JADE 36

“…A picnic blanket?”

“The weather seemed so nice, I thought we could get some sun. As an employee benefit.”

“I’m not an employee there.”

No, he had almost asked if the other employees weren’t employees too. But he held his tongue because it seemed like Kwon Joowan would either be genuinely perplexed or brush it off as if it were nothing.

Kwon Joowan, paying no mind to Jin Sejun’s chatter, spread the blanket in the shade of a flowering tree and rustled a bag.

“Which do you prefer, ricotta basil or salmon?”

“Ricotta…”

“Here.”

Kwon Joowan unwrapped the sandwich to make it easy to eat and handed it over with a coffee, a straw already unwrapped and stuck in it so Jin Sejun wouldn’t have to touch the plastic. Jin Sejun obediently ate and drank, looking around, still in a daze.

He didn’t have the confidence to look directly at Kwon Joowan, who was basking in the sunlight among the flowers, just like when they had run into each other while jogging by the lake.

Even though the sandwich and coffee were the most delicious he’d ever had, he had a feeling they wouldn’t sit well for a while.

There were willow trees in this park too. Under one, a loving couple had also settled down.

The moment Jin Sejun saw them, he remembered himself yesterday, looking at a similar scene and murmuring that it looked nice. Just this morning, he had chatted with the other teachers and mentioned a picnic. Could Kwon Joowan have taken him seriously?

Was this really why he had called him out separately, just for that?

Jin Sejun brushed a gnat that was crawling on the blanket onto the grass. But because it was so tiny, instead of sliding off, it left a crushed smear behind.

Tsk.

The blanket wasn’t quite large enough to comfortably cover both their builds, so their cross-legged knees stuck out about a hand’s-span beyond the corners. Looking at their feet, which were out of their shoes and placed neatly side by side, he was suddenly reminded of the time Kwon Joowan had vigorously massaged his feet after their jog.

Recalling that day made his heart feel oddly restless. He had only been envious of others having picnics, but now it felt awkward to suddenly be inside the very scene he had only watched from afar.

Something Kwon Joowan had prepared just for Jin Sejun…

The dandelions blooming on the dark green carpet of grass looked like yellow stars, and thanks to the white and pale blue wildflowers, there wasn’t a single plain spot wherever he looked. His mood swung wildly, as if the blanket were a raft floating through a sea of wildflowers.

It was a fantastical moment, to the point where the surrounding crowds became invisible, to the point of feeling seasick.

…I want to kill him.

Just as Jin Sejun was about to glare at Kwon Joowan, he lowered his eyes and a question was thrown his way.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m perfectly fine. I went jogging because I was all better.”

“I see.”

A thin silence followed. Despite the noisy surroundings, it was an awkward stillness that couldn’t naturally be drowned out. In times like these, the person who can’t stand the uncomfortable atmosphere has to be the one to speak up.

“…Originally, I wanted to do all sorts of things with Yiseo before my hyung and his wife returned. But at first, Yiseo was staying at a friend’s house, and at the end, I was the one who collapsed… It’s a shame. I really wanted to cook her lots of delicious food and take her to nice places. I was going to leave the stick to her parents and just give her the carrot, to become the beloved uncle.”

Wondering if he had rambled on too much, he glanced over and saw that Kwon Joowan was smiling. That smile was so beautiful it honestly made him want to punch him.

“Mr. Sejun, you cook?”

He’s asking that.

“If I have the ingredients, I can make something very simple, but if you want to eat something decent, you have to order delivery.”

“I didn’t think you could.”

“What was that?”

Kwon Joowan kept chuckling to himself.

“So I take it you’re a good cook?”

“No? I don’t cook either. I don’t like the smell lingering in the house.”

“The smell lingers even when you order in. No, on second thought, your place is so big, does it even have a chance to linger? Ah~. It’s probably fine since you eat chicken breast and salad for all three meals.”

“That’s not always the case.”

“Mr. John will go to hell, cursed by chickens.”

“Will you be cursed by a pig for obsessing over spicy stir-fried pork, Mr. Sejun?”

This empty conversation was making him want to become a vegetarian… If that was the case, was the soup he was given when he collapsed and stayed at Kwon Joowan’s place a retort pouch meal? Jin Sejun was about to retort but then suddenly felt too bothered and shut his mouth.

Just then, a young child brought by a nearby family was running around and tripped on a tree root or something, falling toward them. Jin Sejun caught the child lightly, but the reflexive movement made him lose his balance.

However, Kwon Joowan immediately supported Jin Sejun, so he was spared from sitting on the half-eaten food.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! He’s still so young, if you blink for a second, he’s gone.”

“Kids are meant to grow up running around.”

“Thank you for understanding. Goodness, I told you not to run around like that, didn’t I? Say you’re sorry.”

I’m sorry—the pronunciation was still unformed, which was cute. Jin Sejun was watching the child’s clumsy steps when he suddenly realized he had been held in Kwon Joowan’s arms this whole time and shot away from him.

As Jin Sejun fussed with his clothes, which had nothing to wrinkle anyway, Kwon Joowan, who had been carefully observing his face, spoke cautiously.

“You said you’d stay at the academy until Yiseo’s competition…”

“And?”

“I’d like you to stay longer.”

He thought Kwon Joowan would avoid his gaze if their eyes met, but the light-filled eyes met Jin Sejun’s directly. After a moment of silence, however, Kwon Joowan shifted his gaze to his coffee and quickly added.

“Of course, you’re so skilled at your main job… It would be a huge loss for them if you weren’t there, Mr. Sejun.”

Jin Sejun just shrugged, his expression unchanging.

Shameless bastard…

Even as he peacefully finished his lunch, the urge to suddenly shove Kwon Joowan over and rain a flurry of punches down on him repeated itself. Each time, he chewed on an ice cube left in his cup, his body temperature dropping to the point where the fine hairs on his wind-chilled arms stood on end.

He didn’t show any sign of being cold, thinking that if he did, Kwon Joowan would even take off his jacket for him.

As lunchtime was ending, Jin Sejun, who was helping to clean up, was finally able to smile only after realizing that his swirling emotions had calmed down to some extent.

“Thanks for taking me on a picnic.”

“It was nothing.”

Kwon Joowan had a vexingly sensitive side, but he was fundamentally warm and affectionate.

But now he was certain that he wasn’t a good person to get deeply involved with. It was because he was the only one who moved at his own pace, driving others crazy.

He wanted to grab him by the collar and ask what the hell he wanted to do with him, but it just didn’t seem like the right situation. Though it wasn’t to the point of being miserable, the chilled corner of his heart didn’t thaw even in the spring sunlight. The picnic was a good opportunity, as it allowed him to become aware of the chill.

On the way back, Kwon Joowan asked lightly.

“If you’re going to start jogging again, just like before, we could…”

Jin Sejun’s steps came to an unnatural halt. Like a robot whose power had been cut off in an instant, he stopped dead, and a beat later, his answer came out.

“I… I’d rather not.”

“But—”

“I want to stop.”

He didn’t have the mental space to care about Kwon Joowan’s reaction. The sudden wave of exhaustion must have shown on his face, because Kwon Joowan didn’t say anything more.

The reason Jin Sejun liked sprinting was because he enjoyed the thrill of burning himself out in a short burst, leaving no energy behind. His temperament was a bit too impatient to feel a runner’s high in a marathon that required perseverance.

But he had liked running with Kwon Joowan. He had learned how to control his breathing on long distances so he wouldn’t pant, and he also liked just talking nonsense and having a cup of coffee.

He also liked that, despite his dead-fish eyes, he had a sense of responsibility toward the kids and couldn’t just ignore them. He liked his shamelessness, how he had quickly adapted to Jin Sejun clinging to him like a lunatic and fired back all sorts of over-the-line jokes.

But acting this confusingly was not good.

Fine, he could set aside the hotel ghosting incident since they weren’t dating, and he had no intention of blaming him for the sexual jokes they had tossed around, since that was just mutual fun.

Even so, at this point in time, now of all times…

“I think I can only come in until the end of this week. I was going to stay until the competition, but…”

“Oh? Really? What’s wrong?”

He had been a semi-joking addition to the academy in the first place, so the director wasn’t interrogating him, but rather asking as if something major had happened. The director’s next question nearly made Jin Sejun choke.

“Did you, by any chance, fight with Joowan?”

“What? No, no. It has nothing to do with Mr. John… I just think it’s about time for me to get back to my original work.”

“I see.”

“Please keep it a secret from Mr. John… and the other teachers and the kids. It’s better for them to be a little sad and then forget, rather than have a week-long farewell party atmosphere.”

“If it were anyone else, I’d tell them not to be so dramatic, but with you, Mr. Jun, it’s a real possibility. I never imagined you’d fit in so well in such a short time. The kids and the teachers will all be sad to see you go.”

“I don’t know, they might just say they’re relieved, like a bad tooth has been pulled.”

“Haha, you’re joking. I feel like I’ve learned a lot from you too, Mr. Jun. You’ll do well at whatever you do, Mr. Sejun.”

The director’s gaze was strangely deep.

Come to think of it, did he use the reclusive shut-in excuse when he first latched onto the academy? If he had said he was completely unemployed, talking about his main job might have sounded a bit strange. He couldn’t quite remember the excuse, but the director didn’t seem to mind, patting Jin Sejun on the shoulder and offering him plenty of encouragement.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen Joowan treat someone so comfortably, you know. Even if you’re not at the academy, please stay friends with him. He’s someone who doesn’t open up easily…”

“……”

Jin Sejun left the director’s office feeling like trash without having committed any crime.

A few steps after closing the door, he came face-to-face with Kwon Joowan, who was on his way to the director’s office. It was still awkward, but it wasn’t difficult since he felt like he had let something go.

Realizing how unburdened he felt, he got excited and was about to toss out a line like, “The cool alpha who could get involved with Ahn Seha will now disappear for you,” but decided against it. He had declared before that he had no ulterior motives, so there was no need to bring it up, and it wasn’t like Kwon Joowan’s well-founded prejudice against alphas would be fixed with a word or two.

“…You’re staying until the competition, right?”

At the sudden question, Jin Sejun’s gaze momentarily darted to the side. The director’s office was well soundproofed, and he had lowered his voice as a precaution, so there was no way he could have heard.

Anyway, when he threw a direct question like this, it was truly perplexing to try and play it off smoothly.

After rolling his eyes around for a long while, Jin Sejun finally met Kwon Joowan’s gaze.

“If Jin Yiseo is skilled enough to enter the competition, well, she’s trying, but there are so many other kids who are naturally talented. Still, if she does get to enter, I’ll have to be there to witness my niece’s triumph of the human spirit.”

His tongue was being strangely long-winded…