By Zephyria 
After abruptly dropping the unbelievable news, Oh Seung-pyo fell silent.
Jae-min didn’t answer immediately either. A heavy silence, ill-suited for the atmosphere, flowed through the sunlit archives. Only the fresh scent of green grapes drifted between them like an invisible fairy.
“You.”
Jae-min barely managed to open his mouth. Though he only uttered a short word, his voice came out slightly cracked from tension.
“You said you weren’t gay.”
“I wasn’t.”
The use of the past tense was significant. Jae-min had to shut his mouth again and choose his words.
His thoughts became a tangled mess and stopped spinning. He felt as if he had been dropped naked and unprepared into a field filled with landmines. He had been making him curious since yesterday, but to think he would bring up something this ridiculous.
The reason he didn’t ask if he was crazy or laugh and tell him not to joke around so early in the morning was that he had a strong feeling this wasn’t something to be answered so easily. He didn’t think Seung-pyo would have warned him since last night just to play a trivial prank… If so, what was Oh Seung-pyo’s ulterior motive?
Could he really like him? No way. Would he be a fool to believe the confession of a guy who, as of yesterday, had evaluated him as ‘not even a friend’?
“I’m sorry, but I’ve never once thought that you liked me.”
“I’ve never thought that either.”
“Then why all of a sudden?”
“Sometimes you don’t know until you do.”
Then, he let out a light sigh. Jae-min looked at Oh Seung-pyo’s profile—looking lonely as if he had suddenly shouldered all the sorrows of the world overnight—with a suspicious and somewhat bewildered gaze. He was an eccentric fellow in many ways.
Seung-pyo continued.
“You asked me at your house before. If I didn’t hate you anymore. I told you then, how could I kiss someone I hate?”
“Even then, you only said you didn’t hate me. You didn’t say you liked me.”
“There are plenty of guys I’m closer to than you, but there isn’t a single one among them I want to kiss.”
“…”
“If other guys suddenly pulled out their dicks in front of me, I could never just stand there and watch. I’d punch them right in the jaw.”
“Didn’t you want to hit me then too…? I just thought you were too surprised to do it.”
“I’d hit you?”
Seung-pyo looked back at Jae-min with a surprised expression and let out another short, sigh-like breath.
“I’d rather die.”
Jae-min broke into a cold sweat at every single pearl of wisdom. He felt like he was going to choke because he hadn’t digested the “I like you” part yet, and here he was already talking about life and death—what an extreme guy.
So you’re saying you like me because you didn’t punch me, whereas you would have punched other guys? Jae-min had never deeply liked someone before, but he felt he would never have to confirm his feelings in the future based on whether or not he wanted to hit the other person.
Jae-min rarely lost his composure, but this time was an exception. His mind went blank like a fool, and he couldn’t even find a clue as to what he should say. Come to think of it, the words “I like you” weren’t a question, but merely a one-sided expression of Oh Seung-pyo’s feelings.
He likes me, so what now?
Does he want to date? If I don’t want to, should I just reject him?
But rejecting someone who says they like you feels like it doesn’t fit the context. Should I answer whether I like him or not? What should I say if I have no feelings? What do I do if I don’t want to date but don’t necessarily want to cut ties…?
‘This won’t work. I need to escape for now.’
With his head spinning, Jae-min decided not to continue the conversation here.
If he was trapped in a minefield without preparation, the priority was to get out safely. Analyzing the mines could be done later. It was a tactical retreat. The day had just begun, and there was still plenty of time left.
“I’m a bit… flustered right now. You’ve said something so absurd that it would be shocking even if you appeared in my dreams.”
“I guess so. I know.”
“Can I think about it and then answer? We can’t talk here for long anyway.”
“That’s why I said it was a conversation that would take time.”
Seung-pyo grumbled slightly but glanced at Jae-min with a look of surprise.
“You’re not getting angry. I thought you might be really upset.”
“I don’t know…”
Jae-min mumbled, having nothing to say.
Even after hearing such words, he was only bewildered; he wasn’t angry or offended. They had already kissed and even mimicked something similar to sex. It would be ridiculous to get excited and angry over the words “I like you” at this point.
Anyway, Ryu Jae-min had long been hardened by the harassment and meaningless love confessions of various men. If he were the type to be blindly offended by such words, he wouldn’t have done anything—let alone kissed—another man in the first place.
With a relieved expression, Seung-pyo stood up.
“That’s enough for now. My biggest concern was that you might try to distance yourself from me if I said this.”
“I don’t know.”
Jae-min couldn’t yet predict what decision he would make.
By the time he finished thinking, he might decide that he couldn’t maintain this kind of relationship, or as Oh Seung-pyo feared, he might decide they could no longer be close. He couldn’t be sure of anything yet.
“You always have so much you don’t know. Despite being so good at studying.”
“…”
“Let’s go in now. The homeroom teacher will be here.”
Leaving the archives, Jae-min took a deep breath, like someone who had been trapped in a narrow space and finally found air. The golden sunlight that had shimmered through the small window of the archives was now pouring like a waterfall through the large windows of the hallway.
The weather had been nice since he left the house, but had the sunlight always been this bright? Feeling as if the world was exceptionally sparkling, Jae-min walked slowly, looking out the window.
Through the classroom windows, the playground was visible, and through the hallway windows, the low foothills of the mountain behind the building could be seen. The mountains of mid-June had turned a deep, vibrant green, as if they might swallow anyone who looked at them. While he had been immersed in preparing for final exams, the world had become one step more beautiful.
The reason these detailed landscapes were suddenly catching his eye was likely because his heart had been unsettled by Oh Seung-pyo’s confession. He had heard that when the human brain receives a shock, it instinctively tries to alleviate it. Right now, Ryu Jae-min’s brain was soothing the shock from the archives by admiring the natural scenery.
As the time for homeroom approached, they weren’t the only students heading to the classrooms. Seung-pyo leaned in close, their shoulders almost touching, and whispered.
“By the way, you said earlier that if I told you when you asked, you’d let me kiss you.”
The shock had been so great that he had completely forgotten about the condition he had set. While Jae-min walked forward like a robot, unable to even blink, Seung-pyo added,
“I’ll be waiting at lunch.”
Only then did Jae-min snap back to his senses and retort.
“What are you talking about? I have to process what you just said before I can decide whether to do that or not.”
“You can just give me the answer at lunch.”
“Hey, aren’t you being too rushed? I should think about it for at least a day.”
“Really?”
Seung-pyo shrugged. His attitude suggested that waiting until lunch was already being very patient. He was true to his impatient nature, having flipped his stance 180 degrees in a single day.
It was so absurd. Jae-min growled in a low voice.
“Not everyone lives their life accelerating as recklessly as you do.”
“You accelerate recklessly too. Suddenly pulling out your dick in front of people.”
“Shut up. Other kids are around.”
The familiar atmosphere of bickering was actually more comforting. Having regained his composure, Jae-min firmly delivered his conclusion.
“We’ll talk again tomorrow morning.”
“The kiss too?”
“Yeah.”
Seung-pyo’s eyebrows twitched as if he were slightly dissatisfied, but he didn’t persist further. Since he was the one who had created the minefield, he knew well that he would be the only one to lose if he accidentally stepped on a mine and blew it up.
Returning quickly to the classroom, Jae-min sat in his seat and let out a deep sigh this time. It was because his heart had been pounding busily the entire time he walked side-by-side with Oh Seung-pyo, making it hard to breathe comfortably. He had tried his best not to show it, but he wasn’t strong-hearted enough to be unfazed after hearing such a bombshell statement first thing in the morning.
‘What should I do first?’
While pondering, Jae-min first picked up his phone. For now, he wanted to research similar cases to see how other people had handled them. Since he couldn’t go to the library or ask teachers about this, the easiest source of investigation was the internet.
Search keywords were combined and changed several times. School, friend, confession, exams… It wasn’t hard to find similar stories. Fortunately, there were quite a few stories about people who didn’t know what to do after suddenly receiving a confession from a friend.
However, the reason it was hard for Jae-min to use those as a reference was that most of them occurred in male-female relationships. There must be someone in the world who had experienced something more similar to his, but they weren’t easily found by Jae-min, who was frantically searching for a solution.
It was then. While clicking through various materials sorted by search results, the title of a certain post suddenly stood out clearly to Jae-min.
I think the top student at our school will be first again this time
As if drawn by an invisible tension, he clicked the title. A short body of text immediately appeared on the screen.
Should I just confess right before the exam? I feel like their mental state will crumble and their grades will drop. For the record, it’s a boys’ high school.
Jae-min’s eyes widened. It was a post that wouldn’t be strange at all if Oh Seung-pyo had written it last night. His hand holding the phone was practically trembling.
Unconsciously, he checked the date the post was uploaded. Whether it was a blessing in disguise or not, the internet post was an old one, uploaded nearly a year ago. The comments were filled with reactions cheering on the confession with excitement.
└ Is this the ‘punishing with a confession’ I’ve heard about? lol
* * *
└ I support your love lol
* * *
└ Then are you ranked 2nd in the school?
* * *
└ Jealousy is so scary omg
* * *
└ What if they say they like you back? You gonna date? lol
* * *
└ If they say they like you, your mental state will be the one to crumble lol
* * *
└ That’s how everyone becomes gay
“Homeroom is starting. Everyone, turn off your phones!”
While he was diligently reading the comments, the homeroom teacher entered the classroom. Jae-min, who had been so absorbed in the screen that he hadn’t noticed the teacher entering, hurriedly exited the post.
The scene in the classroom was as peaceful as it had been a few minutes ago, but Jae-min’s mind was as scattered as a scene that had been violently ransacked. His heart pounded wildly, as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have.
He was quietly looking toward the teacher’s podium, but not a single word the homeroom teacher said entered his ears. Jae-min’s eyebrows slowly drooped.
‘…What, I almost fell for it.’
He had thought it was strange for a reason. It hadn’t even been 24 hours since last night, yet Oh Seung-pyo was saying something completely different from usual. If he had changed his stance with a gap of at least three or four days, it would have been more believable than this.
The person who had emphasized that the two of them were not gay, that they would date girls when they became adults, and that they had simply found a way to relieve entrance exam stress and resolve adolescent sexual confusion was Oh Seung-pyo, not him. Even thinking simply, it didn’t add up as to when he had started liking him. Oh Seung-pyo must have seen a post like this on the internet and copied it.
‘This crazy bastard would go this far just to win a bet?’
Jae-min let out a hollow laugh, feeling both resentful and bewildered, but he soon changed his mind. Unlike the midterm exam bet, the final exam bet had significantly larger stakes.
Jae-min had always felt that what he and Oh Seung-pyo did on the day of the field trip was practically sex, but when compared to the real thing… he almost wanted to give credit to Seung-pyo’s words that it wasn’t sex if nothing had actually been put inside. To engage in actual sex, he would need a level of courage that couldn’t even be compared to when they were just playing pretend.
His opponent was a pervert whose head was filled with nothing but erotic thoughts. Even if the guy used any means necessary to crush him and take first place, it wouldn’t be out of character. A fake confession would be a piece of cake for him. What kind of person was Oh Seung-pyo? He was a despicable fellow who had started their relationship by threatening to expose Jae-min’s secret account to the school.
Added to the blow of being deceived, old memories he had forgotten began to surface one by one, and he started to get irritated. However, it would be foolish to openly vent his frustration by asking how he could go this far.
They say if you know the enemy and know yourself, you will be victorious in a hundred battles. Now that he had seen through the sudden confession as a trick to win the bet, all that remained was to use this fact to his advantage without letting Oh Seung-pyo find out. How should he deal with Oh Seung-pyo, who tried to deceive and play with him, to feel truly satisfied?
‘If you say you like him back, his mental state will be the one wrecked lol’
Fortunately, he didn’t have to agonize over it for long. A suitable answer had been suggested in a comment he read a moment ago.
While he was lost in thought, the morning assembly ended. Jae-min opened his SNS messenger and sent a message to Oh Seung-pyo.
Come to the archives during lunch.
The impatient Oh Seung-pyo replied almost instantly.
I thought you said by tomorrow? For real?
Yeah. Come quickly after you eat.
I can skip lunch and go.
No, I’m hungry, so you can’t.
K
Following the short acknowledgment were several loathsome hearts. Jae-min looked down coldly at the heartwarming message window and soon turned off his phone.
It was time to completely revise his plan. Just as Oh Seung-pyo had deceived him, he had to come up with a confession that would perfectly fool Oh Seung-pyo.
Jae-min had received confessions from girls who liked him two or three times before. None of them had been as absurd or brazen as Oh Seung-pyo’s, and each time, Jae-min had done his best to politely decline while feeling shy. He didn’t want a girlfriend yet, and he had never felt romantic attraction toward the girls who confessed to him.
This meant it was his first time returning a confession of love.
‘I like you too.’
Naturally, the most generic response came to mind first. Jae-min simulated the situation of facing Oh Seung-pyo in his head. Even though it was a lie, the thought of saying “I like you” in front of Oh Seung-pyo made the courage he had gained from anger shrink away.
To think he would make his first confession—something he had never uttered in his life and had imagined saving for someone he would truly cherish one day—in such a manner… It was ridiculous, but he was worried about whether he could pull it off without being caught.
‘No. Now is not the time for this.’
Having felt a moment of discouragement, Jae-min soon cheered himself up. Oh Seung-pyo would be extremely flustered by Jae-min’s answer, but he wouldn’t show it outwardly. He would likely pretend to be sincere at least until the final exams were over—until he achieved his goal.
If Jae-min returned the sentiment, there was a high possibility that Seung-pyo would try to satisfy his greed without even waiting for the bet to end. He might insist that since they’ve confirmed their mutual feelings, they shouldn’t wait and should just have sex right away.
With an expressionless face, Jae-min slowly twirled his pen. He looked as composed as ever, but his mind was busy scheming how to punish the despicable Oh Seung-pyo. The morning hours, which were usually boring, became more enjoyable than usual.
Oh Seung-pyo must have had this much fun while planning to deceive me, right? As Jae-min asked himself, a faint smile appeared on his lips, only to turn into a bitter one.
* * *
At lunchtime, having finished his meal quickly, Jae-min declined his friends’ suggestion to go to the snack bar and headed to the archives. Since he had left the cafeteria in a hurry, the classrooms and hallways were relatively deserted as many students were still eating. It was the perfect time to have an uncomfortable conversation with Oh Seung-pyo.
Unlike the morning, when his mood had fluctuated dozens of times, Jae-min’s heart was now as calm as a still lake. He had fully imagined giving a positive response to Oh Seung-pyo and was prepared to handle any reaction without being surprised.
However, once he stood beneath the archive sign, Jae-min couldn’t open the door immediately and swallowed hard. His hand hesitated, unable to grip the doorknob firmly.
“Did you bring the ball today?”
He had no time to hesitate. The voices of students returning to their classrooms were drawing closer, so Jae-min reflexively flung the door open.
Thump. As he leaned against the door he had closed with his back to catch his breath, the person who had arrived first, who had been looking out the window, turned his head. It was Oh Seung-pyo, who had faithfully followed the request to come quickly.
“You’re here?”
Despite having been in the same classroom until just before lunch, Oh Seung-pyo welcomed Jae-min as if he were meeting someone he had waited for a long time.
Looking at that spotless smiling face, Jae-min thought that his acting skills were better than expected. He remembered hearing that Seung-pyo had given up on becoming a celebrity despite receiving several business cards from entertainment agencies because he couldn’t sing or act, but at this level, it didn’t seem like a completely impossible dream.
This was no time to be admiring Oh Seung-pyo’s acting. Jae-min quickly smiled back and asked.
“You ate lunch before coming, right?”
The countermeasure Jae-min chose was a “fight fire with fire” strategy.
If Oh Seung-pyo was going to deceive him by pretending to be sincere, he would do the same and deceive him by pretending to be sincere. The person who would be shocked by a sudden confession, lose focus, and fall into deep thought from now on would not be Ryu Jae-min, but the counter-attacked Oh Seung-pyo.
As he stepped closer, sure enough, Seung-pyo was looking at Jae-min with a slightly surprised face. Jae-min cheered inwardly. He was undoubtedly flustered by Jae-min’s unexpectedly favorable attitude. Jae-min asked.
“I told you to meet during lunch, just like you wanted, so why that face?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Only then did Seung-pyo smile awkwardly and rub the back of his neck.
“You said you needed at least a day, then suddenly told me to meet during lunch. I’m glad if it’s good news, but it might not be for a good reason. You might have decided you didn’t need more time and wanted to reject me. But looking at your face, I don’t think it’s bad news.”
Jae-min smiled even wider at Oh Seung-pyo’s miscalculation. Though, internally, he was facing Oh Seung-pyo with a colder expression than ever.
As expected, Oh Seung-pyo did not easily reveal his true intentions. Jae-min received a clear signal that he intended to continue this ridiculous joke until the final exams were over and his goal was achieved. He had thought about forgiving him if he had just honestly admitted it was all a prank right now.
“So… why did you want to see me?”
Oh Seung-pyo asked the obvious question, blinking as if he were genuinely fluttering. All hesitation had now completely vanished from Jae-min’s heart.
“To give you an answer to what you said this morning.”
“Can I look forward to it?”
“I thought about it.”
Jae-min paused for a moment and looked Oh Seung-pyo in the eye. The situation was unfolding exactly as he had simulated in his head all morning, without a single error.
“I…”
…But as expected, imagination and reality were different. He couldn’t complete the short sentence “I like you too” in one go; Jae-min uttered a clumsy word and then fell silent.
It was just a fabricated line, a fake confession to screw over Oh Seung-pyo, but as he actually tried to say the words aloud, his heart began to throb. It beat so loudly that he worried Oh Seung-pyo might actually hear it.
Was it because his instincts felt guilt for trying to deceive someone with a lie? Jae-min diagnosed his condition as such, but then he remembered that he had never felt a shred of guilt when deceiving his parents, his tutor, or internet perverts.
Calm down. Deceiving the despicable Oh Seung-pyo is nothing to feel guilty about. This heartbeat is merely an expression of regret for wasting his life’s first confession on a trick.
Jae-min steadied his heart by recalling the moment Oh Seung-pyo had first threatened him in these archives. Back then, he hadn’t been restless or trembling like this; even thinking about it now, he had handled the situation calmly and coolly.
“Ryu Jae-min?”
When the silence grew too long, Seung-pyo studied Jae-min’s expression. He was in the middle of mind control, but there was no more time to hesitate. Jae-min just blurted it out.
“I like you too.”
And once again, silence fell.
Jae-min bit the inside of his cheek hard. This was close to a failure. Despite practicing the scene over and over in his head, the actual execution was a mess.
He had intended to look Oh Seung-pyo in the eye and say it with a smile, but in the end, he turned his head away, avoiding eye contact like someone with a guilty conscience. He couldn’t smile, and he spoke too quickly; he probably didn’t look like someone who liked the other person at all. It wouldn’t be strange if the quick-witted Oh Seung-pyo immediately saw through the lie.
“…Really?”
As expected, a skeptical question came back.
I’m screwed. Jae-min groaned inwardly and glanced sideways to check Oh Seung-pyo’s reaction.
“Really?”
However, the expression on Seung-pyo’s face as he repeated the same question was completely different from what Jae-min had expected.
He thought Seung-pyo would be gauging his ulterior motives with a gaze full of suspicion, but Oh Seung-pyo’s eyes were wide, and his face looked dazed yet clearly happy. If he wasn’t mistaken, the area around his temples and ears seemed to have turned slightly red.
‘Is this guy a genius actor?’
Jae-min composed his bewilderment and quickly nodded. If this damn skit wasn’t over yet, he couldn’t afford to lose.
“Yeah.”
When he first heard Oh Seung-pyo say he liked him, Jae-min had wondered why he was suddenly talking crazy. He must have eaten something wrong or been caught in the rain the night before.
Now he knew the reason. The confession itself was a tactic to throw him into confusion, so it was bound to be abrupt and awkward. Therefore, Jae-min had prepared a response that was more plausible than Oh Seung-pyo’s.
“When I thought about it carefully, I realized you were right.”
“What I said? What part?”
“I can’t imagine kissing anyone else either.”
“……”
“The fact that I’ve been able to get along with you like this until now… I think it was possible because I have feelings for you.”
“Ryu Jae-min…”
Seung-pyo’s eyes sparkled like someone who was deeply moved. Jae-min also did his best to smile back at him. Seung-pyo took a step closer to Jae-min and spoke.
“I didn’t know you’d accept my feelings this quickly.”
“I was surprised this morning, so I said I’d think about it until tomorrow, but I don’t think the result changes by thinking about it for a long time.”
“You’re really cool.”
At the blunt praise, Jae-min almost broke his smile and blushed. He felt a slight sense of unease that Oh Seung-pyo was only showing affection even after he had gone this far.
By now, Oh Seung-pyo should have been at least a little flustered, but there was no sign of it. It was almost as if the words saying he liked him had been sincere. But that couldn’t be.
Then, Oh Seung-pyo reached out. His hand moved silently and touched Jae-min’s cheek. His gaze, now close, looked at Jae-min quietly, and then he asked, as if he were suddenly shy.
“Can I kiss you?”
The question he had been waiting for appeared without fail.
Jae-min, who had been momentarily confused by Seung-pyo’s reaction—which seemed happier than expected—instantly became calm. He placed his hand over the back of Seung-pyo’s hand and, as if it were a pity but unavoidable, frowned slightly and moved the hand away from his cheek.
As he took a step back, just as Seung-pyo had stepped forward, Seung-pyo looked at Jae-min with bewildered eyes. Jae-min gave a short cough and continued.
“So, about that.”
“Yeah.”
“We’ve kissed and done a lot more even though we weren’t dating. Although we haven’t actually… done that yet…”
“Why is that?”
“I didn’t think much of it when I wasn’t conscious of it… but I felt that if we’re really going to like each other and be in a relationship, we shouldn’t keep going like this. If you really like me and want to date me.”
“I want to date you.”
“Then I want us to date healthily, not like this. Like real high schoolers.”
“We are real high schoolers.”
“Yeah. Because we’re real high schoolers, normal students don’t date like we do.”
“Normal students don’t kiss?”
Why do I feel like he keeps cutting me off? Jae-min took a moment to catch his breath. Sensing that the conversation wouldn’t go his way, Seung-pyo’s expression had become somewhat serious.
“They probably do. But the process of us starting to date is different from normal. I want us to start over from the beginning if we’re dating. We did things like kissing as a way to relieve stress while studying. To be a couple that dates because they like each other, not just a couple that relieves stress, I think things need to change from how they are now. So, for the time being, I don’t want to kiss or do other erotic things.”
…My ass. Whether it’s a kiss to relieve stress or a kiss between a couple, a kiss is a kiss. Jae-min didn’t think there was a need to intentionally distinguish between the two.
However, to Oh Seung-pyo, who was full of thoughts of rubbing lips and groping bodies every chance he got, this proposal could serve as a kind of lie detector. Since his composure hadn’t been shaken by the fake confession, Oh Seung-pyo might have been smiling darkly inside, thinking that while the confession tactic failed, he could at least do whatever he wanted to his heart’s content.
But what if he blocked not only the sex—which was the condition of the bet—but even the kisses they used to do frequently? Oh Seung-pyo would get nothing. His petty plan would all go down the drain. It wasn’t too late. If he gave up and admitted it was a prank right now, Jae-min might just laugh it off.
“Hmm…”
Jae-min quietly waited for his reaction. Seung-pyo seemed to be racking his brain, as if he didn’t want to admit defeat easily.
Then, after a sigh, he nodded with a plain expression, as if he had been liberated from his dilemma.
“I get what you mean.”
“……”
“You want to reset, right? Since we’re now dating.”
“Yeah.”
“But I still want to keep kissing. You seem to like it too.”
“…I do like it. But I’m saying let’s try to hold back for a bit.”
At those words, Seung-pyo’s expression became wistful, like an owner looking at a praiseworthy puppy. What kind of reaction is this now? While Jae-min, who could no longer fathom his true intentions, maintained a forced smile, Seung-pyo nodded once more.
“Honestly, you’re fucking horny.”
“…Are you picking a fight?”
“And yet you’re saying you’ll hold back… I can’t insist, since I’m the one who said I liked you first.”
Oh Seung-pyo was blathering on with a touching expression. It was ambiguous whether he was being sincere or just messing with him because he was annoyed, and while Jae-min was intently observing him, Seung-pyo asked.
“Then are we officially ‘Day 1’ starting today?”
“Do whatever you want.”
“I’ll plan a date. Let’s go out this weekend.”
“After finals.”
“Ah, right.”
He sighed as if he had forgotten the existence of final exams, then double-checked.
“Wait. Then is the bet for this exam void? Even if I win, I can’t have sex?”
“Does it make sense to decide something like that based on a bet result between a couple? We agreed to hold back on kissing, so sex is obviously much later.”
“I knew it.”
Seung-pyo sighed deeply. He was more persistent than expected; he could have just honestly said it was a prank. Jae-min could feel his stubbornness to see who would win this battle of deception until the end.
Seung-pyo, who had been looking down, met his eyes again and approached him with a slightly pouting face.
“But I can at least give you a peck on the cheek, right? That’s not an erotic thing.”
“A peck?”
Jae-min hesitated, unable to find an answer. A peck—just pressing lips to the cheek and pulling away—wasn’t that something only children did?
Jae-min had occasionally exchanged them with his parents when he was very young, but he had stopped around the time he entered elementary school. Kissing was an adult activity, so that was fine, but giving a peck at eighteen was embarrassing. Seung-pyo explained nonchalantly.
“If we’re dating, we should obviously do pecks. Even if we don’t do kissing.”
“We’re not kids, it’s embarrassing.”
“What’s embarrassing? Adults way older than us do it all the time.”
Seung-pyo narrowed his eyes. His large hands grabbed both of Jae-min’s cheeks again.
“Don’t tell me even this isn’t allowed. How can a couple not even do pecks?”
“No…”
Seung-pyo seemed poised to ignore anything Jae-min said now. His face suddenly lunged closer.
Jae-min squeezed his eyes shut. A body heat he thought he wouldn’t feel for a while drew near, and Oh Seung-pyo’s slightly trembling breath brushed against his cheek, spreading toward the nape of his neck.
Chu. Lips touched his cheek, making a ticklish sound. Even when they kissed, there had been many instances of lips meeting lips, but this was different.
Chu, chu, chu, chu. Oh Seung-pyo didn’t stop at one. As if venting his frustration over being forbidden from kissing, he showered him with pecks, barely leaving any gap between them.
Was he seeing through Jae-min’s true intentions and counterattacking? Jae-min was completely flustered. At the sensation of soft lips constantly tickling his cheek, he unconsciously shifted his body before finally turning his head and pushing Seung-pyo away.
“Ah, stop it.”
Seung-pyo finally let go of Jae-min’s cheek, but it wasn’t over.
“Aren’t you going to do it for me?”
“What?”
“You said let’s date. You have to do it for me too.”
At those words, Jae-min’s mouth hung open silently. It was already an ordeal just being subjected to such childish behavior, and now he was being asked to do the same.
But Oh Seung-pyo was firm. Even without a lengthy explanation, his gaze, expression, and the aura emanating from his broad shoulders said it all. He was serious.
Jae-min clenched his fists so Seung-pyo wouldn’t notice. He was clearly testing him—whether Jae-min’s words about liking him were true.
Just as Jae-min had suspected Seung-pyo’s confession and uncovered his dark motives, Seung-pyo could also doubt Jae-min’s acceptance. Unlike the original plan, he hadn’t managed to break Jae-min’s mental state, and far from gaining anything more, he seemed unlikely to get any kissing or sex; perhaps he intended to pester and act out against Jae-min.
If he said no here, he would be suspected, so there was no choice. Like someone swallowing bitter medicine, Jae-min squeezed his eyes shut and thrust his head forward. It was a choice made to get the uncomfortable act over with quickly, but because of that, he couldn’t properly verify where Seung-pyo’s cheek was.
Chu. Along with the sound, the sensation that touched his lips was softer and squishier than expected for a cheek. Startled by the familiar feeling, Jae-min snapped his eyes open. Seung-pyo also widened his eyes, looking at Jae-min with a puzzled expression before breaking into a sly grin.
“You really are passionate.”
“What is?”
“I asked you to do it on my cheek, but you went straight for the lips.”
Jae-min frowned. To think that the place he had lunged at with his eyes closed happened to be the lips.
He was suspicious. No matter how much he had closed his eyes, he had definitely gauged the position roughly before moving… Had Oh Seung-pyo moved his face to bring his lips there while Jae-min’s eyes were shut? As Jae-min stared at him warily, Seung-pyo continued nonchalantly.
“Do my cheek too.”
“I did your lips, so that should be enough.”
“You said you like me, so why are you being so cold? We decided to date.”
It was a fair point, leaving no room for rebuttal. As they had just exchanged words of affection and agreed to date starting today, he felt he should be a bit kinder than usual, even if he wasn’t dying of love.
Jae-min relaxed his brow and forced a smile.
“It’s not that I’m cold, it’s just that I’m not very used to this kind of thing.”
“You’ll get used to it as you do it. Were you used to kissing from the start? Lunch break is almost over. Hurry up.”
I’ll just endure this until final exams are over. Jae-min vowed to himself, awkwardly forcing the corners of his mouth up.
Since Oh Seung-pyo likely planned all these tricks just to win the bet, Jae-min decided to play along until then. After defending first place once more and shattering Oh Seung-pyo’s ambitions, he would tell him that his confession was also fake; the look on Oh Seung-pyo’s face after being counter-attacked would be quite a sight.
To avoid losing his will for revenge, Jae-min thought of the figure from the old proverb who licked a bitter gallstone every night before sleep, and he pressed his lips forward again.
Oh Seung-pyo’s smooth, elastic cheek, with his handsome cheekbones slightly prominent and skin lightly tanned from the early summer sun, drew closer into view. The black pupils and eyelashes he had seen until he was sick of them while sharing countless kisses felt like those of a stranger today.
Even while hugging each other and kissing for a long, long time, he had always thought there were a few thorns directed at him in Oh Seung-pyo’s gaze, but he wasn’t sure today. Perhaps even a fake confession affects a person’s mood, as he had the illusion that Oh Seung-pyo was truly looking at him warmly.
‘It’s just my imagination.’
Jae-min closed his eyes and pressed his lips to Oh Seung-pyo’s cheek. Chu. The sensation at the end of the short kiss was unfamiliar, different from their usual kisses.
Despite having rubbed their dicks together, why did this trivial contact of pressing lips to a cheek make his chest flush for no reason? Jae-min desperately hoped the heat wouldn’t spread to his face and quickly straightened his posture.
Having received the peck he begged for, Oh Seung-pyo stood dazed for a moment before curving his lips into a wide, childlike grin.
“Now I get why you wanted to reset.”
“Why?”
“Dirty stuff is great, but usually, when people date, they start with things like this. Pecking and holding hands.”
Seung-pyo suddenly reached out and grabbed Jae-min’s hand. Startled, Jae-min tried to shake him off, but long fingers quickly interlaced their fingers. The firmly locked hands would not easily come apart.
While Jae-min blinked in confusion, Seung-pyo’s smile deepened.
“You meant you wanted to do things like this too, right?”
“No, I—”
“We can’t hold hands outside, but we can as much as we want in here.”
I said no. Jae-min wanted to scream his denial, but he was the one who had agreed to the words “I like you” and “let’s date starting today.” Even by his own standards, it didn’t make sense to forbid holding hands on the first day of dating someone he liked.
Having no words to say whether he liked it or not, he quietly left his hand in Seung-pyo’s grasp. Seung-pyo, interpreting this in his own way, once again acted disgustingly bashful. Then, he lifted the hand and lightly kissed each of Jae-min’s four fingertips in turn.
As if the fingertips touched by the lips were ticklish, Jae-min clamped his mouth shut at a feeling he had never experienced in his life. A light dizziness washed over him. Seeing Seung-pyo act like someone desperate to kiss him anywhere and everywhere made his throat tighten, leaving him unable to speak.
He suddenly remembered the time Seung-pyo had abruptly bitten his finger on the way down from the Ferris wheel at the amusement park. No. He felt it would be dangerous to remember that incident further.
“Let’s go out now.”
Jae-min spoke as if fleeing. The fingers that had touched Seung-pyo’s lips were still held tight. Jae-min hurried to add an excuse.
“We’re still preparing for finals.”
“…Hmm, that’s true.”
Only then did Seung-pyo let go of his fingers, muttering regretfully. Jae-min continued.
“Regardless of the bet, I want to do well on this exam too.”
“Me too.”
“It feels uncomfortable to keep doing this since it’s lunch break.”
“You really are a model student.”
Oh Seung-pyo grumbled, but he didn’t seem particularly displeased. Instead, he continued with a strange look in his eyes, as if he liked it.
“Then is our bet completely broken?”
Instead of nodding immediately, Jae-min looked at Seung-pyo.
Unlike Seung-pyo, who had boldly set the condition of having sex if he won the bet from the start, Jae-min had not yet mentioned a condition for the bet. Thus, though Seung-pyo wouldn’t have noticed, Jae-min had long prepared something he wanted to demand once he secured first place.
But since the situation had become so tangled, it seemed difficult to mention the original condition even if he won the bet. Jae-min shrugged, feeling slightly gloomy.
“Do whatever you want. Either change the condition and keep going, or—”
“I think it’s better to keep the bet. Both our grades went up last time thanks to the bet.”
Having finished speaking, he curved his eyes and grinned.
“Wouldn’t it be better to just leave the condition as it is without changing it? You’ll study harder if there’s a nerve-wracking condition on the line.”
“Just so you can keep calling me out and distracting me like today.”
“I won’t.”
“Either way, that’s a no. You said you understood what I meant. If you did, stop being so stubborn.”
“Then I’ll think about the condition again. You haven’t told me what you’ll take from me if you win the bet yet.”
Seung-pyo backed off without being too clingy. Yet, he didn’t forget to leave a meaningful remark.
“There are probably plenty of things we can do other than sex.”
Seriously, this guy is unsettling until the very end. Grumbling inwardly, Jae-min pretended not to hear and peeked open the door to the archives. The hallway, which had been quiet when they entered, was now quite bustling.
Even so, gaps appeared. When a quiet moment arrived as the footsteps of passing students ceased, Jae-min signaled hurriedly.
“Come out.”
The two quickly exited the archives. The subsequent route was set. They would walk down the hallway ignoring each other as if they had never spoken, then scatter to their respective destinations—be it the classroom, the playground, or the snack bar.
However, the routine had already changed from what Jae-min knew. Seung-pyo seemed to have no intention of taking a different path; he stuck close to Jae-min and even threw an arm around his shoulder, asking casually,
“Are you going straight to the classroom?”
“Hey, people are watching.”
When Jae-min whispered in surprise, Seung-pyo merely blinked as if it were absurd.
“Are we the only ones who walk around like this? We can’t kiss anymore anyway, so there’s nothing to be guilty about.”
“Still, it’s weird to suddenly start sticking together.”
“What’s weird? If anyone asks, just say we became close starting today.”
He wanted to ask if that even made sense, but Oh Seung-pyo seemed sincere. Facing that confident attitude, Jae-min felt awkward insisting further. He also thought that perhaps he was just too conscious of others’ eyes. In reality, people aren’t that interested in others’ business.
But that attempt to calm his mind was short-lived. The atmosphere where students passing in the hallway occasionally glanced at them was not an illusion. Although both were just ordinary high school students, they were nonetheless the top two students in the entire school, making them quite conspicuous in this small school. If they suddenly seemed very close, it could spark curiosity about whether something had happened.
However, enduring the students’ gazes seemed easier than prying off the persistent Oh Seung-pyo, who had his arm draped firmly over his shoulder. Since the fake confession had failed, it was entirely possible he intended to harass Jae-min by making him uncomfortable in small ways like this.
Jae-min let out a small sigh and silently hurried his pace, then threatened him as soon as they arrived at the classroom.
“I’m going to study now, so don’t distract me.”
“I’m going to study too, you know?”
Having left the archives, Oh Seung-pyo had returned to being the annoying brat who sneered at the end of every sentence. For today, this side of him wasn’t annoying; rather, it was very welcome. Since they were “dating,” he kept saying cringeworthy things whenever they were alone, and Jae-min simply couldn’t adapt to it.
The two, who had been stubbornly attached, finally scattered and sat in their respective seats. Leaving behind various unsettling conversations and absurd situations, Jae-min took a deep breath to compose himself. He hadn’t been able to relax for a moment while lying to a cunning fellow. His heart, which had been racing erratically, finally seemed to return to normal.
Just as he was regaining his peace, his phone silently notified him of an arriving message. Since it was a message in the SNS inbox, the sender was obvious. What more did he have to say after blathering so much just now?
‘Should I ignore it?’
After hesitating for a moment, Jae-min had no choice but to touch the phone screen. If he didn’t check it, he couldn’t rule out the possibility that Seung-pyo would come directly to his seat to chatter.
Two messages from Seung-pyo were lined up on the screen.
[Let’s have lunch together tomorrow]
[Since you brought fruit today, I’ll pack a lunch box tomorrow]
A lunch box? Appalled, Jae-min hurried to reply.
[We can just eat the school meal together, why a lunch box?]
[Too many kids at the school meal, I don’t like it. I want to eat just the two of us]
[Do you even know how to pack a lunch box?]
[I’ll just do it. How hard can it be?]
[Have you ever cooked?]
[Hey, I live alone with my Hyung, so I can do a bit]
Jae-min hesitated to reply, feeling uncertain. A lunch box / packed with / food made by Oh Seung-pyo. Oh Seung-pyo, cooking, lunch box… It felt awkward, as if incompatible words had been forced together. It was a sentence that looked like it would be presented as an incorrect option on an exam.
Regardless of the taste, could it even be called food that was safe to eat? Oh Seung-pyo was still merely his opponent, and he couldn’t just trust a lunch box made by an enemy and put it in his mouth with a peaceful mind. If he got an upset stomach from a lunch box of suspicious origin, there would be nowhere to complain. Jae-min decided to suggest an alternative.
[If you really want a lunch box, I’ll ask the Auntie]
[Why? I told you I can do it]
[Auntie’s food is delicious. You know that since you’ve eaten it]
Whether he agreed that the helper lady’s cooking skills were excellent, Seung-pyo went quiet. Taking the opportunity, Jae-min immediately followed up.
[We’ll go with me packing it]
[Alright]
[I’m just receiving again]
Several fake hearts fluttered over again. He felt irritated, as if he were being lured in. Jae-min looked down at his phone with eyes colder than before.
Whether he knew Jae-min’s mood or not, Seung-pyo continued to send trivial chatter.
[I just realized]
[My name is Oh Seung-pyo and your name is Ryu Jae-min]
[So what?]
[Do you know that if you take just the first letters of our surnames, it becomes ‘Error’ (Oh-Ryu)?]*
[There’s a saying like this]
[Love is like an error]
[What do you think?]
[I think our name combination is seriously awesome]
[…Should I kill you?]
Your existence is the error of my life, fuck. He wanted to answer like that, but if he fell for the guy’s tricks, he would lose. Pressing down his boiling insides, Jae-min sent a long string of hollow consonants: [hahahahaha].
* * *
Regret came less than 24 hours after accepting Seung-pyo’s confession.
Oh Seung-pyo was so excited that Jae-min couldn’t understand why, considering nothing had gone according to plan. Because he sent countless messages and kept smiling whenever their eyes met, Jae-min was exhausted just from playing along.
Since spilled water cannot be gathered back, he intended to maintain this state until the final exams, whether he liked it or not. But separately from that, Jae-min was gripped by a vague anxiety that he had made a mistake.
He didn’t think the assumption that Oh Seung-pyo had made a fake confession to confuse him was wrong. He just realized belatedly that responding with a counter-confession might not have been the right answer. It was a blunder that completely ignored the personality difference between them.
He had failed to calculate that their ways of thinking could be completely different in any situation. He should have thought about what happened when he took him home last time… The memory was still vivid of how he had been flustered when the guy, whom he thought would unravel like him if he touched that spot, instead became aggressive with glinting eyes.
If it were Oh Seung-pyo, it was more likely that he would accept Jae-min’s “I like you” as sincere rather than doubting it, and was probably acting arrogant internally by now.
The most convincing theory was that while he had only confessed with a lie, he was grinning all day because he was thinking about how he’d mock Ryu Jae-min—who believed those words and played along—as a nerd who’s only good at studying, and how he’d play with him until finals before dumping him.
‘I should have just dumped him right away.’
Oh Seung-pyo had strong pride. If he had rejected him immediately with a few humiliating words, the guy would have flared up regardless of how insincere the confession was.
After being dumped by Ryu Jae-min—a slutty, perverted bastard—with some irritating comments added, would he have even seen his plan? He probably would have frowned deeply and poured verbal abuse on him, as per his old habits. But it was too late to revise the countermeasure.
Fine, let him be as arrogant as he wants. The higher his nose gets, the greater the sense of defeat will be when it’s broken. There was still future pleasure remaining for Jae-min.
While sitting in the back seat of the car on the way home, staring blankly out the window, the phone in his pocket vibrated. Thinking it was Oh Seung-pyo again, he checked the notification with a tired face, but this time the sender was the helper lady. Usually, she rarely contacted Jae-min directly, but because he had asked for the lunch box, they had exchanged messages a few times today.
[Jae-min, you’re eating tomorrow’s lunch box with that friend, right? If you know foods he likes, I’ll pack them accordingly]
The lady seemed to be contemplating tomorrow’s menu and was seeking advice from Jae-min. Jae-min wanted to answer honestly. Just pack anything. Since it’s food for Oh Seung-pyo, if possible, put plenty of stomach-ache-inducing medicine in it.
But contrary to his inner thoughts, Jae-min hesitated before writing a diligent reply.
(Translator’s Note: ‘Oh’ and ‘Ryu’ combined sound like ‘Oryu’ (오류), which means ‘Error’ in Korean.))
“I’m not entirely sure since we’ve only eaten school meals together, but I think he likes meat.”
“Then should I just make him gimbap? Is beef gimbap too ordinary?”
“No, gimbap is great. Thank you.”
Gimbap from a snack shop, eaten in a rush before class starts, isn’t bad, but gimbap handmade by an auntie is naturally on a completely different level. The meals at Ilyang Boys’ High weren’t the absolute worst, but like most school food, they weren’t particularly delicious either. Thanks to Oh Seung-pyo’s insistence, Jae-min felt that bringing a lunchbox was actually a bit of a win.
“I’m home.”
Arriving home late as usual, Jae-min gave a lifeless greeting and stepped into the living room. The end of the day is always tiring, but today, having had his energy completely drained by Oh Seung-pyo, every step felt like a ton of bricks.
Jae-min, who had been about to head straight to his room, stopped in his tracks. Two unfamiliar guests were sitting on the parlor sofa alongside his parents. Jae-min quickly bowed his head in greeting.
“Hello.”
“Ah, hello. You must be Jae-min, right?”
One of the guests half-rose from their seat.
“I’ve been wanting to meet you in person, and luckily the timing worked out. I heard you’re always ranked first in the entire school?”
“…I’ve just been lucky whenever I take a test.”
“Humble, too. Professors, you’ve truly raised your son wonderfully. Didn’t your daughter also rank first every time?”
His father, sitting on the sofa, laughed awkwardly.
“We didn’t teach them anything special. The children just grew up well on their own.”
Jae-min looked at him, expressionless, as he gave the benevolent answer. He didn’t know what his father or these nameless guests thought they knew or saw regarding Ryu Jae-min to be evaluating him among themselves.
As he stood there blankly, trying not to let his face stiffen too much, his mother added an explanation.
“They’re here for an interview. They’re writing an article about children’s education.”
“Ah, yes. Hello.”
Only then did Jae-min understand the situation, and he bowed his head lightly in greeting once more.
People had long been lining up to learn the educational methods of a professor couple who had birthed and raised a pair of honor students. Jae-min’s father and mother were occasionally featured as the protagonists of articles in newspapers or magazines, appeared on broadcasts from time to time, and had co-authored a couple of books on education.
“I should have introduced myself first, I’m sorry. Professor, may I ask Jae-min a few questions as well?”
“Of course.”
They wanted to question Jae-min, yet they didn’t ask for Jae-min’s consent. As his mother nodded with a smile, the guest who had come for the interview turned back to Jae-min.
“I won’t take much of your time. Just two or three things. What do you think is your parents’ greatest strength?”
“Um… the fact that they trust me.”
“In what way do they trust you?”
“They always believe that I will do well. Because of that, I end up working even harder.”
Jae-min answered with a smile on his face. They believe that he must naturally rank first when taking a test, and naturally bring home a prize when entering a competition. This could be called absolute trust in one’s child.
“I see. Then, Ryu Jae-min, what do you want to do after you graduate from high school?”
Jae-min continued to look at the reporter with a smiling face before opening his mouth.
“Rather than a specific job… I promised my parents that I would live independently once I go to college. My family values autonomy. I’m a bit anxious, but I want to try standing on my own once I become an adult.”
“Ah, you mentioned that your daughter is also living independently now?”
His father, who had been watching the Q&A from behind, answered immediately.
“Yes, that is correct.”
“You two have emphasized autonomy in education for a long time. It seems your educational philosophy has been well-conveyed to your children.”
“You flatter us.”
As he answered with a smile, his father was staring at Jae-min, not the reporter. Jae-min, whose smile had vanished, met his gaze for a moment before turning back to the reporter.
“I’m currently in the middle of final exams. If it’s alright, may I head in first?”
“Ah, it’s exam period? I’m sorry for interrupting. We should probably be heading out now as well.”
Whether the interview was over and they had just been chatting, the reporters hurriedly stood up. It wasn’t that he had spoken specifically wanting them to leave, but it was indeed late for guests to stay longer.
They all walked to the entrance together to see the guests off. His father spoke benevolently to the departing visitors.
“Please contact me if there is anything else you need consultation on.”
“Professor, thank you so much for today. Jae-min, study hard.”
“Yes, goodbye.”
Jae-min also greeted them politely until the end and waited until they stepped out the door. After seeing them off, Jae-min’s parents turned around, massaging their shoulders as if tired.
“I’m sorry for interrupting during your exam period. Go wash up and get to studying. We’re going to our room now. Do you need anything else?”
At his mother’s words, Jae-min quickly shook his head.
“No, I’ll read a bit and go straight to sleep.”
“Alright. Good night.”
Just as he was about to take a step toward his room, his father’s voice following behind stopped him.
“Work hard.”
“…….”
“You can only be independent as a person if you have results to show for it.”
“Yes, I know.”
Jae-min gave a light bow to his father, who stood silently. After finishing a more grandiose goodnight than usual, he sighed as he headed to his room.
Still, it was a relief that it was exam period. When guests like this came, there were times when he had to spend a long while playing along and proving how commendable and clever a son Ryu Jae-min was, but thanks to the excuse of studying for exams, the whole process ended quickly.
He washed up, changed clothes, and shut himself in his room. Only then did his shoulders slump, as if he had finally set down a heavy burden. He hadn’t realized he was tensing his body; he must have been nervous without knowing it.
What else did they say in front of the reporters? Jae-min frowned and gave a bitter smile. He had read a bit of the book his parents wrote together, and he had closed the book, not wanting to turn another page, at the part that claimed children would study on their own without being told only if they were always respected and given freedom of choice.
But it didn’t matter what his parents told others. Getting upset over useless things would only be a loss for his own emotions.
After a sigh, he stretched his arms high and sat at his desk. As he opened his book and began solving problems, his phone rang quietly at this late hour.
He had already warned them long ago that it was difficult to use his phone at home, so he could have just ignored it… but since they were dating, at least on the surface.
Jae-min opened the message window. As expected, a trivial message had arrived.
[Did you get home safe?]
To the banal question, Jae-min sent a banal answer.
[Yeah]
[It hasn’t even been that long since we parted at the academy, but I miss you already]
[I want tomorrow to come quickly so I can go to school]
[I miss you too. We can see each other again after we wake up]
Jae-min sent the reply with an expressionless face. Since his face wasn’t visible, lies flowed easily without so much as a twitch of an eyebrow.
[You have to sleep early to see me sooner, but you’re going to study again starting now, right?]
[You’re going to do it too]
[Still, don’t sleep too late. They say the brain doesn’t work well if you’re sleep-deprived]
[I got it, so you sleep too]
[Look at you trying to put me to sleep early so you can study alone]
[Stop introducing yourself. I’m reading a book now. No more replies]
Seung-pyo sent a barrage of emoticons in protest, but Jae-min steeled his heart and ignored them all. Then, as if giving up, Oh Seung-pyo sent a short message saying [See you tomorrow] with several hearts, and then went silent.
Once it actually became quiet, Jae-min glanced at his phone first, then reached out and swiped the screen up. The messages Oh Seung-pyo had sent were piled up neatly.
The messages exchanged throughout today were more than all the previous messages combined. Most of it was useless chatter. Asking if he wanted to go to the snack shop together after class, asking if there was a movie he wanted to see after exams, suggesting where to go after exams… Most were rosy plans about what to do for fun once finals were over.
[Where do you want to go on a date?]
[I’ve gone out with the guys a lot, but this is my first date, so I’m excited]
To Oh Seung-pyo’s act of playing innocent, Jae-min replied with an equal act.
[I’m really excited too]
[I haven’t even gone out with friends that much]
[What do people usually do on dates?]
[I searched for student date vlogs, and they watch movies, go to cafes, and play games]
[(Left) Some kids take the bus and go far away on weekends]
[(Left) But I think it’ll be a bit hard to go somewhere right after finals]
At Seung-pyo’s dilemma, Jae-min suddenly remembered a game they had played together before. Of course, he had no intention of actually going on a date, but he had to answer immediately.
[I want to play that game I played before. The shooting one]
[Then let’s go play games first. We’ll do that and everything else we couldn’t do back then]
[Hey, it’s fucking cute when you say what you want to do]
“This bastard thinks everything is cute.”
Taken aback, he accidentally spoke aloud to himself. Because his voice was louder than expected, Jae-min quickly shut his mouth.
No, it’s not that Oh Seung-pyo actually thinks he’s cute. Even if it’s an act, he just can’t understand the thought process of responding “cute” to the statement that he wants to play a shooting game. Jae-min cleared his throat for no reason and pushed the phone far away.
Since the pretense of dating would end once finals were over anyway, it was obvious that Seung-pyo intended to keep sending messages to confuse him. It would probably be fun for him to throw things out randomly and watch how Jae-min responded.
‘Do you think I’ll just be lured in by a few messages?’
Jae-min snorted and focused on his book again. In the silent room, only the sound of the pen scratching the paper drifted quietly. Only stretching occasionally, Jae-min focused solely on his studies without distraction, and only after two hours did he lean back in his chair and tilt his head back.
He was sleepy. Lying in bed, Jae-min tossed and turned for a moment before picking up his phone again. He knew it wasn’t good to keep looking at his phone in bed, but since he had no time to properly procrastinate and play unless it was right before falling asleep, the bad habit triggered every time.
He opened the message window with Oh Seung-pyo again. As he scrolled up through the past messages, he reached the very first ones they had exchanged.
Right after the midterm results were decided, the video that a grumbling Oh Seung-pyo had sent after losing the bet was still there, not deleted. Lowering the volume to the minimum, Jae-min carefully pressed the play button.
Embarrassingly, Jae-min had watched this video many times. Others might not believe it, but although Ryu Jae-min operated a secret SNS account, he didn’t particularly have a hobby of admiring other people’s obscene appearances. Since he didn’t search for porn like most kids, this video sent by Oh Seung-pyo was, at least to Jae-min, an incredibly stimulating object.
From the speaker with the volume turned way down, Oh Seung-pyo’s excited voice flowed out.
[This is a video being filmed because Ryu Jae-min of Class 3, Grade 2, Ilyang Boys’ High School, told me to film it.]
Right, it started like this. From the beginning, his determination not to be the only one to go down was soaring.
Jae-min chuckled and looked at Oh Seung-pyo on the screen. When he first received this video, it was a time when they hadn’t done anything other than kiss…
Now, they had done everything that the Oh Seung-pyo of that time had said he wanted to try. The first semester of the second year was slowly coming to an end. School life had always been the same, but because he met Oh Seung-pyo, he had experienced an unbelievable amount of things.
He was too sleepy to watch the 30-minute video from start to finish. Jae-min dragged the playback bar all the way to the end of the video. Oh Seung-pyo, having finished a round of masturbation, was speaking with a flushed face.
[I’ve shown you enough, right? You should think about what I said with sincerity, too. Tomorrow, we’re kissing. Bye.]
Jae-min stared blankly at the paused video.
‘…And here I thought Oh Seung-pyo was an honest guy.’
Though he could be annoying because he spat out words however he felt, Jae-min thought he wasn’t the type to lie or use tricks. But to think he would employ such a method to try and win a bet.
Come to think of it, he had cryptically rambled that there were many things they could do even if it wasn’t sex. Checking the video after a long time, the thought suddenly occurred to him that if Oh Seung-pyo won the bet, he might demand such a video from him this time. Since he was a guy who had threatened him using his SNS account from the start, he wouldn’t want to be the only one with a disadvantageous hostage.
The face of Oh Seung-pyo saying they would kiss tomorrow was bright, unlike someone who was troubled by having their weakness held. Around the time he first received this video, Jae-min used to replay the same part several times for a few days. Though he didn’t want to admit it, there was something about the way Oh Seung-pyo threw out absurd things with confidence and cheerfulness that somehow made one’s mood lighter.
But today, he didn’t want to see the image of Oh Seung-pyo saying they would kiss with a smile twice. Jae-min, who had wanted to change his mood before sleeping, instead felt bitter, pulled up the blanket, and closed his eyes tightly.
* * *
The progress wasn’t urgent, so he shouldn’t have overdone it; he should have only studied for an hour last night.
In the morning, after entering the classroom and finding his seat, Jae-min swallowed an early regret. He had been regretting things consecutively since yesterday, which wasn’t refreshing.
Nothing special had happened, but he felt like he had lost more energy than expected playing along with Oh Seung-pyo’s acting of pretending to like him and pretending to date. Moreover, upon returning home, he had even helped welcome guests for a short while. It would have been better to just do a simple review and go to sleep early, but for some reason, feeling spiteful and not wanting to rest, he had sat at his desk for too long.
“Oh-Seung, you here?”
“Oh Seung-pyo, did you see that broadcast yesterday?”
Today, Seung-pyo arrived at school later than Jae-min. When Oh Seung-pyo entered the classroom, he could tell without even checking with his eyes. It was because the kids close to Seung-pyo welcomed him noisily.
The lunchbox in his bag, which he had momentarily forgotten, rattled, announcing its presence. The only times he had brought a lunchbox to school were during elementary school field trips and for about a week in middle school when the cafeteria was under renovation.
To intentionally bring a lunchbox to share cozily with a classmate—now that it was daylight, he felt embarrassed, and his limbs curled up instinctively. He suspected that he had fallen for some trick by that fellow Oh Seung-pyo to tease him.
‘Anyway, where should I eat the lunchbox?’
If he took it to the cafeteria, he would stand out too much, and while the archives were not bad for killing time, they were inconvenient for eating.
Should he ask the teacher in charge if he could use the club room during lunch? As he stepped out of the classroom with the intention of stopping by the faculty office, a familiar voice followed behind him before he knew it.
“Did you really bring a lunchbox?”
Need I say who it was. It was Oh Seung-pyo, approaching at the perfect moment.
What if he answered yes here, and then the other guy sneered, saying he only said it as a joke and asked if he really brought one? Thinking of various variables in a short time, Jae-min once again realized that no trust existed between him and Oh Seung-pyo, and then he opened his mouth.
“My auntie made me gimbap.”
“Gimbap? Reminds me of going on trips when I was a kid. Did you ask her to make it?”
“No. Auntie just prepared it on her own.”
“Then let’s eat lunch at the gym today.”
A place he hadn’t thought of at all popped up. Jae-min questioned him.
“Eat lunch at the gym?”
“If you go up to the second floor, there’s a door that leads outside. The other kids don’t really know about it. If you go out through that door, there’s a place to eat. The view is great, too.”
“I think it’ll be hot.”
“There’s shade, so it’ll be better than the archives.”
Jae-min looked out the window. The blue sky was clear with billowing clouds, and the large trees surrounding the playground had grown lush and beautiful. On a day like today, eating gimbap outside would truly feel like being on a picnic. Jae-min nodded belatedly.
“Let’s do that.”
He could just buy drinks at the snack shop, right? The fatigue that had piled up in his chest like grime that wouldn’t rub off, no matter how much he scrubbed, suddenly felt light.