HYUNG 33

“Can I hug you?”

“What?”

But I wondered if this had crossed the line of just being cheesy. When I made a bewildered face, Ham Dowon suddenly became despondent.

“It’ll take a while for people to come, it’s only 40 after… Everyone usually comes around 50 after…”

Seeing him with his shoulders slumped like that made me feel bad for him, but it wasn’t as if I could give him everything he wanted. Besides, I didn’t know why we should hug, or why I should do that with him, or why he even wanted to.

“Why on earth do you want to hug me?”

“Because I want to!”

“Ah, uh… Okay…”

Since he answered so confidently, it felt awkward to tell him no, so I slowly nodded my head. Ham Dowon paid no mind to my lukewarm expression and suddenly pulled me into a firm embrace, burying his face in my shoulder.

“Hyung, you smell good…”

“I came after taking a shower.”

“Is this a rosemary scent? Or lavender?”

“…Hey, what are you doing?”

He started burying his nose in my neck and sniffing, so I pulled my body back slightly. However, Ham Dowon didn’t let go of me because of that, so he was still hugging me. I don’t know why I’m doing this with him.

“I won’t sniff. It’s just, such a good scent was coming from you…”

“…You have a scent too.”

A scent I had become familiar with in the meantime drifted over. I have no idea what kind of scent it is. It wasn’t that I disliked it. It was unfamiliar at first, but now I’ve gradually grown used to it.

“Hyung, do I have a scent?”

Ham Dowon, who had been rubbing his head against my shoulder, pulled away in surprise.

“Yeah. To me.”

“…Really? I came after washing up…”

“Not a bad odor. Just a scent. A scent that doesn’t come from other kids. I don’t know what kind of scent it is.”

“Because of the cat, I use products that don’t have any scent…”

Ham Dowon stealthily pulled me into a hug again.

“Then I guess it’s your scent with everything mixed together. The smell of your house. Your smell.”

Just as you can smell an unfamiliar scent when you go to someone else’s house, I suppose it’s that kind of fragrance.

“Is it bad?”

“No. It’s not that I dislike it.”

“That’s a relief.”

Ham Dowon squinted his eyes and let out a soft, curving smile. He looked so pretty that a chuckle escaped me. If he had been born a woman, he would have had quite a hard time.

“Move away now. It’s hot.”

“Mmm…”

I lightly pushed Ham Dowon’s forehead with my index finger. Ham Dowon acted like he was throwing a tantrum and wouldn’t let go, but only when the sound of someone’s presence was heard from the hallway beyond the wall did he slowly take his arms away.

“You’re warm, hyung. Maybe that’s why it’s hot.”

“I have a lot of body heat. My hands and feet are hot too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

This time, Ham Dowon suddenly grabbed my hand. He held it as if he were just shaking hands, but soon he even interlaced our fingers and moved our hands down under the desk.

“It’s true. It really is warm.”

I was so flustered that I couldn’t even think of pulling my hand away. Ham Dowon, who had turned his body toward me, smiled at me while propping up his head with his other hand. The wind coming through the slightly open window lightly tickled his wavy hair, and the morning sunlight beyond the window shone like a faint halo. The cloudless sky was so dazzling that I squinted my eyes slightly before opening them straight again. Unknowingly, I stared blankly at Ham Dowon’s face before struggling to get a grip on myself. Right. Hugging is something people do as a greeting in foreign countries. I’ve done it with my friends too. However, it was rare for grown men to hold hands. Kids or friends might hold hands. What is this? It’s a bit—no, it’s quite strange. What is it, exactly…

“Oppa, hello.”

“…Ah, yeah.”

The classroom door swung open and students walked in. They were girls I had run into a few times in the workshop to the point we had started greeting each other. Their names were… Ah, Jo Ari and Kang Heeyun. I quickly pulled my hand out of Ham Dowon’s grip and lightly waved to greet them.

“Oppa, by any chance, do you have time tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow? Why?”

“The second-year students are gathering to grab drinks.”

“You come too, oppa!”

Jo Ari and Kang Heeyun sat in the seats in front of me, then turned around and hugged the backs of their chairs.

“Is it a general assembly? I didn’t see anything mentioned in the department group chat.”

“Ah, it’s not really that, it’s just a few of us gathering to drink, but most people will come. It’s pretty much the same as holding a replacement since we aren’t doing a general assembly. The class representative is leading it.”

“Hmm… If I have time, I’ll try to go.”

I gave a vague, slight smile. Tomorrow was a day I wasn’t going to my part-time job, but I planned on not having time. Since I had no intention of going. It was a polite refusal.

“Then I’ll text you the place and time. Give me your phone number, oppa.”

“Oh, sure.”

I took Jo Ari’s phone, entered my number, and gave it back. A moment later, my phone vibrated.

Ari: .

“That’s me.”

“Yeah. Got it.”

Jo Ari now started chatting with Kang Heeyun sitting next to her.

“Come to think of it, did you print out the lecture materials? I couldn’t print them, but if I go to the copy room now, I won’t have enough time, right?”

“I thought you might do that, so I printed an extra one.”

“Whoa, unnie! I love you!”

Jo Ari hugged Kang Heeyun with a moved face, and Kang Heeyun patted Jo Ari’s back with a generous expression. They even held each other’s hands. …Is hugging and holding hands actually a very casual thing to do? Is that how it is? Maybe Ham Dowon had many girls around him when he was young. That’s probably why he’s used to that kind of expression. It’s probably like that…

“Did you print out your lecture materials?”

“…Hyung, I’m not exactly a broad-minded person.”

What’s wrong with him again?

Ham Dowon, who had been glaring at me with a pouting face, buried his head in the tablet PC he took out of his bag. He didn’t seem to have anything special to do, but after turning various apps like a memo app and a drawing app on and off for no reason, he suddenly glared at me.

“Hyung, but you’re going to your part-time job tomorrow, right?”

“I’m not going tomorrow. The teacher for the other time slot asked to switch times.”

“Then when are you going?”

“Friday.”

“Then you mean you aren’t going?”

“Going where?”

“To the drinking party!”

“I’m not going. I don’t originally like drinking parties. I only go if there are people I’m close with.”

Since Jo Ari and Kang Heeyun, who had been sitting in the front seats, had disappeared before I knew it, I answered honestly. Only then did Ham Dowon’s mood seem to improve a bit, and he slightly turned his body, which had been facing the other way, toward me.

“Hyung, then drink with me tomorrow.”

“Mmm, no.”

“Why!”

Ham Dowon momentarily frowned and clenched his fists. They were pretty hands, but they weren’t small in size. It would hurt to get hit by those.

“I’m planning on not drinking for the time being. I drank so much at Yoo Hwajung’s farewell party that my stomach still turns just thinking about it.”

“Then you aren’t going to your part-time job either, so what are you doing after class?”

Ham Dowon calmed his excited voice. He lowered it so much it sounded like a whisper.

I thought for a moment. I told the department kids I’d go to the drinking party if I had time, so if I draw in the workshop, it’ll be obvious that I’m free and I might get dragged to the bar. On the other hand, if I go to the library, I haven’t really learned much yet, so there isn’t anything specific to study. In that case…

“I’m going to read a book at a cafe I like. I still haven’t been able to properly read the one you lent me.”

“Ah, I see. Then I’ll bring something to read tomorrow too! I’m curious about the cafe you like, hyung.”

…I was planning on reading alone. But Ham Dowon’s face looked so happy that I didn’t refuse. Because he looks quite nice when he smiles like that.

‧₊˚♪ 𝄞₊˚⊹

“Take this with you.”

“What is… this?”

“Rice cakes sold at our house. Give some to your auntie, too. My younger sibling really liked the bread your auntie gave. Tell her thank you.”

On the way to dropping Ham Dowon off at the academy, I stopped by my house for a moment and handed what I brought to him. It was rice cakes in a large box. I had brought two boxes of the most expensive gift sets sold at the shop.

“Is this from your mother and father, hyung?”

“Well, I suppose so…?”

Ham Dowon covered his mouth with both hands and looked at me with a surprised face. Technically it wasn’t wrong… Since they’re my mom and dad, they aren’t not a mother and father to him. It wasn’t as if I could call them “Auntie” and “Mister” either. They were probably made by the employees, but they were indeed rice cakes from my parents’ shop.

“I’ll eat them well! I’ll make sure to tell my auntie too! My auntie likes rice cakes as well!”

“Okay.”