* * *
His ears… They popped out because he was so sad?
So that was it. Hayan must have failed his university entrance exam.
Seeing him so heartbroken, Jeongseo felt a lump rise in his throat as well.
“…Pyo Yoontae passed, didn’t he?”
Hayan pulled away from Jeongseo’s embrace as he spoke in a voice heavy with emotion.
Jeongseo hesitated, unable to answer, and Hayan let out an irritated sigh.
“Of course, that bastard passed. Ugh, even in college, I have to see him. That’s so fucking annoying.”
Something about Hayan’s words didn’t sit right with Jeongseo.
He stayed still for a moment, then tilted his head in confusion.
“Wait… even in college?”
“…Didn’t Pyo Yoontae apply to Korea University too?”
“Yeah, he did, but… wait, you—”
“Of course, I passed too.”
As if nothing had happened, Hayan put his glasses back on and handed Jeongseo his phone.
On the screen, in bold letters—”Accepted.”
Jeongseo stared blankly at the word for a while before finally grasping the situation.
His face lit up.
“What the hell! You were crying all by yourself, so I thought you failed! This is great!”
Overjoyed, Jeongseo grabbed both of Hayan’s hands and shook them excitedly.
Hayan let out a small chuckle but then muttered darkly,
“If I failed, I wouldn’t be crying—I’d be destroying the world. There’d be no point in a world where I didn’t get into university.”
Jeongseo thought he might be joking, but Hayan’s gaze was so chillingly serious that he could only laugh awkwardly.
Then, his eyes landed once again on the twitching ears hidden in Hayan’s white hair.
They were small, slightly elongated—like a hamster’s.
The moment Hayan noticed Jeongseo staring, his ears disappeared in an instant.
Only then did Hayan seem to realize how embarrassing it was.
He avoided Jeongseo’s eyes, glancing away.
“What are you staring at?”
“Hayan, were you crying because you were happy?”
“…I wasn’t crying.”
Jeongseo narrowed his eyes at him, then lifted his shoulder—the very one Hayan had buried his face into.
Unfortunately, today he was wearing a gray hoodie, which now had two dark, wet stains clearly visible.
Hayan’s ears turned bright red, and he quickly turned back to the sink without saying another word.
Since there was no warm water, he washed his face with the cold water instead, shaking off the droplets as he muttered,
“…Don’t tell Pyo Yoontae.”
His grumbling voice made Jeongseo laugh, and he nodded enthusiastically.
Unlike when they had left the classroom, Jeongseo now walked back with Hayan, his steps feeling much lighter.
The moment they opened the door, the chatter in the classroom abruptly stopped.
The other students all subtly glanced at Hayan, pretending not to.
His reddened eyes were enough to make them jump to conclusions.
Realizing this, Jeongseo leaned in and whispered,
“Hayan, can I tell them? They were all really worried.”
“What?”
Hayan looked around the classroom, not understanding what there was to be worried about.
But then, he quickly noticed that everyone was, in fact, watching him.
He blinked, momentarily caught off guard, then casually nodded.
“Do whatever you want—”
“Hayan passed too!”
The moment Jeongseo shouted, the students swarmed Hayan, trapping him in a sea of bodies.
The classroom erupted into cheers, with everyone clapping and congratulating him.
Eyes wide, Hayan froze, completely stiff.
“W-What? What’s going on?”
“You worked hard, Hayan!”
Surrounded by a chaotic mix of voices, Hayan’s cheeks slowly flushed red, and he awkwardly mumbled, “…Thanks.”
Jeongseo stepped back, watching the scene with satisfaction.
Then, Pyo Yoontae approached.
He slid up beside Jeongseo, crossing his arms, his gaze locked onto Hayan with a sour expression.
“I thought you failed. Why the hell were you making people worry when you actually passed?”
“Yoontae, are you unhappy that Hayan got in?”
Jeongseo bent down slightly to peer up at Pyo Yoontae’s face.
With winter washing out his natural eye color, his brown eyes looked strikingly clear.
Pyo Yoontae, without realizing it, uncrossed his arms and mumbled,
“N-No… That’s not it…”
“Then don’t be mean, Yoontae.”
With that, Jeongseo gave him a gentle push toward Hayan.
As Pyo Yoontae stepped forward, the students naturally parted, clearing a straight path to Hayan.
Clearly not enjoying the atmosphere, Pyo Yoontae frowned before stuffing his hands in his pockets and tilting his chin up.
“…Good job.”
He looked like he’d rather die than say it, but still, he held out his hand.
Hayan stared at him like he was witnessing something ridiculous, then let out a small laugh.
After a brief glance at Pyo Yoontae, he gave a lazy nod.
“Yeah, you too.”
And just like that, the moment ended on a surprisingly warm note.
°❀•°❀°•❀°
As the new year passed, time flew by, and the high school graduation ceremony finally arrived.
While everyone was either excited or emotional about their graduation, Jeongseo sat in the auditorium with an expression that was neither happy nor sad—just somewhere in between.
The reason? His practical exam was just a week away.
Even after graduating, he didn’t feel relieved.
“Jeongseo! We need to take a picture!”
As the ceremony ended, his mother, who had been waiting behind him, approached with a bouquet of flowers.
Behind her, his father and older brother were smiling brightly.
Since everyone had come to celebrate his graduation, he couldn’t just keep looking so down.
So, Jeongseo put on a smile and accepted the bouquet.
“Congratulations on graduating, my youngest.”
“Yeah, you worked hard, baby.”
Only after Seo Kanghyun ruffled his hair did Jeongseo finally smile fully and nod.
With the help of a passing teacher, his family took a photo together.
Just then, Jeongseo noticed Pyo Yoontae standing nearby, watching them.
He gestured for him to come over.
“Let’s take a picture too. Mom, take one of me and Yoontae!”
With their bouquets in hand, the two of them looked straight into the camera.
Click—the shutter sound echoed, and Pyo Yoontae spoke softly.
“Congratulations on graduating, Jeongseo.”
Jeongseo turned his head and met Yoontae’s gaze.
Back when Yoontae had just transferred, he never imagined they’d be standing side by side like this at graduation.
For some reason, his nose tingled, and he sniffled before breaking into a bright smile.
“Yeah, congrats to you too, Yoontae!”
Just as Jeongseo’s eyes began to turn red, a voice called out from behind.
“Seo Jeongseo, Pyo Yoontae, come here for a picture!”
Turning around in sync, they saw the students from Class 4, along with their homeroom teacher, all gathered and waiting for them.
Jeongseo nodded and grabbed Yoontae’s hand, heading towards them.
The two of them got pulled into countless photos, and it wasn’t until much later that they finally managed to slip out of the auditorium.
At twenty years old, their high school days had officially come to an end.
°❀•°❀°•❀°
That morning, everything felt perfect.
His mood was great, and the weather, which had been gloomy until yesterday, had turned bright and clear.
There wasn’t even a hint of wind.
On top of that, Yoontae’s family driver had given him a ride to the practical exam venue so he wouldn’t be late, and Yoontae himself had cheered him on.
The only small disappointment was that his mother and brother were too busy to see him off, and he had to leave for Dangang right after the exam.
Still, it was as close to a perfect start as he could hope for.
With a sense that only good things would happen today, Jeongseo went in to take his exam.
The result?
“I think I did something amazing.”
At 3 PM, Jeongseo got into the car and turned to Yoontae.
He had set a new personal best—better than any of his practice runs.
Puffing out his chest with confidence, he grinned, and Yoontae chuckled softly, reaching over to ruffle his hair.
“You’ll get into university in one go.”
“Of course! If I don’t, something’s seriously wrong!”
The way he said it with such certainty made it seem like he really did perform well.
Thinking about it, his college entrance exam scores had also been good, so unless something unexpected happened, it was almost guaranteed that Jeongseo would get in.
Even the driver, who was listening in, agreed, saying his acceptance was practically a done deal.
After some light conversation, the car started moving, and before long, the energetic Jeongseo began nodding off.
Yoontae gently caught his head before it could lurch forward and murmured,
“Lean on me and sleep, Jeongseo.”
With slow blinks, Jeongseo gazed up at him drowsily before shifting to rest his head on Yoontae’s arm.
Not just his face—his entire body leaned into him as he drifted into a deep sleep.
Yoontae simply watched him quietly until they reached home.
By the time they arrived at Jeongseo’s house, the winter sun was beginning to set.
Stretching his arms, Jeongseo turned to bid Yoontae goodbye, but before he could, Yoontae unexpectedly stepped out of the car as well and walked toward the front gate.
He was carrying the black backpack he usually took to school.
Isn’t it late?
Shouldn’t he be heading home?
Jeongseo glanced back at the car in confusion, only to see it already driving off.
“The car left! Yoontae!”
While Jeongseo was flustered, Yoontae just laughed casually and slung an arm around his shoulders.
“I’m staying over. You’re leaving this house soon anyway.”
“It’d be a shame to just go,” Yoontae added quietly before unzipping his bag. Inside—
“…Alcohol?”
There were bottles of soju and beer.
* * *
Lmao.