Yoon Haeyoung met Cha Seonwoo six years ago, on a spring day when he had just entered university and was busy adapting to a new environment.
At that time, Haeyoung was tutoring two students—a third-year middle school girl and a second-year high school boy—so there wasn’t a day to rest. But it wasn’t like he just lived busily.
Not just busy, he lived so busily that even he found it strange he hadn’t gone crazy. He’d fallen for the persuasion of classmates and seniors he’d become close with at the freshman OT and joined the student council. Not only that. He even became the department representative because they said they’d pay him, but Haeyoung realized through that experience that there are things more important than money in life.
Anyway, Yoon Haeyoung was spending a semester that was as enjoyable as he’d thought and busier than he’d thought. It was around that time when he received contact from Hajin saying let’s meet, she’d buy him food. Throughout her third year of high school, she’d sung that she would definitely buy him delicious food if he entered the university she was at. Even if he hadn’t entered the same university as Hajin, she would have bought him food anytime though.
In any case, she’d been itching to do it ever since Haeyoung entered, but schedules kept getting pushed back as Haeyoung’s tasks and appointments continued to multiply.
“I can’t stand it anymore. I’ve made a list of restaurants to take you to, so meet me this week right away.”
To Hajin who called and spoke while grinding her teeth, Haeyoung cheerfully laughed and said he understood. Only after he appeased her saying he’d leave his free period tomorrow open did Hajin return to her usual hearty voice.
When he said he’d buy food since he’d only been mooching off her until now, she mercilessly scoffed.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I have my pride, you think I’d mooch food off a freshman? You just need to bring your body.”
At her words, Haeyoung stuck out his lips as if he couldn’t stop her.
Hajin grew up in the same neighborhood and had helped Haeyoung in various ways until he entered university. Especially counting the help he received during high school, Haeyoung had too many things to repay her for.
Haeyoung, who had a father who ran a small-to-medium enterprise and heard “president’s son” wherever he went, had grown up without hardship from a young age. Since his circumstances were affluent, there was no reason for his personality to be sharp.
However, at 18, what greeted Haeyoung when he returned home as usual was cold air and seizure stickers plastered all over the house. Haeyoung, who didn’t know he’d actually face a scene he’d only seen in dramas, only belatedly realized after standing for a long time that he hadn’t even been breathing.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t noticed the household atmosphere for several days, but he thought it was an extension of his father being busy saying he’d expand business overseas repeatedly. No, perhaps he just wanted to believe that.
The reality he’d been pretending not to know with the baseless belief that the life he’d maintained until now would continue was excessively cold to Haeyoung, who was still a high school student. After his father’s business failed, the harmonious family shattered like a dropped glass bowl. The higher you fall from, the harder it is to handle that disparity. His parents, who had been squeaking particularly badly recently anyway, completely split because of that incident, and only Haeyoung was left floating between them.
At that time, Hajin’s parents, who had family connections since childhood, took in Haeyoung. In those days, Hajin was living alone near school, but she’d return to her family home every weekend to help Haeyoung study.
She told Haeyoung that even if it seems like there’s no answer right now, difficult situations will pass someday. That life isn’t a game where results are decided by a single bad hand.
“In times like these, you have to grit your teeth and study. Your household collapsed, but did you collapse? You’ll be a senior next year, you.”
“I got it. But noona, isn’t this calculation wrong? The graph should be drawn like this.”
“…Hey, it’s been a while since I took the college entrance exam.”
Hajin acted like his own mother.
Every time she came home, she’d check how he was doing with his studies, and sometimes bought him workbooks too. Even when he said he received several workbooks from teachers at school, saying that was more suitable for internal grades, she’d bring an armful of mock exam prep books.
Uncle and Auntie told Hajin not to work herself too hard over him, which says it all. Meanwhile, they’d press spending money into Haeyoung’s hand saying not to skip meals while studying, and put snacks in his room saying he was having a hard time.
To Hajin, and to Auntie and Uncle, Haeyoung owed a debt he couldn’t repay even if he repaid it his whole life. Even after entering university with the top score and receiving a full four-year scholarship, Haeyoung worked tirelessly for that reason. Though it was partly because he needed living expenses while living in the dormitory after entering university, it was because he wanted to repay even a little of what he’d received.
Haeyoung had many debts to repay. Though Hajin and her family would be hurt and get furiously angry if they heard it. Thanks to those kind people, Yoon Haeyoung could hold onto hope even in darkness so pitch-black he couldn’t see ahead.
If he tried hard, things would get better in the future. Surely.
“Haeyoung-ah, over here.”
To Haeyoung who was living with such belief, a person like a reward for his faith appeared.
He met Cha Seonwoo while going out for a lunch appointment with Hajin. A person who would never appear again twice in his future life.
“This is Cha Seonwoo. He said he wanted to see you so I brought him, is that okay? He’s the same age as me, and he’s in the same business administration department as you, so ask him for anything you need.”
The meeting place was a fairly atmospheric Western restaurant near school. While sitting across from Hajin who had arrived first and secured a seat, Haeyoung couldn’t help but doubt several times whether he’d entered a drama set rather than a restaurant.
“Hi, Haeyoung-ah.”
Long eyelashes moved like in a movie along his curving eye corners. The lips from which a gentle voice flowed were drawing a thin favorable arc. Haeyoung looked at it blankly for a moment.
‘Why is there such a pretty person…’
Cha Seonwoo’s first impression was excessively impressive.
And Haeyoung’s reaction wasn’t unique. Because other people in that space were also either pretending not to look at Seonwoo or blatantly glancing at Seonwoo.
Haeyoung belatedly came to his senses and opened his mouth. However, what came from his mouth wasn’t a greeting like “Hello.”
“Hyung… do you know everyone’s only staring at you? Wow. Right now people must see me as a squid.”
“What?”
Cha Seonwoo slightly raised his eyebrows with the same smiling face, as if he’d heard unexpected words. Ah, crazy… Why is even that expression pretty?
While Haeyoung was admiring with his mouth slightly open, Hajin burst into giggles. Seonwoo, who was facing Haeyoung’s gaze looking at him without avoiding it, smiled slightly and answered.
“You’re handsome too though. You’re cute-looking.”
Yoon Haeyoung, who would normally cheerfully squint his eyes saying thank you, somehow felt absurd hearing those words. His words weren’t just meant to gild each other’s faces.
It was pure sincerity without a hint of falsehood.
“I know. I know too, but when hyung says it, the sincerity is a bit…”
When Haeyoung hesitated and trailed off in the middle of speaking, Hajin, who had been giggling, soothed him.
“In my eyes, you’re more handsome, Haeyoung-ah.”
“Really?”
“Mmm……”
To Haeyoung whose eyes immediately shone with emotion, Hajin didn’t answer and closed her mouth. Then Haeyoung stuck out the lips he’d been pressing tight.
Haeyoung wasn’t the type to place great value on others’ appearances or observe and judge beauty and ugliness. He wasn’t very interested in what others looked like in the first place. Until he met Cha Seonwoo. His appearance easily caught Haeyoung’s indifferent gaze.
“Really cute…”
Seonwoo looked at such Haeyoung and let out a low voice mixed with laughter.
At that ticklish voice, Haeyoung unnecessarily fiddled with the nape of his neck with a subtle feeling. And Hajin looked at Cha Seonwoo and was surprised as if her eyes would pop out right away.
It was later that Hajin told him she’d seen Cha Seonwoo say such words to someone for the first time.
After being introduced to him by Hajin, Haeyoung came to run into Cha Seonwoo so often that it felt stranger that they hadn’t met until now.
Due to the nature of the business school with many people, frequently running into Seonwoo was quite a miraculous thing, and they could become close that quickly. It wasn’t strange since they met more often than classmates in the same class.
Of course, besides running into each other by chance, Cha Seonwoo often came looking for Haeyoung. To what extent? Enough that people in the department got used to the sight of Seonwoo coming to visit Haeyoung in the department room and handing him takeout coffee.
“Haeyoung-ah, coffee.”
“Hyuuung… I love you.”
“Me too.”
Perhaps feeling sorry seeing him struggle during exam period, Seonwoo often bought him coffee. Haeyoung put the coffee he received from Seonwoo on the table, then showed him a heart with both hands.
Seonwoo looked at such Haeyoung and hung an idle smile on the corners of his lips with repeated chuckles. Such a loose smile would soften the extraordinary atmosphere given by Cha Seonwoo’s glamorous features. It was when Haeyoung was quietly sipping coffee while watching Seonwoo’s face he still couldn’t get used to.
“Hyung, buy me coffee too.”
One of the classmates beside Haeyoung spoke cutely toward Seonwoo.
“I’ll give you my card…”
And at the answer that followed, the classmates in the department room let out giggles. Seonwoo was kind. His gentle voice and tone were like that. However, there was clearly a difference between how he treated others and how he treated Haeyoung, and Haeyoung’s surroundings were already used to his discriminatory attitude.
Except for only one person who was there.
“I’ve never seen Seonwoo oppa like this before.”
Hyein, who had stopped by the department room after a long time, looked back and forth between Haeyoung and Seonwoo with a dumbfounded face.
Hyein was the business administration student council president, and had stopped by the department room wanting to sleep even for a moment before the next class. While she was sitting on the sofa having a brief conversation with Haeyoung and other juniors, the department room door opened. And the person who entered through the opened door was someone she’d never seen here once while attending school for three years.
Hyein had a blank expression looking at Seonwoo who approached Haeyoung familiarly and stood beside him.
A person who had never come to the department room until now… After muttering to herself, she soon lay down on the sofa as if collapsing with a face saying what does it matter. It was after she even diligently covered herself with a blanket as if finally about to sleep. However, Hyein, who was about to close her eyes like that, suddenly opened both eyes wide and asked toward Haeyoung.
“You two aren’t dating, right?”
“Unnie, I think we’ll have a department CC soon.”
“Ah, no! CC is forbidden!”
At Hyein’s voice shouting like a fit, those in the department room burst into laughter. Because it was already a famous anecdote that she’d been quite a noisy campus couple.
Haeyoung also laughed along with them, then looked up at Seonwoo standing beside him with playful eyes.
“Hyung, will you date me? I’ll treat you well…”
“Yeah. Sounds good.”
“Haeyoung-ah, no!”
At Haeyoung’s question, Seonwoo’s quick response returned. Then at Hyein’s scream heard from under the blanket, the department room was once again filled with laughter.
The more they met, the more Haeyoung could tell he was a good person. Seonwoo hyung was very kind, and even when he made silly jokes or playfully showed off, he was delighted like someone who’d seen something tremendously funny. Enough that he worried ‘Was I a funny person? Should I turn my career toward being a comedian even now?’, which says it all.
Anyway, being together with someone who enjoyed the time with him couldn’t help but be enjoyable for Haeyoung too. If there was a problem… it was just that Cha Seonwoo was always excessively kind, and his everyday kindness approached him as something special.
If Seonwoo had been a woman, Haeyoung might have believed the favor he gave him was romantic interest and rashly confessed. Looking at how confused he was even now, it was certain.
However, Yoon Haeyoung liked Seonwoo’s kindness and didn’t want to distance himself from him. To do that, he had to find a way to not be confused while being together with him.
‘Hyung, let’s see Hajin noona too. Noona said she has time today.’
So Haeyoung started calling Hajin to every appointment with Seonwoo without fail.
‘A movie? That’s what noona said she wanted to see too, should I ask?’
What Haeyoung wanted was to buy a very short time. Time to realize that hyung’s kindness wasn’t something special poured only on him. He believed that once he got used to his meticulous consideration, the current confusion would also be resolved.
So Yoon Haeyoung didn’t know. That such efforts would instead make him lose the composure of Cha Seonwoo, who had been leisurely waiting for permission to cross the line.
