Romantic Gangster

#65

“Ta-da, I reserved this for you a few days ago… Hey, why are you crying? Seo Ji-woo. Ji-woo.”

Hyun-joon’s proud expression turned to wide eyes. He had thought they would be very happy and show their pretty smile that he loved so much… but contrary to expectations, Ji-woo was crying in front of him.

This was the first time he’d seen Ji-woo cry so openly. Though he’d seen them sniffle sometimes when reading sad scenes in manga, seeing them actually shed tears in front of him for the first time made his mind go blank and words catch in his throat.

“Why… why are you crying? Don’t you like flowers? Ah, do you have a flower allergy or something? Are your eyes itchy? I’m sorry, I didn’t know. Let’s go to the nurse’s office quickly. Does the school nurse even come on graduation day?”

Ji-woo sniffled watching Hyun-joon suddenly saying unexpected things while hiding the bouquet behind his back and pulling their hand toward the school building. At that, Hyun-joon who had been walking ahead also stopped and turned to look at Ji-woo.

“Can’t walk? I’ll carry you. Wait, let me throw away these flowers. Damn, why did I buy these…”

Surprised to see Hyun-joon striding toward the trash can actually trying to throw away the pretty bouquet, Ji-woo quickly approached and grabbed his arm.

“…Did you buy this for me?”

“Yeah. I wanted to give you something bigger and prettier than what the other guys get, but I didn’t know you had allergies.”

“…Give it to me.”

“…Huh?”

“I don’t have flower allergies…. How could you jump to that conclusion?”

“Well… you started crying as soon as you saw the flowers…. Isn’t it because your eyes hurt and are itchy?”

Ji-woo shook their head and held out their hands again. Hyun-joon placed the bouquet in Ji-woo’s arms and wiped away the tears gathered at their eyes while examining their face, flushed from crying.

“I didn’t cry because of the flowers, I cried because I saw you. No, I didn’t cry, tears just came without me realizing.”

“You missed me. Was going to school alone without me that sad? Ah, right. We slept separately yesterday too, so it’s been quite a while since we saw each other. Seo Ji-woo, you must have really missed me so much. Crying as soon as you saw me, hm?”

“Why didn’t you read my messages…. I sent so many… And you didn’t answer calls. I was worried.”

Hyun-joon was stunned by Ji-woo’s complaints, something he’d never heard before. Usually, Ji-woo wasn’t sensitive about such contact. They were indifferent even if messages were checked late, and understanding if messages were read without reply – actually, he was always the more anxious one.

He had even rushed to Ji-woo’s house several times when they didn’t check messages or answer calls for just 15 minutes because they were showering.

But… now Ji-woo, who was always calm about contact, was expressing dissatisfaction. Why didn’t you read the messages? Why didn’t you answer the calls?

They were being possessive of him.

“…”

Isn’t today my birthday instead of graduation? What amazing gifts are pouring in like this.

“I’m sorry. I wanted to surprise you with this.”

At Hyun-joon’s words, Ji-woo looked at the flowers in their arms and sniffled. Thinking that just as they had bought flowers for Hyun-joon, he had bought flowers for them, they cried again from being touched. They could imagine how he must have felt buying these flowers and waiting for them to come out.

“…Did you wait outside in the cold?”

“Yeah. The principal talks way too much.”

“What if you got too cold…”

“Still, it wasn’t hard at all because I was waiting for you.”

Taking in each pretty colored flower one by one, Ji-woo hugged the bouquet preciously and looked up at Hyun-joon.

“Thank you, Hyun-joon…. I love it so much.”

“You do?”

“Yes.”

“Do you like the flowers, or me?”

“I like both, but I like you a bit more.”

Unable to hide his emerging smile, Hyun-joon kissed Ji-woo’s cheek while hiding behind the bouquet. Their eyes, wet from crying, looking slightly surprised, were lovely. He wanted to take them somewhere private and suck on their tongue until their cold body became warm, but he decided to hold back for now. Because today was graduation day.

His heart fluttered remembering Ji-woo who had followed him around saying they didn’t want anything else, just for him to graduate. What if Ji-woo had ignored the homeroom teacher’s request then? What if after meeting on the roof, they had cut off interest thinking he was just really rude?

They might have parted without any connection and lived on forgetting each other’s existence – the thought made his spine shiver. Days without Ji-woo…. He didn’t even want to think about it.

“It’s cold, let’s go to the classroom quickly.”

“Okay.”

Ji-woo took Hyun-joon’s hand, incomparably colder than theirs from waiting outside, and put it in their uniform jacket pocket. Inside the pocket, Hyun-joon moved his fingers to tickle their hand. Ji-woo laughed at the ticklish sensation and trapped his hand more tightly as if telling him to stop, making Hyun-joon laugh too.

“Ah, right. I felt strange in the auditorium.”

“What felt strange? Were you sick?”

“Not sick exactly…. When I couldn’t reach you, I got really anxious, my hands got cold, and I didn’t know what to do…. I couldn’t calm down. I kept thinking about your pheromones.”

“Pheromones? Ah, we’ve been together every day so we haven’t been doing what the nurse told us to do. Maybe that’s why?”

“Maybe…?”

“Are you okay now?”

“Yeah…. I feel better now that I see you.”

Hyun-joon tilted his head to carefully examine Ji-woo’s slightly pale face and made a worried sound.

“Should we go somewhere so I can hold you for a bit?”

“I think we should go to the classroom quickly…. We just need to get the diploma and say goodbye, then after that.”

“Okay. Tell me right away if you feel even a little unwell. Don’t hold it in.”

“Okay, I will. I’m really fine now. I’m so happy you came.”

“What should I do with you only thinking about me, Seo Ji-woo?”

“Don’t you like it?”

“I fucking love it.”

Hyun-joon grinned and stroked Ji-woo’s hair. Even in the bitingly cold air, there was clear warmth. Ji-woo walked on with a heart full of complete relief.

The corridor in front of the classroom was bustling with families who had come for graduation. Ji-woo entered through the back door first, pushing through the crowd, and took in the bouquet on their desk. They wanted to give it to him right now but it didn’t seem possible with the homeroom teacher coming in.

While Hyun-joon was looking elsewhere, Ji-woo quietly moved the bouquet to an empty desk at the back of the classroom. Then they sat down, placing the bouquet from Hyun-joon on their desk as if nothing had happened. Fortunately, Hyun-joon didn’t seem to notice.

“Should I wait outside? The homeroom teacher will probably be dramatic while giving out diplomas or whatever.”

“Can’t you just stay here with me?”

“…I can.”

Though Ji-woo had only asked if he could stay because they wanted to be together, they could see Hyun-joon’s ears turning bright red. Holding back the urge to kiss him because he was cute, Ji-woo lowered their hand under the desk and lightly touched Hyun-joon’s fingers sitting next to them. At the same time, Hyun-joon’s shoulders visibly flinched.

While they were playing with their fingers under the desk, the homeroom teacher started distributing diplomas one by one. The teacher, who started crying just from calling out the class members’ names, hugged Ji-woo warmly when giving them their diploma saying they were sorry and thankful, and when Hyun-joon reluctantly came forward, cried saying they were so thankful and proud that he graduated.

After distributing all the diplomas like that, the homeroom teacher gave final warm words and the graduation ceremony concluded. Hyun-joon, watching guys running to take pictures with the teacher, took his hands out of his pockets and stood up. Though it had been tiresome, he didn’t regret attending school. Because it was a place where he could share time with Ji-woo.

“Let’s go now too.”

“Okay. Let’s go.”

Ji-woo, wondering if they should give the flowers at this timing, headed toward the desk where they had placed the bouquet meant for Hyun-joon, wanting to give it somewhere quieter. Hyun-joon followed behind, not knowing why.

“What’s that flower? Is it yours?”

“…Yes, it’s mine.”

“What? Which bastard gave it to you? Did you already receive one from someone else before getting mine? Who is it? Which bastard, huh? Did someone confess? Wow, fuck. I knew this would happen. Some creepy bastard waited until graduation day, how dare they, fuck, who would… Wow, they gave it when I wasn’t around?”

Ji-woo smiled softly watching Hyun-joon who had already created an enormous imagination and was making a fuss. Usually, Hyun-joon would have laughed along with them, but not now. He was still angry, cursing at a non-existent confessor asking which bastard it was.

“…Why did you accept it? You should have thrown it in their face. Did you want to accept it? No, right?”

Ji-woo left the classroom silently, holding back their smile. They could feel Hyun-joon urgently following behind. He kept asking from behind why they weren’t answering, and spoke in a hurt voice asking why they were holding it so preciously. Suppressing the urge to turn around and throw themselves into his arms, Ji-woo quietly climbed the stairs.

“What is it, who is it? Do you like it more than what I gave you? Why aren’t you saying anything? Why are you hiding who gave it? No, okay. It’s not about who… but why did you accept it? Shouldn’t you not accept it? You didn’t accept it because you liked it, right? Hm? Ah…. Please, Seo Ji-woo. Ji-woo.”

He was so focused on the unfamiliar bouquet in their arms that he didn’t even notice they were going up the stairs instead of down. Ji-woo went to the end of the corridor and opened the empty music room door, going inside.

“No, why aren’t you saying anything suddenly…. I feel like I’m going to die, Ji-woo. Who did you get it from, hm?”

Ji-woo blew away the light dust on the long music room desk and gently placed the bouquet Hyun-joon had given them on it. At that moment, Hyun-joon’s voice, which had been flowing continuously, cut off as if shocked. Ji-woo turned around with only the bouquet they had prepared in their arms and met Hyun-joon’s eyes.