Chapter 106
“So.”
Go Hankyul looked at us with his arms crossed, as if he didn’t approve.
“You’re asking me to teach you how other people have fun?”
“Yes.”
“You two are really pitiful. That you can only ask someone like me about these things.”
“Come on, Hankyul, what’s wrong with you? You’re great at having fun. You were going wild at the concert.”
“Hyunjae, you’re the type who reveals how little you know about having fun with every word you speak.”
“Hyunjae does tend to be like that, but you’re being pretty direct.”
“Well, I don’t know what sudden wind blew your way to make you ask me this, but having fun isn’t something you teach.”
Go Hankyul sighed and got up. Yu Hyunjae and I stared at him like raccoons whose cotton candy had been washed away in water. We’d even bought him an expensive meal, and we were getting nothing in return. Go Hankyul opened our refrigerator door with familiarity, took out juice, downed it in one shot, and then turned to look at us.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you getting dressed?”
“Huh? I thought you weren’t going to teach us?”
“I told you it’s not about teaching. We’re just going to have fun together.”
Yu Hyunjae and I gave him a standing ovation as if we’d been waiting for this moment. Despite his words, he was clearly happy and thinking about where to go. “You were right, Hyunjae. Hankyul does seem pleased when we do as he says,” Yu Hyunjae whispered to me with a smile. I hunched my shoulders because it tickled.
“Guys our age usually go to two places.”
“Two places?”
“Yeah. Karaoke or PC rooms.”
“Wow…”
Both were places I’d never been to and didn’t particularly want to visit. When I made a sour face, Go Hankyul continued as if he’d expected it.
“I figured you wouldn’t be interested. That’s why I didn’t even include them as options.”
“Where are we going then?”
“Well, what do you think are common date spots for guys your age?”
“That’s…”
“Of course you don’t know.”
“Do you know? You’ve never dated either.”
“Unbelievable. While you two were busy with Ranker stuff, I was living my own life.”
“What? Really?”
“Of course. You’re underestimating me. Anyway.”
“So where is it?”
“Amusement parks, and festivals.”
“Festivals?”
“You know, all those different kinds of festivals.”
“So you’re saying we should go to a festival now?”
“I checked, and there aren’t any happening nearby.”
“Then?”
“But there is a university festival.”
“University festival?”
“Yeah. K University is having one.”
“K University? The one right in front of us?”
“A singer is coming today. I heard some idol and a rapper are coming too.”
“Can we go to a university festival?”
“Of course. It doesn’t matter.”
Hearing the word ‘university’ made my heart race. It reminded me of when Yu Hyunjae and I took photos pretending to be college students. Without saying anything, I glanced at Yu Hyunjae. He seemed to have similar thoughts as our eyes met in mid-air.
“Want to go?”
“Let’s go.”
“Okay.”
“But will it be alright? I’ve been all over the news.”
“Well, there might be some rumors. But is it a problem to have fun at a university festival?”
“No, but I might get criticized.”
“Since when did you care about that?”
“That’s true.”
I nodded lightly and picked up my coat to put it on again. I briefly wondered what college students usually wore. Is what I’m wearing now too mature? Or does it not look college-student-like enough? Go Hankyul seemed to read my mind and gave my outfit a once-over.
“Everyone will be drunk, so they won’t even notice. Just wear whatever.”
“Wait, can we drink there too?”
“Why are you asking something so obvious? What on earth have you learned since turning twenty?”
“Who would teach me that kind of stuff?”
“University students make their own food stalls, fry pancakes, sell alcohol, and all that, mister. You should at least know this much before going, okay?”
“So we’re going there to drink?”
“Have a drink if you want.”
“Then don’t drive.”
“Why not experience being a pedestrian college student for once? Ordinary twenty-year-old college students don’t even worry about whether to drive or not.”
I naturally put on my mask. It had become a habit whenever I went out. Seeing me, Yu Hyunjae also put on his mask naturally. We looked somewhat suspicious, but it couldn’t be helped. Even Go Hankyul, who I expected would nag, didn’t say much, so we walked to the subway station as we were.
“It’s been so long since I’ve been out.”
“How many days?”
“About three? I’ve only gone to the convenience store or for a walk, I don’t think I’ve ever walked this far.”
I wasn’t exaggerating. After graduating high school, I never spent my personal time outside except for official external activities permitted by Han Jaemin. It wasn’t so much that I had to, but rather my own victim mentality. I thought it was better to prevent any issues beforehand rather than risk doing something that might cause talk. The weather outside was better than I expected. Even though we were just about to enter winter, the trees still maintained their greenness. My steps felt lighter. When I resolved not to think about anything, truly nothing came to mind.
When we got on the subway, people were sitting or standing. These were all scenes I had only seen on TV. Yu Hyunjae might not know, but at least Yu Chanhee had been a young master who always went to and from school by private car since his school days.
When the subway arrived at a station, people poured in like a flood. I was startled and looked around. Go Hankyul had already secured a seat. As people crowded in, I naturally backed up toward the door. Do this many people always ride? Do they repeat this every day? I frowned under my mask and continued to curl my body.
“Um… Chanhee.”
“What?”
“You don’t have to go this far… Relax. It’s hard on you.”
I leaned my elbow against the subway wall and tensed my body. Yu Hyunjae was standing precisely within my guard. It was exactly like the position male protagonists in dramas take to protect female protagonists on buses. (Of course, I was the male lead and Yu Hyunjae the female lead.) I hadn’t intended it, but somehow having our bodies touch in a place like this was… embarrassing, I guess.
“No, it’s fine. I can bear it.”
“You don’t have to bear it.”
“Ah, this is comfortable actually.”
My voice trembled slightly. It was undeniable that I was smaller than Yu Hyunjae, so it was a bit ridiculous that I was the one embracing him. Yu Hyunjae finally smiled slightly, slipped his hand between my arms, and pulled me toward him as if embracing me. In an instant, my arms lost their strength and I fell into Yu Hyunjae’s arms.
“Hey, are you crazy? This is the subway.”
“But no one will know. Look, everyone is this close to each other.”
With my face against Yu Hyunjae’s chest, I wiped the sweat forming on my hands on my pants. Even though it was crowded, we seemed to be the only ones so close to each other, which made me even more embarrassed. Yu Hyunjae didn’t seem to find this situation embarrassing at all and looked completely at ease. After traveling five stations like this, we soon got off at a station. Having just escaped from Yu Hyunjae’s arms, I already wanted to go home.
“There must be more people today because they said some singer is coming.”
“Singer?”
“Why? Curious? Want to go see?”
“No, I’m good.”
I shook my head and followed behind Go Hankyul, walking diligently toward the university. On one side, as Go Hankyul had said, a large stage was prepared, and on the other side, there were drinking stalls packed so tightly there was no room to step. Go Hankyul took our hands as we were standing around awkwardly and entered one of the stalls.
“Are you from another department?”
“Yes. We heard the food is good here.”
Go Hankyul told this lie without even wetting his lips, which made my heart race. Fortunately, the server, who was busy trying to attract customers, led us to empty seats, gave us menus, and then ran off to bring in other customers.
“If they ask what department, just say engineering.”
“Engineering?”
“If you give the exact department, we’ll be caught.”
“Got it. But who would ask that?”
Only then could I slowly look around inside the stall. Everyone was my age, and most were having trivial conversations or playing drinking games, having a rowdy good time.
“So this is what college students are like.”
“They say college students are corpses without alcohol. Just drink up. And take off that damn mask.”
Yu Hyunjae and I slowly took off our masks. I kept looking around nervously, but as Go Hankyul said, no one paid any attention to us. Just then, the appetizers and alcohol we ordered arrived. When I drank a glass of the alcohol Go Hankyul poured, a bitter sensation seemed to spread throughout my body. The stuffy air could have been unpleasant, but somehow I was enjoying it more and more. It might have been the alcohol, but I held out my glass to Yu Hyunjae. Yu Hyunjae also clinked his glass with mine, smiling happily.
