Sunshine Shower

“Oppa! Are you okay?”Moon Seoyoon snapped back to reality at Song Jua’s voice. He almost overflowed the soda while making the ade.“Sorry.”“You don’t need to apologize to me. But is something wrong? Are you tired? It’s midterm season, are you staying up too much at night?”Song Jua, who had taken the soda from him and closed the lid, looked at him with concern. Thinking that his fatigue might be showing on his face, Moon Seoyoon rubbed his cheek absentmindedly.“Maybe I haven’t been sleeping well lately.”“Why? Is something wrong?”“It’s nothing.”“If you say so, but you look so pale. Ah, I heard chamomile is good for sleep. It won’t take long to make, so I’ll brew you some tea.”“Thanks for worrying, but I’m really fine. That was the last ade order, right? Let’s close up and go.”Moon Seoyoon tried to act as if everything was okay and started moving his hands busily.He was aware that he wasn’t in good shape. It would have been stranger if he were in good condition after not sleeping well. Ever since Woo Yeonjae had caught him with the cigarette, he had been like this. More specifically, since he had been asked if he liked men.‘Damn it.’The thoughts that had been running through his mind for days were tangled like melted threads, making them impossible to unravel. Moon Seoyoon shook his head slightly and began cleaning the machines. He wished he could turn himself off like the coffee machines by pressing a power button.“See you on Monday.”“Take care.”Despite his reassurances, Song Jua made chamomile tea and handed it to him. Moon Seoyoon thanked her and put his free hand in his cardigan pocket. He felt something at his fingertips.He pulled out a small box, realizing it was the box of bandages he had received the day he went to the emergency room. Seeing it naturally brought back Woo Yeonjae’s voice in his ears.‘We’ll talk again later. I’ll wait until you’re ready to speak.’It was clear that he meant for Moon Seoyoon to speak honestly before being asked again. He knew it was an opportunity given by Woo Yeonjae, but he found it difficult to decide how to take it. Admitting that he liked men was scary enough, but he feared the questions that would follow even more.Even though it was a future that hadn’t arrived yet, Moon Seoyoon knew he couldn’t endure that moment. After admitting it, it felt like his feelings for Woo Yeonjae would inevitably be revealed.He was lost in these thoughts, still pondering as he walked towards the school.“Huh? Seoyoon!”A clear voice called his name. Given that it was a familiar voice, and since he had no close female friends who would call him so familiarly, Moon Seoyoon reflexively turned around, puzzled. Kim Sunjoo was standing there, waving energetically.“It’s been a while. How did we run into each other here?”“Oh… Hi.”Moon Seoyoon greeted her with a forced smile.“Heading back to the dorm?”“Yeah. Just finished work. What about you? Are you working late?”Talking with Kim Sunjoo wasn’t as exhausting as he thought it would be. With his nerves frayed from recent events, it somehow felt less burdensome.“Yeah. I got hungry while working, so I stepped out for a bit. Since you’re heading to the dorm, do you want to stop by the convenience store with me? It’s on the way to the art building.”“Convenience store?”“I want to eat ramen, but my friends aren’t up for it. I don’t like eating alone, and I happened to see you. Oh, is it too much to ask since you’re Woo Yeonjae’s girlfriend’s friend?”Moon Seoyoon faintly smiled.“It’s fine. Let’s go. I’m hungry too.”It was awkward to decline since she was Woo Yeonjae’s girlfriend.They chatted about typical college topics as they walked, soon arriving at the convenience store. Kim Sunjoo placed the ramen on a nearby outdoor table.“I should have done that.”“Huh? It’s fine. I suggested it, so I should do it. It’s not hard to get some hot water. I have some sense, you know?”She handed him chopsticks with a playful expression.“By the way, since I ran into you, I wanted to ask you something.”“What?”Inevitably, Woo Yeonjae’s name came up. When Moon Seoyoon hesitated to respond, Kim Sunjoo stirred her ramen with an awkward look.“It’s just, he’s seemed a bit down lately. You know how he hardly shows his emotions. But it’s been obvious he’s in a bad mood. I haven’t had any issues with him, so I wondered if he fought with his friends.”“It’s probably because of the exam period. He’s very ambitious about his studies.”Could he call what happened with Woo Yeonjae a fight? It felt too one-sided to be called an argument. But no matter what he called it, he couldn’t be honest about it, so he came up with a plausible excuse.“Really? I guess that could be it.”Kim Sunjoo accepted his answer lightly and started eating her ramen. She tucked her long hair behind her ear, revealing a white pearl earring.“Ah, those earrings.”“Huh?”Kim Sunjoo looked at him with wide eyes, wondering what he meant by his sudden comment.“I thought Woo Yeonjae gave them to you.”“Is this it?”“Yeah. …No?”The fact that pearl earrings all have similar designs came to mind.He shouldn’t have said anything. He didn’t mean to sound like he knew more than he did, but he realized too late that this was an inappropriate topic to discuss with a friend’s girlfriend.“Where did you see it?”Kim Sunjoo asked in a curious tone. Should he answer? He couldn’t lie, so Moon Seoyoon reluctantly opened his mouth. He should have been more careful, but the topic slipped out before he realized it.“At Woo Yeonjae’s apartment.”“Yeonjae’s apartment?”“Yeah.”“Have you been there?”Moon Seoyoon nodded and stirred his ramen absentmindedly. He only looked up at Kim Sunjoo after a few seconds of silence. Kim Sunjoo was frowning, looking somewhat hurt.“What? Woo Yeonjae. He told me even his parents aren’t allowed there, but he let you in?”Moon Seoyoon blinked dumbly at the unexpected words. It sounded like he had never been to Woo Yeonjae’s apartment.“I didn’t know he invited friends over.”At that moment, a certain intuition hit him. Moon Seoyoon felt an almost certain intuition that he was the only one who had been to Woo Yeonjae’s apartment.* * *Why were the earrings at the apartment? Moon Seoyoon recalled Kim Sunjoo grumbling about how unfair it was and how she should use this as leverage. The conversation continued until they reached the art building. It seemed more like she was sulking and venting to her boyfriend rather than being genuinely angry. Or perhaps it was a deliberate distraction for Moon Seoyoon, who might have been flustered by a slip of the tongue.The image of Kim Sunjoo thanking him for the ride and handing him jelly bought from a convenience store was vivid. Since Moon Seoyoon had barely touched his ramen, it seemed like she felt guilty for dragging him along to an unappealing outing.In turn, Moon Seoyoon felt sorry. He hadn’t felt comfortable around her, but it was more because he simply didn’t feel like eating.“I should’ve just said the earrings were pretty.”Moon Seoyoon muttered to himself, burying his face in his hands.If he hadn’t paid attention to the earrings in the bedroom, he wouldn’t have blurted out anything or revealed his visit to the apartment to Kim Sunjoo.Naturally, he assumed Kim Sunjoo had also been to the apartment. Anyone would have thought so if they saw earrings in the bedroom. The moment the earrings pricked his heart, it felt as though his emotions were thrown into disarray. The despair that rushed over him was so intense he couldn’t care about the pain from his pricked finger.But the owner of the earrings said she had never been to the apartment.Did Woo Yeonjae find them and bring them over?It was the most plausible explanation. She had said she lost them while changing in the car, so they might have fallen in the passenger seat, and Woo Yeonjae found them and brought them home. It was odd that someone like Woo Yeonjae would take someone else’s belongings to his home instead of just leaving them in the glove compartment, but it was the only explanation that made sense.He couldn’t ask Woo Yeonjae directly about what happened, leaving him feeling frustrated.After the incident, Moon Seoyoon didn’t ignore Woo Yeonjae. They shared three classes and were known to be somewhat close, so suddenly acting like strangers would have sparked strange rumors. Most likely, there would be baseless gossip about some nonexistent girl.Of course, Moon Seoyoon’s outwardly normal behavior towards Woo Yeonjae wasn’t just due to external reasons. It was mostly because of Woo Yeonjae himself.