By Zephyria 
Evеn аs he heаded towаrd thе сlub rооm, Wоo-yеоn сouldn’t shakе the remnants оf the рast. Аs he lеft the lесturе hall, as hе crоssed the cаmpus, and evеn until he stood bеforе thе club room, the imagе of Kang Jun-sеоng in his sсhооl uniform cоntinued tо sрeak tо him.
‘Dоn’t you smell somеthing?’
Bасk in middle schооl, thе сlаssroоm with its thirtу-odd studеnts was nothing more than a рrison to Wоo-yеon. Everу time hе heard thе sоund of snickеring, he felt аn indesсribаble sеnsе of misеrу. Hе рrеtended tо bе unfazеd оn thе оutside, but there was no way he was truly okay at such a young age.
‘Seon Woo-yeon smells like a pig.’
That day, too, Jun-seong had thrown trash at Woo-yeon. The boys around them sneered as Jun-seong pinched his nose, telling him to wash himself properly. In reality, Woo-yeon didn’t even smell of sweat, but bullying required no reason.
‘You pig, you’re seriously filthy.’
Upon returning home, Woo-yeon showered until his skin chafed. He washed his hair three times, scrubbed his body five times, and slathered on the lotion he always used. In his heart, he wanted to spray perfume, but he didn’t dare enter his mother’s room.
‘Do I smell?’
Do-hyun, who was tutoring him at the time, looked puzzled by Woo-yeon’s question. He tilted his head as if asking what he meant and pulled the chair Woo-yeon was sitting in closer with one hand. At the sudden, narrowed distance, Woo-yeon instinctively grew tense.
‘Hmm, I have a very keen sense of smell, and you only smell like a baby, Yeon.’
He was a man who always spoke with a gentle tone. He was even gentle when he pointed to the lotion on the desk with his finger, saying it smelled just like that. Do-hyun asked in a soft voice with a faint smile.
‘Do I smell?’
Smell? What smell? He always drifted with the scent of fabric softener that resembled sunlight. That mature, subtle fragrance was incomparable to Woo-yeon’s raw, youthful scent. When Woo-yeon shook his head, he spoke as if it were obvious.
‘You’re the same, Yeon.’
Woo-yeon still couldn’t forget the sensation of him stroking his hair. Nor could he forget the quiet comfort he whispered while carefully tidying the back of his head.
‘So, it’s okay.’
Whenever Do-hyun said that, it felt as if everything truly became okay. Since Teacher says so, it must be okay—that vague belief held sixteen-year-old Woo-yeon together, preventing him from collapsing.
“Is the lecture over already?”
Only Do-hyun remained alone in the club room. Studying for exams just as he had been before, Do-hyun spoke without even looking at Woo-yeon.
“The others went to buy drinks, so they’ll be back soon.”
Instead of stepping inside, Woo-yeon lowered his gaze. Just like four years ago, he felt a longing for Do-hyun to stroke his hair. Do-hyun, as a Seonbae, probably wouldn’t do that, but for this moment, he wished he were Teacher.
“Seonbae.”
His lips moved impulsively. Seonbae instead of Teacher. At that awkward call, Do-hyun’s gaze shifted diagonally toward him. In a tiny voice, barely audible, Woo-yeon continued.
“Could you… stroke my hair for a bit?”
The words had slipped out unconsciously. It wasn’t an unreasonable request, but even he thought it was abrupt.
Amidst the awkward silence, the sound of Ga-ram and Seon-kyu approaching could be heard, and just as he was about to change the subject by calling it a joke—
“…….”
Do-hyun suddenly stepped closer and placed his hand on top of Woo-yeon’s head. He gently cupped the back of his head, ruffled his hair, and then slowly pulled away. The sensation of those long fingers winding through his hair hadn’t changed at all from four years ago.
“Looks like the others are here.”
Woo-yeon looked up at Do-hyun, unable to say a word. If he reached out right now, they were close enough that he could lean into the embrace while pretending not to know. He felt as if they had stood facing each other like this once before. Before he could process that sense of déjà vu, Do-hyun looked at him.
“Good job getting through your class.”
Thud. He heard the sound of something sinking. It felt like the sound of a tightly closed door suddenly clanking open. Do-hyun remained nonchalant, but Woo-yeon lowered his head, his face turning bright red. Thump, thump—the irregular sound of his heart echoed dully in his ears.
“Huh? Why are you standing outside?”
“I heard you guys coming.”
Teacher was always like this. He never asked for details; he gave exactly the comfort Woo-yeon needed. It seemed like he was drawing a line at first glance, but in the end, it was an action rooted in consideration. Unaware of how much that unsettled Woo-yeon.
“What’s up with Woo-yeon? Are you sick?”
“No… I’m just cold.”
Woo-yeon pulled his hoodie over his head and gripped his collar. His ears felt hot, so he felt he needed to hide them first. Fortunately, the large hood perfectly concealed his awkward expression.
“In this weather? We bought iced drinks…”
Shaking his head and saying it was fine, Woo-yeon pressed the plastic cup against his cheek. The cold sensation slowly cooled the heat rising in his face. Thoughts of Jun-seong had long since been erased from his mind.
* * *
Woo-yeon’s home was an apartment not far from the school. The complex featured lavish landscaping, and the fountain in the center was large enough to be mistaken for a swimming pool. Ga-ram, whose eyes widened the moment she stepped out of the taxi, gaped as she looked at the building with a penthouse at the top.
“You live here alone?”
“Um… yes.”
Woo-yeon gave an ambiguous answer as he tapped his card at the entrance. He had brought them here without much thought since it was a relatively ordinary apartment, but seeing them react like this already made him feel awkward. As expected, does living alone in an apartment look a bit strange? I should have said I lived with my family.
They continued to let out exclamations as they rode the elevator. They commented on how excessively wide the elevator was, or how they’d get acrophobia if it were this high. Only Do-hyun remained indifferent, but even his expression changed when Woo-yeon pressed the button for the top floor.
“Your house is seriously wealthy…”
Seon-kyu muttered blankly, watching the floor indicator climb one by one. He had told him not to say such rude things at the general assembly, but he seemed so shocked that he couldn’t even remember that. When Woo-yeon instinctively turned his gaze toward him, he apologized with an embarrassed smile.
“Sorry, it just came out.”
“Well… it’s not wrong.”
As long as they weren’t cursing behind his back, Woo-yeon didn’t particularly mind. No, even if they did, it was fine as long as it didn’t reach his ears. Though he hadn’t known Seon-kyu for long, he knew he wasn’t the type of person to badmouth others over something like this.
“Please, come in. There’s no one else here.”
As soon as they entered the house, Woo-yeon brought out guest slippers. Since the only people who came to the house were Woo-yeon and the employees, they were brand new and had never been used. Ga-ram hesitantly put on the slippers and, the moment she looked up, she gasped.
“Hey… is that the Han River?”
The Han River was right in front of them. Even before reaching the living room, the whole world was visible beyond the terrace. Woo-yeon, who was already used to it, felt nothing, but it was a shocking sight for the others.
“The view is killer…”
Woo-yeon walked forward slowly, leaving them behind. Their reactions were so intense that he couldn’t gauge what to say. He planned to have them sit on the sofa first before thinking, but that wasn’t easy either.
“Is this… a model home or something…”
The wide-open living room looked grand. A sofa, a table, and a TV. In the living room, which held only the minimum necessary furniture, there were wide spaces that felt almost too large to be called ‘rooms.’ He thought the ceiling was high, and then he saw the stairs; the living room walls were entirely made of floor-to-ceiling glass.
“How do you even clean this?”
“There’s a separate person for cleaning.”
Woo-yeon answered with a face that had half-given up. At this point, he felt it would be better to just leave them with the impression that he was moderately well-off. Of course, there was a massive difference between Woo-yeon’s ‘moderate’ and theirs.
“Is there a second floor too?”
Seon-kyu pointed to the stairs on the wall. It was a place Woo-yeon had never gone up to in the two months he had lived there.
“There is, but I don’t use it. There’s nothing there.”
“What about the rooms? Do you use everything here?”
“No, just the bedroom and the study.”
“Hey, hey, Woo-yeon. Is that real wood?”
Ga-ram suddenly chimed in. Woo-yeon checked the tree on the terrace and answered uncertainly that it probably was.
“What about the grass? Is the grass real too?”
“I’m not sure… I don’t manage it.”
“It must be scary living alone in a place this big.”
“It’s not really scary.”
Responding calmly, Woo-yeon set his bag down on the sofa. Being in a large space and living alone were things he had been accustomed to since he was very young. Because the main house, after the employees had all gone home, had been like a vast prison to Woo-yeon.
“How much would a place like this cost? Is it available for monthly rent?”
“I think the deposit would be more expensive than my house, Noona.”
Hearing the whispering conversations, Woo-yeon unconsciously let out a laugh. It was because the sight of them seriously contemplating monthly rent seemed a bit cute. When he covered his mouth with his fist, Ga-ram belatedly looked embarrassed.
“Hey, Kim Do-hyun, why are you so uninterested? Have you ever seen a house like this? Huh?”
Ga-ram needlessly picked a fight with Do-hyun, who was beside her. Do-hyun, who had uttered only one phrase (“Excuse me”) since entering the house, looked around with his usual expression. He still looked indifferent.
“It’s my first time in a penthouse… but I’ve been to larger houses.”
“Where was that?”
Woo-yeon asked reflexively. He had a feeling that the ‘larger house’ Do-hyun was referring to was a place Woo-yeon also knew. Do-hyun curled the corners of his lips into a smirk and, instead of telling him where it was, changed the subject.
“Stop poking around someone else’s house and put your bags down. We gathered here to study.”
“…….”
“…….”
Their faces looked as if they had just realized their mistake. They had clearly been so preoccupied with the house tour that they had completely forgotten about the study session. Woo-yeon secretly swallowed his disappointment and headed toward the kitchen, saying he would bring some drinks.
“There are… so many kinds.”
The refrigerator was full of various ingredients. Woo-yeon hadn’t bought them; the employee filled them periodically. The glass bottles were likely juice, but since they had no labels, he couldn’t tell what was what.
Woo-yeon first picked up an orange bottle. Since it was orange, it must be orange juice—it was an action born from such simple logic. Just as he was about to take out a red bottle, a familiar voice sounded above him.
“That one’s carrot.”