By Zephyria 
Fоr thе first time in a whilе, Woo-уеоn fеll аslеep fееling рleasаnt. He didn’t havе anу nightmarеs, nor did hе toss аnd turn оr wаke up in thе middle оf the night as he usuаlly did. After fаlling into a deеp slumbеr lуing on the soft, cozу sheets, he simрlу driftеd intо thе endless аbyss оf unсonsciоusnеss.
What woke Woо-yеоn up was thе sоund оf а vibrаtion fеlt bу his bedsidе. The buzz, buzz of the vibration wаs enough tо be irritating еven for somеonе in a deер sleeр like Woо-yеоn. At first, hе triеd to ignоrе it, but the vibrаtiоn сontinued withоut stоpрing.
“Ugh…”
Lеtting оut а groan, Woo-yeon fumbled to reach for his phone. Without even checking the screen, he pressed it to his ear, and an overly energetic voice rang through. It was a familiar call that Woo-yeon could never mistake.
[Woo—yeon!]
Forgetting to answer, Woo-yeon first checked the screen. Above the name saved as ‘Danny,’ he saw the numbers indicating 9:00 AM. To call at such an early hour—his friend clearly had no idea what time it was in Korea.
[Danny… do you know what time it is here right now?]
[Of course! Isn’t it nine in the morning there?]
[You knew and you still called?]
Woo-yeon cleared his throat with an absurd expression. Only after a few dry coughs did his pathetic voice improve slightly. However, his stiff eyelids showed no sign of waking up.
[Don’t tell me you were sleeping? At this hour?]
[Nine AM on a Saturday… usually, people are sleeping.]
Mumbling his answer, Woo-yeon rested the phone against his ear and lowered his hand. As he closed his eyes, it became the perfect environment to fall back asleep. Had Daniel not spoken through the phone, he would have drifted off in an instant.
[Wake up a bit. I have important news.]
[Tell me… I’m listening.]
[Liar.]
It was a lie, but Woo-yeon didn’t let it show. Only after he insisted it was true a couple of times did Daniel speak in a bright voice.
[I’m going to your country this summer.]
[…Summer?]
Summer was at least three months away. He called it important news, but it didn’t seem valuable enough to warrant waking him from a sweet sleep. Noticing Woo-yeon’s lukewarm reaction, Daniel grumbled his dissatisfaction.
[What, you’re not happy? I’m saying I’ll come see you.]
[You’re coming to see me? Not just a trip?]
[I’m doing both.]
[Let’s go with that.]
Woo-yeon gave a lifeless laugh, as if deciding to play along. Then, just as Woo-yeon had done a moment ago, Daniel emphasized three times that it was true.
[Anyway, if I go, you can let me stay with you, right?]
[At my house? Without getting a hotel?]
[I want to experience a normal Korean home.]
[Well… that’s not difficult, but.]
Woo-yeon’s home was far from a ‘normal home,’ but there was no way Daniel would know that. Feeling that it didn’t really matter, Woo-yeon told him to let him know once the flight was booked.
[You have to clear your schedule. Got it?]
[I’ll try… hang up for now. I’m sleepy.]
Woo-yeon hung up before Daniel could even respond. As he placed the phone face down and closed his eyes again, drowsiness washed over him. But this time too, Woo-yeon could not fall asleep.
“Planning to sleep more?”
“…”
A familiar voice blew away the drowsiness. It was different from when he was on the phone with Daniel for a long time. Feeling his mind clear, Woo-yeon abruptly sat up from where he was lying.
“Seonbae…”
Do-hyun was standing at the door with his arms crossed. He was wearing a white cotton T-shirt and athletic pants, with a towel draped over his shoulder. Staring at Do-hyun with wide eyes, Woo-yeon hurriedly looked around his surroundings.
“…”
An unfamiliar ceiling, an unfamiliar bed. Furniture he had never seen before and Do-hyun’s pheromones floating in the air.
A series of events passed by like a panorama. Drinking the somaek Min-jeong made, Do-hyun leaving to smoke, and at some point, calling Min-jeong ‘Noona.’
“…!”
Woo-yeon’s mouth fell open, and he pressed a hand to his forehead. Even without thinking deeply, it wasn’t hard to figure out the situation. He also knew why he was lying in Do-hyun’s bed.
“That…”
His clear eyes wandered frantically in all directions. He opened his mouth briefly, but no words followed. In place of Woo-yeon, who couldn’t bring himself to continue, Do-hyun curled the corner of his mouth into a slant.
“Do you remember?”
Woo-yeon couldn’t react immediately and kept his mouth shut. The sheets he had been lying on were as messy as his head. Embarrassment, shame, and a hint of apology. Amidst these various emotions, a single answer barely managed to escape.
“…No.”
His pale face had turned bright red all the way down to his neck. At the sight of him blushing as if dipped in pink paint, Do-hyun brushed back his hair as if he couldn’t help it.
“Wash up. You need a hangover cure.”
After saying that, Do-hyun left the room. Left alone on the bed, Woo-yeon clutched his head and screamed silently. He simply couldn’t face Do-hyun.
* * *
As soon as Woo-yeon regained his senses, he returned home immediately. Since midterms were over, he had to work on a group project, and he was too embarrassed to look at Do-hyun’s face. Do-hyun had suggested he stay for breakfast, but Woo-yeon refused, making all sorts of excuses. Watching Woo-yeon, Do-hyun smiled with a somewhat crooked expression.
After returning home, he took a quick shower and shook off the distracting thoughts. First, he committed a mistake he couldn’t even remember because he was drunk during the Membership Training, and now he woke up in Do-hyun’s bed. Half of him was happy to have visited the Teacher’s house, and the other half regretted drinking. The billowing shame made it impossible for him to hold his head up.
“…I need to get it together.”
Woo-yeon forced his mind blank and stepped out of the bathroom. His insides were complicated, but now was not the time to think about such things. Since Do-hyun hadn’t said anything particular, he had to focus on the work he had to do for now.
First, he checked the group chat for the project. In the chat room where conversation had ceased since the day of the idea meeting, only the meeting notes Woo-yeon had written were posted. He had written his email address along with a request to send the PPT, but he didn’t expect a reply.
‘I should start looking for materials first.’
Only five days left until the presentation for the elective course. It was a tight schedule even just for presentation prep, and the possibility of the PPT arriving within the remaining five days was close to zero. As if to prove that fact, the ‘read’ indicators didn’t even appear in the group chat.
Well, actually, this situation wasn’t very unfamiliar. Even back in middle school, he had taken on group assignments alone. From researching materials to making the PPT and the presentation itself. Even if he wasn’t in a group with Jun-seong, it was because the students who walked on eggshells around Jun-seong ignored Woo-yeon openly.
The teachers, even knowing it was Woo-yeon’s achievement, pretended not to know and distributed the grades to everyone. They clearly judged that it was better to sacrifice the relatively quiet Woo-yeon than to deal with protests from other students. In fact, since Woo-yeon finished the performance assessment without any complaints, it was a peaceful result on the surface.
‘I’ll just do it alone.’
The hand gripping the mouse moved busily. He drafted an outline, searched for various materials, and created a clean template. Thanks to making all sorts of PPTs throughout three years of middle school, he could do this with his eyes closed. Since time was tight, implementing the invention would be difficult, but if he decorated it plausibly and presented it, he could get at least a B.
It would be a lie to say he didn’t feel wronged, but it wasn’t an unexpected event. Ever since the groups were first announced, Woo-yeon had a gut feeling that he would eventually have to do everything. That’s why he didn’t act proactively, and because of that, he didn’t curse the unmotivated group members.
‘I was a bit curious about the Teacher’s house, though…’
While clicking the mouse, thoughts of Do-hyun entered his mind. It was his first time visiting the house, but he hadn’t been able to look around because he had fled in a panic. It seemed like Do-hyun had bought food, but he couldn’t eat that either. More than that, if he was let to sleep in the bed, where did Do-hyun sleep?
The chain of thoughts finally led back to the moment he woke up in the morning. Woo-yeon suddenly blushed and shook his head vigorously. To think he had the nerve to linger and even take a phone call as if it were his own home after being hosted. If he were Do-hyun, he would probably find it utterly absurd.
Buzz, buzz—
About five hours later, a call came into Woo-yeon’s phone. Woo-yeon, whose posture had gradually slumped, startled and grabbed the phone. He wondered if it was the Teacher, but an unfamiliar name appeared on the screen.
“Why is he calling?”
It was a group member whose surname was ‘Kwon.’ He was the one who had spoken up at the cafe last time, saying they didn’t have any ideas anyway. They had exchanged numbers to create the group chat but had never contacted each other since; a strange sense of foreboding began to creep up.
* * *
Monday morning.
Woo-yeon headed to the club room early. The weather wasn’t too bad, but his eyes were stiff from looking at the laptop for too long.
Fatigue, irritation, and stress. In his mind, where various emotions were jumbled, an unresolved feeling of suffocation occasionally surged.
‘Uh, Woo-yeon… did you get the PPT?’
Two days ago, the group member who called Woo-yeon began the conversation in a very cautious tone. The purpose was simple, but Woo-yeon’s feelings upon hearing the content were not simple at all. The more the group member spoke, the more Woo-yeon felt like he was falling into an abyss.
‘The thing is, actually, we met last Wednesday to make the PPT, excluding you.’
Up to that point, he could try to understand. He was the presenter, and as long as the completed PPT was delivered properly, he didn’t have much to complain about. However, the stories that followed were full of things Woo-yeon could not understand at all.
‘But Kang Jun-seong said that if he just researched the materials and sent them, he would make it himself and send it to you.’
‘He sent all the materials that day… but thinking about it, I wondered if he’s trying to leave your name out…’
‘Honestly, I don’t really care about the grade, but I contacted you in case you misunderstood later. We’ve finished all the research.’
He figured old habits die hard. To try and ostracize someone just because he didn’t like them. He didn’t know what Jun-seong was thinking, but it was certain that he was trying to screw Woo-yeon over.