By Zephyria 
The professor suggested to Cha Jeong-won that he might consider doing the graduation exhibition together with Haon.
“I understand the sentiment behind your suggestion, but I can’t just agree to it without thought. We each have our own ideas, and forcing a collaboration might end up negatively affecting both of us.”
Moreover, I worried that if I fell far short compared to Cha Jeong-won, that in itself could become a nuisance. Since it was a piece for my portfolio, I was even more cautious.
“Let’s each do our own.”
Cha Jeong-won’s answer was a sharp, definitive refusal.
At that, Haon was at a loss for words.
Truthfully, Haon had his own considerable worries.
He had decided on parts of it since before the semester started, looking into various things while taking classes, and if he suddenly changed course, he’d have to alter so much…
Honestly, the thought of having to be entangled with Cha Jeong-won for nearly a year was more concerning than immediately changing his graduation project’s theme.
They had only spent a week as lovers, and now they had to keep meeting to create a work together. Was that something he could handle?
But rather than saying he disliked the idea, he had asked for Cha Jeong-won’s opinion…
‘Is it purely my own greed?’
Because he thought he could produce a splendid, once-in-a-lifetime graduation project.
If his skills were inferior to Cha Jeong-won’s, he wanted to grind down everything he had to match him. To produce the best possible outcome.
That’s what it was, but…
“Do you dislike me?”
At Cha Jeong-won’s refusal, Haon pushed aside all his previous worries and blurted it out bluntly.
“If someone heard, they’d think we met on a blind date. It’s not that I dislike you, it’s that I dislike working together.”
“You were fine with making the bedside table together.”
“That’s a different issue.”
Cha Jeong-won shook his head firmly.
“Then, do I fall short of your standards, sunbae?”
“That’s not it either.”
“Then why on earth? What is it? What.”
Now he absolutely wanted to be on a team with Cha Jeong-won.
Because he said no, he perversely wanted to do it even more.
He pushed with a contrary spirit, but Cha Jeong-won didn’t budge an inch.
“I get hurt a lot.”
Haon couldn’t answer immediately and just looked at Cha Jeong-won.
“Working with tools, getting hurt happens often. But I get hurt even more. So, don’t get needlessly involved by being next to me…”
“Is that why you want to do it separately? No, what do you mean ‘get involved’?”
“Did you forget we tumbled down the stairs together?”
Cha Jeong-won placed a small plate in front of Haon, reminding him of the past incident.
Looking at the plate neatly arranged with meat on lettuce and other items, Haon felt an indescribably subtle emotion.
It felt like he had received a sort of answer for personally hand-wrapping ssam for him.
Along with that, he thought once more about the man named Cha Jeong-won.
‘Right, we tumbled down the stairs together.’
Since then, he kept getting entangled with Cha Jeong-won.
At first, he thought he had no idea why, but now he could vaguely guess the reason.
Running into Cha Jeong-won on the street, meeting Cha Jeong-won even though we weren’t meant to be connected, even forming the hypothesis that contact with him could alleviate some misfortune—the reason for all that!
‘It’s the original work!’
Perhaps, because the original story wasn’t flowing properly, even an extra like himself had been given a duty.
To help that very Cha Jeong-won!
If that’s the case, they should have returned my memories properly. They only came back vaguely.
Maybe it’s to hold the fort properly until the real protagonist of this story appears. If left alone, Cha Jeong-won looked like he’d die young before they even met.
Anyway, all of this couldn’t happen unless it was the original work’s mischief.
‘So that’s why they keep pairing me, a mere extra, with Cha Jeong-won.’
As a helper.
He wanted to think that finding the misfortune-attracting box was one of those tasks.
Having sorted his thoughts this far, Haon looked straight into Cha Jeong-won’s eyes before eating the ssam on the plate.
“Sunbae.”
Haon lowered his voice, mimicking Cha Jeong-won. He thought it would create a somewhat serious atmosphere.
“It seems you get hurt often.”
He deliberately glanced over his hands. There were indeed scar marks here and there on the hands he had always thought were long and pretty.
“And you think it’s only natural that it will continue to be that way in the future.”
Haon organized what Cha Jeong-won had said sequentially.
“There’s nothing good about being next to me.”
“How could someone like that offer to stay by my side for a whole week.”
At Haon’s muttered soliloquy, which he couldn’t hold back, Cha Jeong-won’s eyes narrowed.
“That’s probably not the important point right now.”
“I get it. If it’s because of the reason you mentioned, I find it even harder to accept.”
“Where did everything I just said go? If you’re next to me…”
“Did I get hurt?”
He deliberately cut off Cha Jeong-won’s words and asked.
When he opened his eyes wide and stared, Cha Jeong-won frowned.
“To use that as a reason for refusal, I’m in too perfect condition.”
“……”
“That day, remember? The stairs, yeah yeah. The day we went to the ER, I got checked out and everything was fine. And since then, I haven’t gotten hurt anywhere, right?”
Actually, he had gotten a little hurt, but he pushed forward brazenly.
“And, sunbae, you might be better off with me around. Think about it, we’ve been together since Saturday.”
“You could get hurt the moment you let your guard down.”
Seeing Cha Jeong-won acting frustratingly stubborn, Haon couldn’t stand it and picked up his phone, tapping away vigorously. Then he thrust the screen toward Cha Jeong-won as if to show him.
“I had an exorcism pollack in my shopping cart, right? But thinking about it, I realized I don’t need this.”
And he deleted the pollack from his cart.
“I’m the pollack, why would I buy this?”
Even as Cha Jeong-won looked at him with an absurd gaze, Haon paid no mind.
“Being with me might bring you overflowing luck. Just wait and see.”
It felt like he had similarly comforted Cha Jeong-won before.
What could he do if he was that anxious? He just had to keep telling him.
“First a mascot, now a pollack…”
“Ah! You know this isn’t because I resemble a pollack, right?”
Haon cut off Jeong-won’s words and warned him.
“……”
“…Don’t stare and compare me like that.”
Having said this much, Haon slowly folded and ate the lettuce on the plate, as if giving Cha Jeong-won time to think.
Even though the meat had cooled, it was still delicious.
Haon picked up another piece of lettuce. This time, he added two pieces of meat and more ssamjang.
“Are you going to feed me this time too?”
Cha Jeong-won, who Haon thought was lost in thought, asked. His voice had grown calmer. He must have made a decision.
“If sunbae wants me to.”
“I want it.”
At the straightforward answer, Haon laughed as if finding it absurd, but his hands were already wrapping another ssam.
“Then close your eyes and wait.”
“Now you’re giving orders?”
Despite his grumbling tone, he obediently closed his eyes. His long eyelashes cast a shadow under his eyes. His breath rose and fell slowly.
Haon gazed at that face for a moment, then picked up the ssam and carefully approached. And this time too, he paused briefly near his lips.
‘This distance…’
If he went just a little further, instead of the meat, his own finger might touch his lips. As close as possible without crossing that line.
As he pushed the ssam in, the tip of his finger very lightly grazed the seam of his lips. It was a contact so slight it was almost imperceptible, but both of them precisely noticed that moment.
He swallowed, pushing down the feeling of his heart sinking once more with a thud.
Cha Jeong-won closed his mouth and opened his eyes at the same time. Neither tried to avoid the other’s gaze.
“It’s delicious.”
After swallowing the ssam, Cha Jeong-won spoke.
“Well, you swallowed my words, right?”
He wasn’t talking about the ssam. Doing the graduation project with Haon. That’s exactly what he meant, but Cha Jeong-won didn’t answer easily.
“Let me think about it.”
Just the fact that he was reconsidering his decision made Haon feel his persuasion had worked, and a laugh escaped him. Belatedly, he reflected on his own position.
‘Why did I do that?’
He himself had been worrying about whether to do the graduation project together, so why… Why?
＊ ＊ ＊
The walk back to school from the ssambap restaurant felt strangely short.
It was a distance he had walked countless times to the main gate, so why did it feel like someone had shortened the path today?
Passing the main gate and heading up toward the building, Haon subtly slowed his pace. Instead of the crowded front, the path leading around to the emergency stairs at the side of the building caught his eye. It was a corner students didn’t frequent much.
“Sunbae.”
His calling voice naturally lowered.
“Yeah.”
“Let’s go this way.”