" Hey, Lee Minho, wake up "
His tightly shut eyes didn't budge at all
His skin gleamed under the softly shining light
His skin didn't show even pores, let alone blackheads
A face that didn't even get any care
Compared to my skin, where I slathered on several products
looked way better, which was annoyingly infuriating
When I poked his cheek with my finger,he flinched and opened his eyes
" Wake up, I said "
In case he noticed I'd secretly touched his face
I hid my expression and casually woke Minho up
The school we arrived at, luckily, was still before attendance
When the professor walked in,
the restless classroom atmospherewent quiet in an instant
After the boring lecture started,
a few students couldn't fight off sleep and kept nodding off
and a few others secretly fiddled with their phones
Of course, Minho and I were no different
Trying desperately to hold back a laugh that was about to spill out,we pressed our mouths shut
and kept whispering to each other
" We'll end class here for today "
Whether the professor didn't hear the snickering or not,
he didn't call us out separately and left without saying much
Outside, a cool breeze was blowing
It was a faint breeze just enough to rustle the leaves
When I got to the smoking area,
I was busy racking my brain
for how to skip the company dinnerand lit my cigarette
" You've got time to worry about that? Then at least quit smoking already "
Minho, with the smoke drifting away in the wind,
covered his nose and said
With a grimace, fanning his face with his hand, Minho
added that it would be more relaxing just to go
No matter how much I wracked my brain,
in the end the only way I could think of was to go anyway
" Seriously, that's so not it.. If I black out, make sure you take care of me, please... "
Minho took a sip of his drinkand deliberately avoided answering
He just grumbled about how I should quit smoking
and didn't add anything else
" Cheers~ "
Amid the noisy crowd of people,
the clink of glasses rang out
As I swallowed the soju, its bitter sting went down my throat
Even though I hadn't even been seated for five full minutes yet,
I'd already emptied my second glass
I clutched my churning stomach and headed outside
I pulled out the cigarette I'd tucked into one side of my pocket and put it between my lips
Then I took a deep breath
I took out my lighter to light it, but
maybe because the wheel was acting up, only sparks flew
and it wouldn't light at all
" What are you gonna do if you're already struggling? "
In front of me, crouched by the store entrance,
I saw Minho holding out a lighter
" Oh, thanks.. "
Forcing my limp eyes open, I lit the cigarette
Minho crouched down beside me in the meantime
and gently patted my back, asking if my stomach was okay
