# Chapter 30
Should I call it unexpected? Or should I say it was natural, considering these two’s grades? Either way, the studying progressed smoothly. When it was almost 7 PM and we were still focused, the atmosphere was broken by Baek Han’s phone ringing.
“Ah, I need to go.”
“Huh? You’re leaving without having dinner?”
I opened my eyes wide as I watched him immediately start packing his things after touching his phone a few times. Since it was getting late, I naturally thought he would have dinner before leaving, but apparently not.
“Poppo is waiting for me.”
“Poppo?”
“This one.”
In the screen Baek Han showed me was a majestic German Shepherd sitting on the floor with its rear touching the ground.
“…This child’s name is Poppo?”
“Yeah. Cute, right?”
“Whoever named it, really—”
I patted the back of Kwon Dojin’s hand a couple of times as he seemed to swallow his many words. Good job holding back. For all we know, Baek Han’s parents might have named the German Shepherd Poppo.
Whether my meaning was conveyed or not, Kwon Dojin sighed but didn’t add anything more.
“I named him, why?”
“Your naming sense is terrible.”
I looked at Kwon Dojin in astonishment as he immediately spat out the words he had been holding back once he learned Baek Han had named it. If he was going to swallow it, he should have kept it swallowed until the end. Why did he let it out?
Of course, I also thought the name didn’t suit that German Shepherd at all, but—
“What?! What’s wrong with our Poppo’s name? It suits cute Poppo perfectly! Look again!”
“Alright, alright. If you’re going to fight again, Baek Han, just hurry up and run to Poppo who’s waiting for you, and Kwon Dojin, let’s think about what to have for dinner.”
“Are you staying for dinner?”
Kwon Dojin looked at me with a broad smile. Since I was hungry and wanted to study more, I nodded a couple of times, and he immediately clung to me.
“He really never gets tired of that.”
Baek Han, who invariably expressed disgust, sighed, quickly packed his things, and stood up.
“I’m leaving. Whether you two stick together or not is up to you.”
“You’re really abandoning me without hesitation.”
With Kwon Dojin hanging on my shoulder, I looked up at Baek Han, who looked at me and Kwon Dojin alternately before shaking his head.
“You should at least know that you have a stake in this too.”
“What does that mean?”
“Ah, I don’t know, figure it out yourself! I’m leaving!”
I watched Baek Han’s retreating figure as he disappeared into the entrance hall, showing off his long legs, and then looked down at Kwon Dojin who was still clinging to me. Judging by how our eyes immediately met, he must have been watching me the whole time.
“Do you know what he meant by me having a stake in this?”
“Well… I don’t think it’s worth worrying about. He probably just said it.”
Kwon Dojin rested his cheek on my shoulder and murmured in a languid tone. In response, I brushed his bangs up and placed my hand on his forehead.
“Are you sleepy?”
Kwon Dojin, who had been slowly blinking, soon let out a small exclamation. Then with a faint smile, he firmly grasped my hand that was on his forehead and rested it against his cheek.
“No. I think I used my brain too much after a long time. I’m just zoned out.”
As if to prove his words, he looked at me with somewhat dazed eyes, unlike his usual self. This was the first time I’d seen him like this, so I was a bit worried and stroked his cheek with my thumb, which made him nuzzle his face into my palm.
“Then should I go home too? Do you want to rest?”
“Let’s have dinner together. I don’t like eating alone, it’s lonely.”
I blinked at the firm rejection that came without a moment’s thought. His words about not liking to eat alone because it’s lonely stuck with me, and I looked around the spacious living room.
It had all the basic furniture but didn’t particularly show signs of life—yes, it felt like a model home.
‘I guess it would feel lonely to eat alone in a place like this?’
As the silence unintentionally lengthened, Kwon Dojin gripped my hand tighter, perhaps feeling anxious.
“Are you going home?”
“No, after hearing that, I can’t be heartless enough to leave. Let’s think about what to eat.”
As soon as I finished speaking, his face lit up brightly, and he immediately picked up his phone and opened a delivery app.
“Is there anything you want to eat?”
“Anything that can be eaten simply is fine. I want to study while eating because the flow has been good after a long time.”
“…You’ll get indigestion that way.”
I leaned against Kwon Dojin’s shoulder, the opposite of our usual position, as he lightly scolded me while looking for something suitable to eat, specifically excluding simple foods.
“I won’t get indigestion, I’ll be fine. I often do this normally.”
“Then I should fix that, right?”
His stubborn voice thumped in my ear. Feeling that he wouldn’t listen no matter what I said, I pouted and pressed down on him with my weight, but Kwon Dojin took it without any trouble.
“That’s too much.”
“I’m just worried about you, Habin.”
Mmm. Kwon Dojin whispered softly while placing his hand on my arm and gently stroking it. When he approached it this way, I could neither be stubborn nor tease him, so I pulled away, and Kwon Dojin gave a regretful smile.
“I would be fine if you kept leaning on me.”
“It’s okay. It must be tiring for you.”
“Habin is so considerate.”
I casually waved my hand in response and flopped down, about to collapse onto the dining table, when I caught a glimpse of the menu on the screen and my eyes sparkled.
“Boneless fried chicken—!”
“No, since you’d probably try to solve problems while eating, I don’t like it.”
This resolute bastard. And to grasp my intention with just two syllables—have we been together for too long? With my dream instantly shattered, I flopped down onto the dining table again.
“Cold-hearted jerk.”
“It’s better than you getting sick, Habin.”
I stared up at him as he displayed a fresh smile, and having lost the energy to grumble, I just let out a sigh. Kwon Dojin, who had completed the payment while stroking my hair, picked up the pen he had put down.
“Then let’s study until the chicken arrives, and when it comes, let’s focus on eating. Understand?”
“I feel like a child.”
“Because Habin becomes a child when it comes to studying.”
Kwon Dojin smiled as he brushed away the hair covering my eyes. Due to my past actions, I couldn’t deny his words, so I just pouted, and he tapped my lips.
“If you keep touching, I’ll bite.”
I pretended to bite his index finger in front of my mouth with an “Ang,” and his hand flinched. Seeing that, I thought my threat had worked and he would back off, but instead, his index and middle fingers boldly approached and pressed firmly against my lips.
“Can you really bite?”
Kwon Dojin rested his chin on the back of his hand and met my gaze with a deep eye smile. I froze in surprise at the unexpected action, but only for a moment. Instead, I felt defiant and raised my eyebrows.
“You really want me to bite?”
“Yes, I don’t mind.”
Even when asked repeatedly, his answer remained unchanged, so I narrowed my eyes and looked at him. I was suspicious that he might have some other intention. Of course, that didn’t last long—seeing him provoking me by nodding his head, I didn’t care anymore. I just wanted to bite him hard.
So I demonstratively bit his index and middle fingers with my front teeth. After biting relatively hard enough to leave teeth marks, I finally came to my senses. Even if I gave in to his provocation and bit him in anger, what should I do next?
As this was the first time I’d ever bitten someone, I just rolled my eyeballs around awkwardly, then realized I probably shouldn’t keep biting him like this, so I gently opened my lips.
At that, Kwon Dojin burst into laughter. I couldn’t understand what he found so funny after being bitten, so I looked at him with coldness in my eyes. Only after quite a long time did he stop laughing and lie down on the table just like me.
“Ah, I can’t believe you really bit me.”
“…You told me to bite you.”
Where was this talk when you were provoking me?
When I raised my eyes with displeasure, he withdrew his hand and stared at his fingers with the teeth marks.
“You seem timid, but sometimes you’re also bold. Especially in front of me, you act more boldly.”
“What nonsense are you—”
“Perhaps it means you’ve become that comfortable with me?”
Kwon Dojin gently smiled with his eyes as he lightly rubbed his lower lip with the index finger I had bitten.
“If that’s the case, I’m happy, Habin.”
After directly witnessing his brightly shining face up close, I eventually squeezed my eyes shut. Honestly, my brain was frozen and I couldn’t think properly, but one thing was clear.
I’d been played, and quite thoroughly at that.
* * *
I rubbed my unusually heavy eyelids and let out a big yawn that came naturally. I just couldn’t focus today. I did go to bed a bit late yesterday, but I didn’t know it would have such a big impact.
“Hey, hey. You’re going to fall.”
I reacted half a beat late to the hand that suddenly grabbed my bag from behind.
“…Hello.”
“Yeah. Anyway, get yourself together. You were just staggering.”
“I was?”
“Who else is talking to me here besides you?”
“Hmm. That’s true.”
With the ever-sarcastic Baek Han beside me, I resumed walking after having stopped. Baek Han firmly gripped my book bag and scolded me to walk properly, but maybe because I was sleepy, I couldn’t control myself as I wanted.
“Did you sleep late yesterday?”
“Yeah… I had something to think about.”
“You?”
“That reaction somehow hurts my pride.”
I looked with dissatisfaction at Baek Han who snorted, then sighed. Truly, it was a new thought, but I couldn’t sleep because I was pondering what feelings Kwon Dojin had for me.
I did think “Just now?” but what could I do? Only now did such concerns arise. But despite the time spent worrying, I couldn’t come to any meaningful conclusion. How would I know Kwon Dojin’s heart when I’m not him?
“By the way, where’s your sticky note?”
“Sticky no—oh, if you mean Kwon Dojin, well. We’ll probably meet him when we get to class?”
“Really?”
I shook my head at Baek Han’s unexpected reaction. Why didn’t he understand that it was stranger for us to be stuck together all day? Anyway, with Baek Han’s help, I safely entered the classroom to find Kwon Dojin’s seat still empty.
“Huh?”
It was strange since he should have arrived at school by now, but I thought he would come soon. He might be tired from sleeping late like me.
Of course, that carefree thought was shattered when Kwon Dojin still hadn’t arrived at school by the end of first period.
