Eyes That Linger Too Long

The atmosphere sank several times colder than when the man had first appeared.

The pleasant buzz of alcohol all but vanished.

No one could mistake what kind of “department rep” he meant when his sticky gaze lingered on faces.

“You, Kim Jaeyoung.”

Except for the utterly tactless Seo Mintae.

At Mintae poking Jaeyoung’s side again and again, the seniors turned away, busy holding back their laughter.

Thanks to that, the stiff mood loosened a little, so maybe it worked out.

Jaeyoung let out a dry chuckle.

“Kim Jaeyoung?”

The man blatantly swept his eyes over the girls as he called Jaeyoung’s name.

The female students, unable to openly show their discomfort at the arrival of a senior who even made other seniors flustered, trembled, afraid their eyes might meet his even by accident.

“Yes, that’s me.”

Jaeyoung, who had been looking at the girls with pity, raised his arm high and staggered toward the man.

He stopped beside him and held out a soju glass.

“Class of ’20, Kim Jaeyoung.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you from the seniors, sunbae!”

“Huh.
Yeah?”

The “sunbae,” flustered by the unexpectedly friendly approach, stared at him for a moment before lifting the bottle as if to say, why not.

“Ah, you little shits.”

“What were you saying when I wasn’t around…?”

He spoke as if intimidated, but the twitching corner of his mouth showed he was enjoying it.

It didn’t seem to occur to him that he was exactly the type of person others might avoid.

“So?”

“What’d they say?”

The man leaned in toward Jaeyoung and asked in a whisper.

He spoke loudly enough to be heard from far away anyway, so Jaeyoung couldn’t understand why he felt the need to press his face so close.

Jaeyoung frowned without meaning to.

The breath brushing his ear was unpleasant.

‘When Saheon hyung does this, it doesn’t feel like this at all….’

“Huh?”

“I asked what they said.”

Unaware of Jaeyoung’s thoughts, the man draped an arm over his shoulder like they were close.

The hand kneading his shoulder impatiently was surprisingly strong.

“They said you’re steadfast and very manly.”

Jaeyoung replied with a clear smile, hiding the pain.

“Oh?”

“What else?”

“They said since you’re knowledgeable, you’d kindly help if someone asked you something you knew….”

“And?”

But shameless people were greedy too.

Since he obviously hadn’t heard anything else, Jaeyoung had to pause and think.

If he said something too ridiculous, it might only raise suspicion.

Unsure what to say, Jaeyoung bit the soft flesh inside his mouth.

“Ah, sunbae, you’re embarrassing me.”

“Why ask something like that?”

Just then, Minju, the club president, stepped in as if she’d been waiting, lifting a soju bottle to stop him.

Jaeyoung, who’d been struggling to come up with something nice to say, let out a quiet sigh of relief.

“Looks like the president’s feeling shy.”

Jaeyoung chimed in smoothly.

He usually called Minju noona, but since she was calling Seongpil “sunbae,” it didn’t feel right to use that here.

“Please give me a drink too.”

Jaeyoung smiled brightly and held out his glass with both hands.

His hands trembled from barely having any breaks between drinks, but he wanted to lighten Minju’s burden of dealing with the nuisance.

“Fine.”

“I don’t usually pour for guys, so feel honored.”

He somehow made calling himself trash sound impressively roundabout.

Jaeyoung tried hard not to show his irritation.

“I’ll pour you one too!”

“I only drink when women pour it….”

Jaeyoung clenched the inside of his mouth.

He nearly let the carefully maintained smile slip.

“Isn’t alcohol tastier when it’s poured with good intentions?”

At Jaeyoung’s forced banter, Seongpil laughed and held out his glass as if to say, try it then.

Jaeyoung focused hard not to spill a single drop.

The problem was his vision kept blurring.

He slowly closed and opened his eyes over and over.

Long, thick lashes cast deep shadows.

Seongpil stared openly at Jaeyoung’s face.

“But are you really a guy?”

At the question, Jaeyoung tilted his head.

He’d often been told he looked cute or young, but this was the first time someone questioned his gender.

“No matter how you look at me, I’m a guy, aren’t I?”

Jaeyoung puffed out his chest as if to prove it.

But the alcohol had shortened his tongue, making him sound more cutesy instead.

“What kind of guy has skin this pale?”

Seongpil reached out and fiddled with Jaeyoung’s cheek.

His skin was damp, making it feel gross.

Jaeyoung brushed his own cheek as if wiping sweat and knocked the hand away.

“I guess I take after my mom.”

“My skin’s like my oldest sister’s….”

Without realizing it, Jaeyoung tilted his head side to side as he answered.

“You’ve got a sister?”

“Do you look alike?”

“How old is she?”

“Is she single?”

Holding the tiny soju glass like a mug and sipping, Jaeyoung frowned at the barrage of questions.

He was used to comments like that when he mentioned having sisters, but this was the first time it felt this unpleasant.

“Well, even if she’s not single, I could definitely win her over.”

Seongpil smirked and tipped back his glass.

Jaeyoung had no idea where that confidence came from.

He resisted the urge to shake his head.

“So how old is she?”

“You said she looks like you.”

At the constant prodding, Jaeyoung looked at Seongpil with hazy eyes, both annoyed and puzzled.

He couldn’t understand why the man was so obsessed with whether they looked alike.

“I’m the only one who takes after my mom.”

“My brother and sisters look like our dad.”

“Oh?”

Seongpil smacked his lips in disappointment.

‘Thank god they don’t look like me.’

Jaeyoung let out a genuine sigh of relief.

Even if Seongpil asked to be introduced to them, he’d never agree, but more than that, it would have made campus life exhausting.

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

“No, not yet.”

At the word girlfriend, Jaeyoung’s face flushed.

He still wasn’t used to topics like that.

Lowering his head, he hid his face and smiled shyly.

“Wait, don’t tell me you’re still a virgin?”

At the teasing question, Jaeyoung frowned.

Even between men, it was uncomfortable to bring up with someone you weren’t close to.

And there were plenty of female seniors at the table.

“That kind of talk is a bit….”

“We’re all adults, what’s the problem?”

After glancing around, Seongpil boldly committed sexual harassment while pretending to be open-minded.

“With skin this soft, don’t girls love you?”

Finally, Jaeyoung couldn’t hold it in and scrunched up his face.

No matter how you framed it as same-s*x joking, this crossed a line.

And the two of them weren’t even close.

At least the target of this filthy talk wasn’t one of the girls.

Seongpil shot Jaeyoung a sideways look with lecherous eyes.

He acted like it was harmless banter, but a nasty shiver crawled over Jaeyoung’s body.

“Don’t worry!”

“Noona here will take responsibility and introduce you to a pretty, kind, perceptive girlfriend.”

Just then, Minju clapped Jaeyoung on the shoulder and laughed loudly.

She’d been about to step in anyway.

Jaeyoung barely managed to swallow the words rising to his throat.

“Really?”

“You won’t pretend you forgot later, right?”

Jaeyoung deliberately brightened his voice and held out his pinky toward Minju.

The extra childish tone made Minju flinch slightly.

“Go get Mintae.”

Minju urged the friend beside her, poking his side.

She kept a wary eye on Jaeyoung, as if afraid something might happen in the meantime.

He always smiled easily, but now he looked almost syrupy, like he was trying to charm someone on purpose.

‘He’s drunk.’

‘Definitely drunk.’

It was just a guess, but she was almost certain.

“Is Jaeyoung drunk?”

Unfortunately, the person sitting right next to him noticed too.

“Do I need to take him home?”

“Man, I hate cleanup.”

At the oddly excited tone, Minju’s eyes sharpened.

More than anything, volunteering for something annoying without being asked didn’t suit Seongpil at all.

‘Was he the kind of trash who went for guys too…?’

Minju narrowed her eyes and scrutinized him.

Jaeyoung was the kind of kid loved by everyone, regardless of age or gender, but this didn’t feel like that.

“Oh?”

“That’s Seohun!”

“Seohun?”

At that moment, a commotion stole Seongpil’s attention.

A tall man with a shaved head was entering the bar.

Not only the business department, but even students from other departments holding their own welcome parties stirred.

“What’s going on?”

“Didn’t he say he couldn’t come because of a dispatch today?”

Still, since he was from the same department, this table was relatively calm.

Hearing the casual murmurs, Seongpil’s eyes lit up.

“What?”

“He’s in our department too?”

Seongpil fidgeted in his seat.

It seemed no one had told him Seohun had entered the business department.

He looked like he wanted to run over and say something like everyone else, but maybe he thought it’d look bad, because he didn’t get up.

Jaeyoung, who wanted to keep his distance from Espers, took advantage of Seongpil’s attention shifting away and started dozing off against the table.

Through his half-lidded, unfocused eyes, he saw a hand holding watermelon.

“Hyung, ah.”

Recognizing the owner of the hand, Jaeyoung leaned over and obediently opened his mouth.

The upperclassman made a dumbfounded face, then chuckled and fed him the watermelon.

“Thank you.”

Enjoying the crisp texture and sweet juice, Jaeyoung smiled with crescent eyes as he thanked him.

“Oh?”

“He’s coming this way.”

A note of excitement crept into Seongpil’s voice.

Turning his head, Jaeyoung saw Seohun striding straight toward their table.

‘An Esper.’

‘I need to get away.’

Even while drunk, the thought made Jaeyoung frown uneasily.

“Ah, damn, he’s completely gone.”

Then, from behind Minju, came the weary voice of a man steeped in exhaustion.

“Mintae.”

The first person to recognize him was the drunkest one there, Jaeyoung.

When Mintae approached with a worried face, Jaeyoung wrapped his arms around him and rubbed his cheek against him.

From one side, a squeal of excitement even broke out.

“Mintae.”

“You know Jaeyoung’s place, right?”

Minju asked, half certain.

She’d long since figured out the two were childhood friends.

Mintae nodded with a reluctant expression.

Minju’s face brightened in relief.

“What?”

“How do you know his place?”

“There’s no way you got that close already….”

Seongpil rattled on, his face caught somewhere between pleased and irritated.

He’d seemed completely distracted by Seohun, but apparently not entirely.

“Ah, Jaeyoung and I go way back.”

“We’ve known each other for ten years.”

“Then take him home.”

“If you want to come to the second round, call me.”

“There’s a second round?”

Mintae glanced between Jaeyoung and the audience of enthusiastic onlookers, weighing it.

Then, as if a good idea struck him, his eyes lit up.

“Oh!”

“I don’t have to take him myself.”

“There’s a hyung who lives with Jaeyoung.”

“I’ll just contact—”

Mintae, not as drunk as Jaeyoung but still fairly gone, momentarily forgot who that “hyung who lives with Jaeyoung” actually was.