Chapter 24 Part 2

Wondering which part of this tangled knot to hold to untangle it, he asked in an unsure voice.

“How much do you like me?”

“What?”

Having become serious along with him, Chaeheon, who was dumbfounded by Lee Jun’s question, responded, completely deflated. Chaeheon turned his head widely and looked around the lecture hall. It was a massive lecture hall, easily capable of seating a hundred people. It wasn’t just a major subject; it was a general elective that Lee Jun had easily chosen, so they were taking the class together.

So, his movement of scanning the lecture hall wasn’t strange, but Lee Jun watched his actions in silence.

“Should I say it loudly here?”

Chaeheon asked how he should express his feelings.

“That I like Senior.”

“And… how significant is that?”

Lee Jun’s eyes, asking how much of a big deal it was to reveal it to others, followed Chaeheon.

“Words spread here will later spread throughout the department.”

“Do you think everyone will talk about you?”

“Because it seems I’m receiving that much attention.”

Though it might sound like bragging at first glance, Chaeheon’s words weren’t wrong.

“I’ll reveal it here and call my parents right away.”

Chaeheon picked up his phone as if he would do it immediately. Watching him go into his contacts and scroll down, Lee Jun stopped his hand from moving.

“There’s no need for that.”

It was a question close to an impulse. Because he had always said he liked him, Lee Jun had thought he could trust him that much and speak, so he said it.

But not only did Chaeheon react nonchalantly, he even showed he would do it right away, so Lee Jun actually stopped him. He wanted to prevent the situation from escalating.

“Seeing you confirm my feelings is proof that you’re wavering right now.”

Chaeheon lowered his phone and looked at Lee Jun again. At the question in his narrowed eyes, implying ‘won’t you speak honestly now?’, Lee Jun shook his head with a faint smile.

“Just prepare for class.”

While Chaeheon’s extreme behavior just now felt somewhat burdensome, it was true that, strangely, the burden on his heart had lessened a little. He found it so dumbfounding that he laughed.

“What? You seem to like active expressions.”

Perhaps Lee Jun’s smile was dumbfounding, Chaeheon, who was speaking, also laughed along. He even added that his actions just now weren’t exaggerated but sincere.

“It’s because it’s so unlike you.”

Lee Jun brushed his lips, and hid his laughter with a different excuse. It didn’t matter whether Chaeheon would believe it or not.

‘How strange.’

Even when he was dating him, he hadn’t revealed Haein’s pregnancy because they were practically strangers. It was strange that now, not dating, he felt more trust.

Perhaps it was because he had only seen Chaeheon’s gentle face back then. They knew less about each other than they thought. That was still true now, but perhaps because he had seen Chaeheon’s raw emotions, he was wavering.

So, since he had seen his other face at Club IN, couldn’t he trust him a little more and speak?

As a heavy vibration rang out, Lee Jun fumbled in his pocket and took out his phone. He hoped that the uneasy premonition, which seemed to shake the pendulum of his thoughts that had been leaning towards speaking, was just his imagination.