# Chapter 59
With my mind in disarray, I couldn’t focus on my afternoon classes. I had too many things to think about.
Even if I set aside worrying about how Byeon Seungha would react later, I absolutely hated the fact that I had to prepare for the presentation with Son Gyucheon in the same group. Why did he have to know how to play the piano, of all things? It didn’t suit Son Gyucheon at all.
And I was also worried about how to practice since I’d never played the classical guitar before. The classical guitar has a wider nut width, so it would be more difficult than the acoustic guitar, which is mainly played with chords.
My head was so full that I felt suffocated. Since we were in the middle of class, there was nothing I could do, and though I was trying to agonize quietly, it must have shown because Moon Seoheon kept grabbing my forearm as if telling me to focus.
“See you later.”
“…Are you really coming?”
After the final class, Moon Seoheon said as he slung his bag over his shoulder. Honestly, I didn’t care whether he came to watch or do something else, but I was wary that it wouldn’t end easily. Jung Hyoin was already likely to keep me for a long time because of his stubbornness, and if this guy came too, it would definitely become troublesome.
“Yeah.”
“…Okay. Go ahead.”
He answered nonchalantly, either unaware of or deliberately ignoring my inner turmoil. After reluctantly sending him off, I sat blankly, and a moment later, Jung Hyoin entered the classroom.
I had been wondering if I should go to Class 9 first, but this worked out well. I caught his eye, packed my bag, and stood up. As I approached Jung Hyoin, who was standing at the classroom door, he looked me up and down again.
“Hey, I get why you’re looking at me like that, but save the scanning for when you’re drawing.”
His gaze, which I had deliberately tried not to think too deeply about, now felt less offensive and more uncomfortable. I was too tired to get angry and didn’t want to be oversensitive, so I spoke as plainly as possible. Jung Hyoin stared at me blankly.
His golden pupils darkened, taking on a reddish-brown hue as he thought about something.
“Where are we going to do this?”
I asked, avoiding his gaze as he didn’t respond. Then Jung Hyoin blinked and answered.
“We’ll do it in the art room.”
Nodding, I left the classroom first, indicating we should go. Jung Hyoin soon followed and strode up to my side. As we walked side by side in silence toward the upper floor where the art room was located, Jung Hyoin unexpectedly went down to the lower floor.
“Where are you going? I thought we were going to the art room.”
“…We’re going to the main building.”
I stepped away from the stairs leading up and turned my body. Then I approached Jung Hyoin, tilting my head in confusion.
“Is there an art room in the main building too?”
“Yeah.”
I followed Jung Hyoin toward the main building as he replied casually. I had only been to the main building for the staff room downstairs or the rooftop, so I didn’t know what facilities were there, but now I learned there was an art room.
After climbing to the fourth floor, I followed Jung Hyoin as he headed inward. There were two art rooms, and Jung Hyoin stopped at the second room from the corner, opened the door, and went in.
In the larger-than-expected space, about twenty chairs were gathered in the corner, and about ten easels were placed around. Jung Hyoin dragged one of the easels and a chair to claim his spot, then approached the storage cabinet.
I stood there awkwardly, looking around, when Jung Hyoin suddenly spoke while taking out a sketchbook from the cabinet.
“It would be good to loosen up a bit.”
“My body?”
“Yeah.”
With a puzzled feeling, I looked at him, and as Jung Hyoin went to his seat with his supplies, he added.
“You can move a little, but I’d prefer if your pose doesn’t get too distorted.”
“Ah……”
Of course, I came here as a model, so I need to pose. Although I don’t know much about this, it seems like I’ll have to stay still in the pose he wants for several minutes, so I decided to loosen up as Jung Hyoin suggested.
While I did some light stretching after putting my bag in the corner, I occasionally glanced at Jung Hyoin as he prepared.
Despite having the same expressionless face as usual, his somehow serious look felt unfamiliar. Since he wasn’t someone who made various expressions like Kwak Junhee or Maeng Moa, I felt oddly awkward.
As I finished stretching my legs, I noticed Jung Hyoin was staring at me.
Jung Hyoin was sitting in the chair with his sketchbook open and placed on his knees. As if ready to start right away, he gestured with his eyes for me to come in front of him.
I felt really awkward even though I had agreed to do this on impulse. I had never done this kind of thing before, and since I wasn’t doing it because I wanted to, just standing here made me uncomfortable. I don’t understand why that bastard would suggest something like modeling and make people feel so embarrassed.
Suppressing my awkwardness, I positioned myself in the center and asked awkwardly while standing.
“But why me? If you want to draw properly, wouldn’t it be better to use a professional model?”
Now that I was facing him like this, I was curious about why he specifically chose me. I had the same question when Jung Hyoin proposed the model job, but in the situation where I was facing a life-threatening crisis, I couldn’t focus enough to ask.
At first, I thought it was just a prank to mess with me. Then I cringed at the blatant emotion I felt in his gaze as he scanned my body like he was observing me. Whatever his true intentions, I had thought he was doing this to torment me, but as he maintained a somewhat serious attitude, my urge to curse at him melted away like snow.
“I don’t need a professional model.”
“……”
I let it go at his firm answer and just stood there blankly, as he hadn’t told me what pose to take yet. Jung Hyoin then rose from his seat, gradually approached me, and stopped a few steps in front of me.
He looked me up and down and said.
“Spread your arms slightly.”
At his words, I hesitantly spread my arms. As he said, I didn’t spread them wide but raised them at an angle, slightly away from my sides.
Jung Hyoin took a step closer and held my face with both hands, cupping my cheeks. I looked at him with wide eyes at the sudden contact, but he didn’t seem to care about my reaction and applied pressure to his hands that were cupping my cheeks.
It didn’t hurt, but my brow furrowed at the strong grip. I was about to grab his arms and remove them while asking what he was doing, when his hands slid from my face.
His hands moved past my neck to my shoulders and kneaded them as if giving a massage. It wasn’t a refreshing feeling but more like he was handling an object. I frowned in bewilderment, and this time he touched my forearms.
What is this, some kind of model test? An examination to evaluate my body shape for drawing. But do they normally touch like this before starting? Since I’d never done this before, I couldn’t understand and was hesitating when his hands suddenly moved toward my abdomen, and I was startled.
“Huh? Hey!”
As I stepped back, Jung Hyoin grabbed my arm to keep me in place. His grip was so strong that I couldn’t move at all. Despite my surprised outcry, Jung Hyoin maintained his expressionless face and didn’t stop, running his fingers from near my chest down to below my navel.
I shuddered at the creepy sensation, and he grabbed my waist to hold me in place. This perverted bastard, seriously!
“Ugh… stop! I said don’t do that.”
I grabbed his forearm and pulled it away from my body. Yet, still feeling as if something was wrapped around my body, I vigorously rubbed my body with my hands due to the itchy sensation.
I frowned intensely and shouted.
“What are you doing? Why are you touching someone else’s body like that?!”
I had momentarily forgotten because of his serious expression. Those shameless actions he had done to Moon Seoheon in the anime.
Of course, I knew he didn’t have any ulterior motives toward me, but the blatant contact was so shocking that I couldn’t help but be suspicious.
“I was just trying to see your body shape.”
“That! …I mean, sure, but do you have to touch me to know? There must be other ways.”
I sighed as Jung Hyoin’s nonchalant attitude made it seem like I was being overly sensitive about nothing. As I hurriedly straightened my disheveled uniform, Jung Hyoin, who had been staring at me, returned to his seat.
There clearly had to be other methods. I was muttering to myself about why he came to touch me and act like this, when Jung Hyoin dropped a bombshell.
“Then take them off.”
“…What?”
“I was going to let it slide since it’s the first day, but if you say so, I have no choice.”
Jung Hyoin picked up his sketchbook and pencil. As I blinked at him, he tilted his head as if asking what I was doing.
“What are you doing? I said take them off.”
“Are you telling me to take my clothes off right now?”
“Yeah. I was going to draw based on rough estimation, but if you don’t like that, we have to try another method. To sketch properly, I need to see.”
I swallowed dryly in disbelief and asked.
“That sketch you’re talking about, it’s not something like nude croquis, is it?”
“No. That’s exactly it.”
I was the fool for trying to find a serious side to this guy. I subdued my anger as my fists clenched involuntarily. Instead, I blurted out without restraint.
“You crazy bastard! Fuck, I told you I wouldn’t do anything weird if you asked me to!”
When I shouted, Jung Hyoin tilted his head as if asking what the problem was. His demeanor was so naturally innocent that I couldn’t help but curse.
“I won’t do it! You bastard.”
“I didn’t even ask you to do anything weird, so why?”
“Are you seriously asking because you don’t know?”
As I frowned fiercely, Jung Hyoin rolled his eyes, examining me.
“Is it because it’s nude?”
“That’s right.”
I turned to find my bag in the corner to leave. Then Jung Hyoin jumped up and ran to me.
“Why do you think it’s weird?”
“What?”
“Isn’t it just that you think it’s weird, so it feels that way to you?”
Jung Hyoin grabbed my forearm to stop me and asked calmly. I was about to pour out curses but closed my mouth when I met his glinting eyes. In those eyes, in that expression, I couldn’t detect even a hint of mischief.
While trapped facing him, unable to move, all sorts of thoughts came to my mind.
It could certainly be that I reacted sensitively, shocked at the mention of nudity. That doesn’t mean I intend to disparage whatever or however anyone draws, regardless of the type of artwork.
I don’t know the first thing about art. But I could tell that Jung Hyoin’s desire to draw me didn’t stem from pure intentions.
Even if it wasn’t just because I had seen scenes where Jung Hyoin did all sorts of perverted things to Moon Seoheon, the current situation was naturally something one would find strange and uncomfortable.
But where was the guy who usually acted languid, and why was he looking at me with such a cold gaze, which left me speechless? I moved my lips, then finally managed to ask while glancing at my captured forearm.
“You said you also proposed this to Moon Seoheon.”
Jung Hyoin suppressed his sharp demeanor and raised one eyebrow as if asking what I meant.
“We’re not even close enough to call each other friends, so what were you thinking when you proposed this to me?”
Even if he was rejected, let’s say he proposed to Moon Seoheon because they were friends and he liked him. But what about me? If this wasn’t just a simple prank, there was no reason for him to seriously recommend this to me. So I asked. Why?
Jung Hyoin seemed to understand what I meant and pulled up the corners of his mouth. Since it was the first time I’d seen him smile, I was momentarily stunned. Jung Hyoin stared at me blankly, then brushed his hair up. His slightly furrowed brow also looked confused.
“Well, let’s just say it’s curiosity for now.”
