NCBF Ch 16

Yunseong, who said something with a smile, got up from his seat and waved his hand once at Yuwon. Yuwon too was seen waving his hand back at Yunseong several times. Although he hadn’t heard it, it felt certain that he must have said ‘Bye,’ which made even that a bit annoying. Hyun Gyujin got up from his seat and headed to Yuwon’s spot.

“Academy?”

“Ah…. Yeah. I lent him my summary notes.”

“This.”

Hyun Gyujin, who askewly poked the strawberry milk sitting on the desk, perched on the adjacent desk.

“He said he bought it for me when he went to the canteen.”

“Why?”

“Just because he remembered that I said I like sweet things.”

“You sure talked about all sorts of things.”

Hyun Gyujin, who said the last phrase as if muttering to himself, glared at the strawberry milk and asked.

“What’s his last name?”

“Lee…. Lee Yunseong.”

“Are you gonna drink that now?”

“Nooo…. Later. Right now I don’t really feel like drinking it.”

“Then I’ll drink it and buy you one later. I’m thirsty.”

Seeing Hyun Gyujin who seemed to be subtly picking a fight or angry, but wasn’t crossing any lines enough to state so definitively, making him look completely normal, Yuwon nodded.

“But you don’t like strawberry milk.”

“I like it. Starting today.”

Opening the strawberry milk to form the pointed drinking spout, Hyun Gyujin gulped down the milk right in front of Yuwon as if to show off. Then, holding the empty milk carton, he straightened his body up.

“Canteen after 3rd period.”

“…Okay.”

Going to the back of the classroom, Hyun Gyujin crumpled the milk carton forcefully and shoved it into the trash can. He liked chocolate milk quite a bit and banana milk wasn’t bad either, but he particularly disliked strawberry milk because it felt like an artificial flavor. And that impression remained unchanged today as well. The cloying taste lingered, making his mood feel entirely unpleasant.

Cigarettes came to mind. He craved one more desperately than ever. However, break time was almost over, making it awkward to go smoke. If he skipped class over that one thing, he would end up hearing a massive amount of nagging from Yuwon. Well, he could just listen to that, but what he really hated was Yuwon being disappointed in him.

“…”

Fiddling with the cigarettes and lighter inside his school uniform inner pocket with his hand, Hyun Gyujin merely pulled his hand back out and approached Yuwon again. Then, leaning over while resting his hands on the desk, he met the eyes of Yuwon, who was looking up at him with his head tilted.

“Don’t you have a candy or something?”

Yuwon, who thought for a moment, pulled out a half-remaining caramel stick from his school uniform jacket pocket that he had been eating one by one. Taking out one rectangular yellow caramel, Yuwon, without realizing it himself, even peeled the wrapper off and fed the core into Hyun Gyujin’s mouth. He hadn’t intended to go this far, but a habit practiced regularly since childhood was truly terrifying. Only after feeling Hyun Gyujin’s lips parting to receive and eat the caramel, the yellow caramel entering inside, and the lips touching his fingertips in a very slight brush did Yuwon regret his habitual action. His fingertips were hot, as if all the heat in the world had stuck to them. Yuwon quickly lowered his hand and hid it under his thigh.

“Thank you.”

Hyun Gyujin, who took the yellow caramel wrapper held in Yuwon’s hand, went to the back of the classroom again and threw it over the stuffed-down strawberry milk. The fluttering yellow paper fell on top of the milk carton.

At the same time, a tart lemon flavor spread inside his mouth. Completely covering up the unpleasant flavor Lee Yunseong had given him.

∞ ∞ ∞

Yuwon, who closed his textbook alongside the chime ending the class, quickly turned his head toward the hallway window. His eyes were busy looking for Hyun Gyujin, who had been told not to lie down and sleep, but had stubbornly slept lying down again and ended up kicked out. Since he was so tall, he should be visible through the window no matter where he stood, but he was nowhere to be seen. Yuwon got up from his seat, went out the back door, and surveyed the hallway, but Hyun Gyujin was not there either.

Where did he go…. Yuwon pulled out his phone and tapped into the chatroom with Hyun Gyujin to ask where he was. The moment he asked, the ‘1’ written in front of the message vanished and Hyun Gyujin’s reply popped up.

Gyujin

Where are you?

Gyujin

In front of the overpass

Come down so we can go to the canteen

Looking at Hyun Gyujin’s reply, Yuwon, who turned his body toward the stairs, walked down the hallway. He had told him to stand in the hallway, so he wondered when he had gone downstairs. Why didn’t he know that by disobeying like that, he got treated like a delinquent and misunderstood as a scary guy who just went around getting into fights? Isn’t it unfair to him too…? Yuwon put his phone in his uniform jacket pocket and went down the stairs.

Whenever kids going to the canteen recklessly ran down the stairs passing Yuwon’s side threatingly, Yuwon gripped the handrail tightly. Ever since he once felt dizzy and tumbled down the stairs in the past, he had become even more careful every time he went up and down the stairs.

Holding the handrail and turning the corner, he saw Hyun Gyujin down below the unfolding stairs. Just as he took a step toward Hyun Gyujin, who could have simply stayed there but was striding up toward the side where he was, someone hard-bumped against Yuwon’s body and passed by.

“Ah…!”

Although he was holding the handrail, his body tilted at the sudden impact delivered from behind. He should have felt terribly scared, but strangely, he felt relief. It was because he saw Hyun Gyujin, who had reached in front of him before he knew it and was reaching out his hand.

His tilted body touched into Hyun Gyujin’s chest. Even at the considerable impact delivered in that instant, Hyun Gyujin didn’t get pushed back in the slightest and securely wrapped his arms around Yuwon’s back. And with his other hand, protecting Yuwon from falling, he wrapped his hand around the nape of his neck, pressing him as if trapping him inside his chest.

Yuwon, unable to even breathe at the feeling of body pressing against body and the arms tightly compressing his back, barely exhaled a trembling breath. He needed to pull away, but because Hyun Gyujin wouldn’t let go, he couldn’t move his body in the slightest.

“Hey, you fucker. Can’t you walk properly? This guy almost rolled down the stairs. Why do you go around hitting people, huh? Are you out of your mind?”

“Ah…. S-Sorry…”

“Sorry? Saying sorry after you’ve already fucking bumped into him and gone ahead? If I hadn’t caught him, Jeong Yuwon would have fallen, so would you still be doing this ‘Ah, sorry’ bullshit then?”

The sound of Hyun Gyujin continuously yelling angrily at a kid he didn’t even know was heard. He needed to stop him, but his body still didn’t move. Heat seemed to radiate from their touching bodies. His lips pressed against his shoulder, and every time he breathed, Hyun Gyujin’s familiar yet so wonderful… body scent entering inside his body were all far too troublesome.

“…”

He was solid and warm. Yuwon completely buried his face over Hyun Gyujin’s shoulder. He felt a slight strength going into the hand wrapping around the nape of his neck. His heart was beating so fast it felt excessive. He felt as though if they stayed stuck together without a single gap like this, everything would be found out. His heart.

What is… his heart? Yuwon posed a question toward the thought he had unwittingly conceived. What is going to be found out? Why is my heart beating?

“I’m gonna rip your fucking eyes right out…!”

Choi Haeyoung and Kim Junjae, who were nearby, seemed to sense the severity of the situation and came over to hold Hyun Gyujin back. Choi Haeyoung quickly told the nameless kid to get the hell out and had him leave the spot, while Kim Junjae tapped Hyun Gyujin’s shoulder telling him to stop.

“Stop what? What did I even do? If Jeong Yuwon got hurt, would you take responsibility instead?”

“Daydreamer Yu is gonna choke to death because of you first. Are you strangling him?”

Only then realizing that he had been holding Yuwon in his chest so tightly that he couldn’t even move, Hyun Gyujin quickly loosened his arms. Then he bent his body down and examined Yuwon’s blushing face.

“Are you okay?”

“…N-No…. I’m okay.”

“Are you hurt anywhere? Sprained an ankle or your arm hurts or anything. Move around.”

At Hyun Gyujin’s words, Yuwon swung both arms to show him, then lifted his feet one by one to demonstrate that he could move perfectly fine. Only then relieved, Hyun Gyujin held Yuwon’s arms tightly and pressed his forehead over his shoulder.

“…Fuck, it almost really turned into big trouble.”

“I’m sorry, you were really startled, right?”

“Why are you sorry? The bastard who bumped into you and left is the crazy one. Ah, shit. I shouldn’t have just let him go.”

Turning abruptly to look at the spot where the guy who ran away had been, the kids who happened to be passing by there read Hyun Gyujin’s mood one by one and scattered in all directions.

“…”

Yuwon’s gaze still rested on Hyun Gyujin’s face. Absently taking in Hyun Gyujin—who was filled with anger on his behalf, yet whose eyes meeting his were full of worry—and feeling the sound of his confused heart: that was all Yuwon could do right now.