"I always think of you first when I see blue."
He gently voiced what he had been curious about all along.
As if he were reading her mind.
"So, that's why I came to you. Well, I went with Hamin, but you were my destination."
The second time.
His voice was reminiscent of a calm lake. No ripples disturbed its tranquility. Rather, the serene blue gaze seemed to scrutinize the other. His voice and pupils showed no difference from usual, making it difficult to gauge his mood. Kang Sihyun, trying to find a reason for his anger, realized that there were quite a few reasons for him to be angry.
The fact that he had just avoided his gaze earlier and mentioned having nothing to say to him alone. Not choosing him for the obstacle course race could also be a reason. Kang Sihyun realized, as he rolled his eyes, that he had made quite a few mistakes.
"I like you."
"...."
A sudden declaration stole her gaze. Kang Sihyun's expression turned blank. He wondered if he had misheard, but it wasn't something that could be misheard. As his mind struggled to comprehend, he looked at the boy who had smiled to himself and straightened up, releasing the hands that were intertwined.
"I quite like the color of your eyes."
So, you came to my mind first.
The one who resolved the uncertainty with a calm voice showed a slight smile. Slowly, like waking up from a dream, he closed his eyes and then opened them. The voice he had just heard disappeared from his ears, but the person who uttered those words still stood before him.
Watching the dazed Sihyun seemed enjoyable, as Suhwoo stood for a moment, scanning Sihyun's expression, then suggested they leave. He walked toward the tent without looking back. Sihyun, who silently stared at his disappearing figure, finally wrapped his neck with both hands after a while.
"Why would you say something like that so suddenly..."
He mumbled quietly, embarrassed by his lack of response.
He felt warmth in his palm.
"Did you fight with Seowoo?"
"No."
"Then why the expression as if you've been punched?"
Waiting for the heat to subside, they returned to their seats. Hamin, noticing something strange, asked why they were so late. Sihyun responded with silence. In a way, Hamin's expression was accurate. It did feel like he had really been punched.
Anyway, his personality got twisted badly, indeed.
It was despicable to pick on someone just because I had upset him a bit. No matter how much I may have hurt his feelings, such jokes were in poor taste.
Though I was the one who fell for it, it was Yoo Seowoo who deliberately teased me. Remembering the conversation we had, Sihyun frowned, and Hamin, muttering that something seemed off, cast a suspicious glance. The suddenly apologetic Hamin apologized with messy hair. It was an unexpected situation.
"Why are you sorry?"
"Wasn't it because I left first and it ended up like this?"
"What kind of 'this' is it?"
"Just, you know, not a great situation. I thought something was going on between you and Seowoo, so I came to intervene. Not to make it like this."
"Who told you anything? Forget it, don't apologize now."
She waved her hand dismissively, having no intention of teasing someone irrelevant. After all, there was someone else to apologize to. Well, was there really? In truth, he was angry at himself for foolishly misunderstanding.
While he was upset that he had been fooled, upon further reflection, the boy had merely changed the wording. Although there might have been some playful intent, it wouldn't be right to say he was deceived.
It was just a misunderstanding on his part, feeling that something was off about his demeanor.
As he mulled over the recent events, the image of the boy, smiling satisfactorily while looking at him, kept coming back to him. The elegant curve of his lips, drawing satisfaction, seemed to elicit cheers from the audience out of nowhere.
Startled, he looked around, seeing everyone either shocked or cheering, blinking in confusion. What had caused this commotion, he wondered, scanning the stadium to understand the situation. He spotted Shin Ijae holding onto Choi Hajin, trying to figure out what was happening. The boy, who had seemed like a chipmunk, was smiling shyly. Lost in his thoughts about what he had experienced, Sihyun belatedly caught the announcer's voice.
"It seems a love note has come from someone here! Did the student next to you know?"
"A love note?"
"That's what was written in his note."
"Ah...."
Understanding the situation through Hamin's response, Sihyun looked at Hajin, who nodded in response to the announcer's question. The announcer caught Ijae for an interview. Hearing Ijae saying that if he knew a love note would come, he would bring Hajin to such a place beforehand, Sihyun looked around. Fortunately, there seemed to be no homophobia, and no one openly showed disgust or discomfort.
While he had seen the two together often, he didn't know they had feelings for each other. Judging by Hajin's expression, he didn't seem to dislike it, so Sihyun turned his head, anticipating the birth of a couple. As Hamin's laughter entered his sight, Sihyun squinted.
His laughter seemed more like that of a winner than a congratulatory one, something felt off.
"Why are you laughing like that?"
"What do you mean, how did I laugh?"
"Sneakily."
"...."
"Slyly. Maliciously, miserably. Like I laid a trap or something."
"Can you simmer down?"
Without any hesitation, Hamin reached out and ruffled Sihyun's hair in response. It felt like his height was shrinking under the pressure. After hearing his declaration not to do it anymore, Hamin finally let go, and Sihyun, smoothing his ruffled hair, leaned back against the chair. After watching a few more games, the relay began.
When the announcer called for the players, Hamin stood up from his seat. After the obstacle race, it was immediately the relay. Impressed by Hamin's stamina, Sihyun, feeling tired, yawned and looked at the scoreboard. The blue team had a slight lead, but if they lost in the relay, the white team would ultimately win.
Seeing Hamin off with lukewarm cheers, Sihyun blinked his eyes. His eyes had been stinging a bit from keeping them open, so he lifted his legs onto the chair and rested his head on his knees. Sihyun realized he had dozed off when Hamin, who had an excited expression after the relay ended, shook him awake.
"How can you fall asleep after I told you to cheer?"
"I was tired. But still, we won. So, it's fine."
"You're such a mess. Kang Haewoon, aren't you going to wake him up?"
"But Sihyun was sound asleep! I thought he'd do something bad, so I didn't wake him up for no reason!"
As Hamin continued to complain on the way back to the dorms after the sports festival, he apologized. Trying to gauge how much more he needed to apologize before the tantrum stopped, Hamin stopped on the second step as he climbed up to the second floor.
All the first-year boys in Class A who had been heading to the dorms were looking at Hamin. After monopolizing their attention for a while, Hamin glanced at Sihyun. It was a gaze that seemed to have something to say.
"Why?"
Curious as to what was going on, Sihyun spoke first, but Hamin, answering that it was nothing, climbed up the stairs again. Then, suddenly, he blurted out.
"What do you think of Shin Ijae?"
"What?"
"Dating."
"With Hajin?"
"Yeah."
At Hamin's question, all the gazes that had been on him turned to Sihyun. Meeting the sudden question he received on his way to the dorms, Sihyun stared back at Hamin with his blue eyes. He couldn't understand what he meant to say.
"Why?"
"Because they're both guys."
"...Wasn't it a place where homosexuality was respected?"
"What?"
When startled and questioned, Hamin retorted. From his tone and expression, Sihyun realized it wasn't what he had in mind and swallowed his awkwardness. Since Shin Ijae had been so open about it and others didn't seem to mind much, he had thought it was a place where homosexuality was universally respected, but apparently, that wasn't the case.
Maybe the kids at school were just nice.
Misunderstanding the lack of disgust, Sihyun looked at the five pairs of eyes as if seeking their opinion, then shrugged. What did he think?
"I don't really have any thoughts about it."
"...Huh?"
"If they're okay with it, then it's fine."
He hadn't cared much when there was a fuss about homosexuality before. It was a time when he was too busy protecting his own body to spare time and energy to worry about others' relationships. He had lived his whole life like that, so there was no sudden change in his beliefs. They're happy, so they're dating, was his thinking. After a moment of silence, Hamin chuckled.
"That's right."
"Yeah. So can you stop blocking the way and hurry up? I'm tired."
He wanted to stretch out and sleep. When he pushed Hamin's back, blocking the way firmly, saying he understood, Hamin climbed up. Suddenly, someone grabbed his hand, and looking beside him, Sihyun saw a smiling Haru and held his hand back.
Even though it seemed like nothing had happened, Seowoo was grinning broadly, and Geonu came over to stroke his hair. It felt similar to when he was comforting someone. Wondering if he had done something commendable, Sihyun let out the question that came to his mind during the conversation about Ijae.
"The other kids didn't seem to care much about Ijae dating."
"Well, Ijae is well-liked by many!"
"Well-liked?"
"Yeah. He's popular and has a good reputation, so no one can say anything. Even if there is homophobia, they can't openly show it, right? Ijae is nice, so many people like him."
"Ah...."
In short, it was about holding public opinion. Now that he understood the situation a bit better, Sihyun nodded and climbed the stairs again. When Haewoon said everyone seemed to be in a good mood, the others turned to look at him, chuckling. Except for Sihyun.
Feeling like he didn't understand Haewoon's meaning, Sihyun looked around, then finally pushed aside all the thoughts filling his mind and embraced Pia, who was waiting at the visible door.
After petting the little Fantasia, who sang a chirpy song, a couple of times, he washed up and came out, throwing himself onto the bed. Despite it only being the end of the sports festival that they had prepared for a week, his body felt languid as if he had completed a whole semester.
Thank you for reading this far! You can access more chapters from HERE by joining my Patreon community. You'll gain exclusive early access to the COMPLETE NOVEL.
As a member of my Patreon community, here is what you'll get:
For $5
- Early access to 100s of chapters before they go public.
- You also get access to all the novels I'm translating, you can find them here HERE.
- Your name will be featured on the "Wall of Gratitude".
- The power to vote on which novel I translate next.
- You Get Ad-free Chapters.
For $10
- You get to suggest a Novel for me to translate.
- You get access to Digital art.
- Your name featured on the "Wall of Gratitude" (in gold).
For $20
- You get to recommend a Novel and I will immediately start translating it.
- Your name featured on the "Wall of Gratitude" (in blue).
Plus, you can Cancel your membership at any time.
Don't let this amazing opportunity slip through your fingers!
