A9 6

Just as the footsteps that had barely left the staircase stepped into the hallway, a familiar woody scent brushed the tip of the nose. Regrettably, it was Kang Minhyuk, the very last person he should be running into in this situation.

“……”

Those distinctly dark eyes locked onto him. Suho froze mid-motion, stopping himself from shaking off Jaeyoung’s hand, even holding his breath. Every nerve in his body was on edge.

As far as he knew, there wasn’t anything special between Minhyuk and Jaeyoung. At least, their real story hadn’t begun yet. But one never knows with people; this incident could spark some kind of emotion between the two of them. Which meant the best thing for him to do now was to stay out of it. He needed to distance himself from their story and become a complete third party.

Suho bit his lips tightly, afraid even his breathing might give him away, and carefully shook off Jaeyoung’s hand. For a moment, Jaeyoung gave him a pitiful look as if to ask why he was pulling away, but Suho didn’t have the luxury of worrying about that now.

“…Damn it.”

Suho muttered a curse under his breath and tried to quietly turn around. But—

“S-Suho!”

As if unwilling to let him go, Jaeyoung called out his name in a trembling voice. Then, grabbing the hem of Suho’s jacket, he squeezed his eyes shut, tensing his body as if bracing himself. It was enough to drive Suho insane.

No, seriously, why is this guy acting like this?

He tried to knock off Jaeyoung’s hand again, but this time Jaeyoung’s grip was firm, as if determined not to let go.

“What the hell? Are you not letting go?”

“Suho, I still have something to say…!”

“So what? I don’t, so let go of—”

“If…! If by any chance we end up going to the same university…!”

As if the scuffle wasn’t chaotic enough, their voices tangled messily on top of it. Yet Jaeyoung took a deep breath, as though he’d finally decided to say what he’d been holding back all this time, and shouted with all his might.

“Then please still be my friend, Suho!”

Jaeyoung squeezed his eyes shut and barely managed to get the words out. Meanwhile, Suho felt something inside his head snap.

Friend? Who? Me, with you? You want me to still be your friend if we go to the same university? So what, you want us to go to the same school? Without even knowing how I feel right now, you just blurt out whatever you want, thinking I’ll go, ‘Ah, I see,’ and smile kindly? …Do you think I’m that easy?

“…This is seriously unbelievable.”

His teeth ground together involuntarily. Forget karma—rage surged all the way to the top of his head, leaving no room for rational thought. Suho grabbed Jaeyoung’s wrist, which was clutching his jacket. At the sudden strong grip, Jaeyoung let out a sharp “Ah!” from the pain, but even that only fueled Suho’s anger further as his eyes rolled back in fury.   

When Suho suddenly yanked his wrist, Jaeyoung slammed against the wall with a loud thud. It must have hurt, judging by the string of pained groans that followed, but Suho didn’t give him a moment to breathe and cornered him further. Finally, unable to hold back, he reached out toward Jaeyoung’s slender neck that looked as if it might snap under his grip.

Then—

“Stop.”

The hand reaching for Jaeyoung’s nape came to an abrupt halt at the sound of a voice much deeper than his own.

By the time he lifted his arm again, Minhyuk had already grabbed his wrist. Suho turned his glare toward Minhyuk, his eyes sharp enough to stab. Meanwhile, Minhyuk simply looked at him, expressionless, as he pulled Suho’s arm down.

That calm composure only made Suho’s anger boil hotter.

“Move. Don’t interfere.”

“You know there’s nothing good to come from losing your temper here.”

“……”

“So stop it, Im Suho.”

His tone was maddeningly indifferent. Did Kang Minhyuk realize that such detachment was exactly what drove people insane?

“…Ha. You’re both fucking ridiculous. I’m just trying to live my own life.”

In the end, Suho couldn’t hold it in and spat out the words that had been festering inside him. Staying here any longer, facing them like this, made him feel wretched—pathetic, even. He didn’t want to show such a miserable sight, so he turned, ready to walk away.

Clatter.

“What are you all doing standing there? Hurry up and go back to your class.”

A teacher, who had opened the door and poked his head out, waved a hand toward them. Judging from his stiff expression, it seemed their argument had gotten quite loud.

“Those who came for counseling, come in. If you’re done, go back to your class. Just because the Suneung is over doesn’t mean your school life is too.”

“……”

“What are you doing? I said move.”

When they still didn’t budge, the teacher opened the door wide. It looked like he was about to personally drag them to the teachers’ office if they didn’t start moving. Suho pressed his lips together and gave a small nod as if to say he understood. Then he quickly turned away, eager to escape the uncomfortable encounter.

One step, then another. Though he walked quickly to get away from them, his thoughts were still entirely fixed on them, as if something was keeping him from truly leaving.

Looking back, that was what made it all the more miserable.

* * *

“Anyone here for counseling, come in quickly. I’m going back in.”

Clatter—click. With the sound of the door closing, a cold silence settled over the hallway. The two remaining people simply stared at the spot where Suho had disappeared, neither of them making any move to step away. Before long, Suho’s figure was nowhere to be seen. And yet, for some reason, neither could tear their gaze away.

As Minhyuk quietly inhaled, the faint trace of Suho’s scent brushed the tip of his nose. Perhaps because Suho had been unusually agitated, the smell was stronger than usual; his distinctive cream caramel scent clung to his clothes despite the small amount. Minhyuk looked down the hallway where Suho had vanished and replayed the scene in his head. 

Im Suho was strange today, as always. A year ago, he would’ve lashed out no matter who was involved, whether a teacher appeared or not. Yet contrary to expectation, even while raging in fury, Suho had faltered the moment someone told him it wasn’t worth it. In the end, when the teacher barked at them to return to class, instead of being insolent, he’d actually lowered his head.

Before he disappeared, Suho’s last words kept echoing in Minhyuk’s mind.

‘…Ha. You’re both fucking ridiculous. I’m just trying to live my own life.’

His voice had sounded weary, but unfortunately, Minhyuk couldn’t understand what he meant. Live his own life? Did that mean the life he’d been living until now wasn’t the one he wanted? He was born into a family that lacked nothing, living a life others would envy. The more Minhyuk thought about those words, the more it felt like Suho placed no meaning whatsoever on the privileges he enjoyed. That likely included their engagement as well.

It wasn’t that the thought itself offended him. Minhyuk had no particular feelings toward Im Suho, so there was no reason to feel displeased. Still, for some reason, letting those words slide in silence left a twisted knot in his chest.

At first, he thought it didn’t matter what Suho did. No matter who he met, he would still end up by Minhyuk’s side anyway.

Yet despite knowing that, Suho began to show an inexplicable aversion to the engagement and to their relationship in general, gradually avoiding him. It wasn’t exactly a pleasant thing to watch.

Why is he avoiding me so much? Nothing even happened between us.

At times, it was as if Suho treated him like someone who didn’t exist, but then there were moments when he’d send those wary, guarded glances that caught Minhyuk’s attention in a strange way. He couldn’t understand why he, who normally felt indifferent toward everyone, found himself uncharacteristically curious about Suho. Of course, Suho found his attention thoroughly unpleasant.

Minhyuk slid his hands into the pockets of his jacket out of habit and lightly tapped the neatly folded edge of his report card. The crisp sound of paper filled the otherwise quiet hallway, and in response, Jaeyoung’s tightly pressed lips slowly parted.

“I told you before, didn’t I?”

It was a firm, uncharacteristically cold voice, so unlike the Jaeyoung from moments before. Minhyuk shifted his gaze toward him, expressionless, his eyes the only thing that moved. Anyone else would have flinched under that cold stare, but Jaeyoung didn’t waver; instead, he hardened his expression even further and continued.  

“Don’t interfere between me and Suho.”

The desperate, pleading tone he’d used earlier was gone without a trace. But to Minhyuk, who was used to seeing this side of him, the attempt at a threat seemed almost laughable. He tilted his head slightly, amused.

“Don’t interfere? Do you even realize who you’re saying that to? It’s upsetting the fiancé who’s listening.”

“……”

“Even if I don’t interfere, what difference would it make? You freeze up the moment you stand in front of him, can’t even string together a proper sentence. Do you really think Im Suho would ever give someone like you so much as a glance?”

“…Shut up.”

“You’ve been ignored enough times to know it, haven’t you? That someone like you doesn’t even register in his mind. Still, I’ll give you credit for one thing. Your persistence is impressive. I’ll acknowledge that much.”

His mocking voice carried no hint of emotion, no rise or fall. Even as the exchange ended, Minhyuk merely looked down at him quietly, neither releasing any threatening pheromones nor exuding an intimidating presence. To him, Jaeyoung wasn’t even worth considering.

Jaeyoung, who knew that all too well, couldn’t hold it in any longer, and his face contorted with anger.