Sunshine Shower Chapter 110

“I’m staying at the dorm.”

“Dorm?”

The person who caught Moon Seoyoon’s reply wasn’t Kim Hyunseung, but Woo Yeonjae. Woo Yeonjae frowned slightly as he repeated what Moon Seoyoon had said.

“Why are you living in the dorm, Seoyoon?”

The dorm? He was going to sleep in a space used by others, on a bed used by someone else? He wanted to dig into Seoyoon’s mind to understand.

The only reason Woo Yeonjae had rented an officetel was because of Moon Seoyoon. The family home would feel suffocating.

There was also the calculation that Seoyoon wouldn’t think it strange, given a promise they made when they were young. But now, suddenly, the dorm? Woo Yeonjae couldn’t help but let out a breath of disbelief.

“What does it matter to you whether Moon lives in the dorm or not?”

Kim Hyunseung’s retort, as if it really didn’t concern him, irritated Woo Yeonjae.

At moments like these, Woo Yeonjae was reminded of the fact that he and Moon Seoyoon weren’t officially anything to each other. To him, Seoyoon was like family, but to others, they were nothing more than friends—neither more nor less. That fact annoyed him.

“I commuted during my freshman year, so I might as well try living in the dorm.”

Moon Seoyoon answered calmly and put a piece of gopchang into his mouth. For someone who couldn’t handle hot drinks well, it was a reckless action. Sure enough, finding it much hotter than expected, Seoyoon frowned and reached for water.

Woo Yeonjae offered his cup.

“Moon Seoyoon must really like this place. You can’t even handle hot food.”

Then why didn’t he tell me?

From the fact that he came to this restaurant often with Kim Hyunseung to the dorm issue, everything was irritating. It seemed like Seoyoon had completely forgotten their promise.

But instead of bringing up the old promise to corner his childhood friend, Woo Yeonjae casually joined the conversation. Pressing any further would just make Seoyoon anxious and cause him to run away. It was better to save it for later when it would be more useful.

“Want to live with me?”

It wouldn’t hurt to toss the idea out now, though. Woo Yeonjae, resting his chin on his hand, looked directly at Moon Seoyoon and asked. Seoyoon blinked in surprise, as if the sudden question had caught him off guard.

“Live with me.”

Woo Yeonjae repeated softly, almost like it was a casual suggestion between friends.

“What nonsense is that?”

A faint frown appeared on Seoyoon’s pale face. It seemed that the promise to live together had completely slipped his mind.

“Why not?”

Instead of laughing bitterly, Woo Yeonjae stretched his words and sat up straight.

“The officetel is spacious. My bed is big too.”

Seoyoon surely knew this, considering there had been times when he’d been put to sleep after drinking too much wine.

“Hey, Moon. Don’t. If you live with him, you’ll develop a cleaning obsession. Plus, he has a girlfriend. You’d feel super uncomfortable.”

“I never planned to. But thanks anyway.”

Woo Yeonjae absentmindedly wiped the condensation from his untouched beer glass. “Never planned to,” huh.

“If I told Professor Moon we’d be living together, he’d surely approve.”

The round droplets on the glass were crushed under his fingers and lost their shape.

“Isn’t it more comfortable living with me than a stranger you’ve never met?”

“Of course, I’d be more comfortable with you. But I can’t spend my entire life hanging out with just you. If I don’t get along with my roommate, I’ll talk to you then.”

Spend my entire life hanging out with just you? Why is my Seoyoon thinking such nonsense?

Woo Yeonjae had given Seoyoon some space, worried that their old friendship might be suffocating him, but it seemed Seoyoon had spent his time in the military overthinking things.

After staring intently at his childhood friend, as if trying to figure out his thoughts, Woo Yeonjae finally nodded.

“Alright, fine.”

He needed to figure out exactly what had led Seoyoon to think that way.

“Anyway, thanks for at least offering.”

“I’m going to pray that your roommate is a total jerk, Moon.”

Woo Yeonjae scrunched his cheeks, his lips curving upward into a teasing smile.

Seoyoon, unaware of his cooling food, followed suit with a smile.

It was the first lecture of the year. As soon as Woo Yeonjae spotted the familiar figure, he naturally sat beside him. However, his longtime companion only stared at his tablet, without so much as a glance his way. He wasn’t even wearing earphones.

“……”

A crease formed between Woo Yeonjae’s neatly drawn eyebrows.

Two years ago, Moon Seoyoon would’ve turned around right away. He would have noticed the familiar scent of his cologne.

Woo Yeonjae didn’t frequently change colognes, partly because of his picky preferences but mostly because of Seoyoon. There was nothing more satisfying than when Seoyoon recognized his presence before he even made a sound.

Two years had been too long.

Resting his cheek in his palm, Woo Yeonjae stared persistently at Seoyoon, wondering when he’d finally recognize him.

“Oh! Hyung! Hello.”

At that moment, a junior sitting in the front row turned around and greeted them.

“Hi.”

Woo Yeonjae slowly let out the short syllable. Only then did Moon Seoyoon turn to look beside him. His usually gentle eyes rounded even more, as if he truly hadn’t recognized who it was.

Woo Yeonjae, satisfied with having made his presence known to Moon Seoyoon, acknowledged the junior with a nod. Then, with a feigned sense of hurt, he lowered his eyebrows slightly as he glanced toward Seoyoon.

“Moon Seoyoon doesn’t recognize me anymore. You used to notice me just by being near.”

“Why are you here?”

Moon Seoyoon seemed genuinely startled.

“Why else? I’m here for the class.”

“I mean, why are you taking this class? What were you doing in second year?”

“I purposely skipped it.”

Woo Yeonjae smirked, the cheek pressed into his palm puffing up.

“I have to take responsibility for you.”

“What responsibility?”

“You’re here because I convinced you to switch to business.”

After Moon Seoyoon shifted his career focus from piano to academics, Woo Yeonjae also adjusted most of his plans for his early twenties. Part of that included ensuring that Moon Seoyoon entered the same university and department as him. It didn’t seem strange to suggest they go together, given that it was one of the top universities and departments in Korea.

“How’s that your responsibility? I submitted the application. Besides, with my father’s suggestion, I would’ve come here anyway.”

“If I’d told you I was going to the College of Education, you would’ve gone there too.”

Woo Yeonjae smiled playfully, but he knew he was right. He had been the one to persuade Seoyoon to aim for the same place.

“To be honest, though, you’d suit being a teacher more.”

His composed and calm image matched well with the idea of a teacher.

Woo Yeonjae casually looked Moon Seoyoon up and down while talking about being a teacher. His height was above average, and with his good looks, he had a face students would likely take a liking to.

Though, sending him to an all-boys school would be out of the question. It’d be full of kids with all sorts of inappropriate thoughts.

“Still, it’s a bit hurtful to hear you say it wasn’t because of me… I would’ve started preparing for art school if you’d insisted on going there.”

“Wanna die?”

Recalling how Seoyoon, despite being good at piano, had no talent for art, Woo Yeonjae jokingly threw out the comment, making Seoyoon bristle. Woo Yeonjae chuckled and adjusted his posture.

“Why didn’t you tell me we were taking the same class? You mentioned your schedule when we met Hyunseung the other day.”

If he had started seeing Seoyoon regularly again right after his military discharge, he would’ve managed Seoyoon’s schedule from the start. Although they weren’t in the same academic year and it was probably excessive to interfere with his timetable, Woo Yeonjae knew this was just the way he was wired. He couldn’t help feeling anxious whenever Seoyoon strayed outside the boundaries he had set, so he preferred to keep him safely within those limits.

‘It’s not like he minds.’

To be precise, Seoyoon had become so accustomed to him over the years that he didn’t even notice anything odd about it.

Even though Woo Yeonjae knew that his behavior was abnormal, the idea of stopping didn’t even cross his mind.

“Surprises are fun, aren’t they?”

Even without knowing Moon Seoyoon’s exact schedule, it wasn’t hard for Woo Yeonjae to align his own. Given Seoyoon’s personality, he’d likely take most of the core subjects, so Woo Yeonjae had simply slotted in the second-year courses he had left open. The only downside was that a whole year’s worth of missed classes were crammed into this semester, making his schedule a mess—but that wasn’t too difficult to manage.

‘The real problem is next semester.’

Still, since both he and Seoyoon would be spending most of their time at the business school, there wouldn’t be any major issues.

“When did you start liking surprises?”

“I remembered it when I visited the café where you were working.”

“What are you talking about?”

Woo Yeonjae gave a thin smile. It was the day he had felt the need to hold back and visit Seoyoon.

“I was pissed off, but the moment I saw you, I calmed down.”

“Why were you pissed off?”

Moon Seoyoon’s tone made it clear he truly had no idea, causing Woo Yeonjae to squint one eye.

“You still don’t get it.”

To Seoyoon, disappearing into the military without a word, not keeping in touch, and never looking for Woo Yeonjae after being discharged seemed to be non-issues.

“I’ll tell you if you give me the ‘flower shoes.’ When are you going to give them to me?”

“I told you I’ll give them to you on your birthday. Pick them out.”

Seoyoon laughed softly, clearly thinking of it as just a birthday present rather than a gift for someone who had waited for him during military service. His white face lit up as his eyes crinkled into a smile, perfectly matching the spring weather.

Woo Yeonjae didn’t smile. Instead, he studied Moon Seoyoon, as he always did.

It didn’t take long for Woo Yeonjae to realize that the roommate he had hoped would be terrible for Moon Seoyoon was, in fact, only terrible for him.