F14

Siwoo flinched. If those guys had already been proven guilty of a crime, or if they had continued smoking in front of Yeonho, Siwoo would have separated Yeonho from them immediately.

But neither was the case, so he had no solid reason to judge the situation as dangerous or intervene on Yeonho’s behalf. The men were speaking gently, coaxing Yeonho with soft voices. Yeonho quickly stopped crying and smiled brightly, clearly happy to receive kindness from someone.

One of them joked, “Don’t cry, here, eat this,” and placed a lollipop into Yeonho’s mouth. Holding the stick himself, he kept inserting and removing the candy from Yeonho’s lips, which looked really unpleasant to Siwoo.

It was overtly sexual. By Siwoo’s standards, that was clearly harassment. He finally had a reason to intervene.

He turned to walk toward Yeonho. Just then, Yeonho stuck out his tongue and began licking the lollipop himself. Siwoo couldn’t tell whether Yeonho was just unaware or was tacitly agreeing to the act. That uncertainty made him stop in his tracks.

The man with the lollipop asked,

“Wanna hang out in our room? It’ll be fun. There are only four of us there, so don’t feel pressured.”

Then Yeonho slowly licked the lollipop and turned his head to look at Siwoo. His answer was directed at the four athletes, but his eyes were fixed on Siwoo.

“I’ll go after I get permission from my department seniors.”

“Just come. The second night is for wandering around, mixing with other rooms. Everyone’s drunk and crazy, no one even knows who went where.”

“Still, I want to tell them first. What room number are you in?”

In that moment, Siwoo felt a jolt of realization: I’ve been baited.

What was that? Why is he looking at me?

Whether Yeonho intended it or not, Siwoo was now unable to shut out the stimulus. He should just walk away and erase that face from his mind, but now it was impossible.

He fell into a dilemma. Should he stay out of it or act because Yeonho might be in danger? But Yeonho seemed to be enjoying himself, wasn’t it better to leave him be? Then again, the way Yeonho looked at him seemed to be asking him to care.

Siwoo almost acted on impulse but quickly calmed himself. He’d been taught since childhood never to get emotionally involved in situations he didn’t fully understand.

The athletes hadn’t been punished after the previous scandal. Maybe the criminal rumors were just that, rumors. Maybe they really were just trying to be friendly with students from other departments. At this point, Yeonho might even be just like them.

Raised under the tight control of his parents to be cold and unbending, Kim Siwoo – legal name Kim Yeonho – turned away without blinking. He had no idea he had just opened the gates of hell and stepped in with his own feet.

Even so, he remembered the room number the suspects had given Yeonho with perfect clarity. Room 612.

Cheered up by the sugar, Yeonho smiled brightly at Siwoo’s retreating back. He’d been too low on energy to flirt with Siwoo, but now that his sugar levels were restored, he had the strength. He even shot Siwoo a teasing glance, combining recovery and seduction in one move.

“Our Yeonho is so sweet and pretty, but sometimes he’s just hopeless.”

***

Adults who adored Yeonho often said that.

From that moment, trapped in the flames of hell, Siwoo could do nothing.

Joo Yeonho. Joo Yeonho. Room 612. Room 612.

He had no interest in the disgusting drinking party in front of him. His mind was completely consumed by Yeonho’s safety. He even forgot it was his own birthday today.

It has to be dangerous.

Siwoo was gripped by emotions he had never felt before, anxiety, nervousness, concern, and the guilt his parents had warned him never to surrender to. The emotions he had always suppressed and controlled were now crashing through his barriers all at once.

At the end of his internal struggle, he muttered,

“…I made the wrong decision.”

He had no choice but to admit it. Siwoo harshly blamed himself. He couldn’t understand why he had just left Yeonho like that. He’d abandoned a newly twenty-year-old boy among people suspected of being predators.

Even if Yeonho wasn’t perfectly well-behaved, it made no sense to leave him alone without even a warning. At the very least, he should have let him know there might be danger. The fact that he had made such a decision made him feel inhuman.

His parents always said there was no need to feel guilt or regret. Use that time to negotiate or solve problems with money. Never let useless sympathy or civic duty cause trouble. If he really wanted to help others, he should do so through proper means like donations.

Siwoo had tried to live that way. Up until thirty minutes ago.

***

With his seniors’ permission, Yeonho moved to the athletes’ room. His pride, crushed earlier by the engineering student, was rebuilt by the students from another department.

They clapped and squealed over every little thing he did, shouting how cute and pretty he was with every breath he took. From start to finish, everything he did was showered with praise.

Aside from their excessive foul language, the atmosphere was comfortable. It finally felt like he was back where he belonged. Yeonho had lived like this for the past nineteen years.

He was someone who trusted and liked others easily. Most people he had met in his life had been kind to him. So of course he liked people who were good to him.

Yeonho, in turn, was kind to others and generous toward their mistakes. The only person on Earth who had ever been so cold and strict to him was Siwoo.

As he thought about that handsome, emotionless purist, a sense of conquest flared up again. Siwoo had hesitated and looked back earlier, hadn’t he? Could it mean he actually cared a little? Or was that just wishful thinking?

Yeonho started feeling that something was off around the time he passed half a bottle of soju as punishment in a drinking game. He shook his head, struggling with the intoxication.

“I think I’ve had enough.”

“Just win the game, then.”

“I’m not good at games… You probably won’t have fun playing with me…”

“Why wouldn’t we? It’s fun when someone gets punished.”

Several pairs of eyes locked onto him. Yeonho blinked in fear. He stood up, trying to leave, and bowed his head. But the two men on either side grabbed his wrists and forced him to sit again.

In that moment, Joo Yeonho learned a major lesson: kindness can hide all kinds of intent.

He tried his best to win, but how could he win a game he had never played before? He’d only graduated high school two weeks ago and had just had his first drink yesterday. There was no way a kid like him could beat grown adults at drinking games.

People didn’t see it, but Yeonho had really led an innocent youth. Not because he was unusually pure, but because he saw no reason to ruin his own worth. He hadn’t even dated, not for lack of opportunity, but because no one ever caught his eye. He loved people, but he didn’t easily see them as romantic partners.

Unlike his youth, which had always gone his way, adulthood was harsh from the start.

The pressure of the atmosphere made it impossible to escape. At some point, Yeonho had drunk more than a bottle and a half of soju. He tried to beg for mercy, but no one listened.

“I really can’t drink anymore. I feel like I’m going to throw up.”

“Then take off your clothes, one by one. It’s too hot in here.”

The reason he couldn’t resist what was happening was the alcohol. His limbs felt heavy as they stripped off his socks, exposing his bare feet. He curled up on his knees, trying to hide his soles, but soon fell again into their trap. He toppled over from dizziness, and the guy next to him tugged off his sweater, saying,

“You’re dizzy because it’s too hot. We’re all guys here, take it off and cool down.”

Thankfully, he had a T-shirt underneath. And he wasn’t the only one undressing. Everyone was drunk, everyone had removed layers. Some were in just their underwear. Except for Yeonho, everyone seemed to be having fun.

Maybe they’re not the weird ones. Maybe I’m the problem. Am I just bad at fitting into normal fun?

That doubt crept in just before he collapsed sideways. They pulled him upright again, and someone told him to take off his T-shirt too.

At that moment, someone burst through the door and walked in.

Carrying a crate of alcohol, he appeared like a holy vision and said,

“Our department had some extra booze, so I thought I’d bring some over.”

Drunk out of their minds, the guys shouted, “Wow, he’s hot!” as the newcomer entered the booze-soaked room. Without hesitation, he sat down beside Yeonho.

“I’ll hang out here for a bit too.”

“You can come in freely, but you don’t get to leave that easily. You okay with that?”

“Yes. I don’t mind.”

He answered calmly. Looking at the name tag around Yeonho’s neck, Yeonho’s miraculous savior said,

“Looks like we have the same name. I’ll drink in his place.”