# Chapter 8
His turned face was colder than Yumyeong had ever seen. Watching that good-natured, handsome face become colored with emotion gave Yumyeong a brief sense of triumph. Until now, he had only lost their staring contests, but at this moment, the tide seemed to be turning. Having instantly put the transfer student on the defensive, Yumyeong felt somewhat encouraged.
However, the emotion on the transfer student’s face was just momentary. Quickly regaining his composure, the transfer student said in a low voice:
“That’s a discriminatory term.”
Whether the transfer student was lecturing him or not, Yumyeong caught on.
Why wouldn’t a joke sound like a joke? And why would a derogatory term bother him?
There was only one reason.
“Why? Do you like guys too?”
At that moment, the transfer student’s face froze with genuine disgust.
As he headed to the classroom with quick steps afterward, Yumyeong was certain.
The transfer student hadn’t denied it. That unpleasant face was different from anything he’d shown before.
It was clearly the face of someone whose weakness had been unexpectedly exposed. The reason why this rich young master who had been studying in America was chased all the way to this remote school now seemed within reach. Just how serious an incident must he have caused for parents to bring back a child living well in America and put him in a mountain boarding school? With the sensation of puzzle pieces fitting together, Yumyeong let out a low laugh.
“Haha!”
It was satisfying to recall the transfer student’s face overflowing with uncontrolled emotion. It seemed he had properly grasped the transfer student’s weakness.
“Ha… this is absurd. A guy who lacks nothing… likes men?”
Before he knew it, Yumyeong had stopped walking and was standing at the end of the hallway. His body, exposed to the cold air in just his shirt, didn’t shrink at all.
Standing straight and looking at the distance outside the window, Yumyeong’s face gradually, slowly turned expressionless.
Typically, a teenager’s stormy adolescence is filled with all kinds of misfortunes.
Failed romance, bullying from classmates, worries about sexual orientation, and unspeakable family issues.
However, it’s impossible to know whose circumstances are more unfortunate. Although their absolute weight can’t be compared, Yumyeong sometimes thought he’d like to rank the misfortunes people carry.
He wondered if he was at the very bottom, or if everyone else was like this too.
***
Some time later, Yumyeong searched throughout the dormitory for the Dormitory fairy.
At first, he just wanted to talk if they happened to meet, but it wasn’t easy to run into him by chance at school. Partly because he hadn’t searched too persistently, but also because the Dormitory fairy truly lived up to his name by hiding so well that he was impossible to spot. Eventually, Yumyeong opened every door in the boys’ section of the dormitory, one by one.
Most guys were bewildered when he flung the door open, but some friends grabbed Yumyeong as he tried to leave quickly.
“What’s up?”
“Not here.”
“Why’d you come?”
“Never mind. Carry on.”
“Hey, where are you going? Want to have a late-night snack?”
Friends who knew him welcomed Yumyeong with surprised faces, wondering what brought him there. Then saying it had been a while since they’d seen him, they wouldn’t let him go easily.
“Late snack? I don’t have money.”
“Eh, really? Then you just pay 5,000 won.”
“Don’t have it. I’m going.”
“Then just eat for free!”
Because friends were being so annoying, by room 203 Yumyeong was caught and ate a late-night snack together, and around room 307 he was tempted by a pile of manga. They begged him to read together, saying there were some with adult content warnings, and before he knew it, he was lying on the floor reading manga. After several such detours, the Dormitory fairy search was increasingly pushed back.
He was caught at room 411 and played three passionate rounds of Mafia. By the time he finished, it was already 2 AM.
Yumyeong was returning to his room, blinking his sleepy eyes. The corridor was already dark and quiet, with occasional light and noise flowing from the gaps of rooms where people were still awake.
‘The last game was really amazing.’
Recalling the recent memory, Yumyeong was again immersed in exhilaration.
Especially in the last round, he was truly the protagonist. Despite being the mafia, he used his persuasive skills to deceive the doctor and make them his ally, causing the doctor to abandon a citizen and save him, the mafia. “An innocent citizen has died. The mafia wins.” After the moderator’s announcement, when everyone’s shocked gaze turned toward him—what a thrill. Yumyeong had just left the room laughing “Kuhahaha,” leaving behind the doctor trembling with betrayal and the citizen who met death while making innocent protests.
‘It was truly a genius performance.’
It was a Mafia game that would remain in his career highlights.
Carrying that precious afterglow in his heart, he was heading toward the stairs when the laundry room caught his eye.
The night had deepened, so it was much quieter than usual inside, and all the washing machines standing in a row were stopped. Yet Yumyeong, swept by a strange instinct, headed inside.
Then, with a “what if” thought, he flung open the supply closet door.
“Planning to sleep here again?”
The “what if” became reality. Surprisingly, the Dormitory fairy was sitting inside. His face showed mild bewilderment at having his presence suddenly discovered.
“If you’re going to hide, do it properly. Either lock the door or something. What if it wasn’t me? If it was those guys again…”
At Yumyeong’s words, the Dormitory fairy shook his head.
“Your footsteps sound different.”
“You knew it was me?”
“Yeah, though I didn’t expect you to open the door…”
At those words, Yumyeong cleared his throat awkwardly. The implication that the Dormitory fairy had recognized him and felt relieved made him feel embarrassed.
“You’re not crying today.”
“There’s no reason to cry.”
“Then?”
“I just wanted to be alone.”
Yumyeong sighed and helped the Dormitory fairy up.
“Until 2 AM? You need to sleep. Our room is for four people, but only two of us are using it. There’s an empty bed, so sleep there.”
When Yumyeong brought the Dormitory fairy to his room, all the lights were off. Instead of turning on the room light, Yumyeong switched on the bathroom light near the door and used that to enter.
To avoid disturbing Hanju who was sleeping, they opened the window leading to the balcony and went outside. The balcony, with just an air conditioner unit and a small chair, was very small but sufficient for the two to sit and talk while looking down at the campus grounds. At the tail end of winter, the wind was still cold, but the feeling against their skin was much softer.
The Dormitory fairy’s eyes caught the cigarette butts scattered on the floor. Yumyeong muttered as if it were nothing:
“Oh, those? They’re not mine.”
“I didn’t ask…”
“It’s the seniors from the floor above. The crazy bastards throw their cigarette butts down here.”
“It would be unfair if you got caught for it.”
“Right, now that I think about it, it’s infuriating.”
Yumyeong quickly picked up a cigarette butt and leaned against the railing. With one hand gripping the railing, he bent his waist back considerably to aim upward, looking precarious. Then he threw the cigarette butt upward forcefully.
The Dormitory fairy unknowingly swallowed a dry gulp.
“Yumyeong…!”
“Goal.”
Having successfully completed his mission, Yumyeong grinned. The Dormitory fairy closed his mouth silently at that face. There was a slight blush on his cheeks, and his eyes looking at Yumyeong had softened.
Yumyeong himself wasn’t fully aware, but he was always an object of envy among his classmates. He easily won people’s hearts. His confidence in saying and doing whatever he wanted without hesitation was especially a point of attraction. Sometimes this went too far and made others anxious, but he didn’t realize that his apparent disregard for his own welfare made him even more captivating to others.
“Why are you standing? Sit.”
Yumyeong pointed at the chair with his hand and nodded. After telling the Dormitory fairy to sit on the chair, he perched himself on top of the air conditioner unit. While he was occasionally misunderstood, everyone knew well that Yumyeong was a kind and considerate friend like this.
The Dormitory fairy, Lee Sunmin, had always known this side of Yumyeong.
“Are you close with that transfer student?”
Yumyeong dropped the question suddenly. Taken aback by the abrupt topic, Sunmin fumbled for words.
“Ah, no…”
“I saw you eating breakfast together.”
“Just once, it was the first time we ate together that day.”
“Oh, really?”
Yumyeong’s eyes narrowed.
“What did he say?”
“He asked why the fight happened… and if I was okay.”
“Did you tell him the truth?”
“Yeah. That I’m fine since I didn’t get hit, but you might be hurt since you fought for me.”
At those words, Yumyeong exclaimed “Ha!” toward the sky as if his pride had been wounded.
“I’m not hurt! Do I look like I’d get hurt? Those bastards couldn’t even touch my body.”
Sunmin just laughed softly at that reaction.
A moment later, after a slight pause, Yumyeong asked:
“Did you tell him everything?”
“Huh?”
“Why I fought with them… why you were there.”
“…”
“You might not want to say it.”
The question was essentially asking if the transfer student knew that “Lee Sunmin” was being bullied for being gay.
“I won’t tell anyone.”
Yumyeong’s eyes looked directly at Sunmin. Despite feeling very grateful, Sunmin smiled bitterly.
“It’s okay to tell. There’s nothing to hide.”
“Why?”
“It’s all rumors anyway.”
Yumyeong looked at the Dormitory fairy’s melancholy profile.
While recently searching for the Dormitory fairy throughout the boys’ dormitory, Yumyeong had occasionally overheard low-quality rumors about him. Rumors spread quickly in the dormitory. Especially scandalous ones.
Thanks to this, Yumyeong could easily guess why it had been difficult to even accidentally run into the Dormitory fairy. He probably barely kept to his seat during class time and slipped away to the bathroom during breaks. Even at mealtimes, he likely came to the cafeteria only when it was nearly empty to avoid others’ gazes.
Thinking that school life must be like hell for him, Yumyeong frowned.
