HYUNG 35

It was a more laughable choice than the other options. I barely cook for myself even at home and mostly buy my meals, so a lunch box was a grand dream.

“Then I’ll pack one for you. I love cooking! I’ve received a lot of compliments saying I’m good at it too.”

“Is there really a need to go through all that trouble?”

“It’s fine. I can just pack some while I’m making my own breakfast. If hyung eats the food I made and tells me it’s delicious, I think I’ll be truly, incredibly happy.”

I was so flabbergasted that I had nothing to say, and Ham Dowon, perhaps taking my brief silence as a sign of agreement, smiled brightly.

“Then I’ll pack a lunch box tomorrow! Let’s eat together!”

He excitedly clattered down the stairs first, then suddenly turned around to look at me and asked, “Hyung, aren’t you coming?” I didn’t dare say words of refusal to that face. I ended up being dragged along to the student cafeteria and had to eat the most expensive menu item, the meat noodle set.

‧₊˚♪ 𝄞₊˚⊹

“Hyung, you don’t have any allergies, right?”

“I don’t.”

The time for presenting works, which had continued until this week, came to an end. The Two-Dimensional Art class finished with the final word that we would start drawing in earnest from next week.

I was stretching tiredly and getting up from my seat when Ham Dowon, who was sitting next to me, asked a random question. I just answered him obediently for now. I had no idea why on earth he was asking such a thing, though.

“Hyung, among land, sea, and air, which do you like?”

“I eat everything well.”

“But if you had to choose?”

“Mmm… Sea? But can’t you not eat ‘air’?”

“It’s not that I prefer it, but I can eat anything except chicken. Hyung, you like vegetables too, right?”

“Hmm… I think I eat them all… but I hate pumpkin.”

“Aha.”

Tap, tap. Ham Dowon even went as far as writing it down in his phone’s memo app.

Hwanoh hyung eats land, sea, and air all well but prefers seafood, and pumpkin xxxx!!

Then he peeked at me once and added something that almost made me die of absurdity.

♡Hwanoh hyung♡ is…

Why put hearts on both sides of someone else’s name…

“But why are you asking that, anyway?”

“Because I need to know more about hyung, and I want to know.”

“I mean, why do you want to know more about me…”

“Oppa, I sent a KakaoTalk message, did you see it?”

It was Jo Ari. I turned my body, which had been facing Ham Dowon, the other way to look down at Jo Ari, who was quite a bit shorter.

“You sent a message?”

“Yes. I sent it yesterday evening, but I guess you haven’t checked it yet. I’ll just tell you in person. We’re meeting at Grandma’s place starting from 7 o’clock. You’re coming too, right, oppa?”

“I don’t think I can go. An appointment came up in the meantime.”

“Really? I should have told you right away yesterday. What a shame! You can’t cancel it, right?”

“Yeah. I can’t.”

I caught Ham Dowon’s eye and shook my head. It wasn’t that I suggested reading first, but since it had somehow been decided that we would go to a cafe together to read books, it was indeed an appointment.

“We’re going to drink until late, so please come after your appointment is over. You come along too, person next to him! I heard you’re a dual major student. If you ask the kids this and that, they’ll give you good answers.”

“Okay. If I have the leisure, I’ll go. Have fun.”

“Yes. Get home safely.”

Jo Ari, bowing her head lightly, ran excitedly toward her group of friends gathered by the door.

“…Hyung, do you like all fruits?”

As we were leaving the classroom, Ham Dowon followed me with a somewhat dissatisfied face, yet he continued to pour out those incomprehensible questions.

“I eat all fruits well. Ah, except for pears. It’s not that I won’t eat them, but they’re just okay. They’re just expensive. I eat sweet persimmons, but I’m not fond of ripe persimmons either. But do you have any allergies?”

“I don’t. I eat everything well except chicken!”

“Right. That’s a relief.”

Ham Dowon nodded his head vigorously with a beaming face and then wrote something down on his phone again.

+♡Hwanoh hyung♡ eats all fruits well (except pears and ripe persimmons)!!!

That was it.

Besides that, Ham Dowon asked various other things. Whether I have lactose intolerance, and although he saw me drinking coffee well last time just in case he was asking if I’m sensitive to caffeine, whether I like mint chocolate (when I said I eat it fine regardless, he smiled brightly), whether I eat sweet and sour pork with the sauce poured over or dipped (when I answered dipped, he said without being asked that he could match everything to me), and so on. As I answered all the various questions Ham Dowon showered me with one by one, we arrived at the cafe before I knew it.

“Is this the cafe you like, hyung?”

“Yeah. I think I come here most often.”

The cafe was located on the second floor of a building slightly away from the main gate. Therefore, there was no need to be dazzled by the headlights of cars coming through the glass or the sunlight reflected off car bodies, and it was quiet. The volume of the jazz flowing from the cafe was appropriate, the seats were comfortable, and there were outlets at every seat, making it a good place to come when doing assignments. The interior was good, and the drinks were delicious.

“What do you want to drink?”

“I’ll buy.”

“Do that next time. So what are you going to drink? The clerk is waiting.”

“…Whatever hyung likes.”

“Two Einspänners, please.”

I had already grown accustomed to that kind of answer from Ham Dowon, so I ordered the drinks from the clerk and then paid. Then, after placing the vibration bell in Ham Dowon’s hand, I put my bag down at the seat I sit in most often.

“Hyung, what is this?”

When I took the book out of my bag, Ham Dowon gestured toward the book cover I had put over it.

“What do you mean, what is it? It’s a book cover. You went through the trouble of lending it to me, I can’t just handle it carelessly.”

“Hyung, you can just have it.”

“You said this is out of print and hard to find.”

“…Ah, did I? It’s okay. I have a few more copies at home. And giving a gift like that between us isn’t a difficult thing, is it?”

After finishing his sentence, Ham Dowon half-covered his slightly red face with his book. Just what… is “between us”? I wanted to ask, but luckily the vibration bell rang.

“I’ll go get the drinks!”

Ham Dowon stood up abruptly and walked toward the counter. The tips of his ears were bright red. It was a familiar sight.

“Hyung, can you move the book aside a bit?”

In order to make room for the tray Ham Dowon had brought back, I pulled Ham Dowon’s book toward me. The title and the book band were familiar.

“This. It’s been published in Korea.”

“Is it a book you know, hyung?”

“Yeah. I really enjoyed reading this person’s works when I was in America. I heard a new book was published, and it’s already out in Korean too.”

“To think the book I bought by chance was by an author hyung likes. We really must be destiny.”

Ham Dowon, who took a sip of the Einspänner, got cream on his lips like a child and laughed happily again. Destiny was out of the question. It was a bestseller, so if you searched the whole world, hundreds of thousands of people with this book would turn up. What nonsense. My solar plexus felt itchy for some reason, so I just brusquely handed him a napkin.

“Wipe the cream off.”

“Wipe it for me.”

“You have hands.”

Ham Dowon poked his face out toward me. His grinning face, as if he had deliberately gotten cream on his lips, was both irritating and suspicious.

“I don’t have them right now.”

“Put the cup down.”

“Mmm, no. I might spill it if I do. Hyung, wipe it for me quickly, okay?”

Ham Dowon, who quickly grabbed the coffee cup, acted as if it were a close call because the cup was full of trembling cream and drink. Even though it would be much safer to put it on the steady table than to hold it with his hands.

“Lick it with your tongue.”

“Wiping it for me isn’t a difficult thing.”

“You’re not a child.”

Ham Dowon puckered his face so much that I ended up wiping it for him. Even our Soyoon-ie does this kind of thing herself. Even though I clicked my tongue, Ham Dowon just smiled brightly as if he were happy.

I quietly began to read the book. Traditionally in the Renaissance era… I pushed the characters into my head. At first, the letters bounced off and I couldn’t concentrate, but thanks to the gentle jazz echoing in the cafe, I was able to immerse myself. After reading for a long time, my neck felt stiff, so I lifted my head.

Ah, I’m a bit hungry. The desserts at this cafe are quite good, but they are just simple snacks and insufficient for a meal. I feel like my lunch has worn off, and isn’t it about time for dinner? What should I eat…

I sat idly in a slanted posture with my arms on the table and my chin propped in my hand. I could see the face of Ham Dowon sitting across from me. He seemed to be in the middle of concentrating; even though I had rustled around quite a bit, he didn’t budge. The only movements were his eyes scanning the pages and his hand turning the paper. I observed him while taking a sip of my drink, where the cream and ice had melted in the meantime.