HMN C16

Chapter 16

“Wow, seriously, today the professor was on another level. I thought I was going to die of boredom.”

Daeyoung thudded his forehead onto the desk in the lecture hall. Since the next class was after lunch, he knew an even greater ordeal would be waiting. While he rubbed his eyes furiously, the classroom emptied quickly.

“I’m gonna eat pork cutlet. Gotta get some protein.”

With a huge yawn, Daeyoung put his laptop into his bag and slung it over his shoulder. Just then, while still glancing sharply around, Haegyeom suddenly wedged himself between Wonjung and Daeyoung.

“Hey, let me tell you what I just heard.”

“Ah. Tell us while we’re eating.”

It would be gossip anyway. Waving his hand dismissively, Daeyoung left the lecture hall, only for Haegyeom to smack him hard on the back.

“You’ll regret it. It’s a rumor about you, Ahn Daeyoung.”

“…Me?”

He froze. He stopped walking down the hall, frowning with a confused expression at the idea that he was the subject of gossip. Not me? he thought, pointing at Wonjung. Bursting into laughter, Haegyeom nodded.

“Man, I swear, I’ve heard all kinds of shit in my life. This one’s just too damn funny.”

“Oh, what the hell is it.”

If it were good news, it sure as hell wouldn’t be that funny. The creeping unease made Daeyoung press closer to Haegyeom. Nudging him impatiently with his elbow to hurry and spit it out, Daeyoung watched him try to play it up, only to snicker to himself again. Just as Daeyoung’s patience reached its limit, Haegyeom barely managed to wipe away his grin and said,

“No, like, you know…Gochu(Pepper).”

“……”

The familiar nickname made his unease quickly turn to irritation. Oblivious to his expression, Haegyeom kept chattering excitedly.

“They’re saying you went around chasing after Gochu, confessed to him, and got rejected? Looks like the rumor spread everywhere over the weekend.”

Thud.

“Ah, fuck…”

The curse spilled out of Daeyoung before he realized it, because he couldn’t contain the sudden flare of anger. Seeing Daeyoung’s face grow stiffer and stiffer, Haegyeom, apparently misinterpreting it, patted his shoulder reassuringly.

“So I was like, what the hell? You and Gochu aren’t even close, and besides, you told me yourself you like girls. So they were like oh, then maybe it’s just bullshit after all.”

Ha. Covering his eyes with the heel of his palm, he let out a long sigh. It was a baseless, ridiculous rumor, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that its origin somehow traced back to that day.

“What kind of bullshit is this.”

Wonjung chimed in sharply, but it didn’t improve his mood. He distinctly remembered that next to Minhae, someone from the same club had been there that day—but he couldn’t recall the face. On top of that, that bastard Gochu seemed to have no intention of making a proper explanation either, so anyone who’d only heard half the story could easily misunderstand…. He cut off the thought before it spiraled further. Haegyeom, noticing Daeyoung and Wonjung’s unsmiling faces at last, cautiously asked,

“Hey, what, are you really that pissed? Isn’t it just small talk? I mean, Gochu’s already super popular, and you…”

“Ah!”

Unable to hold back the frustration, Daeyoung let out a short cry. It wasn’t a full-on shout—closer to a groan of exasperation. He propped his hands on the window sill with a thunk and bowed his head.

“Ha, my college life….”

It was the sort of absurd gossip you could brush off easily. Honestly, one properly blossomed campus romance would be enough to sweep it away. Silly jokes like this could pass if left alone.

But the fact that the other person was Gochu, that Minhae had witnessed something, and the exact content of the rumor—it all tangled together and jabbed at his nerves. Suddenly, he jerked his head up.

“No but really, why is the rumor not about us dating, but specifically about me chasing him alone and getting rejected?”

That was what pissed him off most. He hadn’t confessed a damn thing—in fact, he loathed even hearing that bastard’s name—but the story had turned into him being crushingly rejected after liking him. Haegyeom began snickering again, mumbling,

“It just means he’s the kind of guy both men and women alike could fall for.”

Yeah, but why the hell do I have to be the scapegoat? He knew well enough that if you had that kind of face on campus, being famous wasn’t strange at all. Early in the semester, everyone—freshmen and returning students alike—was memorizing faces, so of course it spread more easily. Pretty and handsome people always attracted gossip, and with that level of looks, being famous beyond campus was natural. He got that. The issue wasn’t whether Gochu drew attention—it was why he himself had become the sacrificial pawn of that shining face. He was pissed off.

“Why couldn’t they just stop at saying he’s good-looking, without making up trash about how someone confessed to him and got rejected? And the ‘someone’ just had to be me.”

Daeyoung’s face flushed crimson, his neck veins straining as he voiced the core of his frustration. For a friend who knew it wasn’t true, of course it was hilarious, and Haegyeom laughed loud enough to nearly topple over.

All the way to the cafeteria, Daeyoung kept raging like a fire-breathing dragon, while Haegyeom laughed himself sick, stomping his feet. Thankfully, Wonjung walked in silence beside them, saying nothing. If both of them had piled on, Daeyoung might have collapsed from high blood pressure already.

He had no idea if his pork cutlet was going into his mouth or up his nose. Until hearing this rumor, he’d assumed everyone was staring at Wonjung. But maybe… they’d actually been staring at him.

“Forget it and eat. It’s just because it’s the start of the semester. By next week, it’ll be gone.”

At last, Wonjung consoled him with those words. Having already vented so much frustration, Daeyoung had nothing left to say, so he only pouted and pecked at his food, nodding reluctantly.

“But, why would that kind of rumor even start? You two never even hung out.”

After all that laughter, only then did Haegyeom bother to trace the source of the rumor—a surprisingly loyal move. Daeyoung, squinting gloomily, replied,

“We take the same elective.”

“What?”

“What?”

The two voices overlapped in unison, drawing curious glances from people nearby. Daeyoung scowled, biting into his pork cutlet. Haegyeom leaned forward eagerly, his face brimming with interest. To be precise, Daeyoung should have said things like, “After the club dinner, I ended up in his arms,” or “He’s the café owner’s nephew.” But saying that aloud was absolutely impossible.

“What elective? That one? The one you’re taking alone? Volunteering?”

He nodded.

“Ha. So that’s how it got tangled, huh? Damn, people really do love paying attention to good-looking guys.”

Haegyeom looked like he finally understood. Across from them, Wonjung, who had been pushing stir-fried pork around with his chopsticks, set them down.

“That elective’s got a ton of people in it, right? Isn’t it huge?”

Daeyoung rolled his eyes upward, as though searching his memory.

“The class is big, yeah, but he and I got paired up. We’ve gotta do volunteer work together all semester.”

“No way, that’s wild! That’s really something.”

Now even Haegyeom was impressed, while Daeyoung went back to counting grains of rice. Fresh out of his military service, the first goal he’d set was to have an amazing college life—but little did he think it would crash down in the very first week.

“That bastard Gochu…”

He clenched his chopsticks tight, muttering the name under his breath. Haegyeom, meanwhile, was chirping about how he should just get along with him, making Daeyoung’s blood boil all over again. By the time the meal ended, his shoulders were stiff from holding his body taut in anger. Seeing him off toward his part-time job, Haegyeom teased and poked until Daeyoung finally raised a finger at him and turned his back.

“Hello, boss.”

Perhaps the only perk of a day spent raging was that his fatigue felt less heavy. As soon as his lectures were over, Daeyoung walked into the café and bowed his head with a greeting, shrugging off his outerwear. Despite his sour mood, his condition wasn’t half bad. The one thing bothering him was the ache in his wrist—but he had to adjust anyway.

“Was it busy this morning?”

“Yeah… Daeyoung-ah. Uncle missed you a lot.”

The big man’s shoulders sagged heavily. The traces of battling alone were all over his apron, making Daeyoung chuckle involuntarily. He rolled up his sleeves and tied on his apron at the waist.

“Well, at least it’s quieter now.”

“…Swore it’d take thirty minutes, but they all left…. Maybe they went to the café next door….”

His uncle’s gloomy look, weighted with the feeling of having lost customers, looked so unfitting on that rugged face that Daeyoung couldn’t help but laugh again. His uncle was so cheerful—so why the hell was the nephew like that? Snuffing out the lingering embers of earlier anger, Daeyoung busied himself with work.

“Two lattes are ready.”

By the afternoon, students doing assignments filled the space. Couples, groups of friends, or even teammates working on projects sat crowded together, each with coffee in hand, chatting away. Within thirty minutes of starting his shift, Daeyoung had been making drinks non-stop. Finally catching a break, he shook out his aching wrist.

“Maybe our event only works better in the mornings? Hm. Should we… change it now?”

“…It’s fine. We’re only doing it for a week anyway. If we suddenly say the event time changed, people’ll hate it. Someone who already came at the wrong time and paid full price might never come back.”

It was trouble they were already committed to anyway—just a few more days wouldn’t kill him. No sooner had he said this than customers poured in again. Checking the time, he realized evening classes must have just ended—students were swarming in. Daeyoung gulped down cold water like he was steeling himself for battle.

 

Note – if i did not explain earlier gochu = pepper is a slang for dick i guess most of you will know