By Zephyria 
“Even if I was drunk and clung to you……”
Once the words actually left his mouth, Haon felt embarrassed all over again.
“You said I was aggressively chasing after you, but you still took me home. And I just can’t understand why we ended up sleeping in the same room.”
Cha Jeong-won crossed his arms outright. Then he looked down at Haon.
“Darkness.”
“……Huh?”
A single word dropped out. He was definitely doing this on purpose.
“Because it’s dark.”
It didn’t seem like he would elaborate. Haon blinked a few times, then leaned forward slightly.
“Is that… you mean your memory is dark, or the room is dark? Or both?”
“That room is the darkest.”
“Ah, the room.”
A vague laugh escaped him. He thought it was a joke, but he was serious.
Perhaps because of his firm tone, it was strangely persuasive.
Haon picked up his chopsticks, then put them down again.
“I don’t sleep deeply.”
“You, sunbae?”
“Yeah.”
It was a short but oddly weighty answer. A heaviness born from experience that couldn’t be brushed off lightly.
“If it’s bright, I sleep even worse.”
“Hence, darkness.”
“Hence, darkness.”
Exchanging the same words again made him laugh strangely. The situation wasn’t funny at all, but Haon’s mouth moved first.
“And because I’m only in that room.”
What is there?
Just as Haon was about to open his mouth to ask, Cha Jeong-won sharply caught on.
“I have no intention of telling you more, so search the room yourself if you want.”
Telling him to search a room that wasn’t even his own.
He probably meant not to dig any deeper.
“Then you could have just put me in another room. It feels like your answers keep dodging the point.”
“I told you, you wouldn’t let go.”
Haon immediately made a pouty face.
“You’re not just saying that because I can’t remember, right?”
“Eat.”
Cha Jeong-won pointed at the tteokbokki. While they were talking, the sauce had reduced considerably.
Haon hurriedly turned off the heat and scooped some out to eat. Then he picked up a piece of pickled radish from the small dish and chewed it. The tangy flavor spread through his mouth.
He was curious why they slept in the same room, but he didn’t get a clear answer. But, well, pushing further would only be to his own disadvantage.
“Anyway, thanks to me, you slept soundly, right?”
“Not thanks to you, but I slept well even with you there.”
Strength entered Cha Jeong-won’s voice. He seemed to emphasize that part was truly genuine.
He put a rice cake in his mouth and chewed. At first, it was slow, but soon he started eating at a steady pace.
‘So he doesn’t sleep well.’
Haon imagined what kind of nights Cha Jeong-won must have spent. Nights spent tossing and turning, barely closing his eyes only to be awakened by a sliver of light, a life where fatigue piled up with no chance to properly unwind.
Perhaps, long ago, because of an unfortunate life, that person’s very existence had become twisted. Not just bad luck causing things to go awry, but to the extent of not even being able to sleep properly.
Cha Jeong-won seemed pitiable again.
“Would you like some water?”
Feeling the urge to take care of him more, Haon picked up the water bottle.
“You drink it.”
Usually in these situations, he’d hold out a cup……
He’s pitiable, but also such a cold person.
Cha Jeong-won took a sip of the sauce.
As the red sauce thinly smeared on his lips, Cha Jeong-won stuck out the tip of his tongue slightly and swept over the spot with an indifferent expression. The glistening line of his lips appeared briefly, then vanished.
Haon found himself unable to look away from that sight. But the moment his eyes met Cha Jeong-won’s, he belatedly lowered his head and stuffed the remaining tteokbokki into his mouth.
‘This damn instant tteokbokki.’
It was spicy.
Even though his tongue tingled, his chopsticks kept moving.
“……It’s good, right?”
“Not bad.”
“Out of a hundred points, how many?”
At that question, Cha Jeong-won raised his head. His eyes seemed to ask if he really needed such a detailed answer. Haon waited, gently biting into a rice cake.
“No need to look for reasons to deduct points.”
“So it’s a hundred points.”
Why does he have to phrase it so indirectly?
“It’s even better if you wrap cheese around it here. Have you ever tried mixing in a beaten egg?”
At Haon’s enthusiastic questions, Cha Jeong-won showed signs of annoyance, but he followed along and tried everything Haon suggested.
The air, which had been frozen or awkward until now, felt slightly loosened. It wasn’t noticeably different, but there was a glimpse of hope.
“You know we’re the same grade, right?”
“Are you laying the groundwork to drop formalities?”
“Answering a question with a question…… I won’t drop formalities. How about we just get along well? We’ll be seeing each other often from now on.”
Cha Jeong-won moved the chopsticks he had stopped.
“I doubt you’d welcome that.”
What does that mean?
“Aren’t you wary of me? You said you get good grades.”
“Aha.”
He understood what he meant. But Haon shook his head.
“If we’re in the same group, we’d be totally unbeatable. Plus, it’s not like there are only one or two studio classes; we could end up in the same group.”
It wasn’t that he was praying to be in the same group as Cha Jeong-won, but he was merely mentioning the possibility.
“Right now, we can come out to eat tteokbokki like this on the weekend, but soon we’ll have to live at school. Then we’ll be seeing each other all the time……”
“I get it.”
Cha Jeong-won put his chopsticks down with a clack.
“I get it, so stop talking.”
Was I talking too much?
＊ ＊ ＊
Just as he was about to pay for the tteokbokki.
Cha Jeong-won went out first, so Haon made an “Uh?” sound and followed.
Including the time he almost left his card behind and had to rush back to get it, his movements were quite flustered.
“Why are you going out first?”
At Haon’s weak complaint mixed with reproach, Cha Jeong-won looked at him.
“If you wanted both of us standing in the narrow entrance……”
“That’s not it, I thought you were leaving without me.”
He explained that where they stood wasn’t important, but Cha Jeong-won still seemed not to understand.
Since they were done eating, was there no more reason to stay?
“I guess it never crossed your mind to wait outside.”
“Ah…… Really? You were really going to wait for me?”
He ended up showing a delighted reaction, as if the past self who used to avoid Cha Jeong-won had vanished somewhere.
While eating tteokbokki—that is, while talking with Cha Jeong-won—he was glad he could forget the content of his phone call with his mother.
Maybe that’s why he didn’t dislike Cha Jeong-won.
At least for now, he wanted to be with him.
“Well, we’re going the same way home.”
No matter how they went, the destination was the same.
“Since you’re not the type to wait for me obediently, I should be grateful for this too.”
At Haon’s words that kept going in circles, Cha Jeong-won let out a peculiar throat sound. Was it because of the accommodation voucher? Yoon Haon’s attitude was friendly, yet at times he drew a line. Was Cha Seo-jun right?
“Let’s go.”
Haon moved first, and Cha Jeong-won followed him. It was a peaceful temporary alliance formed over instant tteokbokki.
Then Haon stopped walking as if he had discovered something.
“An event going on?”
There was an event booth decorated with colorful balloons. In front of the table was a sign the size of a palm.
[Balloon Dart Event]
As he approached where people were gathered, he saw a barrel with lollipops stuck in it. Behind it, on a board, were tons of balloons the size of fists. They were all different colors, so from a distance they just looked like decorations, but up close, each balloon had a neatly folded note inside.
“What’s this about?”
When Haon, who had been watching from the side, asked, the event staff immediately added an explanation.
“You pay money and throw darts. It’s 10,000 won for five throws. If a balloon pops, you can check the note inside; it says what prize you’ve won.”
The staff member lightly lifted the dart in their hand.
“First prize is a premium spa day pass and a dinner voucher for two, redeemable at this 5-star hotel.”
“Huh? This hotel……”
It’s the same hotel as the sweet room accommodation voucher he had tucked away in his pocket. Maybe that’s why it felt familiar.
“That’s not all. There are also drink coupons and dessert exchange vouchers. Of course, there are blanks too. If you get a blank, you get one lollipop.”
The barrel with the lollipops shook slightly in response to those words. The colorful wrappers caught his eye.
The balloons swayed lightly in the breeze. Each time someone threw a dart, there was a whoosh sound. And then……
Pop! A balloon burst.