Mint Candy Love - Chapter 2.6

Returning from a bathroom break and chatting with the senior, one of the friends sat down and said, “Hey, I just heard something from Minseok hyung.”

“What?”

Yoon tilted his head, meeting his friend’s gaze without asking.
“Jaeyi hyung’s coming back to Korea soon.”

“……”

The small smile that had been on Yoon’s face faded slowly, his expression hardening. He bit down on his lower lip and took a sip of water to soothe his now dry mouth. Sure enough, his friends began asking questions.

“Weren’t you close with Jaeyi hyung?”

“Yeah, he really liked you, almost had you glued to his side.”

“……”

“For a while, I honestly thought you two were dating. I mean, it seemed like it.”

“To be fair, Jaeyi hyung always seemed a bit… open to that. I heard he lived in the States for a long time.”

“What are you even saying…”

Yoon tried to laugh it off, but his tone was heavy. Damn. He shut his eyes for a moment before opening them again, his gaze falling on the nearly full soju glass in front of him.

Like hell he was open to that. Even if he was, it’d only have been curiosity. He was the one who’d actually liked Jaeyi.

Yeah, they’d been attached at the hip back then, when he’d been aimless, floating without direction. He’d been easy to toy with. His feelings must’ve been obvious in his eyes. Yoon tilted his head back, thinking it’d be easy to get drunk tonight. He couldn’t even smile wryly, for fear his friends would ask what was wrong.

“We haven’t spoken in ages. We lost touch after he went back to the States.”

“Oh, really? But it seems like he still keeps in touch with people here, since he’s talking to Minseok hyung.”

“Whatever. Let’s just drink.”

Yoon returned to his usual expression, showing the right amount of ease, the right amount of slyness, the right amount of humor.
Raising his glass naturally, he suggested a toast. With a clink, their glasses met, the sound mixing with the bar’s background music.

“I told you, I’m not going. How many times do I have to say it? Stop nagging me.”

Gi Younghan bluntly replied to his friend, Lee Yoonhak, who was practically hanging off his arm, begging.

“Just once, please? Come on, just this once.”

“For god’s sake… What, is there a ghost that died craving alcohol clinging to you?”

“Think of it that way. We haven’t gone drinking in ages! And remember the senior from that elective we took last year? He just opened a bar and invited us. How can I go alone?”

“You could just not go.”

“Come ooon, Younghan. You like drinking too.”

Annoyed by Yoonhak’s exaggeratedly cute plea, Gi’s expression darkened. Yoonhak, noticing Gi’s sharp look, cleared his throat awkwardly.

“He said he wants you to bring a cute friend.”

“Are we going to a gay bar?”

“What the hell, no! It’s just… right over there, barely a walk.”
It wasn’t even Friday, let alone the weekend. Why drink on a weekday? Besides, if it were Friday or Saturday, Gi wouldn’t even consider stepping out. What a hassle. Gi shook his head.
Sure, he liked drinking, but only when he felt like it. And today wasn’t one of those days.

“Look, forget it. I’m heading out.”

Shrugging off his friend’s grip, Gi turned around without hesitation, fully intending to grab his car from the parking lot and go relax at his place.

That was the plan, if only his friend hadn’t grabbed his pant leg…

“Please, Younghan, just once… Just once…”

Clinging to his pants as if he’d pull them off, Yoonhak looked desperate. With an exasperated face, Gi glared at him.

“Let go, would you?”

“Come on, let’s gooo. Please. I… I’ve got a lot on my mind. It’s serious. Really serious.”

People passing by the social sciences building gave them sideways glances. It was a busy time of day, and the scene was as ridiculous as it looked: a guy practically kneeling and begging, while Gi Younghan tried to keep his pants from slipping down. Enough was enough. Gi gritted his teeth, cursed under his breath, and closed his eyes.

Gi, who hated drawing attention more than anything, licked his dry lips before biting down on them. In the end, he was the first to give in.

“Fine, okay! I’ll go!”

He yelled. Why did everyone around him think that whining and pestering would solve everything? He would never understand.
The bar they arrived at was one of those typical spots near campus. Lee Yoonhak had even gone back to his place to change clothes before coming out. If he dressed neatly every day, he wouldn’t have to bother changing clothes just to go out for drinks.

Gi adjusted his coat, thinner than it had been just a few weeks ago. The bar looked like it had only opened recently, but it was already quite packed.

“Hyung…!”

“Oh, Yoonhak. You made it?”

While Yoonhak chatted with the man who appeared to be the bar’s owner, Gi took a look around from the entrance. Few people were there alone or in pairs; almost everyone was in groups. It was a classic drinking scene for a weekday night near campus, with everyone in full party mode.

It wasn’t even eight yet, but the place was already full of drunk people. It was like a gathering of drunks. Did they really have to drink here…? It wasn’t too late to turn around and leave.

The owner glanced over at Gi. “Good-looking guy,” he muttered to Yoonhak, who responded with a smug, “Told you so.” Gi pretended not to hear them; he was used to comments about his looks.

“I’ll make sure your friends don’t get charged, so relax and have fun. Maybe even join a group if you get the chance.”

Yoonhak bowed deeply. “Hyung, I’ll be forever grateful.”

“Oh, knock it off.”

Their over-the-top exchange was barely masked by the music, which was unfortunate. Gi muttered a curse under his breath.
After the owner showed them to a table, Yoonhak came back to Gi, who couldn’t hide his look of reluctance.

“Did you come just to mooch off drinks?”

“Yeah. Hyung said he’d treat us if we came.”

“Then why not come with the others?”

“Because he asked me to bring someone good-looking—ah, whatever. Besides, I actually have something to talk to you about. We’ll chat over drinks.”

It was clear he had nothing real to discuss. Yoonhak was always like this, making up “serious issues” whenever he wanted an excuse to drink.

Gi couldn’t understand why Yoonhak hung around him so much. He wasn’t particularly outgoing like the other guys, and he wasn’t even a heavy drinker; he could barely handle a single bottle of soju. He preferred drinking alone.

Whatever. Let it be. Gi shrugged. If he got too drunk, he could always just leave early, so there was no real harm in being there.

“God… how much can that guy drink?”

He’s drinking like it’s water. Gi grumbled, putting a cigarette between his lips.

The bar was on the top floor of a four-story building, so they used the rooftop as a smoking area. The fresh air was nice. Gi hadn’t drunk much, trying to stay as sober as possible, but the smell of food inside the bar was stifling. Thankfully, Yoonhak didn’t smoke; otherwise, he’d be out here, whining in that annoying voice of his.

Gi bit down on the filter as he flicked the lighter, sparking a flame. The small flicker quickly caught the end of the cigarette, which began to burn.

Though it was spring, the night was chilly. Beyond the building, sounds of commotion drifted up. A loud springtime song echoed, and a group of freshmen, clearly having been drinking, bustled in and out in a large crowd. Must be nice, he thought with a smirk.

He exhaled a stream of smoke without using his hands, letting the cigarette dangle from his mouth. His phone buzzed in his pocket.

Finally taking the cigarette between his fingers, Gi pulled out his phone to check the notifications. It was just messages from the group chat and a few first-year students he’d recently met.

Since nothing was important, he read and dismissed the messages before suddenly sensing a presence nearby. He slowly turned his head toward it. There was a wooden swing set at the far end of the rooftop, probably for decoration, but the only light was where he was standing, leaving the swing area in darkness. No wonder he hadn’t noticed anyone there before.

A single person sat on the swing, curled up. They weren’t smoking, so what were they doing out here?

After giving the swing a glance, Gi looked away. He’d rather just watch the drunk crowd inside, chatting among themselves.
Drunk or not, he wasn’t the type to stick his nose into someone else’s business. After finishing his cigarette, he snuffed it out in the ashtray. Just as he was about to head back down, the person on the swing called out his name.

“…Gi Younghan?”

“……”

He glanced back instinctively. Checking for anyone else, he realized he was alone on the rooftop with the person on the swing. The voice was calm. Before he could place it, the person stood up and slowly walked toward him.

As they reached the lit area, Gi recognized them. It was Yoon Yejun.

Having called him over, Yoon just stood there, blinking slowly. He seemed out of it—was he drunk? It was obvious why he’d come up here; he must’ve been drinking in the bar downstairs. The way he stared felt uncomfortable for some reason.

Finally, Gi spoke first.

“What are you staring at?”

Turning his head away, Gi focused on the sounds of the campus nightlife. Freshmen partying, seniors catching up—it was the usual scene, and it didn’t suit him at all.

Even though it was spring, the nights were still chilly. He was glad he’d worn a coat. Before long, it would get warm again in the blink of an eye, but for now, he pulled his coat tighter and assessed Yoon’s state.

He didn’t expect the conversation to continue. His mouth felt dry. Should he light up another cigarette? His gaze shifted back to Yoon as he noticed him stepping closer with an oddly blank expression.

“……”

As Yoon approached, he leaned one hand on the rooftop railing. He looked pretty drunk; his usually sharp eyes had softened. Gi watched him with his usual cold expression.

Though he was a good bit shorter than Gi, Yoon tilted his head slightly and spoke up.

“What’s wrong with looking?”

He must be crazy.

Gi didn’t respond. If he had drinking habits like this, maybe he shouldn’t be drinking at all. Picking fights with random people, too. Gi thought there wasn’t a single likable thing about him. If his drinking habit had just been laughing aimlessly, it would’ve been better. This habit of needling people was far worse.

Gi wetted his dry lips with his tongue, saying nothing.
But Yoon wasn’t done.

“Why can’t I look at you? I’ve got eyes, don’t I?”

“Wow… unbelievable.”

If you’ve got eyes, look somewhere else, or at least look away when you make eye contact. Does he become utterly oblivious when drunk? You usually get a sense of people’s personalities after a few conversations, but Yoon was hard to figure out. Gi’s impression of him was that he was a two-faced jerk: charming in front of professors, polite with his friends, but now that he was drunk, he’d dropped all pretense.

“Freak…”

Yoon muttered under his breath.

Who’s he calling that? Gi pursed his lips. He had no intention of getting into a verbal spat with a drunk.

For a moment, he just stared at Yoon. His hair ruffled in the breeze, and he scrunched his face slightly as it tickled his skin.

Objectively speaking—very objectively speaking—setting aside his personality, Yoon had a pretty face.

“Why am I even thinking that? I must be drunk.”

Suppressing the urge to ask himself what the hell he found so “pretty” about him, Gi held his tongue. He wasn’t so out of touch with reality as to say that aloud, but maybe Yoon was.
“You really… have no decency.”

Yeah, he knew. He’d heard that plenty before, though never quite so bluntly to his face.

He’s strange. Randomly acknowledging someone, picking fights. Sure, the alcohol was largely to blame, but still.