CBR 14

“Thoughts on being released?”

“There’s tofu kimchi on today’s lunch menu, isn’t that appropriate?”

“Don’t overdo it, you bastards.”

There was a heavy resonance in the voice snapping back at the classmates’ taunts. The voice, where an adult man and a boy who hadn’t fully grown yet coexisted, evoked a strange sensation. Jaewon bit his lip, feeling the fine hairs inside his ears stand up with a chill. As the footsteps drew closer, his heart rate quickened and he grew tense. The moment he felt the leisurely pace finally stop beside him, Jaewon turned his head.

His development was remarkable to the point it was hard to believe he was a high school student. His huge stature and broad shoulders were already at a level exceeding that of an adult. Overwhelmed by a physique that looked like something out of a human body drawing textbook, Jaewon slowly raised his gaze. Passing his firm chest and long collarbones, all the way up to his sharply slit eyes. The moment their two gazes met, Kim Dojun, who had been tilting his head askew, glared intently.

“Ha.”

He let out a smirk as if it were absurd. It was an inexplicable behavior for a first meeting, but no thought came to Jaewon’s mind.

“So we meet like this again.”

Smirking with one corner of his mouth raised, Kim Dojun approached with long strides. Before he could even understand his words, intense pain struck his chin and his vision shook violently.

“Have you been well?”

A thoroughly sweet voice saturated his eardrums sluggishly. Jaewon tightly closed and opened his eyes at the prickling sensation at the tips of his hair. The moment he saw those eyes as pitch-black as obsidian, he felt like he was being sucked into the deep sea.

“I almost died because I missed you so much.”

He growled like a wild beast and bared his teeth. Unlike his tone of voice that sounded as if he were dying of amusement, his expression was nothing short of murderous.

Later, Jaewon recalled this moment as follows:

This guy is seriously…

Handsome.

Chapter 3. {Nifty Five3)}

Looking at the face in front of his eyes, Jaewon redefined the definition of handsomeness he had known until now. The features were placed so perfectly as if set by the god of Tetris, to say nothing of the symmetry and proportions. Looked at individually, the eyes, nose, and mouth were art, but gathered together they were a masterpiece. His healthy skin color radiated sensuality. And what about those flawlessly straight and orderly teeth? It was at a level where an orthodontist specializing in braces would stalk him to take a mold.

“Have you thought about me a lot during that time?”

There was no exaggeration in Ma Chayun’s expression. Truly, it was a face that must have been built differently since its cell days.

“I thought about you a lot, though.”

Among them, the best were those obsidian-black eyes. As he kept looking into those eyes, oddly enough, an instinctive fear arose as if encountering a killer whale on the ocean floor. At the unknown sensation experienced for the first time in his life, Jaewon froze, unable to move a muscle.

“How I should beat the shit out of you once I found you.”

Kim Dojun, who had been running his tongue over his molars, said sinisterly. At that heavily threatening remark, thoughts vanished from his head like popping soap bubbles. As his scattered sanity returned, the focus of his eyes returned along with it. Seeing the sculpted face burning with hostility, Jaewon was startled and asked back politely.

“What? Me?”

“This cute bastard is pulling a sly trick again.”

It was true he was cute, but he hadn’t even started any sly tricks yet. Becoming aggrieved, Jaewon was about to claim innocence, but looking at Kim Dojun’s expression, he meekly lowered his eyes. Even a wanted criminal’s mugshot would be milder than that.

“Who else is here besides you.”

Well, aren’t there plenty of people around? Jaewon glanced around with a puzzled expression. The students, who had been watching the scene with great interest, hurriedly avoided his gaze when their eyes met his.

‘What on earth is going on?’

Jaewon was confused. Normally, when a fight broke out, he was the type to collect bets from the audience seats. His current plight of suddenly becoming a participant in the Colosseum was far too unfamiliar. Why was he getting grabbed by the neck and picked on since morning like a rooster on a sweltering summer day?

“I wondered who the transfer student was, but I didn’t expect the stalker bastard to come walking in on his own feet.”

“Huh?”

Stalking was naturally in his plans, but it was a maneuver he hadn’t executed yet. Hearing his words made him grow more and more bewildered. Overloaded by a causal analysis error, his brain stopped functioning. Knowing that running his mouth at a time like this would incur a heavy debt, Jaewon kept quiet like a clam.

“Are your guts swollen to the brim?”

One of his nicknames during his school days was indeed Foie Gras. Unconsciously about to nod his head, Jaewon instantly felt a threat to his survival and stayed still. The guy’s eyes were so fierce that he looked ready to slit his throat in one go if he made a wrong move.

“What are you two doing standing there!”

The touch-and-go situation was cleared up by the teacher who entered the classroom. At the loud, stern scolding, the grip holding Jaewon’s chin loosened.

“How long has it been since the bell rang, you guys? Aren’t you going to sit down quickly?”

When the teacher shouted while tapping the attendance roster on the podium, Kim Dojun clicked his tongue and let go of Jaewon. He didn’t even let go nicely, but practically threw him, so he almost fell backward.

“Let’s talk during break time.”

Kim Dojun growled softly toward Jaewon and sat in his seat. Jaewon, who had been dazed, soon sat side by side next to him.

“…”

“…”

An awkward silence lingered between the desks. After a moment, Kim Dojun turned his head and looked at Jaewon. Feeling silent pressure from a gaze that seemed to emit radiation, Jaewon moved his desk over. Only after moving it three more times did he turn his head, looking satisfied.

“Where did we get up to last class?”

“Teacher, since you came late, shouldn’t you get penalty points?”

“Stop talking nonsense and open your textbooks. Midterms are right around the corner.”

“As a punishment, please tell us about your first love!”

“It was back in kindergarten, so I don’t remember.”

“Ah, what’s that~”

“That’s no fun!”

“It’s true, you guys. Do you even know the romance of the Forsythia Class?”

“Then tell us about your wedding night~!”

“Boo~!”

“Wedding night! Wedding night!”

“Isn’t it polite to ask if I’m married first?”

“…”

“…”

“Open your books.”

Listening to the sound of pages turning, Jaewon fell into deep agony. Something was going severely wrong. According to the original plan, after winning Kim Dojun’s heart with a bribe, they were supposed to set out to find his destined partner with one mind and purpose. But what was this current situation? His body felt like it was being exposed to radiation from the hostility Kim Dojun was exuding.

Things were troublesome this way. Kim Dojun, who was preaching his own handsomeness with his entire body, was clearly the protagonist no matter who looked. If his relationship with such a guy turned sour right from the start, the market trend would enter a chaotic era. In other words, no matter how the story flowed, he would have no choice but to watch helplessly. Whether the development dragged on or got twisted up. If so, the time to return to reality might become far off.

‘That alone must never happen.’

Jaewon began to sort through his mind, which was tangled like a ball of yarn. Summarizing Kim Dojun’s words, a few propositions were derived.

1. Kim Dojun and I are acquaintances from before.
2. Kim Dojun is currently holding a deep grudge against me.
3. It seems I did something to Kim Dojun.

However, since even the first proposition didn’t match up, the solution was in the dark. Pressing his temples, he searched his memory, but couldn’t find even a tiny clue.

‘To be acquaintances, there’s no way that’s possible.’

There was no way he could have passed by a face that looked like that. Even if their sleeves merely brushed, he would have confined him. Throughout the class, Jaewon held his head and overworked his frontal lobe, but even when the class bell rang, he couldn’t find an answer.

“That’s it for today’s class…”

“Yay~!”

“Don’t play around during class and then go to the hagwon to study the exact same thing again; focus during class. All the exam questions come from what I said.”

“…”

“Thoroughly review and prepare ahead. Don’t let your guard down just because it’s the beginning of the semester. Class president, lead the greeting.”

“Yaaay~~!”

As the teacher left, the classroom quickly became noisy. Students gathered in groups of three and five to chatter or left the classroom saying they were going to the snack bar. Amidst such busyness, Jaewon remained seated where he was. Sharp with all the reading-the-room cells in his body on high alert, he observed Kim Dojun’s movements out of the corner of his eye. Unexpectedly, the guy who he thought would grab him by the collar as soon as the bell rang stayed quiet. Jaewon, who had stretched his feet outward intending to bolt if push came to shove, relaxed his body a little bit.