Sunshine Shower

In the dark space completely cut off from the outside world, listening to Woo Yeonjae’s breathing made all of Moon Seoyoon’s senses sharpen. The pitch-black darkness, so thick that he couldn’t even see a few centimeters in front of him, also played a part.The only fortunate thing was that the floor was uncomfortable. Using the uncomfortable sleeping arrangement as an excuse, Moon Seoyoon stayed awake all night. It’s probably a good thing he didn’t fall asleep without realizing it, because that might have led to an awkward situation. No matter how natural morning erections are for men, it would still look strange to wake up with an erection next to a friend.After spending a sleepless night worrying, his eyelids felt heavy from exhaustion.Even if he could have slept properly, five hours would have been the maximum. Because Kim Hyunseung insisted that they absolutely needed to eat hangover soup before heading to school, the three of them went to a sundae soup restaurant at 8 a.m. Woo Yeonjae looked like he wasn’t thrilled, but he ate a few spoonfuls, not wanting to ruin the mood.‘Moon, when’s your first class today?’‘It’s second period… but I need to stop by the dorm to change and brush my teeth.’While Kim Hyunseung nodded and kept eating his soup, Woo Yeonjae just stared at him with his spoon in hand. He finally spoke up a few seconds later.“Are you really going back to the dorm?”“I need to wash up before class.”When he answered as if it were the most obvious thing, Woo Yeonjae’s straight eyebrows furrowed slightly.That was all. Woo Yeonjae lowered his gaze and resumed eating. That was eight hours ago.Having drunk until dawn and then gone to class on little sleep, his energy was rapidly draining. The moment he arrived at the dorm, he collapsed onto his bed, as if it were inevitable. Despite the exhaustion, though, sleep didn’t come.While he was staring blankly at the ceiling, he heard the sound of the door clicking open.“Oh? Look who it is! Isn’t it my roommate who’s been missing since Friday?”“It feels like it’s been forever since I’ve seen you.”Moon Seoyoon slowly got up from the bed. Nam Taeun was roughly toweling his wet hair.“I was supposed to bring something tasty, but I’m sorry.”“It’s fine. I actually enjoyed having the place to myself for a while. But don’t take that as me saying you’re a bother.”“I know.”As Moon Seoyoon replied with a light smile, Nam Taeun tossed the towel into the laundry basket and walked over.“Is your friend doing better?”“Yeah, he ate more porridge than I expected. Anyway, it’s all thanks to you. I contacted you because I remembered how you brought me porridge when I was sick before.”“I told you, that place is famous. Anyway, I’m glad he ate well.”Nam Taeun pulled out a chair from the desk and perched on it.“Now, let’s begin the interrogation of Moon Seoyoon.”“Suddenly?”“I’ll give you ten seconds to explain why you ignored my text.”“…Text?”Moon Seoyoon looked puzzled. When he decided to stay at the officetel, he had already sent Nam Taeun a message apologizing. Even though leaving the dorm wasn’t something to apologize for, he thought it was right to apologize since he had promised to bring something tasty but couldn’t. But since Nam Taeun had responded that it was fine, he didn’t recall any further messages.“Last night? Or was it later? Anyway, after dinner, I asked when you’d be back, but you didn’t reply.”“You sent me a text like that?”“Yeah. I was thinking we could have lunch together if you were coming back on Sunday morning.”Moon Seoyoon reached for his phone on the desk.“I don’t remember getting that text.”He searched through his messages, but there was no sign of the message Nam Taeun mentioned.“It didn’t come through.”“Really?”Nam Taeun fiddled with his phone for a moment before showing the screen.[Hey, when are you coming back? I’m lonely.]It was just the kind of message Nam Taeun would send.“Uh… It really didn’t come through.”“Must’ve been a glitch.”He seemed unbothered, but Moon Seoyoon felt a bit guilty.“I’ll buy you something nice when you’re free.”“Oh, I won’t turn down an offer like that. You know me, I’ll pick something expensive.”Nam Taeun grinned mischievously, wrinkling his nose. Even though he said that, it was obvious he’d choose something nearby, so Moon Seoyoon couldn’t help but laugh.“Hmm, if you’re offering, I’ll take you up on it. When should we go? …Friday’s no good.”“I can’t do Friday either.”“Going to your friend’s place again?”Nam Taeun leaned back in the chair, asking casually. Feeling it was about time to take a shower, Moon Seoyoon got up slowly and answered.“I’m having dinner with some juniors.”* * *“Who are they?”Woo Yeonjae turned his head slowly. Without realizing it, Moon Seoyoon glanced at the direction he was looking. Although he couldn’t tell what was on the screen, it seemed to be a messaging app.“Juniors. Our group project is over, so we’re having a meal together. I’m treating them.”It was already Friday. The fact that it had only been a week since Woo Yeonjae answered his call in a voice thick with sleep felt unreal. If he hadn’t returned the car, it would have felt like that week was a distant memory.“Where are you eating?”“Still not decided. Probably meat? We’ll likely eat somewhere near the school.”Normally, he would be heading to his part-time job, but he had already asked his boss for the day off. It was awkward since Monday had been one of the two regular monthly days off, but she nodded understandingly, saying it was fine.“Is that so? We might run into each other then.”“…Meeting someone?”The thought suddenly struck him—maybe he was meeting his girlfriend again.“Some seniors wanted to catch up.”“Oh…”“I wasn’t planning on going, but… I figured I might as well.”His answer was light, contrasting sharply with the nervousness that had gripped him at the thought of Woo Yeonjae possibly meeting his ex-girlfriend.“Anyway, I’ll be around, so call me if anything happens.”“What could possibly happen to me?”“Who knows, you might get wasted. Aren’t you meeting up with Seo Jieun’s group? She can drink like a fish. So can Park Yeeun.”“And what would you do if I did?”Moon Seoyoon wasn’t a heavy drinker, but the concern seemed excessive. With a hint of a smile, he asked, and Woo Yeonjae’s lips curled up as his eyes crinkled in a playful manner.“What else?”His eyes gleamed with mischief as he answered.“I’d take care of Moon Seoyoon.”Dinner quickly turned into a drinking session. Moon Seoyoon watched in amazement as the glasses kept filling up. Seo Jieun, who was rumored to be a heavy drinker, lived up to her reputation, downing drink after drink. She seemed to handle alcohol much better than either Moon Seoyoon or Kang Sooha.“By the way, hyung, is it true?”Kang Sooha, who had been eating chicken, lowered his voice. Even though he spoke softly, his question was clear, probably because he was sitting right next to him.“What?”“You know, um… is it true that Yeonjae hyung broke up with his girlfriend?”“Hey, why are you asking Seoyoon oppa about that?”Seo Jieun must have kicked Kang Sooha under the table, as he yelped and bent forward. From the sound of it, she had landed a solid hit on his shin. Feeling sorry for him, Moon Seoyoon smiled sympathetically.“Seriously, if you were with other seniors, you would’ve gotten hit for asking that.”“Come on, I was just curious. Isn’t it worse to ask the person directly?”So the rumors have already spread. Taking a sip of his drink, Moon Seoyoon listened to their conversation. Even though Kang Sooha was quick to pick up on gossip, if he knew, then it was likely that everyone in their department with a wide social circle already knew as well.“Rumors about relationships spread fast.”Although talking about Woo Yeonjae behind his back didn’t feel right, Moon Seoyoon knew that Woo Yeonjae probably wouldn’t care, so he decided to satisfy Kang Sooha’s curiosity.“It’s not really my place to say, but yeah, they did break up.”“Wow, so it was true. I thought it was just a rumor.”“Yeonjae oppa always has weird rumors swirling around him.”Seo Jieun shrugged and poured more beer into her glass.“That’s what happens when you’re too popular. The more popular you are, the more nonsense gets attached to you.”Park Yeeun, sitting beside her, chimed in.“Agreed.”As Moon Seoyoon listened quietly to their conversation, Kang Sooha, who had been rubbing his knee, suddenly frowned.“What? What is it?”Seo Jieun turned to follow his gaze.“I just saw Han Cheolmin walk by. Damn it. I think he noticed us.”“Han Cheolmin?”It was a name he hadn’t heard before.“You remember that Sunbae who caused a scene at the returning student table?”“Oh…”The details were fuzzy, but he vaguely remembered who they were talking about. Kang Sooha rubbed his neck nervously and lowered his head.“He looked really pissed… Do you think he’s coming here to take it out on us? I swear, it looked like he was heading this way, and I’m the club president, so he knows my face. We even made eye contact. Damn, I should’ve stood up and greeted him.”“Come on, no way. Just ignore it and drink.”Doubting that the Sunbae would crash a party full of juniors, Moon Seoyoon reassured Kang Sooha by pouring him a drink.“Our dear Sunbae sure knows how to take care of his Hoobae.”Suddenly, a mocking voice interrupted from the side. Startled, Moon Seoyoon turned to see who it was. Slowly lifting his gaze, he saw Han Cheolmin, who had somehow approached unnoticed, leaning over the table with both hands pressed against it.