* * *
Jeongseo was aware that he’d been too harsh on Yoontae and that they’d been talking less than before.
But with midterms less than two weeks away, he couldn’t help but be on edge.
Hayan had been helping him study, so things were going smoothly, but the pressure of this being the final midterm that counted toward his grades weighed heavily on him.
He really didn’t want to retake the exams next year, and from what he’d researched, the physical fitness tests were tough.
His priority was getting into university through rolling admissions—even if it meant being accepted at the last minute.
He was working hard because he wanted to go to a school close to Yoontae.
But when Yoontae kept distracting him, it had frustrated him, too.
Even so…
Munching on a Vienna sausage, Jeongseo sneaked a glance to the side.
Since yesterday, Yoontae had been sulking, barely speaking at all.
He hadn’t expected it to last this long.
Not knowing what to do, Jeongseo kept watching him until Hayan, sitting across from him, spoke up.
“What’s up with him?”
With that brooding look during lunch, it was impossible not to notice.
Jeongseo hesitated, struggling to answer, then finally murmured,
“I… hit Yoontae’s hand yesterday.”
Hayan’s eyes narrowed sharply. He’d been expecting something more serious—was Yoontae really sulking over getting smacked on the hand?
Skeptical, Hayan glanced at Yoontae, who was still eating without so much as looking in Jeongseo’s direction.
It made him seriously question if these two were really third-year high school students.
“Are you guys kids? Even my little siblings fight over less childish things. And why’d you hit his hand anyway?”
Jeongseo quietly folded his hands over his lap.
“…He kept poking me during class.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake… Just make up already.”
Mumbling, Jeongseo muttered a soft “Yeah,” while Hayan shook his head.
Before long, Yoontae finished his pudding dessert, then sat there sullenly, tapping his empty pudding cup with a plastic spoon.
As Jeongseo peeled the lid off his own pudding, he stole another glance.
Thinking about it, he’d never told Yoontae that he was working so hard to get into a university near him.
If his grades didn’t improve, he’d have to apply somewhere else, so he didn’t want to give him false hope.
Jeongseo rolled his eyes once before scooping up a big spoonful of pudding and holding it out toward Yoontae’s mouth.
“Yoontae, I’m sorry. Don’t be mad…”
Yoontae stared at the pale yellow pudding threatening to spill off the spoon before shifting his gaze to Jeongseo’s face.
His large eyes drooped sadly, looking on the verge of tears, so desperate and pleading that Yoontae couldn’t control the twitch of his lips.
His mouth quirked up, then went back down.
Up, then down again.
Finally, he gave in and accepted the pudding.
Seeing that, Jeongseo’s face brightened. Yoontae, in turn, opened his mouth slightly again.
Without hesitation, Jeongseo scooped up another spoonful and fed him, and Yoontae—no longer trying to keep up his sulking act—chewed contentedly, looking like a satisfied cat.
Watching this scene unfold up close, Hayan’s dark eyes were filled with utter contempt. What a ridiculous way to make up.
By the time they left the cafeteria, Yoontae was in such a good mood that he clung to Jeongseo from behind as they walked.
Even when they were brushing their teeth, he stuck so close that Hayan, tired of the sight, packed up his books in the classroom and announced,
“I’m heading to the library. You two do whatever.”
“Oh, I…”
Jeongseo had started to stand but hesitated when Yoontae grabbed his wrist. In that brief pause, Hayan quickly slipped out of the room.
As Jeongseo lowered his head, Yoontae tapped his desk.
“I won’t distract you. Just study here, Jeongseo.”
“…Okay.”
Jeongseo sat back down, adjusted his posture, and opened his textbook, trying to focus.
Yoontae, true to his word, didn’t make a sound.
He just lay on his desk and quietly watched Jeongseo.
A few classmates peeked in but quickly left upon seeing the two, leaving the classroom as silent as a library.
The only sound was the cool breeze ruffling their hair through the slightly open window.
The environment was perfect for studying.
And yet, when Jeongseo tried to solve a problem, the words wouldn’t register at all.
His gaze kept drifting toward Yoontae.
He wanted to nudge him, say something, anything.
At least during class, he had the excuse of listening to the lecture.
But now, with nothing to stop him, Jeongseo finally turned his head.
When their eyes met, Yoontae slowly blinked.
Sometimes, whenever their gazes locked, he would blink like that—slow, deliberate.
At first, Jeongseo thought it was a coincidence, but after looking it up, he learned it was a form of communication among feline species—a way of expressing trust and affection.
A “slow blink” meant, ‘I don’t intend to harm you.’
It signified comfort, trust, and love.
Without even realizing it, Yoontae had been expressing his affection for Jeongseo all along.
Every time Jeongseo realized that, his feelings for him only grew deeper.
Jeongseo hesitated for a moment but then, meeting Yoontae’s gaze properly, slowly lowered and raised his own eyelids.
As his vision gradually cleared again, Yoontae’s lips parted slightly.
A faint flush tinged his cheeks, and his eyes sparkled in the light.
His expression was one of pure delight, as if he had never expected Jeongseo to return the gesture.
Seeing that, warmth rushed to Jeongseo’s face, too.
If he had known Yoontae would react this happily, he would have done it sooner.
Yoontae instinctively reached out to touch Jeongseo but caught himself just in time.
He had promised not to disturb him.
Instead, his hand hovered uncertainly before resting at the edge of their adjoining desks.
A moment later, Jeongseo’s fingers crept closer, then gently hooked his index finger around Yoontae’s pinky.
Yoontae let out a quiet, amused chuckle at the clumsy hold.
“You have to study, Jeongseo.”
“…I can just read with my eyes…!”
Pyo Yoontae glanced at the textbook—it was open to a page on probability and statistics.
He didn’t mind the obvious excuse.
Without hesitation, he firmly grasped Jeongseo’s hand, which had been loosely resting on his fingers.
Yoontae’s hand was so much larger that Jeongseo’s was completely enveloped.
For a moment, a soft rumbling sound echoed in the quiet room.
In the end, Jeongseo wasn’t able to study at all during the remaining lunch break.
This was the problem with studying with Pyo Yoontae.
Even when Yoontae did nothing, Jeongseo found it impossible to concentrate.
Starting this year, Wednesdays had been shortened to six periods.
It was a change made to accommodate student council meetings, which sometimes interrupted classes—so instead, they decided to just end the day early and have students take care of any pending tasks.
But neither Jeongseo nor Pyo Yoontae was in the student council.
As third-year students, Wednesdays were simply an early dismissal day for them.
With midterms just around the corner, they decided to head to the library instead of wasting time.
The three of them—Jeongseo, Pyo Yoontae, and Hayan—naturally started sticking together at some point.
Pyo Yoontae wasn’t too happy about Hayan constantly wedging himself between him and Seo Jeongseo.
He shot him a glare, but Hayan, not even bothering to look up from his book, simply raised his middle finger.
Yoontae felt his irritation spike but barely held it in—this was a library, after all.
Instead, he leaned his head against Jeongseo’s shoulder.
Meanwhile, Jeongseo remained oblivious to Hayan flipping Yoontae off, fully immersed in his studies.
His notes were filled with neat, rounded letters, as if they had their own personality.
Yoontae watched them for a moment before murmuring,
“At this rate, you’ll be ranked first in the whole school.”
The hand holding the mechanical pencil faltered before moving to the corner of the notebook.
“It’s the last midterm, after all!”
“…You’re not wrong.”
Even someone like Yoontae, who always reviewed ahead, couldn’t afford to slack off during exam season.
As he straightened up to focus again, a faint grumble sounded from beside him.
Turning his head, he found Jeongseo frozen in place, his face flushed bright red.
Hayan let out a barely suppressed snort, hurriedly clapping a hand over his mouth.
Jeongseo’s face turned even redder as he covered it with both hands in embarrassment.
Yoontae chuckled as he stood up.
“It’s almost five. Let’s eat early.”
Hayan simply started packing his bag without comment, while Jeongseo, lips pressed tightly together, gave a small nod.
As they walked, discussing what to eat, sudden rain poured down, forcing them to dash under a nearby store’s awning.
The sky was dark—this rain wasn’t stopping anytime soon.
“…I don’t have an umbrella. What do we do?”
Jeongseo muttered, looking up at the sky.
Neither Hayan nor Yoontae responded, both simply staring at the rain in silence.
Then, Yoontae abruptly set his bag down and said,
“I’ll run to the convenience store and buy umbrellas. Wait here.”
“What?! In this rain—”
Before Jeongseo could stop him, Yoontae sprinted across the street the moment the signal changed, disappearing into the store.
By the time he returned with three umbrellas, he was—predictably—soaked through.
“It’s fine. I’ll just go home and change. You two go ahead and eat.”
As Yoontae prepared to leave, Hayan frowned, looking displeased, then casually pointed toward a house nearby.
“My place is close. Just come over.”
* * *
