By Zephyria 
“Well, it just… happened.”
As he mumbled, Park Hyun-ji urged him to elaborate. The déjà vu he felt from that intrigued gaze was probably not a delusion. Gu Hae-bin, who had somehow become acquainted with Yeon-jun recently, lingered in his mind. And furthermore, how his friends had become grouped together.
Park Hyun-ji had been the first to intrude on the two-person dynamic of Gu Hae-bin and Eun-ha, followed in order by Kim Seon-woo and Im Sujin. And the only connection linking them all was Eun-ha. Those who felt some kind of pioneering urge towards the rather introverted Eun-ha wanted to become friends with him, and then took the step of becoming friends with the friends beside him.
Of course, those four weren’t the only ones who had approached Eun-ha. But the reason why those four in particular had come together was because they had their own standards. First of all, their personalities had to be compatible, and they couldn’t have any fatal flaws in their character, such as having been involved in crime, even on a small scale, or being violent. And their standard of living had to be similar. To summarize, it could be greatly simplified. Birds of a feather had to flock together. That was a standard that Eun-ha also agreed with. From his experience, most conflicts between friends arose when that was not the case.
In that sense, Yeon-jun was exactly the kind of person his friends would like. He could tell just by the way Gu Hae-bin liked Yeon-jun. Of course, that was only because he wanted Eun-ha to have a normal relationship.
Anyway, Eun-ha didn’t want Yeon-jun to stand out too much to his friends. So, instead of divulging information about Yeon-jun, he chose to change the subject. How was the person he met today?
Park Hyun-ji shot Eun-ha a slight glare before giving him a generous look, as if to let him off the hook.
“He was alright? Seemed enthusiastic.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah. He apparently told Jun-gyu, my Hubae who works as a teaching assistant, that he wanted to do it first.”
A bitter taste rose on his tongue. It wasn’t hard to imagine Young-min putting on the appearance of a reasonably enthusiastic college student in front of Park Hyun-ji, which made him feel resentful. He didn’t even know what era it was, that pathetic man who was just preying on innocent freshmen… Knowing that Yeon-jun was unfairly entangled in that lowlife behavior, Eun-ha was itching to interfere.
He wondered if it wasn’t a bit immature, or meddling unnecessarily, but more than anything, he didn’t want his friend to give any kind of opportunity to someone who seemed to have a rotten personality. Park Hyun-ji wouldn’t want that either if she knew the truth.
So Eun-ha opened his mouth. Without mentioning Yeon-jun. He said he’d heard that that person was maliciously preying on Hubae. He said he didn’t want her to work with someone like that. That level of explanation and request would be enough. Park Hyun-ji was someone who had been on the last train of military culture that remained in the department until her freshman year, and Park Hyun-ji herself inherently hated anything unethical.
Above all, his friends, including Park Hyun-ji, were always happy to do Eun-ha a favor. For some reason, they even seemed to get a thrill out of it sometimes. As expected, the reaction he got wasn’t far from what he had expected. She was briefly taken aback, but then easily accepted Eun-ha’s opinion without much suspicion. She said there must be a reason why he was saying that.
Then came a light grumble directed at her teaching assistant colleague. She wondered if he didn’t know how the department was run, trying to connect her with someone like that.
Eun-ha quietly gloated inwardly. He had succeeded in getting revenge, even if it was minor. He didn’t know why he was taking revenge on behalf of Yeon-jun without being asked to.
And so, it was finally the last day of classes. Yeon-jun finished his grueling final exams with the Critique that started at 9 a.m. Eun-ha hadn’t slept well the night before, as usual. He had been like that for days, so the fatigue had piled up to the limit, and he had collapsed as soon as he got back from work. He fell into a light sleep with a faint consciousness, and when he woke up tired, it was 3 p.m. He had only slept for two hours.
Unconsciously, Eun-ha checked his phone first and found that Yeon-jun had contacted him.
Baek Yeon-jun
Exams are over
Hyung
I came to the cafe but Hyung already left work
Are you home?
Ung home
jhrlryeosa
When did I send a message like this? Eun-ha frowned at the messy reply that he had no memory of. Especially the typo in ‘Ung’, which seemed to be trying to be cute, grated on his nerves. Below that, Yeon-jun’s replies had arrived at one-minute intervals.
Baek Yeon-jun
I see
Sleep well
(Emoji)
Can you contact me when you wake up?
Eun-ha stared at the emoji of a white puppy snugly covering itself with a blanket and simply replied. I’m awake. Then, in less than 10 seconds, the unread mark disappeared. Does he… have my message notifications set to something like a siren? A fairly reasonable suspicion popped up in his mind.
Baek Yeon-jun
Can I come over to Hyung’s house now?
The immediate reply seemed to have a sparkling effect. Eun-ha was weak to that side of Yeon-jun. To him wanting something with sparkling eyes. To his transparent and vivid emotions.
What made him different from other people? Eun-ha had been pondering that question for days, and now he had come to some kind of answer. So, maybe.
‘You’re worried about him because of that in the first place.’
‘Because he’s just like you.’
Gu Hae-bin’s insight must have been accurate. It was a hard fact to deny. Whenever Eun-ha saw Yeon-jun, he often seemed like his past self, and every time that happened, other distractions disappeared and only a feeling that was hard to refuse remained. Because his own past, which overlapped with Yeon-jun, was still vividly present.
He wondered if it was really that good, but he nodded his head, thinking it must be that good. It was a feeling that was both projection and empathy. He wondered how he could be so pitiful, and he wondered what he could do, and he seemed both pitiful and a little cute at the same time.
Yeah. That’s why. Projection and empathy.
There wouldn’t be any other feelings for you in it.
Coming over, huh.
Eun-ha hesitated with his mind clouded by fatigue, and then sent a message. Come if you’re going to date. Yeon-jun asked. Date? Eun-ha replied immediately. There are dates at home too. If not, he meant that he wouldn’t do anything like hanging out at home together.
Eun-ha now wanted to settle the remaining number of times as soon as possible.
The typing indicator appeared and disappeared several times in the chat window, and then a positive answer came back from Yeon-jun. Okay for now, he said. If that’s the case, why did he add ‘for now’? Eun-ha thought coldly and counted in his head. Then five more times.
The doorbell rang in the short time it took him to wash his face. He came quickly. Feeling nonchalant, Eun-ha opened the door, but immediately couldn’t help but be enveloped in the wide shadow cast over him and had to be completely embraced by Yeon-jun. Eun-ha, who was dumbfounded by the natural act as if it were the most natural thing in the world, snorted, while Yeon-jun leaned his weight on him and buried his head deeply into Eun-ha’s shoulder. He didn’t feel any impure intentions, it was just a gesture that was close to collapsing helplessly. As if asking him to recognize his hardship.
“Are your exams all done?”
“Yes.”
“You must be happy. Congratulations.”
Yeon-jun chuckled obediently at the dry words.
“I’m really happy. I’m just going to stick with Hyung now…”
Eun-ha let out a small, hollow laugh at the ambitious resolution. Who would allow that? He had no idea what kind of ambition he had.
Then he felt overwhelmed. Yeon-jun was well-built and had broad arms. The feeling of being snugly buried inside like a perfect puzzle was quite cozy and comfortable. I never intended to get used to this with you.
In fact, Eun-ha liked hugging the most out of all physical contact. He liked it so much that he hated himself for liking it so much, it was the worst thing…
For the past few years, he had generally felt that way during sex. He hadn’t hugged anyone except when he was having a Sexual relationship. That meant that hugs without sex were even worse. The worst of the worst…
That’s exactly how he felt now. But even in the midst of that, Eun-ha couldn’t help but feel comfortable, and on the contrary, he felt good. So good that he wanted to stay in this forever.
It was a crazy thought. Eun-ha, feeling even more terrible, barely pushed Yeon-jun away. Then he saw a face that was clean and clear, with no trace of the haggard, exhausted art student he had been for the past few days. It even seemed to have a faint glow.
Those lively eyes scanned Eun-ha and slowly filled with laughter. Eun-ha narrowed his eyes, feeling strangely suspicious.
“Why.”
“……Well.”
“What.”
“Your pajamas are so cute.”
Eun-ha looked down at his appearance. It was a Microfiber pajamas that he had bought because it was supposed to help him sleep. The pajamas, which he often wore because of the nice feel against his skin, had a navy blue background with yellow duck characters all over them. There were other patterns and many basic options, but he had chosen this one and bought it. Purely because he liked it…
“Did Hyung buy it?”
“…Are you going to stand there forever? Just come in.”
He was so embarrassed that he quickly turned his back. He hadn’t been able to pay attention to it because he had just woken up. Behind him, laughter that he couldn’t swallow burst out. Eun-ha stomped his feet, feeling annoyed for no reason.