By Zephyria 
―We just walked intо thе cafе……
After а shоrt dеlау, thе same wоrds flоwеd from the рhone. Woо-yеon blinkеd and lоokеd аt thе peоplе who had just entеred the cаfe. The оther раrty seemed to hаve spottеd Wоо-уеon as wеll, their еуes widening.
“Оh? Оh, Woo-yeоn!”
Thе first tо reaсt with jоу wаs Gа-ram. With hеr hаir tied uр high and wearing a denim jaсket and jеans, Ga-rаm waved her lоng arms tо greet Wоо-yeоn. Without reаlizing it, Woо-уeоn hаlf-rosе frоm his seаt.
“Еvеryonе……”
It wаs Seоn-kуu, Gа-rаm, and Do-hyun. So this was the cafe where they had reserved the study room. Having only heard that it was ‘near the main gate,’ it was a surprise for Woo-yeon.
“Wow, what a coincidence. Were you doing the group project here?”
“I was so surprised while I was on the phone.”
They each added a word as they approached Woo-yeon. Do-hyun gave a simple nod of greeting and headed straight for the counter, but Woo-yeon couldn’t take his eyes off the back of Do-hyun’s head for a long time. The moment he saw that neat face, his mood lightened as if his irritation had vanished instantly.
“Is there still a lot to do?”
To think that just seeing a face could do this. The straight line of his neck, and those broad shoulders. From his poised gait to the clean nape of his neck, he couldn’t look away from any of it.
“No, we’re all finished.”
“Perfect timing. We can go straight into the room and start our study session.”
The unpleasant emotions were washed away completely. Woo-yeon nodded and gathered the notebook and pen he had left on the table. The meeting was already in its final stages anyway, and no one was motivated enough to insist on continuing. However, just as he lifted his bag, a harsh voice stopped him.
“What are you doing?”
Woo-yeon looked up while still holding his bag. Jun-seong was looking at Woo-yeon with an expressionless face. The other group members, who had been stealthily preparing to leave, hesitated and glanced around.
“The meeting isn’t even over, and you’re leaving?”
His tone was thoroughly irritated. Sensing the atmosphere, Ga-ram and Seon-kyu awkwardly distanced themselves, saying they would wait in the study room. Woo-yeon looked away from him and slung the bag over his shoulder.
“What more is there to discuss when there are no ideas? We agreed to bring three ideas each by tomorrow.”
“Are you the group leader?”
At those words, Woo-yeon’s expression reflexively crumpled. Jun-seong’s face twisted harshly as he spat out the words.
“Who decided that? Hey, you guys, speak up. Can you bring three ideas by tomorrow?”
Naturally, no answer came. As expected, even when tomorrow came, no one would actually bring any ideas. Feeling a tightness in his chest, Woo-yeon set his bag back down on the table.
“Then let’s finish it. I won’t leave.”
Thud, Woo-yeon sat back down. The group members, who had been standing awkwardly, hesitated, unsure of what to do. Woo-yeon crossed his arms and leaned back against the chair.
“Do it. The meeting.”
Jun-seong glared fiercely at Woo-yeon, and Woo-yeon met his gaze head-on.
“Um…… since we don’t have any ideas anyway,”
“Aren’t you sitting down?”
A group member, unable to watch any longer, opened their mouth, but Jun-seong barked a sharp command. Left with no choice, they gathered around the table again, just like Woo-yeon.
“…….”
“…….”
Naturally, not a word was exchanged. Now that even Woo-yeon, who had been leading the meeting, remained silent, only a heavy silence lingered between them. One minute, two minutes. The slowly passing time felt like an eternity. If it weren’t for the soft music playing in the cafe, it would have been quiet enough to hear a bug crawling.
Woo-yeon blinked calmly and looked away with indifference. He didn’t know what the problem was, but he was used to Jun-seong’s pettiness. Even in middle school, he had bullied Woo-yeon for absurd reasons. In those times, the best way to infuriate him wasn’t to get angry or argue back, but simple ignorance.
“Ha, fuck. Hey, forget it.”
Sure enough, before long, Jun-seong ruffled his hair violently. His bright yellow bleached hair became disheveled. Woo-yeon looked at him indifferently and spoke in a dry voice.
“Forget what? You said let’s have a meeting.”
“…….”
It felt as if he could hear Jun-seong grinding his teeth. He could see Jun-seong clenching his fists, unable to contain his rage. After closing and opening his eyes a few times, he commanded the group members.
“Hey, you guys, leave.”
Though the group members looked bewildered, they scrambled to get up. Watching them flee as if their tails were on fire, Woo-yeon also gathered his bag and stood up. Or rather, he tried to.
“Fuck, where do you think you’re going?”
Jun-seong roughly grabbed Woo-yeon’s arm. An angry pheromone was transmitted through the grip on his wrist. Woo-yeon twisted his arm to pull his wrist free and irritably slapped Jun-seong’s hand away.
“Don’t touch me.”
“…….”
A chill ran down his spine. An unpleasant sensation, like insects crawling, spread across his skin. Jun-seong looked stunned for a moment, then quickly raised his voice with a flushed face.
“Why do you hate me so much?”
For a moment, Woo-yeon was speechless. He hadn’t expected such words to come from Jun-seong. Woo-yeon looked at him with bewildered eyes and asked in a voice full of disbelief.
“Did you grab me just to talk about that?”
If he were to list the reasons why he hated Jun-seong, three days and nights wouldn’t be enough. It was unpleasant that Jun-seong had ruined three years of his middle school life, and it angered him that Jun-seong was living a normal life after getting into a good university. He didn’t have the energy to explain why he hated him now, and he wanted to avoid this meaningless argument.
“Hey, I’m just frustrated.”
But it seemed Jun-seong didn’t feel that way. Looking truly aggrieved, he glared and even slammed the table.
“Did I curse at you? Did I hit you? If not, did I do something to make you feel bad? If not, then why are you like this to me?”
In that moment, Woo-yeon swallowed a hollow laugh. It wasn’t because everything Jun-seong said was actually a fact of what he had done in the past. It was simply because Jun-seong’s last words were the same as the ones he himself had said five years ago.
‘Why are you like this to me?’
Woo-yeon had uttered those words only after a year had passed. After enduring, and enduring, and enduring again, he had asked when he could no longer understand. Yet Jun-seong was demanding answers after only three meetings. Especially since Woo-yeon hadn’t done anything to harm him.
“We’re in the same group anyway, and we have to do the project. We could just get along. Why are you so desperate to put me down?”
From start to finish, these were the words Woo-yeon had wanted to say in middle school. Since we’re in the same class anyway and have to spend time together, couldn’t we just get along? Why are you so desperate to bully people?
“……I came here for a meeting because you said we were having an idea meeting.”
Woo-yeon spoke, calming the churning in his stomach. He felt as if Jun-seong’s pheromones still lingered on his wrist.
“Like you said, I didn’t curse at you, and I didn’t hit you, so what exactly is your problem?”
“Fuck, you keep……”
Jun-seong, who had raised his voice, suddenly shut his mouth, noticing the people around them. The gazes that had gathered from the moment Woo-yeon stood up had now become more explicit. Jun-seong breathed heavily to compose himself and spoke in a heavily suppressed voice.
“You keep…… ignoring me. It feels like shit.”
It was a truly absurd reason. Despite having poured out all sorts of verbal abuse just a moment ago, calling him a mute and such, he was now upset by Woo-yeon’s behavior. He had looked down on the group members just because he was the leader; it wasn’t something to say as if he were the aggrieved party.
“Then you ignore me too.”
Woo-yeon spoke in a cold tone. The more Jun-seong spoke, the more the memories of the past clung to him filthily. Remembering the things he had done to him, his emotions surged chaotically.
“I told you, I hate people like you.”
Whether Jun-seong was flustered or not didn’t matter to Woo-yeon. He didn’t want to tell him the reason why he hated him, nor did he want to act friendly. Since their relationship would end once the group project was finished, even facing him like this was unpleasant.
“Don’t grab someone who says they hate you and demand answers; just ignore me too. We can just act like we don’t know each other.”
“So why do you hate me? I first saw you while taking this elective. What did I do to you for you to act this crazy? Did I bully you?”
It felt as if something snapped inside him. The heart he had been forcing himself to compose seemed to slip. Without realizing it, pheromones leaked out, and only one thought came to mind.
‘That pig, I feel like vomiting every time I see him.’
Then why did you hate me so much, when I had done nothing to you? What was the reason for belittling my appearance, breaking my heart, and dropping me into a bottomless abyss?
‘Reason? Fuck, as if there ever was one.’
“As if there’s such a thing as a reason.”
It seemed the heart he thought had healed had actually become inflamed. The ugly scab felt prickly and was about to peel off. The situation and positions had changed, but once again, it was Woo-yeon who was getting hurt.
“I just hate you. I hate the cursing, I hate the backstabbing, and I hate you grabbing me like this.”
“…….”
“Stop looking for a reason and just leave me alone. I have nothing more to say, so I’m leaving.”
Saying that, Woo-yeon tried to leave the cafe immediately. Although the study session was scheduled, escaping this place was the priority. If Jun-seong hadn’t stood up to follow him, he would have certainly walked away without looking back.
“Hey, I’m not finished talking……”
Thud, the sound of something colliding was heard. To be precise, it was the sound of hand meeting hand. A familiar pheromone wafted softly, and a gentle voice cut between them.
“I was planning to just wait……”
A dry pheromone, like autumn, lingered faintly in the air. The creeping, unpleasant sensation vanished in the blink of an eye. With wide eyes, Woo-yeon slowly turned toward the source of the sound.
“I guess this is how group projects are done these days.”
Do-hyun, speaking in a flat tone, released Jun-seong’s hand. The hand that had been grabbing Woo-yeon close by seemed to have been intended to reach his shoulder or bag. Do-hyun glanced at Woo-yeon and asked in an incredibly soft voice.
“Is the meeting not over yet?”