Sunshine Shower

“I twisted it, but I can’t injure my wrist…”He meant that he had fallen just trying to protect his wrist, causing more injury. His voice gradually lowered, as if he knew it was a foolish thing to do.“So you just fell?”Woo Yeonjae squinted slightly and asked. At the sound of his mixed sigh, Moon Seoyoon avoided his gaze.“As soon as I promised to buy you shoes, your leg ends up like this.”“But they say it’s not that bad.”Even if it wasn’t severe, it was clear that it could become a habit if not managed properly. It bothered him even more since there weren’t any adults around who could look after him.“It’ll heal soon.”The comment about taking off the bandage soon sounded like a plea for him to relax his crumpled expression. Moon Seoyoon, who had his braced leg dangling off the side of the bed, shook it as if to show he was fine.“Does our Seoyoon want to suffer longer?”Woo Yeonjae mocked, swiftly grabbing the heavy brace and placing it on the bed. He was frustrated thinking Seoyoon got hurt when he wasn’t there.“At school, the kids will bother you.”With no excuse left, Moon Seoyoon changed the subject. Woo Yeonjae, who was contemplating, decided to let it slide. The injury couldn’t be undone, and a warning would suffice.He’ll probably lean on me more since it’s hard to walk. It was obvious the kids would play around with his crutches. He was glad at least that he would naturally rely on him in such a situation.“Why would they?”Woo Yeonjae asked, still looking at the cast.“They might doodle on it.”Moon Seoyoon replied, tapping the hard surface of the brace.“Doodle?”“When Seungho had a cast, everyone crowded around to doodle on it. I wonder if they’ll do it since it’s not a full cast?”A vague memory came to mind. He thought it was pointless and didn’t join in when his friends called him over.Woo Yeonjae stared at the still-clean brace, then leaned back and rolled his chair backward. Reaching over Moon Seoyoon’s desk, a pen slid into his fingers.Rolling his chair back to the bed, he immediately popped the pen cap off. It made a playful sound.“You want me to doodle?”Moon Seoyoon asked, eyes wide with surprise.“What, you don’t like it?”“I don’t particularly care, but… You didn’t do it when the others doodled on Seungho’s.”“I have to be the first for Moon Seoyoon.”Woo Yeonjae replied as if it was obvious and began writing on the white brace without hesitation.“What are you writing? If you do that, Younseo noona will tease me.”His girlfriend’s name popped out. Since he wrote “Woo Yeonjae’s,” it was clear she’d tease him by saying, “Why is Seoyoon yours?” If he responded casually, saying “because he’s mine,” Moon Seoyoon would be flustered, shifting from foot to foot.“She teases you more because your reaction is funny.”“You’re the one messing around, but she only teases me.”Moon Seoyoon frowned as if it was unfair.One of Woo Yeonjae’s catchphrases was saying that Moon Seoyoon was his. His bold face and shameless way of saying it made people brush it off, but Moon Seoyoon always reacted, making it more fun for others to tease him.Lately, Moon Seoyoon seemed to have caught on and didn’t react as much. He still didn’t seem to realize that getting flustered sometimes made him more fun to tease.“I’ll draw something else too.”Chuckling, Woo Yeonjae spun the pen in his hand. The black marker began to sketch flowers awkwardly on the white brace.“What kind of flowers?”“Since you did something stupid, these are your flowers before you get new shoes.”Recalling what Kim Jaeyun said a few days ago, Moon Seoyoon murmured in protest. He seemed to have given up on stopping him once he saw “Woo Yeonjae’s” written on it.“I should tell the kids to color it in tomorrow. I’ll ask Yeonju to color it nicely.”Finding the mess on the brace funny, Moon Seoyoon eventually burst into laughter. Watching him, Woo Yeonjae’s lips curved upward.Even though he was annoyed that Moon Seoyoon got injured when he wasn’t around, he didn’t mind being the first to doodle on the brace.It would be perfect if Seoyoon only wore the shoes he bought once the brace was off.* * *Woo Yeonjae stepped off the plane. He was back on Korean soil after two weeks. Though he usually avoided trips to the U.S. during school terms, sometimes it was unavoidable. Thanks to this, he could bring Moon Seoyoon’s birthday gift.Checking the time on his phone, he saw it was 9 p.m. His gaze slipped from the numbers to the empty screen below.“How come there’s no message?”There was usually a message welcoming him back.“Did he already fall asleep?”As he contemplated whether to call first, a familiar voice rang out.“Yeonjae!”Woo Yeonjae glanced up.“Hello, Uncle.”“Did you have a good trip?”“Yes, I did.”“Give me your suitcase.”It seemed like waiting until he got home wouldn’t be so bad. Seoyoon might be taking a shower by now. Woo Yeonjae put his phone in his pocket and gently refused the hand reaching for his suitcase.“I’ll carry it myself.”“Are you sure it’s not too heavy?”“It’s fine.”If he didn’t hear from Seoyoon by then, he planned to call him.“There’s an important gift inside.”If he complained about being upset, Seoyoon would likely respond with a soothing voice, unsure of what to do. Woo Yeonjae wanted to hear that voice.It wasn’t this voice he wanted to hear, though.“I’ll be there soon.”– You just arrived.“Should I ignore you while you’re crying?”– …I’m not crying.Woo Yeonjae quickly ruffled his hair, which had become frizzy after his shower.“Should I play the recording for you?”As expected, Moon Seoyoon couldn’t respond.“You’re alone, right?”– Yeah.I thought so. Professor Moon would be at the hospital.“I’m coming over.”– Can’t I come to your house instead?“Bring your school uniform.”– Why…?“You have school tomorrow. Are you going to come to my house and then go back home? Why come over then? I’ll just come and stay at your place.”– Alright, I’ll bring it.“I’ll send a car.”Woo Yeonjae said as he headed toward the stairs leading to the first floor.– What car? It’s fine. I’ll take a taxi.“What about dinner?”– I haven’t eaten yet…“Okay. Come quickly.”The call ended soon after. His annoyed face was reflected on the now black screen.“Woo Yeonjae. I… sob… what should I do…?”Why did he cry? He hadn’t said much over the past two weeks.Sensing movement, a familiar face appeared.“Yeonjae, why? Are you hungry?”“Seoyoon is coming over. He said he hasn’t eaten dinner. Could you please prepare something simple for him?”“Oh, sure. I’ll prepare something Seoyoon likes.”“I’m sorry for the trouble.”“No, it’s not a problem at all.”Woo Yeonjae nodded slightly and stepped out. Although it would take a little time for Moon Seoyoon to arrive by taxi, he planned to wait for him.Sure enough, his eyes were red. Moon Seoyoon smiled awkwardly, noticing the gaze directed at his eyes. It didn’t seem like he was crying because of his mother. If it was, he wouldn’t have had the presence of mind to come over here.Woo Yeonjae went up to his room with Moon Seoyoon. He carried a tray of fruits and bread.When he gestured toward the bedroom, Moon Seoyoon hesitated before changing direction. After handing him the tray, Woo Yeonjae placed the bag Seoyoon had brought next to the desk. Upon returning to the bedroom, he saw Moon Seoyoon sitting quietly, sniffing while eating strawberries.Woo Yeonjae disliked eating in the bedroom. This included fruits that didn’t produce crumbs. He would even go downstairs to eat on the first floor when he was sick. However, Moon Seoyoon was an exception. Perhaps it was because of an incident where he made young Seoyoon cry for eating snacks on his bed that led him to make this exception.“Why were you crying?”Woo Yeonjae pulled a chair over and sat next to the bed.“……”Moon Seoyoon glanced around cautiously at the blunt question.“What happened in the two weeks to make you cry?”He couldn’t guess. Seoyoon was close to his friends, there wasn’t a competition during that time, and he couldn’t think of a reason for him to cry. The brows that were neatly aligned furrowed slightly.“Did you get tangled up with another weirdo?”Strangely, Moon Seoyoon always attracted weird people. Until elementary school, Yeonjae thought it was because of Seoyoon’s pretty boy looks, but it remained the same even after he hit puberty. Are all these people claiming to be artists like that? Frustration welled up inside him.“That’s not it…”“That’s not it.”“There’s a weird rumor going around at school…”“A rumor?”Woo Yeonjae raised his eyebrows, which were already furrowed. He was perplexed about what could possibly involve Moon Seoyoon in a strange rumor. The only rumor he remembered was at the beginning of the semester when people briefly talked about how Seoyoon played piano but didn’t go to an arts school.“They’re saying… I’m flirting.”“What? With whom?”What kind of nonsense was this? For a moment, he thought of his girlfriend and her group. Moon Seoyoon was always by his side, so it was natural for him to get attention and affection from her friends. But would that lead to a rumor about flirting?As he was trying to figure out the cause, Moon Seoyoon parted his lips. Tears welled up in his round eyes.“…They’re saying I’m flirting with an older, ugh, man.”Woo Yeonjae let out a scoff. What kind of ridiculous nonsense was this?