By Zephyria 
Seung-pyo easily granted Jae-min’s request to focus on his studies as before until the final exams were over.
Their messages were limited to necessary conversations within school or saying goodnight after returning home, and Jae-min clung to his studies more diligently than ever, hoping this play-like period would end quickly. He was afraid that if he didn’t focus on studying, his heart, which had begun to creak like misaligned gears, would collapse and scatter. Whenever that happened, he tried hard not to think about what came next.
On the day the five-day final exam period, which felt exceptionally long, ended, many students cheered that the last exam of the first semester was over, regardless of the results. However, Jae-min alone looked gloomy, unable to enjoy the feeling of liberation that usually followed the end of exams. Seeing Jae-min’s dark expression, the students nearby asked cautiously, perhaps misunderstanding.
“Ryu Jae-min, did you check your answers?”
They meant to ask if he did well on the exam. Jae-min nodded.
“I’m not entirely sure, but checking the problems I was confused about, it seems similar to before.”
“Wow, so you might have a perfect score again?”
“No, not a perfect score, but similar to other exams.”
“Then you did well this time too. What’s with the face? I was worried.”
Only then did Jae-min give a bitter smile. It wasn’t that he was ignoring his friend’s goodwill, but really, were they only worried?
Whether he liked it or not, he was in a position where he had to share the pie with the other students in the classroom. He felt that no one would be purely worried about the dark complexion of the top student, Ryu Jae-min.
He wasn’t saying it was wrong or that he resented them. He wasn’t any different himself. While he didn’t believe that questions about grades were filled only with warm emotions, he didn’t consider his friends’ concern to be a complete lie either.
The final exams, which had been full of noise and trouble, were over. Having finished preparing to go home, Jae-min naturally turned his gaze toward Seung-pyo. As if he had been waiting for a long time, Seung-pyo was perched on a desk, staring intently at Jae-min.
He would have to finish the rough grading at the academy to know the exact results, but from middle school until now, there had rarely been a significant difference between the score Jae-min calculated himself and the actual score.
He saw Seung-pyo looking at his phone, busily typing something. As expected, before long, the phone in Jae-min’s pocket vibrated.
[I think I lost this time]
[I missed at least three]
It wasn’t surprising at all. Oh Seung-pyo hadn’t studied as hard as he had this time.
During the last midterm, he had chased him closely, making his heart race, but it seemed he had lost interest once the condition of sex was gone.
Having lost the fruit of victory from the start, Oh Seung-pyo had resorted to a petty “water ghost” strategy, focusing on hindering his opponent rather than winning. At first, Jae-min had almost been caught up in that absurd strategy, but fortunately, he managed to shake off all the tricks and maintain his own pace.
[You don’t know yet. You have to do the rough grading first]
A reply came to Jae-min’s words, which were disguised as consolation.
[Seeing you say that, you must have done better than me]
Jae-min didn’t answer and just looked down at the screen.
According to his predictions, Jae-min had missed exactly one question among all the written problems. Since he had always maintained his rank whenever he missed one question, he would likely take the top spot on the rank poster again, provided there were no special variables. At least, he had beaten Oh Seung-pyo.
Now, the fact that the grace period of the fake relationship had ended was more important than winning or losing. There was still time before the academy class started, and Jae-min didn’t want to drag out this exhausting state any longer. There was no hesitation in the hand typing the new message.
[Talk to me in the archive room before we go to the academy]
[I have an errand from my homeroom teacher, so I have to stop by the faculty office for a moment]
[Then I’ll wait]
The Oh Seung-pyo that Jae-min knew was quick-witted. He didn’t seem like the type to miss the atmosphere, so he wondered if he was pretending not to know or if he truly didn’t. This time, too, only a mischievous emoticon filled with hearts came back.
Jae-min put his phone in his pocket without expression.
* * *
No students wanted to increase the time they spent at school on the last day of exams. When staying in the archive room, various noises from the hallways or classrooms usually drifted in, but today, as everyone hurried home, it was deathly quiet while he waited for Seung-pyo.
Jae-min felt a slight regret, thinking he might have been too hasty. It wouldn’t have been too late to call Oh Seung-pyo after finishing the academy classes, but perhaps he had been too tired? A moment ago, he had been so consumed by the desire to end this situation as quickly as possible that he couldn’t see straight.
“Ryu Jae-min!”
Before he could finish regretting, the door swung open and Seung-pyo appeared. He approached in one stride and hugged Jae-min tightly.
Flustered by the sudden hug, Jae-min hesitated, unable to push him away, and while he was wavering, Seung-pyo pulled away first and this time leaned his head in. His lips touched Jae-min’s cheek in an instant, and it was only when he attempted a second kiss that Jae-min succeeded in stopping him by grabbing his shoulders.
“Stop it.”
Seung-pyo tilted his head with a smiling face.
“Why? The exams are over, so I can kiss you now.”
As he said, since the exam period was over, there was no longer any need to continue this funny relationship game.
Or was there? Since the fake confession had worked, and on top of that, he had received a response saying he liked him too, playing with Ryu Jae-min would likely be quite fun for Oh Seung-pyo, so he might not feel the need to stop just because the exams were over. This would be far more interesting than a rank bet with a trivial condition.
As someone who had clung to his exam preparations more desperately than usual to avoid being caught in Oh Seung-pyo’s “water ghost” strategy, Jae-min found his relaxed attitude inwardly irritating. It felt as if he was saying that, unless it was a bet involving sex or the motivation of beating Ryu Jae-min, grades weren’t very important to him.
Jae-min asked in an interrogative tone, as if he were a teacher.
“You didn’t study hard this time, did you?”
“Hmm?”
At Jae-min’s question, Seung-pyo looked sheepish and rubbed the back of his neck.
“I did what I usually do. I didn’t do as well as I did for the midterms… but that was because I was particularly fired up then, so. I think the results came out as usual.”
“Why? Didn’t you want to beat me?”
“Since there was a bet, I did want to win, but….”
Hesitating, Seung-pyo smiled again, his lips curving wide. Even his expression of pretending to be shy looked only obnoxious in Jae-min’s eyes.
“Maybe it’s because we’re dating? Honestly, I don’t feel like grinding my teeth as much as I used to.”
“Not because you can’t have sex?”
“That probably had some influence too, right?”
Responding with a giggle, Seung-pyo seemed to think of Jae-min’s question as nothing more than a joke.
“I was also a bit curious about what you’d ask me to do if you won. I made my intentions clear from the start, but you never told me.”
Jae-min looked straight at Seung-pyo. He must be curious. What a stupid Ryu Jae-min, who didn’t even know he’d been fooled and thought he was liked, would actually ask as a condition for the bet. Jae-min spoke quietly.
“Can I tell you now? I haven’t even done the rough grading yet.”
“Even without doing it, I think you won this time. I’m curious, so tell me quickly.”
It was the moment for the counterattack he had been waiting for. He wondered how distorted Oh Seung-pyo’s expression—currently beaming with the belief that he had completely fooled Ryu Jae-min—would become once he took a hit.
At the same time, a sharp pain tightened in one side of Jae-min’s chest. He felt pathetic for having fallen for the guy despite knowing full well that the confession was a lie, and he was flustered by the fact that, even though their brief relationship had been nothing more than a play, the words wouldn’t come as easily as he thought they would now that it was time to end it.
Once he said this, they might not be able to go back to how things were before. Jae-min couldn’t quite imagine how Oh Seung-pyo would react.
Would he laugh in disbelief, or would he get angry, his pride wounded upon realizing his trick had been discovered long ago? Looking straight into Seung-pyo’s face, Jae-min slowly continued.
“Let’s break up now.”
Seung-pyo’s eyes widened.
His face froze, the smile still lingering, as he asked back.
“What?”
“I said let’s break up. The exams are over, so stop this fake relationship. Stop playing around.”
“Huh? Fake?”
Seung-pyo frowned slightly. He looked bewildered, as if he couldn’t understand Jae-min’s words at all.
It was about time he confessed. Depending on how Oh Seung-pyo handled it, they could end this on a good note as a joke. Jae-min scowled at the way he was still trying to drag the situation out.
“Do you really think I asked you to date me because I actually liked you? You tried to screw me over right before the exams, so I just did the same to you.”
“Hey, wait a second. I don’t understand what you’re saying right now.”
“Stop acting. Who in their right mind would believe it if someone suddenly said they liked them for no reason? You made that confession right before the exams on purpose to mess with me. To break my mental state. You probably thought I’d slip up because of it, but guess what? Only you, with your pointless antics, will see your grades drop; I think my score will stay the same this time too.”
Irritated by Seung-pyo’s feigned ignorance, Jae-min poured out everything in his heart faster than he had originally planned.
Once he fell silent, he felt a bit embarrassed, realizing he had just rattled off a barrage of words because he was too excited. He had wanted to maintain his composure in front of the guy who was pretending to be nonchalant.
“So.”
Seung-pyo remained silent for a moment before speaking. The expression devoid of any laughter had turned completely rigid.
“You’re saying that your words about liking me and wanting to date were all lies. Is that it?”
“Isn’t that obvious? What you said was a lie from the start, too.”
“Why do you think it was a lie? What’s the reason?”
“What do you mean ‘what’? Obviously…”
Jae-min, who had intended to explain the reason confidently, trailed off. He felt that listing them all out loud in detail would somehow make him seem desperate.
How could I believe you when you said we weren’t even friends and then confessed your love the very next day? I looked it up on the internet, and there are plenty of guys like you—stories about people planning fake confessions to lower the scores of people they hate or rivals with similar grades right before exams. Didn’t you see those stories online and use them on me?
It would be like admitting that he had agonized over this so much that he had even resorted to internet searches. Fearing he would look even more ridiculous and stupid, Jae-min eventually changed the subject.
“Because there’s no reason for you to like me.”
“I asked why you think that.”
“Is this even something to think about? It’s obvious. Like you said, we aren’t actually gay, so we can’t like each other. Nothing happened until the day before, so if you suddenly say you like me, no one—not just me—would understand. Besides, you were desperate to win the final exam bet. So, to beat me and stop me from focusing on my studies, you did it on purpose…”
“Hey, then why did you say you liked me?”
Seung-pyo cut off the rambling explanation that sounded like an excuse.
“You should have said that the moment I said I liked you. Why bring it up now? What was your reason for saying you liked me?”
“Since you were trying to screw me over, I did the same. I thought you’d be surprised if I hit you back by saying I liked you.”
“I was surprised! I didn’t expect it, but I was happy because I thought you liked me too!”
Seung-pyo’s voice suddenly boomed. Jae-min’s gaze sharpened in response. Seung-pyo ran a hand from his forehead to the back of his head and let out a hollow laugh.
“Ha… this is fucking absurd.”
Seung-pyo glared into empty space as if chewing over his thoughts. When he spoke again, his tone had become significantly sharper.
“So you’re saying that all those times you told me you liked me too, the messages at night saying goodnight and that you missed me, saying you wanted to play games when it was over, that you were looking forward to dating… all of that was a lie?”
Jae-min hesitated, then gave a single nod.
Seung-pyo stared at Jae-min with his mouth agape, as if he were looking at a complete stranger, before sighing and turning his gaze away.
“Right. You were that kind of guy from the start. Talking about this brings back memories. How you’d pretend to be weak or act like you were crying with that decent face of yours, only to glare at me. It gave me the creeps back then, but I’d completely forgotten about it.”
“…You were the one who threatened and picked a fight first back then.”
“Not this time, though. You just assumed everything on your own and made a fool out of me.”
Seung-pyo’s expression was now one of outright anger. Jae-min swallowed hard. He had been firmly convinced that no one would suddenly confess their love right before an exam with a bet on the line, and that Oh Seung-pyo was just trying to mock him, but he was starting to feel a creeping sense of anxiety.
“If you had asked me because you didn’t understand, like you’re doing now, I could have explained everything. Suddenly? No. How many times did we kiss, and how many hours did we spend hugging? How is that sudden? Remember when you bought me a towel at the academy because I got caught in the rain? That day, I didn’t want you to get wet, so I borrowed an umbrella from the faculty office. But when I came back, you were leaving under an umbrella with some other guy.”
“…….”
“After I missed you, I didn’t want to use that umbrella anymore, so I just let my friends use it. Why couldn’t you just ignore me? Why did you go out of your way to buy a towel at the convenience store and call me out in secret? Since when were you such a kind person?”
“I just didn’t want to see you dripping water all over the academy.”
“Are you usually the type to care so much about other people’s business? You’re the kind of guy who wouldn’t even blink if someone was drowning or burning to death right next to you as long as you could keep staring at your book. But you weren’t like that with me. You were nice to me. That’s why I believed you when you said you liked me. But everything you said for the past few days was a lie and a plot to stab me in the back? Fuck, are you actually insane?”
Seung-pyo’s voice, as he rapidly interrogated Jae-min, was low but menacing. Jae-min pressed his lips tight.
“I wouldn’t mind if only the words about liking me were a lie, but the fact that you actually pretended to date me is seriously creepy.”
The strength had left his voice, which had been filled with anger. The agitated atmosphere of disbelief vanished, replaced by the kind of detachment unique to someone who has accepted a situation.
Seung-pyo readjusted his bag. He let out a long sigh and glanced sideways at Jae-min.
“You’re disgusting.”
After spitting out those short words, he turned around abruptly. Crossing the archive room in a few strides, Seung-pyo flung the door open and disappeared without looking back once.
Jae-min couldn’t move immediately and remained standing in place. Outside, it was still silent, without a single small noise. All he could hear were Oh Seung-pyo’s rapidly receding footsteps, and all he could feel was his presence gradually fading.
Only after Oh Seung-pyo’s footsteps had grown so distant they were barely audible did Jae-min rush out of the archive room. Looking out into the hallway, Seung-pyo was already gone. Though Jae-min rarely ran on campus, he began to sprint at full speed without a moment’s more hesitation.
“Oh Seung-pyo!”
Jae-min, who had been as mute as a fish while Seung-pyo cornered him, finally raised his voice to call him.
“Oh Seung-pyo!”
Jae-min ran down the stairs. Fortunately, thanks to chasing him without delay, he was able to catch up to Seung-pyo as he was descending.
Seung-pyo was below, Jae-min was above. The two made eye contact, standing on different landings of the staircase.
“Why are you following me?”
Seung-pyo looked up at Jae-min with an expression that didn’t hide his displeasure. Having suddenly sprinted, Jae-min caught his breath and hurried down a few more steps.
Because his heart was racing, he couldn’t speak as articulately as usual, but he couldn’t let Oh Seung-pyo leave like this.
“I really thought it was like that.”
“What was?”
“I really thought you were deceiving me. To mock me…”
“Forget it. This is all fucking bullshit. Just act like none of this ever happened.”
Seung-pyo waved him off and quickened his pace again. But Jae-min didn’t stop. Calming his heart, which was more anxious than he had ever felt, he followed him down the stairs.
He hadn’t even been this nervous right before getting his calves hit by his father for doing something wrong. He felt as if his heart would burst.
“Oh Seung-pyo, I’m sorry. I apologize for misunderstanding.”
“I said forget it. I don’t even want to talk to you anymore.”
If even an apology didn’t work, there was practically nothing left he could do. It was clear who had committed the mistake, and whether to accept the apology or not was entirely the choice of the wounded person.
Though it wasn’t the time for it, perhaps due to his anxiety, a heavy heat rose in his throat. It was certainly his fault for making assumptions and misunderstanding to the point of bringing things to this state, but the heartache he had felt over the past few days hadn’t been a lie.
He had been depressed the whole time, thinking that Oh Seung-pyo was playing with him with lies, that he was the only fool who had come to like him, and that the guy acting like a sweet boyfriend didn’t actually like him. It had been several times harder than usual to focus on studying for the exams, and now he was even clinging to Oh Seung-pyo, apologizing. He had believed himself to be a reasonably bright and intelligent person, never losing his spot as the top student in the school, but looking back now, there was no bigger fool in the world.
He had thought that once the final exams were over, they might not even be able to stay friends, but none of the bad endings Jae-min had imagined looked like this. Jae-min absolutely did not want his relationship with Oh Seung-pyo to end in this manner.
Not knowing what to do, Jae-min simply chased after Seung-pyo and, almost instinctively, grabbed the hem of his shirt.
“…What are you doing.”
His movement restricted by the grip on his clothes, Seung-pyo frowned and looked back. Jae-min’s lips trembled, unable to find the words.
Looking at that face, Seung-pyo’s expression became somewhat complicated, and he turned his gaze away.
“Let go.”
What should he say to make Oh Seung-pyo change his mind? Jae-min’s rapidly spinning mind produced an unrefined answer, and his desperate mouth spat it out without a single moment of polishing.
“Let’s have sex.”
The atmosphere between them froze instantly, becoming hard and cold.
At the sudden proposal, Seung-pyo’s face hardened even more terrifyingly than it had in the archive room. He spoke again a beat later.
“What do you take me for…”
Right, why did I do that?
Jae-min also realized his slip of the tongue a beat late. Sex, suddenly, in this situation—even he thought it was the worst possible thing to say. The thought that everything was truly over made the strength slip from his hand.
Seung-pyo snatched the hem of his shirt from Jae-min’s sliding grip and strode toward the entrance again. Having lost even the energy to chase him, a dazed Jae-min could only watch his receding back.
Having walked a few steps with Jae-min’s gaze fixed on the back of his head, Seung-pyo gradually slowed down and came to a dead stop. He remained silent for a while as if pondering something, then slowly turned around and asked, sounding puzzled and suspicious.
“…Really?”
Huh…?
Jae-min couldn’t answer immediately and stared back at Seung-pyo, who had turned toward him. It was because he hadn’t instantaneously grasped the point of the question.
What is ‘really’?
“Ah.”
Understanding the meaning a few seconds later, Jae-min nodded enthusiastically.
“Yeah. Really.”
While nodding vigorously, Jae-min was inwardly surprised. Even though he had thrown it out in desperation, he thought he had said something that should absolutely not be said in this situation, but to think he actually fell for it. Oh Seung-pyo was more serious about sex than Jae-min had expected.
“It’s not a lie this time. Really.”
If so, he had no choice but to bet everything on the one remaining possibility. When it came to sexual curiosity, Jae-min had never lost to Oh Seung-pyo. Although Seung-pyo had always been a step more proactive, it takes two to tango, and Jae-min had always complied with his requests while pretending to be reluctant.
But perhaps it was because of the situation? Even though Jae-min was aligning with his own desires with unprecedented proactivity, Seung-pyo’s expression didn’t brighten much. Rather, he looked at Jae-min in silence with a strange, dissatisfied expression.
“Unbelievable.”
Seung-pyo chuckled and gave a short cough. His expression was subtle. Jae-min tried to look at him as positively as possible, but Seung-pyo didn’t seem particularly pleased. Rather than being happy to have achieved the goal of sex, it felt closer to a scoff of disbelief.
He trudged back toward Jae-min and sneered in a highly sarcastic tone.
“You’re funny. It’s not like I’m some guy who stakes his life on sex. Do you think saying that changes anything?”
He rejected the apology and left, but he turned back at the mention of sex, so hasn’t the situation already changed?
However, Jae-min didn’t make the mistake of voicing those thoughts. He simply resolved to convey his intentions more actively now that Oh Seung-pyo had taken the bait.
“That’s not what I meant. You said you wanted to practice sex. Do everything you’ve wanted to try.”
As soon as Jae-min finished speaking, Seung-pyo’s face became as fierce as someone who was enraged. Even the faint trace of a smile, though it had been a sneer, vanished. He had added that to make him happy… he wasn’t sure where it had gone wrong. Jae-min shut his mouth, not wanting to make matters worse.
Seung-pyo’s tone became even more thorny.
“When did you go from refusing it to suddenly offering sex because things aren’t going your way? Telling me to do whatever I want?”
“I just wanted you to be happy…”
“You make decisions so easily, huh? This is why they call you a whore.”
…Of course. A magical event where the situation was instantly resolved with a single word about sex did not occur.
Even if they did it, the energy emanating from Oh Seung-pyo suggested that he intended to first vent his frustration by grating on Jae-min’s nerves. Since the lead in the conversation had completely shifted to him anyway, there was no need to rush for fear of missing the opportunity.
Normally, Jae-min would have grated back, but since he was the one in the wrong today, he decided to suppress his temper and listen quietly.
“Fine. I’ll be the whore.”
“What the fuck are you doing, you crazy bastard.”
He had simply complied with the mockery the other had thrown first, but Seung-pyo lowered his voice as if he were the one getting angry. He sighed as if it were absurd, then lowered his head to bring his gaze close to Jae-min’s eyes.
“Ryu Jae-min. I wanted to have sex because I liked you.”
Flustered, Jae-min bit his lip slightly. First he called him a whore, then he said he liked him—he couldn’t keep track. It wasn’t just because of the internet search results that he couldn’t believe Seung-pyo’s words as they were.
Oh Seung-pyo was a human like a roller coaster at an amusement park. It was too hard for someone like himself, who had lived his life at a one-way safety speed, to keep up with this guy whose rotations and speed were so fast. Had two people who were so different been dreaming different dreams, causing things to clash and fall apart in a mess?
“It’s just that I was late in confessing, but I wanted to do it from the start because I liked you. The stuff about practice was something I said before I told you I liked you.”
“…Yeah.”
“But you don’t even like me, and now that things have gone south, you’re saying you’ll soothe and make up for it with your body. How can I not be pissed?”
Jae-min lightly bit the inside of his lower lip. Just as Seung-pyo had said he could explain everything if asked, Jae-min could also tell him in detail about his own heart, which had had no peaceful day, fluctuating up and down during that time.
But would Oh Seung-pyo really believe all his long-winded excuses? The expression hardened with distrust went beyond mere stubbornness; it was filled with a powerful will that suggested he wouldn’t take anything Jae-min said at face value. Even when Jae-min wanted to explain several things, his motivation withered the moment he faced that spiteful expression. Even if he explained it later, it felt like now wasn’t the time. Jae-min’s voice trailed off.
“Even if I tell you again that I like you, you won’t believe me.”
“Looking at how you act, I can’t trust a single word you say. You said you’ve never had sex, yet you’re using your first time just to put someone else in a better mood?”
Now, Seung-pyo asked a question that wasn’t really a question, his tone suggesting that even Jae-min’s conduct was suspicious, as he frowned slightly between his straight brows.
“Why on earth do you treat yourself so carelessly?”
“…What?”
“Just because I called you a whore once, you decide you’ll actually be one… Hey, you should value yourself more!”
Suddenly, as if some thought had struck him, Seung-pyo’s expression became flushed with emotion, and he even raised his voice. Dumbfounded, Jae-min could only blink.
Jae-min prided himself on valuing his own life more than anyone. That was why he worked hard to maintain good grades and a positive reputation, spent each day diligently dreaming of a bright future that would unfold as he wished, and relieved his stress and rebelliousness only in anonymous online spaces where the real Ryu Jae-min could not be tarnished.
Although his secret had been discovered by Oh Seung-pyo, it was purely due to a careless accident; it was absolutely not because he considered himself insignificant. Jae-min saw no reason at all to be scolded like this by a classmate with lower grades than his own.
Forgetting his initial resolve to listen quietly to Seung-pyo, Jae-min questioned him back, unable to hide his absurdity.
“What are you talking about all of a sudden? Who’s treating themselves carelessly?”
“What do you mean ‘what’? You don’t know a damn thing. You make people pissed off because you’re so clueless.”
Jae-min, who was about to retort immediately, slowly shut his mouth. He didn’t know why Oh Seung-pyo was acting like this, but judging by his tone and attitude, it didn’t seem like this misunderstanding would work against him.
However, he was simply bewildered as to how he should respond. Hesitating, Jae-min’s thoughts spun in circles before eventually returning to the starting point.
“So… are you not going to do it?”
In the end, there was only one point of contention here. Whether they were going to have sex or not.
As the argument had been fierce, the answer did not come easily this time either. After a short sigh amidst a heavy silence, Seung-pyo sank into thought once more before nodding.
“I’ll do it. I want to do it even more than before.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m pissed. When I first asked, you said you didn’t want to. You said you wanted to reset to the beginning since we’re dating now? I actually took that bullshit seriously and held back from kissing you… If it was going to be this easy, why did you play hard to get then? Was it fucking fun thinking about deceiving me and stabbing me in the back?”
“…….”
“It feels disgusting, but what do I gain by letting my pride get in the way? Looking at you, it wouldn’t even be surprising if you suddenly felt like giving away your virginity to some internet pervert. Fuck, I’d rather be the first one to eat you.”
Listening to this, Jae-min chewed over the conclusion, which left him with a question mark. The flow of logic didn’t seem normal. Then again, since Jae-min’s proposal itself had been confusing, he couldn’t assume the mind of the person deciding whether to accept it would be any different.
Seung-pyo lowered his voice to a whisper.
“Do you remember what I told you before the exam?”
“What talk?”
“I said if I won this bet, I wouldn’t leave you alone. I told you in advance to clear an entire day of the weekend, whether it’s Saturday or Sunday, because I was going to play with you for twelve hours.”
With his excellent memory, Jae-min remembered those words in detail. As the low voice flowed into his ear, a chill ran down his spine as if he had heard a terrifying warning. Without realizing it, the tip of Jae-min’s chin trembled slightly.
Seung-pyo continued, facing Jae-min with an expressionless face.
“This weekend, my Hyung is going camping with friends for one night. Come to my house by 10 AM on Saturday. Whether you can come or not, if you don’t show up that day, it’s over. I’ll just assume that’s the limit of your apology.”
“…I don’t know where your house is….”
“I’ll just send you the address.”
Seung-pyo whipped out his phone as if he were about to enter the address right then, but he suddenly stopped and frowned again. Soon, a new demand was added.
“Give me your number.”
“Why my number?”
“I thought you had your reasons, so I played along with you, but now I need to know your number. I don’t think I need to be that considerate of your situation.”
Jae-min hesitated but eventually took Seung-pyo’s phone. Because it would be troublesome if classmates suddenly sent him messages, he had only given his phone number to a few kids he occasionally exchanged news about exams or academies with. Those kids didn’t send him messages after school.
Slowly entering his phone number, Jae-min handed the phone back and added,
“My father and mother hate it when I use my phone late at night. So don’t contact me through messengers when I’m at home.”
“I told you I don’t want to be considerate of your situation. I’ll handle it.”
Seung-pyo pressed the call button. Jae-min’s phone began to ring shortly after. Although it had been nearly half a year since they became classmates, this was the first time they had exchanged phone numbers.
While Jae-min stared silently at the unfamiliar number, the call ended. Seung-pyo grumbled as he put the phone in his pocket.
“What’s so pretty about you that I’d contact you without a reason? Stop worrying about useless things and come up with an excuse to come to my house this weekend. You said you have to get permission from your parents.”
“I’ll handle that too.”
It was a cold conversation for two people about to have their first sex. The atmosphere after their bout of bickering was brittle. Cold and dry like dried fish left in a midwinter wind, the two walked side by side to the school gate in silence.
The car to take Jae-min to the academy had already arrived in front of the school. Should he ask Oh Seung-pyo to ride together like last time? While Jae-min struggled to bring up the words due to the awkwardness, Seung-pyo spoke first.
“I’m leaving.”
Even at a mundane farewell, Jae-min’s heart rattled like a broken gate. Although he had managed to patch things up with the emergency measure of sex, the thought that his relationship with Seung-pyo had drifted beyond repair would not vanish.
‘Did I do the right thing?’
Jae-min wanted the answer more desperately than ever, but there was no reference book or answer key to verify this problem.
“Yeah, see you later.”
Jae-min replied casually, looking at Seung-pyo. But for some reason, Seung-pyo couldn’t move his feet immediately; he gazed at Jae-min with a complicated expression, much like when Jae-min had grabbed his shirt, and spat out bluntly,
“Why the long face? Cheer up. Everything went your way in the end.”
“I don’t really have a long face.”
“Then consider it so.”
Leaving Oh Seung-pyo, who turned his back abruptly, behind, Jae-min got into the car. The driver in the driver’s seat, who had been looking at his phone, asked,
“Isn’t that the friend from last time? Why didn’t you ask him to ride together?”
“He said he has somewhere to stop by.”
“Really? That kid has a good personality and is funny. If you have a chance to give him a ride next time, do it. It’s the same for me whether I carry one or two.”
“Yes.”
I want to do that too. Jae-min answered only in his mind and leaned his head against the car window with a thud.
* * *
When Jae-min returned home, only his mother greeted him today. Perhaps because it was the last day of exams, his mother had come out to meet him at the entrance.
“I’m home.”
“Good work. Get cleaned up and come out for some snacks.”
“Okay.”
He didn’t have much of an appetite, but he was too tired to decline. After changing his clothes, Jae-min sat across from his mother, eating the snacks she had brought out. A teacup was placed in front of her as well.
“Did you do a preliminary grade check at the academy?”
Since his midterm grades had been good, the atmosphere was one of expecting surprisingly good results this time as well. Even though he hadn’t done poorly on the exam, he felt uncomfortable. The joy of a good result is brief, but the pressure of being demanded more and more after that lasts a long time.
Jae-min nodded, pretending not to notice his mother’s expectations.
“I think I missed one question.”
“That’s fine. I’m glad your average seems to have risen further since entering the second year. You’ve always had your tutoring, but are the instructors at the academy you’re attending these days teaching well?”
His mother murmured as if talking to herself. A great idea suddenly occurred to Jae-min, and he looked at his mother.
“You know my friend, Oh Seung-pyo. The one who came to pick me up in front of the house before.”
“Ah, that friend? He was very polite and sociable.”
“He’s been ranked second in the whole school since the first year, and since we’re in the same class this year, we often study together. My scores went up a bit while studying with him.”
“Is it a healthy competition? That really does help improve skills. It’s just hard to find a good competitor.”
Although it was the result of a decadent bet, there was no reason he couldn’t package it as a healthy competition.
Perhaps because she was satisfied with his first-semester grades, his mother’s mood was softer than usual. Jae-min swallowed hard and brought up the main point.
“So, I want to go to his house this Saturday to study together… May I go?”
“Hmm….”
His mother tilted her teacup in silence for a moment. But her deliberation was not long.
“Sure. Since you said your grades went up thanks to him, it shouldn’t be a problem if you visit occasionally. The finals are over, too. I’ll tell your father.”
It worked.
Jae-min almost cheered out loud without realizing it. He had been worrying about how to bring up the fact that he was going to Oh Seung-pyo’s house this weekend, but it had been resolved much more easily than expected.
He no longer needed to tell his father directly. It didn’t seem like his mother fully believed that he was going just to study, but since the vacation was approaching, she seemed inclined to give him a little breathing room.
Returning to his room, Jae-min wanted to tell Seung-pyo this news quickly. That he had already received permission to go to his house this weekend. However, he didn’t easily reach for the SNS app, fearing that sending a message would only bring back a cold response like, ‘So what?’
After hesitating, Jae-min finally plucked up the courage. The exhilaration of solving a difficult problem easily was too great to keep to himself.
[I’m allowed to go to your house on Saturday]
He sent the message not expecting any particular reaction, but simply because he wanted to feel relieved. However, the reply came surprisingly quickly.
[Then by 10?]
It was a more ordinary reply than expected. Without a hardened expression or a sarcastic tone, through the text on the screen, he felt exactly like the Oh Seung-pyo from before they fought. Jae-min relaxed a bit and typed a new message.
[Yep send me the address]
An unfamiliar address was sent. Jae-min searched for the address Seung-pyo sent and estimated the route and distance to his house. Since they attended the same school, he had expected it, but it was an apartment not far from his own home.
“So he lives here….”
Meeting Oh Seung-pyo at Oh Seung-pyo’s house. He felt a strange sensation, like before meeting a stranger. Until now, they had always met only at school or the academy. Although he had been brought to his own home once, it was a place too familiar to Jae-min, so it didn’t feel particularly special.
Despite the fact that Oh Seung-pyo was furious because of his mistake, the process of deciding to have sex was a mess, and their relationship was on the verge of collapse, Jae-min couldn’t help but feel excited. He wondered what Seung-pyo was thinking right now.
* * *
[I’m allowed to go to your house on Saturday]
One is already tired after a long exam, but today, with Ryu Jae-min’s deception added to it, it was the icing on the cake.
As soon as he got home, Seung-pyo had collapsed onto his bed, chewing over his emptiness and anger, when his eyes widened. The moment he saw Ryu Jae-min’s message, he sprang up like a spring.
‘He’s actually coming?’
He had given a stern warning to come no matter what, but thinking that Ryu Jae-min would actually set foot in this house, he couldn’t stop his heart from starting to beat rapidly. Even though he had just been stabbed in the back by Jae-min, he found his own reaction absurd, but…
‘It can’t be helped.’
The fact that the visitor was Ryu Jae-min wasn’t the important part; wasn’t there a clear purpose for him coming to the house?
Since the reason for the visit was what it was, it was natural to be nervous. After checking the meeting time once more and sending the house address to Jae-min, Seung-pyo stopped lounging around like a deflated grand opening balloon and went to his Hyung’s room.
“What are you doing?”
“Oh. I’m trying to buy some supplies for a weekend appointment.”
His Hyung was busy shopping while staring at his phone. It seemed there was no need to ask further, but he checked one more time.
“Hyung, you’re staying over on Saturday, right?”
“Why? Are you planning to do something bad once I leave the house?”
“I’m inviting a friend over to hang out.”
“I’m staying over even if you tell me to come back, so don’t worry and just have fun.”
Having completed the second confirmation, Seung-pyo returned to his room with peace of mind. He had confirmed the whereabouts of the most important obstacle. Then, the remaining task was….
‘I should clean.’
The room was a mess. The two brothers had always maintained only basic cleaning and organizing with the mindset that it was fine as long as it wasn’t filthy, but recently, because it was the exam period, they had postponed even that minimal tidying for several days.
Looking at the way Ryu Jae-min acted, he didn’t quite believe the claim that it was his first time having sex, but… regardless of Ryu Jae-min, it was Oh Seung-pyo’s first experience. He didn’t want to spend his first time in a shabby, unorganized room.
Until he met Ryu Jae-min, he had never imagined he would have his first time in his own room, in the house he shared with his Hyung, where he spent his ordinary daily life. Naturally, he thought he would have the first experience of his life in a more wonderful and romantic place with his first girlfriend after turning twenty.
‘How should I prepare?’
Pacing back and forth and feeling restless, Seung-pyo finally regained his composure and sat at his desk. As expected, searching through video sites was the best in times like this.
He felt fine when he first opened the site, but while hesitating over what search keywords to use, Seung-pyo’s expression gradually became subtle. After much deliberation, his face was flushed red as he typed the words ‘first experience.’ As he quickly pressed the search button, a few materials appeared that could provide guidance to Seung-pyo.
They were private educational broadcasts where life seniors who had gone through the same process gave various pieces of advice to couples facing their first sex. He played one with the highest view count and began to listen intently, as if he were about to take notes.
[The most important thing is to have the relationship in a clean environment. Expensive hotels or flashy travel destinations are great, but even if it’s not such a place, the surroundings must be clean and the place must be quiet so you can focus on each other and stay calm.]
He had decided to clean, so that was settled. He should also wash the blankets in advance. Since no one but the two of them would be home, it would naturally be quiet.
[The lighting should be neither too bright nor too dark.]
Wouldn’t it be okay to turn off all the lights and light something like a candle for atmosphere? Where do they sell those? He had never bought one, but since there were many scented candles these days, he thought he could just buy a good one.
[You must use condoms. Since you might not succeed from the start, make sure to have plenty of them.]
He had never bought condoms before, but they’d be at the convenience store, right? To think the day would come when he’d buy condoms with his own hands—even within the same teenage years, there was indeed a world of difference between middle school and high school life. While buying condoms, he decided he should also buy and wear new underwear.
As Seung-pyo organized the precautions as if crossing off a checklist, he had to stop his thoughts with a start at the next comment.
[If you want to avoid a situation where you’re all prepared but suddenly can’t do it, it’s good to check your partner’s menstrual cycle.]
Menstrual cycle…?
Seung-pyo went blank. Come to think of it, all the advice on the site was focused only on the first experience between a man and a woman, and no videos discussing sex between the same gender caught his eye. Even if there were some, most were experience stories focused on curiosity, so they weren’t content Seung-pyo could refer to.
He slowly began to worry. He had bragged loudly that he would play with him for at least twelve hours, and if he showed an awkward side, the embarrassment would be indescribable.
Looking back, his bluffing had been too much. Even if it was limited to cyberspace, Ryu Jae-min likely had far more experience with erotic things than he did; if he wasn’t careful, he might fall to the level of a beginner among beginners, worse than those internet perverts.
“Ah, why am I worrying so much. Just wing it.”
After deliberating, Seung-pyo found himself absurd, scolded himself, and practically threw his phone down. Glaring at a corner of the room that was as cluttered as his mind, he steadied his resolve.
Finally, he heard Ryu Jae-min suggest they have sex, but he wasn’t happy at all. There had been a sweet and sour period where he waited with fluttering anticipation, but those feelings had flown away from his heart like a bird abandoning its nest.
This wasn’t a process of confirming love between a couple, nor was it because Ryu Jae-min was cute and pretty and he wanted to spend a tender time together. Rather, it was closer to an opportunity to teach the insolent Ryu Jae-min a lesson.
‘Let’s have sex.’
There was no particular reason why Seung-pyo, who had been walking away in a fit of rage, stopped in his tracks at those words. It was simply because he couldn’t believe what he had just heard.
Ryu Jae-min was someone who had pushed him away, suggesting they hold off even on kissing, let alone sex, for a while. Even in the bet for the final exams, Jae-min’s only thought was to avoid the relationship deepening.
And now, the guy who had played hard to get until the very end was bringing up sex like a secret weapon the moment he found himself in a difficult position.
Does he really think everything will be solved if he pushes his body forward, just because he’s a whore? He had been furious at the fact that Ryu Jae-min had been playing with him, but as he cooled down, he began to chuckle—entirely because it was so absurd.
At first, he doubted his ears at the sudden, impulsive suggestion of sex, but afterward, he felt a tiny bit better knowing that the haughty Ryu Jae-min was desperately chasing after him, pleading for sex just to hold onto him.
If it had stopped there, they might have exchanged a few words and reconciled reasonably. If only Ryu Jae-min hadn’t opened his mouth one more time to add a redundant comment.
‘You said you wanted to practice sex. Do whatever you want to try.’
Ryu Jae-min had said that with a nonchalant expression. To think he would say something like that after going as far as grabbing his sleeve to follow him; Seung-pyo couldn’t even laugh anymore.
To tell him to do whatever he wanted to try—how brave. Of course, from the moment Oh Seung-pyo started thinking about wanting to have sex with Ryu Jae-min—no, even before that—he had imagined various things.
It was a long time ago, but he had once had a dream about doing that sort of thing with Ryu Jae-min. It was around the time when, after their impulsive first kiss, erotic stimuli began to seep into his wholesome and peaceful school life… Seung-pyo still remembered that dream.
For some reason, the Seung-pyo in the dream had stripped Jae-min completely naked, ordered him to stand at attention, and delivered several finger flicks—not to his forehead, but to his cock. As if he had done something wrong, Ryu Jae-min groaned but took every single finger-flick punishment without a word of complaint.
It was a dream he had right after making a basketball bet with Ryu Jae-min involving finger flicks. Perhaps the conditions of the bet had mixed into the erotic dreams he naturally had during that period. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to turn that dream into reality, as a way to punish the insolent Ryu Jae-min. Since the words “use me as a practice tool as much as you want” had already been spoken, the pervert who had summoned the courage to say it would be disappointed if he let this opportunity slip away boringly.
“Fine.”
Having made up his mind, Seung-pyo straightened his posture and turned on his laptop instead of his phone this time. A laptop was more convenient than a phone for searching for various things in depth.
‘Just you wait, Ryu Jae-min. I won’t let you off easy.’
As Seung-pyo explored information about a world he had previously known nothing about, his eyes burned with a competitive spirit, like someone facing a duel rather than sex.
* * *
The morning after the final exam of the semester, the classroom was much noisier than usual. The students, facing a brief sense of liberation, were causing a commotion like racehorses off their leashes, making the place as loud as a marketplace.
Amidst the bustling noise, there was one person steadfastly nodding off from the morning. The other students looked at Oh Seung-pyo with worried faces.
“Oh Seung, did you study too hard for the finals? I’ve never seen you this out of it after exams are over.”
“Exactly. Normally, you’d be too busy thinking about what to do for fun.”
At the competing worries, Seung-pyo stretched with a yawn. Wiping away the slight tears gathered under his eyes, he muttered.
“It’s not because of the exams; I stayed up almost all night yesterday looking something up.”
“Looking up what? A new game?”
“Not yet, but I’m trying to find something interesting. I’m bored of doing the same things every day.”
Before the kids could dig into what his new interest was, Seung-pyo quickly diverted the topic, pretending it was about a game. Anyway, there was some leeway before the summer break supplementary classes started, and the students were anxious to spend as much enjoyable time as possible during this gap.
However, there was no leeway in Seung-pyo’s heart. There were only two days left until ‘this weekend.’
“If you have time today, let’s go to the PC cafe.”
“I can’t until this weekend. Let’s go next Monday.”
“Monday for sure, okay?”
Seung-pyo, facing a critical mission, had no time to waste on games. After promising the others for next week, he waited for class to end as quickly as possible.
It would take two days to clean not just his room but the entire house, but if he made too much of a fuss, his Hyung might notice that the friend visiting this weekend wasn’t just an ordinary classmate. Even cleaning was a high-difficulty task that had to be done meticulously yet nonchalantly.
After school, he had to change clothes and go to a distant convenience store or drugstore to buy condoms. Although minors can purchase condoms, it was still embarrassing to buy them while wearing a school uniform. Since he had almost been asked for his number by college Noonas when he went to the ski resort with his Hyung, he wouldn’t be exposed as a high schooler as long as he changed his clothes.
“Oh Seung-pyo.”
While he was busy organizing his cluttered thoughts, a familiar voice called out from across the circle of students. Jae-min was standing a short distance away, looking awkward.
He had the same cold and blunt expression as always. The image of him clinging to Seung-pyo with a tearful face yesterday had vanished without a trace, but the promise between them remained firm.
Thinking about the private circumstances of the noble Ryu Jae-min, which no one but him knew, he felt restless again, and his heart began to beat fast. However, Seung-pyo used all his strength to maintain an expressionless face, pretending to be indifferent.
“The homeroom teacher wants us both to come to the faculty office for a moment.”
“Yeah.”
Seung-pyo stood up and left the classroom with Jae-min.
The hallway was even noisier than the classroom. In the classroom, only the voices of classmates were heard, but the hallway was a scene where the noise of all the second-year classes flowed out like a wave.
He even saw some guys kicking a ball, even though it wasn’t the playground. Amidst the festival-like chaos caused by students whose bodies and minds had loosened up ahead of summer break, only these two walked without exchanging a single word.
In the awkward silence, Seung-pyo was the first to speak.
“Why does he want us in the faculty office?”
“I think he needs the summer break study plans.”
Since the teacher had two students who fought for 1st and 2nd place in the whole school—actually, saying they ‘fought’ was an exaggeration since the rankings had never flipped, but regardless, they were fixed at 1st and 2nd—in one class, the homeroom teacher would naturally be concerned about various things. Seung-pyo, who had submitted a plan before the break in his first year, simply nodded.
Just as the conversation seemed to end, Jae-min subtly continued.
“This weekend.”
“Hmm?”
Seung-pyo looked back at Jae-min standing beside him. Jae-min’s gaze was cast slightly downward. His profile was still expressionless, but to Seung-pyo’s eyes, he looked a little shy.
“Don’t you have things to prepare?”
“Prepare what?”
“I thought you’d be busy if you prepared alone… If there’s anything I can help with, I’ll do it too.”
Seung-pyo almost snorted but held it back. It seemed Jae-min had overheard the conversation with his friends and noticed that what Oh Seung-pyo had been researching all night was related to the weekend promise.
However, Ryu Jae-min was fundamentally mistaken. What the two were going to do when they met on Saturday was not a sweet date or romantic sex.
To offer help to someone who was resolving to torment him thoroughly—it was like a newborn puppy offering to help the tiger prepare to eat it as it walked into the tiger’s den. Of course, Ryu Jae-min was far too cunning to be compared to a newborn puppy.
Seung-pyo let out a small, airy laugh and leaned his upper body slightly toward Jae-min. Taking advantage of the noisy commotion, he lowered his voice and whispered.
“You just get ready to be eaten by me.”
Jae-min’s eyes widened in surprise, and his ears quickly turned red. For a cyber-whore who heard even worse things every day from internet perverts, acting this surprised was a masterclass in acting that could have landed him in Hollywood. But he wouldn’t be fooled now.
As he drew closer, the scent that always lingered around Ryu Jae-min felt much stronger. It was surely the scent of laundry detergent or fabric softener, and he wondered if he would smell this good even after being stripped naked.
‘…Should I buy some flowers?’
He had never spent his own money on flowers in his entire life, but thinking it might be better than an artificial scent, Seung-pyo added a new item to his mental checklist.