Sunshine Shower

The two friends were together in view, and suddenly he had that thought. If the person he liked wasn’t Woo Yeonjae but Kim Hyunseung, he might have confessed. It wasn’t because of differences in personality, but rather because of the noticeable differences in their relationship.Kim Hyunseung was a close friend who didn’t need formalities, but he wasn’t a friend who knew everything about him. Just as he knew my father was strict, he didn’t know about his remarriage.However, Woo Yeonjae was someone who knew everything about him. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they had watched over each other for our entire lives.Being family friends meant there were stories they naturally came to know about each other. But beyond that, there was an emotional exchange between Woo Yeonjae and me that could only be described as a bond.Moon Seoyoon didn’t want to lose this exchange of emotions.If it were just a crush on a good friend, it would have been possible to confess and then brush it off. Even if there was heartache after a falling out, there was a certainty that things would eventually be okay.But it wasn’t like that with Woo Yeonjae. To avoid losing an irreplaceable presence, he had to tightly conceal his unrequited feelings.Losing Woo Yeonjae would mean losing every trace of the life he had lived.“As there’s a convenience store downstairs and many other things. It should be fine as long as you get along with your roommate, right?”Kim Hyunseung, who was explaining the advantages of the dormitory, raised his hand after checking the nearly empty grill.“Two fried rice here!”A staff member approached and immediately started making fried rice. Moon Seoyoon stared silently at the ingredients mixing together. The way they lost their original form and got tangled up reminded him of the human heart.As he lifted his head, feeling amused by his unnecessary thoughts, he found someone still looking in his direction. Their pitch-black pupils met his eyes. Woo Yeonjae’s hand, which had been toying with the beer glass, just slightly tilted his head and softly lowered his gaze.“Do you want to live with me?”For a moment, Moon Seoyoon had to wonder if he was drunk.“Let’s live together.”Mistakenly, as if to overshadow my thoughts, Woo Yeonjae drove the point home again.“What nonsense is this again?”Moon Seoyoon replied with a rough voice, trying to calm his pounding heart. His palm tingled as if he had heard a proposal to live together during a relationship. It was a suggestion that friends could easily make, and even though it probably meant nothing to Woo Yeonjae, it was hard to suppress the involuntary excitement.“Why?”Woo Yeonjae stretched the end of his words and leaned back in his chair.“The studio apartment is spacious. My bed is spacious too.”Moon Seoyoon knew this fact well. He also knew just how wide the bed was.“Wow, this guy discriminates against people? I won’t even be allowed into your house.”“Hyunseung is filthy.”Woo Yeonjae cut in sharply. Moon Seoyoon, who knew about Kim Hyunseung’s room condition and sleeping habits, couldn’t help but sympathize. Woo Yeonjae’s prevention of Kim Hyunseung’s entry was due to habits like eating snacks in bed or leaving clothes anywhere, not for any special reason.“What are you saying? Are all guys like me? Woo Yeonjae, you’re the neat freak here. Hey, Moon, refuse it. If you live with this guy, you’ll end up getting obsessive-compulsive disorder from cleaning.”In the first place, the option of living together didn’t exist. It was absurd to spend time in the same space as Woo Yeonjae. Even the mere prospect of accidentally revealing his feelings during the few hours they spent together now was agonizing. He didn’t know if he’d rather die from being caught in a weird dream or the consequences that followed.Moon Seoyoon didn’t have a hobby of torturing himself. The excitement of welcoming the morning and ending the day together with Woo Yeonjae was short-lived. Soon, that excitement would be eroded, and he would slowly wither away. He thought enduring stress at home might be better than gradually dying from torment.“And this guy has a girlfriend, you know. Moon, you’d be super uncomfortable, wouldn’t you?”Kim Hyunseung casually threw out the remark while eating his fried rice. Moon Seoyoon briefly held his breath, as he hadn’t even thought about that aspect.“…I never intended that from the beginning. Thanks for the offer, though.”The response came out with a suppressed sigh. It felt like a sharp earring stud was lodged in his throat, blocking everything. Moon Seoyoon pretended to be nonchalant as he ate fried rice with Kim Hyunseung, signaling his refusal. He wanted to swallow down the stifling emotions, even if it meant doing so awkwardly.“If you say you’ll live with me, Professor will probably allow it.”Woo Yeonjae said, wiping dry droplets of water from the glass with a dry cloth. The droplets that had been sitting on the glass dispersed shapelessly under his finger.“Wouldn’t I be more comfortable than someone you don’t even know?”“Of course, you’d be more comfortable. But I can’t spend my whole life playing with you… If living with a roommate doesn’t work out, we can talk about it then.”Even though he had no intention of meeting the worst roommate, Moon Seoyoon made up a plausible excuse. Woo Yeonjae, who had been staring at him with a displeased expression, eventually nodded.“Fine, I got it.”“Anyway, thanks for the offer, even if it was just words.”“Moon Seoyoon, I’ll pray for you to get a shitty roommate.”The corners of his lips, slightly raised, formed a light curve as if it were a joke. Eventually, Moon Seoyoon laughed along with him.***It was nearing 11 o’clock before they knew it. As they left the restaurant, a cool breeze swept over them as if to ask where the warm atmosphere had gone. They had to walk a bit to get to the parking lot.As they walked, discussing the upcoming start of the semester, Moon Seoyoon felt a gaze lingering on them from somewhere. Reflexively, he turned his gaze. As if on cue, someone started walking towards them, as if looking at them intently.“Woo Yeonjae!”It was a woman with long hair wearing a white coat. Woo Yeonjae’s gaze naturally turned towards the owner of the name. Seemingly surprised to see someone unexpected, Woo Yeonjae furrowed his eyebrows before quickly raising the corners of his mouth. Standing beside him, Kim Hyunseung nudged him as if to say, “Look at that face.”“I’ve never seen Woo Yeonjae smile like that before.”It was also an expression that felt unfamiliar to Moon Seoyoon.The woman who approached without hesitation wrapped her arms around Woo Yeonjae’s waist as if it were a natural thing to do. Her smiling face turned towards the man she embraced like sunshine.“What’s up? Why are you here? Didn’t you miss me?”Her round, rabbit-like eyes and chubby cheeks were irresistibly cute.“You came early.”Woo Yeonjae tidied up his disheveled hair from running. Thanks to that, Moon Seoyoon could see her white face a little more clearly.“I came early because I missed you.”In that moment, it occurred to Moon Seoyoon that she was someone who looked exceptionally good with clean pearl earrings.“I’m here with my friends.”“Oh?”The woman, who belatedly looked over in this direction, widened her eyes and stepped back. Her smiling face seemed to contain a slight embarrassment as if just realizing that Woo Yeonjae had a companion.“I guess I only saw you because I didn’t expect to see anyone else here. Friends?”“Yeah. Moon Seoyoon, Kim Hyunseung.”“Hello.”The woman standing next to Woo Yeonjae lowered her head slightly, wrinkling her nose as if feeling a bit awkward.“Hello” from someone of the same age? How awkward.”Whether it was because of her cute reaction or not, Woo Yeonjae teased her with a quiet laugh. His gesture of pulling her arm around his white coat was incredibly natural. It was as if he was pulling a fragile rabbit into his embrace.“Girlfriend. Kim Sunjoo.”“It’s my first time seeing your face.”Extroverted, Kim Hyunseung greeted them amiably. Caught off guard by the sudden encounter with Woo Yeonjae’s girlfriend, Moon Seoyoon froze for a moment before finally nodding his head. He felt that if he opened his mouth and his voice trembled, he would make a fool of himself for no reason.“These are Yeonjae’s close friends, right?”“I’m not that close with him. You’re only close with Moon Seoyoon?”“That’s right. We’re not really close. I’m only close with Moon Seoyoon.”As the same name popped out of both of their mouths, Kim Sunjoo’s gaze naturally shifted towards Moon Seoyoon. Unsure how to react to her curious gaze, Moon Seoyoon awkwardly smiled and replied. Given his naturally calm demeanor and the fact that he wasn’t as affable as Kim Hyunseung, it was better to diffuse the situation with laughter rather than trying to say something. Since it was their first meeting, even if he acted somewhat awkwardly, it wouldn’t seem too strange.“I think I’ve heard the name Seoyoon before. It was interesting because Woo Yeonjae doesn’t talk about himself much.”“Why are you addressing him formally? You two are the same age?”Woo Yeonjae chuckled at the awkward title and lifted his chin onto Kim Sunjoo’s forehead. Despite wearing heeled shoes, Kim Sunjoo fit snugly under his arm due to his height. They looked like a well-matched pair to anyone who saw them.–T/N:Yeonjae’s girlfriend talks to and greets them in a formal tone which is of course expected in between strangers. They can lower their formal tone when they are properly introduced, have known each other for a while or are the same age.