By Zephyria 
Wondering what was wrong, I stared intently at Min Si-hu. The tips of his ears, which he fidgeted with, began to redden for no reason. I couldn’t grasp what he wanted to say.
Is he acting like this because of Lee Beom’s Grandmother’s illness?
My contemplation was short-lived. With a ding, the elevator arrived at the lobby.
“Hae-jun!”
Seong Hae-min, who had been waiting near the elevator after Min Si-hu contacted him, greeted us.
However, even after getting off the elevator, Min Si-hu lingered by my side, hesitating and glancing around nervously. It was deeply uncomfortable to see him fidgeting like a dog needing to pee, even where everyone was gathered.
“I’ll talk to Si-hu for a moment.”
“Talk about what?”
“Um… academic counseling.”
“Academics? Si-hu?”
After spouting a lie that no one would believe, I pulled Min Si-hu along towards a quiet corner of the lobby. I resolutely ignored the curious and worried gazes of the others shooting from behind us.
Min Si-hu’s light brown eyes stared intently at me. His moist eyes, like those of a neighbor’s puppy, held a pathetic look I couldn’t understand.
“What’s the problem?”
“Well…”
Min Si-hu hesitated, fiddling with his fingers.
“Are you really not uncomfortable with Lee Beom, Jjuni?”
What reason would I have to be uncomfortable with Lee Beom? I thought about it and then realized.
Right, he’s misunderstanding things!
He thinks I like Ban Pyo-ran!
I never expected this to happen, not even at the hospital where I went to visit because a friend’s grandmother was gravely ill. I let out a deep sigh and pressed my forehead, while Min Si-hu whined, unsure of what to do.
“Min Si-hu.”
“Mmm…”
What could I say to clear up this absurd misunderstanding? The misunderstanding that I liked Ban Pyo-ran so much that I was actively trying to set him and Lee Beom up! It might be easier to cross treacherous mountains and navigate nine layers of palaces than to correct this terrible misunderstanding.
Of course, it was true that I had tried to push Ban Pyo-ran and Lee Beom together. But it wasn’t because I liked Ban Pyo-ran! The other three guys had no such misunderstandings, so why was Min Si-hu so peculiar?
“Aren’t you the one who likes Ban Pyo-ran?”
“No! No! Absolutely not!”
Min Si-hu’s eyes widened at my irritable question, and he flapped his head and hands together frantically. Was he trying to hide his own feelings, or was he genuinely wronged? I snorted.
“I don’t like him either.”
“But Jjuni…”
What ‘but’ was there now? I could feel a vein throbbing on my forehead.
Min Si-hu clearly mistook my personality as sacrificial, just like Ban Pyo-ran. So no matter how much I explained, he would just assume I was hiding things, lying, and sacrificing myself out of my own will. I couldn’t exactly tell them that they were the main characters of the story, so I was pushing them together!
“Hoo…”
I sighed and then winced. I didn’t know what kind of over-interpretation he would make next!
“Hae-jun. Si-hu is on Hae-jun’s side…”
Min Si-hu called out to me tenderly.
…He seems to have misunderstood already.
Since it had come to this, there was no other way.
An eye for an eye. A dog’s logic for a dog’s logic!
“Do you trust me?”
“Jjuni? Of course, I do!”
I looked earnestly into Min Si-hu’s eyes. The guy, who usually acted shamelessly, couldn’t meet my gaze. His light brown pupils trembled restlessly, like autumn reeds. I spoke with determination.
“I don’t like Ban Pyo-ran.”
“……”
“You don’t believe me?”
“But, that…”
I put on an exaggeratedly disappointed expression, and Min Si-hu nervously clasped his hands.
“If he’s Hae-min’s friend, he’s my friend too. Why would I lie?”
Giving up flesh to gain bone! Let’s overlook the minor details to resolve the biggest misunderstanding, and use what we can.
“Really. Sincerely.”
The only thing to be careful about in this plan was my acting ability. I repeated myself, fearing my awkward lie would be obvious. Seeing Min Si-hu’s face become moist like waterlogged cotton, I appealed directly to his emotions.
“So please believe me.”
I firmly grasped Min Si-hu’s limp hands, and he flinched. He didn’t offer a single rebuttal like the usual ‘but…’. Thinking I had the upper hand, I pressed on more firmly.
“I wouldn’t lie to you guys about something like this. Why would I?”
“……”
“I don’t like Pyo-ran. I don’t like anyone right now. So stop with the weird misunderstandings. Do you really not trust me? Is that so hard?”
I drove the final nail in.
“Please, just trust me.”
But… why did he look touched rather than confused?
Contrary to my expectation that he would be flustered by my consistent stance, which directly contradicted his own judgment, Min Si-hu had a poignant expression. His young, soft cheeks were flushed like ripe peaches.
“Then… you don’t have anyone you like right now?”
“Yeah. No one. Really.”
Would I? Not only do I not like anyone, but no one likes me either…
Ah. Someone did like me.
I recalled Do Yun-hyeok’s face, the last time I saw him at the amusement park. He was so reckless that I didn’t know what he wanted to do, or what I should do, but anyway.
Min Si-hu, who had been hesitating, slowly nodded after hearing my firm answer.
“Okay, okay. I’ll believe you, Jjuni.”
“Really?”
“But…”
Min Si-hu’s fingers, tightly held by mine, wiggled like a puppy’s tail. He couldn’t even meet my eyes, looking down, truly like a newborn puppy.
“If you ever like someone… you have to tell Si-hu first. Okay?”
Do I have to…? I thought, but at least for the next few years, this topic wouldn’t come up in conversations with Min Si-hu. There was no way I’d find someone I liked!
“Of course!”
I reacted with exaggerated surprise, as if asking why he’d ask such an obvious question. Min Si-hu’s complexion visibly brightened.
Finally, I felt relieved, thinking the misunderstanding was resolved. Although there was the trap that Min Si-hu now saw me as a close friend, it seemed better than him misunderstanding that I liked Ban Pyo-ran.
“Si-hu…!”
Min Si-hu, now lively again, exclaimed, raising both arms. My arm, holding Min Si-hu’s hand, shot up with his.
“Jjuni! I really like you! Really!”
And then Min Si-hu hugged me tightly.
“Hey, hey!”
Why are you so strong!
The slender, tall figure wrapped around me like a noose.
This is creepy!
I struggled to break free, but the difference in our builds made my failure obvious.
“Seong Hae-min! Seong Hae-min…!”
“Let go, Min Si-hu.”
I had no choice but to summon the twins. The three of them, who came running like the wind upon hearing my flailing cries, tore Min Si-hu off me like they were ripping a stubborn octopus off a rock. Lee Beom held Min Si-hu firmly, who pouted and flailed his arms, letting out a crying sound like ‘Waaah!’. Cold sweat broke out.
…Should I have just let him misunderstand?
But regret always came too late.
Seong Hae-min pulled out a handkerchief from somewhere and gently dabbed my forehead. Why was he being so overbearing now! I pushed Seong Hae-min’s hand away.
I had come to the hospital because of Lee Beom’s Grandmother, but what was this situation? This was the hospital lobby. Passersby stopped and glanced at us, the group surrounding me. As expected, there wasn’t a single day that went by peacefully when I was with the Four Heavenly Kings.
My energy was already depleted. I wanted to sit down and rest.
“Then let’s rest nearby for a bit…”
I was about to suggest moving to a more comfortable spot since we’d have to stay at the hospital for Grandmother’s sake, when suddenly.
Ting, ting, ding, tiding. Our mobile phones rang in succession with notification sounds.
I checked my phone, thinking it might be a disaster alert, but there was no such notification. It was the sound from the Four Heavenly Kings’ mobile phones. The faces of all four stiffened upon hearing the incoming messages.
Lee Beom was the first to check his. His small mobile phone, which seemed too small for his large hands, slid open. After reading the message for a moment, Lee Beom’s eyebrows furrowed, looking extremely displeased.
“…It’s a summons.”
“Ah, of all times…”
Seong Hae-min sighed deeply and ran a hand through his hair. If even he, who always smiled kindly, reacted like that, it meant it wasn’t a trivial matter. My involuntarily tense lips began to dry. I rolled my eyes, assessing the atmosphere.
Who had sent the unwelcome contact, and where did we have to go?
“Beom, tell them you can’t go…”
“Yeah! Beom has to be at the hospital, after all.”
Jeon Jae-hyung, who rarely spoke, opened his mouth. Min Si-hu chimed in. I was calculating the right moment to interject and ask.
“It won’t be easy.”
“But last time, that guy Gyeong-gin or Ung-gin also skipped!”
“Si-hu, watch your words.”
At Seong Hae-min’s caution, Min Si-hu shut his mouth like a clam. His cheeks were puffed out in a displeased expression.
“…Whose contact is it?”
Seizing the moment, I asked cautiously. Lee Beom’s large hand, the size of a cauldron lid, suddenly rested on my head. Lee Beom ruffled my hair without a word. When I looked at Seong Hae-min with a questioning expression, he looked troubled, as if it were difficult to answer, and shook his head, saying it was nothing.
Hiding it again, huh!