Vol. 3 Chapter 70 – Side Story 2: Cooing, Cookie Part 2  

Translated by Springlila

“Do you like being in a relationship?”

Jung Ji-pil, whom I had not seen in a long time, started a quarrel as soon as he saw me. It was obvious that he was asking with impure intentions, so I just keep sucking on the freeze bar that I had been sucking quietly.

“I love it. Why?”

It was Lim Dae-han who responded, not me. My stomach hurts, and I had poor digestion, which I think was due to my lack of stamina. I was going to grab an iron bar and do some pull-ups after dinner today, but I only managed 10 because Lim Dae-han, who had been gone for a while, showed up holding a freeze bar to the playground. Because of his sincerity and because it was hot, I sat on the stone steps and ate the freeze bar, and Lim Dae-han spent time watching me eat the freeze bar next to him.

After that, Jung Ji-pil, who was walking home with his bag tied, approached us and started arguing.

“… I didn’t ask you.”

Despite his best efforts, Jung Ji-pil was unable to defeat Lim Dae-han. Even now, when he replied harshly in his own way, Lim Dae-han only snorted. Jung Ji-pil became more enraged, and he raised his voice, “Why are you answering? Why are you interfering with Ki Young-hyun and my conversation?” He began babbling.

“…”

I stayed still. I didn’t even consider getting involved in the fight between the two. I was simply squeezing the tube’s middle and sucking the contents of the freeze bar. Jung Ji-pil took turns looking at Lim Dae-han and me then suddenly sat at the bottom of the stairs where we were.

“The third year is really difficult.”

“Yeah. You look tired, so go home and rest.”

Lim Dae-han cut off Jung Ji-pil’s lament, who had appeared out of nowhere. Jung Ji-pil, who was already sitting with his arms on his knees and resting his chin, sighed.

“I have something to tell you.”

“Just go away.”

“…Stop it.”

Lim Dae-han calmed down when I placed my hand on his lap.

“I’m going to the reading room these days.”

“Yeah.”

The reading room that Jung Ji-pil attended was not just a reading room. It was a high-end reading room. When I entered the single-person room after entering the password, it notified my parents, and both entry and exit were notified. I couldn’t do anything because it was the same as when I went to the bathroom. Despite the fact that the parents were able to monitor their children via CCTV, Jung Ji-pil, who was unaware of this, signed up for a streaming site and paid for a month and I heard that he got caught by his parents and scolded him for watching an American drama. Poor Jung Ji-pil. But it was self-sufficient.

“I found a girl I like in the reading room.”

Love is said to bloom even in the midst of war, and Jung Ji-pil was the perfect match. Even during the intense competition for entrance exams, love blossomed.

“But I confessed and got dumped. The manager called me separately and talked to me. I can’t keep doing this.” “Wow.”

Naturally, it was just a one-sided planting. It was natural because there was no soil and no one was watering it.

“If I hadn’t been in third grade…”

“Hey, stop talking nonsense and go.”

Lim Dae-han said exactly what I wanted to say. Lim Dae-han used the tip of his slippers to kick Jung Ji-pil’s buttocks. Lim Dae-han smiled as I patted his knee all the way to indicate that he did a good job. Good. Jung Ji-pil’s face hardened as Lim Dae-han and I smiled at each other.

“But Lim Dae-han, you too. You’re now dating my friend. You’ve been dating for a while, haven’t you?

“Yeah.”

“Then, hey, shouldn’t you be introducing someone to me as well? You know a lot of girls.”

“What a lot did I have.”

Lim Dae-han’s expression stiffened at the same time. I took a quick glance at his expression and pointed my hand at him as if he were in trouble.

“Students have to study. Your brain is rotten.”

“You, you have no right to say that? Wow, this is ridiculous. You’ve been playing all the time. Right?”

“I don’t remember.”

Jung Ji-pil became even more daring when Lim Dae-han spoke boldly and casually. Come to think of it, he knew quite a few girls. He no longer communicates with the guys he used to play with, and they didn’t even talk to each other unless they came to class, but they were in the last half of our class, and because we were in the female class all the way back, we frequently ran into each other in the hallway. And one of them would always say, “Hai, Dae-han.” I didn’t know any girls, so all I had to do was stand next to Lim Dae-han and avoid eye contact.

“…”

I pouted my lips without realizing it. Even if it wasn’t always girls. The girls were simply friends, nothing more, nothing less, whereas the boys were “Dae-han-a~.” They dropped an awkward cuteness while doing so. Whoever had a relationship with him didn’t look good to me.

Lim Dae-han, who noticed my expression, kicked Jung Ji-pil’s buttocks harder this time. “Ouch!” Jung Ji-pil screamed, then stood up and strode down the stairs.

“Anyway, anyway.”

“Hey, go away. Okay?”

Jung Ji-pil appeared to have noticed the situation as soon as Lim Dae-han had a grim expression on his face, so he couldn’t finish his words and quietly left. There were only the two of us left. I’ve never really cared about Lim Dae-han’s girlfriend, but how could anyone not? I wanted to tell Lim Dae-han, who was watching me, that everything was fine, but the preliminary bell rang at 7 p.m., 10 minutes before the night self-study began.

***

Lim Dae-han had a lot of friends, which was only natural. First and foremost, he was the tallest and most handsome student in our school. He didn’t really need a friend, so he wasn’t at loss in that way, and he did a good job when the guys talked to him. Lim Dae-han would not have talked to Jung Ji-pil if he didn’t like him, but I saw that it wasn’t the case.

In comparison, I. Unfortunately, I was, uh, just like that. I was shy even when talking at first, and although I wasn’t shy, I didn’t have the personality to accept words as I walked leisurely like Lim Dae-han. Fortunately, in third grade, I was able to communicate with the guys in my class more quickly than in previous grades, but this was due to Lim Dae-han. Because he was by my side, the guys pretended to be friendly to me as well.

I hate to admit it because it was funny and childish, but if the school hierarchy was divided into pyramids, I would be in the middle, and Lim Dae-han would be at the top.

Lim Dae-han used to be like that, but now that he’s done well in school, it’s gotten worse. He comes from a good family, he’s handsome, tall, and big, he’s good at talking, and he’s also good at studying now. Anyway, there were a lot of guys in the class who changed their minds because they wanted to talk to us and wander around because they wanted to get to know each other…

“…”

It wasn’t so bad sneaking a look next to me. Lim Dae-han gently touched my forehead line and put the fan he was holding in my hand and said to himself, “Oh, fuck… It’s hot.” While walking, nothing got caught in my shoes, but I kicked the ground. I took a bold step from the side.

To tell the truth, I was jealous. Of course, he didn’t try to get to know them by responding lightly at the time, whether he spoke to them or not, I was still a little jealous. Wasn’t it normal? Nothing was more annoying than a lover who has a lot of friends. If someone caught his eye… He can date other men if he can date me… No. It’s not possible. It was just my absurd delusion.

I was alone and lost in ridiculous thoughts when Lim Dae-han, who only looked at me like a desperate puppy, finally caught up with me and spoke to me.

“Ki Young-hyun.” “…Yeah.”

“Let’s hold hands.”

I stopped next to Lim Dae-han and extended my hand. Lim Dae-han took my hand in his. We walked down an empty alley, and the oppressive heat began to dissipate gradually. The dark alley was illuminated by orange street lamps, and we walked side by side as if it were a stage. Lim Dae-han’s hot, thick, large hand wrapped tightly around mine, melting my heart. The anxiety from earlier disappeared as if it had never happened. Well… I was also childish.

Lim Dae-han was in third grade and was genuinely attracted to me. When the guys I used to go with complained to Lim Dae-han about why I wasn’t playing with them anymore, he told them not to interrupt my studies and to get out of the way. Actually, I worked hard in school, but dating was more difficult. Of course, I tried hard in that as well.

We didn’t split up right in front of the apartment when we arrived but instead went to the pavilion in the corner. I took a quick look around. There was no one there. I wrapped my arms around Lim Dae-han’s shoulder and pulled him towards me. Lim Dae-han was immediately drawn to my strength and wrapped his arms around my waist. His hand slid down and grabbed my ass.

“…”

“…”

We stared at each other without kissing. Lim Dae-han fixed his gaze on me. His gaze slowly shifted from my eyes to my lips. I wanted to pull my lips together as a joke.

“Are you going to kiss me?”

“Yeah.”

Lim Dae-han nodded his head and swallowed my lips as they were. As soon as our lips touched, I thought he was biting me. His tongue was entangled with mine as it dug into my mouth. Lim Dae-han reached up from my hip and grabbed the back of my neck. He fixed my head so that I couldn’t move, and then he frantically swallowed my lips. That’s right… We hugged each other tightly after kissing with a suppressed sound. I also sucked Lim Dae-han’s tongue and tightly hugged his shoulders and back.

Hot…The hot air enveloped us.

Lips that had been biting and sucking for an extended period of time broke off. I sucked his lips again after looking at Lim Dae-han’s lustrous lips. Lim Dae-han also kissed my lips before moving away. We held each other tightly while breathing heavily.

“Ki Young-hyun.”

“…Yeah.”

“Ki Young-hyun.”

“What.”

“Hug me more.”

Lim Dae-han told me to hug him, but I spread my arms. It was really funny. I spread my arms wider and hugged him tighter. Lim Dae-han pressed his lips against my ear and whispered softly.

“You know that everything Jung Ji-pil says is nonsense.”

“You have a lot of friends.”

“You’re the only friend I have.”

I took a couple of steps back from Lim Dae-han.

“… Am I your friend?”

Lim Dae-han walked out of the gap that had formed between us as soon as the question was finished. And grabbed my waist.

“You can also become my friend.”

“And dating?”

“Yeah. I don’t have any friends, are you not sorry?”

Shameless. Still, it didn’t feel too bad. Anyway, I like Lim Dae-han. To the extent that I want to be with him regardless of the muggy weather.

“I’ll be your friend.”

At those words, Lim Dae-han smiled and pulled me in. It was really nice… I closed my eyes as he hugged me in his arms.

***