“I asked because I suspected it, but is it for real?”
Along with the low voice, the back door that had been left slightly ajar clicked shut.
Jingi found himself trapped in two arms, swallowing hard.
The way Joo Hyeonje’s eyes curved as he smiled was identical to Joo Unyoung’s.
No wonder they were brothers.
“That’s not it. I like women.”
“Really? You seem like the type to like men.”
“Th—I know you’re saying that, and I respect your… perspective, but that’s not me.”
‘Of course, I can’t respect him liking his own brother.’
“Could you please back off a little? You’re too close.”
“Hmm.”
Joo Hyeonje looked like he was about to pull away, but instead, he sat down on Jingi’s thighs.
Jingi almost screamed but held it in.
Joo Hyeonje held onto the door with his left hand, balancing on his knees so as not to put too much weight on Jingi, and looked down.
Having someone tower over the top of his head wasn’t exactly a great feeling.
‘Anyway, those thighs are insane… Men’s thighs… Are they really like that?’
“Where are you looking, baby?”
“Ah, seriously, can you stop using that tone? I’m only a year younger than you.”
“You don’t like it? The kids in Lyon liked it.”
“Lyon?”
“Ah, the place I used to live.”
‘Do guys over there really like being called ‘baby’? Seriously? That sounds like a lie.’
“Are you talking about… gay people, by any chance?”
“Huh? Ah, pfft… No, no, I’m talking about the girls.”
“What does that have to do with me…”
“Wait a second.”
Just as he was about to argue, a large hand landed on his head.
The weight of the pressure made Jingi frown slightly.
When he looked up and asked, “What?”, Joo Hyeonje whispered softly.
“Can you hear Unyoung’s footsteps?”
Only then did he hear them.
Heavy, calm footsteps. Jingi swallowed and nodded.
It might not be him, but he had an intuitive feeling it was Joo Unyoung.
When the sounds didn’t go down the stairs but instead approached the science and music rooms, Jingi covered his mouth with both hands.
The sound of slippers dragging along the floor, scritch-scratch, pricked his ears provocatively.
“Jingi, where are you? You’re not replying to my texts…”
‘Gasp.’
Joo Unyoung muttered in a low voice, as if he knew for sure Jingi was in here—as if he wanted him to hear it.
Jingi’s eyes widened, and he pressed his hands harder against his mouth.
Joo Hyeonje moved in quietly.
Their foreheads met.
Thump.
Jingi rolled his eyes upward and glared.
“I told you I wasn’t gay, didn’t I?”
“That’s… Shh!”
‘Why do you keep trying to make me talk, you jerk?’
Jingi slapped Joo Hyeonje’s lips with his palm to tell him to shut it.
His lips, which were already red, were stained a darker shade.
Even then, seeing him try to move his lips, Jingi slapped him three more times with all his annoyance.
In the process, Jingi had been biting his own lips so hard they were swollen and flushed as well.
“Ow… Ugh.”
Slap, slap.
Joo Hyeonje sighed and grabbed both of Jingi’s wrists at once.
Jingi frowned, wondering what he was trying to do, and Joo Hyeonje rubbed his forehead against his.
“Stop…”
He gave a small warning with his eyes.
But Joo Hyeonje still looked down at him, blinking.
Something shimmered in his dark pupils.
Light from the hallway was pouring in, reflecting in his eyes.
And then, Joo Unyoung passed the science lab and stopped in front of the music room.
“Jingi, we were supposed to hang out. Come on out, okay?”
Because of the laughter laced in his voice, it felt like they were in the middle of a game of hide-and-seek.
‘Ah, what do I do? Should I have just left when he went to the right earlier? No, that would have been dangerous too…’
‘Mmph! Mmmph!’
Jingi twisted his body slightly, protesting with his eyes to let his wrists go.
If he could just crawl under the desk, he wouldn’t be found.
He didn’t think he would come in and check every corner.
But Joo Hyeonje’s hands wouldn’t let go.
No, instead, he curved both corners of his mouth as if they were playing a fun game, and as his large hands released Jingi’s wrists, he interlaced his fingers and shoved Jingi hard into the corner.
“……Huk!”
Jingi bit his lip hard to stifle the sound that almost escaped.
His eyelids trembled.
He chewed on his lower lip, his nerves frayed.
He couldn’t hear the footsteps on the other side of the wall anymore.
Joo Hyeonje now began to move his fingers, tickling the back of Jingi’s hand.
He pressed and scraped his fingers over the protruding, firm knuckles and the slender bones of the back of his hand.
It was a strange sensation. Jingi turned his head, his face flushed from holding his breath.
Confusing sensations and an unpleasant feeling swirled around him. Joo Hyeonje came even closer and twisted Jingi’s arms behind his back.
His lower abdomen ached. Jingi squeezed his eyes shut and twisted his shoulders with all his might.
At that same moment, his phone rang: Beep, beep…
He looked down… it was Joo Hyeonje’s.
He let out a small sigh, “Ah,” and glanced at the phone lying on the floor.
‘Joo Unyoung’ was clearly written on the screen.
And a moment later, the sound of dragging slippers stopped.
They were right behind the door.
The moment he swallowed hard, the door rattled as if Joo Unyoung were grabbing the handle.
“……Fuck, what are you two doing?”
As soon as the door swung open violently, Joo Hyeonje threw his upper body forward.
Jingi gasped and slammed his head back against the wall with a thud!
Joo Hyeonje naturally mounted himself over Jingi’s body and let go of his hands.
“Augh!”
In an instant, the two were entangled like lovers in a secret meeting. Joo Hyeonje, who was leaning on the floor with his hands on either side of Jingi, wiped his own lips and lowered his gaze.
Their eyes met, his gaze raking up and down.
Jingi gasped for air, his palms flat against the floor.
He had pressed down so hard that his palms had turned ghostly white.
It was Joo Hyeonje who broke the brief silence.
He reached his hand under Jingi’s waist and pushed himself up.
“Ah… seriously, you have no timing.”
Joo Hyeonje chuckled and dusted off his school uniform.
He even brushed off Jingi’s back and waist.
Then, he gently stroked the hair of Jingi, who was trembling and holding back a scream due to his throbbing back of the head.
“Hey, Choi Jingi.”
“Wait, ugh…”
Joo Unyoung, who had grabbed his wrist and pulled him close, had a face that had hardened terrifyingly.
Jingi pressed down on the back of his head, enduring the pain that threatened to bring tears to his eyes.
‘Ah, you crazy bastard. It hurts like hell.’
But that wasn’t the important thing.
The problem between the two brothers, Joo Hyeonje and Joo Unyoung, was twisting in a completely different direction than he’d imagined.
“Did you two even have sex?”
Backlit by the hallway lights, Joo Unyoung’s face was dark.
The usually gentle Joo Unyoung had his cheeks stiffened like a statue as he glared.
Not at Joo Hyeonje, but at him—Choi Jingi.
Whether it was because of the different tone or the harsh profanity, his shoulders stiffened.
First, he had to clear up the misunderstanding.
“That’s impossible. Why, why would I do that with your brother?”
He replied with an awkward laugh, but it must have sounded like an excuse because Joo Unyoung’s expression didn’t change.
Jingi held onto one of Joo Unyoung’s arms, and with his other hand, he rubbed the back that had been thrown against the floor and continued.
“No, it’s just… I was just talking to him. Just that. It’s not what you think. You know it’s not, me.”
He tried to emphasize that he was heterosexual, but it didn’t work.
While Jingi fumbled, clenching and unclenching his hands, Joo Hyeonje leaned his shoulder against the wall with his arms crossed, acting like nothing had happened.
“Hey, Joo Hyeonje. You, I told you to stop…!”
“Stop?”
“I told you not to touch him. If you have a problem, take it up with me.”
Jingi stepped back and hid behind Joo Unyoung.
Since he was in the wrong, he couldn’t go home, and just standing there was embarrassing.
“I didn’t touch him.”
“What you were just doing.”
“What are you thinking? You just opened the door suddenly, and he fell, that’s all.”
Honestly, he had been harassed.
He’d held his hands and wouldn’t let go, tickled the back of his hand, and so on.
Jingi glared at Joo Hyeonje from behind Joo Unyoung’s back.
When their eyes met, the guy curved his eyes and smiled.
“Right, Jingi?”
“…….”
As he hid behind Joo Unyoung again, he let out a faint sneer.
“Joo Hyeonje.”
“Why.”
“This is the last time.”
“Oh my, how scary. But I’m really wronged, you know? Honestly, I met Jingi by chance and helped him by chance. And by chance, I liked him, so we just ate together and talked, that’s all.”
Come to think of it… that was true.
Jingi, whose ears were thin and easily swayed, nodded his head.
If you looked at it point by point, Joo Hyeonje hadn’t done anything bad. If anything, he had helped him.
“You’re like this over something like this… If you act like that, I can’t help but find it amusing.”
‘What was Joo Hyeonje like in the original? Was he always this much of a pervert? Did he stick to him even though Joo Unyoung hated him so much that he made a scene, and did he have his own brother in mind?’
‘It’s a shame I just flipped through the pages towards the end. It was the most important scene, I should have read it more carefully.’
“Yeah, let’s see what happens.”
Joo Unyoung ignored Joo Hyeonje’s words and moved toward the stairs.
Then, he stopped dead because of Jingi, who was standing there blankly.
Startled by the chilling silence, Jingi scrambled away toward the stairs.
Joo Hyeonje’s face as he raked his eyes over him one last time was burned into his memory.
He swallowed hard.
“For now, Jingi, shall we go to the classroom?”
“Oh… uh, yeah, let’s do that.”
