[Practice Schedule]
[Step 1 – While teaching how to hold a knife, overlap hands.
Step 2 – Show the sexiness of a man cooking.
Step 3 – Share the food cooked together and make the heart tickle.]
Having finished writing the operation to capture Ki Seonwoo disguised as practice, Yoonjo chewed on the end of his pen. Actually, he should have done it since yesterday, but somehow it got delayed by a day. Resolving to show a mature, cool appearance in front of Seonwoo no matter what today, Yoonjo anxiously chewed on the pen tip while looking toward the blackboard.
It had already been thirty minutes. The professor was spouting a long speech about what kind of exam there would be, but listening Yoonjo was only anxious. Seonwoo must be waiting outside, and he couldn’t even contact him properly, so he felt like his insides were turning over.
He shouldn’t have listened to Seonghyeon. ‘Cat in a Box’ was a typical philosophy department class and had nothing to do with raising animals. On top of this, there was the neck-grabbing lecture plan of a quiz every two weeks and deductions in attitude points for phone use. It was maddening.
Even when he first heard the professor’s words, Yoonjo didn’t think seriously about it. He just thought the professor’s words were strange.
‘There are many freshmen this year too. Even though it’s a sophomore elective.’
But the more the class progressed, the more he felt dissonance. It was as if a crisis detection radar was raising fine hairs and sending warnings. Yoonjo, who secretly took out his phone and entered ‘Schedule Board’, belatedly learned that comments had flooded Seonghyeon’s post.
[Anonymous 4] – These bastards are really wicked. Freshmen! Run away right now!
ㄴ[Anonymous 2] – Uh dildoman ga!
ㄴㄴ[Anonymous 4] – This is why upperclassmen get the image of being bad
[Anonymous 3] – Confessing but freshmen, for students from other departments, a C grade is basicㅠ
ㄴ[Anonymous 5] – Huh I’m from another department but I got a B?
ㄴㄴ[Anonymous 3] – I said basic, not that C is the maximum lol you must have done really fucking well or did insane politicking. Anyway I got a C, that professor gives C like crazy ㅗㅗ
[Anonymous 6] – But why isn’t anyone talking about this, it’s philosophy but he bombards you with quizzes, almost like once a week level lol or is it biweekly anyway lol there’s a midterm as a midterm and a final as a final but the problem is the exam has nothing to do with what was taught in the lecture so it’s fucking annoying^^
In other words, Yoonjo and Seonghyeon had been scammed.
Yoonjo recalled the comments he’d checked during class and gripped his phone to contact Seonwoo. At that moment, the professor spoke as if he’d been waiting.
“…this is how the exam will be conducted. As I said earlier, the quizzes account for 40% of the total score. During this semester, I will teach you what kind of discipline philosophy is through the cat in the box. Prepare your textbooks according to the syllabus, and let’s meet next week.”
At the class dismissal announcement, Yoonjo just roughly waved his hand at Seonghyeon and shot out like a bullet. Looking at the time, more than 50 minutes had passed. He became anxious wondering if Seonwoo had gotten angry while waiting. Yoonjo knew well that waiting for someone without a set time was quite painful.
Yoonjo, who had been running in big strides, held his phone in his hand. It was to see if there might be any contact from Seonwoo. Exactly 10 minutes ago, there was one short message.
“I’m nearby, so contact me when you’re done. Don’t rush. If you do that and fall, you’ll break your nose.” 1:32pm
Yoonjo, who moved his finger to make a call, didn’t see the edge of the paving block in front of his eyes and slipped right there. Unfortunately, it was toward the employee parking lot side, so there were hardly any people passing by. The future of either breaking his nose or breaking his head quickly flashed through his mind.
‘I should have listened to hyung properly…!’
Before regret could come out of his mouth, his waist was firmly grabbed and his body tilted forward. The phone he was holding in his hand rolled on the ground with a dull sound.
Yoonjo, who let out a short “uh” sound, finally came to his senses. The white, slender arms holding his waist and the warm breath that made his fine hairs stand on end belonged to a familiar person.
“Seonwoo, hyung…?”
“You, I told you not to rush. If you fall doing that, you’ll get hurt.”
Yoonjo, who had been dangling from Seonwoo, turned around as soon as his feet touched the ground. He saw Seonwoo wearing a black hat pressed down deep and a mask.
“Hyung…! You saved my life! Since you saved my life, let’s live a hundred years together with me, mmph…!”
Yoonjo couldn’t even finish his words because Seonwoo covered his mouth. It was a hand that felt exceptionally large. Thanks to that, Yoonjo’s mouth and cheeks were firmly pressed against Seonwoo’s palm.
“You almost rolled on the ground and those words come out now?”
“Buh yuu shaved mee!”
“…You didn’t hit your head, did you?”
Seonwoo asked the question while carefully removing his hand. Then he slowly stroked Yoonjo’s sweaty forehead. At that kindness, Yoonjo smiled broadly and said.
“I’m not hurt. You caught me, hyung. I’m too late, right? I’m sorry. The professor didn’t let us look at our phones and extended the lecture, so I couldn’t contact you. I’m really sorry. Instead, I’ll make you something really really delicious today. I wrote down a shopping list earlier but my phone…”
Both of their gazes turned toward the ground. On the pitch-black asphalt, a broken phone was rolling around pathetically.
“…I think I’ll have to contact you old-school style for the time being, is that okay? How about letters, letters?”
“Jokes come out even at a time like this?”
“Letters are a bit slow after all. Then pigeons?”
Yoonjo, who laughed hehe, asked lightly toward Seonwoo who was pressing his eyes as if tired.
“But, hyung. How did you know I was here? Don’t tell me you were looking for me…?”
“No. I’ve never been to a Korean school, so I was just walking around to look. Yoonjo, you… you’ll contact me on your own when it’s time.”
In the end, it wasn’t saying he waited for me. Yoonjo’s lips jutted out very slightly in a pout.
All the way to where the car was parked, Yoonjo talked about this and that. That the elective he took today was actually a philosophy department elective, and that it was an exam bomb. He also spilled every detail about the fact that he and Seonghyeon were scammed together.
“You’ll be busy too, Yoonjo.”
“But me being busy and you being busy, hyung, are different. Uh… are we going on a date today too?”
“I said it’s not a date. And wouldn’t it be better if we didn’t make distinctions between inside and outside?”
“Aren’t we too intimate to make distinctions? We kissed here, heeere a lot.”
Yoonjo, who lightly pushed out his lips while tapping them, smiled broadly again. At the harmless smile, Seonwoo laughed and replied as if letting it flow, saying yeah.
Arriving at the car, Yoonjo quickly entered the passenger seat. Yoonjo, who put his butt on the car seat, blinked his eyes seeing Seonwoo holding the door and awkwardly raising his hand.
“Why?”
“…Just, a bit… I thought you wouldn’t have to worry about hitting your head.”
Not knowing what he meant, when he just stood there blankly, Seonwoo mumbled that it was nothing. He just fastened Yoonjo’s seatbelt well and closed the passenger door.
Yoonjo stared at Seonwoo like that, then discovered takeout cups piled high in the cup holder. There seemed to be at least six cups. Some of them were a mess as if their ends had been chewed and gnawed. As soon as Seonwoo sat in the driver’s seat, Yoonjo pointed at the cups and asked.
“Did you drink a lot of coffee today? You don’t drink more than three cups a day because of caffeine. Gasp… don’t tell me you got scolded at the company?”
“It was a bit hard to just stay still in one place.”
Toward Seonwoo who replied nonchalantly, Yoonjo resolved inwardly. Today was definitely health food. Something must have happened at the company. Otherwise, there was no way he would pour coffee he doesn’t even drink well into his stomach like this.
***
Yoonjo bought a lot of cabbage, carrots, and onions as if to keep his word. As soon as he entered the house, he tied on an apron and put one on Seonwoo too.
He even soaked a whetstone that came from who knows where in water. It couldn’t not be very serious preparation. If anyone saw, they would mistake that it was Yoonjo, not Seonwoo, who was appearing on TV.
“Hyung, when holding a knife, you have to do it like this… I almost lost my finger when I was young chopping away without knowing anything. Be careful, hyung.”
“…Finger? Where?”
“Right here.”
Yoonjo raised his hand as if showing his left ring finger. A long line running from the base of his finger to the middle joint was quite clear.
“That must have hurt.”
Seonwoo, who muttered and gently stroked the scar, felt something strange. When he slightly raised his head, Yoonjo was staring intently at his finger without even breathing. White teeth were faintly visible between his slightly parted lips. Seonwoo, who lightly tapped and raised his chin with a finger, let out a laugh.
“You have to breathe.”
“Th, um… yes… I’ll breathe…”
The ears of Yoonjo, who barely exhaled, were dyed pink. Yoonjo, who wriggled the hand caught by Seonwoo, slowly lowered his arm and placed the knife in Seonwoo’s hand.
“Anyway… like this… you have to cut at intervals… be careful with your fingers…”
Yoonjo, who spoke as if mumbling, tried to grasp and hold Seonwoo’s hand holding the knife. But the posture wouldn’t come out right. He had to hug Seonwoo from behind, but it was difficult because of the height difference. Yoonjo, who moved his head this way and that for a long time, twisted his lips. This isn’t it… As soon as that thought came, Seonwoo grabbed Yoonjo’s shoulders.
Before the word “uh” could come out, Yoonjo came to stand in front of Seonwoo. Seonwoo tapped the knife he was holding on the cutting board, then spoke low, as if whispering.
“Yoonjo sunbae-nim. You have to teach me well.”
When he slightly raised his head, he saw Seonwoo with his eyes lightly curved. Yoonjo, who had his head against Seonwoo’s chest, placed his hand on top of Seonwoo’s hand. An exceptionally cool body temperature clung to his palm.
