Sunshine Shower

Moon Seoyoon drank some tea for no reason, feeling as if his mouth was parched. Even though the tea wasn’t at a scalding temperature, he felt as if some part of his body might get burned.Every time Woo Yeonjae spoke as if he had no one but him, Moon Seoyoon’s heart dropped. It felt painful, and he was shaken by uncontrollable emotions. These mixed feelings took control of his nerves.The meaning behind Woo Yeonjae’s words was clear. It meant that his closest friend was him. They had been childhood friends for 17 years, so it was an obvious statement. Moon Seoyoon wasn’t so naive as to read any other meaning into those words.“I only have you too.”Moon Seoyoon quietly confessed while fiddling with his takeout cup. It wasn’t just because he liked Woo Yeonjae; it was true that Woo Yeonjae was all he had left.“Then why don’t I know about your close hyung?”The response didn’t seem satisfactory, as a deep line formed above Woo Yeonjae’s neatly arched eyebrows. His eyes looked irritated, but his voice didn’t sound much different from usual.“We’re close, but we lost contact after he was discharged from the military, so we met after six months. If we had kept in touch, I would have told you. I’ll introduce you next time we meet.”“Meeting after six months.”Woo Yeonjae’s gaze averted from his face. It lingered on the front windshield for a moment before returning to Moon Seoyoon.“Meeting after six months…”His lips slowly parted like the end of a sentence.“Why are you fiddling with Moon Seoyoon?”It was Monday morning. It was early, not even 9 AM, so the surroundings were quiet. There was no small noise to break into their conversation inside the car. That’s why Woo Yeonjae’s voice sounded sharper.Fiddling, as if kneading dough? Who’s fiddling with whom? Was he referring to the cheek-grabbing? Even so, using the word “fiddling” for just grabbing and releasing a cheek once seemed odd. Moon Seoyoon frowned without realizing it.“Grabbing a cheek once is hardly fiddling. Do you even know what fiddling means?”“Who grabs a grown man’s cheek like that? Are you in a relationship?”He was momentarily speechless.“No… You do it too.”Woo Yeonjae briefly furrowed his eyebrows. As his lips curled up, his cheek twitched as if in a spasm.“Are you comparing me to that guy you’ve known for just a year and a half?”Moon Seoyoon, ready to respond with any retort, closed his mouth.Of course not. No one would think it strange if Woo Yeonjae was clingy with him, but if a grown man acted that way, people would find it odd. At least his acquaintances did.He knew that simple acts like putting an arm around the shoulder or grabbing a cheek were possible forms of skinship among close friends. But Woo Yeonjae’s question about whether he was the same as Nam Taeun wasn’t answered by that standard.“What if he misunderstands?”“What kind of misunderstanding…”Moon Seoyoon hesitated and asked back.“How much trouble do you think I’ve had getting rid of weird guys… You should know better than anyone.”Images of middle and high school flashed by. Because of his looks and rumors related to the piano, many strange people had approached him. Since he wasn’t as big as Woo Yeonjae, it happened even more.“Hyung wouldn’t misunderstand like that. We served in the military together; I know him well.”Moon Seoyoon thought he could understand why Woo Yeonjae was reacting sensitively. It seemed he was being defensive because he didn’t know Nam Taeun well. From Woo Yeonjae’s perspective, it made sense to be on edge, so Moon Seoyoon added calmly.“But you don’t know hyung well, so you might be worried… I understand why you brought it up. I’ll listen to you.”“You better. You’ve never regretted listening to me before, right?”Woo Yeonjae spoke with a thin smile, but his eyes demanded a clear answer, in contrast to his somewhat softened tone.“I understand why you said that.”Moon Seoyoon turned his head as if to drink tea, unable to face Woo Yeonjae’s scrutinizing gaze. As he sipped his tea and glanced at Woo Yeonjae, he noticed that the subtly annoyed expression had eased somewhat. Although there wasn’t a big change in his expression, it wasn’t difficult to read the slightly altered atmosphere.“What happened with meeting the professor? I was worried since I hadn’t heard from you. I was afraid you might be crying again.”Moon Seoyoon tightened his grip on the cup. The lie about using his father as an excuse to get out of the situation came rushing back to him. Saying he was unwell and headed to the dormitory instead of home wouldn’t make sense. Since he had been fine just before they parted, suddenly falling ill would surely seem strange.“Do you think I’m a child? Why would I cry after meeting my father? He’s just the same as always.”In the end, Moon Seoyoon chose to lie again. Claiming to have stress-induced illnesses due to his father was a believable excuse.More importantly, it was a difficult situation to honestly explain why he was suddenly ill. He couldn’t say he cried because of being called dirty, ran into Nam Taeun in that state, and then drank out of frustration, which made him sick.It bothered him to lie to Woo Yeonjae, especially using his father as an excuse, but it seemed the best option for now.“So, you were probably sick over the weekend because of stress too.”“Maybe…”One lie about visiting home could simplify everything. It was more convincing than just saying he was sick because of the change of seasons.Besides, blaming it on the seasonal change felt awkward. The weather was conducive to catching a cold, but he wasn’t going out much, and he had been riding in cars on Friday, making it strange to suddenly catch a cold.Though he felt guilty for the string of lies, Moon Seoyoon swallowed his guilt.“Did your roommate take the call for you because you were sick?”“I must have been asleep after taking medicine, so he answered it for me.”“He sounded drunk.”Given that the guy had been referred to as “that person,” it seemed Nam Taeun’s impression had somewhat recovered. Moon Seoyoon relaxed a little, leaning back into the seat.“Hyung was drunk when he came back.”“Really?”Woo Yeonjae started the car, reaching for the steering wheel, and slowly turned his head. Their gazes met briefly before drifting apart.“Got it.”With a light, almost popping answer, the car started moving.***[Why don’t you stop by with Yeonjae this time? It feels like it’s been a while since I saw him.]A new message appeared in the sporadic chat. It was in response to his earlier text saying he would visit after recovering. Below the message advising him to take care of himself and offering to come home if he felt uncomfortable, a new suggestion had arrived.Since Woo Yeonjae had been coming and going from his house since childhood, it wasn’t an unusual message. They often had meals together with their parents.Before enlisting, they frequently visited each other’s homes. Moon Seoyoon also had several meals with Woo Yeonjae’s parents.[I’ll talk to Yeonjae about it.]Moon Seoyoon replied and quickly turned off his phone. It was almost time for the lecture to start. It had only been a week since the semester began, so the classroom atmosphere was still chaotic.‘It would be better to go together than to go alone…’With his father’s attention focused on Woo Yeonjae, he could relax a bit.Moon Seoyoon scribbled Woo Yeonjae’s name in the corner of his tablet and then drew a diagonal line through it. It was just meaningless doodling.His father’s real concern was with Woo Yeonjae’s father, not Woo Yeonjae himself. To Moon Seoyoon, he was just a neighbor, but to his father, it was different. Indeed, his father’s perspective was more conventional.Moon Seoyoon became childhood friends with Woo Yeonjae because his mother had connections with the Woo family. She was well-connected, having grown up in a prosperous environment, and one of her connections was with Woo Yeonjae’s family. Although it would be natural for those ties to gradually fade after his mother passed away, the relationship continued because Moon Seoyoon remained close to Woo Yeonjae.‘It’s my father’s ambition.’The dynamics among adults are often easily perceptible to children. It was somewhat expected for a private music professor to be mindful of a businessman.‘Mr. Woo is a good person, but…’He was vaguely aware that his father was benefiting from the relationship. His father’s attentiveness and warmth towards Woo Yeonjae were likely due to this. Moon Seoyoon felt more uncomfortable than ashamed about this. Perhaps it was because the power dynamics in the relationship were so apparent.‘Anyway, it’s less awkward to go with Woo Yeonjae than to go alone. I wonder if Professor Jung will be there too.’Moon Seoyoon imagined the awkward smile of a woman. Since she was as busy as his father, it was uncertain if she would join the meal.He wondered how Woo Yeonjae would perceive the gathering. There was a high chance that he would be scathingly critical. His smooth, flowing voice would start with something like, “The professor looked well,” but would be dripping with sarcasm.In any case, if he asked him to come along, he would likely agree. Woo Yeonjae knew that Moon Seoyoon was uncomfortable with his father and that having him around would help divert some of the attention, making it more bearable for him.Yet, he hesitated to reach out immediately, as there was something troubling him.‘Wouldn’t he be too busy to make time over the weekend, meeting with his girlfriend? I’d feel hurt if he declined for that reason.’His thoughts kept circling back to Woo Yeonjae.Since that day, Woo Yeonjae’s words often pierced his heart. Memories would surface unexpectedly. However, just because he was hurt didn’t mean he could avoid seeing him. The pallor in his heart from being called dirty would quickly regain its color from Woo Yeonjae’s occasional kindness. It was like ice melting rapidly in hot tea.Such is the nature of a simple heart.“Good morning.”“Hello.”“Hello, professor!”Lost in thought, Moon Seoyoon was brought back to the present by the professor entering the classroom. Hearing his juniors’ voices, he slowly straightened up. In the corner of his tablet, where his major materials were displayed, Woo Yeonjae’s name was still written.