Chapter 3 Part 2

He usually ate out. (Chaeheon thought) Lee Jun kept a certain distance from others. He tried not to reveal his secondary gender, and if someone from the same department was present, he’d be incredibly nervous. That’s why Chaeheon always took him to eat outside of school.

It wasn’t bad. It was a time when Lee Jun, who was conscious of others’ gazes, could fully focus on Chaeheon. There were many times Chaeheon desired Lee Jun until their food grew cold…

“Ah, this won’t do. I have to get closer to him somehow this time.”

Chaeheon, pulled from his thoughts, looked at Kim Gyeong-hun. He seemed strangely confident.

“Just trust me.”

Kim Gyeong-hun spoke as if he could make them close with Lee Jun right away. Chaeheon’s eyes, which had been listening casually to the conversation, narrowed.

Why do they keep showing interest?

“Kim Gyeong-hun, why do you keep thinking about bothering a senior who’s just minding his own business?”

“Because I want to become close to him.”

“That…”

Chaeheon tried to stop him, but Kim Gyeong-hun’s candid sincerity left him speechless.

“I really want to hang out with Senior Lee Jun.”

Kim Gyeong-hun showed a confident attitude, as if wanting to get close was reason enough.

Chaeheon looked at Lee Jun again. Why were there so many people who wanted to get close to Lee Jun? Maybe he should have openly declared their relationship when they were dating. If he had, he wouldn’t have to just watch him like this now. Lee Jun’s neat face, whose eyes met his again, seemed to flee from his gaze.

Lee Jun shook his head and entered the cafe. He stood behind the person at the end of the two-person line and let out a quiet sigh. Today was the last day of classes that had started on Monday. Perhaps because he had to attend three full hours of his major, his body felt as heavy as waterlogged cotton.

Lee Jun walked forward as the line shortened, took out his wallet, and looked at the menu. The cheapest item was an Americano. Being a campus cafe, the price was low and the portion generous, but there was one drawback. Hot Americano was the base price, but iced cost extra.

‘The price of ice.’

His eyes were on the menu, while his hands fumbled with his wallet. The dilemma remained even as he opened his wallet and slid his index finger between the bills. If he just got a regular Americano, he’d only need two bills, but an iced one required one more. Lee Jun’s finger hovered over the cash, unable to pull out that extra bill.

‘This is money I need to spend at the baby fair today.’

He had withdrawn cash in advance to buy baby products for Hae Sol. Baby fairs weren’t necessarily cheap across the board, but there were occasional promotional sales. He’d withdrawn all of his living expenses for the month, unsure how much he’d need, but now he couldn’t bring himself to spend it.

As Lee Jun agonized over whether to switch to iced, a long shadow fell over him from behind. Lee Jun’s body stiffened at the faint, familiar pheromones wafting towards him. The deeply layered scent pushed away the air and enveloped him, so he knew who it was without turning around. Since their first encounter, he’d seen him almost every day since the new semester began. He had thought he might even see him in his major class today, but not outside of a lecture hall.

“What are you deliberating so seriously about? And what’s all that cash for?”

Chaeheon, who had tilted his head to meet Lee Jun’s eyes, greeted him with a “Hello.”