NCBF Ch 22

Hyun Gyujin smiled broadly and teased Yuwon, ruffling his hair. Yuwon just stayed quiet and drank his citron tea while watching Hyun Gyujin play with his hair, repeatedly biting down on the rim of the cup again. His bangs went up and down, and were gently grabbed and released over and over, but even that felt nice.

By the time the rim of the paper cup was crumpled from so much biting, the doorbell rang. Seeing Hyun Gyujin immediately get up and leave the room at that sound, Yuwon let out the breath that had been trapped tightly inside his heart. His head felt dizzy from the light teasing and heavy tenderness.

His body was sick, yet his heart was so noisy with fluttering and thumping excitement that while he wanted to be left alone quickly, having Hyun Gyujin by his side at this moment instead of being alone was a huge comfort. Just what on earth did he want to do? Ever since he realized he liked Hyun Gyujin, every moment had been a series of contradictions.

“Eat this.”

Startled by Hyun Gyujin suddenly popping back in, Yuwon snapped his head up. Looking down at Yuwon, Hyun Gyujin set the tray with the porridge onto the desk.

“I brought the medicine and water together too, so make sure to eat the porridge and take your medicine. And get plenty of sleep. I’ll go back to school and come over when it’s over. I put the remaining half of the porridge in the fridge, so when you wake up later and if you’re hungry, reheat it and eat it again.”

“Got it…. Thank you. I’ll enjoy it. What are you going to do since you couldn’t eat lunch? You should at least eat the remaining half of the porridge.”

“There’s no time for that. Eat it all and go to sleep. If you run a high fever or suddenly hurt a lot, text me. Got it? Don’t endure it alone. Something serious will happen if you do.”

“Yeah….”

“I’m going.”

Yuwon, who nodded obediently, watched Hyun Gyujin muss up his hair once more, then grabbed his wrist as if he suddenly remembered something.

“Take some snacks at least.”

“Are you opening the Jeong Yuwon grain storehouse?”

“If there’s anything you like, you can take it all.”

Yuwon opened the lowest drawer of his desk and showed it to Hyun Gyujin. Inside that drawer—which Hyun Gyujin called the grain storehouse—was full of snacks Yuwon liked, such as jellies, cookies, and caramels. Because of his health, he didn’t eat them every day or often, but it was Yuwon’s treasure chest created for the purpose of eating them one by one according to his condition to change his mood while pacing himself well.

“Let the storehouse owner recommend. Something delicious.”

At Hyun Gyujin’s words, Yuwon seriously rummaged through the inside of the drawer. Then he picked up his favorite peach-flavored jelly, chocolate cookies, and two long cheese sausages with red strings attached, and slipped them into Hyun Gyujin’s school uniform pockets.

“Ah, this too.”

Finally, as Hyun Gyujin watched Yuwon even adding round potato chips—a few in each pack—flavor by flavor, he burst out laughing. Seeing how serious and grave he looked while picking out snacks was so cute.

Even though he was the same age as him, Yuwon had times when he was like a young child like this. Of course, when scolding or pointing things out to him, he could also be incomparably mature. Hyun Gyujin liked Yuwon’s gap because it was cute.

“This one is tasty too…. It’s grape-flavored jelly, but it’s coated in chocolate….”

“The grain storehouse is running completely empty, empty. This is enough. My pockets are going to burst.”

Only then did Yuwon’s eyes move to Hyun Gyujin’s bulging pockets. Because he had stuffed so much food in, both pockets were bulging as if they were truly about to burst. Letting out a soft laugh, Yuwon closed the drawer and patted Hyun Gyujin’s bulging pockets lightly.

“Make sure to eat at least these. And when 5th period ends, definitely go to the snack shop…. Got it?”

“Yeah, got it. The porridge will get cold. I’ll be off, so eat quickly. I’m going!”

Since Gyujin had brought him home and was leaving after doing nothing but hard work, Yuwon couldn’t just send him off like that, so he stood up from his seat and followed Hyun Gyujin out of the room.

“Why are you coming out?”

“I should at least see you go.”

“It’s fine, so go inside, eat quickly, and sleep.”

“…”

“Listen to me.”

“Alright…. Get home safely.”

“Yeah. I’m really going.”

“Bye….”

“Yeah, bye.”

Yuwon had no choice but to return to his room and sit on the bed. Then he tilted his head and watched Hyun Gyujin’s back as he exited the hallway. As the footsteps faded into the distance, a massive silence rushed into the house simultaneously with the sound of the door closing far away.

“…”

Holding the bowl of steaming porridge, Yuwon scooped up a spoonful of abalone porridge and put it in his mouth. Thinking of Hyun Gyujin, who must have ordered the porridge out of thoughtfulness for him despite being busy and short on time, made the tip of his nose sting with emotion.

Even without doing this, my heart thumps so much that my mind is complicated, but doing this much is really a foul play…. Even someone who didn’t like him would end up liking him….

Staring blankly down at the warm porridge, Yuwon let out a gentle smile. Although his head and body were aching, thanks to Hyun Gyujin’s tenderness, his heart didn’t ache and was only warm.

As soon as homeroom ended, Hyun Gyujin stood up from his seat carrying his pre-packed bag. Seeing that there was no reply even when he sent a text asking if he was okay, it was either that Yuwon had taken his medicine and was continuously sleeping, or that he was so sick he couldn’t even send a text. If it was the former, it was a relief, but since the possibility of the latter was not 0% either, his heart was in a rush.

“Hyun! SpeedZone go?”

“The Yeong-il High kids were supposed to come today.”

Seeing Kim Junjae and Choi Haeyoung approaching to go to the PC cafe, Hyun Gyujin shook his head. Right now, things like SpeedZone did not exist in Hyun Gyujin’s mind.

“Not going.”

“Ah, why? Today is the day we fucking have to win.”

At the bolt-from-the-blue news of Hyun Gyujin’s non-attendance—a key player in gaming—a shadow fell over Choi Haeyoung’s face. Kim Junjae was now pulling on Hyun Gyujin’s bag to snatch it away.

“Cut the bullshit and let go.”

“Is Spacey-Yuwon a baby? He’ll take his medicine and rest well. Even if you go, you’ll just get in the way. Just leave him to rest a bit.”

“Don’t worry, if you get sick, I’ll leave you fucking alone.”

Lightly snatching his bag back and slinging it over his shoulder again, Hyun Gyujin left the classroom. Holding the arm of Kim Junjae, who was stepping out to catch Hyun Gyujin without giving up, Choi Haeyoung shook his head.

“Let him be. His lover is sick, so we should let him go. How can we win against his lover?”

“Seriously, what is up with Spacey-Yuwon? Didn’t he hypnotize him at this point? Something like ‘From now on, you will obey anything Jeong Yuwon says’?”

Choi Haeyoung, who giggled at Kim Junjae’s words, approached the window and shouted toward Hyun Gyujin, who was exiting the main entrance.

“Take good care of your lover, you crazy bastard!”

It seemed like he looked up for a moment, but soon his gaze dropped, and a hand raising his middle finger went up once and came back down. Seeing Hyun Gyujin then rush off even more urgently than usual, eventually running straight across the playground, Kim Junjae and Choi Haeyoung shook their heads from side to side.

At any rate, it was a friendship extraordinary among extraordinary.

Swiping his card at the apartment entrance to enter, Hyun Gyujin ran into the 1st floor of the building without a moment’s breathing room. Turning away upon seeing the elevator parked at the top floor without knowing his frantic mind, Hyun Gyujin bounded up the stairs two or three steps at a time. Having frequented the place since childhood, climbing about six floors was now something he could effortlessly accomplish.

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Pressing the numbers as vivid as his own house’s password to open the door, a chilly air circulated. Since it was excessively quiet despite him definitely being home, he was indeed sleeping as expected. In his anxious state, he went to Yuwon’s room, opened the door quietly, and poked just his head inside to check on the bed. Thanks to the dim desk lamp light, finding Jeong Yuwon in the dark was not too difficult.

Seeing the white blanket rolled up thick like a roll gave him peace of mind at last. Opening the door further to step inside and roughly tossing his bag onto the floor, Hyun Gyujin approached Yuwon, who had become an even thicker gimbap roll than at the nurse’s office.

“…”

He was sound asleep, but his breathing sound was louder than usual. Frowning slightly at the breathing sound that betrayed his sickness, Hyun Gyujin looked at the water bottle, medicine bag, and empty citron tea cup placed on the desk. He really does love sweet things. Recalling Yuwon, who had been sipping it a mouthful at a time saying it was delicious, the corners of Hyun Gyujin’s mouth softened slightly.

About to feel his forehead to check if he still had a fever, Hyun Gyujin paused, went to the bathroom, and washed his hands with soft-scented hand wash. Only then did he return to the room and place his hand over Yuwon’s forehead. Perhaps because he had washed his hands with cold water, Yuwon’s forehead felt exceedingly hot.

“Mmh….”

“Are you hurting a lot?”