* * *

The warm breeze coming in through the open window felt nice.

Since it was the season for flowers, petals occasionally floated in with the wind.

Seonwoo caught one of the floating petals in his hand and gazed outside at the sunny weather.

“The weather is so nice. Are you really going to stay cooped up inside reading a book again today?”

The sky was completely clear, not too hot or too cold—perfect weather for an outing.

When Seonwoo turned his head from the window to look forward, there was Cha Dowon, whose cold and rigid expression seemed more fitting for winter than spring.

As if he hadn’t heard a word, Dowon remained fixated on his book.

Seonwoo rested his chin in his hand, his voice full of irritation as he called out to him.

“Hey.”

“……”

“Hey, Cha Dowon.”

Surely his voice had reached those insufferable ears of his.

But Dowon continued to ignore him, making Seonwoo’s face twitch in annoyance.

What on earth was he reading today?

Seonwoo glanced at the cover, trying to make a guess, but the title was in a foreign language he had never seen before, making it impossible to deduce.

While his school friends preferred to go out and have fun on days like this, Cha Dowon had always been a strange guy, different from the rest.

Yet that difference only made Seonwoo more curious about him.

Seonwoo stared at Dowon, who remained unmoved.

Whether he didn’t notice the gaze or was simply ignoring it, Dowon silently continued reading.

His sharp, upturned eyes, sharp nose, lips that never smiled, and those jet-black eyes that seemed to peer into a deep abyss…

Seonwoo wondered who those cold eyes would soften for.

Who would be the one to get close enough to feel the warmth of his breath?

Who would get to kiss those soft lips?

As he silently stared at Dowon for a long time, Dowon finally seemed to notice the gaze and looked up from his book to meet Seonwoo’s eyes.

It was then that Seonwoo realized one thing from Dowon’s gaze—that person would never be him.

“You’re distracting me. Could you disappear from my sight?”

Dowon’s eyes were cold.

No, there was an iciness in his gaze that even the word ‘cold’ couldn’t fully describe.

Seonwoo gulped.

Dowon’s gaze toward him had always been like that.

Whenever he was in front of him, Seonwoo felt like he was being branded as worthless.

And it wasn’t just a feeling.

Dowon always said it, as if it were a habit: spending time with someone who wasn’t useful to his life was a waste.

It felt like needles were pricking his heart.

But it wasn’t anything new, so Seonwoo pretended not to care.

He had to.

Not just because his father had told him to get along with Dowon, but because, secretly, Seonwoo had always admired him.

To Seonwoo, Dowon was like forbidden fruit—something he could never reach, no matter how much he stretched out his hand.

And it hadn’t taken long for that admiration to turn into affection.

One day, Seonwoo had a dream.

In that dream, Dowon appeared, and unlike in reality, he smiled at Seonwoo and held his hand.

Even in the dream, his heart pounded like it was about to burst.

‘Seonwoo.’

It wasn’t the cold voice he usually heard.

It was a soft voice, one that made his eardrums melt.

Dowon leaned in close, and just as their lips met, Seonwoo had an orgasm in his sleep.

“Ah…”

When he opened his eyes, the area below his stomach was wet.

Though he felt confused by the sticky semen that soaked his underwear, the lingering sensation of that dream floated gently throughout his body for a while.

A while after that, Seonwoo found himself alone with Dowon again, left together because of some adult matter.

And as always, Dowon was engrossed in his book. Seonwoo stared at him intensely.

The more he stared, the more he felt a strange impulse rise within him, likely due to that dream.

He wasn’t expecting to kiss him.

Seonwoo just wanted to touch Dowon’s hand, even just his fingertips.

He wanted to see a moment when Dowon’s eyes would reflect him.

The heat rising in his face melted away the thin layer of rationality he had been holding onto.

Seonwoo mustered up the courage and gently, very gently, touched Dowon’s fingertip.

The moment Dowon looked up at him, Seonwoo’s heart pounded so hard it felt like it would leap out of his mouth.

“Hey, Cha Dowon.”

“Don’t touch me.”

He had barely spoken when a voice, cold as ice, cut through the air.

Seonwoo knew from the way Dowon’s eyes flickered with disdain that he was looking at him with disgust again.

He felt the sensation of needles pricking at his heart once more.

This time, though, it was as if they were stabbing him all over, not just in one place.

“Do you not even understand what it means when someone says you’re a nuisance?”

“It’s not like that—”

Before Seonwoo could say anything more, Dowon stood up and rummaged through the study.

Not long after, he came back with a thick Korean dictionary and shoved the page with the definition of ‘nuisance’ in front of Seonwoo.

“If you don’t get it, read it until it sinks into your incompetent brain. And stop bothering me.”

Seonwoo was at a loss for words.

The pounding in his chest from just moments ago had already disappeared.

Dowon, oblivious to the emotional damage he had caused, returned to his seat and resumed reading his book.

Despite everything, Seonwoo couldn’t stop his feelings for Dowon from growing.

Instead of pushing him away, it only made sense to him that Dowon would act like this.

In the end, Seonwoo fell silent, fiddling with his own fingertips.

Still, the lingering warmth from the brief contact with Dowon’s fingers remained on his skin.

Dowon always found Seonwoo to be a nuisance and treated him like a fool.

Outwardly, Seonwoo wore a foolish smile, but every time Dowon insulted him, it felt like his insides were rotting away.

And yet, Seonwoo liked Cha Dowon.

To anyone else, it would seem like he was being an idiot, but how could he control where his heart wanted to go?

Seonwoo had long accepted that he’d probably live like a sucker for the rest of his life.

ꔚ

It was a sunny Saturday, with cherry blossoms in full bloom.

The streets were packed with people heading out to enjoy the blossoms, but today was also the day of Seonwoo’s recital.

Since the recital wasn’t until 6 PM, Seonwoo had planned to prepare at a leisurely pace, but Yeongdeok’s message after lunch forced him to leave home much earlier than expected.

[Seonwoo: Cha Yeongdeok, I’m really sorry, but can you come to the audience from the rehearsal?]

[Seonwoo: I’ll let the staff know in advance…]

High-maintenance guy…

Yeongdeok typed out the words “No,” “I refuse,” “Get lost,” in the chat, deleting them three times before finally holding back and sighing in resignation.

Where else in the world could you find a yandere so indulgent toward their love interest?

If only PetitRolang could witness this.

Feeling unapologetically proud of himself, Yeongdeok left the house and got into a taxi.

He arrived at the concert venue, the Seoul Arts Center, a little after 2 PM.

The concert hall listed on his ticket was on the fourth floor.

In a rare moment of restraint, Yeongdeok chose to climb the stairs instead of taking the elevator.

Just as he was nearing the top, he spotted a man with white hair sitting miserably in the corner of the stairwell.

As Yeongdeok approached and stopped in front of him, Seonwoo seemed to sense his presence and lifted his head weakly.

“Oh… you’re here?”

Seonwoo’s face, as he greeted Yeongdeok, looked haggard, like someone who hadn’t slept in at least a week.

The dark circles under his pale eyes were especially noticeable.

“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be rehearsing?”

“It’s another performer’s turn right now… I was just cooling my head for a bit.”

Seonwoo forced a smile, then let out a small sigh. His gaze drifted toward a tiny ventilation window.

“Winter’s gone, and spring’s already here.”

If you divided the year into seasons, spring would be March, April, and May.

It was already April, meaning spring had been around for over a month.

Yet, Seonwoo spoke as if spring had just arrived.

Despite the absurdity, Yeongdeok humored him with a slight raise of his brows.

“Sometimes… I wonder if I didn’t want spring to come at all.”

* * *