BMGSN 4

When he squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again, Jinki was wrapped in Go Yeol’s arms, and the guy blinked blankly at him as if asking what was wrong. He felt dazed, like a kid who had been bawling because he did not want a shot and then suddenly heard, ‘It’s all over.’

“I can lift this much.”

“Ah, okay. Put me down.”

Feeling awkward and embarrassed, Jinki twisted his body, and Go Yeol calmly set him down. The moment he was on his feet, Jinki slapped at his burning earlobes with his hands and walked ahead first. He could clearly feel Joo Unyoung’s unabashed gaze on him.

“Jinki-ya, not that way. Come this way.”

“……”

Jinki quickly turned around and followed the others. Before long, the four of them arrived at a jjajangmyeon restaurant. When Go Yeol went in like he was familiar with the place, the owner greeted them warmly and led them inside.

Apparently acquainted with Go Yeol, the owner asked about his family’s well-being, and Go Yeol responded appropriately. Joo Unyoung ordered jjamppong, while the rest ordered three large servings of jjajangmyeon. They also ordered a medium tangsuyuk, but a large one came out as a free service.

“Jinki-ya, ah.”

“Huh?”

“Eat the tangsuyuk too while you eat. And you’ve got jjajang on your lips.”

Smiling gently, Joo Unyoung wiped the corner of Jinki’s mouth. Jinki was quickly devouring the sweet jjajangmyeon when he stared at the tangsuyuk being held out to him. As if urging him to eat, Joo Unyoung made an “ahh” sound. Jinki smiled awkwardly under the gazes of Go Yeol and Baek Jaehee and took it with his chopsticks.

“Uh, thanks… You, um, you eat too.”

“Huh? Me too? Should I go ‘ah’?”

“What?”

He had meant, ‘You eat it yourself.’

Jinki stared at Joo Unyoung, who was smiling shyly with his mouth slightly open, then hesitantly picked up another piece of tangsuyuk. At that moment, Baek Jaehee gulped down his water and slammed the glass hard onto the table.

“Hey! F*ck, what the hell is this? Why are two grown-ass guys acting like this? Joo Unyoung, you crazy bastard, don’t you have hands? Don’t you have feet?”

“Jinki-ya, hurry. Ahh.”

“Ugh… Are you guys seriously dating?”

When Baek Jaehee hugged himself and shuddered as if fed up, Joo Unyoung burst out laughing. Then, acting even more playful, he closed his eyes and parted his lips. Jinki had absolutely no idea how he was supposed to deal with this dogshit situation.

Given Choi Jinki’s personality, it felt like something he should do, but he really did not want to. While hesitating with the tangsuyuk in his chopsticks, Go Yeol picked up a new pair of chopsticks and shoved a too-large piece of tangsuyuk, poorly cut and bulky, straight into Joo Unyoung’s mouth.

“Ah, f*ck. This is f*cking hilarious!”

“We don’t have much time.”

Go Yeol was a savior. Jinki rolled his lower lip inward and looked at Go Yeol with a deeply moved expression. He wanted to grab him right away and shout, ‘Thanks, dude!’ Baek Jaehee cackled with laughter, and Joo Unyoung bit into the tangsuyuk, lifting the piece marked with teeth prints with his chopsticks.

Joo Unyoung looked annoyed as he stared at the chopsticks piercing through the tangsuyuk, but Jinki cheerfully finished off the rest in no time.

By the time they returned to school, the security guard had gone out to eat, so the four of them entered through the main gate. Go Yeol headed straight for the gym. When Jinki asked if he was not even going to let his food digest, Go Yeol simply nodded silently. Jinki found himself staring in renewed curiosity at Go Yeol, who was wearing the basketball team uniform.

There had been kids like that in his previous life, too. Like him, they slept through class, but unlike him, they were the ones running hard toward the future. Becoming a pro out of the countless high school basketball teams was something only a handful could achieve, yet back then, the fact that they held on to that tiny possibility as a dream had seemed pathetic to him.

Jinki walked with the two of them toward the edge of the field, slipping both hands into his pants pockets before quickly pulling them back out. Habits from his previous life kept popping up.

Be careful, be careful. Even if they thought it was strange, what would these guys even suspect?

“Ah, right. You know Gwangim High next door, yeah?”

“Why?”

“They wanna do a soccer bet. You wanna go? This Saturday.”

It was Baek Jaehee who casually threw out the suggestion. Judging by how naturally he asked, it seemed like the former Choi Jinki had gone a few times before.

The only soccer Jinki had ever watched was on TV at home after work while drinking beer. Honestly, he barely knew the rules. If someone scored, it was like, ‘Oh, they scored’. If they missed, ‘That was too bad.’ Even the original Choi Jinki did not seem particularly interested in soccer, since there were no real memories related to it.

“No.”

“Why? You said you were down before. Then just come watch.”

“Why would I?”

“What’s there to argue about? Dude, come cheer us on, bring us water during breaks and stuff. Don’t guys get fired up when there’s a pretty kid around?”

What a load of bullshit.

Jinki shut down Baek Jaehee’s rambling with that single thought. Was that why sports teams picked girls as managers? Thinking about it made him feel kind of disgusted, and Jinki subtly moved away from Baek Jaehee.

As a result, he ended up naturally drifting closer to Joo Unyoung. He could feel the gaze following him intently. Jinki turned his head, sweating inwardly. Stop staring, you’re going to wear a hole in me…

“Oh, right. Baek Jaehee.”

“What now?”

“You go on ahead. I’ve got something to talk about with Jinki.”

That was the first he had heard of it. Jinki’s eyes widened as he looked back and forth between the two of them. Joo Unyoung, who had casually slung an arm around Jinki’s shoulders, waved his hand at Baek Jaehee, shooing him away. Then he pulled out the lollipop the restaurant owner had given him at the Chinese place.

“What, what is it. Why do you have to talk just between you two?”

“I said I’ve got something to say.”

“Then why are you leaving me out?”

“Ah, why are you being so clingy. Just go when I tell you to.”

Baek Jaehee’s gaze narrowed. He roughly raked a hand through his reddish-brown hair and let out a deep sigh. “Won’t even come to the soccer game, f*ck,” he muttered, his voice sounding oddly pitiful.

Joo Unyoung, still wearing that harmless expression, looked at him while lazily spinning the candy. It smelled like strawberries. Standing between the two of them, Jinki just wanted to run away. Desperately.

“Fine, you bastard. What are you glaring like that for?”

When he turned his head, Joo Unyoung was still smiling. Baek Jaehee snorted, saying, “You’re staring like a f*cking psycho,” then turned around and strode toward the building. Dirt and sand scattered in every direction as he stomped along, clearly upset and sulking.

“Should we sit over there?”

“Uh… But what did you want to talk about?”

“Come here.”

Baek Jaehee trudged off, glancing back a few times. Joo Unyoung did not pay him any attention at all and headed for a bench set up at one side of the field. An unknown plant had thick vines climbing above it, casting deep shade.

Still with an arm around his shoulders, Jinki was pulled along and made to sit. Sitting side by side, Joo Unyoung, who had been shorter than him, now felt about the same height.

…Are my legs short?

He subtly stretched his legs out, but they were by no means short. If anything, they were on the longer side, but being next to a guy who looked beautiful just by breathing and had long legs to boot made him feel unnecessarily intimidated.   

Like when you walk into a restroom and see a handsome man staring at himself in the mirror, and you end up feeling intimidated and stepping aside. Jinki slid his legs back under the bench. Still, to be honest, I am pretty good-looking too.

“Ah, I’m full. But you’re not eating your candy?”

“I just put it in my pocket.”

“Right. You said you don’t eat sweets.”

Jinki nodded with an awkward smile. That might have been true in the past, but the current Jinki loved sweets immensely. The reason he had not unwrapped the candy was simply because he did not want to chew it during the short lunch break. He was saving it to eat on the way home.

No matter how he thought about it, the original Choi Jinki and the current Choi Jinki were way too different. Personality, behavior, likes and dislikes, even the way he carried himself. Joo Unyoung was gentle, but Choi Jinki was supposed to be a charismatic second-generation chaebol male lead, befitting a main gong.

“No, I do eat them.”

“Really?”

Joo Unyoung popped the candy into his mouth, then made a soft popping sound as he pulled it back out. Jinki leaned back against the bench and tilted his head upward. A cool breeze blew past. It was already July, so soon it would get so unbearably hot that he would barely be able to breathe. He remembered getting heat exhaustion every summer.

Still, now I would be able to turn on the air conditioner at home, right? I should not step outside even once.

“What are you doing this week?”

“Huh?”

Jinki had been staring into empty space, lost in thought, but when a sudden question startled him and he straightened up. Joo Unyoung let out a soft chuckle.

“You’ve changed somehow. It feels like you’ve strangely gotten a lot more openings.”

“What are you talking about… No. I’m the same.”

At Joo Unyoung’s casually tossed remark, Jinki felt needlessly pricked and avoided his gaze. When he checked the time, there were about ten minutes left until class.

Do I really have to endure ten more minutes? No, wait. I should suggest going in five minutes early…

Just then, a firm hand slid lightly over the back of his hand. Joo Unyoung squeezed Jinki’s hand tightly, then loosened his grip.

“Why did your feelings change?”

“Ah…”

“I thought you liked me, but you keep saying that’s not it, so it hurts.”

So it really was this conversation. Jinki missed the timing to pull his hand away, and not knowing what to say, he bit down hard on his lip.

“Don’t. You’ll hurt your lips.”

The hand that reached out brushed over his lips. When the lips he had been chewing slipped free with a soft pop, Joo Unyoung lowered his eyelids. His light brown eyelashes fluttered gently, just like butterfly wings.

His thumb swept over Jinki’s lower lip, slowly circling the slightly swollen and reddened spot. After swallowing a few times, Jinki leaned his body back.

Thump, thump. Thump.

His heart was pounding like crazy.

It was because of his body’s memories. Choi Jinki had liked Joo Unyoung, and because of those memories of liking him, it felt like his chest was about to burst. Jinki struggled with everything he had not to show it. He pressed his lips tightly together, then turned his gaze elsewhere and finally opened his mouth to speak.