* * *
After Siyoung’s final class, he chatted briefly with Yeonseok, who was in the same lecture, before meeting Hyun.
“Your exhibition submission was already done?”
“Yeah. It opens next week.”
“You just have to finish it before the opening, right?”
Hyun shot him a withering look, clearly uninterested in explaining. He ignored Yeonseok’s comment entirely.
“I’ve got exams and assignments to focus on now.”
“…Sounds busy.”
“Not really. I wouldn’t have agreed to help if I couldn’t spare the time. Anyway, don’t scare the kid.”
“What do you take me for?”
Siyoung and Hyun weren’t close, and they’d never met up one-on-one before.
Riding in Hyun’s car for the first time, Siyoung felt awkward.
“Thanks again for agreeing to this. I know it was sudden.”
He’d already thanked Hyun multiple times but couldn’t stand the silence.
He forced himself to speak.
“My brother’s top choice is our school. His grades are solid, so meeting the minimum requirements shouldn’t be an issue. His portfolio and awards are strong too, but…”
“That’s stuff he’d know better than you. Let him tell me directly.”
“Ah, right. Of course.”
Siyoung gave a sheepish laugh and lowered his gaze, feeling awkward again.
“My brother’s three years younger than me, but he’s an early admission, so he’s a senior now. He’s bright and capable, but I can’t always support everything he wants to do… It makes me feel guilty sometimes.”
He rambled more than necessary, unable to handle the silence.
When the car stopped at a red light, Siyoung lifted his head.
“You don’t have to do everything for him, you know.”
Hyun’s tone implied he assumed there were other adults in their family who could share the responsibility.
It was a natural conclusion for someone who’d grown up in a stable, well-off household.
“…I’m the head of my family. Our parents are gone, and we don’t have any relatives to rely on. I’m the only adult who can take care of my brother.”
Normally, Siyoung wouldn’t share something so personal, but Hyun’s willingness to help had made him feel a little closer.
Even so, it wasn’t the kind of story he usually shared with anyone.
“…”
Hyun, who usually responded with a snappy tone no matter the conversation, fell silent for a moment after hearing this.
The pause lingered until the traffic light turned green again, and only then did Hyun finally speak.
“So, you’re saying you tutor your younger brother and even do his assignments for him?”
“I wasn’t planning to do anyone else’s assignments, but Joo Yeonseok dumped it on me. Well… yeah. I get some support in return, but my major’s expensive. There’s always something to spend money on.”
Siyoung shrugged as he spoke.
Even if he tried to minimize expenses, art supplies were consumables, and the costs kept piling up.
This year, with Joo-young in his final year of high school, Siyoung had splurged a bit more on materials and tools, which made his expenses even heavier.
“My brother knows it too—if he had to retake the year, it’d be a huge burden on me. That’s probably why not getting the recommendation letter hit him so hard. If I knew how to comfort him or give proper advice, I would’ve, but I’m clueless…”
“So, that’s why he clung to you and asked for help, huh?”
“…Yeah. Honestly, even as I was asking, I felt bad about springing it on you so suddenly. But I’m really grateful you made time for me.”
Siyoung spoke earnestly.
It didn’t matter if it was just a whim or an obligation; what mattered was that he could be of help to Joo-young.
“So that’s why he’s been so anxious.”
Though Hyun had wrapped up submissions for the exhibition, he wasn’t exactly free.
Finals were approaching, and he still had to finish assignments he’d delayed due to the exhibition.
Unlike the two who only saw school as a way to get their degrees, Hyun genuinely enjoyed painting.
Even if he graduated with a messy record, he wouldn’t have trouble setting up a gallery or a private studio.
But since he was doing it anyway, he might as well do it well.
“Wait until your grandmother’s condition stabilizes before going abroad. She’s planning to hand over the gallery to you; you owe her that much.”
Originally, Hyun had planned to attend an overseas university.
However, his plans were delayed when his grandmother, who had always doted on her grandson for following in her footsteps, fell ill.
He didn’t have much attachment to the school he currently attended.
By chance, he’d ended up going to the same university as Yeonseok and Jaeyoon, friends he’d known since childhood.
This eliminated the need to make new friends, and he passed his college days in a comfortable routine—until he met Siyoung.
In a required group of four, one member had to be a stranger.
Figuring a grade-obsessed type was better than someone useless, Hyun left it at that.
Though Jaeyoon and Yeonseok became closer to Siyoung, Hyun only interacted with him enough to avoid discomfort.
They weren’t particularly close.
To Hyun, Siyoung was simply someone who lived life with relentless determination.
He often found himself wondering what drove the guy to work so hard.
Sure, plenty of people lived without parental support, but Siyoung didn’t seem extravagant.
What was it that had him constantly fretting over money?
Did he have debts?
Still, Hyun wasn’t curious enough to ask, nor were they close enough for such questions.
Hyun planned to transfer to a university in France after completing his second year, now that his grandmother’s health had improved.
With European semesters starting in late summer, he’d likely leave Korea by the second semester of his third year.
He didn’t expect to cross paths with Siyoung again.
He hadn’t anticipated any private conversations outside group chats, so when Siyoung reached out, even Hyun was caught off guard.
Much like Hyun had no interest in becoming closer to Siyoung, the reverse seemed true.
The reason Hyun agreed to take the call was simple curiosity—why was someone who could barely hide his awkwardness reaching out?
When Siyoung started talking about his younger brother, Hyun assumed they were especially close.
The real reason, however, turned out to be far more complicated.
Hyun wasn’t exactly free, but he had some spare time.
A whim led him to agree to meet, and as a result, he learned quite a lot.
“I thought he was just someone who worked himself to the bone.”
“Is that why you humor Joo Yeonseok?”
“I mean, I have to do assignments anyway. Worst case, I’d get stuck doing everything and end up with a bad grade. At least this way, I get paid by the hour. It’s a fair trade.”
“And being friendly with him—are you hoping to pick up extra work?”
“No, it’s not like that. It’s just… it happened naturally. He’s a bit of a scatterbrain, but he’s a good person.”
That airheaded guy?
Hyun paused to think and then let it go.
He wasn’t sure if Yeonseok was a “good person,” but the guy was undoubtedly more sociable and better at drawing people in than he was.
“Lately, though, he’s been looking kind of foolish for just a friend.”
Though Yeonseok was carefree to the point of recklessness, he had clear boundaries between friends and lovers.
Since Siyoung was firmly in the “friend” category, the chances of anything romantic happening were slim to none.
Well, not that it mattered to Hyun.
Whatever happened was none of his business, and he told himself as much.
“We’re almost there. Is this the place?”
“Ah, yeah. I think so.”
After double-checking the address on his map, Siyoung nodded. It was the kind of upscale restaurant Siyoung normally wouldn’t visit on his own.
* * *
