MW 11

It was that person. The one who saved him from the warehouse……. How is this man here? As Yijae came face to face with the man whose face he hadn’t forgotten for a single day since then, his heart began to pound.

“What are you do- no, wait. More importantly, you were a college student?”

Jaeha, having spotted Yijae, stared blankly at his face as if he still couldn’t believe it. At first, he thought he was dreaming. But the face, still covered here and there with wounds, was definitely Yijae’s.

As Jaeha let out a breathy “Ha,” Yijae’s fists, resting on his thighs, tightened.

‘He must be angry that I just left back then.’

He had rescued him and even treated his wounds, but Yijae hadn’t been able to properly thank him. Yijae, who had bowed his head as if he were a sinner, widened his eyes as a face suddenly loomed close.

“Let’s talk after class.”

The voice whispering in his ear felt ticklish. Unsure of why he was feeling this way, Yijae’s earlobes turned red as he repeatedly nodded his head.

“Then we will proceed with the class in pairs of two. The TA will announce the group members sometime this morning, so please check for that.”

“Yes!”

He had no idea how he managed to get through the class. From the moment Yijae realized the person sitting next to him was Jaeha, all his attention was focused on him, and he completely forgot the lecture content.

Yijae sighed, looking at the incomprehensible, squiggly words written below the neatly written text at the very top of his notes.

“Shall we go?”

“……”

Before he knew it, the class was over. Instead of answering Jaeha’s immediate question, Yijae gave a small nod, put his notebook and pencil case into his bag, and stood up to follow him. The place Jaeha led him to was a small café on campus.

The menu on the wall was full of names he’d never seen before. Yijae’s gaze, which had been curiously looking around the café, stopped at one spot. Jaeha, who had been quietly watching him, let out a small smile.

“You want to try that?”

It was a strawberry chocolate latte, a seasonal special. It looked so sweet with its mountain of whipped cream and chocolate that he wondered who would ever order it, but that someone was right next to him.

‘He seemed to enjoy the chocolate last time too. Does he like sweet things?’

Remembering Yijae’s blissful, melting expression as the sweetness touched his tongue, Jaeha handed his card to the cashier.

“One strawberry chocolate latte, and one iced Americano, please.”

“Card received. One strawberry chocolate latte and one iced Americano comes to a total of 12,300 won.”

12,300 won? The large amount, over 10,000 won, made Yijae urgently reach out and grab Jaeha’s wrist.

Seeing his flustered face, shaking his head and blinking rapidly, Jaeha chuckled audibly. He gently stroked Yijae’s hair, then, holding the vibrating pager, he led the still-fidgeting Yijae to an empty table.

“It’s my treat, so it’s okay to drink it.”

When the finished drink was placed in front of him, Yijae glanced around cautiously before bowing his head and taking the cup with both hands.

It was a mystery why watching Yijae purse his small lips to bite the straw felt so amusing.

As the drink traveled up the straw, filling his mouth with a sweet taste, Yijae’s eyes widened. To think something this delicious could exist in the world. Yijae unknowingly took another sip of the drink.

“Is it good?”

Nod, nod.

“That’s a relief.”

Only then did Jaeha take a sip of the Americano in front of him, finally tearing his eyes away from Yijae.

“Freshman?”

It was obvious from his still-youthful face and the way he looked around the campus with eyes full of wonder. Even so, Yijae’s surprised expression, as if asking how he knew, felt cute.

“I didn’t know you were my junior. Did you get home okay that day?”

Yijae recalled the past, when he had disappeared without even a word of thanks to Jaeha who had gone out of his way to help him. He hesitated before taking a notebook and pen from his bag and started to write.

I’m sorry. I was in a big hurry back then.

Jaeha’s eyes took in the round, cute handwriting that resembled Yijae himself. He then poked Yijae’s cheek, who was fidgeting with guilt and looking down, and burst out laughing.

“It’s okay. We’ll be seeing each other often from now on.”

As Yijae just tilted his head and blinked his large eyes, Jaeha showed him his phone screen.

“We’re in the same group, Yijae.”

At the words ‘same group,’ Yijae looked back and forth between the screen and Jaeha with a surprised face. On the screen he was shown was a message that read, ‘Group 13: Seo Yijae (Business Admin), Kang Jaeha (Business Admin).’

Kang Jaeha. So that was his name.

Yijae savored the unfamiliar name written next to his own in his mouth for a long time.

Kang Jaeha. Somehow, even his name sounded handsome.

“This is great, isn’t it?”

At the gentle question, Yijae nodded his head. In truth, he was overjoyed. He had never imagined he would meet Jaeha again by chance like this. And on top of that, in the same group. It felt like the world had given him a present.

“We promised to be friends, remember?”

Friends? But he’s my senior.

As if he could read Yijae’s thoughts, Jaeha, with a playful smile, rested his chin on his hand and grinned, his eyes crinkling.

“You don’t want to be friends with me?”

‘Hup.’

Startled, Yijae gasped and shook his head from side to side. But the sound must have been louder than he thought, as he felt the gazes of the students sitting nearby. When a few people started to openly glance their way, Yijae felt uncomfortable and ducked his head.

“It’s a bit cold in here. Shall we move somewhere else?”

Unlike with other people, the hand Jaeha offered wasn’t scary. Yijae slowly took the hand that reached out to him.

Click.

Jaeha, who familiarly opened the door and entered, immediately turned on the heater against the chilly air.

“This is my club room, but today’s a photo-shoot day, so no one else will be coming. I just turned on the heater, so just wait a bit.”

Jaeha immediately turned the heater to its highest setting and looked for a blanket for Yijae to use as he spoke. Yijae looked around with wonder at the photos plastered all over the walls. From stars embroidering a pitch-black night sky to a photo capturing the moment of sunrise. It was full of a world he had never seen.

“Do you like photos?”

Jaeha asked with a smile, seeing the glint in Yijae’s eyes as he looked at the pictures. It was the peak of freshman club recruitment, so he thought it would be nice if Yijae joined the photography club if he was interested.

“If you like taking pictures too, do you want to join our club? As a freshman, don’t you want to join a club or something?”

However, the response he got was a shake of the head, signifying refusal. Jaeha was a little disappointed but had no intention of forcing him, so he just nodded, draping a blanket he found in a cabinet over Yijae.

“Alright, then. To do the group project, we need to coordinate our schedules. Would it be okay if I took a look at your timetable?”

Yijae, who had lifted his head with his mouth slightly open, busily moved his hands to pull a notebook out of his bag. Jaeha took it when Yijae opened it to the first page and held it out, frowning at the tightly packed schedule that seemed to have been made without any consideration for breaks.

“Hmm. This way you might finish early, but you won’t have any breaks at all. You need to eat lunch.”

Today was orientation so it ended early and he had some free time, but once classes started in earnest, there wouldn’t even be time to eat.

“Besides, with a schedule like this, you’ll have to take all your exams at once, which will be incredibly tough.”

It was a common mistake freshmen made. As if seeing through a filter, Yijae looked like a little chick chirping, and Jaeha’s lips curved into a smile.

Realizing he was smiling a lot today, Jaeha awkwardly rubbed below his chin and returned the notebook to him.

“Next week is the course correction period, so it would be better to change your schedule. Since we’re in the same business department, I’ll help you.”

Seeing Jaeha about to take his laptop out of his bag, Yijae urgently grabbed his wrist. The schedule wasn’t one he had made himself. It was what Madam Lee had put together, telling him to come home as early as possible. Yijae looked at Jaeha, who was trying to help him, and shut his mouth with a troubled expression.

“I’m sorry. I guess I was being too pushy without knowing your situation.”

Yijae was flustered. It was the first time someone had apologized to him. And even though he knew Jaeha’s actions were for his own good, the fact that Jaeha was saying it was his fault instead made his heart feel strange.

“Hmm. It looks like you’ll be free from 2 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays. We can pick one of those days and work on the assignment together.”

Is that okay? As that gentle gaze was directed at him with the question, Yijae felt like he was about to cry, so he closed his eyes and just nodded his head.

“In that case, can you give me your number…….”