I’m hungry
It was something he’d agonized over in his own way. Because Cha Dobum had always reacted eagerly when it came to eating.
But after sending it, it looked too random. His fingers hurriedly added the next message.
I want to eat that
Pig intestines
And he quickly set it to silent. Because it seemed like a reply would come soon, whether by call or text.
But even after several minutes passed, the phone remained quiet.
‘Don’t tell me he’s ignoring me right now?’
Cha Dobum is, me?
A few more minutes passed in bewilderment, but there was still no answer. His face burned at the feeling of having the hand he’d extended first being ignored. Cha Ihyun grumbled in embarrassment.
“What kind of birthday present is this……”
Before throwing the Post-it into the trash, his gaze suddenly landed on ‘How to Use.’
……Does it really have to be done like this?
No, usually when I say I’m hungry, he responds right away, but now he’s being petty like this? Cha Ihyun, who had been agonizing and biting his lip, finally opened the chat window again.
Using the free pass
The moment he pressed send, he buried his face in his knees. It was embarrassing. ‘Using the free pass’—it felt like he’d fallen to Cha Dobum’s level. Moreover, because he’d deleted the conversation content above, he didn’t like the picture of only him sending messages in succession either.
If he ignores me even after I’ve come this far, then I’m really going to completely ignore him.
Cha Ihyun resolved while chewing his lip. He planned to wait only 3 minutes. But the sound came not from the phone but from somewhere else.
Tap.
At the sound from the window, Cha Ihyun raised his head. It was too difficult to see it as a tree branch from the garden brushing the window. Moreover, the wind wasn’t blowing that hard. While staring blankly at the window, something went tap against the window and fell.
“What……”
It was too instantaneous and outside was pitch dark so it was confusing, but judging by the sound, there was definitely something. The moment he stood up awkwardly and opened the window, something whoosh filled his vision and came into the room. Cha Ihyun, who had frozen in shock, picked it up after a moment.
It was paper crumpled carelessly. The glossy paper looked familiar, and upon closer inspection, it was a page from a textbook. A first-year high school gym textbook that was barely used at that.
Cha Ihyun peeked down outside. A pitch-black full-face helmet was looking up this way. Holding a torn-up textbook in one hand.
Cha Dobum tilted his head. Following where he was pointing, he moved his gaze to see a motorcycle parked outside the gate. What? he asked with his lips, but Cha Dobum just stood still.
Cha Ihyun looked back at his room door. Because the house was too quiet, if he raised his voice here, his hyung could hear. Cha Ihyun, who looked back down outside, picked up his phone.
What is it?
When he waved his phone toward the window, Cha Dobum rummaged through his pocket. As the screen lit up, the figure that had only looked dark took shape. The smooth matte helmet looked up once, then soon tapped the screen.
Cha Dobum You said you wanted to eat sundae?
You want to go now?
Cha Dobum Aren’t you hungry now?
Of course he’d brought up sundae, but that was just an excuse to talk to Cha Dobum. An excuse to exchange a few messages and then suggest going to eat sundae next time. Cha Ihyun replied awkwardly.
I can’t go now anyway
Cha Dobum Why?
What if hyung catches me going out?
Cha Dobum Come down there then
There? Looking down at the second-floor height with a no way expression, Cha Dobum took one step closer to the building.
Are you crazy? We can just go tomorrow
Cha Dobum I’m busy tomorrow
The fingers that had been typing so what stopped for a moment. He didn’t completely believe the claim of being busy, but certainly lately Cha Dobum had been out all afternoon. What he was doing, whether he was still going to some education or Bongsan Temple, what he planned to do from now on—there was no way to know.
When he glanced down, Cha Dobum shrugged.
Cha Dobum I’ll catch you so come down
No matter what, it was the second floor. The height he roughly measured with his eyes wasn’t enough to die from falling, but if he slipped even a little, something would definitely break.
The longer his hesitation, the louder the insect sounds became. The sounds he hadn’t even known were audible until now urged Cha Ihyun as if telling him to decide quickly.
“Shit……”
Cha Ihyun hurriedly turned off the room light. He didn’t forget to stuff a pile of clothes under the blanket just in case. When he stuffed them in vertically and long, it looked quite plausibly like a person’s shape.
Finally, Cha Ihyun, who had been changing into pajamas, opened the drawer at a sudden thought.
‘The gym uniform…… was here.’
It was Cha Dobum’s gym uniform he’d brought from school. On behalf of Cha Dobum, who couldn’t set foot in school due to suspension, Cha Ihyun had organized his belongings. Though the belongings were only the gym uniform and textbooks.
Although it ended in withdrawal, it was still a school he’d attended for two and a half years. He’d brought the gym uniform thinking it would be nice to have something to reminisce about, but since then he couldn’t meet Cha Dobum, so it had been stuck in the drawer the whole time.
Cha Ihyun, who grabbed the gym uniform, sat on the windowsill. Even though he hadn’t said to wait, Cha Dobum was still standing in that spot.
Looking at the legs dangling in the air reminded him of safety education he’d heard once. It was hands-on education jumping onto an air mat, and that was about this height. It wasn’t very scary, but the homeroom teacher had sent him down saying he might hyperventilate.
So he couldn’t get a feel for it. What it would feel like to jump down, whether something would go wrong, whether his breathing would be okay.
But strangely, this thought occurred to him. That jumping down to Cha Dobum would be safer than the air mat. Data obtained from experience seemed to whisper. That Cha Dobum would catch him. And safely at that.
If you don’t catch me properly, you’re really dead, you know
Cha Dobum ㅋㅋ
With that unreliable text as the last, Cha Dobum shoved his phone into his back pocket. After seeming to measure the distance, he stopped at a certain point and spread both arms as if telling him to come down.
The moment he saw the embrace that looked bigger and sturdier than the air mat, his hesitation stopped. Cha Ihyun threw his body into the air as it was. Since he didn’t even have memories of jumping off anywhere, his posture was clumsy. But rather than the fear of falling, he felt like he was escaping from somewhere.
The unfamiliar thrill didn’t even last a second. The two arms that precisely embraced his waist and back caught his body without the slightest shake. The chest that made contact rang with a cheerful whistling sound.
“Nice catch.”
Because of the helmet covering his face tightly, the voice was heard through the chest, not the ears. Cha Dobum straightened his body that had been lowered and readjusted his hold with an “Upsy.”
While Cha Dobum, who held him, moved with big steps, Cha Ihyun secretly placed his hand on his chest. His breathing wasn’t disturbed. Rather, deeper breaths were drawn than before jumping down. But his pounding heart showed no sign of slowing down at all.
Is it because I was so surprised? For that, it was more, how to say, closer to being pleasant. It was the first time sneaking out somewhere behind his family’s back at this late hour, and escaping the house through an abnormal method rather than a normal one.
The taste of transgression he experienced for the first time was quite thrilling. Just like when he ate sundae.
While Cha Ihyun was pressing down on his chest, Cha Dobum had already crossed the garden and walked out the gate. Even until the door closed with a creak—, the house was quiet. It seemed no one had noticed the two’s outing.
“What’s that in your hand?”
At the voice resonating inside the helmet, Cha Ihyun turned his head. The helmet covering the entire face felt quite different from when looking down from above. Even at this close distance, not even his eyes were visible, so he couldn’t tell what expression he was making.
Normally, he would have thought he must be smiling carelessly as always, but he kept recalling Cha Dobum’s expression wielding the mechanical pencil in the classroom. Feeling somewhat intimidated, Cha Ihyun fiddled with the gym uniform.
“Your gym uniform.”
When there was no answer, his words unconsciously grew longer.
“I checked if there was anything to pack, but there wasn’t much worth packing, so I brought at least this. Gym uniforms are kind of hard to throw away. They’re memories in their own way. If you really don’t need it, just……”
“So why did you bring that out now?”
“……Because I don’t know when we’ll meet. You said you’re busy?”
It seemed like he heard a pfft, laughing sound. Cha Dobum laid the gym uniform pants on the back seat of the motorcycle and put Cha Ihyun down on top of them. Then he wrapped the gym uniform top around Cha Ihyun’s body and tied the two sleeves tightly in front of his chest. When Cha Ihyun frowned at the appearance of being tied up, the laughter became clear.
“Bear with it even if it’s uncomfortable. It’s a bit cold at night.”
Cha Dobum took off his helmet. Deep dimples were carved on both cheeks. Confirming that the face hidden behind was indeed the Cha Dobum he knew brought relief.
Just as Cha Ihyun was about to say something, something thump covered over his head. Flustered by the suddenly darkened vision and narrowed breathing hole, when he fumbled at the helmet, his wrist was grabbed.
