Wooyeon, who had been heading home, stopped in his tracks at the sound of a cat’s meow coming from the alley. Two small cats that looked like fluffy balls seemed to recognize Wooyeon and clung to his legs.
Wooyeon bent his knees and sat down to pet the cats. The anger he’d felt toward Jeonghan seemed to melt away.
“Are they cats you know?”
Jeonghan also sat down beside Wooyeon and asked. Perhaps because his anger hadn’t completely subsided yet, Wooyeon didn’t answer and only nodded his head.
“What are their names?”
“Ah, names… I haven’t given them names.”
He had occasionally brought them food and water, but he hadn’t thought to give them names. One of them with yellow fur rubbed its chin against Wooyeon’s finger.
“Sunbae, you know you can be thoughtless sometimes, right?”
“……”
“Well, it’s fine. Then I’ll name them.”
When Wooyeon turned his head to look at Jeonghan, a smile spread across Jeonghan’s face. Jeonghan lowered his gaze again to look at the cats. They were much smaller than even Jeonghan’s large hands.
“This one, since it’s pretty, will be Wooyeon. And this one’s bigger than that one, so Jeonghan.”
“What the hell is that.”
For a moment, Wooyeon felt relieved that it was his own name and not Seoha’s name that came up. He felt pathetic for even having such a ridiculous thought. Jeonghan’s careless hand then stroked both cats in turn.
“When they grow up later, this one’s going to fuck that one.”
“…They’re both male.”
“That doesn’t really matter, does it?”
At Jeonghan’s shameless face, Wooyeon couldn’t help but laugh absently in disbelief.
**12.**
“You’re dating someone, aren’t you?”
Wooyeon, who had been leaving the staff room clutching the phone he’d been looking at, turned to look at the manager at the counter. The manager was smiling with an expression that said she knew everything. The fragrant, savory smell of coffee and bread filled the bakery.
“Pardon?”
“It’s super obvious with you.”
Wooyeon blinked a couple of times and tilted his head. He didn’t understand what she meant by being obvious. It wasn’t that Jeonghan’s existence didn’t immediately come to mind. But they weren’t in a relationship that could be described as ‘dating.’ Wooyeon had been urged by her many times to go on blind dates and such, so he just thought this was another one of those times.
“When would I have the mental capacity to date?”
“Kids are born even during war, so why can’t you date?”
This time it was the manager who blinked and straightened her back. Even if Wooyeon were dating, she wasn’t the type to tease him about it. Wooyeon felt both absurd and amused that she seemed genuinely happy and congratulatory about his supposed romance, so he dropped his shoulders and laughed.
“I’m really not.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“This time I thought, ‘Seo Wooyeon is finally dating.'”
The manager looked genuinely disappointed as she propped her chin on the counter.
“You keep looking at your phone when you never used to, and you’d never smile but now you’re grinning to yourself, then getting depressed again, so I thought you were dating.”
“Ah……”
Wooyeon’s pupils spun round and round in his large eyes. In the end, what came to mind again was his face. Should he say it was closer to unrequited love rather than dating?
“I’m really not. I’m waiting for contact about a group project.”
Wooyeon’s eyes sank gloomily again. Without realizing it, that must be how he appeared to others. His mood rode a roller coaster dozens of times a day. He’d thought he was the type who didn’t show his emotions easily, but it seemed that wasn’t entirely the case. Wooyeon pressed his short-cut nails into his palm.
“You know I don’t have the luxury to date.”
His lightly smiling face was somehow lonely. Today was even the day he had a midterm exam. Come to think of it, he really did seem to be living without his wits about him. Wooyeon let out a small sigh.
“Ugh, anyway, I understand. Oh, take this. Eat it on your way.”
At Wooyeon’s quickly gloomy appearance, the manager gestured toward Wooyeon. It was a freshly brewed americano and a warm croque monsieur. Wooyeon put his phone in his pocket and approached the manager to receive them.
“Thank you. Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Alright, study hard.”
Wooyeon bowed in greeting while holding the americano and croque monsieur in both hands and left the bakery.
As soon as he came out onto the street, Wooyeon took a bite of the croque monsieur. By the time he arrived at the bus stop, he’d already swallowed half of it. Since the portion was small, even half a triangular croque monsieur had already satisfied his hunger. He didn’t know what would happen with lunch though. After briefly pondering, Wooyeon forced down the rest.
[Bus 867 is approaching.]
The cherry blossoms were already at their end. From a cherry tree planted next to the bus stop, petals fell rustling whenever the wind blew.
* * *
With a smacking sound, as Jeonghan’s lips pulled away, Wooyeon lifted his long eyelashes upward. Affectionate hands were still caressing the nape of his neck.
They were still at a close distance where each other’s breath touched their cheeks. Nervous, Wooyeon gripped the seatbelt tightly. Even though the windows were heavily tinted and it was a secluded place, his heart pounded fearfully every time.
“Did you do well on your exam?”
At Jeonghan’s voice, lowered with excitement, Wooyeon shook his head. He knew he wasn’t in his right mind. During the free periods he’d deliberately created to study, he’d never properly studied. Every free period, he met Jeonghan like this to eat, kiss, and sometimes even have sex. It was natural that he couldn’t do well on the exam. Should he consider it fortunate that there were only two subjects with midterm exams?
“Why didn’t you do well?”
Jeonghan’s face showed he already knew the answer. With a faint spreading smile, Jeonghan turned his head again and bit Wooyeon’s upper lip. Like jelly, Wooyeon’s soft lip was crushed between Jeonghan’s lips.
When Wooyeon released the seatbelt and lightly pushed Jeonghan’s shoulder, Jeonghan grabbed and blocked Wooyeon’s wrist. Between their gently intertwined lips again, a tongue entered and touched the sensitized mucous membrane. As the slowly mixing tongues gradually intensified, Wooyeon became frightened with a start. When the shrinking Wooyeon pulled his lips away, Jeonghan persistently followed. In the end, Wooyeon turned his head away.
“……Class, it’s almost time for class to start.”
Jeonghan’s face when they met eyes again was expressionless. A coldness flashed in his eyes as he wiped the saliva on his lips with his thumb. Wooyeon’s gaze was directed at him with pity.
“You’re right.”
Jeonghan checked the time, then leaned his back against the driver’s seat and grabbed the steering wheel. As the car started, Wooyeon also raised his hand and wiped his lips with the back of his hand. His face reflected in the side mirror was flushed red like a beet. He felt like he’d die of embarrassment. Then, Jeonghan, who had been silent for a while, spoke to Wooyeon again.
“Do you have some time tonight?”
“Huh? What… time?”
“Mm, around 7?”
“Ah… I have tutoring then.”
Hmm. As Jeonghan turned the steering wheel to make a right turn, the school’s main gate soon came into view. Since it was such a large campus, the car continued cutting through the campus without any sign of stopping yet.
“When does it end?”
“8 o’clock.”
“Mm, then do you want to meet briefly then?”
“Huh?”
As the low sports car went over a speed bump, his body jolted. Wooyeon silently watched Jeonghan withdraw the arm he’d extended in front of Wooyeon. His kindness and manners and such didn’t discriminate between people or gender. Soon the car entered the parking lot in front of Sanggyeong Hall.
“I have to go to the convenience store at night too.”
“You’re not going right away though, are you?”
“Well, no, but.”
“Then it’s fine. I’ll pick you up where you’re tutoring.”
Jeonghan quickly turned the steering wheel and parked. The car slid right into the parking line in one go, and Jeonghan pressed the button to turn off the engine.
“Let’s meet briefly then.”
What it was for was obvious. Shadows fell beneath Wooyeon’s lowered eyelashes.
“Okay.”
Wooyeon didn’t have the right to refuse him or anything like that. Jeonghan always acted as if Wooyeon had the power to choose, but Wooyeon instinctively knew he shouldn’t. Jeonghan was a creditor to Wooyeon and Wooyeon was a debtor. There was no contract, but they were making a contract with sex as collateral. Wooyeon’s eyes turned toward Jeonghan filled with sorrow.
“Listen well in class.”
Jeonghan only flicked Wooyeon’s cheek with his index finger and smiled.
* * *
“Make sure you do your homework. Got it? You can’t get the same type of problem wrong again next time.”
“Ahhh, teacher……”
Despite the student’s tired voice, Wooyeon stood up while putting the neatly stacked books into his bag.
When he opened the door and went out, the student followed Wooyeon out while whining. A middle-aged woman who had been drinking tea on the sofa put down her teacup, stood up, and smiled. When they met her, the whining stopped coming from the student’s mouth.
“Oh my, are you leaving? I wonder if it suited your taste.”
She was referring to the cookies she’d given him during tutoring time, saying she’d baked them herself.
“Ah. Ma’am, they were really delicious. Thank you very much.”
Wooyeon answered while bowing in greeting. Perhaps her hobby was collecting dishes, as all sorts of fancy dishes were displayed like works of art in the large cabinet in the living room. Not only the fancy tableware and trays she brought the cookies out on, but even the fact that she made pastries as a hobby—all of it just felt elegant yet distant to Wooyeon.
