GBH 134

Se-kyung’s silence was his own form of stubbornness. Instead, he unwrapped his scarf and placed it around Song Yi-heon’s neck. The folded scarf, still warm from Se-kyung’s body heat, warmed Yi-heon’s chilled nape.

“You said exposure to cold wind is bad for your health.” He then walked past Song Yi-heon. 

Ji-soo, who had changed into jeans in the fitting room, called out to them. “Hey guys, how do I look? Is it okay?”

As if nothing had happened, Se-kyung walked towards Ji-soo.

“It suits you well. You look pretty.”

Another comment about being pretty. Ji-soo had been called pretty twice, something Se-kyung never said to him. Song Yi-heon’s mood soured further, but he couldn’t take it out on the innocent Ji-soo, so he turned towards the cashier.

“Buy that.”

The moment Song Yi-heon swiped his card, the moment he actually bought clothes for Ji-soo, Se-kyung’s smile twitched ever so slightly.

* * *

The pizza place they came to for dinner was famous on social media and packed with customers. Rather than bumping into people as they moved around, two of them decided to secure a table and wait. When Se-kyung returned to the table with a tray of freshly baked pizza in one hand and a plate of cola and pickles in the other, Song Yi-heon and Ji-soo were in the middle of an argument. One of Se-kyung’s eyebrows raised slightly.

“I said I’ll pay. You bought me clothes, so how does it make sense for you to pay for dinner too?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“While I’m still being nice, hurry up and give me your account number.” Ji-soo made a mock threat. 

Song Yi-heon had paid while ordering because they were rushed by people behind them, but Ji-soo, who had received clothes, apparently couldn’t accept a free meal as well. However, Song Yi-heon was refusing to take her money.

The situation was obvious. This was something that happened often in the early days of Se-kyung’s dates with Song Yi-heon. He would try to cover all the dating expenses, so now Se-kyung was skilled at swiping his card before Song Yi-heon could pay.

So Se-kyung just accepted it. That’s just how Song Yi-heon was. Se-kyung sat down, placing the pizza on the round table. The thick pizza, fresh from the oven with cheese half-melted from the heat, was half Hawaiian and half pepperoni, the house specialty. Se-kyung opened the cola can he got while ordering and poured it into an ice-filled glass. His throat was unusually parched, and the drink was gone after just a few sips.

“How can I take your pocket money? Buy some snacks with it instead.”

“Ah, forget it. I’ll give you cash.”

As Ji-soo rummaged through her bag to take out her wallet, Song Yi-heon easily restrained her by grabbing both her wrists together. He used minimal force, avoiding excessive contact. While his intention was just to stop Ji-soo, it was enough to twist Se-kyung’s stomach.

Even though Song Yi-heon had a slim build, there was still a basic difference in physique between men and women. Both of Ji-soo’s thin wrists were caught in one of Song Yi-heon’s hands. It was a scene that highlighted their respective genders.

Se-kyung, whose mind was filled only with thoughts of sleeping with Song Yi-heon, easily transposed the image of the crossed wrists held in one hand onto a bed.

‘Is that what he likes? Small and thin girls? Is that why he’s not attracted to me?’ All sorts of thoughts raced through Se-kyung’s mind, causing his eye-smile to twitch. 

‘First, I need to separate those hands,’ he thought, pretending to serve the pizza he had deliberately pushed to the center of the table, separating the two.

“Ji-soo, it’s okay for Yi-heon to pay. Just eat comfortably.”

“But still…”

Se-kyung smiled brightly as he served a slice of pizza onto Ji-soo’s personal plate. To accommodate Se-kyung, who was using his arms widely, Ji-soo straightened her upper body, increasing the distance between her and Song Yi-heon.

“I get treated by Yi-heon a lot too.”

After moving a slice of pizza onto his own plate, Se-kyung picked at it with a fork and knife. He just poked at the cheese on top, as if picking something out. With monotonous hand movements and an equally monotonous tone, he provoked Song Yi-heon.

“Yi-heon must like Ji-soo. He bought her clothes earlier too.”

“What?” Song Yi-heon was dumbfounded to hear his secret boyfriend say such things.

“Choi Se-kyung, that joke is…”

Ji-soo, her face turning bright red, waved her hand at Se-kyung. Unable to hide her pleasure despite pretending otherwise, she lightly slapped Se-kyung’s shoulder with a blushing smile.

“Yeah, just a joke.”

There are jokes you can make and jokes you shouldn’t, and Se-kyung’s attempt to brush it off as “just a joke” didn’t sit well with Yi-heon. If it was about feeling hurt, Song Yi-heon had plenty to say too. He was upset that Se-kyung had given his winter gear to Ji-soo without permission, but he had been holding it in to avoid appearing childish.

But he couldn’t hold back anymore. Just as he was about to raise his trembling fist under the table to grab Se-kyung’s collar.

Se-kyung switched his personal plate with Song Yi-heon’s empty one. Song Yi-heon, who had been alternating his gaze between Se-kyung and his own plate that Se-kyung had taken, finally looked down at the plate Se-kyung had placed. It contained one slice each of Hawaiian pizza with the pineapple neatly picked out and pepperoni.

“…”

“Yi-heon, I need more cola.”

Se-kyung shook his empty cola glass, which now only rattled with ice. Song Yi-heon, who had been glaring intently at Se-kyung’s smiling face as if he knew nothing, grudgingly stood up, grinding his teeth.

* * *

Even after buying the pre-booked movie tickets and popcorn, they still had about 20 minutes to spare. Ji-soo, who was busy uploading a photo of the movie ticket to social media, didn’t notice, but whenever she looked away, the atmosphere between Se-kyung and Song Yi-heon changed. Song Yi-heon mostly glared fiercely at Se-kyung, who kept his eyes lowered indifferently.

If Ji-soo hadn’t been there, Song Yi-heon would probably have confronted Se-kyung, leading to a big fight before they parted ways to their respective homes. He was holding back to avoid making Ji-soo uncomfortable, but inwardly, Song Yi-heon was counting down the moments until he could part ways with Ji-soo.

There were about 20 minutes left until the movie started. Ji-soo stopped the sullen boys from heading to a corner to kill time without talking. She led them to the game center, with Se-kyung and Song Yi-heon on either side of her.

The game center connected to the movie theater was decorated in a cyberpunk style, making it look like an extension of the dark theater. As it was a place she always visited with her friends, Ji-soo confidently led Se-kyung and Song Yi-heon.

“Guys, let’s take a Four-cut photo.”

“What’s that?”

“You don’t know? It’s a sticker photo.”

“Huh.”

Se-kyung was indifferent to modern youth culture. He only went to escape rooms because Ji-soo and her friends invited him, and his trendy SNS account was created by Kim Yeon-ji. Se-kyung only engaged enough in these activities to not fall behind his peers, so he wasn’t much help to Song Yi-heon, who was eager to catch up on youth culture.

“How do you take it?” Seizing this golden opportunity, Song Yi-heon’s eyes sparkled, forgetting about his fight with Se-kyung. “Does the photo come out here?”

Song Yi-heon, crouching in front of the machine and peering curiously, grabbed the photo strip as soon as it started to come out, before it could even fall. The long printed strip contained the photos they had just taken inside the booth.

“Wow…”

The first photo showed Song Yi-heon with his face pressed against the camera lens, not realizing the photo was being taken. But from the second photo onwards, they had posed as Ji-soo directed, making it look decent. Ji-soo was in the center making a flower pose, with Se-kyung and Song Yi-heon forming hearts around her. While deciding on poses, Se-kyung seemed reluctant but couldn’t go against Song Yi-heon’s wishes.

Looking at the photos, Song Yi-heon muttered something to himself. Soon, the Four-cut photo strip was folded in half and tucked into Song Yi-heon’s phone case. The visible side showed Song Yi-heon and Se-kyung making a heart shape above their heads.

“Yi-heon, Yi-heon! There’s no queue for the VR! Let’s go quickly!”

Song Yi-heon pocketed his phone as Ji-soo, excited about something she had seen, tried to drag him somewhere. The place Ji-soo was pointing to was surrounded by fluorescent neon lights, and in front of it, someone wearing goggles-like blindfolds was flailing around while holding a device.

“What’s that?”

“You don’t know VR games?”

“V-what? Vuiarl?” Se-kyung quickly covered Song Yi-heon’s mouth. 

Ji-soo, breaking out in a cold sweat, desperately defended Song Yi-heon. “He, he might not know. My dad doesn’t know what VR is either.”

Ji-soo was kind enough not to point out the age difference between her father and Song Yi-heon.