Place to Be Chapter 6

Park Hoyeon mumbled with an empty milk carton dangling from his mouth. Snatching the carton and tossing it into the trash can, Kim Kyungchul tilted his head.

“That guy must know his place, too. It’s not like he could ever dream of picking a fight with Wigeon.”

“I suppose so.”

Even without a detailed explanation, Park Hoyeon nodded in agreement. Seo Chiyoung felt the same way.

The feelings people have toward a certain person are surprisingly similar. Those who bickered and joked around, and those who stood far off and watched with disapproval, all tended to unknowingly back down a step when it came to Jang Wigeon. No matter how well they got along or joked together, none of them considered Jang Wigeon to be their equal in a true sense.

As far as Seo Chiyoung knew, there were only two people who were actually his equals and with whom he truly opened up. For instance…

“Wigeon does get along well with everyone. Personally, I find Yoon Junyoung and Kanghee Kwon a bit uncomfortable to deal with.”

Watching the back of someone sitting a few seats ahead, Seo Chiyoung turned his gaze toward Park Hoyeon, who was shrugging his shoulders. Glancing toward the person Seo Chiyoung had been looking at, Kim Kyungchul asked why.

“Well, I’m a bit reluctant about Kanghee Kwon because I feel like if I cross him the wrong way, I’d be scared to walk through back alleys, but Junyoung is fine, isn’t he?”

“He’s too sharp and cold. Sometimes, even watching from the side, he seems heartless to a turn-off.”

“Really? I’ve never talked to him. But I guess it could be like that.”

“Still, Wigeon is friendly with everyone, so even though there isn’t much to talk about, he’s comfortable to be around. It’s not like he only hangs out with those guys just because he’s close to them; rather, he goes out to play with other guys more often after school finishes. Like to clubs and places like that.”

As if to cut off the aimless chatter, the warning bell rang to announce the end of lunch. Complaining about it being math class when they were full and sleepy, the two returned to their seats.

Seo Chiyoung pulled out his textbook and looked at the back of the person a few seats ahead. Perhaps intending to go get a book from his locker, he stood up and walked toward the back of the classroom. Frowning with a face slightly flushed as if he had a fever, he coughed lowly twice.

Cough, cough.

“…”

At a glance, Jang Wigeon, who treated everyone without reserve, didn’t seem to have much difference in how he treated those two friends versus other people.

However, Seo Chiyoung thought otherwise.

In reality, Jang Wigeon did not go through trouble for others. While he was generous with giving advice or sharing his things, there was never a case where he “did something for someone else first.” Except for those two. That line was the boundary that separated those two friends from everyone else.

Take just a moment ago, for example.

Yoon Junyoung, who was sitting a few seats ahead of Seo Chiyoung, had only briefly held his forehead, yet Jang Wigeon—who had been chatting with others some distance away—somehow noticed and stepped away from them without hesitation to approach Yoon Junyoung. He then placed his hand on the other’s forehead and frowned.

“Is it a cold?”

“Looks like it. I thought I had a bit of a slight fever since last night.”

“Tsk, tsk. You should take care of yourself. Winter hasn’t even properly started yet and you’ve already got a cold. Stay right there; I’ll go get some medicine from the infirmary.”

After tossing a reproachful remark at his friend, Jang Wigeon immediately left the classroom. If it had been anyone else, he wouldn’t have even noticed such a subtle sign, and even if he had, he would have only offered advice to go to the infirmary and take some medicine.

That was the difference between other people and those two friends. Jang Wigeon truly cherished his two friends. Among them, Seo Chiyoung—who always found himself watching Jang Wigeon without even knowing it—knew that a more meticulous consideration was added specifically for Yoon Junyoung.

“…”

Cough. With a low cough, Yoon Junyoung brushed past Seo Chiyoung, took a book out of his locker, and returned.

Although Seo Chiyoung wasn’t a personality who was shy or bashful, even if he wasn’t as casual as Jang Wigeon when dealing with people, Yoon Junyoung was still difficult to handle. He always felt cold and sharp, making it hard to strike up a conversation without a reason. One might say he showed no human-like clumsiness or openings at all.

While lost in such thoughts, he must have been staring at Yoon Junyoung absentmindedly. He made eye contact with him as he passed by. To the boy who raised an eyebrow as if puzzled, Seo Chiyoung impulsively held out the lid of the thermos he was holding.

“It’s ginger tea; do you want to drink some? I feel a cold coming on, too.”

Only after holding it out did he recall a faint memory of Yoon Junyoung once telling someone, “I don’t really want to receive kindness without a reason. It feels like being in debt.” Since they hadn’t even had a proper conversation until then, he thought the other might refuse, but Yoon Junyoung, after staring intently at Seo Chiyoung, unexpectedly accepted the cup readily.

“Thanks.”

It was a cold tone, but it wasn’t just a formality. Seo Chiyoung nodded almost imperceptibly.

After finishing the ginger tea in three or four sips, Yoon Junyoung returned the lid. Just as he opened his mouth while looking steadily at Seo Chiyoung as if he had something to say, Kanghee Kwon, who had been absent from the classroom during lunch, walked in. Because the impression of him ruling with his fists was so strong, there were many rumors at the beginning of the semester about him going up to the back hill every lunch break to fight someone or extort money, but it was only recently revealed that he actually spent most of that time taking naps on the rooftop.

Cough. His eyes met with Yoon Junyoung, who was coughing while covering his mouth with his fist, and he approached with a scowl.

“What, is it a cold?”

“Yeah, a bit.”

“Then what are you doing here? Go lie down in the infirmary.”

Kanghee Kwon clicked his tongue and grabbed Yoon Junyoung’s arm. Then, without a second word, he pulled him and turned his steps toward the outside of the classroom.

“It’s not that serious. And Wigeon said he’d bring medicine.”

“Is that so? Still, go sleep for a bit. You didn’t sleep much yesterday, did you? The area under your eyes is dark.”

Glancing back at Yoon Junyoung, Kanghee Kwon pulled him again. His cold voice and blunt voice were the same even when talking normally, but if one only heard the tone, it sounded like they were having a fierce fight.

Just as Yoon Junyoung was moving his steps, following Kanghee Kwon without much of a struggle, Jang Wigeon returned.

“Oh? Where are you going? Take the medicine before you go.”

“I’m going to make him lie down in the infirmary.”

When Kanghee Kwon spoke, Jang Wigeon looked back and forth between them, letting his words trail off vaguely with an “Uh…” Then, he soon grinned.

“Right, that would be better. Then you take him there. The medicine is…”

As Jang Wigeon took the medicine out of his pocket, Yoon Junyoung suddenly looked at Seo Chiyoung. Seo Chiyoung, who had been watching them from a distance, flinched slightly when their eyes met, and Yoon Junyoung pointed at that Seo Chiyoung with a gesture of his head.

“Give it to Seo Chiyoung. He says he has a cold, too.”

“…That’s unusual for you. Actually paying attention to others. I’ll do that, then.”

Jang Wigeon glanced at Seo Chiyoung and nodded readily. After staring blankly at the two people leaving the classroom, he soon turned around and entered the room.

For a very brief flash, Seo Chiyoung saw a bitter and faint smile brush past the corners of Jang Wigeon’s mouth. At the same time, he realized what he had seen. What kind of smile that was.

“Here, medicine,” he said, dropping two small pills onto Seo Chiyoung’s desk. While watching his back as he walked past, the bell to start class rang.

He quietly swallowed the medicine. Soon, the inside of his throat became bitter. That bitterness was not solely because of the medicine, but Seo Chiyoung swallowed that bitter realization along with the pills.

It was around the end of that year when he found out a fact he had wanted to avoid knowing if possible.

Seo Chiyoung had long thought of himself as being plain regarding sexual matters. Even though his precocious friends had shown interest in girls and enjoyed such talk since elementary school, Seo Chiyoung only appropriately played along with them and didn’t really feel interested in that area. It was around the time he entered high school that he began to think, even if vaguely, that it was strange.