PHUW 130

***

Indeed, people needed to study. Learning was food for the mind and the driving force for a life.

At first Haeri had been resentful, wondering why he had to do such things when he was already busy enough eating and playing, but once he actually tried, it turned out to be unexpectedly fun and useful. He even felt a feeling of satisfaction that he had spent the day meaningfully.

But his evaluation of the subjects was another matter.

Korean almost became fun, but Teacher Kim was too scary for him to grow attached. English was manageable, but there was too much to memorize, so it was bothersome. He truly hated Math. Why on earth did he have to learn division of fractions? There were calculators, weren’t there, calculators!

Because of math, his sticker collection suffered. Math was the subject where he rarely got stickers. On top of that, sometimes in Korean and English classes he failed to get one too. Buthe didn’t despair. Haeri had social studies.

Since classes began, his favorite subject by far was social studies.

The social studies teacher was a thin middle-aged woman. Contrary to her strict impression, she spoke so entertainingly she could rival any NeoTuber or livestream BJ. Especially her way of delivering the lesson so it didn’t feel like a lesson at all made it appealing from the start.

Instead of stiffly explaining historical events or places from the textbook, she told them smoothly like the messy drama of someone else’s household, and at some point he found himself completely absorbed. An hour passed in no time, and sometimes he even begged her to continue a little more, even while the English teacher was waiting, because he was curious about the rest of the story. If it were up to him, he would have turned all the other class hours into social studies.

Before the weekend, that teacher assigned a field trip homework. And she offered two praise stickers for it.

“So we have to go to a museum this weekend?”

Jeong Mok asked as he hugged Gom-i, who was wagging his tail in welcome.

“Yes. It’s for social studies. If I write a good report, she said she’ll give me two stickers.”

Haeri showed the instruction sheet the teacher had given and the sticker sheet where he had already filled twenty-eight slots. After finishing his welcome ritual with Gom-i, Jeong Mok came into the living room, took off his jacket, and draped it over the sofa.

“What happens when you collect all the stickers?”

“She gives a wish ticket.”

It wasn’t anything grand, just class-related wishes like a homework exemption or ending class ten minutes early.

“What do you plan to do with it?”

“I haven’t decided yet.”

In truth, Haeri already had a plan. He would use it to swap math time for social studies. He didn’t dislike the math teacher. The teacher was fine. He just hated math. Of course Teacher Kim would say no, but it was worth a try. Even if he couldn’t swap entirely, maybe he could shave ten minutes off math and give it to social studies. He planned to try the deal once he had collected about fifty stickers. It was a secret plan, one he couldn’t even tell Jeong Mok. Sorry, master.

“You haven’t decided, but you’re collecting so diligently?”

“The act of collecting itself has meaning. It’s a model of diligence and exemplary behavior.”

“Well… I suppose it is.”

Jeong Mok gave a hollow laugh, like someone who had heard something he wasn’t supposed to.

Using the excuse that he had studied too hard, Haeri would goof off until late at night, then start cramming his Korean and math homework right before bed, barely finishing with Jeong Mok’s help around midnight. Then he’d claim he couldn’t sleep and play mobile games until dawn, sleep in every morning, barely manage to brush his teeth with bedhead, greet Teacher Kim, and end up being nagged to wash his face properly. Such a late-blooming elementary student, and yet he was calling himself the model of diligence and exemplary behavior. He even always did his English homework during lunch, scrambling to finish just before the teacher arrived.

“They say it’s not that I’m dumb, it’s just that I don’t do it.”

“You got a perfect score on the English vocabulary test.”

“Yes, I’m good at English. But I missed two on math. One because I miscalculated the final addition, the other because I forgot to write the unit. Damn. I could have gotten a perfect score. Before too, I lost a sticker because of math. If not for math, I would have filled the sheet today. I guess I’m just not cut out for the sciences.”

Who knew basic arithmetic with fractions could be the dividing line between humanities and sciences.

“But I can make up for it with the social studies homework. I’m a humanities type, so I’ll do well and get the two stickers.”

Jeong Mok hadn’t known the sticker reward system still worked these days. He knew of its existence but had never taken part. Back in the time when kids usually got them, kindergarten or early elementary, before he met Song-i; he had been in and out of hospitals constantly from severe trauma. Could it really be so fun that even at twenty-four he was desperate to fill the sheet?

“If it’s a museum, then the National Museum in Yongsan?”

“The teacher said anything was fine as long as it wasn’t a sex museum, but obviously a museum means the National Museum, the National Museum.”

From the odd emphasis he put on “National Museum,” it was clear he had just learned the phrase.

“Now that I think about it, I haven’t been there since university.”

In the end, it would be Jeong Mok who mostly wrote Haeri’s museum report anyway.

“Really? Then let’s go see the national treasures together, the national treasures.”

Haeri brought the social studies textbook and pointed at the Gilt-Bronze Maitreya and the Silla golden crown. For kids, the shiny and splendid artifacts were always the most popular.

He had felt a little guilty about pushing Haeri into studying when it wasn’t what he wanted. Though Haeri ended up enjoying most of it except math, and the basic knowledge would surely help him in life, it was still not his own choice but a demand from Jeong Mok’s side. So as compensation, Jeong Mok planned to let him do anything he wanted on the weekends, eat what he wanted, go where he wanted.

“Shall we go in the morning?”

“Okay.”

Haeri had even prepared the date spot. He sprawled on the sofa, excitedly browsing the National Museum of Korea website. Compared to adult product sites, this was a very desirable change.

Holding the jacket he had draped over the sofa earlier, Jeong Mok quietly watched Haeri, who was absorbed in his phone. Noticing the gaze, Haeri raised his head.

“What?”

“Whether you have your memory or not, Ahn Haeri is still Ahn Haeri.”

“Out of nowhere?”

Haeri awkwardly sat up.

“I mean you’re always cute.”

Jeong Mok tousled his soft hair, then headed into his room to change clothes.

‘Wow. He just said without warning.’

Haeri didn’t even think to fix his messy hair, he just stared at Jeong Mok’s back. Whenever he moved, there came a rich fragrance that screamed expensive, but today it felt especially good, refined, mature, something that made his heart skip… Damn it, even after studying Korean, why couldn’t he find a different word to describe “sexy”?

‘Why are you going wild for an older hyung, heart? Stop it already.’

He patted his chest quietly, trying to calm himself, while Gom-i trotted over to Jeong Mok’s room door carrying a silicone frisbee.

When Jeong Mok came back out dressed, he warmly responded to Gom-i’s request to play. He threw the frisbee down the vast hallway, again and again. In between, he fetched a beer from the kitchen and sat right next to Haeri on the sofa. With all that space, why there of all places?

Haeri stared at him strangely, but Jeong Mok didn’t mind. He checked the constant incoming messages on his phone, then took a voice call to discuss tomorrow’s museum outing with the security team, all while draping his free arm around Haeri’s shoulders. His long, straight fingers idly stroked the hair at the back of Haeri’s neck. It was casual yet affectionate, just like when Haeri played with Gom-i’s floppy ears.

There was no sign of his heartbeat calming. Who could stay calm when someone else was touching their neck?

Jeong Mok acted as if it were the most natural thing in the world, Gom-i had no thoughts beyond chasing the frisbee, and only Haeri was left hyperaware of the situation.

It was awkward, but not unpleasant. If anything, it felt strangely good. Somewhere he’d heard it said that even men were weak to handsome men. When a good-looking, rich, stylish hyung treated him kindly, he couldn’t help feeling a little proud, a little elated, like a weird confidence was swelling inside. Maybe this was what people called riding on someone else’s glow. He suddenly remembered elementary school classmates bragging that their brother was top dog in middle school, even when they themselves were nobodies.

Back then it was infuriating, but now he could see why it felt good. But what was that fragrance that smelled so amazing? Maybe he should try it too.

“What perfume do you use?”

“Out of nowhere?”

Jeong Mok playfully echoed the words Haeri had used earlier.

“I was curious.”

“Well… what did I put on today?”

Haeri had assumed it was something carefully chosen because it smelled so good. But after thinking hard, Jeong Mok admitted he didn’t remember. He stood up and went toward his room. Haeri followed behind, and behind Haeri padded Gom-i.

It was the first time Haeri saw the inside of Jeong Mok’s room. It was smaller than the one he used.

‘He gave me the better room.’

It had a calm, tidy atmosphere in light gray tones. Instead of a separate dressing room, there was a built-in closet. But the bed was bigger than Haeri’s, of course. With his height and build, how could it not be?

On the wall opposite the bed stood a simple three-drawer dresser with a huge mirror above it. On top sat a wooden tray neatly holding perfume bottles and men’s cosmetics.

“This is all of it.”

Haeri leaned in close to look.

“This?”

It was a scent he already knew. Expensive, yet so common that everyone wore it. Haeri himself had used it once, though not the real bottle, he had bought a small repackaged portion online.

“This doesn’t smell like that.”

He lifted the decorative cap of the heavy, several-hundred-thousand-won bottle, pressed the nozzle to his nose. Yes, it was the fragrance he remembered. He sniffed the other perfumes nearby, the men’s lotion from the same brand. All smelled similar to Jeong Mok, but with subtle differences.

“Maybe it’s all mixed together.”

Even the same perfume smelled different depending on the person. Likely it was a blend with his shower products and lotion. Haeri had expected something grand, but the ending felt bland, almost disappointing. He set the lotion back down and turned around.

Thump.

He hadn’t realized Jeong Mok was so close. His whole face sank into the man’s broad chest.