Sunshine Shower

Had it been six months already? From the beginning, Woo Yeonjae couldn’t understand the type who interfered in their partner’s personal life. Monitoring who they met like a jailer rather than a lover felt more like confinement than a relationship.“Ha.”Kim Seonju let out a hollow laugh and bit her lip. So, it meant that interfering in Woo Yeonjae’s daily life was overstepping. It was an incredibly gentle and considerate way of putting it. If he had said it bluntly, she would have lost all feelings instantly, but the roundabout way hurt her pride.She had never disliked Woo Yeonjae’s way of speaking, but today was an exception.“If you keep acting like this, let’s break up.”“Is that what you want?”His voice, asking casually, was as light as a staccato.“Everything is so easy for you.”Kim Seonju dropped her tightly held crossbody bag. Really? Woo Yeonjae, murmuring as if to himself, finally lowered his eyelids.“Isn’t it easy for you too, Kim Seonju? It feels like I’m being dumped for the second time.”“If a boyfriend I dated for less than a month said he was taking a year off to go abroad, should I wait for him?”“Sure.”A weak laugh escaped through his parted lips.“So you broke up with him easily.”“Yeah, I guess I should have ended it then. If I hadn’t been hanging around near the school after my return, I wouldn’t have run into you.”Kim Seonju raised her hand to remove her earrings. She wanted a cool relationship, but it seemed her standards were very different from Woo Yeonjae’s. Maybe she had genuinely liked him a little. But she didn’t want to continue the relationship by compromising her pride. It was better to cut it off before her feelings grew any stronger.The earring came out easily once the silicone stopper holding the sharp end was removed. Ending the relationship was as simple as removing the earring.“I shouldn’t have dated a guy who wasn’t interested in me. I’m the fool for giving meaning to something like an earring.”Kim Seonju threw the earring at Woo Yeonjae. The white pearl earring fell and rolled on the ground. She looked at Woo Yeonjae’s face rather than the fallen earring on the ground, then turned away without hesitation.“…”Woo Yeonjae slowly bent down and picked up the earring at his feet. He recalled the faint bloodstains on white fingers.The blood-smeared earring had been thrown into the trash as soon as Moon Seoyoon got home.Woo Yeonjae walked leisurely in the opposite direction from where Kim Seonju disappeared. It wasn’t long before a trash can appeared.He casually tossed the earring into it.Just like that time, without a hint of hesitation, an effortlessly easy discard.* * *The car key left on the desk felt strangely out of place. Hesitating, Moon Seoyoon eventually reached out cautiously, as if making up his mind. As he ran his fingers along the smooth curves, memories of the recent past surfaced.He wasn’t sure what possessed him to drive to the dormitory. Even after struggling to swallow the uncontrollable tears, a lot of time had passed.As the car owner had said, the school was quite a distance away. He could have taken a taxi, but he wanted to avoid interacting with people. His mind was too frayed to handle sidelong glances.‘Let’s just get there and think about it then.’He muttered to himself as he got out of the passenger seat, and a warm spring breeze greeted him. Despite the mild air, his steps led him to the driver’s seat. Having driven since he was twenty, handling the car wasn’t difficult.If anything, focusing on driving was a relief. At least until he reached the dormitory, it helped clear his mind a little.The dormitory was quiet on weekends. There was no one around when he parked the car, took the elevator, and walked to his room. Nam Taeun, who often left the dormitory from Friday night until the weekend, was not around either, so there was no need to worry.After placing the car key on the desk, he collapsed onto the bed. He didn’t break down in tears again, but tried to empty his mind. He couldn’t clear his heart as Woo Yeonjae had requested, so he needed to get rid of the distracting thoughts in his head.“Ha…”Eventually, it happened again. Unwanted memories surfaced endlessly like thoughts.Moon Seoyoon sighed, having set down the key, and stood up. His weary steps led him to the bathroom. It wasn’t because he felt like crying; he just wanted to wash his face with cold water.“What a mess.”The reflection in the mirror was a sight to behold. Although his eyelids weren’t swollen, his face looked haggard.Now he understood why Song Jua had looked at him with concern. Claiming he looked worn out from drinking until 4 a.m. with his roommate hadn’t been convincing enough. Given his current state, it was no wonder she hadn’t believed it.By Monday, it should get better. He hadn’t even figured out how to face Woo Yeonjae yet, and he was already thinking about such things. He found himself amusing.Moon Seoyoon shook his head slightly and turned on the faucet. He welcomed the cold water pooling in his hands. He needed to borrow the strength of something else to clear his mind now.After washing his face several times, drops of water fell from the ends of his hair. Just as he was about to submerge his face in the cold water, the sound of the door lock opening reached his ears. Slowly straightening up, he dried his face and left the bathroom.Outside, he saw Nam Taeun leaning against the wall, taking off his shoes. As Moon Seoyoon gently removed the towel pressing against his eyelids, he noticed the white bag hanging from Nam Taeun’s arm.“Hey, did you see the car downstairs?”“Car? No, but you’re already here?”“Oh, come on. Your roommate arrives, and you don’t even bother to welcome him?”It was almost midnight, just two hours before the doors would lock. It didn’t seem like Nam Taeun had come just for a short visit; he was likely planning to stay in the dorm for the rest of the weekend.“What is that?” Nam Taeun placed an envelope on the small table in the middle of the living room.“I saw a car in the parking lot that I didn’t recognize. It’s expensive.”“Ah…”It seemed he was talking about Woo Yeonjae’s car. Somehow feeling awkward, he wondered if he should have kept the car keys out of sight, a belated regret washing over him.Just then, Nam Taeun, who had thrown his wallet and phone on the bed, noticed the keys and turned his head.“What? Is it your car?”“It’s not mine, it’s a friend’s car.”“Friend? Ah, him? Woo Yeon… right?”“Woo Yeonjae.”“Then why do you have his car keys?”Nam Taeun, who had roughly taken off his coat, sat in front of the table and started taking something out of the white envelope. The first thing he saw was a can of beer.“What is it?”“Bossam. I wanted to eat it while passing by, so I bought some. Come and sit down.”Moon Seoyoon put a towel in the laundry basket and sat across from Nam Taeun. Come to think of it, he had barely eaten anything since yesterday. He didn’t feel like eating, but he couldn’t let Nam Taeun eat alone and felt he should eat a few pieces out of courtesy.“Did you meet him today?”Nam Taeun asked casually as he tore open the plastic. He must have figured it out from seeing the keys.“Yesterday.”When he answered a bit late, the gaze became thin.“Well, I guess you handled it well.”Nam Taeun shrugged his shoulders and finished tearing open the plastic. Then he opened a can of beer and handed it over. Moon Seoyoon silently accepted the drink offered to him. If you get caught drinking in the dormitory, wouldn’t you get kicked out? A trivial thought passed through his mind.“Did you say what we practiced last time?”Nam Taeun asked nonchalantly as he put meat on a lettuce leaf. Moon Seoyoon watched him for a moment and took a sip of beer. The liquid that went down his throat was cold.“Yes.”He didn’t know how much Woo Yeonjae would believe, but due to his habit, he wouldn’t have noticed the lie. The lies were told when Woo Yeonjae wasn’t looking, and the rest were honest feelings without an object, so they weren’t lies but truths.“Good job. Here, take this as a sign of my generous heart.”Nam Taeun handed him a piece of bossam wrapped in lettuce. Moon Seoyoon faintly smiled and accepted the wrap, putting it in his mouth. He felt like choking but swallowed it down.“Thanks for the meal.”“If you’re grateful, buy me something delicious next time.”“I’ll buy it when I get my part-time pay.”“It should be something expensive.”Laughing, Nam Taeun shook his can a few times and spoke up.“Hey, puppy.”“Yes?”“Are you okay?”Are you okay. Moon Seoyoon fiddled with the can, beads of water forming on it, and nodded.“I’m really okay, hyung.”“Alright, that’s good. Eat a lot.”It was a relief that Nam Taeun couldn’t detect his lie.