‘Why is he showing up here?’
When Jae-min, fallen into shock, staggered back a few steps, Hye-young grabbed Jae-min’s shoulder with sparkling eyes.
“You know each other? His name is Hyun-woong?”
“N-no…”
“I thought so! Even then, he was staring intently at you.”
At Hye-young’s words delivered in a tone of understanding, Jae-min froze in place. Like a broken machine, Jae-min only turned his head creakily, and Hye-young smiled brightly and exclaimed toward him.
“He was Jae-min’s friend!”
At Hye-young’s purely cheerful words, Jae-min made an awkward expression. He barely opened his unmoving lips.
“N-not a friend. Just someone I know.”
Jae-min, who answered as if muttering, went back to the edge. Fortunately, no one picked a fight with his fumbling reply.
After watching last year’s video and throughout deciding this performance’s setlist, Jae-min’s mind was directed elsewhere the entire time.
During last year’s Daedongjae, Jae-min didn’t know a person named Hyun-woong at all. Since they attended the same university, of course they could have passed each other at any time, and he could have watched the performance at the festival. Jae-min was fully aware of that degree of possibility, but the fact that he had been watching him in the past made him feel strange.
‘What the hell, Kang Hyun-woong?’
Hyun-woong had never even pretended to know that fact. Jae-min gnawed on his fingernail tips.
Coincidentally, tomorrow was the time for the liberal arts class they took together. He firmly resolved to interrogate him about this fact as soon as they met.
From that night until the next morning, Jae-min, who had been absorbed in thinking about talking to Hyun-woong about the festival last year, headed to the lecture hall earlier than usual. Unlike Jae-min who arrived much earlier than usual, Hyun-woong didn’t show himself for a long time.
About 2 minutes before class started, Jae-min, who had been sitting at an angle looking only at the back door the whole time, widened his eyes.
‘He’s finally here!’
Hyun-woong opened the back door and revealed himself. Jae-min stealthily raised his body.
“Kang…”
“Hyun-woong!”
But there was someone who called Hyun-woong and blocked his way before Jae-min. Jae-min, who had half-risen, plopped his butt back down on the chair. Though no one would have seen, he pretended he wasn’t actually trying to stand up but was just changing positions, crossed his legs differently, and checked who had called Hyun-woong.
It was Chae-hui. That female student who had openly shown favor toward Hyun-woong before by pressing a gift into his hands.
Dressed innocently today too in a floral dress with a light purple cardigan, she spoke to Hyun-woong while hiding a shopping bag behind her back.
‘Another gift?’
Wrinkles formed between Jae-min’s brows as he looked at the yellow shopping bag. His mood completely soured. It was a displeasure in a slightly different direction from last time when he was jealous of popular Hyun-woong, but Jae-min just made a blank expression without knowing the subtle difference in that emotion.
“Last time, that muscle-building supplement I gave you, you carry it around and take it, right? A friend saw you and told me.”
“Ah. Yeah, I’m taking it well.”
“Really? That’s great! It must have suited you well?”
To Chae-hui, who stamped her feet delightedly, Hyun-woong nodded. Jae-min recalled him taking supplements as soon as his workout ended. The wrinkle between his eyebrows deepened a bit more.
“Actually, that ‘Buffalo Muscle Buster,’ it must be really popular because a new product came out. I looked up when it would come out in advance, and it’s being released exactly today. So… ta-da!”
From inside the shopping bag hidden behind her back, Chae-hui excitedly pulled something out. Thanks to her holding the box next to her face, Jae-min could also see the identity of the gift well. Jae-min blinked at discovering a box so intensely red it hurt his eyes.
It was exactly that product that had filled the box he pulled out from under the desk when organizing the MLS Clinic Director’s office.
‘That’s the new product that came out today?’
Yong-seok had told Jae-min that it was a package he received on behalf of patients who had done a group purchase. He was bewildered about how they ordered a product before its official release.
‘Maybe it came out earlier and she’s mistaken? Or maybe she’s lying.’
Hyun-woong seemed to have no interest at all in things like new product release dates in any field, and since Chae-hui was someone who wanted to score points with him, it could be a made-up story. Jae-min raised one corner of his mouth crookedly.
“I bought it first thing this morning! To give to you.”
Chae-hui, smiling brightly and holding out the box, Hyun-woong looked down at with an awkward gaze.
“It’s fine. I still have some left.”
“Don’t decline and just accept it. This is a better one!”
Giggling “Kareurereu,” Chae-hui put the medicine box back in the shopping bag and practically threw it into Hyun-woong’s chest. The moment the shopping bag hit his chest with a “pak,” Jae-min almost jumped up from his seat in surprise.
Fortunately, whether it didn’t hit hard, Hyun-woong received the shopping bag without much reaction. Jae-min let out a breath “Phew” and released the chair armrest he had clenched without realizing it. He was about to turn his body stealthily when Hyun-woong’s low voice flowed in.
“I appreciate you thinking of me. But I’ll buy things like this myself. Don’t give them to me from now on.”
At the firm tone, Jae-min turned to look at Hyun-woong’s face without realizing it. Since he was much taller than Chae-hui, it wasn’t difficult to see his face. He looked straight at Chae-hui with an expressionless face whose insides were unknowable and spoke.
“Huh? Ah… okay. I’m sorry if I made you feel burdened…”
Whether flustered, Chae-hui answered in a very small voice. Just then, the Professor opened the front door and entered. Hyun-woong neither affirmed nor denied Chae-hui’s words and put down his bag and shopping bag at his seat. Chae-hui, her face bright red, hurriedly returned to her spot.
With a man of such height and appearance that already intimidates others speaking coldly without a smile, even the surrounding air seemed to freeze. Jae-min stared at Hyun-woong with eyes that found it fascinating.
‘Did he do that to me too?’
Jae-min slowly turned his gaze forward and tilted his head puzzled. Although he occasionally seemed pissed off, he had hardly ever thought of him as scary or cold. It was fascinating how the atmosphere changed again when talking to other people.
‘Come to think of it, he had that kind of feeling when talking to Lee Yun-ji too.’
Jae-min, who had been nodding quietly, glanced to the side again. But at that moment, Hyun-woong was also looking toward Jae-min. Their gazes met by chance. He could see Hyun-woong’s eyes widen round.
Jae-min didn’t avoid his gaze and while looking at Hyun-woong, he bent his arm inward and waved his hand hidden so other people couldn’t see, greeting him. Hyun-woong made a startled expression.
Because it was funny that he, who had been cold as if a knife wind was blowing until just now, was making such a face, Jae-min deliberately didn’t stop and kept waving his hand.
Hyun-woong, who had just been staring at that with wavering pupils, sharply turned his head. It was the moment Jae-min was about to stop his hand because it became uninteresting when he avoided his eyes.
Hyun-woong raised his arm with his gaze fixed forward. Then he gently waved his hand toward Jae-min.
“Puhup.”
At that awkward movement, Jae-min couldn’t hold back and made a sound, then hastily covered his mouth. A few surrounding students looked back with puzzled eyes, but fortunately, since the seat was far, it didn’t seem to reach the Professor.
Because he couldn’t believe Hyun-woong had greeted him, he looked again. He was pretending not to know, having lowered his hand and only looking forward, but his cheeks, ears, and neck were all dyed bright red as if burning.
Looking at that reddened skin, Jae-min’s lower abdomen tickled again. It felt exactly like some insect had bitten somewhere inside his stomach. An invisible red heat flower spread throughout his whole body.
⁕⁕⁕
After class ended, Hyun-woong left his seat first while Jae-min was gathering his things. Jae-min, who hurriedly slung his bag over his shoulder, ran out. Fortunately, at a not-too-distant distance, a bear-like man was walking slowly.
“Kang Hyun-woong.”
When he called his name, Hyun-woong stopped walking abruptly and turned around. Jae-min hurriedly walked and stood in front of him. The two people stepped aside so as not to obstruct the passage of students pouring out after class ended.
“Do you have something to say to me?”
“Huh? No, you…”
Now that he actually spoke, it was awkward to suddenly bring up the festival story. Jae-min’s gaze went down to Hyun-woong’s hand. He was holding a drink cup, with about half the coffee remaining. The not-cloudy, deep brown beverage sloshed.
“By the way, you always only drink Americano. You must really like it.”
At Jae-min’s words, Hyun-woong’s gaze also turned to the coffee. Hyun-woong tilted his head with a reluctant face.
“I used to drink lattes too until early March.”
“You don’t drink them now?”
