NCBF Ch 43

It wasn’t like he hugged him thinking, ‘I’m gonna hug Jeong Yuwon!’, but there were a few times he had done so. There was a time when he held a sick Yuwon in his arms and had him lean against him while waiting for a car to come, and on a really cold day when Yuwon was so, so freezing, he put one more of his own outer coats on him and hugged him. Also… he recalled that time before when a crazy bastard bumped into Yuwon on the stairs, and he caught the kid—who was on the verge of tumbling down—as if hugging him.

How did he feel back then? He tried hard to recall, but perhaps because most of those situations back then were urgent and were situations where he had to protect Yuwon, nothing came to mind very well other than feeling rushed and tense.

On top of that, having zero experience dating anyone until now, he was frustrated because he couldn’t know what to do or how to do it, nor whether what he was thinking right now was right or wrong. How frustrated must he have been to even do searches on a portal site that had no value whatsoever?

“…”

Hug him. Hug Yuwon. If he hugged Yuwon like he was holding this cushion right now….

“…Ah, fuck.”

Crazy. Feeling like he would die at the mere thought, Hyun Gyujin set the cushion to the side and grabbed the front of the shirt he was wearing to flutter it. Sitting still doing nothing, just continually thinking of Yuwon caused his body temperature to rise. On top of that, his heart feeling like it was going to burst was a bonus.

Can he just hug him when nothing is going on? Should he try hugging him today once before parting ways? What if he pushes him away going ugh… again? That would feel a bit hurtful. If he succeeds, then what? Yuwon’s face rose again toward the high ceiling. That clean, soft, gentle-looking face.

…Crazy. Seriously. Am I really going to kiss Jeong Yuwon?

Hyun Gyujin’s ears turned bright red.

∞ ∞ ∞

When class ended, Yuwon, who packed his bag, walked down the hallway together with Lee Yunseong and went down to the 1st floor.

“Did you make up with Hyun Gyujin? He came today?”

“Huh? Ah…. Yeah. It wasn’t that we fought, though….”

“That’s a relief. You were worrying so much.”

“…I was?”

“Yeah. Saying you didn’t fight, yet looking like you were going to cry whenever Hyun Gyujin’s name came up.”

Was I like that…. He thought he had held out quite bravely in his own way, but it seemed to have been his delusion. Feeling embarrassed and touching his hair for no reason, Yuwon apologized to Lee Yunseong.

“Sorry, you must have felt uncomfortable because of me.”

“No. Seeing how close you two seemed, I was worried why it suddenly became like that, so I’m glad you made up. I didn’t say it for you to feel sorry, I said it because I’m truly glad.”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it. Then I’m off first, okay? See you at school.”

“Yeah, bye.”

Waving his hand in goodbye, Yuwon looked at the tall back view of Hyun Gyujin, placed a hand on his chest, and took a deep breath. He didn’t have to hide this heart anymore, but still, whenever he saw Hyun Gyujin, he would get tense to the point of taking his breath away once in a while.

Taking a deep breath in, and then whew…. Following what Hyun Gyujin had taught him to release the tension that had entered his body, Yuwon stepped out of the building.

“Oh, you finished a bit early today?”

“Yeah. Finished 5 minutes early. Earlier, all the kids came fast today, so we started 5 minutes earlier.”

“Seeing you 5 minutes faster is nice.”

Looking up at Hyun Gyujin grinning and smiling back, Yuwon tilted his face even closer toward Hyun Gyujin at the good scent that wafted even more strongly today. That good scent that usually came off Hyun Gyujin was wafting about twice as strongly.

“Did you shower before coming?”

“Huh? Ah…. Yeah…. That… I sweated a bit, so….”

With the thought of giving Yuwon a hug today before parting after dropping him off at home, he had taken a shower and even lightly sprayed perfume of the same scent as his body wash that Yuwon usually liked, but it seemed to have been too obvious. Hyun Gyujin glossed over it for no reason and smiled.

“Because it smells so good. This body wash scent really suits you well. Do you remember that? You started using this since around when you entered middle school, and the smell coming off you back then was so, so good that I bought this following you, too. But the smell coming off me wasn’t as good as the smell coming off you. I was really sad.”

“That’s why half-crying, you really gave me what you were using, saying, ‘I only used it three times…’”

A warm woody scent didn’t quite suit Yuwon, who was shorter than now and had a much younger look. Recalling Yuwon holding back tears out of deep disappointment while giving him even the body wash and body lotion back then, Hyun Gyujin burst into laughter out loud.

“Anyway, Jeong Yuwon is seriously hilarious.”

“Back then, the scent coming off you really felt like an adult scent. Just like now, too.”

“I am quite mature.”

“Nothing else, just the scent.”

“Babe, you’re so firm.”

Glancing at Yuwon flinching again at the word ‘babe’, Hyun Gyujin lowered his hand and touched his fingertips when they reached a secluded alley. He felt Yuwon’s fingers, which hesitated for a moment, touch his fingertips in return and wrap around them.

“I’m going to buy clothes on Saturday; do you want to go together?”

“Yeah. Let’s go together.”

“Let’s buy couple shirts.”

Startled by the unexpected words, Yuwon’s lips popped open. Somehow, the words ‘couple shirts’ with Hyun Gyujin didn’t suit them at all, and perhaps because he had never even thought about hearing such words, he couldn’t tell what kind of reaction to show.

“…Can we wear them around? Won’t everyone know if other people see?”

“In any case, even if we wear them to school, we’ll wear them inside our uniforms, so isn’t it fine? Only I’ll wear it visibly; except when changing for P.E., you don’t even unbutton your shirt and wear it.”

“Ah…. Then I’m not really sure.”

“Yeah. Should we buy couple sneakers, too? If we buy something trendy, people won’t think it’s weird even if we wear the same thing.”

Looking at Hyun Gyujin, who seemed immensely excited, Yuwon smiled and nodded his head. Seeing the face he liked made him feel like doing everything together.

“Ah, aren’t you hungry?”

“A little hungry. How about you?”

“Me too.”

“Should we eat ramen at my place?”

“Ramen sounds good. Oh, but that….”

“Huh?”

“That ‘come eat ramen’ thing was a phrase that’s a bit like that, though.”

Looking at Hyun Gyujin, who subtly nudged his shoulder while holding hands, Yuwon’s ears turned bright red after thinking for a moment. He had never used those words, nor had he ever held them in his mind normally, so he hadn’t felt any weirdness, but hearing Hyun Gyujin’s words, he recalled it frequently being used in dramas or variety shows with a subtle meaning of allowing someone into one’s home, making the rims of his ears flush hot.

“T-That is! A valid phrase for… someone who has never entered the house before. You… even know our house passcode.”

“That and that are different again. Our situation has changed.”

“…I’ll eat ramen alone. You go home and eat.”

“When you want to eat the ramen I cook.”

Playfully shaking the hand he was holding and then lifting it up, Hyun Gyujin kissed the back of Yuwon’s hand with a mwah sound. Although it was a very small sound, Yuwon clearly heard that ticklish, sweet sound. On top of that, the soft, hot… squishy feeling touching the back of his hand was so vivid that his fingertips tingled and his head kept tilting forward. He was so embarrassed he could barely bring himself to look at Hyun Gyujin.

“You’re going to eat with me, right? If yes, please shake the hand you’re holding.”