer wasn’t difficult.
He immediately knew he’d really been asleep the moment Kwon Yunsu woke up and their eyes met.
‘I must have slept too much.’
Gentle eyes that met his own without avoiding them. He felt deflated but soon collected himself. He also felt relieved. Now there was only half a year until Kwon Yunsu’s studying was done—he could wait that long easily enough.
And now there was no reason to exercise patience.
Because Kwon Yunsu was the kind of person who would never know unless told, even until death. Since he had no intention of hiding it forever and no intention of giving up, the right thing to do now was to devour him as quickly as possible.
So he didn’t regret it.
Not when Kwon Yunsu, who’d seemed ready to throw a punch, ran out of the club room with a flushed face, not when the guy who’d run out ended up staying out all night, not even when he awkwardly turned his gaze away the moment their eyes met… it was all fine.
But if there was one thing to regret, it was that.
Not hitting that son of a bitch harder. That alone would be a lifelong regret.
***
“Uh… hi.”
I was natural just now, right? I wasn’t awkward, right?
Having finished his fidgeting greeting, Kwon Yunsu didn’t see the other’s face twist sadly as he took a deep breath. This was because the other immediately hid his expression and grinned. Am I being pushed out? He thought that, but having done what he’d done, he couldn’t bring himself to voice his resentment. Shin Jaewoo nodded and handed over what he was holding.
“Nice weather, isn’t it? Drink this.”
This can’t be…. It was juice from the most expensive cafe in front of school.
“Why something like this… thanks.”
Filled with gratitude, Kwon Yunsu received the cup with both hands.
The school, now in final exam season, was quieter than during the height of spring. The few people sprawled here and there on the lawn were probably freshmen who had relatively less pressure. The weather had been consistently pleasant, enough to make the approaching exams regrettable. Kwon Yunsu, who’d barely seen sunlight due to his part-time job and exam preparation, found everything dazzling.
“Haven’t you been sleeping lately?”
“No, I sleep as much as I sleep….”
Instead, he woke up frequently. He figured the stress of living pressed for time with piled-up work showed itself that way.
“You look tired, Yunsu-ya.”
Since mid-May after the festival ended, Kwon Yunsu had been doing a part-time job translating papers. The obsession that he needed to maintain good condition to concentrate, and needed to concentrate to earn money efficiently in a short time, was agonizing in a different dimension from exam life. But considering the limitation that he couldn’t set aside time regularly for group projects and such, this was the best option. Moreover, even though it was now June, the soccer idiots still hadn’t booked their plane tickets. They were waiting for him, saying it was already late anyway and they just needed to avoid the working adults’ vacation season.
‘Don’t you think the rest of our school life would be scary if we went to watch soccer without poor Kwon Yunsu? Let’s wait just a bit.’
Of course, they didn’t forget touching words either.
If he finished the part-time translation by next Thursday, right before the first exam started, and combined it with the money his noona gave him, he could barely cover the minimum cost for a European plane ticket.
[Are you stupid? Why are you acting so pathetic? Ask Dad for it, you can’t even say something like that. You’re incompetent, and when that ahjussi is making money, you should milk him dry.]
His noona, who doesn’t forgive betrayal, always speaks harshly about their father. She says the responsibility for destroying the family must be held accountable to the end. Of course he agrees, but their father has their grandfather and grandmother in long-term care at a nursing hospital. He needs to prepare for his own retirement too. And probably needs to have middle-aged romance as well.
When he learned their father had a woman, the first thought that came to mind was that he himself wasn’t the absolute priority. He didn’t want to be more of a burden than necessary.
‘Noona, don’t you know the saying about looking for hardship when you’re young? Are you stupid, Kwon Yunju?’
[Kwak! Where are you spouting rude words? Apologize politely, or I won’t send the money.]
‘Noona, I’m sorry.’
The siblings’ conversation ended there.
In any case, they were grateful helpers. They might grumble and complain, but their true feelings probably weren’t like that.
“…The not sleeping, is it because of me?”
And Shin Jaewoo too… you didn’t mean to do that either, did you.
“No, it’s not that.”
“It’s not, but you can’t look at my face?”
“……”
Those words inwardly stung. When he lifted his head at the playful touch tapping his knee, he saw Shin Jaewoo’s face smiling apologetically. Was he wearing a hat today? Is that why his face looks shadowed? …Why did you have to do that…….
“You look extremely troubled right now.”
Without replying, Kwon Yunsu turned his sullen gaze away and sucked on his juice. Shin Jaewoo laughed lightly.
