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Jinhyuk returns home and confirms that his older sister has not come home and contacts Jihoon.
Jinhyuk cleaned his room, filled with anticipation for Jihoon's arrival tomorrow. Then, lying in bed, he searched YouTube for recipes to make for Jihoon.
“Hmm.. Jihoon likes sweet things, so I’ll buy him some chocolate ice cream when he comes home tomorrow.. I wonder if he likes ribs? Should I make some ribs?”
So Jinhyuk stayed up most of the night looking for something for Jihoon.
The next day. School
Ji-hoon and Jin-hyeok went to school together again today. When they arrived at the classroom, Hyun-soo, still wandering around like a puppy, jumped at them.
The three of them laughed and listened to the class. After class, Jinhyuk took Jihoon's hand and led them out of the school. Jihoon, flustered, asked as he was dragged away.
“What’s so urgent..!”
Jinhyuk stops, looks at Jihoon, and speaks.
"Ah..I'm just excited..."
"Hahaha what's so exciting?"
“When you come to our house…”
“Wow.. it looks like a puppy lol”
"puppy..?"
“Yeah, puppy.”
Jinhyuk laughed even harder at Jihoon's words and headed to the ice cream shop.
“Huh? Why here?”
“You like sweets, don’t you? Let’s buy some ice cream here and eat it at home.”
“Hahaha, good, good.”
The two arrived at Jinhyuk's house. As Jinhyuk opened the front door, a familiar voice was heard.
“Are you here~?”
"What? They came together?"
Jinhyuk dropped the ice cream he was holding. It was because his older sister, Sujin, and Hyunsu were there. Jihoon, who was standing behind Jinhyuk's large body, wondered why, so he walked forward and saw Jinhyuk's older sister and Hyunsu. Oblivious to the situation, he greeted them innocently.
"Hello..! Hyunsoo is here too!"
“…Why the hell are you two here?”
"Hey, this is my house. Can't I come?"
“I told you I wasn’t coming in yesterday..!!!!”
“Huh, that’s my feeling.”
While Jinhyuk and his older sister were bickering, Hyunsoo and Jihoon took out the ice cream they had bought and talked.
“Wow, you bought something so fancy.”
“Haha, it must be delicious?”
“Yeah, that’s scary. Let’s eat it all today.”
“Okay haha, that’s right, Jinhyuk is making ribs today too.”
“That kid?”
"huh!"
Jinhyuk overheard Jihoon talking to Hyunsoo without knowing anything. And then he thought.
‘Oh, I’m screwed.’
The older sister pokes Jinhyuk's cheek with her finger and says,
"Who's that kid? He's never brought a friend home before, so when did he get involved with someone like that?"
"..don't touch me before I get beaten."
"This kid to my sister"
Ji-hoon tilts his head at Jin-hyeok's older sister, Su-jin, and asks.
“Jinhyuk doesn’t invite anyone to his house?”
“Yeah, this kid doesn’t have any friends, so Hyunsoo is his only friend.”
“Oh, sister..”
Soojin asked, leaning her face close to Jihoon's. Jihoon gazed at Soojin's truly beautiful face, amazed.
“But who is that baby~? Is she our Jinhyuk’s new lover?”
"Huh? "
"Hmm~ You're cute and pretty. Kind of my style, huh?"
As soon as Jinhyuk hears that, he approaches Sujin and gets annoyed.
"Stop talking nonsense, seriously.."
"Why~ It's really my style~"
"Hey, it's mine, don't touch it!"
Everyone's eyes were fixed on Jinhyuk, startled by his words. Jinhyuk, too, was momentarily taken aback, his true feelings suddenly revealed.
"That...that's...that's why..."
Hyunsoo and Sujin exchanged glances as if they had found prey, and then began teasing Jinhyeok.
"Phew!! Did you hear that?? Don't touch it, it's yoursㅋㅋㅋㅋ"
“ㅋㅋㅋ Wow, sis, what day is it today??“
"Oh my god, that's so funny lol. In my 23 years of living, I've never seen that kid do something like that before."
"Me too, whoa lol. Looks like that kid finally found love.
“…Don’t do that, you guys..”
After teasing Jinhyuk for a while, Soojin approaches Jihoon.
“Jihoon, do you like him?”
"Huh..?"
"That kid. Do you like him?"
"That...that..."
"Ah, noona, don't make Jihoon uncomfortable..;;"
"Ah, woowoo~"
Hyunsoo was trying to stop Jinhyeok, while Soojin continued to talk to Jihoon. Jihoon hesitated, unable to answer Soojin's question. Jinhyeok, who had been listening from behind, was slightly anticipating Jihoon's words.
“I like Jinhyuk too.. He’s the first one who took care of me.. haha”
Jinhyuk felt elated after hearing Jihoon's answer, and his ears turned red as he continued cooking. Jinhyuk felt as if Jihoon had confessed to him.
"Oh, Hyunsoo, did you just hear? Jihoon said he likes Jinhyuk too."
"Sister, those two guys are causing a ruckus at school."
"Oh my gosh, I think I'm crazy"
Ji-hoon is flustered by Soo-jin and Hyun-soo's reactions and waves his hands.
"It's not that I like you that much, I just like you as a friend..."
“Hey honey, have you ever seen something like that between friends?”
“Haha.. I know what you mean.. But between guys…”
“Oh.. really..??”
Sujin, flustered by Jihoon's words, tried to defuse the situation, but Jinhyuk, who had already heard the answer, was clearly disappointed, his shoulders hunched behind him. Sujin awkwardly tried to defuse the situation with Hyunsoo.
“Hey Hyunsoo, would you like to try some of the delicious food Jinhyuk makes?”
“Ha..haha..good, sis..!”
“Jinhyuk..~ I will help you..”
“Haha..! Hey Jihoon, come play with me.. hehe”
“Huh..? Really..”
Oblivious, Ji-hoon sat on the sofa with Hyun-soo and watched TV. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Jin-hyeok and Soo-jin were cooking together, but neither said a word. Jin-hyeok's expression was blank, and he just silently cooked. Seeing this, Soo-jin felt sorry for Jin-hyeok and patted him before leaving. Even while eating, the four of them remained silent. Hyun-soo and Soo-jin, who seemed about to vomit, got up first and ran away. Ji-hoon, oblivious to everything, smiled brightly and spoke to Jin-hyeok.
“It’s really delicious, Jinhyuk!”
Jinhyuk couldn't get angry when he saw Jihoon's bright face, so he smiled affectionately and said.
“Is it delicious? That’s good.”
After finishing their meal, the two went into Jinhyuk's room. Jihoon looked around Jinhyuk's neat and tidy room. He then looked at the books on the bookshelf.
“You have this book too? I have it too.”
“Really? How about that book? I haven’t read it yet.”
“Well, I like it, but the ending is a bit sad.”
"why?"
“It’s a romance book… but the two don’t end up together later.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah, yeah, the woman died of an illness. So the man always stayed by the woman’s side before she died.”
“…It’s really sad.”
“Well, what could be sadder than seeing someone you love die?”
“….”
"Haha, but the first part wasn't bad. Give it a read."
“Haha, I get it. I’ll definitely read it.”
Jinhyuk and Jihoon were reading a book together in Jinhyuk's room. They chatted and played quietly. Then, evening came and Jihoon woke up and stretched.
“Haam… my back hurts.”
“Shall I rub it?”
“Huh..? My waist?”
“Yeah, I’m good at giving massages.”
Jinhyuk laid Jihoon face down on his bed and began massaging his lower back. Jihoon's thin, slender waist fit comfortably in both of Jinhyuk's hands. Jinhyuk carefully massaged Jihoon's lower back, and Jihoon closed his eyes, feeling refreshed as he received the massage.
“Ah..this is really good..”
“Really? Haha, but you really need to gain some weight. You’re too skinny.”
“Haha, but I gained a lot of weight after meeting you.”
"really??"
Jinhyuk was delighted when Jihoon said he'd gained weight thanks to him. It was as if he had somehow contributed to Jihoon. Jinhyuk sat down and handed Jihoon a book. It was "Boys Never Grow Old."
“Isn’t this the book you bought recently?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“But why are you giving it to me..?”
“…I hope you read it.”
“ㅋㅋㅋIs that because it’s funny?”
"…huh"
After handing over the book, Jinhyuk speaks seriously to Jihoon.
“Ji-hoon.”
"huh?"
“…Do you really like me as a friend?”
“Huh..? Right..?”
“…Would you have liked me if I were a woman?”
“Huh..? What are you talking about all of a sudden, Jinhyuk..”
“….”
Jinhyuk had always dreamed of a scene where he would gracefully go-jack to Jihoon, but he felt it wouldn't be right to confess here. Jinhyuk couldn't bring himself to speak, so he just kept his mouth shut. Jihoon, seeing Jinhyuk in this state, lowered his head, met his gaze, and spoke.
“What’s wrong…? What’s wrong?”
Jinhyuk felt frustrated by Jihoon's innocent question.
“Are you really that stupid?”
"uh..?"
“What are you pretending not to know..?”
“…? Jinhyuk, why are you like that..”
Ji-hoon reached out to Jin-hyeok. Jin-hyeok avoided his hand. It was the first time. Jin-hyeok knew he shouldn't do this to Ji-hoon, but his heart ached too much. Jin-hyeok bit his lip, turned his head away, and held back tears. He wanted to tell Ji-hoon right away, but the words just wouldn't come out. He would just vent his frustration at Ji-hoon. Ji-hoon was bewildered by Jin-hyeok's avoidance of his touch. Ji-hoon, at a loss for where to go, lowered his hand and looked at Jin-hyeok. This was the first time this had happened, and Ji-hoon didn't know what to do. He was just upset that Jin-hyeok avoided his touch. Ji-hoon, watching, hesitated, at a loss. And Jin-hyeok continued to turn his head and spoke. He felt like he would hurt Ji-hoon if this situation continued.
“Ji-hoon, you should go home for today.”
"uh..?"
“I’ll take you home. Go home quickly.”
“Ah..yeah..”
Normally, he would have invited Jinhyeok to sleep at his place, but today, he seemed so distraught that Jihoon was upset. However, he had no choice but to put his books away and stand up. Sujin and Hyunsoo, who had found them at the front door, greeted them.
“Bye Jihoon~! Come visit again next time~~”
“Hey Jihoon, next time, come to Jinhyuk’s house with me.”
“Haha, okay, see you next time.”
Jinhyuk ignored their greetings and took Jihoon home.
He brought him there. Ji-hoon stood at the door and greeted Jin-hyeok.
“Thank you for bringing me here, take care Jinhyuk..!”
"huh."
Jinhyuk's unusually unresponsive behavior made Jihoon feel strangely uneasy. Normally, he should have greeted him with a warm smile... He should have said good night. Why didn't he?
Jinhyuk didn't even see Jihoon enter the house, but immediately turned around and went back home. As soon as he arrived, Jinhyuk went into his room, closed the door, and lay down on the bed. He swallowed his tears and tried to sleep alone.