Like Bowon, Seoheon checked the screen and wrinkled his eyebrows. Rather than being upset that the ringing had interrupted their time alone, he wondered what it could be about. Bowon, whose eyes widened just like Seoheon’s, picked up the phone that had been lying around carelessly and brought it to his ear.
“Hello?”
―Yoon Taeho? Are you okay now?
“Yeah. I’m much better.”
When he couldn’t go to school, he’d sent a short reply saying he was sick in response to a message asking how he was doing—had she gotten worried again? While Kim Yuna might do this, knowing it wasn’t really Oh Seulbi’s personality to reach out, Bowon found it a bit unexpected.
When he answered calmly, perhaps realizing his voice sounded fine, Oh Seulbi responded half-heartedly. Then Bowon let out a small laugh. Just as he thought, while checking in on him, she seemed to have other business as Oh Seulbi brought up her main point.
―So you know what. We decided to postpone our club after-party date a bit. It seems like we should do it at the end of the month.
The club after-party was originally scheduled for early December. It didn’t particularly matter, but it wasn’t something to discuss over the phone.
“I’m going to school this week though. We could have talked about it then.”
―I have my practical interview this week! Are you trying to piss me off?
“Ah…”
Oh Seulbi had failed all of her first round early admissions and was staking everything on the last second round early admissions. Fully aware that she was in an extremely sensitive state, Bowon firmly closed his mouth.
“…Right. Good luck.”
―Just set out some water and pray for me.
“Got it.”
―So I won’t be at school and will be mostly at the academy. Contact me if anything comes up.
While he was answering that he understood, Seoheon, who had been silently listening to the conversation, leaned his face in and spoke.
“When exactly is the club after-party?”
―Huh? Moon Seoheon? …What, you two were together?
“Yeah. Well…”
When Bowon, flustered for some reason, couldn’t continue his words restlessly, Seoheon took the phone and switched to speaker mode to hear better.
“Can I join the after-party too?”
“Huh?” At the sudden question, Bowon made a sound with an absurd expression, and Seoheon looked straight at him as if asking what the problem was.
It wasn’t particularly problematic, but wondering if it was okay, he was silent for a moment when the answer came from the other side.
―Do whatever.
At the brief answer as if it didn’t matter, Bowon let out a quiet sigh.
―But the participation fee is mandatory. You have to pay 70,000 won.
“Got it.”
When Seoheon also answered nonchalantly as if that was no problem at all, Oh Seulbi made an impressed “Ooh” sound. She seemed surprised that he readily agreed to pay despite the rather expensive cost.
―Okay. Later when we meet at the academy or school, just give it to me.
“Yeah.”
―Right. Then nothing else to say, right? I’m hanging up. …The first-years will be happy.
“What…?”
At Oh Seulbi’s quietly muttered last words, Bowon, suddenly feeling doubtful, opened his mouth but frowned at the dial tone that abruptly cut off. Seeing Bowon’s scrunched face, Seoheon’s eyes widened in puzzlement, then he made an expression of holding back laughter that seemed about to burst out.
Then when Bowon turned his head to look at Seoheon and pinched his cheek without hurting him, unable to hold it in, he giggled. At that, Bowon stuck out his lips and asked.
“What?”
“Nothing. Just wondering if you’re jealous.”
At Seoheon’s answer, Bowon pulled his lips back in and laughed as if both slightly embarrassed and incredulous. When Seoheon sent him a look asking why at the laughter he let out like a sigh, Bowon wrinkled his eyebrows and said.
“Of course I’m jealous, aren’t I? I wonder if I should say I’m relieved or get angry that my popular lover doesn’t seem particularly moved by it.”
Seoheon looked at Bowon intently with surprised eyes as if that statement was truly unexpected. Meeting the widened brown eyes, Bowon felt a bit pleased by the reaction that was both ordinary yet unfamiliar. Bowon twisted his lips annoyingly and leaned fully into Seoheon’s embrace.
When Seoheon, holding Bowon, reflexively raised both arms to embrace him, warm energy was transmitted.
Despite being a body surrounded by hard muscles from exercise, Seoheon’s embrace was more comfortable than expected. Perhaps because he’d been held so often that he’d gotten used to it, or maybe it was the sensation that made him feel at ease—as he even threw his head back, Seoheon turned his gaze to the TV and muttered.
“I really didn’t know you’d get jealous.”
“Why wouldn’t you know? We’re lovers.”
At the immediate question, Seoheon seemed at a loss for words and was silent for a moment. Soon he exhaled languidly and spoke.
“That’s right. My older lover should act appropriately mature for their age. You act so indifferent I thought you didn’t care.”
“…That sounds like an insult, but I’m not mistaken, am I?”
“Probably not.”
“I’ll just let it slide. And what do you mean I let it go like it was nothing? It was because you immediately threw away the letters you received that I could act okay about it.”
Somehow word had gotten out, and as soon as Seoheon became a third-year this year, he received quite a lot of letters and gifts from new students. It wasn’t like that in second year, but unlike last year when The Four—no, when the remaining trio after Kwak Junhee graduated—came and went from his classroom like it was their own, they didn’t visit anymore so the classroom atmosphere became harmonious.
Because Bowon and Seoheon were in different classes this time, he couldn’t know for sure, but the news that reached him and the scenery he saw when visiting during breaks was quite peaceful.
Perhaps because of that, more people approached Seoheon and became bolder. Every time he saw that sight, even if he pretended otherwise, Bowon was displeased. As he said, if Seoheon hadn’t really firmly drawn the line, his mood would have been twisted.
Whether he didn’t notice Bowon’s feelings or not, Seoheon smiled broadly as if pleased. Looking closely face to face like this, it was truly a face that made it difficult to get angry at.
“I didn’t know that.”
“If you didn’t know, keep doing it that way from now on too.”
Finding Bowon’s words quite funny, Seoheon chuckled and dragged out “Hmm” before dropping shocking news.
“Honestly, I appreciate the jealousy, but you don’t need to get particularly angry about that stuff. If you mean those letters, they had razor blades in them.”
“What?!”
“The gifts were also mostly dolls that looked like them or food with something mixed in like chocolate.”
Bowon felt his heart drop with a thud and bolted upright, almost pitching forward. Thanks to Seoheon quickly blocking him, he didn’t fall, but without time to fix his disheveled hair, he whipped his head around.
“What are you talking about? What kind of gifts are like that? Weren’t they fans saying they liked you?”
“They call themselves fans. They’re basically stalkers.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“…I didn’t think it was necessary to say. It’s not like it happened once or twice.”
At Seoheon’s attitude of accepting it as natural, Bowon felt frustrated and hit Seoheon’s chest instead of his own. Smack—a sharp friction sound echoed through the living room.
It didn’t really hurt, but because the pain to his hearing wasn’t trivial, Seoheon acted dramatic and pretended to be hurt.
“Next time, definitely tell me! And that kind of thing should be reported. You immediately turn things that happened to me over to the prosecution, so why are you so insensitive about your own matters?!”
If it was food with something mixed in, it had happened before too, so while it shouldn’t be surprising, it wasn’t exactly not shocking. And what? Razor blades and dolls resembling himself? At stalking behavior at the level of a crime, Bowon was beyond incredulous and almost furious.
Why the hell do crazy people latch onto Moon Seoheon so well? Is this world rather indifferent to that sort of thing? Now that he thought about it, unlike where he used to live, this place sometimes seemed like a world with somewhat old-fashioned ideas remaining. Such aspects showed in once-popular items or the education system.
Just looking at the class stratification happening in the current college admission system, there was nothing to say since they called it a method to further strengthen public education.
Still, though… he felt like he should be angry at himself for not knowing anything about the problems Moon Seoheon faced until now.
“Got it, okay?!”
“…Okay.”
When Bowon shouted as if to get a definite answer, Seoheon, while bewildered, seemed pleased somehow and grinned while nodding his head. Only then did Bowon, whose scrunched expression relaxed, laugh like a sigh.
At times like this, he could clearly feel that the mature Moon Seoheon was still a young kid.
“So what’s the after-party? We didn’t have one last year.”
“Ah, last year there was that avian flu outbreak. Because of that, we canceled the restaurant reservation and just had a party in the club room.”
Seoheon soon sighed lowly as if remembering. Bowon smacked his lips at the rather disappointing memory from the past and continued.
“So this time, saying we should go somewhere decent, they raised the cost. Oh, Jinyoung sunbae said she’d come if she had time, so it’ll be nice to see her after a while.”
At the unfamiliar name that came from Bowon’s mouth, Seoheon momentarily wrinkled his eyebrows. As the person who had been club president until last year, the image of her occasionally being with Kwak Junhee immediately came to mind.
Fortunately, realizing she wasn’t someone he needed to particularly worry about, he relaxed his expression as if nothing was wrong and looked at the TV, following Bowon who was focusing on the movie.
A scene stimulating enough to embarrass viewers was flowing, but Seoheon maintained an indifferent expression as if watching a documentary. Because nothing he saw was as stimulating as the person in his arms.
