PUPPY 34

“You can go by yourself, so relax your expression.”

Seowoo said, smiling at Juwon. Juwon finally relaxed at Seowoo’s smile, which felt like it would melt him away. Seowoo’s uniform shirt was soaked, as if it had been dipped in water to remove the ink.

“Isn’t it cold?”

“A little.”

“I have another shirt in my drawer, want to wear it?”

“It’s fine.”

“Are you feeling a bit better?”

“Umm….”

Seowoo nodded his head. And he did so while making that…. drawn-out sound. It was so similar to the voice Seowoo had made in his sleep the other day that Juwon tensed up again and swallowed hard with a gulp.

“If I carried you on my back at school, everyone would stare, right?”

At Juwon’s absurd words, Seowoo laughed with a sound like air escaping.

“I’m fine except for having a little less energy. That’s why I was going to the snack bar to buy something to eat. Should I buy you some chocolate?”

“Me?”

“You really like chocolate, don’t you.”

“It’s because my chocolate intake was restricted when I was a kid. When you’re told you can’t eat something, it makes you want it more, right.”

“That’s true….”

Chocolate is fatal to dogs, but it didn’t apply to Juwon, who was a beastman. Nevertheless, because his parents had forbidden him from eating chocolate at home, he always bought chocolate whenever he had the chance to buy snacks outside.

“I’m worried.”

Juwon said with a short sigh. It was a completely unadorned, sincere feeling.

“I’m really fine, though.”

Seowoo shrugged, mimicking Juwon’s way of speaking. Juwon, who had come up beside him, put his arm on Seowoo’s shoulder. It looked less like an arm around the shoulder and more like Juwon was unilaterally trapping him in his embrace. Seowoo, conscious of the suddenly close distance between them, gently pushed Juwon away and said in a complaining tone.

“You’re heavy.”

“Am I too muscular?”

“…I guess so.”

Seowoo added again in a small voice that he was heavy. At that, Juwon’s hand gently squeezed Seowoo’s shoulder and then slid down his back. It was an unconscious action, but Seowoo flinched at that moment, making Juwon freeze awkwardly as well.

“Cha Juwon….”

Seowoo looked up and called Juwon. As their eyes met, Juwon finally removed his hand awkwardly. Then he turned his head, avoiding Seowoo’s gaze.

‘Cha Juwon?’

Juwon recalled Seowoo’s voice, which had a completely different temperature, calling him in his sleep. Out of frustration, Juwon needlessly ran a hand through his hair, and,

It was from that exact day.

That Juwon’s separation anxiety had begun.

“Snack bar, shall we go?”

Seowoo asked in a careful voice to Juwon, who was blatantly avoiding his gaze. Juwon stood awkwardly, unable to do anything with the hand he had removed from Seowoo’s shoulder. Just then, a shadow fell over the two of them.

“Juwon-ah.”

The person standing in front of them was Lee Yerin. Seowoo made a curious expression at the sight of her calling Juwon familiarly, without his last name.

Were they close?

After they had coincidentally brushed past each other in the cafeteria, his friends had teased Juwon about getting Lee Yerin’s number, but he had thought there was no connection between the two.

“Oh. Hi.”

“Hi.”

At Juwon’s greeting, Lee Yerin also smiled and greeted him. Seowoo stared blankly at Lee Yerin as she swept a section of her long hair back. The talk about her preparing to be a celebrity didn’t seem to be a baseless rumor. Not only were all of her features pretty, but perhaps because of her large, dark eyes, she had a uniquely clear atmosphere.

“Why?”

“Let’s talk for a bit.”

“About what?”

At Juwon’s question, Lee Yerin this time turned her head to look at Seowoo. Her faint smile held the meaning that he should leave them alone.

“I’ll get going first.”

After saying that, Seowoo turned around and began to walk without a destination. The prettiest kid in school and the most handsome kid. Seowoo felt unnecessarily intimidated by the sight of the two, who looked good together no matter who saw them.

The farther he got from the two, the more Seowoo’s face flushed red. It was because of embarrassment and shame.

🦴

He walked home with Juwon, but he couldn’t remember a single thing they had talked about. He was worried about what he would have to talk about when he went to the study room later.

Seowoo, who went straight to his room and changed into comfortable clothes, went down to the first floor where his grandmother and grandfather were to say goodbye before going to the study room.

His grandfather seemed to be out, as only his grandmother was in the living room. His grandmother, who was lying on the sofa, seemed to be on the phone, as she just waved her hand to greet Seowoo.

“No, next year. They’ve already registered their marriage, but Sunwoo is in the army right now. He was our house’s first boarder. Haven’t you seen him before? He’s a good kid.”

It seemed his grandmother was talking to the person on the other end about his older brother. Having finished his greeting, he was about to leave when his grandmother waved at Seowoo and pointed to the kitchen. It meant he should drink the juice his grandfather had blended before he left.

He went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door, where he saw orange-colored juice in a cup, covered with plastic wrap. Just by looking, it was clear that the consistency was thick and the vegetable content was high, so his brow furrowed automatically even before he brought it to his lips. Seowoo closed his eyes and gulped down his grandfather’s sincerity in one go.

“Yeah, yeah. We’ve booked the venue and everything. They said you have to book a year in advance if you want to have it in May.”

Even by the time he had washed the cup and come out to the living room, his grandmother was still on the phone. The topic was his older brother and Jihye noona’s wedding next year.

“Seowoo?”

Seowoo’s name reached his ears as he stood at the entrance, preparing to leave.

“He’s still a high school student, what do you mean marriage.”

Marriage.

Since the period of setting a date and preparing for the wedding in earnest was nearly a year, he had heard countless things about the wedding, wedding gifts, and buying a house. But for some reason, the word ‘marriage’ struck Seowoo’s heart today. Until now, it had felt like such a distant matter that he had never thought about marriage, but now, having become gay, it seemed he wouldn’t be able to get married.

“I know, right. As long as she’s nice and takes good care of our Seowoo, it’s fine even if they do it early.”

Ho ho ho— he could hear his grandmother laughing. Seowoo’s hands, which had been tying his sneaker laces while sitting at the entrance, stopped.

‘Ryu Seowoo likes Cha Juwon.’

If the question he had subconsciously thrown at Jjokko was his unconscious truth.

If the emotion he felt seeing Lee Yerin and Cha Juwon standing together was jealousy.

So, if his feelings for Cha Juwon were a real one-sided love….

“I’m leaving.”

Then, what should he do from now on?

🦴

Having arrived at the study room, Seowoo timed himself as he worked through last year’s mock exam. Seowoo, who had quit his math academy starting this month, was focusing on his weaker areas while attending the study room. Perhaps because the scholastic ability evaluation mock exam and the last final exam that would be reflected in his school records were approaching, Seowoo was a little on edge.

“Ah…. It’s wrong.”

A red slash was drawn across a type of problem he had never gotten wrong before. It was a past exam question he had solved once before, but he got a disappointing score. Seowoo began to read the question he got wrong, biting his lower lip.

His eyes were reading the problem, but his mind was full of other thoughts. Most, no, all of those thoughts were occupied by Cha Juwon.

Does liking someone normally bring about such useless thoughts? These days, Seowoo was reminded of Cha Juwon by everything that caught his eye.

Seeing the grass on the street, a rolling soccer ball, and even the dog, Jjokko, who came to play at his house every day, he thought of Cha Juwon. He thought their dark eyes looked somewhat similar. At this point, his delusion was severe.

‘Let’s talk for a bit.’

Among the many idle thoughts, what tormented Seowoo the most was the sight of Lee Yerin and Cha Juwon talking. Because he had left the scene just like that, Seowoo had no idea what conversation the two had shared.

But because he had no idea about the content, Seowoo’s imagination ran wild. An imagination like, maybe the two were secretly dating…. Even now, again, he was thinking about the sight of Juwon and Lee Yerin. Seowoo, letting out a short sigh, got up from his seat. It seemed he wouldn’t be able to concentrate at all.

🦴

He had left the study room to stop thinking about Yerin and Juwon together, but the clueless Dong Dong Ju brought up the topic of Lee Yerin and Cha Juwon. Seowoo silently clenched his fists.

“Hey, hey. Cha Juwon. What did Lee Yerin say?”

“Seowoo’s here.”

As soon as Seowoo appeared, Juwon switched places and stood next to him.

“Tell me. What did Lee Yerin say.”

“What do you mean, what did she say.”

Juwon replied to Oh Dongjae’s question in his usual indifferent tone. Seowoo felt a contradictory mix of wanting to know Juwon’s answer and yet not wanting to know.

“Are you guys dating?”

“Ah, what do you mean dating. Stop with the nonsense.”

Although he answered Dong Dong Ju’s question while waving his hand dismissively, Juwon’s gaze was directed at Seowoo.

“Then why did Lee Yerin call you? I heard you guys were standing in the hallway talking for a long time the other day too.”

“We didn’t talk about anything special.”

“I’m curious about what that ‘nothing special’ is!”

When Juwon gave a vague answer, Kim Dongwon couldn’t hold back his frustration and asked. At this point, Seowoo was also curious about the conversation Juwon and Yerin had, so he glanced at Juwon. As their eyes met, Juwon let out a short groan, then ran a hand through his hair and said.

“Our families know each other, but I couldn’t recognize her in the cafeteria because she was too far away.”

“What? That makes even less sense. How do your families know each other?”

Seowoo sympathized with Oh Dongjae’s words.

“Ah, it’s just something like that.”

“Isn’t that just an excuse?”

“You’re secretly dating, right. Huh?”

At his friends’ words, Juwon shook his head and put his arm on Seowoo’s shoulder, saying.

“Stop with the nonsense. Seowoo-ya, let’s ditch them and go for a walk.”

“I’m a bit tired, so I’m going to head in first.”

Sorry. Seowoo added briefly. At the clear expression of refusal, Juwon felt like a dog whose offer for a walk had been rejected. It was bitter, but more than that, a worried feeling suddenly surged as Seowoo’s voice seemed to have lowered.

“Are you sick somewhere?”

“No, I just want to go home.”

“Seowoo-ya.”

Hearing Juwon’s voice calling his name, Seowoo got up from his seat.

‘You’re secretly dating, right. Huh?’

The words Oh Dongjae had said echoed in his ears like an echo. The moment he heard those words, his stomach churned as if he was going to vomit. Feeling so pathetic, Seowoo could no longer stand next to Juwon.

He had wanted to walk with him.

He felt like he didn’t have the right to. Seowoo forcefully pushed down his disappointment into his chest and began to walk hastily, like someone being chased.