MY 12

At the sudden rush of realization, Han Seolwoo gripped his pen tightly. The reality he had taken for granted suddenly felt foreign. All at once, the faces of the girls Won Wooje used to contact or meet flickered through his mind one by one.

‘Wooje-ya, try this.’

The girl who was feeding him cake, and his neat lips that had snapped it up without any sign of reluctance. The guy’s black pupils looking at the brightly smiling girl. Even that wicked smile of his, which looked needlessly handsome while he was smirking.

With a snap, the lead of the mechanical pencil broke.

In fact, that “chastity before marriage” bit might be a total lie. For a guy who had already tried drinking and smoking despite being a minor to claim chastity before marriage… it was highly likely just a tactic he threw out to block Seolwoo’s path.

He probably talked a good game but did this and that in places where Seolwoo wasn’t around. Holding a girl’s hand, wrapping an arm around her waist, glibly spouting embarrassing words as usual, and even kissing in a dark place… .

“Ah, I’m hungry… .”

Startled, Han Seolwoo snapped out of it at the voice heard nearby. A sharp smell of cigarettes wafted from Choi Sangyoon as he passed by.

“Hey, don’t you have anything to eat?”

Choi Sangyoon tapped the back of the student sitting in the front seat. When Seolwoo turned his head, Won Wooje was nowhere to be seen. Reaching out instinctively, Han Seolwoo lightly grabbed his arm.

“I’ll take it.”

Held back out of the blue, Choi Sangyoon turned his head.

“Huh?”

“…The introduction, I’ll take it.”

As he lowered his upper body and hushed his voice, Choi Sangyoon’s eyebrows twitched. And in that moment, Won Wooje’s voice came from the back door. The tensed Han Seolwoo signaled with his eyes for him to go quickly.

“Uh… yeah. Okay.”

Choi Sangyoon, quickly catching on to Han Seolwoo’s intent, gave him a glance and returned to his seat. Han Seolwoo busily pulled a textbook out of his bag as if nothing had happened.

“What is it?”

Won Wooje asked as he pulled out his chair.

“What?”

Han Seolwoo, managing his expression, raised his eyebrows with innocent eyes.

“I asked what you were doing.”

“I didn’t do anything.”

He shook his head as if asking what he was talking about. Won Wooje, glancing at Choi Sangyoon further away, flopped face-down onto his desk. Han Seolwoo, who had been stiff with tension despite himself, let out a cautious sigh.

That black back of the head weighed on his mind. He felt annoyed for no reason.

Eighteen. The historic day Han Seolwoo received a “blind date with a girl” for the first time in his life.

Name: Lee Narin. Second year at Sosung Girls’ High School. Face: pretty. Good at studying.

This was all the data Han Seolwoo received. He just roughly said he understood and didn’t even think about looking at a photo.

After the decision of a lifetime, things proceeded smoothly and quickly. Since it was obvious what kind of fit Won Wooje would throw if he found out, he had coordinated his story with Choi Sangyoon in advance. He, too, understood Han Seolwoo’s meaning at once, as he knew Won Wooje’s temperament well.

[Lee Narin: Hi]

The message rang less than ten minutes after he received the number. Checking the message under the desk, Han Seolwoo looked at the back of Won Wooje’s prone head and quickly typed a reply.

[Hi. Did you eat?]

Since it was lunchtime, he added a light greeting.

Is it okay to do this? After sending it, he felt awkward for some reason. It was natural in a way, since he had never mixed words with any girl other than his one older sister.

[Lee Narin: Yup lol. Are you at lunchtime too??]

In the moment he was agonizing over the quick reply, he heard a rustling sound from the side. Startled, Han Seolwoo slid his phone into the desk drawer as if it were nothing. He heard Won Wooje, who had woken up, yawning as he sat up groggily.

Watching him stretch, Han Seolwoo let out a faint sigh.

Thinking about it made him angry again. It’s just a normal thing that everyone else does, so why do I have to act like I’m committing a crime with bated breath? Why is Won Wooje like that? Why is he acting as if I am his possession? The question marks in his head multiplied endlessly.

Having gone through elementary, middle, and high school together, he had seen many guys who hung out closely in groups, but none of them were like Won Wooje. To be precise, he had never seen a relationship quite like the one between Won Wooje and himself.

Close friends ask to play together, they don’t tell you to study. If you meet a girl, they want to hear the review, they don’t tell you not to meet her. They wouldn’t run while carrying you on their back as if their life depended on it just because you hurt your leg a little to comfort you, and above all, they wouldn’t have such sorrowful eyes and expressions while looking at the injured him.

Han Seolwoo still remembered Won Wooje’s ragged breathing echoing in his ears. He also clearly remembered the face full of worry for him, the touch that wiped away his tears while being restless, and the gaze that flickered anxiously.

Normal friends don’t do that. Just because he was in a half-cast, they don’t watch over him with extreme care, worrying he might break if touched, nor do they tenderly wrap an arm around his waist every time he stands up.

There would be no reason to give him a nickname like “Princess Seolwoo” among a bunch of dark-haired boys, nor would they make a habit of praising him by saying things like “cute brat” or “you’re pretty.”

That kind of thing… that kind of thing isn’t something you do to a male friend who is well over 180 centimeters tall; it’s what you do to a member of the opposite sex you like!

Suddenly, it felt as if something was caught in his throat. As his idle thoughts deepened, his heart surged. Han Seolwoo, clutching his chest involuntarily, let out a low breath.

“What’s wrong?”

Won Wooje, who quickly noticed the small change, asked. Having opened his groggy eyes, he was looking at Seolwoo with a serious gaze.

Han Seolwoo shook his head. Then he rifled through his textbook, pretending nothing was wrong.

“Nothing.”

A cold voice jumped out before he could stop it. Won Wooje, staring blankly at Han Seolwoo, narrowed his eyes. Here we go again, again. That tenacious gaze. It was a preparatory movement to get the answer he wanted no matter what. However, Han Seolwoo had no intention of saying any of the stray thoughts he had just come up with.

[If you’re sick, go to the infirmary. Don’t let the illness grow for nothing.]

Won Wooje pushed a textbook forward. Han Seolwoo saw Won Wooje’s ugly handwriting written with a blue ballpoint pen in a Korean Geography textbook, not even a notebook.

“Should I tell them for you?”

Won Wooje whispered, lowering his upper body. The eyes looking up at him were nothing but serious. Han Seolwoo swallowed an ill feeling of unknown origin.

Who does he think I am, that I can’t even say those words? Does he think I’m some loser who doesn’t know how to tell the teacher? No, what the hell is wrong with that guy.

The more he thought about it, the more heat rose within him. Han Seolwoo, slowly brushing his hair back, shook his head again. Without meeting Won Wooje’s gaze as he stared intensely at him, he wrote out the words clearly.

[I have a mouth too.]

He coldly pushed one side of the notebook toward him. At the nonsensical response, Won Wooje looked at him with eyes that asked what he was talking about. Han Seolwoo just feigned ignorance.

There were a total of three high schools near Unil-dong. Unil High School, which was co-ed; Hansan High School, an all-boys school; and Sosung Girls’ High School. Lee Narin, who was introduced to Han Seolwoo, attended the nearby Sosung Girls’ High School.

Since then, Han Seolwoo exchanged messages with Lee Narin whenever he had a spare moment. Even just talking about what time they woke up, what they had for breakfast, and what they were doing now left no gaps in the conversation. Lee Narin’s proactive attitude also played a part in this.

Since being introduced to her, there was only one thing that had become the most difficult. It was the task of secretly contacting her while avoiding Won Wooje’s eyes.

Usually, Han Seolwoo didn’t look at his phone much, except to check the time. Especially inside the school, he tended to keep it in his bag and not take it out. If he showed himself contacting someone, it was obvious he would immediately draw Won Wooje’s suspicion.

Han Seolwoo, who had been replying secretly, fell into deep thought. When an unexpected call even came in during lunchtime, he froze up stiffly by himself.

Even his parents wouldn’t be like this to him. He was starting to feel frustrated about why he had to be so mindful of Won Wooje’s reaction in this matter.

Wouldn’t it be better to just tell him rather than living like this? After wavering for a moment, he recalled Won Wooje’s reaction and cleanly gave up. Even though he called Seolwoo a “scholar” every day, the one born with a “boomer” disposition worse than an ancestral spirit was none other than Won Wooje. It might have started because he had taken such extreme care of Seolwoo, who used to be ignored often due to his unusually small stature when they were young.

Sigh. Han Seolwoo let out a deep sigh and lowered his eyes.

“Why the sigh?”

Han Seolwoo’s shoulders jolted at the voice from behind. When he turned his head, Won Wooje’s face, leaning forward, had suddenly appeared over his shoulder. Surprised by the closeness—enough for their lips to touch—Han Seolwoo quickly gulped. Then he blinked his eyes.

“What’s with that reaction.”

“… .”

“What is it?”

At Won Wooje’s question, Han Seolwoo, coming to his senses late, jerked his head away.

“…What.”

“Tell me.”

Won Wooje, slowly straightening his upper body, said firmly.

“I said tell me.”

At the pestering words, Han Seolwoo turned his head again and looked up at him. Won Wooje, with his hands shoved in his pants pockets, was looking down at him. Perhaps because he was looking from below, the square shoulders that looked even broader and the fierce impression felt threatening.

“…Tell you what.”