The Intrusion of the Past

“Have you still not come to your senses, Yoon Ju-myeong?”

Dae-eon clicked his tongue at Ju-myeong, who was busy spouting nonsense about Alphas swarming around. It had been the same since high school; Ju-myeong’s jokes were always excessive.

“What did I do?”

“What do you mean ‘swarming’? Have you ever even seen me date anyone?”

“I haven’t. If I had, I probably would’ve flipped the whole world upside down.”

“Right, heaven forbid you ever see me in a relationship.”

Dae-eon was a perpetual solo, but Ju-myeong wasn’t much different. Citing his problematic pheromone glands, Ju-myeong had rejected every single confession he received throughout high school.

In middle school, before he fully understood his condition, he supposedly dated around, but since meeting Dae-eon in high school, he hadn’t been with a single soul—despite Dae-eon practically kicking him in the rear and telling him to get out there.

Dae-eon glanced at the motorcycle parked behind Ju-myeong. A familiar helmet was tucked between Ju-myeong’s arm and waist.

“Coming back from a delivery?”

“Yeah. Hey, tell the people in Building 314 to stop ordering so much damn chicken. Who eats chicken this early in the afternoon?”

As Ju-myeong grumbled, Dae-eon chuckled.

Ju-myeong’s family situation hadn’t been great, so he’d gotten his license in high school and worked delivery jobs ever since. Currently, he was at a chicken shop. Until recently, he’d been at the same Chinese restaurant since high school, but it seemed he’d switched jobs.

“Where was Building 314 again? Senior, do you know?”

“…….”

“Senior? Why aren’t you say—Ouch! Senior, let go. You’re going to rip my clothes.”

Seon Ji-ha was still gripping Dae-eon’s waist with a death grip. While glaring silently at Ju-myeong, he muttered in a low voice:

“……The Humanities building……”

I didn’t think he’d actually know.

Dae-eon, who barely knew where his own department building was, had asked the question rhetorically. He turned his head back, but froze instantly.

Ji-ha was glaring at Ju-myeong with an expression that said he wanted to tear the man apart.

Dae-eon, who had been too busy looking at Ju-myeong to notice, finally felt the need to apologize on Ji-ha’s behalf. However, Ju-myeong—the target of that murderous gaze—was actually smirking playfully.

“Senior, why are you looking at him like you’re going to kill him?”

“Forget it,” Ju-myeong said. “We dealt with this kind of thing all the time in high school. It’s nothing new.”

“All the time? Us? When?”

“A bunch of pathetic bastards were always following you around. Don’t you remember? Then again, you always were a bit of a blockhead, Yoon Dae-eon.”

Now that he mentioned it, some memories did flicker back.

After they became friends through a series of incidents, Ju-myeong started picking Dae-eon up at his house every morning starting from their second year. When asked why, Ju-myeong would just grumble:

‘Because shtty bastards keep following you.’*

Dae-eon had assumed back then that Ju-myeong was talking about himself—that Ju-myeong had too many stalkers.

Ju-myeong looked like a bit of a delinquent, but he was undeniably handsome. Dae-eon had thought it might be dangerous for him to walk alone if people were following him, so he agreed to walk to school together.

They did that for about six months. Even though Ju-myeong loved sleep, he’d show up at Dae-eon’s house every morning with sleep crust still in his eyes, and eventually, Dae-eon got used to it.

But after months of nothing happening, a curious Dae-eon finally asked Ju-myeong while he was slumped over his desk at school.

‘Hey, I really don’t think anyone is following you.’

‘……Huh? What the hell are you talking about?’

‘I mean, you scowl so much that everyone just runs away. Didn’t you say you walk with me because someone follows you?’

‘……What?’

Ju-myeong had made such a bizarre face that Dae-eon realized he’d misunderstood something. He shrugged and continued:

‘Did I get it wrong? Well, whatever. Actually, starting tomorrow, I’m going to do English listening practice every morning with Si-hyun from Class 1. So I don’t think I can walk with you anymore—’

BANG!

Dae-eon jumped. Ju-myeong had bolted upright so fast his metal-framed chair flew backward. The sound was loud enough to stop a heart.

But Ju-myeong didn’t even bother to pick up the chair. He just stared Dae-eon down. Dae-eon knew Ju-myeong looked a bit scary, but he’d never seen him look that intense, and he’d actually felt a bit intimidated for a second.

‘Sht, I’m terrified every morning.’*

‘Huh?’

‘I feel like someone’s following me, so I’m literally shaking!’

‘Really?’

‘Yes! F**!’*

Okay, if you’re scared, you’re scared, but why are you screaming and swearing about it?

Dae-eon, who was just a little bit—really just a tiny bit—scared of Ju-myeong’s outburst, ended up taking back what he said. He figured Ju-myeong was just pissed about the Class 1 Kim Si-hyun thing.

‘Fine, then starting tomorrow, the three of us will go with Kim Si-hyun—’

BANG! The chair had to fear for its life once again.

‘Yoon Ju-myeong, you jerk! Are you trying to break the chair?!’

It was an old story. They had become friends at the end of their first year, and that incident happened in the second semester of their second year, so it was over a year ago. Remembering it made Dae-eon burst into laughter. Ju-myeong seemed to be recalling the same thing, as he let out a smirk.

The only person not laughing was Seon Ji-ha.

“……Dae-eon……”

“Ah, Senior. Your class is starting soon. You should get going.”

“……I’m skipping today……”

“Skipping?” Dae-eon blinked. He asked tentatively, “Did you get a cancellation notice too?”

“Yes……”

“Oh, that’s lucky! Wait, is it? Why would they announce a cancellation right before class starts? That professor must be a piece of work.”

“……He’s a f***ing prick.”

Ji-ha bit his lip as he forced out the curse. Ju-myeong, listening to the exchange, seemed to understand everything perfectly, but Dae-eon remained oblivious to who exactly the “prick” was.

Just then, Ju-myeong’s pocket began to vibrate violently. His default ringtone blared loudly. Dae-eon glanced at the pocket.

“Ju-myeong, aren’t you going to the delivery? You’re getting a call.”

“Seriously, my boss is such a pain in the ass.”

“This is why I asked why you changed jobs. You said you liked the boss at the Chinese place.”

“The Chinese place doesn’t deliver this far, f***!”

“Why are you taking it out on me, you bastard?!”

After snapping at Dae-eon, Ju-myeong pulled out his phone. The moment he answered, he shouted, “I’m coming, sh*t!” He shoved his helmet back on. As he headed for his bike, Dae-eon asked:

“When do you finish work?”

“8:00. Why?”

“Let’s grab a drink after—Ouch! Senior, why are you pinching me?!”

Dae-eon flinched at the sharp sensation at his waist. He turned to find Ji-ha looking at him with a fuming expression he’d never seen before.

“……Why don’t you have a drink with me……?”

“Senior, do you drink? You didn’t have a single drop at the pub the other day.”

“I drink…… with Dae-eon……”

Dae-eon looked at him, surprised. He had Seon Ji-ha filed away in his head as the “loner senior” who wouldn’t touch a drop of alcohol. His face brightened at the prospect.

“Then shall we have a drink this evening? Just the two of us this time……”

“Hey, Yoon Dae-eon.”

“You still haven’t left?”

“……F***ing hell, so are you drinking with me or not?”

Ju-myeong was sitting on his motorcycle but hadn’t started it yet. He looked like he was in a hurry, but he clearly wasn’t going anywhere until he got an answer.

After a moment of thought, Dae-eon hit on what he thought was a brilliant solution.

“Then, how about the three of us drink together?”

“You son of a…… you idiot.”

“……Sigh……”

“Wait, why? You both look like you want to drink, so isn’t it better to drink together?”

One was hurling insults and the other was letting out heavy sighs; Dae-eon looked truly wronged. In his mind, whether it was two people or three, as long as there was alcohol, it was all good.

“Whatever. I’m out.”

“Going? Yeah, see ya.”

“Yoon Dae-eon, you absolute moron.”

With that final grumble, Ju-myeong revved his engine and sped off. Once he was gone and it was just the two of them, Ji-ha finally let go of Dae-eon’s clothes. Dae-eon looked down and saw his shirt wasn’t just wrinkled—it was stretched out.

“Senior, you ruined my clothes.”

“……I couldn’t exactly ruin Dae-eon……”

“What?”

“……Nothing.”

Even with Ju-myeong gone, Ji-ha still looked dejected. Dae-eon patted his shoulder.

“Ju-myeong’s just got a foul mouth. He doesn’t mean everything he says. Despite how he looks, he’s never done anything truly bad.”

Ju-myeong looked like a delinquent and certainly didn’t have the best personality, but deep down, he was a decent guy. Dae-eon had avoided him at first too, thinking he was just another thug, but he eventually realized the guy was just a bit slow. He worked delivery because his family was poor, and he swore because he’d been working among rough adults since he was young.

“But really, Senior. Are you going to drink with me today?”

“……Why?”

“If you say no, I’ll just make other plans. We didn’t even get to drink at Hansim Pub last time because of that weirdo.”

Dae-eon’s eyes were sparkling with such pure anticipation that Ji-ha couldn’t possibly refuse.

Truthfully, Ji-ha’s favorite thing was just sitting quietly at home with Dae-eon, talking, but Dae-eon clearly preferred going out.

When Ji-ha finally nodded, Dae-eon cheered. He’d finally secured a drinking plan. Excitedly, he added:

“Then I’ll invite Ju-myeong, Dong-chol, Yoon-ki, and Ye-jun too!”

Dae-eon really was a man with zero social awareness.