— No, if nothing happened, then it’s fine.
“Yeol, there was absolutely, positively nothing. Unyoung studied perfectly and came out, and he didn’t even hold my hand.”
“Okay.”
“We couldn’t even teach each other things while studying.
It was a shared room, so we weren’t allowed to talk.
We did eat together, but we didn’t go to a cafe, and we parted ways immediately!”
“Uh-huh.”
Go Yeol’s face brightened.
Jingi wanted to scream like an audience member watching a morning drama, but he suppressed it, clenching and unclenching his fists tightly.
‘I’m going to beat the hell out of my pillow the moment I get home.’
“Did you call me out just to ask this?”
“…That, and other things.”
“What else is there?”
Jingi’s eyes sparkled.
Could it be that the two of them had been in contact?
Was it something like, “What should I wear for our date tomorrow?” or “How do I confess my feelings?”
‘I’ll have to tell him he’d look pretty in anything, but that a confession is still a bit too early.’
Jingi watched Go Yeol’s lips intently as the guy rummaged through his bag, nodding his head enthusiastically.
‘I wonder what he’s going to ask. Is this how it feels to be a reader of a romance novel?’
The streetlamp light reflected in Jingi’s eyes, making them twinkle like stars.
His cheeks were flushed red with excitement, and his nose, puffing out warm air, twitched here and there.
Go Yeol rummaged through his bag for a long time, trying to decide what to take out, before he paused and glanced at Jingi.
‘Movie tickets? Or theater tickets? Is he asking for Joo Unyoung’s preference? Or does he want me to pass them on?’
“…Here.”
“Huh?”
“I’m going now.”
However, what Go Yeol held out was very different from what he had imagined.
The guy placed a small bear keychain into Jingi’s hand.
In that moment, about a hundred question marks filled Jingi’s head.
There was no request to pass it on, nor any question like, “Is it okay to give you something like this?”
The bear had wide, round eyes and an open mouth, giving it a slightly surprised look.
“H-hey, Yeol!”
“…Why.”
Go Yeol, who was walking faster than usual as if fleeing, came to an abrupt halt.
He didn’t look back, so Jingi couldn’t read his expression, but he could see that the tips of his ears had turned red.
Suddenly, Jingi became insanely curious about that face, imagining that his already deeply tanned skin must be colored like burnt bread.
Jingi didn’t answer and hurried over.
As expected, the “hedgehog” that was not just toasted, but completely charred, snapped his head around.
“What is this? Should I pass this on to someone?”
“…No, you.”
“Huh?”
“I bought it because it looks like you. …The emoji you use often these days.”
Unlike usual, when Jingi would interpret Go Yeol’s short sentences instantly, he couldn’t grasp what the guy was saying.
Jingi, who had been staring at the bear doll, asked, “Me?” and Go Yeol nodded.
‘…It looks like a pufferfish, though?’
“I have to go work out.”
“Eh? Now?”
“See you tomorrow.”
With that, Go Yeol ran off even faster than before, his long legs taking big strides.
It was a speed Jingi couldn’t hope to catch up with.
Jingi watched his back, then let out a hollow laugh as he saw the guy run right past his own house.
‘What’s with “see you tomorrow”? And he didn’t say to pass it to Unyoung, he meant really, truly me?’
‘Was he always this kind of personality? So sweet, giving gifts to friends like this?’
“Ah…”
Jingi looked down at the bear keychain again and suddenly recalled the emoji the guy was talking about.
The one he had used as a habit on the first day.
[Go Yeol: Want to grab lunch outside?]
[Holy cow 0o0]
[So good lol]
That text message full of typos.
He had regretted sending it back then because it didn’t feel like “Jingi.”
He hadn’t expected to receive it back in this form.
Go Yeol, who hadn’t appeared often in the original work, wasn’t the reticent, cold-hearted character described in the novel.
In reality, the guy he met was… much shyer and more adorable than he’d thought.
Jingi had to admit that this was truly a sign of friendship.
He couldn’t bring himself to think, ‘What kind of guy gives things like this, it’s cringy.’
With complex feelings, he sent a text to Go Yeol.
[Thanks 0o0……]
And Go Yeol’s “See you tomorrow” wasn’t a mistake.
He called Jingi out late at night on Sunday, too, while Jingi was lounging around all day.
This time, it was another keychain—a black cat with the exact same expression.
Go Yeol turned into burnt bread again and dropped a bombshell: “This cat looks more like you than the bear does.”
Thanks to that, Jingi went to his room and stared in the mirror, comparing himself to the cat for a long time; he felt his pride hurt because they actually did look a little alike.
He opened his eyes at 7:00 AM.
Was it because he’d been on his phone until late all weekend, or was his body finally getting used to itself?
In the end, Jingi rushed out without even drying his hair.
His mother, who was drinking coffee in the living room, laughed and said, “Oh my, even Jingi has days where he’s late.”
Jingi didn’t find it funny.
It would be a big problem if he started becoming like his past self.
Wouldn’t his brain get sluggish?
Or maybe not?
At least he wouldn’t be losing height.
Jingi grumbled at the unexpected morning sprint and changed into his slippers.
Fortunately, he avoided being late.
He couldn’t afford to have his clean, pretty report card ruined and end up falling short of college admission by a hair’s breadth.
“Ah, Jingi. Why are you coming in so late?”
As he sighed deeply and straightened his back, a voice that was both familiar and strange echoed from behind him.
He wasn’t feeling particularly bright, so his expression didn’t soften.
When he turned his head with a frown, a large man was squatting in front of the stairs leading up to the second floor.
“And why don’t you check your messages? Are you that busy?”
As soon as he met the eyes that were smiling radiantly, Jingi let out a sigh.
The man, who reminded him of a Golden Retriever, was waving his hand, his hair tied back.
‘Shouldn’t it be you, the senior in his third year of high school, who’s supposed to be busy, Hyeonje?’
Jingi grumbled to himself that a mere 19-year-old was acting like a senior, and bowed his head respectfully.
“Hello…”
“I waited a long time. …For your reply, too. Did you block me, by any chance?”
“Ah! No, of course not. I don’t look at my phone that often…”
‘It’s true that I ignored it because it was annoying.’
Who would answer someone who kept asking to meet up on such a hot day?
They weren’t particularly close, and he preferred keeping his distance.
Besides, if someone had been ignored that much, they’d usually be too proud to keep reaching out—but Joo Hyeonje was insanely persistent.
“Let’s talk while we go up. Okay?”
Joo Hyeonje stood up, walked right over to Jingi, who was standing straight and avoiding eye contact, and loomed over him.
Long arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him in.
Jingi gripped his bag straps with both hands, keeping his upper body as far away as possible as he was dragged along.
“I was worried. I thought maybe something happened again, or that you were just letting people push you around.”
“Ah… no, it’s just, I didn’t want things to get noisy back then…”
“Considering that, you were about to cry back then, weren’t you?”
Joo Hyeonje was incredibly tall.
Even though he was used to the height difference from hanging out with Go Yeol, perhaps because of his more angular skeletal structure compared to an Asian, he felt like a kitten being licked by a Golden Retriever.
He was truly grateful that the guy had helped him and treated him well when they first met, but he had no idea what to do about this persistent attitude afterwards.
‘Do ordinary senior-junior relationships usually develop into this kind of clingy bond?’
Jingi felt burdened by the fact that he wanted to be close to him.
“No, well, at that time, a bit… Ah, senior, go to your class.”
They reached the second floor before long.
Jingi smiled brightly in an instant and bowed his head.
Even though it might have been easy to get close like he did with the others, Joo Hyeonje was uncomfortable.
It wasn’t just because he was a villain, but simply because he wanted to avoid the person himself.
“I don’t have to go in yet anyway. For high school seniors, it’s all self-study until the first period starts.”
‘No, I’m telling you to study…’
Because he wouldn’t let go of his waist, tears were streaming internally.
It was awkward.
Joo Hyeonje felt a bit like his boss from his past life—the kind of person who would put an arm around your shoulder and demand you go for drinks when you were trying to prepare to leave work.
“Jingi, do you have a girlfriend, by any chance?”
“Yes? Ah, no. I don’t.”
“Then, someone you like?”
“I don’t…”
Joo Hyeonje leaned his body against the wall naturally.
Jingi felt freedom in his waist now that the guy’s hand had fallen away, so he just stood in front of him with his hands folded neatly.
Part of it was because he knew if he tried to run, the guy would chase him to the end, and he didn’t want him chasing him all the way to his classroom.
“Why?”
“Ah, just because.”
He thought maybe he was going to introduce someone to him, but that didn’t seem to be it.
Was he trying to get dating advice?
Jingi, a lifelong loner, was incredibly good at that one thing.
But for a third-year high school student who needed to focus on his studies, that wasn’t something he should be doing.
“Senior, don’t do it.”
“Do what?”
“Dating. Not now, do it later after the CSAT.”
Joo Hyeonje, perched on the windowsill, untied his hair tie and snapped his neck back and forth until it cracked.
His soft blonde hair reached his shoulders.
The side of his rugged, curved face twisted slightly.
“Then I’ll be in big trouble.”
“…Why?”
“Because the person I’m interested in lately is younger than me. If I become an adult, I’ll end up meeting someone who’s still a minor.”
‘Crazy bastard. If you’re a senior in high school, just focus on your studies.’
