Main Male Lead Disqualified

When Jeong-hwan entered Hanbin’s room, the first thing that caught his eye was the packed bookshelf.

‘What the hell is all this?’

The books are too small to be workbooks, and their titles are ridiculously flashy. Squinting, Jeong-hwan pulls out a book that is sticking out slightly.

The title is so long that it nearly filled the entire cover.

‘This gives off a similar vibe to That Grumpy Something.’

Even after scanning the shelves, all he can see are romance comics. He thought he might find something rated 19+, but there are no red labels in sight.

‘Is this why he told me not to come in? But this is nothing special.’

Jeong-hwan didn’t think much of it as he casually flipped through the book. Just then, Hanbin came rushing in.

“I told you not to come in!”

Hanbin, who rushes into the room, pushes Jeonghwan away.

“I thought you were hiding something major.”

Jeong-hwan had expected something more interesting. He wondered why it is hidden when it is not anything special.

“You actually read this stuff?”

It was just a lighthearted question, but Hanbin’s face stiffened. His taste isn’t anything particularly strange, yet he looked like his world had just collapsed. But only for a moment—his face quickly returned to a blank expression.

“You never take anything I say seriously, do you?”

Jeong-hwan had expected him to explode in anger for barging in uninvited, but surprisingly, he didn’t. Instead, Hanbin calmly pulled a T-shirt from his closet and handed it over.

“I’ll lend you some clothes, so go home.”

Jeong-hwan, caught off guard by Hanbin’s unexpectedly cold reaction, missed the chance to apologize. Hanbin left the room without another word, leaving Jeong-hwan standing there. He glanced at the comic book in his hand before setting it down on the desk.

“Hey, I know I shouldn’t have barged in, but come on… over something like this?”

Jeong-hwan trailed after Hanbin belatedly. Hanbin silently pulled an umbrella from the shoe rack at the entrance.

“…See you on Thursday.”

Hanbin said as he handed him the umbrella, Jeong-hwan felt like he was being told not to see him on any other day. The look on Hanbin’s face, tight-lipped and watching him closely, didn’t sit well with him either.

“If I can handle it, maybe I won’t see you on Thursday either.”

Jeong-hwan stubbornly took the umbrella. Stuffing his soaked uniform haphazardly into his bag, he walked out of Hanbin’s house.

‘I was going to tell you I didn’t mean anything by it.’

Rather, he had actually found the whole thing unimpressive. It wasn’t porn, and his taste wasn’t weird.

‘You always run your mouth. And your jokes are too much.’

Jeong-hwan frowned, suddenly recalling Hanbin’s words.

“What was the point of washing up if I was just going to get soaked again?”

He tried to convince himself that his bag only felt heavier because of his wet uniform.

Meanwhile, Hanbin, feeling regretful about snapping at Jeong-hwan, grabbed his head in frustration.

“Did I overreact?”

He muttered as he put the comic book back on the shelf.

“It’s just… Jeong-hwan’s no different from the others.”

Hanbin had been collecting romance comics since he was a child, and before he knew it, his bookshelf had filled up. Hanbin realized that his taste wasn’t considered normal among his friends.

“What is this? It’s all romance comics. Don’t you have anything else?”

It was something a friend of Hanbin’s had said when they came over to his house during middle school and looked through his bookshelf to find something to read.

“Ah, there are a few in my brother’s room. I’ll go get them!”

Hanbin had only thought it was a complaint about not having any books to read. But after hearing Hanbin’s words, the friend pointed to the bookshelf with a horrified expression and said,

‘So, these are all yours?’

It was only after seeing his friend’s expression that Hanbin started to wonder if he had done something wrong. His friend didn’t even bother to hide a sneer as he looked at Hanbin, who stood there awkwardly.

“Wow, and you’re not even a girl.”

His friend had probably said it casually, but the expression and tone lingered in Hanbin’s mind for a long time.

‘Thinking about it now, maybe it was a good idea to kick Jeonghwan out before he said something worse.’

Jeong-hwan was the type to cut deep with his words. If a casual comment from a middle school friend could still sting and if it were Jeong-hwan. He would’ve ended up tossing and turning in bed every night, kicking the blankets eight times over.

“Why do people care so much about what I enjoy?”

Hanbin ran his fingers along the bookshelf before flopping onto his bed.

***

“What the hell, Hanbin? Why’d you step outside and come back in?”

Hanbin had been about to leave the house when he suddenly turned back, shutting the door again. His older brother, who had been walking out right behind him, stared at him suspiciously.

“I just forgot something. You go ahead.”

Hanbin made a face that made it obvious for anyone that he was lying. His brother just shrugged and walked past him to open the door.

“Hello.”

Jeong-hwan, who had been waiting outside, awkwardly greeted him. Hanbin’s brother froze for a few seconds before shutting the door and turning back inside.

“The kid outside… he’s your friend?”

After a brief moment of thought, his brother placed a heavy hand on Hanbin’s shoulder, his expression full of concern.

“Is he bullying you or something?”

His older brother seemed to have decided, just by looking at Jeong-hwan’s face, that there was no way he could be friends with him.

“No! It’s not like that.”

Hanbin hurriedly blocked his brother’s fist.

After thinking about how to define his relationship with Jeong-hwan, Hanbin finally spoke.

“He’s just… not a close friend.”

“If you’re not close, why are you leaving for school together?”

His brother squinted at him suspiciously.

“…Don’t tell me that bastard likes you or something?”

Despite being related, Hanbin and his brother looked completely different. His brother, a physical education student, has short hair, tanned skin, and well-built muscles. He has the kind of rugged looks that made him popular with both men and women, though oddly enough, he often received bizarre DMs from guys. He absolutely hated the idea of being mistaken for gay.

“If he comes all the way here, isn’t he confessing or something?”

If even someone as rugged-looking as himself had to deal with this, the thought of how many of those filthy bastards would cling to Hanbin,who is objectively cute is enough to make him wake up in anger in the middle of the night.

“No! That’s definitely not it!”

Hanbin barely held him back, who looked like he was ready to run at any moment.

“Look at his face. He’s clearly not into guys.”

Hanbin pointed at Jeong-hwan’s features as evidence. His brother recalled Jeong-hwan’s face and nodded. That did make sense.

“…If he’s weird in any way, let me know.”

Hanbin nodded quickly and bolted out the door before his brother could say anything else. Jeong-hwan, waiting outside, looked up and met Hanbin’s gaze.

‘What is this awkward tension?’

Standing silently in front of the elevator without a word felt strange. It would have been better if Jeong-hwan had at least greeted him normally.

‘Not that I want to be the one to say hi first.’

The suffocating silence continued even inside the elevator.

‘How did he even find his way here? And it’s not even Thursday.’

Hanbin pretended not to notice Jeong-hwan, but he kept stealing glances at him through the mirror.

‘Is he here to argue about yesterday? Or—’

For a split second, he wondered if Jeonghwan had come to apologize for making him upset.

‘No way. He’s not that kind of guy.’

When the elevator doors opened, Hanbin walked a few steps before stopping. He could feel Jeonghwan stopping beside him.

“Jeonghwan.”

Hanbin called out Jeong-hwan’s name. Even though Hanbin used his full name, something about his voice made it feel oddly intimate, making Jeong-hwan scratch the back of his neck in slight discomfort.

“I know you know where I live, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t wait right outside my door like this. I don’t live alone,my brother’s here too, and it’s inconvenient.”

Hanbin spoke firmly, his voice clear and direct as he looked at Jeong-hwan.

Jeong-hwan never expected Hanbin to greet him with a smile in the first place. Even so, hearing those words directly hit differently.

‘Not exactly the best way to start my morning.’

“Hey, you think I’m comfortable with this?”

Even though Jeonghwan had expected this, the sudden surge of emotion made sharp words slip out of his mouth.

All he had intended to do was return Hanbin’s t-shirt, casually saying, “Sorry for barging into your room yesterday. You’re not still mad, right? Just let it go.” He had even bought something in a rush last night as a sort of peace offering. That was supposed to be his way of apologizing.

‘This isn’t what I meant to say. Damn it.’

It wasn’t even a big deal, but Hanbin’s expression from last night kept lingering in his mind, leaving an uncomfortable feeling. Jeong-hwan’s way of dealing with things that bothered him was always a head-on approach. But this time, instead of breaking through, he felt like he had completely shattered.

“And today’s not even Thursday.”

Hanbin refused to back down, keeping his gaze firm as if determined not to be pushed around. Seeing the hostility in Hanbin’s eyes, Jeong-hwan isn’t about to swallow his pride either.

“I know. What, you think I can’t even read a calendar?”

“Why do you always talk like that?”

Hanbin seemed to decide arguing with Jeong-hwan was a waste of time and took a step forward. But Jeong-hwan walked beside him, deliberately provoking him.

“Am I only allowed to see you on Thursdays or something?”

“And why would I need to see you on any other day?”

At Hanbin’s words, Jeong-hwan’s eyebrow twitched.

‘He talks like this too, but I’m always the one getting called out for it?’

Jeong-hwan let out a scoff.

“I just thought maybe—just maybe—seeing your face on other days would help me feel better. But turns out, it just makes it worse. Listening to your nagging voice first thing in the morning is seriously giving me a headache.”

He pretended to dig at his ear as he spoke. Hanbin’s face twisted in disbelief.

“If it stresses you out so much, why the hell did you even come to my place?”

“I came to test if seeing you on other days would be okay.”

“Well, you got your answer today, didn’t you?”

“Ye

ah. Thanks to you, I figured it out for sure.”

Jeong-hwan leaned in closer, looking Hanbin in the eye.

“Instead of making me feel better, your voice just pisses me off even more.”