Just A Friend

#20

“Are you going home?”

Kang Jihan asked. With no night study, unless he was going to a study room, home was the only place to go. But why is he asking that? Nam Seonwoo thought and answered.

“I guess so?”

“…My house.”

Kang Jihan fidgeted with his nape.

“Want to come?”

As Nam Seonwoo stared at him, Kang Jihan looked at the floor, then met his gaze again. Though he didn’t avoid eye contact, his hand remained on his nape.

‘His mother must have told him to invite me, I suppose.’

Since Kang Jihan wouldn’t invite him on his own, that seemed more plausible. Nam Seonwoo asked with a grin.

“If I go, will you feed me?”

“I’ll make something.”

Kang Jihan spoke as if he would personally prepare the meal. Nam Seonwoo gladly accepted. He wanted to eat the home-cooked meal his mother would prepare, and he also thought of studying together for tomorrow’s exam while he was at it.

As he was about to leave with Kang Jihan, Park Gyuhyeon’s stupid face came into view. It was obvious what he was thinking. Nam Seonwoo boasted to the cheeky candy thief.

“See that? This is how you should treat me if you want to get my expert tutoring.”

“Food? He’s making food for you now… Why is Jihan…?”

“If you want tutoring from this hyung too, you should offer a carefully prepared meal. Got it?”

Nam Seonwoo, packing his textbooks, patted Kang Jihan’s bottom and shouted, “Let’s go!” Kang Jihan looked at him as if he couldn’t believe it, but silently followed behind Nam Seonwoo.

They had taken the news of the upcoming rainy season lightly because it said “soon.” But the humid sky before the rainy season often poured rain unexpectedly. Like now.

They were walking while eating the cup tteokbokki Nam Seonwoo had extracted from Kang Jihan. When the rain suddenly poured, Nam Seonwoo was more concerned about the tteokbokki in his hand than covering his head. As he hastily stuffed it into his mouth, Kang Jihan pulled him under a small awning.

Looking at the rain, it didn’t seem like it would stop soon even if they waited a bit. They couldn’t keep sheltering from the rain here, and Kang Jihan’s house was just ahead.

“Shall we run?”

Kang Jihan seemed to have the same thought as he took off his uniform shirt. Nam Seonwoo also took off his shirt and covered his head with it. He adjusted his bag with essential textbooks to the front, and Kang Jihan hurriedly followed suit. Nam Seonwoo, ready, gave a nod. Exchanging glances, they both ran into the rain simultaneously.

Due to the sudden rain, the ground was covered with fallen leaves. As they entered the residential area, there were even more leaves covering the ground due to the increased number of trees.

As Nam Seonwoo was running while unconsciously looking at the ground, something fallen between the leaves caught his eye. The moment he realized it was a pine caterpillar, Nam Seonwoo froze in shock. At the same time, he felt something crawling on his forearm holding the shirt.

“Ugh…”

He had forgotten. The trees called “caterpillar trees” from this era. In times when pest control wasn’t common, it wasn’t unusual for caterpillars to fall from trees at any time.

And Nam Seonwoo was afraid of insects. Terribly so.

“Aah, ah! Mom-!”

His body-shaking as if having a seizure looked like someone possessed. Though the caterpillar on his arm had long fallen off, Nam Seonwoo was having a fit over the caterpillars covering the ground. His flailing body bumped into something. Grabbing that solid thing tightly with his hands somehow made him feel reassured. As he unconsciously pressed his body closer, he heard laughter. Only then did Nam Seonwoo look up.

All he could see through the shirt covering his head was the corner of Kang Jihan’s mouth. But the moment he saw that wide smile, he could almost picture the face above it.

“You’re okay with butterflies, but scared of those?”

That familiar face reminded him of Kang Jihan from his previous life. A playful smile that momentarily erased his usually heavy and serious atmosphere. It was a smile he could see when he thought he had entered Kang Jihan’s inner circle.

Suddenly, he thought he had seen that smile recently too. The memory came quickly because it had rained that day too. The computer room. On that day when they were locked in school, Kang Jihan had smiled like that too.

The moment he realized this, he felt it was a bit dangerous.

Was Kang Jihan always this quick to smile? Was this the same Kang Jihan who used to draw such clear boundaries, now so easily letting others into his inner circle?

No, that wasn’t really the problem. The problem was that the moment he saw that smile, he couldn’t look away, just like some idiot from fifteen years ago.

Nam Seonwoo, as if burned, detached himself from Kang Jihan and ran ahead of him.

He thought that his heart, startled by the caterpillars, must have been startled by Kang Jihan. But the caterpillars on the ground no longer caught his eye. The face lingering like an afterimage and the sound of footsteps closely following behind made it difficult to shake off the unsettling feeling. And abruptly, it brought up memories of Kang Jihan from his previous life.

‘Move away a bit.’

It was when he thought they had become a bit closer. It was probably around the time when they started walking home together more often.

When they walked together, Nam Seonwoo usually did most of the talking. As he talked non-stop while observing Kang Jihan’s face, his body would unintentionally lean towards Kang Jihan. Not walking on the perfectly fine path in front of him but sticking close to Kang Jihan, Kang Jihan had said that, as if uncomfortable. To move away a bit. The gesture of pushing away the touching shoulders remained the same even after they started dating.

“You just stepped on a caterpillar.”

At the voice piercing through his thoughts, Nam Seonwoo lifted his foot with an “Aaah,” and laughter was heard from behind again. Nam Seonwoo didn’t look back. The Kang Jihan from fifteen years ago, and the current Kang Jihan who didn’t push him away. Even as he tried to suppress the thoughts rising between them, that constant laughter kept bringing up unnecessary assumptions.

As if resisting the unrelenting rain, Nam Seonwoo walked even more vigorously.

Contrary to expectations, Kang Jihan’s mother wasn’t at home when they arrived.

As Nam Seonwoo looked quizzically at the empty shoe rack and quiet house, Kang Jihan soon brought towels. Though water droplets wet the floor with each step, Kang Jihan showed no signs of displeasure as he guided Nam Seonwoo to his room’s bathroom. Then he headed to the master bathroom.

Under the pouring shower, Nam Seonwoo tried to wash away unnecessary thoughts along with the water. They had just become close quickly because they interacted without formalities. Kang Jihan probably opened up comfortably because he didn’t act burdensomely. That was all it was.

‘…Kang Jihan’s scent.’

Kang Jihan’s shampoo and body wash covered his entire body. The shower booth filled with a cool grassy scent as the water stopped.

The spare clothes Kang Jihan provided had a similar scent. Nam Seonwoo picked up the neatly folded navy T-shirt and inhaled the scent embedded in it. He was suddenly reminded of Kang Jihan’s stubbornly consistent tastes. He used things for a long time once he got used to them, even keeping the same shampoo and perfume. A thought suddenly occurred to him. Was that why he couldn’t let go of Nam Seonwoo, who he had also gotten ‘used to’?

Nam Seonwoo shook his head vigorously. Rationally speaking, that person no longer exists. He hadn’t felt longing or lingering attachment from the familiar scent. It was just a natural recollection of memories.

As the steam on the mirror gradually cleared from the edges, his figure became clearer. Only then did Nam Seonwoo discover himself with his nose buried in Kang Jihan’s clothes. The face in the mirror instantly changed to an expression of disbelief. Nam Seonwoo hurriedly put down the clothes and turned to wipe off the moisture when:

“…Huh?”

He thought he saw something in the mirror. As he shifted his gaze back to his body in the mirror, there was something on his waist. It looked like some elongated dust, but that part of the mirror was still foggy, making it hard to see clearly. The moment he turned towards the clearer part of the mirror, that something wriggled.

No way. Nam Seonwoo, who had been letting out small groans, let out a shocked scream the moment he realized what it was.

No matter how much he shook his body, this damn caterpillar wouldn’t fall off. The creature that had clung firmly even under the water stream was now wriggling down along his spine. As the creepy sensation spread throughout his body along his spine, his screams soon became tearful.

“Ka-Kang Ji-Kang Jihan-!”

The door flung open as he called out as if searching for a lifeline. Water was dripping from Kang Jihan’s hair, suggesting he had rushed over in the middle of his shower. His face, with his forehead fully exposed, was full of surprise.

Nam Seonwoo, clinging to his savior’s arm, pulled him strongly. Then, showing his back, he whimpered.

“He-here, ca-caterpillar, the damn caterpillar…”

“What?”

“It must have gotten inside my clothes earlier. Pl-please take it off, quickly…”

This insolent bug kept moving downward fearlessly. Nam Seonwoo, with his hair standing on end, pale-faced, shook Kang Jihan’s arm urging him. Unlike Kang Jihan who at least had a towel around his waist, Nam Seonwoo was completely naked, but now wasn’t the time to care about such things.

“…”

The flustered Kang Jihan hesitated for a moment at the scene before him. The water droplets falling from the unusually skinny shoulders were strangely transparent. Unconsciously looking down at his own body, Kang Jihan suddenly realized the obvious fact that water droplets reflect skin color.