Sunshine Shower

Woo Yeonjae sneered, lost in his thoughts. If the setting remained confined to the school, someone would inevitably misunderstand.“If that’s not it, I don’t know why you keep talking nonsense…”It was burdensome to throw out the lie he had fabricated with Nam Taeun. His eyes, lips, and breathing all seemed out of sync. He feared the lie would be uncovered immediately.Woo Yeonjae slowly turned his head, apparently having reached some conclusion in the silence. As his gaze shifted away, a cold stillness settled in the air. When Moon Seoyoon saw his sharply defined profile, he sensed an opportunity. It was a moment to speak while Woo Yeonjae was looking elsewhere, not meeting his eyes.“He’s a customer at the café.”The gaze that had been directed at the darkly tinted window rolled back a beat later. A faint furrow appeared above Woo Yeonjae’s straight eyebrows, and his cheek twitched.“A customer at the café?”Moon Seoyoon thought of a regular customer. It wasn’t hard to differentiate between a casual customer and his crush. If he continued speaking while thinking of that customer, he could flesh out the lie convincingly.“I started working part-time right after my discharge. I often worked until closing time… He’s an office worker who comes by around closing.”“Ah, an office worker.”His lightly bouncing tone was unmistakably distrustful.“Moon Seoyoon, don’t lie to me of all people.”“…You said you know when I’m lying.”Moon Seoyoon tried not to bite his lip.“Anyway, I’ve told you… I’d like to stop talking about this. It makes me uncomfortable, even with you. And I’ve been telling you, it’s someone you don’t know.”Seeing that Woo Yeonjae wasn’t pressing further, it seemed it wasn’t too obvious that he was lying.“And he didn’t seduce me. It’s just me liking him.”Moon Seoyoon hurriedly added, intending to address Woo Yeonjae’s probing questions all at once.“Just you liking him?”“Yeah, a one-sided crush.”The situation was absurd, confessing a one-sided crush to the person he liked. He had no idea what expression he had or what voice he was using. The only clear thing was that he must appear pitiful to Woo Yeonjae.“He doesn’t even know I like him. It’s just me liking him.”Speaking in a calm tone made it sound genuinely like a one-sided love. The truth of his feelings pouring out made it seem less like a lie.Moon Seoyoon was confused about whether he should be happy to reveal some of his feelings or feel pathetic for having to confess in such a sneaky way.“So don’t badmouth an innocent person.”When he said “innocent,” his fingers unconsciously tightened. Could he ever blame Woo Yeonjae?“Moon Seoyoon is taking someone else’s side in front of me…”“How is that taking someone’s side? You’re just badmouthing someone for no reason.”“It seems you ignored me saying I’m jealous.”The casual mention of jealousy in his loose tone was something Moon Seoyoon could never say out loud. He feared his true feelings would spill out, and his crush would catch the stench of his deep emotions.Though it wasn’t Woo Yeonjae’s fault, Moon Seoyoon still felt distressed every time. Without realizing it, he raised his voice.“Then why did you ask if I liked men? You should have just let it go when I said no.”“Ah, just let it go now? Why? Am I nothing to you?”The slight annoyance began to seep into the voice that pretended to be relaxed.“Since when were you this clueless?”The sarcastic tone mixed with raw emotion, as if revealing what had been trapped behind a solid wall.“Seoyoon, did you think I wanted some kind of confession from you?”Moon Seoyoon couldn’t even blink at the cracking expression.“I gave you time to bury your feelings if it was for any guy…”The trailing end of his sentence was almost like talking to himself.The sound of the seatbelt unbuckling felt like a death sentence.“Get in my car.”“…What?”“I feel like I might crash if I drive now. Take my car. The school’s far.”Then the door opened. The warm spring breeze blew in, but the atmosphere inside the car remained cold. It might have been because the blood that warmed his body had drained, leaving his fingertips cold.“Good thing it’s a one-sided crush, right?”Woo Yeonjae dusted off his pants as he asked. Unsure if it required an answer, Moon Seoyoon couldn’t even part his lips.“It’ll be easy to sort out your feelings.”Their gazes met with his next words.“So bury it. Before I find that guy and make a scene.”Woo Yeonjae demanded something Moon Seoyoon couldn’t accomplish in seven years as if it were nothing.“If I mess up again, it won’t end easily… Who else but Moon Seoyoon can help?”His eyes narrowed with his trailing words. Though his expression wasn’t much different from usual, he couldn’t hide the ferocity.“Your one-sided crush… damn it. You must hate seeing my face now…”“Woo Yeonjae.”“Sort out your feelings and get in touch.”With no hesitation, Woo Yeonjae stepped out of the car. He didn’t leave immediately but stood there with his back turned, then slowly turned around and bent down.“Seoyoon.”“…”“The third time, I won’t let it slide.”The third time? What does that mean? Moon Seoyoon wanted to ask, but his lips, tangled in lies, wouldn’t part easily.“And…”Woo Yeonjae briefly looked like he’d been abandoned, furrowing his eyebrows.“Don’t hate me for saying this.”Without hesitation, he turned away and the door closed. Moon Seoyoon stared blankly at his retreating figure through the window.He hadn’t expected the conversation to end warmly, but he hadn’t imagined it would end like this.‘Seoyoon, did you think I wanted some kind of confession from you?’He had thought Woo Yeonjae wanted him to confess, but it was all his own misunderstanding.‘I gave you time to bury your feelings if it was for any guy…’It seemed Woo Yeonjae wanted him to deny it.“Sigh…”Moon Seoyoon buried his face in his hands.‘It’ll be easy to sort out your feelings. So bury them.’He never thought he would hear such words from his crush.“But I can’t do that,” he whispered.The moisture pooled in his palms finally overflowed, and the tears that fell on his pants were as lukewarm as the spring breeze.‘Don’t hate me.’Still, he couldn’t bring himself to hate Woo Yeonjae.***Woo Yeonjae muttered curses under his breath, ruffling his wind-tousled hair. If it were winter, the cold air might have cooled his head, but the spring breeze was only warm.The gentle spring breeze was insufficient to calm the intense emotions within him.The feelings had been building steadily since the day he cornered Moon Seoyoon. It wasn’t a feeling that could be named with just one word. Woo Yeonjae couldn’t fathom what to call this seething emotion.What was clear was that these feelings were dark and murky—anger, disgust, hostility, and more.Driving the car to an open area and stepping out with Moon Seoyoon still inside was a smart decision. If they had stayed in that confined space, he would have pushed relentlessly. And it would have gone far beyond just pushing.Woo Yeonjae clenched and unclenched his fists as he walked down the long road. Even without the bulging veins, it was clear his whole body was tense. It was an effort to suppress the urge to return to Moon Seoyoon and persistently hound him, maintaining the fragile patience he had pieced together.He remembered the white fingers, reddened and inflamed from cigarette burns.“Haa…”The reddish marks didn’t match the fingers that used to play the piano. Without those visible wounds, he might have driven Moon Seoyoon to tears. He had countless questions ready to follow his inquiry about liking men. The visible injury was a small blessing.To Woo Yeonjae, Moon Seoyoon’s safety was more important than his own feelings. By focusing on the wounds on Moon Seoyoon’s pale hands, he could suppress the sharp words trying to escape his lips.‘I don’t… like men.’The problem was Woo Yeonjae knew Moon Seoyoon too well to pretend to believe the lie. While driving, he couldn’t see Moon Seoyoon’s expression, but the trembling voice was a dead giveaway.Woo Yeonjae parked the car and slowly tapped the steering wheel, unlocking the doors first. If he lost his temper, he wanted to make sure Moon Seoyoon could escape.