I Picked Up the Greatest Villain in the Story

44.

“Hyungs!”

Hyunsu, who spotted Jian and Hyunwoo while putting on his shoes, called out to them while waving his arms. Jian raised his right hand and waved back.

Sehun put on his shoes before Hyunsu, who was hopping in place, and quickly walked towards the main gate, leaving Hyunsu behind.

“Hey! Wait for me! That’s unfair.”

Hyunsu, who had hastily shoved his feet into his shoes, started running to catch up with Sehun.

“Yoo Hyunsu! Don’t run! You’ll fall!”

Hyunwoo clicked his tongue and raised his voice. Despite Hyunwoo’s warning, the two boys quickly approached.

“Hyung.”

Sehun smiled brightly at Jian. It created an optical illusion as if flower petals more radiant than the bouquet Hyunwoo was holding were scattering around Sehun.

“You did well.”

Jian quickly approached and caressed both of Sehun’s cheeks. His white cheeks gradually turned pink.

“You two over there, can you stop filming a movie?”

Annoyed by the sight he found unpleasant no matter how many times he saw it, Hyunwoo shoved one of the bouquets he was holding into Sehun’s chest.

Sehun slightly furrowed his brow at the intense floral scent rising from below. It was because Jian’s scent was buried beneath the flower fragrance.

“You two, come over here and stand. I’ll take a picture.”

“Ah, hyung…”

From the moment the bouquet was thrust into his arms, Hyunsu’s ear tips had turned bright red, and he was looking for a chance to escape.

Seriously, couldn’t his hyung feel the stares gathering around them?

As if it wasn’t enough, during every break between exams today, other students had been sneaking glances at Sehun’s exam room, nearly giving Hyunsu a neurosis from all the attention.

Meanwhile, Sehun, the actual subject of the stares, had calmly studied his error notes with an impassive face.

“This is all part of making memories. Are you going to take the college entrance exam again next year? No, right? It’s a once-in-a-lifetime day.”

When Hyunwoo put it like that, Hyunsu couldn’t resist anymore and struck a pose with a sullen face. Sehun, too, stood next to Hyunsu, unable to resist Jian’s fervent gaze.

Two phone cameras enthusiastically captured the two boys standing side by side.

“This should be enough. Shall we go eat now? I’ve made a reservation at a Korean beef restaurant nearby.”

“Are we really eating Korean beef today?”

Hyunsu’s eyes sparkled at the word “Korean beef.” Even though he lived comfortably thanks to his well-earning brother, Korean beef wasn’t something they could eat every day.

“Hyung, let’s take a picture together too.”

Regardless of whether Hyunsu was eager to go eat Korean beef or not, Sehun pulled on Jian’s arm, who was checking the photos they had just taken.

“Come here.”

Sehun handed the bouquet he had been holding to Jian and took out his phone, raising his arm high. His other arm firmly wrapped around Jian’s shoulders.

The faces of the two filled the phone screen. Following Sehun, who was smiling so widely his long eye corners creased, Jian smiled too.

“Hey, hey. Why are you two taking selfies alone? Let me join too!”

Seeing Sehun, who would ignore him even when he begged to take just one selfie together, act differently with Jian, Hyunsu barged in between the two.

“I’d feel left out if I’m not included.”

Hyunwoo, who had been standing alone, also squeezed in between the three. As the Hyunsu and Hyunwoo brothers wedged themselves between them, Sehun’s eyes turned cold, having suddenly lost Jian.

“Sehun.”

Jian called out to Sehun, who had frozen in place. Sehun let out a small sigh and half-heartedly pressed the capture button repeatedly.

Unlike Jian’s face, parts of the other three faces were cut off from the frame.

“Don’t delete the photos and make sure to send them.”

Hyunsu threatened Sehun with furrowed brows. Sehun silently put his phone in his pocket. He had no intention of giving the photos of Jian to the two of them.

* * *

“Ah, I’m so full…”

Hyunsu leaned back in his chair, rubbing his bloated stomach. Thinking he might not get to eat Korean beef again anytime soon, he had eaten until the meat reached the top of his throat.

“…I underestimated two teenagers too much.”

Hyunwoo muttered, looking at the stack of over twenty plates. Each plate cost 1 million won, so the total price was astronomical.

“Hyung, I’ll chip in too.”

“No, it’s fine. I said I’d treat you, didn’t I? What I just said was just a joke.”

Although his mouth corners were trembling slightly, betraying his words, Jian tactfully pretended not to notice. After finishing the plum tea served as dessert and coming out, a bright moon was already hanging in the night sky.

“Well then, Hyunsu and I will be going now. You did well today, Jian.”

“Yes. Take care on your way home.”

After waving goodbye to Hyunwoo and Hyunsu as they left, Jian turned to Sehun.

“Shall we walk home to help digestion?”

“Sure.”

Jian had never owned a car. Although he got his license a few years ago, he was still too timid to buy his dream car.

Part of it was because he had grown fond of buying things for Sehun rather than for himself. Hyunwoo volunteering as a driver whenever they needed to go somewhere far also had a big influence.

It took about 20 minutes to walk from the restaurant to home. They could have taken a taxi, but Jian wanted to take a walk with Sehun after a long time, both to help digest their full stomachs and because he had something he wanted to ask.

“Hyung, your hand is cold.”

As they walked side by side with their arms almost touching, a warm body heat enveloped Jian’s hand.

Sehun casually intertwined his fingers with Jian’s and put their hands in his coat pocket. Passersby glanced at them, looking like an affectionate couple, but neither of them minded.

“How was the exam today?”

When the cold fingertips had warmed up thanks to Sehun’s body heat, Jian carefully asked.

If Sehun had been sensitive about his grades, Jian would have held back his curiosity. But since Sehun hadn’t been particularly stressed whether he did better or worse than usual in exams, Jian gathered the courage to ask.

“I think I did well.”

“Really? That’s great. You worked so hard all this time.”

When Sehun’s room light was on until late at night, Jian would sit on the living room sofa waiting for it to turn off. That was how he wanted to share Sehun’s study life.

“Hey, hyung.”

“Yes?”

Jian stopped walking as he saw Sehun speaking uncharacteristically carefully. The streetlight illuminated both their faces.

A reddish glow flickered over Sehun’s pitch-black eyes. The shadows on his face made Jian realize that the boy was about to become an adult.

Jian swallowed hard, feeling an odd tension. Why was Sehun setting up the atmosphere like this? Did he have a secret he couldn’t tell him?

Maybe he had developed special feelings for Hyunsu? Or maybe he wanted to live independently when he turned twenty?

All sorts of thoughts ran through Jian’s mind while Sehun remained silent.

“I’m going to be an adult soon.”

“That’s right…?”

It was one of the things Jian had anticipated. His anxiety grew. What was Sehun trying to say by setting it up like this? Was he really going to talk about living independently?

Or maybe he was going to ask if he could drink alcohol now, or if he could go to places he couldn’t enter as a minor?

Jian started to worry about how much he should allow. Of course, if Sehun wanted to drink, it would be okay in moderation. The problem was places like clubs…

Numerous news stories about crimes that had occurred in clubs flashed through his mind. Jian scrutinized Sehun’s face anew.

Sehun would probably get a free pass even if he went wearing shabby sweatpants. Imagining people, regardless of gender, approaching and flirting with Sehun made the back of Jian’s neck stiffen.

“Just so you know.”

Jian’s lips, which were about to say that clubs were off-limits, closed tightly at the words that followed. At the words that sounded like a declaration of war, Jian tightened his grip on Sehun’s hand.

In response, their fingers interlocked even more closely. Because of Sehun’s meaningful smile, Jian couldn’t show his troubled feelings and smiled along.

He began to fear the approach of December 31st.

* * *

“Jian hyung-nim!”

“Seongjun, it’s been a long time.”

During the time when Sehun, who had finished his college entrance exam but hadn’t graduated yet, was at school, a familiar face visited Jian’s cafe.

Hehe. Seongjun approached the counter with an embarrassed smile, rubbing the back of his neck. Jian smiled brightly at Seongjun’s appearance, which now showed signs of being a quite experienced hunter.

“I heard you went on a business trip to America. When did you come back?”

“The day before yesterday. I lost a day adjusting to the time difference.”

Jian patted Seongjun’s head as he made a pitiful face. Even though years had passed since they first met, Seongjun still looked like a younger brother who needed taking care of in Jian’s eyes.

Realizing that Jian’s gaze towards him remained unchanged, Seongjun gave a bitter smile. His unrequited love was still ongoing, but he hadn’t even been able to confess.

As Hyunsu had once said, there was an invisible wall around Jian. That wall was named ‘Han Sehun’.

Jian’s life revolved around Sehun. Even though they weren’t blood-related brothers, watching from the side, it seemed like even a birth parent couldn’t be so devoted to their child.

“Then shall I brew you a stronger coffee? With an extra shot?”

“Sounds good. No matter how I think about it, your coffee seems to be the best in the world, hyung.”

“Well, I am quite good at brewing coffee.”