* * *
School?
Wasn’t he not supposed to come?
Jeongseo quickly replayed their conversation from yesterday.
Yoontae had definitely said he wouldn’t come.
[???? School?? You’re at Jeonghan University??? Why???]
11:32 AM
He barely had time to process his confusion before the reply came.
[Black Cat: I wanted to come. You’re in the gym, right? I’m outside.]
11:32 AM
[Black Cat: I brought my bag too, so let’s head out as soon as you’re done.]
11:32 AM
At the mention of “gym,” Jeongseo’s head shot up, his eyes darting to the entrance.
The gym at Jeonghan University was large, with multiple doors.
The entrances were made of glass, so he spotted Yoontae immediately, his face half-visible as he peeked inside.
The moment their eyes met, Yoontae casually raised a hand in greeting.
Jeongseo stared at him, utterly flustered.
Then, feeling a sharp gaze on the back of his head, he turned—
Ah.
Park Doyoung had seen Yoontae too.
His gray-tinged eyes glinted as he fixated on Yoontae stubbornly.
Then, when he met Jeongseo’s gaze, he scoffed, as if he had won some sort of contest, before turning back.
With only a short time left until class ended, Jeongseo quickly sent a message to Yoontae.
[Yoontae, don’t wait in front of the gym. Go to the main gate!]
11:37 AM
But the read receipt didn’t appear.
Jeongseo glanced over and saw that Yoontae wasn’t even looking inside the gym anymore.
He quickly began devising a plan to make sure Yoontae and Doyoung didn’t run into each other when class ended.
The moment the professor dismissed them, Jeongseo shot to his feet.
“Ah, Jeongseo.”
The professor called out to him.
Startled, Jeongseo turned back, his eyes shaking.
And in that moment, Yoontae stepped inside the gym.
Doyoung, after glancing at Jeongseo, quickly walked toward Yoontae.
Jeongseo exhaled in despair.
“I was wondering if you’d have time next week? I’d like to have a chat in my office.”
The professor had dropped this completely unexpected request.
A consultation?
Oh, right—didn’t they have to meet with their mentor professor at least once per semester?
But wasn’t a different professor supposed to be his mentor?
Jeongseo found it strange, but he had no time to dwell on it.
“Yes! I have plenty of time next week! I’ll come!”
The professor brightened at his quick response.
“Oh, really? How about Thursday at five in the afternoon?”
“Yes, yes, that works! But I really need to go right now, professor!”
Seeing how restless he was, the professor waved him off.
Jeongseo spun around immediately—
But Yoontae and Doyoung were already standing face to face.
Walking briskly toward them, Jeongseo could hear murmurs from the nearby students.
“What’s going on?”
“Wait, they actually know each other?”
Amidst all the speculation, Jeongseo’s ears tuned in to just one thing—their conversation.
“It’s been a while. Wonder if you still remember me?”
Doyoung was looking up at Yoontae with the brightest smile Jeongseo had ever seen on him.
Usually, his arrogant tone and expression overshadowed everything else, but with that wide grin, he was… surprisingly handsome.
Yoontae narrowed his eyes at Doyoung, then smirked.
“I wouldn’t have, but Jeongseo told me about you the other day. So I ended up remembering.”
“…Oh. Seo Jeongseo talked about me, huh…?”
Doyoung, who must not have believed Jeongseo had mentioned him, visibly faltered and glanced away.
Jeongseo had expected Yoontae to be cold toward Doyoung, but his reaction was even more cutting than anticipated.
His quick strides began slowing.
If Yoontae was about to give Doyoung his number, that would be the moment to step in.
“It’s really been a long time. I was a little upset when you transferred and didn’t keep in touch.”
“We weren’t exactly close enough to keep in touch. You asked Jeongseo for my number.”
“Oh, right! Jeongseo refused to—”
At some point, Jeongseo had moved closer to the two of them.
Pyo Yoontae, who had previously only curled up one corner of his mouth, flashed a smile at Jeongseo, while Park Doyoung’s expression stiffened.
The kids who had been pestering him earlier were now only pretending to pack up in the gym, sneaking glances but not approaching as much as he had expected.
Had he been worrying too much?
“It’s over, right, Jeongseo? Now, let’s go on a da—”
Pyo Yoontae reached out toward Jeongseo, completely unconcerned that Park Doyoung was standing right there.
But before he could touch him, Park Doyoung urgently grabbed Pyo Yoontae’s wrist, as if snatching it away.
It happened so fast that Pyo Yoontae didn’t have time to avoid it.
Park Doyoung took a step closer, as if trying to be nearer to Jeongseo than Yoontae, and opened his mouth.
“Meeting again like this must be fate, ah—!”
With a loud thud, Park Doyoung’s hand was struck away.
It was because Jeongseo, utterly furious, had slammed his fist down on the back of Doyoung’s hand.
Yoontae’s wrist stung from the impact, but that wasn’t the issue right now.
“Doyoung, what the hell are you doing? I told you Yoontae is mine—don’t touch him!”
Park Doyoung hadn’t expected Jeongseo to react this strongly.
He shot him a sharp glare before turning his gaze to Yoontae to see how he would respond to such nonsense.
And then, Park Doyoung froze.
Not only were Yoontae’s eyes widened in shock, but a sleek black tail had puffed up and popped out behind him.
It didn’t seem like anger—Yoontae’s cheeks were gradually turning red.
Park Doyoung stared, unable to process what was happening.
Jeongseo, who had been furious at Doyoung’s behavior just a moment ago, also looked up and was left dumbfounded.
Yoontae’s black pupils had dilated, and he was purring softly, looking almost like he was in a rut.
“Jeongseo… baby, whose am I again?”
It was the first time Jeongseo had ever heard such a couple-like term of endearment, and heat shot up from beneath his chin.
On top of that, he could feel every lingering eye in the gym glued to him.
Suddenly realizing what he had just said, Jeongseo became mortified, his expression crumpling.
“Baby, say it one more time—”
“Yoontae, shut up.”
More embarrassed than anyone else in the room, Jeongseo clenched his teeth, grabbed Yoontae’s hand, and quickly marched out.
He absolutely did not want this kind of attention.
Though, as they left the gym, he made sure to shoot Park Doyoung one last glare.
After the two of them disappeared, Park Doyoung stood there, blankly staring at the entrance of the gym.
So… Pyo Yoontae and Seo Jeongseo are actually dating?
He had refused to believe it, but now, reality was hitting him like a nightmare.
Then, a dull pain in his hand brought his attention downward, revealing a bright red bruise in the shape of a small circle forming on his skin.
It wasn’t a dream.
As the realization sank in, he pressed his lips tightly together and stormed out of the gym, desperate to escape the prying eyes around him.
Jeongseo practically shoved Yoontae into the car before getting in himself.
His face was still burning, so he fanned himself while glaring at Yoontae.
“I told you not to come to school! Why did you show up?!”
Despite Jeongseo’s outburst, Yoontae had even pulled his ears out, continuing to purr.
He clung onto Jeongseo, rubbing his face against him no matter how much he was pushed away.
It was as if he had forgotten that the driver was right there in the front seat.
And worse, this wasn’t even the same driver they had last time.
“Seriously, what’s wrong with you?!”
“I thought you weren’t the jealous type.”
The unexpected comment made Jeongseo freeze mid-struggle.
“Me?”
When he repeated the question, a thought suddenly crossed his mind.
Until he had met Pyo Yoontae, he had never really had a reason to feel jealousy.
At home, his only older brother had always showered him with love.
And when he first started school, he had been bullied right away.
Was he always this possessive?
Or had it gotten worse after meeting Yoontae?
For a moment, Jeongseo reflected on himself.
“…I didn’t think I’d be this jealous either. Even in high school, I wanted Yoontae to get along with his friends, but when he got too close to someone, I hated it…”
Liking someone naturally brought these emotions, but expressing jealousy was another thing entirely.
Especially when Yoontae only ever looked at him.
Thinking back, maybe he had gone a little too far earlier.
“You would’ve handled it yourself. I didn’t have to go that far…”
“Jeongseo, the only reason I wanted to go to your school was because I was jealous.”
“What?”
“Just thinking about you talking to other guys when I’m not there makes me sick. When you used to come home drunk, I wanted to go and drink with you too. When you said you were joining a club, I wanted to stop you from going.”
Jeongseo blinked rapidly.
“You—You were that bad?”
“Yeah. But I was worried if I acted like this too much, you’d get sick of me. So I tried not to say anything. But it kept bothering me, so… actually, I went to your school yesterday too.”
“…Huh?”
That, he hadn’t expected at all.
* * *
