“Woojae’s going to the MT too.”
“Ah, Minho sunbae.”
Jang Yeonju acknowledged him before him. The person who looked only at him without answering that greeting was, as called, Jeong Minho, who hadn’t been seen for the past few days. The gray checkered shirt was similar to Woojae’s, but it reeked of being expensive.
“Hello.”
Woojae greeted him quite politely. His last meeting with him flashed by, but he tried hard not to show it. The lobby had too many people passing by to express private feelings.
“I couldn’t even contact you for a while. Did you get home safely that day?”
His skill at pinpointing what he was trying to forget was extraordinary. Woojae ignored Jang Yeonju, who was openly making an interested expression, and changed the subject.
“Your face… did something happen?”
He regretted it as soon as he asked. He wasn’t particularly interested, but it came out without him knowing. Jeong Minho had a bruise under his eye. It was only noticeable if you looked closely, but it couldn’t fool Woojae’s eyes, which were seasoned in that area.
Because he’d started part-time jobs from a young age, most of the kids in similar situations to him often had parents who didn’t fulfill their parental roles. About a week after a friend who’d left home after being beaten had a bruise carved on their face, it had that kind of pale color. At Woojae’s sharp observation, Jeong Minho had strange eyes for a moment, then answered with an awkward smile.
“Ah, it’s nothing. My father must have been very angry.”
“Wow. Did you get slapped or something?”
Jang Yeonju stuck out her head and raised her voice. Even just hearing it, she sounded pleased. Jeong Minho shook his head with an uncomfortable expression. It wasn’t good to discuss domestic violence here. Woojae wasn’t particularly curious about what reason he had a bruise on his face, but since he was the one who brought it up, he couldn’t do this or that and quietly asked.
“Did you get scolded?”
“Yeah, will you comfort me, Woojae?”
Bullshit… Did you get hit because of me? The inner voice circled in his mouth, but Woojae kept it shut. Jeong Minho, who had been examining his face with a smiling expression, tapped Woojae’s shoulder and whispered. Moreover, he even sat in the seat next to him without asking permission. Of course, these were all school public property, so he, who probably paid tuition, had every right, and Woojae had no qualification to tell him not to sit.
“You must have gotten close with your classmates.”
“…Not really.”
The hand that kept clinging stickily was unpleasant. Jang Yeonju’s expression was also hardening along with it. The fingers that had been slowly stroking his shoulder pressed down hard on his skin.
“Want to have a cup of coffee? We couldn’t even have dessert that day.”
Something indecipherable dripped from the eyes beneath his glasses. Woojae instinctively twisted his shoulder. The hand that wouldn’t come off easily fell onto the backrest with a thud, leaving traces slowly. The fingertips still touching his back felt lukewarm through the fabric.
“I’m a bit busy.”
“Busy? Then I’ll wait. I have a lot of time today.”
To think that smiling face could feel this burdensome. That was because the expression that had smiled on that day as if it were a good opportunity without even a bit of mourning for someone’s death flashed by. At his words that he’d wait, Woojae made a groaning sound and checked the time.
“I can spare about 30 minutes.”
This method seemed better anyway. Even if he refused to the end, there was no way to avoid someone who said they’d wait. At Woojae’s words, Jeong Minho laughed lowly.
“Good. Let’s go get coffee. Hyung will buy it for you.”
Jeong Minho sprang up from the chair where he’d been sitting and pulled his arm. Why do you keep touching me, fuck. Woojae swallowed the curse small between his teeth. Then Jang Yeonju, who had been observing this situation, pulled sharply at Jeong Minho’s hand that was holding Woojae. It happened in an instant.
“Sunbae, why aren’t you buying for me? Are you discriminating against juniors?”
From Jang Yeonju, who asked with wide eyes, a belligerent air emanated. When Woojae glanced at the table, a cigarette pack crumpled into a mess came into view.
A few cigarettes were crumpled while spilling their contents. When he turned his head, Jeong Minho frowned and brought his finger under his nose. At the confrontation between the two whose meaning he didn’t know, only Woojae widened his eyes. Is there some smell? Still, it was clearly a rude attitude regardless.
“Ah, Yeonju-ya. I didn’t even greet you properly.”
Something he’d felt from earlier—Jeong Minho was treating Jang Yeonju as if she didn’t exist at all. Jang Yeonju, who didn’t seem unaware of this, sneered sarcastically.
“I’m also here with my eyes open and breathing, but isn’t buying only for Go Woojae favoritism?”
“Today I have something important to talk about with Woojae…”
Jeong Minho exhaled a long breath through his mouth, conveying his intention to refuse. He could see strength entering Jang Yeonju’s hand.
“What kind of important talk could two men have? Let me join too.”
Her pitch-black eyes gleamed brightly. Only her mouth was smiling—Jang Yeonju was suggesting almost as if spitting it out.
“…Okay. Let’s go together.”
Jeong Minho also nodded while hiding his uncomfortable air in a forced smile. Only then did Jang Yeonju’s hand, which had been gripping Jeong Minho’s wrist, fall away. The heavily crumpled sleeve showed Jang Yeonju’s grip strength as it was. At the untimely war of nerves between the two, only Woojae was dumbfounded as if watching Animal Kingdom.
***
Since there wasn’t much free time, the only place they could go was the cafe on campus. Because the time slot was awkward, there were no seats inside. Inevitably, they came out to the terrace and headed for the most corner seat, but in fact, this was also a seat selection Woojae had intended. Because he thought it wasn’t a good sight for many people to see.
Jasmine tea, Americano, and hot chocolate were placed on the table in order. The jasmine tea was Jeong Minho’s, and the Americano was Jang Yeonju’s share. Woojae looked at Jang Yeonju with concern, who was ordering coffee again after drinking coffee earlier. Doesn’t caffeine have a daily recommended amount too?
“You’re drinking coffee again?”
“Are you worried? Woojae, you’re so sweet.”
Why is she like this? Looking at Jang Yeonju, who smiled unfamiliarly, Woojae tried hard to hide his expression that was distorting randomly in awkwardness. Jeong Minho, who was consistently smiling brightly, was equally uncomfortable. There was really nowhere to look. Woojae pulled the hot chocolate topped with marshmallows toward him as if escaping and took a sip.
The sweetness he hadn’t had in a long time wrapped around his tongue thickly. The sweet fragrance lingered at the tip of his nose. How much is this? Woojae examined the hot chocolate he hadn’t paid for diligently. Because Jeong Minho held out his card and Jang Yeonju quickly snatched it, there was no chance for Woojae to pay.
“Woojae likes sweet things.”
“More or less.”
He thought he was really good at saying strange things that were awkward whether he answered or not. Woojae awkwardly fiddled with the cup handle. Jeong Minho always gave off an unpleasant energy, but he was a senior, older than him, and even the department’s vice student council president. The more he thought about it, the more difficult an opponent he was to get angry at.
“Are there any inconveniences in school life?”
“That’s a really shitty question, sunbae.”
As soon as Jeong Minho opened his mouth, Jang Yeonju smiled and snapped at him. Calling it shitty outright. Not just him, but Jang Yeonju really had a bad personality. Still, because the attitude of scratching the itch for him felt somewhat refreshing, Woojae buried his face in the cup and smiled slightly. Nevertheless, since it was a question asked to him anyway, he put out carefully chosen words.
“Um, there’s nothing inconvenient.”
“Really?”
Woojae had to read the room between the two, unlike himself. Why do these two seem to get along so badly? Rather than the vice student council president and year representative, sparks flew as if they were exes or something. Woojae, who unconsciously paired the two, made a retching motion into the cup. The cup had no time to fall from his mouth.
“And that shitty question, aren’t you asking me? It’s definitely favoritism.”
“It’s because I know you’re doing well.”
Jang Yeonju was definitely endlessly provoking Jeong Minho. Jeong Minho didn’t even glance at Jang Yeonju’s side and answered while looking at Woojae. The voice with a perfect ending showed he had no intention of continuing the conversation with Jang Yeonju.
“Still, sunbae is too much. You’ve known me longer but you only stick with Go Woojae.”
The content was that of a disappointed junior, but the expression wasn’t at all. Jang Yeonju was persistently targeting Jeong Minho like a predator that had found prey. As if to neutralize the sharp conversation, Woojae chewed and swallowed the slightly burnt marshmallow. Since spicy words were pouring into his ears, he had to soothe at least his mouth with something sweet. Jeong Minho didn’t give an answer to Jang Yeonju’s words until the end. It’s really a talent to ignore people’s words with a smiling face.
Woojae eventually couldn’t stand it and asked what he’d been curious about.
“Did you two know each other?”
“Prosecutor Jang and my father are close, so I’ve seen her a few times since childhood. Yeonju must be in a bad mood today.”
He thought the obvious answer “we know each other because we’re in the same department” would come out, but Jeong Minho, who properly grasped the intention of the question, gave a clear answer. Woojae roughly guessed. That the two were sworn enemies. That could be. Mm. How could everyone get along well? I don’t like you much either, bastard. The moment he was about to accept and move on,
“I suddenly remembered sunbae stealing my lover.”
Jang Yeonju raised the corner of her mouth sharply. Woojae froze. On the other hand, Jeong Minho, as if he was now in the mood to deal with Jang Yeonju, turned his head in that direction.
