“Uh…… huh?”
“As you know, I like men, and I live in the same dorm as the person I like. If I wanted to, I could see them right after showering, sleeping, or changing clothes. So why would I need to look at other guys?”
It made sense. With a strange tension, Yumyeong swallowed dry saliva.
“You…… look at Sunmin with those eyes?”
At those words, Hakyoung’s eyes wavered slightly, wandering. But he soon found his composure and continued.
“Of course. Did you think I wouldn’t?”
“You pervert! I didn’t think like that even when looking at Heeun or other girls.”
“Pervert? I’m dumbfounded. Ask around. A hundred out of a hundred. You’ll only hear that you’re the weird one or that you really didn’t like Song Heeun after all.”
“There’s such a thing as platonic love in the world. Do you think everyone’s a pervert like you?”
“It’s natural if you like someone. There’s no reason to be called a pervert.”
Yumyeong wriggled a bit to shake off Hakyoung who was still holding him tightly. As if he didn’t want to let go, Hakyoung applied even more force and just watched Yumyeong.
“I really won’t run away now.”
“……”
“I mean it? If you can’t believe me, you can hit me. Here.”
As he said this, Yumyeong thrust his face forward. Looking at the smooth cheek thrust before him, Hakyoung sighed and soon released the force from his hands.
“……Fine.”
“Your strength is scary too. Ow ow.”
On Yumyeong’s white arm were bright red handprints. As he rubbed it pretending it hurt so he’d feel some guilt, Hakyoung lowered his eyes. Unlike before, his face had completely lost its competitive spirit.
‘He’s feeling sorry now, right? He has pride so he can’t apologize.’
Not even guessing why Hakyoung had deflated, Yumyeong glanced sideways at Hakyoung’s profile.
“Then what do you usually do to solve it? Is there like a separate gay magazine or something?”
When Yumyeong opened his mouth, Hakyoung’s cool eyes slowly reached him. His face seemed to say ‘Are you still talking about that?’
“I told you I don’t look at them.”
“Not you. Generally speaking.”
“Generally?”
Hakyoung’s expression became strange.
“Why are you curious about what other gay…… men look at?”
“Huh? Just curious. Humans have endless curiosity.”
“Curiosity killed the cat.”
“Even if I die, I’ll die with my curiosity satisfied.”
Hakyoung let out a short sigh and just ignored it. Because he realized that at some point, Yumyeong had been nitpicking at his words. At times like this, choosing silence instead of continuing the argument helped maintain peace of mind.
“I’m not interested in other people’s business.”
Hakyoung said curtly. Because Hakyoung didn’t readily satisfy his curiosity, Yumyeong also lost interest.
“How boring.”
Thud, thud…….
Just then, a soccer ball rolled in front of the bench.
“Throw us the ball!”
At the sound coming from far away, Yumyeong got up and picked up the ball. Holding it with one hand, he threw the ball hard and it flew quite far. The student who caught the ball waved his hand in thanks and turned to run away.
Toward Yumyeong who was coming back dusting off his hands, Hakyoung said.
“Don’t you usually kick it with your foot?”
“When I kick with my foot, it always flies in a weird direction.”
Yumyeong answered awkwardly.
Yumyeong’s arm revealed under the short-sleeved summer uniform was slender and long as befitting a boy, but his forearm muscles stood out prominently. Anyone could see it was a well-trained arm.
As he stared at the white arm for a long time, Yumyeong noticed his gaze and answered.
“It’s because I play basketball. My hands are comfortable.”
“Basketball?”
“Yeah. I’m good at basketball. Do you play basketball? Let’s do it together sometime.”
“Why don’t you do it now then?”
“Well…… I should stop playing and study.”
“Even though you don’t study.”
At those words, Yumyeong’s face, which had been making a hand shade to block the sunlight, turned this way. Under the light shadows cast by the tree shade, his cool eyes seemed to be glaring.
‘Ah, did I upset him?’
The moment he thought that, those long eyes curved slightly.
He realized a beat late that Yumyeong was smiling with his eyes.
Then he,
“That’s right!”
Said in agreement and laughed refreshingly.
Hakyoung looked at Yumyeong’s smiling face anew. He was bewildered to see him laugh at a moment when before he would have frowned deeply and lowered his voice, asking if he was being ignored.
“You weren’t upset?”
“Hm? Ah.”
As if understanding what he meant, Yumyeong laughed lightly and kicked the ground with his toes.
“What’s the point of fighting with a friend?”
Friend.
That word approached him anew.
Not knowing how Yumyeong interpreted Hakyoung’s silent gaze, he grumbled softly.
“How terrible did you think my personality was? I’m not sensitive. I get along well with close friends.”
Once he opened his heart and acknowledged someone as a friend, Yumyeong really became generous. The prickly appearance at the beginning of the semester was an attitude that came out because it was truly an ill-fated relationship.
“Close……”
“Yeah.”
Should he be satisfied?
The wind made a whooshing sound as it shook the tree branches above their heads.
The reason his heart was anxious was because what he wanted was farther away. But right now, he couldn’t grasp what to do.
However, he didn’t dislike this moment.
Thinking back from right after transferring schools until now, the situation had continuously improved. Transferring schools because he wanted to meet Yumyeong, hovering around and clashing with the guy who kept picking fights with him, and then at some point receiving confirmation as a ‘close friend’ from Yumyeong’s own mouth.
He didn’t know for sure, but if he continued to work hard, things would get better.
Hakyoung decided to let everything flow as it was while believing in that uncertain optimism.
“Friends are good.”
“They’re good.”
Yumyeong nodded with a smile. Hakyoung also smiled looking at that face.
***
Finals approached and the rainy season began in earnest.
In the mountains spread out like an ink painting in the distance, gray clouds hung here and there, pouring down rain. Water pooled in various spots on the track around the athletic field, vividly reflecting the scenery, and green leaves tilted from absorbing water occasionally dropped rainwater with a patter.
“This year’s rainy season seems serious.”
Looking out the dorm window, Sunmin said. A dark curtain of clouds was draped across the sky. Because of that, the dorm room was also so dark that lights had to be turned on from daytime.
Inside room 310 were not only Hakyoung and Sunmin, the owners of this room, but also Hanju.
“Wow, did you turn on the heating? The floor is hot.”
“Yeah. It’s too damp, maybe because of the rain.”
“We should turn on ours too.”
Hanju was moved by the luxurious environment that had the floor heating on while simultaneously running the air conditioner, and approached close to the desk. Instead of taking the seat next to Hakyoung, where books were spread wide making it difficult to create empty space, he approached Sunmin’s seat which was moderately empty.
“Where’s Yumyeong?”
“Who knows? He’ll probably come.”
At Hanju’s words, Hakyoung shifted his gaze to his book without answering.
The reason they had gathered in the room was none other than to prepare for finals. When Hanju, who always prepares for exams early, started preparing for finals, naturally Sunmin and Hakyoung joined in as well. There was no tension yet since the exam was still far away, but that’s exactly why being together was more enjoyable.
Just then, the door opened.
“Why prepare for an exam two weeks in advance?”
Yumyeong, who clearly came because he didn’t want to be alone rather than for studying, grumbled like that. When he approached, only then did Hakyoung silently clear away the books beside him and create a space for Yumyeong to sit. Yumyeong tossed his book down on that empty space with a thud and dragged his chair with a scraping sound to sit.
Hanju asked as if dumbfounded.
“Two weeks in advance is basic. This is neither early nor late. Then when should you do it by your standards?”
“Normally, just normally.”
Yumyeong looked out the distant window and replied half-heartedly. His face clearly showed he had no motivation to study at all.
Hakyoung was equally unable to concentrate. Because Yumyeong was sitting with one leg spread loosely, his knee was touching Hakyoung’s right thigh. Yumyeong had no thought of fixing his posture and was just leaning back languidly listening to the sound of rain.
Flash!
Just then, a brief flash of light passed outside the window. Yumyeong’s eyes sparkled as he muttered softly, ‘It’s coming.’
BOOM!
Thunder struck after the lightning. The sound like the sky refreshingly roaring literally shook heaven and earth.
“I love it so much. It feels like everything inside is cleared out.”
Yumyeong said this and patted Hakyoung sitting beside him.
“Right?”
Then Hakyoung, who had been frozen with his head lowered, answered a beat slowly.
“Yeah……”
In fact, Hakyoung had been very afraid of thunder since he was young. That was still the case now, to the point that on days with thunder and lightning, he would wear earplugs.
Even when he was young, Yumyeong was a child whose eyes would sparkle and run to the window whenever lightning struck outside, and Hakyoung was a child who would cover his ears tightly and lie face down in fear.
Even after the thunder passed, if he was lying face down with his ears covered,
“What’s wrong, are you scared?”
Young Yumyeong would ask like that and come running to Hakyoung.
“When there’s a flash of light outside, a loud sound comes. You can cover your ears when the light flashes. Next time thunder comes, I’ll hug you.”
It was Yumyeong who taught him that thunder follows after lightning.
Having no way of knowing Hakyoung was recalling the past, Yumyeong opened the window wide and was happy receiving the wind full of humidity.
“Ah, so refreshing. I wish a typhoon would come. That’s right. Hakyoung, you know what? I don’t know if they designed this school strangely, but whenever a typhoon comes, a whirlwind blows in the plaza. A tornado literally spins right in front. I was so bewildered when I first saw it…… Last summer vacation was really the best. A whirlwind was spinning right in front of my eyes and suddenly there was this bang! bang! bang! sound from the lower floors. It came up breaking dorm windows one floor, one floor from the first floor. That was such a spectacle.”
“Right. The gymnasium roof flew off then too, right?”
Sunmin chimed in.
It was then. Hanju, who had been looking at the open window, opened his mouth as if suddenly remembering.
“You guys know? Yesterday someone saw a ghost on the second floor.”
Flash!
BOOOOM!
