“I met some friends.”
“Ah. Right, what did the doctor say?”
His mother was diagnosed with liver cancer three years ago. That same year, his father’s business failed, then he disappeared and was later found to have committed suicide, and they discovered that he had an enormous amount of debt. Compared to then, Heewoon thought that things were much better now, and he kept reciting that thought like a mantra.
“…It’s the same as before. They say I’m doing fine.”
“That’s a relief.”
Heewoon smiled a little.
By the following year, his mother was declared fully recovered, but it seemed like the cancer cells disappeared while taking along all of her energy.
Her body couldn’t even handle a little bit of work. Heewoon had to take a semester off from school and work to support the family. Around the same time, his older brother went to the Philippines, taking half of the remaining money from selling their house. That also caused Heewoon to get beaten up by loan sharks.
“You should go to school now.”
“Yeah.”
His mom went back to the room, and Heewoon washed the dishes before heading to the small bathroom. His swollen face looked back at him in the mirror. It dawned on him that he had slept for so long.
He took a cold shower and prepared for his tutoring job. It had been a while since he had a clear mind, thus he was able to move quickly. He even had time to do one assignment before it was time to go to school. He had two hours to spare until his 10 am class.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Heewoon decided to walk to school. That way he could exercise and save money. It seemed like a good idea.
However, about an hour into the walk, he belatedly regretted it. His already sore muscles were aching badly. He thought about taking the bus now, but the distance that he had already walked would be wasted, so he continued walking to school.
There were still 30 minutes left before the lecture started, so no one was in the classroom. It was the day of the week when Heewoon and Seo Kangwoo attended the same class – every Monday and Wednesday.
Until a week ago, Heewoon used to start his day energetically on Mondays and Wednesdays. He was glad that he could see Kangwoo’s face from the morning, and he didn’t even feel tired even if he had tutoring jobs until dawn.
But now, just thinking about it was exhausting. How much would Kangwoo torture him again today?
After a few minutes, students started coming in one by one.
“Hello, Sunbae.”
Heewoon’s expression hardened as he turned around. Kangwoo sat down casually next to Heewoon and asked, “Can I sit here?”
“Ah, yeah….”
Then Kangwoo gently asked while placing his book on the desk.
“Is your phone broken?”
“What? No.”
Heewoon blinked at the sudden question. Then you were really ignoring me. Kangwoo muttered.
“Huh?”
“Are your ears not hearing properly?”
Kangwoo teased as Heewoon kept asking back. Heewoon closed his mouth and looked away as Kangwoo’s beautiful hands nervously tapped the desk. Kangwoo seemed to want to hit him because he was feeling offended about something.
“You didn’t come to school too, yesterday. Just a few days ago, you liked me and followed me everywhere, but now you’re fretting because you can’t avoid me?”
Seo Kangwoo’s eyes flashed as if they were going to devour him. It was the opposite of his quiet voice.
“I overslept yesterday. F-for real. When I woke up, it was already 5 pm so I couldn’t come to school,”
Kangwoo seemed to be skeptical about it, but started to believe him after he said he slept until dawn due to feeling very sleepy.
“Looking at your swollen face, it seems like it might be true,”
“It’s true.”
As Kangwoo reached out to touch his eyelids, Heewoon’s eyes closed. Kangwoo brushed his puffy eyelids and then looked at his face. His already young-looking face appeared even younger.
“I almost got mad. I thought you were avoiding me again, Sunbae.”
Kangwoo’s rough voice softened.
“I-I’m not.”
As Heewoon shook his head, his hair brushed against Kangwoo’s fingertips. With his disheveled hair, the scent of shampoo filled the air. It was a cheap scent, but it didn’t feel bad.
“Did you have breakfast yet?”
“I had ramyeon right after I woke up.”
“You eat that kind of thing at home too?”
Seeing Kangwoo’s disapproving expression, Heewoon suddenly remembered what he said earlier. With a curious mind, he picked up his phone and checked his messenger. Kangwoo frowned when he saw Heewoon suddenly looking at his phone while they were still talking.
“What are you doing now, Sunbae?”
“Huh? I thought this was a dream…”
Heewoon’s eyes widened. Kangwoo’s frown disappeared as he peeked at Heewoon’s phone.
“How did you know my number?”
“Do you think I wouldn’t know?”
Kangwoo asked Heewoon nonchalantly, surprising him. Then he chuckled softly.
“Sunbae, so you really slept like a log.”
Heewoon looked at Kangwoo in confusion as he ruffled his hair. When their eyes met, Kangwoo raised his eyebrows and asked, “Hmm?”, his throat reverberated.
“Ah. Do you want to know my number?”
“….Yeah,”
Heewoon replied hesitantly, his lips opening slightly. Kangwoo, who had a smile on his face, took out his phone. Right away, Heewoon’s phone vibrated.
“Did you receive my call?”
“Yeah,” Heewoon answered as he looked at Kangwoo’s phone screen.
[Heewoonie]
Kangwoo noticed Heewoon’s gaze and chuckled, “Ah, this?”
“Do you want me to put a heart next to it?”
Heewoon’s eyes widened in surprise.
“…No.”
He replied in a small voice and saved Kangwoo’s phone number. He didn’t really want to save his number, but he couldn’t do that as Kangwoo was sitting right next to him.
***
“Now, make groups of 3-4 people and come forward. The group that comes first will have priority to choose their presenting order.”
At the professor’s words, students in the classroom were busy moving. They called out to their distant classmates or talked to someone sitting nearby. Many people who had formed groups quickly gathered in front of the professor.
Heewoon blinked his eyes as he looked at them.
After taking a break from the military, he attended the first semester and then took another two years off. There were many students in his year who had already graduated, and Heewoon was not particularly sociable to begin with.
Heewoon looked at the person next to him. Seo Kangwoo was absent-mindedly holding his chin. He must have noticed Heewoon’s gaze, as he looked back at him and smiled faintly.
“I really hate group projects.”
Don’t you think so too? Kangwoo asked for his agreement with a friendly smile. Heewoon nodded his head.
Last semester, he had done a group project with a classmate whom he wasn’t particularly close to, and in the end, Heewoon had to do everything himself.
Although group projects made him nervous, there were many presentations and group projects in the business administration major. But this semester, one class was a report assignment and another one was a solo presentation, which was a relief.
“Hmm… Who should I group with?”
Kangwoo looked around the classroom, holding his chin. Heewoon felt anxious as it seemed like he would have to wait until the end to form a group, but Seo Kangwoo seemed very relaxed.
But it seemed Kangwoo had decided to group with him. Heewoon couldn’t say anything about it, so he could just fidget with his t-shirt hem. He kept imagining Kangwoo kicking his stomach while in the group.
“Oh, Heewoon.”
Someone softly called Heewoon from behind. Turning around, his face stiffened slightly. Lee Hyukjin. He was the classmate who he had given a free ride last semester.
“You haven’t formed a group yet, right? Let’s do it together. It’s just right since there are three of us.”
Ah, shit, we’re too late now. At this rate, our presenting order would be near the exam period.
Without waiting for a response, Hyukjin counted the number of people standing in front of Professor Heejin. Kangwoo looked at Heewoon’s face and asked softly,
“Heewoon Sunbae, do you have anyone in mind for the group?”
Hyukjin frowned slightly at Kangwoo’s words and scratched his head.
“What? Woo Heewoon, Is there anyone else besides me?”
When Hyukjin tapped him on the back, Heewoon shook like a paper doll. Kangwoo’s gaze fell on Heewoon’s slightly messy hair.
“Ah…”
As Heewoon hesitated, Kangwoo added,
“The two people that I mentioned earlier. They make good PowerPoint presentations and give good presentations.”
Heewoon had never heard that before. So he could only look at Kangwoo blankly. Hyukjin tapped his back again.
“Hurry up and decide. If it’s not you guys, I’ll have to join other people. Why are you so slow?”
“…It doesn’t matter who I group with.”
“Really? Then I’ll inform the professor about the three of us. I’ll try to choose the best possible date for the presenting order.”
Hyukjin tapped Heewoon’s shoulders a couple of times and went to the front of the classroom. Seo Kangwoo, and then Lee Hyukjin. Heewoon looked at Hyukjin’s back and thought that he would have to do the group project alone again.
“…Why?”
Heewoon noticed Kangwoo was staring at him and asked cautiously. Kangwoo looked at him for a bit longer and smirked.
“Ah, damn it. Our presentation is in two weeks, the week right before exams.”
When Hyukjin returned, he wiped his forehead in defeat. He looked so desperate that Heewoon thought he might actually work harder this time. But it didn’t take long for him to realize that he was wrong.
***
They had to have several meetings to decide on the topic and content of their presentation. Hyukjin only attended the meeting on the day they formed the group. From then on, he kept making excuses every time they tried to schedule another meeting. He had work on Mondays, an important appointment the next day, and a major core class on the day after that…
From the moment he said he wanted the presenter role, Heewoon knew he would obviously struggle because he didn’t know the content of the presentation.
These days, Heewoon was extremely stressed. Seo Kangwoo’s mere presence was enough to put him under tremendous stress, and now, they had overlapping exams and group assignments. Moreover, he had no money, and he also had to prepare his tutoring students for their midterm exams as well.
[Ah, I’m really sorry. I forgot I had an appointment that day. Can’t you guys just do it without me and let me know later?]
Heewoon sighed as he read the message from Hyukjin.
“What are you doing not eating?”
“…I’m eating.”
Heewoon put down his phone and picked up his chopsticks. This was already the third lunch he had with Seo Kangwoo. Even on days when they had no class together, Kangwoo came to school and had lunch with him.
And now they were having dinner together at Seo Kangwoo’s house.
But tomorrow was Saturday, so they wouldn’t have to have lunch together. Heewoon felt sorry for himself for finding comfort in such a trivial thing.
“You’re making a lot of noise.”
Kangwoo muttered a critique, making Heewoon startled. He quickly scooped a large spoonful of rice into his mouth. He finished his meal quickly, keeping an eye on Kangwoo. I would get an upset stomach again today. Heewoon thought to himself.
“Sunbae, do you know it?”
As their meal was coming to an end, Seo Kangwoo spoke up. His subtle tone was unnerving, so Heewoon hesitated before asking.
“…What?”
“It’s been a week since we had sex.”
How are you guys liking this series so far? The webtoon will be starting next week on 8/25!
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