“What’s this, amazing.”
“Then Chu Seonyoung’s last kiss must be today too.”
“When did they even do it when they didn’t even have time?”
At Jeonghan’s answer, Seonyoung’s flustered face was smiling awkwardly. Feeling suffocated, Wooyeon somehow felt dizzy.
“I’ll write my wish later, sunbae.”
“Ah, why. Write it now so we can all see.”
It felt like he was being pierced through by that gently smiling gaze. Seeing ripples forming inside the paper cup in his hand, Wooyeon put down the cup. His hands were trembling finely.
“I’m going to think about it more and write something difficult.”
“……”
“Something really difficult so you can’t refuse.”
Jeonghan smiled affectionately.
* * *
“Ah, ajumma. I was wondering how mom is doing. Sorry for the late hour. You’ve finished work, right?”
「She was fine today. But why didn’t student Wooyeon come even though it’s the weekend?」
Wooyeon, clutching his phone in a corner of the hallway, squatted down. His heart felt so suffocated he wanted to grab anyone and complain.
“I came to the MT today.”
「Oh my, good job. You can’t just work part-time and study all the time.」
“Is mom sleeping now?”
「Of course. I left after seeing her sleep.」
“I see……”
He had asked the caregiver ajumma first just in case, and he was relieved. He couldn’t wake his mother who was fighting illness from her deep sleep just to be comforted. Wooyeon let out a shallow sigh.
「But why. Student Wooyeon, is something wrong?」
“No. Just. Thank you for coming even on the weekend.”
「Well for me, there’s no other place that gives such good caregiver pay. I’m doing it because it’s doable for me too.」
“Still. Thank you.”
The caregiver who used to come only on weekdays was now coming even on weekends. Instead, a different caregiver that Jeonghan had newly found came 3 days during the weekdays, and there was also a separate private room resident nurse, so the situation had improved in various ways compared to before.
「But, that…… young man who came to visit before. You know, the one who appears on TV.」
“……Yes.”
「He’s not ordinary. I was so surprised that day. I mean, on TV he’s such a gentle fellow.」
Seoha’s appearance that day came to mind again and stabbed Wooyeon’s chest.
「He’s pret~ty like student Wooyeon.」
“……”
「You said you’re brothers who met after over ten years? Oh my. But your mother was worried. She wondered if student Wooyeon and that…… student and that handsome student who came together were conspiring to bully him.」
“That can’t be.”
「Right. I said it didn’t make sense and told your mother that.」
Beyond that, if mom came to have doubts about his and Jeonghan’s relationship. Wooyeon sighed at the anxiety that grew endlessly like a tail.
“Rest well, then go in.”
Wooyeon, who sighed deeply again, hung up the phone and stood up leaning his back against the wall. He didn’t want to go in. But since this kind of gathering was also a first for him, Wooyeon didn’t really know how to slip away skillfully either. Eventually, Wooyeon who got up and went to the front of Group F’s room opened the door again.
“Yo, amazing!”
An excited high-pitched voice rang out. Where his gaze reached, two people, male and female, were hugging each other. Surrounded by students clapping and cheering, Wooyeon didn’t understand.
As Wooyeon stood with a puzzled face without even taking off his shoes, Kim Sunwoo pulled Wooyeon’s arm and brought him into the room. Jeonghan, who had been sitting, turned around and looked. Wooyeon avoided his eyes.
“What are they doing?”
“Ah, after sunbae left we changed the game. King game.”
“King game?”
Before he could ask back what that was, the male and female who had hugged while drinking all their alcohol separated hurriedly with embarrassed faces. Wooyeon’s wide-open eyes rolled in surprise. They didn’t seem to be dating each other.
“Here. Sunbae, pick one.”
“Huh?”
At the bundle of wooden chopsticks suddenly thrust at him, Wooyeon alternately looked at the wooden chopsticks and the statistics department class president. At the hurried hand gestures telling him to pick quickly, Wooyeon carefully picked one.
“Sunbae, only you should see the number.”
As Wooyeon was exposing his number defenseless, Sunwoo covered the lower part where the number was written and said to Wooyeon. Ah. Only then did Wooyeon check the number while covering the lower part. Number 9 (gu). When he raised his head again, each person was holding one wooden chopstick.
“Yo, who’s the king?”
When they asked for the king, one female student raised her hand high with a proud face and waved it.
“Give us a mission.”
“Um, numbers 3 and 9 do a 3-step love shot!”
“Who’s 3 and 9?”
For Wooyeon playing the king game for the first time, it felt like some kind of code. As Wooyeon just blinked without saying anything, Sunwoo with a reddened face slowly raised his hand.
“Puhaha. Kim Sunwoo, what number are you?”
“Number 3.”
“Okay, then number 9 please come out.”
Sunwoo’s gaze turned to the side toward Wooyeon. At the eyes looking at him, Wooyeon also looked at Sunwoo. Still an expression that doesn’t understand.
“Sunbae, the number……”
“Huh? Ah, yeah.”
It seemed Sunwoo had seen Wooyeon’s number while covering it earlier. When Wooyeon also hesitantly raised his hand, laughter burst out from the students sitting in a circle.
“What is this, two guys.”
“Is there anyone who’ll do black rose?”
“Why, leave them be. Seems like it’ll be fun.”
What are they saying. As Wooyeon with his mouth closed just blinked while looking at him, Sunwoo lowered his head and buried his face in his hands. The exposed ear was red.
“Ah, what are you doing! Let’s hurry up.”
At the urging pouring from around them, Sunwoo hesitated then came out to the middle, sat down and looked at Wooyeon. The surrounding students handed Sunwoo two glasses of alcohol.
“Sunbae, it seems sunbae has to come up on top……”
“What’s this. He’s saying sunbae should come up on top.”
The students surrounding Sunwoo giggled. Someone pulled the still dumbfounded Wooyeon who hadn’t grasped the situation and placed him in front of Sunwoo. Sunwoo sitting on the floor carefully grabbed Wooyeon’s wrist and pulled down. Compared to Jeonghan, it was even a timid touch.
“Huh?”
“Sorry, but you have to sit here……”
Sunwoo’s ears were now red as if burning beyond the ear to the earlobe. As Sunwoo led, Wooyeon sat on the thighs of Sunwoo who was sitting cross-legged.
“Sunbae, you have to sit with your legs spread.”
“Yo, look at what he’s saying. Filter it.”
“Do it roughly, you crazy bastards!”
“Originally you’re supposed to wrap around the waist with your legs.”
As the flustered Wooyeon couldn’t move, Sunwoo whispered saying it’s okay, let’s just do it. At the sound whispering in his ear, Wooyeon who thought of Jeonghan raised his head. Beyond Sunwoo’s cheek, as expected Jeonghan was looking at Wooyeon with a glass touching his lips.
The giggling sounds grew louder and louder. It felt like being a monkey in a zoo.
“You wrap around the neck like this and drink.”
As Wooyeon didn’t know what to do, someone came out and put Wooyeon’s arm over Sunwoo’s shoulder. Wooyeon, in a posture hugging Sunwoo, barely brought the glass poured with juice close to his lips. Jeonghan’s face that met brushingly was cold. Even though he hadn’t committed a crime, Wooyeon became suddenly scared.
‘I can’t stand seeing that. My thing rolling around with some other bastard.’
As the words Jeonghan had said came to mind again, Wooyeon closed his eyes tightly and tilted the glass to drink the juice. Whatever happens, happens. I didn’t do anything wrong…… In the first place, there’s no need to move according to what Jeonghan wants, is there?
As Wooyeon gulped down the juice, from Sunwoo who was close enough to touch, the sound of swallowing alcohol could also be heard. From the touching upper bodies, his pulse could be felt. It seemed like something was poking between the firm thighs where Wooyeon’s buttocks were touching, but Wooyeon deliberately ignored it.
“C-can I get up?”
When Wooyeon who had finished drinking the juice asked, some students with satisfied faces rolled their index fingers and thumbs to make circles. As soon as confirming that, Wooyeon quickly got off Sunwoo’s body.
“I need the bathroom.”
“Ah, Kim Sunwoo what. Can’t you sit back down quickly?”
“I’ll skip one round.”
As Sunwoo hurriedly left for the bathroom, the bundle of wooden chopsticks became Wooyeon’s responsibility. The statistics department class president who gathered the wooden chopsticks again handed them to Wooyeon. Now Wooyeon also had a face that roughly understood how to play the game. Wooyeon, who organized the wooden chopsticks neatly with taps, had people pick wooden chopsticks as he went around the circle.
“Oppa, pick the king this time.”
When Wooyeon came in front of Jeonghan, Chu Seonyoung said to Jeonghan. Wooyeon couldn’t bear to look at Jeonghan so he was staring intently only at the wooden chopsticks. Soon, Jeonghan picked one wooden chopstick from inside Wooyeon’s rolled-up hand. His index finger brushingly grazed Wooyeon’s fingers.
“Sunbae pick one from those too.”
Since Sunwoo had left his seat, one more wooden chopstick remained. Wooyeon also chose one from the remaining two and pulled it out from his hand.
“Okay okay, now let the king come out.”
“Ahem! Here it is!”
The king went to Wang-go sunbae from the statistics department. He laughed with an exaggerated laugh huhhuhhuh then looked around at the students sitting in a circle.
“Numbers 4 and 7. Give us a real passionate kiss here.”
“Whoa.”
“Whoaa.”
At the suddenly raised level, everyone opened their mouths wide and giggled. It didn’t matter to them as long as it wasn’t them anyway. Only numbers 4 and 7 looked around with pale faces.
“Yo, I can tell exactly who numbers 4 and 7 are.”
“Wooyeon sunbae got picked consecutively.”
In Wooyeon’s hand was the wooden chopstick marked number 7.
“What should I do……”
And the owner of number 4 chopstick with a tearful face was Chu Seonyoung.
