“Uwah...!”
Ha Giyeon stepped carefully to avoid the sharp shards of broken glass on the ground. He was at the garbage collection area behind the school—a dirty, dank place that reeked of old trash.
He had declined his classmates’ invitation to eat lunch together and co to the garbage depot instead. Standing in front of the wall, he called out softly.
“Suhyeon-ie hyung...!”
“You’re here?”
When a voice answered, Ha Giyeon let out a breath of relief. So he already went over. To get to the other side where Son Suhyeon was, he’d have to climb a wall taller than himself, and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to make it.
“Think you can get over?”
“I’ll give it a try.”
“There should be a trash bin down there. Try stepping on that.”
Worried that Ha Giyeon would struggle with the climb, Son Suhyeon had scouted out a half-broken trash bin and placed it against the wall to serve as a step. But he was still uneasy—what if Giyeon couldn’t make it, or worse, got hurt? He was so thin he could’ve been made of paper.
Ha Giyeon did as Suhyeon said and used the bin as a foothold to hoist himself up.
Maybe because I played volleyball earlier...
His arms didn’t have much strength left. Or maybe he just didn’t have much strength to begin with. They needed to hurry and eat—if he hesitated too long, they might get caught by a security guard or a teacher.
Gathering the last of his strength, Ha Giyeon pulled himself up by the wall. As he swung a leg over the top, he spotted Suhyeon waiting on the other side. The joy of seeing him ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) was short-lived—now that he was on top, it looked pretty high up. Giyeon’s eyes widened as he gripped the wall tightly.
“Think you can jump?”
“Ah... y-yeah, yeah!”
Watching Giyeon perched so precariously, Suhyeon looked tense. Giyeon answered confidently, but his eyes flicked nervously down at the ground. It wasn’t like the roof of a building or anything, but it still felt far too high. Did Suhyeon just jump from this height...?
There was no more ti to waste. Ha Giyeon swallowed hard, crouched low, and leapt down.
“Uwah!”
At the sa ti, Suhyeon reached out his arms. Thud. Instead of the dull pain he’d expected, Ha Giyeon found himself in a soft, steady hold. He blinked wildly, stunned. Suhyeon had caught him like it was nothing, as if receiving a falling parcel. eting his gaze, Suhyeon gave a small crooked smile.
He hadn’t expected to catch him so easily. It felt like receiving a surprise gift from the sky. Giyeon was still light—lighter, even, than before. Alard, Suhyeon grew serious.
He needs to eat more...
While Suhyeon was thinking that, Giyeon blushed at his smile. Whether Suhyeon wore glasses or not, he was always good-looking—but seeing him this close reminded Giyeon of that night they’d touched in bed.
Again. That sa ache in his chest, that pounding heartbeat. Was it friendship? Admiration? Affection? Love? Feelings he’d never once had for any of his older "hyungs" were beginning to stir. Scared to confront them, Giyeon bit down on his lip. Without aning to, his hands folded neatly in front of him, and he gazed at Suhyeon like a shy girl. Suhyeon’s smile slowly faded.
Looking worried, Suhyeon gently set him down.
“You can’t just jump down like that—it’s dangerous.”
“I, uh... thought I could land okay...”
“......”
His face had gone pale with fear, but his body had moved without hesitation. Impulsive, in a way. That was the truly dangerous thing about Ha Giyeon—he was so cautious about everything, but the mont you least expected it, all his hesitation vanished. If Suhyeon hadn’t been there, he definitely would’ve gotten hurt.
Good thing I ca early...
He had wanted to scold him, but seeing that downcast expression, he let it go. They were supposed to be having lunch—no point ruining the mood. And besides, even if he said sothing, Giyeon would probably just brush it off with his quiet stubbornness.
If it gets dangerous again... I’ll just catch him next ti too.
If Ha Giyeon was going to ss up, Suhyeon wished he’d only ever do it in front of him.
“What do you want to eat?”
“I’m fine with anything.”
The simplest and most difficult answer.
In truth, Suhyeon had already been scouting lunch spots before the volleyball match even started. After checking out a few restaurants near school, he’d found a small pasta place. It was apparently popular with couples... Could he really go to a place like that with Ha Giyeon? The interior even had a photo zone for couples to take pictures together... Going there with Giyeon felt a little too much. After all, they were just close senior and junior... No, hyung and dongsaeng.
Still, he figured Giyeon had probably eaten things like pasta or steak at ho before, so it wouldn’t be too unfamiliar.
“Um... Hyung, then... How about this?”
Just as Suhyeon hesitated, unable to decide, Giyeon spoke first. And the food he suggested was sothing completely unexpected.
***
“Ha.”
Having just emptied his hot stone bowl, Ha Giyeon sighed with satisfaction. Suhyeon looked at him blankly, almost stunned.
What Giyeon had suggested was seolleongtang.
Surrounding them at the seolleongtang restaurant were factory workers on lunch break, slurping up the sa thing. Giyeon and Suhyeon were just two more among them. Between the sighs of the middle-aged n around them, Giyeon rubbed his full stomach contentedly.
He’d eaten so heartily that even Suhyeon felt a strange sense of fulfillnt just watching him.
All that fuss over pasta and steak... and this is the kind of guy he was. It made him want to laugh. After paying the bill, Suhyeon stopped by a convenience store with Giyeon on the way back and bought lollipops to share as they walked to school.
“Hyung, I have a question...”
“Yeah?”
“I won the match and treated you to lunch... But if I had lost, would you not have eaten with ?”
There was a hint of nervous hope in Giyeon’s voice. Suhyeon was tempted to tease him and say “yeah,” but instead, he changed his mind.
“I was gonna ask you to eat with even if I won.”
“......”
That confident tone left Giyeon speechless for a second before he burst out laughing. He was probably the first person ever to score points like that against Choi Mujin. Even without knowing much about basketball, Giyeon had been shocked. Choi Mujin had always won, ever since they were kids. For Suhyeon to beat him so easily... he had to be amazing.
But when Suhyeon had thrown the ball, Giyeon hadn’t been looking at the net. He’d been looking at Suhyeon—his outstretched hands, his smiling face. The certainty in his expression as he let go of the ball made Giyeon’s heart beat faster. Still, he chalked it up to the excitent of the ga and smiled it off.
“Lunch was great... Ah, I’ll treat you to dinner next ti!”
“You’re gonna eat dinner with too?”
“......!”
He hadn’t ant to say it like that. Realizing what he’d just done, Giyeon flailed a little and blurted out:
“D-do you want to eat dinner with ...?”
“Sure. But I’m paying.”
“What? I’m the one asking, so I should pay!”
The two of them bickered all the way back to school over who would buy dinner. Giyeon, having already received so much help from Suhyeon—not to ntion lunch—had no intention of backing down. Suhyeon, on the other hand, didn’t want Giyeon spending money, hoping he’d leave that house as soon as possible. Neither could yield because they both cared too much.
Just then, a voice called out from over the wall.
“Yo, Dohoon. Your little brother’s fucking good at volleyball.”
Ha Giyeon froze in place the mont he heard that familiar na.
***
At the trash depot where Giyeon and Suhyeon had scaled the wall earlier, a faint haze of smoke now drifted through the air.
The secluded, foul-slling collection zone was the perfect hiding spot for kids looking to sneak off and act out. And smoke. Cigarettes hung casually from mouths, lit without ceremony. The smoke that drifted from their lips disappeared gently into the breeze.
Watching the smoke, Ha Dohoon put a cigarette between his lips.
Everyone assud he smoked. But oddly enough, he didn’t. The first ti he ever tried was in second year of middle school. Compared to the kids who started in upper elentary, he was a late bloor. At first, it was just curiosity. It tasted bitter and awful, but people said it looked cool, so he smoked from ti to ti. The bitter smoke seed to carry away stress, and he felt lighter afterward.
Just as it was becoming a habit, Ha Giyeon had caught a whiff of it on him. Maybe the sll was too strong for him—Giyeon had started keeping a bit of distance. The mont he noticed that, Dohoon quit cold turkey. He’d told himself it was for his health, but deep down, it was because Giyeon didn’t like it.
But now? What was the point?
Whether he smoked or not, Ha Giyeon avoided him. Feared him.
Watching the smoke dissolve, Dohoon thought back to Giyeon playing volleyball. One of the smokers beside him, noticing his gaze, cautiously spoke up.
“Your little bro’s pretty damn good at volleyball.”
“Damn, runs in the family, huh? Must be athletic like you.”
Did Giyeon really take after him? If soone was good at sothing, did that an they had to be like him?
Dohoon idly flicked ash from the cigarette, not really listening to the forced praise.
“Your brother seeing anyone?”
“...What?”
“I an, just saying—he looks pretty popular with his class.”
At that, Dohoon rembered the guys who’d thrown their arms around Giyeon, ssed up his hair, given him high-fives.
He spat out his words like a curse.
“That dumbass popular? Get the fuck outta here.”
“Dude, chill...”
“Don’t talk about him. It pisses off.”
Why the hell did all these assholes care about Ha Giyeon? What, did they like him better now that he wasn’t invisible like in middle school? Why was everyone suddenly losing their minds?
Dohoon threw the cigarette to the ground and crushed it beneath his heel as he walked out of the depot. His friends scrambled to follow behind.
“......”
And just beyond the wall, Son Suhyeon was covering Ha Giyeon’s ears.
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