Harmonious Love

Yang Gi Thief (12)

***

A few days later, Mo Yeon encountered Tae Young-won with his friends in the Business School hallway.

Frowning, Mo Yeon quickly descended the stairs almost as if fleeing, heading towards the building’s exit. As soon as he stepped outside, someone grabbed him from behind.

“Mo Yeon.”

Tae Young-won’s breath was a bit ragged as he held Mo Yeon’s wrist. It felt like he had chased after Mo Yeon at the same speed Mo Yeon had been moving. Heaving a deep sigh, Tae Young-won hugged Mo Yeon’s shoulders and whined.

“I’m sorry, Mo Yeon. Are you angry?”

“…”

“I didn’t know you’d dislike it so much. Since you hate it, I won’t do it again.”

Tae Young-won wasn’t apologizing for something else.

Recently, Mo Yeon had been spending quite a lot of time with Tae Young-won, having dinner out and preparing for their assignment. During this time, Mo Yeon had become a little more comfortable, and Tae Young-won seemed to know this.

Then yesterday, Mo Yeon arrived at school early and headed to the liberal arts class lecture hall ahead of time.

Being physically weak, Mo Yeon preferred to study in advance rather than cramming. While walking down the corridor, calculating in his head how much time was left until the exam, he quickly arrived in front of the lecture hall.

Would Tae Young-won be inside when he entered?

‘…Gasp!’

The moment he had that thought, his vision suddenly brightened as his glasses were removed. At the same time, a familiar scent brushed his nose. He immediately knew who was responsible. Mo Yeon quickly covered his face and tried to protect his eyes.

“Don’t do that, give them back…!”

Even though Mo Yeon spoke with his neck flushed red from the embarrassing situation, there was no response from Tae Young-won. He quickly reached out his hand. He grabbed Tae Young-won’s clothes as if tearing at them. But Tae Young-won’s body didn’t budge.

It was a bit strange that he wasn’t saying anything and just standing still, but Mo Yeon couldn’t properly see what expression Tae Young-won was making right now. He was probably wearing that playful smile of his. Even though Mo Yeon felt like his heart had sunk to his feet.

“Sunbae… please, quickly…!”

Through the gap in his sleeves covering his eyes, Mo Yeon could see Tae Young-won’s hand. He reached out and barely managed to snatch his glasses back.

Surprisingly easily reclaiming his glasses, Mo Yeon hurriedly put them on and looked up. The person standing in front of Mo Yeon was indeed Tae Young-won. And he was standing there with an expressionless face, as if thinking about something.

Mo Yeon passed by him and entered the lecture hall. It was because the professor had already arrived.

“You’d think I’d stripped your pants off or something.”

The voice that brushed Mo Yeon’s ear at that moment was clearly Tae Young-won’s.

Mo Yeon ended up wasting the entire class that day, frozen in place.

In fact, if it weren’t for how deeply this incident had imprinted on Tae Young-won, it wouldn’t have been something to get so angry about. It was the kind of prank that could be played between people who had become close. Rather, it was the last voice he heard that somehow felt unsettling.

But now, as Tae Young-won apologized first, Mo Yeon just felt awkward.

“…I’m not really that angry.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“No, you’re not. You seem really angry.”

More than being angry, Mo Yeon was more surprised by the fact that Tae Young-won had apologized first. Moreover, he had rushed over to Mo Yeon after being with his friends.

“I was a bit upset yesterday, but I’m fine now.”

A moment later, Tae Young-won’s hand touched Mo Yeon’s earlobe. As if checking if his ears were red, Tae Young-won smiled with relief.

“So we’re okay now, right?”

“Just don’t take off my glasses, please.”

“Mmm.”

Mo Yeon nodded, but he shrugged his shoulders, feeling strange about the cool touch that kept gently caressing his ear. Finally, when Mo Yeon pulled his head away, closing his eyes, Tae Young-won withdrew his hand with a laugh.

“I’ll buy you strawberry juice. Want some?”

“I didn’t bring my assignment stuff.”

“…”

He looked a bit disappointed, his eyebrows drooping.

“Oh.”

Mo Yeon nodded. Tae Young-won smiled brightly.

Since classes were over and the strawberry juice that Mo Yeon had first tried because of Tae Young-won wasn’t bad every time he drank it, Mo Yeon headed to the cafe to drink juice with him even without a specific purpose.

Tae Young-won burst into laughter, finding something very funny. Mo Yeon didn’t know what was so funny, but he laughed along, feeling a bit dazed.

“Ah, let’s sit together for a bit. There’s not a single seat available right now.”

While waiting for the juice, the door opened and Mo Yeon turned his head at the noisy sound. Tae Young-won appeared holding a pink strawberry juice, looking displeased, with other people on either side of him. Han Chae-yeon and Kim Jung-hyun were Tae Young-won’s classmates that Mo Yeon knew well.

“Oh? What, you were the junior Tae Young-won said he’s gotten close to recently?”

Han Chae-yeon’s eyes widened as she saw Mo Yeon sitting there blankly. Mo Yeon couldn’t understand how Tae Young-won’s friends knew him. The two sat down in a row in front of Mo Yeon as if enchanted.

“Wow… This is so fascinating, damn.”

“I know, right? What’s this, Tae Young-won…?”

As they kept exclaiming as if they had encountered a rare animal, Mo Yeon started to feel a bit uncomfortable.

What’s so fascinating? Glancing at them, he saw their eyes sparkling as they looked at him. It wasn’t the unpleasantness he had expected, but curiosity about a completely unknown new person. It was a look Mo Yeon had never received before.

Since it was a bit different from the glares he had prepared for, he honestly couldn’t help but flinch.

“…Do you know me?”

“Yeah, you’re in our department. We knew you last year too.”

Han Chae-yeon answered readily. Tae Young-won’s classmates knew him. This made Mo Yeon understand why Tae Young-won had said earlier that it wasn’t strange. He must have known about Mo Yeon’s reputation for sure. Yet he had approached first and treated Mo Yeon intimately.

What was this inexplicable friendliness? The only person Mo Yeon could express his bewildered feelings to was Tae Young-won, with whom he had become somewhat acquainted. But Tae Young-won just shrugged at Mo Yeon’s gaze and sat down beside him. Though not certain, Tae Young-won also seemed quite annoyed by them.

“They’re waiting for class, so they’ll leave soon.”

And what Mo Yeon was staring at was something else Tae Young-won was holding.

“Ah, here. Strawberry juice.”

“Thank you.”

When he took a sip of the juice Tae Young-won handed him, sweetness spread in his mouth. The discomfort disappeared. Tae Young-won’s words from earlier meant that Mo Yeon didn’t need to worry about the unfamiliar people in front of him.

So Mo Yeon opened the laptop he had taken out of his bag. He had suddenly remembered the exam schedule he needed to check.

“Um, friend, I’ve been really curious about something for a long time…”

While Mo Yeon was intently looking at his laptop, Han Chae-yeon’s subtle voice was heard. Kim Jung-hyun spoke nervously beside her.

“What are you trying to say?”

“Even talking like this could be considered a connection, right? So, I’m not sure if I should ask this, but…”

Mo Yeon silently waited for Han Chae-yeon’s words.

“Have you ever thought about not wearing glasses?”

Though she asked cautiously, Mo Yeon answered without hesitation.

“No, I haven’t.”

It wasn’t like he had never heard this before. Even aesthetically, the thick-framed glasses Mo Yeon wore were a design that made even onlookers feel stuffy. So the meddling wasn’t completely incomprehensible. It was just that for Mo Yeon, it wasn’t even a question worth considering.

“Hmm, I see. It’s nosy of me, but I’ve been curious every time I see you. I have a good eye for these things, and I think you’d look much better without them.”

“…”

“What do you think? Don’t you like the idea?”

Mo Yeon nodded without a moment’s hesitation.

Han Chae-yeon sighed as if she had expected this. Then, as if it was so regrettable, she furrowed her brows and said:

“Then could you show us just once how you look without glasses? Just us, and we’ll completely forget about it after today.”

At this point, Mo Yeon started to feel a bit uneasy. Honestly, showing his face wasn’t such an impossible task. What was his face anyway?

The real problem was that, given the recent unpleasant incident, he was worried that Tae Young-won might become curious about his appearance without glasses again.

“What do you think? Don’t you like it? Is it absolutely not possible? How about showing just me? I’ll make these guys leave.”

“Don’t. Mo Yeon doesn’t like that kind of thing.”

That was Tae Young-won’s voice, who had been quietly listening.

“How do you know that? Hey, have you already seen him without glasses?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow!”

At the simple answer, Han Chae-yeon repeatedly exclaimed in frustration, as if she had expected it.

“Why did you get to see first! I was curious before you were.”

“Well, I don’t think so.”

“What do you mean you don’t think so? I’ve been curious since at least last year. You weren’t even interested.”

“I don’t think that’s true either.”

Huh? Mo Yeon turned his head to look at Tae Young-won. That was quite a strange thing to say.