Chapter 6

When he was young, he had believed he was Mugyeol’s only real friend. Perhaps he had even been arrogant enough to think that he alone understood Mugyeol best, that he alone could comfort him.

Yet… perhaps Mugyeol had not been the truly lonely one. Perhaps it had been Yi-seon, taking comfort in a gaze that seemed to see no one but him.

At Mugyeol’s side, Yi-seon could pretend he was someone extraordinary. The feeling that he stood at the center of Mugyeol’s world had once filled him with quiet satisfaction.

He thought he would receive that gaze from Mugyeol once more upon reuniting. He believed he would hear words telling him You’re indispensable to me.

Never realizing it was all just an illusion.

Yi-seon let out a soft sigh and opened the club-room door. The sharp smell of acrylic paint met him along with a flood of white light. After the dim hallway, he had to narrow his eyes against the sudden brightness.

Su-ah called, “Seon-seon, over here.”

Su-ah, seated among the other club members, beckoned him over. Yi-seon took a seat, drew a slip of paper from a small container, and unfolded it.

“The one with the circle drawn on it is the selected one, right?”

“Yeah. You got picked, Yi-seon-ah. I got picked too.”

It was portrait day, which meant the club needed models. They chose them by random draw, and today Yi-seon and Ham Su-ah had been picked.

After tidying up the drawing slips, Ham Su-ah swept her gaze over the members.

“You all heard about recruiting a new member, right? What does everyone think?”

“I’m in favor. If just two more people drop out, the club gets disbanded, so I think accepting more is a good idea.”

“Right. The more members, the better.”

“Who is it, eonni? It’d be great if they could join our volunteer activities too!”

Everyone responded positively. Yi-seon also nodded in agreement.

Su-ah said, “I’ll tell him to come in first.”

With everyone’s approval, Ham Su-ah sent someone a message. He must have been waiting nearby, because slow, leisurely footsteps soon sounded in the hallway.

A moment later, the aged wooden door slowly swung open.

The tall student who stepped through the doorway raised one hand against the glare and squinted into the bright room. Unbothered by every eye turning toward him, he offered an easy greeting in a low, smooth voice.

“Hel-lo.”

Yi-seon blinked.

Wearing a playful grin, Mugyeol was waving his hand in a slow greeting.

Everyone stared at Yeon Mugyeol in breathless silence. Only when the wooden door thudded shut behind him did the room seem to breathe again.

“Eep…”

One of the female club members let out a sharp squeal and covered her mouth.

Mugyeol swept his gaze around the room until it stopped on Ham Su-ah and Ryu Yi-seon, seated close together. One of Mugyeol’s brows twitched.

“I knew it.”

Without a word of preamble, Mugyeol marched over and planted himself squarely between Ham Su-ah and Yi-seon. Yi-seon looked up at him.

“Noona. Is he the one who was coming?”

“Yeah. He said no before, but suddenly asked if he could join.”

‘The Giraffe Drawing We Drew’ was an autonomous extracurricular club, and official school approval required a minimum number of members. That was why Ham Su-ah had tried to coax Mugyeol into joining before.

Mugyeol had flatly refused then, saying it wasn’t his thing. Now, for some reason, he had been the one to ask if he could join.

Yi-seon immediately understood why.

He came to keep watch in case Su-ah noona and I stick together.

As if to confirm Yi-seon’s hunch, Mugyeol ignored the empty chairs and stubbornly remained standing between him and Ham Su-ah.

“Is everyone okay with this?” Ham Su-ah asked for the members’ opinions.

Everyone nodded.

“Yes. It sounds so fun to have Mugyeol oppa here.”

“Right. He worked super hard during the mural painting volunteer work last time too.”

“I’m in favor too.”

“Sounds great to me as well.”

One after another, they agreed. Yi-seon, however, eyed Mugyeol suspiciously and asked, “Yeon Mugyeol, didn’t you hate drawing?”

Even as a child, Mugyeol had hated touching crayons. He couldn’t stand getting anything on his hands or clothes and used to shudder and fling away his paintbrush whenever a drop landed on his smock.

When Yi-seon brought up that memory and asked, Mugyeol’s expression instantly shifted. “Why? Is there some reason I can’t join? Do you just want to keep hanging out with noona by yourselves?”

His eyes flashed with open menace.

In truth, Yi-seon didn’t particularly care whether Mugyeol joined. If anything, having him there might give them a chance to grow closer again. Yi-seon was only one member among many anyway, so he had no real reason to object.

But Mugyeol’s preemptive hostility made Yi-seon’s own temper flare.

“Noona. If I object, is he not allowed to join?”

“Hey. Ever heard of majority rule? Even if you object, noona and the other members all agreed, so what are you gonna do? Noona, I can join, right?”

“Noona. He’s making such a racket already; will our club atmosphere be fine with him here?”

Both turned to Ham Su-ah, calling, “Noona, noona,” over each other. Busy arranging easels with the other members, she ignored them completely. Whether they fought or not was apparently their problem.

So they did exactly that.

“Yeon Mugyeol, go outside and kick a soccer ball or something. You love playing with balls, just like Dool-dool. Fetch! Bite!”

Yi-seon feigned tossing an eraser, playfully waving his hand.

“I might kick what’s right in front of my eyes instead of a ball. Watch yourself.”

“Go ahead and kick me. Kick me! I’ll tell your grandfather everything.”

“Go ahead and tell him.”

“You think I won’t?”

“I don’t care if you tell him. He’s my grandfather, you know?”

“Grandfather specifically told me last time to report it to him immediately if you bullied me, okay?”

“When?”

“Would you even know if I told you when?”

Mugyeol and Yi-seon threw themselves into the argument with ridiculous enthusiasm. The childish bickering was painful to watch. Ham Su-ah heaved a sigh and waved the other members, who were standing around in stunned silence, toward their seats.

“Eonni. Are those oppas going to be okay?”

“Yeah. They’re always like that. Don’t mind them.”

“Okay… But was Mugyeol oppa’s personality always like that? It’s so surprising. And Yi-seon oppa is so different from usual too…”

The Yi-seon and Mugyeol she knew were nothing like the two people bickering in front of her.

As student council president, Mugyeol was usually the one who set the mood, quick with a joke but never frivolous. His upright posture, confident bearing, and low, easy voice naturally drew people in. No one had ever seen him squabble this childishly with anyone.

And what of Yi-seon?

Yi-seon was always neatly dressed, with clean-cut features and a quiet manner that read as thoughtful rather than shy. He rarely swung to emotional extremes—never laughing too loudly or exploding in anger—and people found his steady presence reassuring.

Being in his presence normally eased any tense atmosphere, yet right now…

“Instead of picking fights with people, why don’t you get ready to draw? Everyone else is already seated.”

“Do I have to sit just because you tell me to? You sit down.”

“You sit.”

“No, you.”

“Stop copying me.”

“You’re the one who copied me first.”

Right now, however, they were fighting so childishly that everyone could only stare. Finally unable to take any more, Ham Su-ah barked, “Ah, enough! Just be quiet already!”

“Yeah.”

“Understood.”

Only then did the two shut up and obey.

“Mugyeol, since you showed up out of nowhere today and there’s no extra easel, sit at that desk over there and use a spare sketchbook. Yi-seon, sit here. We don’t have time. Let’s start right away.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Right away.”

Mugyeol sat at the small desk by the window. The desk was too low for his height, and it rattled every time his knees knocked against it.

Mugyeol caught the pencil Ham Su-ah tossed him and flipped to the first page of the sketchbook. When he looked up from the blank sheet, Yi-seon was seated in the center of the room like the star of the show.

Mugyeol asked, “Why is he sitting over there? Is he an attention seeker?”

“Portraits! Mugyeol-ah! Portrait model!” Ham Su-ah replied, thumping her chest in exasperation.

Yi-seon schooled his face to keep from laughing. He had seen scenes like this countless times as a child, and the familiarity stirred an odd fondness. It was Yi-seon who had befriended Ham Su-ah first. They had attended the same art academy, where Ham Su-ah had more or less adopted Yi-seon as her little lackey. Since Mugyeol was always with Yi-seon, the three of them had naturally become a set.

As kids, Mugyeol and Yi-seon had both been looked after by Ham Su-ah. Whenever their antics became too much, however, she had never hesitated to smack them upside the head. Even now, that old expression sometimes crossed her face—the one that said she wanted to knock their heads together—though fortunately she seemed to be restraining herself.

“Noona. That thing over there keeps moving.”

“I was itchy, so I scratched a little.”

“Yi-seon, settle back down.”

The three spoke in quick succession.

At Ham Su-ah’s command, Yi-seon faced forward again. Thankfully, she—not Mugyeol—was directly in front of him. If he and Mugyeol made eye contact, they would only start another argument without saying a word.

The afternoon sunlight was soft and warm.

Muffled noise drifted past the windowpanes, distant and unreal, while the club room remained comfortably warm. Around Yi-seon, pencils whispered steadily over paper—skritch, skritch. Lulled by the rhythm, his head began to droop.

“Noona. He’s dozing off.”

Mugyeol’s voice drifted over from somewhere far away. Without opening his eyes, Yi-seon asked Ham Su-ah plaintively, “Noona. Can I sleep a little?”

“Yeah. We’ll just draw you with your eyes closed. Just don’t move.”

“Okay.”

Within moments, Yi-seon was properly dozing.

Mugyeol had managed no more than a single circle on his page. Resting his chin on one hand, he stared intently at Yi-seon and dragged two crooked lines across the paper with a skrrrt. Then he glanced around and realized everyone else was watching Yi-seon too. A few students were even chuckling softly at the sight of him nodding off.

“Yi-seon sleeps so peacefully.”

“Isn’t oppa so pretty? His eyelashes are seriously so long…”

“His skin looks just like a rice cake. So soft and squishy… I’m jealous.”

The moment Yi-seon fell asleep, the club members began whispering. An inexplicable irritation prickled through Mugyeol, and he muttered to no one in particular, “Is that supposed to be pretty?”

“Are you saying he’s not?”

“Hmm…”

“Your heart might be crooked, but let’s keep your eyes straight.”

Ham Su-ah shot back without missing a beat.

After a few more careless scribbles, Mugyeol stood and pulled the curtains closed. Then, hands clasped behind his back, he began prowling around the club room.

Most of the members had already finished their drawings of Yi-seon, each in a distinct style. Mugyeol stopped behind the student with the most cartoonish sketch and hovered over his shoulder like an old man kibitzing over a Go board. “Webtoon?”

The student looked up at Mugyeol and stammered, “Ah, yes, hyung. I’m an aspiring webtoon artist? Or something like that, so… my style is a bit…” He kept stealing admiring glances at Mugyeol. Being acknowledged by someone so many boys at school envied clearly thrilled him.

“Doesn’t our school have a webtoon club? Why did you come here?”

“Because Su-ah sunbae said the club was short on members. We needed to fill the minimum quota to get approved as an autonomous club.”

“Did you join because of noona too? You little Ryu Yi-seon-like bastard.”

Mugyeol’s expression turned glacial.

The first-year blurted, “What? No! That’s not it! I’m sorry!”

The first-year startled so badly that his pencil clattered to the floor. The noise woke Yi-seon, who slowly opened his eyes.

Yaaawn… Yi-seon stretched his arms long. “Noona. He’s throwing a tantrum like that; are you still going to accept him as a member? He’s a huge obstacle to club harmony, so shouldn’t we kick him out…?”

“Yeah, yeah. Yi-seon, go to your seat now.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Ham Su-ah brushed off Yi-seon’s complaint and tidied the room. After sending Mugyeol, who had been terrorizing the first-year, back to his seat, she took her place in the center. Now it was her turn to model.

“Mugyeol-ah, could you open the curtains again? It’s not too hot anymore, right?”

“Yeah.”

When Mugyeol reopened the curtains, brilliant sunlight poured in. Mimicking something he must have seen somewhere, he raised his pencil and squinted one eye to measure proportions. “Time to show off my skills. I’ll definitely draw better than Ryu Yi-seon.”

“I could draw with my feet and still beat you.”

“Go ahead. Let’s see you draw with your feet.”

Ignoring Mugyeol’s dare, Yi-seon devoted himself to sketching Ham Su-ah. Her large eyes and high nose bridge made her features easy to capture, especially the smooth curve of her forehead and the clean line from brow to nose.

“Noona, you’re seriously pretty…”

The thought slipped out before Yi-seon could filter it.

He wondered if this was why Mugyeol liked Ham Su-ah.

Then again, it was hard not to like her. She was pretty, smart, and kind. No wonder Mugyeol had liked her so much since they were kids that he would—…

Before the thought could go any further, Yi-seon’s face was yanked sharply to the side.

Mugyeol said, “Have you lost your mind?”

Mugyeol had caught both of Yi-seon’s cheeks in one large hand and hauled his face around.

“What do you think you’re doing, laying it on like that?”

Yi-seon’s eyes went wide. Mugyeol’s scowling face was inches from his own. With his cheeks mashed together in Mugyeol’s hand, Yi-seon protested through squashed lips, “Whad ish id.”

“What?”

“Whad are you dooing! Led go!”

What was with that grip strength? His cheeks hurt, and even his jaw had begun to ache. Apparently Yi-seon’s mangled speech was too much for Mugyeol, because he suddenly snorted with laughter.

Are you laughing at me?

You’re laughing at me?!

Furious, Yi-seon grabbed a fistful of Mugyeol’s hair. Only then did Mugyeol loosen his grip on his cheeks.

“You crazy bastard!”

Yi-seon was furious. He had done nothing but sketch a pretty noona, so what the hell was this sudden attack? Was grabbing someone by the face just because he complimented the girl you liked really how a supposedly civilized high schooler behaved?

This bastard who acts like he hasn’t even graduated kindergarten!

“Why the fuck are you throwing a fit all of a sudden?!”

Why only to me! Why does he keep doing this only to me!

Unable to contain himself, Yi-seon flung both hands into the air. Every bit of resentment he had been storing up against Mugyeol burst loose at once.