Sunshine Shower

“Doesn’t the professor say anything?”“Dad is busy too, you know.”Woo Yeonjae didn’t particularly like Moon Seoyoon’s father. He used the title “Professor” to keep a certain distance.Why doesn’t he care about his kid? To Woo Yeonjae, Professor Moon seemed like a narcissist. He wasn’t a good father for a child who was already emotionally blunt.Sometimes Woo Yeonjae thought he could take better care of Moon Seoyoon than his father did. It was a strange thought to have about a same-age, same-gender friend, but no other word seemed to fit other than “take care.”Isn’t it strange for a father not to worry about his son losing weight? Woo Yeonjae propped his chin on his hand and continued stirring the ice with his straw. As always, his eyes were drawn to Moon Seoyoon at the edge of his vision.“Why is the professor like that?”“Huh?”Oh, was that too much? Woo Yeonjae frowned and shut his mouth.“Never mind.”Whether he didn’t hear properly or just didn’t care, Moon Seoyoon nodded easily and lowered his head to sip his tea.Woo Yeonjae pondered the word “responsibility” again. Feeling responsible for an old childhood friend wasn’t just because of the incident where he almost died in front of him. There were definitely other mixed feelings involved.Worrying about a friend who didn’t even know his own condition, mild irritation at Professor Moon for not fulfilling his fatherly duties, and planning to spend a long time of his life with Moon Seoyoon. Things like that.“Oh, right. Thanks for coming.”Moon Seoyoon suddenly said while sipping his tea.“For what?”“My mom likes it when you come over. Do you talk about me with her?”“Yeah. I told her I’m jealous because you have too many friends besides me.”“What did she say?”Moon Seoyoon chuckled as if he couldn’t believe it and then looked a bit embarrassed as he avoided eye contact.“Anyway, it must be a bit bothersome. No matter how long we’ve known each other, we’re still not family…”“Not family? You’re really drawing a line?”“No, not you and me. My mom and your aunt.”“My mom might be hurt by that.”“Oh, really? Then don’t tell your aunt.”Seeing his fluttering eyelashes, it seemed like he took the joke seriously. Knowing this, Woo Yeonjae buried his face a bit deeper into his hands on his chin.“For free?”“I told you, I’ll buy you something delicious.”“Alright.”Only then did Moon Seoyoon look relieved.“Next time… After school, can you come with me? My mom’s curious about you in your school uniform.”“Sure. It’s not hard.”“Thanks.”“We’re family, after all.”Woo Yeonjae replied calmly. Sometimes he wondered if he had unconsciously made Moon Seoyoon part of his family, seeing how he sometimes wanted to take the professor’s place. The half-joking “Should I take the professor’s place?” was, in fact, half-serious. Moon Seoyoon seemed to think it was a joke, though.“So, Seoyoon.”“Yeah?”Woo Yeonjae lightly moved his straw.“Don’t try to become independent from me.”The ice clinked.* * *Even if most emotions follow parallel curves, it seems adolescence still has its disruptions.Woo Yeonjae sometimes found it hard to control his impulses. He had dismissed it as unrelated to him, but sometimes his fists moved before his rational calculations were done.“Moon Seoyoon, you fucking idiot. If you’ve never jerked off, should I give you a handjob?”Of course, he properly dealt with the aftermath.In the small society that is a school, isolating someone and tightening the noose wasn’t hard.* * *“Hi, Yeonjae. You know who I am, right?”“Hello.”Woo Yeonjae nodded slightly to the senior who seemed to know him. He was in the grade above and, if Woo Yeonjae remembered correctly, was an aspiring actor and fairly well-known around school.“I asked around, and it seems like you don’t have a girlfriend. I’m interested in you, so want to go out?”It was a time when people their age often dated and broke up. They probably weren’t overflowing with affection for each other. If they were, people wouldn’t be talking about dating each other one after the other.It didn’t seem like a bad idea to date. Everyone else was doing it without much emotion. Even if it was bothersome, sometimes you had to prove you weren’t too different.Woo Yeonjae rested his chin on his hand and stared intently at Moon Seoyoon. They were in the middle of doing homework together.“Moon Seoyoon.”“Yeah?”“I got a girlfriend.”His round eyes became even rounder, as if he hadn’t expected such a sudden confession. Woo Yeonjae looked at him and smiled faintly.Don’t think it’s strange—I’m just like everyone else.* * *Every time Woo Yeonjae started dating someone, he reported it to Moon Seoyoon first.It was only natural.After all, the one he needed to prove himself to was always Moon Seoyoon.* * *A group of identical school uniforms huddled together. Did someone just come back from the snack shop? Woo Yeonjae thought casually as he was about to head to his seat when he noticed a familiar back. Taller than most of his peers, but still shorter than him, it was Moon Seoyoon. Given that Moon Seoyoon, who usually had a small appetite, was showing interest, it probably wasn’t the snack shop that was attracting the crowd.Curious for once, Woo Yeonjae approached. He wrapped his arm around Moon Seoyoon’s waist and rested his chin on his shoulder, causing Moon Seoyoon to glance up. He wore an expression that clearly showed he knew exactly who was hugging him.“What are you looking at?”Only after confirming that expression did Woo Yeonjae shift his gaze to where everyone was focused.“It’s a gift Jaeyoon’s giving to his girlfriend.”“Hey, Woo Yeonjae, what do you think? It’s really pretty, right?”On the desk was a pair of sneakers from a famous sports brand. The question about whether it was pretty seemed to be directed more toward the flowers filling the empty space in the box rather than the shoes themselves. Woo Yeonjae asked indifferently.“What’s this?”“It’s my girlfriend’s 100th day gift. Don’t you think it’s pretty?”“Yeah, it’s nice.”“My taste is impeccable. My girlfriend’s going to love it, right?”Despite Woo Yeonjae’s indifferent response, Kim Jaeyoon boasted, his chest puffed up with pride.“But why shoes? Hey, Kim Jaeyoon, don’t you know giving shoes as a gift means they’ll run away?”Lee Yeonju, who had joined the group late, looked down at the shoes and chimed in.“What are you talking about? Don’t jinx it. Haven’t you heard of ‘flower shoes’?”“Aren’t flower shoes something you give after coming back from the army?”“Ah, don’t bring up the military. Anyway, they say if you wear flower shoes, you’ll go to good places. It means walking a flower-strewn path. That’s why I’m giving them to her. Isn’t that pretty cool?”Adding unnecessary meanings to shoes—how ridiculous. The idea of them running away was funny, and the notion of walking a flower path was even funnier.“Moon Seoyoon, what do you think? Since you play the piano, you must have an eye for things like this. Do you think she’ll like it?”Woo Yeonjae lifted his chin from Moon Seoyoon’s shoulder and looked down at the top of his head. Moon Seoyoon let out a laugh, finding the question amusing.“What does piano have to do with this? Anyway, I think she’ll like it. But you should ask some girls.”The group around them grew noisy again. As Woo Yeonjae let go of his hold, Moon Seoyoon turned his head.“Let’s go to the snack shop.”“Now?”“Yeah. I’m thirsty.”“Alright.”There was plenty of time left during lunch break. After handing Moon Seoyoon a bottle of apple juice, Woo Yeonjae headed to the snack shop.“Should I get you shoes for your birthday this year?”It was a sudden suggestion. Holding a small pack of juice in one hand and chewing on the straw, Woo Yeonjae raised his eyebrows slowly.“Out of nowhere? Were you impressed by Jaeyoon’s gift?”“No, it wasn’t that Jaeyoon’s gift was impressive… it’s just that the meaning is nice, you know. Wishing you go to good places. Since you’ll probably go to the U.S. for high school in a couple of years, it’s fitting.”Woo Yeonjae sucked up the last of his juice, the tart taste somehow making him more thirsty. The empty pack only made a noisy sucking sound.“Alright then.”“Looks like I don’t have to worry about your birthday present this year.”“I’ll get you shoes too.”“Go ahead.”“Wear them when you come to the U.S.”Moon Seoyoon chuckled, probably thinking it was a joke.“Alright.”Sunlight poured down on the bridge of his slightly wrinkled nose.“I’m serious.”“I said okay.”Woo Yeonjae lowered his gaze. He saw his feet walking playfully, just like his teasing reply.* * *His gaze dropped, fixed on the ground. When all he did was stare silently, Moon Seoyoon gave an awkward laugh.“What is it?”They said it was hard to come out, huh? His leg was in bad shape. It must have happened yesterday, considering he was fine when they parted ways. Woo Yeonjae slowly raised his eyelids, demanding an explanation. Moon Seoyoon awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.“I fell.”“You, Moon Seoyoon?”How did he manage to hurt himself so badly that he needs a cast? It was even more puzzling since he wasn’t the type to enjoy rough sports like other boys his age. As far as Woo Yeonjae knew, the only thing on Moon Seoyoon’s schedule yesterday was a piano lesson.Woo Yeonjae pulled up a chair and sat down. He noticed the bandaged leg on the bed. Though it wasn’t a full cast, he was wearing a leg brace, and even that seemed uncomfortable, as he was dressed in shorts instead of long pants. The leg exposed above the knee was as pale as the bandages.