Sunshine Shower

As if he had no intention of teasing further, Woo Yeonjae pulled Moon Seoyoon halfway into an embrace and started flipping through the album. Caught off guard, Seoyoon followed his lead and dropped his gaze.

The position was familiar, so it didn’t feel awkward, but he couldn’t help feeling slightly incredulous. He was surprised at how easily his body had followed when Woo Yeonjae pulled him closer by the waist. It wasn’t even as if Yeonjae had used enough force to hurt him. The memory of his thigh, which hadn’t budged no matter how hard he pushed, left him feeling even more deflated.

Am I really that weak? Sure, Nam Taeun had nagged him to work out more, but still, he was an adult man. Seoyoon glanced at Woo Yeonjae’s thigh, which wasn’t hidden by the album. The difference was clear even to the naked eye. Maybe I really should start working out. As a man, that was his first thought.

“Here it is, a photo of your mom.”

The voice from so close snapped him out of his useless thoughts. Seoyoon’s eyes followed the direction pointed out by those long fingers. A bright face smiling like sunshine was framed within a square.

“That’s right…”

It had been a long time since he’d seen such a lively photo of his mother. Although there were surely pictures back at his family home, for some reason, he had never felt compelled to search them out or open an album until now.

“She’s beautiful.”

His mother, beaming with a wide smile, looked happier than anyone.

“I think this was the day we dyed our nails with balsam flowers.”

Woo Yeonjae tightened his grip slightly on Seoyoon’s waist, as if to bring him closer for a better look.

“What? How do you even remember that?”

“I don’t, actually. But look at our clothes. They’re the same as in the other photo. It’s the same day.”

As he lowered his gaze to the next photo, he saw a picture of himself and Woo Yeonjae staring at their nails. The two young boys were looking intently at their small fingernails. Woo Yeonjae had an indifferent expression, while Seoyoon was grinning from ear to ear.

“Woo Yeonjae, why do you look like that in every picture? You look like a kid who’s already seen it all.”

If he had been pouting or upset, it would have made sense, but in almost every photo, Woo Yeonjae had a face that showed complete indifference to the world. Seoyoon chuckled and turned his head toward Yeonjae, as if making a joke. Contrary to his expectation that Yeonjae would just brush it off, Woo Yeonjae squinted one eye.

“What’s wrong?”

It almost seemed like there was a hint of discomfort mixed in.

“Do I look weird?”

His brow furrowed slightly before he let it drop, following the downward curve of his eyebrows. Woo Yeonjae pouted, asking the question in a way that he only did when he was deliberately playing the weakling. Seoyoon gently pushed his childhood friend away, sensing that he was about to start snuggling again.

“It’s not that you look weird… You smile a lot more now. It’s just interesting.”

“You kept telling me to smile more.”

“Did I?”

“Yeah. I always listen to you, Seoyoon.”

Did I? Seoyoon’s memory wasn’t particularly sharp, and while he had countless memories of their time together, he couldn’t recall specific conversations. Still, it was true that Yeonjae smiled more now than he did as a kid.

“You look better when you smile.”

Seoyoon stared at Woo Yeonjae as he spoke. Normally, he would have been too scared to look him in the eye, worried that his feelings might be discovered, but now, thinking he was just giving an objective opinion, he could look at him calmly.

“When you don’t smile, you’re kind of…”

How should I put it? Seoyoon carefully chose his words.

“Scary.”

When Woo Yeonjae stood there with a cold expression, his sharp features and the icy aura he exuded made him seem unapproachable. His striking appearance, combined with his frosty demeanor, only added to the impression. At least when he smiled, it softened his features and made him seem more human.

“That’s the first time I’ve heard I’m scary.”

“Well, that’s because you smile a lot now. But if you just stood there with a blank face, you’d look like you have a terrible personality.”

“You’re just saying whatever you want right to my face, huh?”

Woo Yeonjae laughed, squinting his eyes. There was no trace of displeasure in his laughter.

“Kim Hyunseung would probably say the same thing. I’ve known you since we were kids, so it doesn’t bother me, but if I were meeting you for the first time now, I don’t think I’d ever try to talk to you. Especially if you weren’t smiling.”

“So you’re saying we only became friends because we met as kids.”

Seoyoon nodded absentmindedly as he turned another page in the album. In the next picture, Woo Yeonjae still had that bored expression.

“Maybe. Kids don’t really care about how they come across to others. That’s why they make friends so easily.”

“Make friends easily? You’re saying I’m just ‘anyone’?”

The arm around his waist tightened, and he felt the soft touch of Woo Yeonjae’s hair on his shoulder again. Seoyoon, who had been flipping through the album alone, finally turned his head. Woo Yeonjae was leaning his head on Seoyoon’s shoulder, playfully clinging to him again. It was obvious he was about to start teasing him.

“It’s just an expression. You’re definitely not ‘anyone.’”

Even if he lived his entire life, Woo Yeonjae would never fall into the category of ‘just anyone.’

Seemingly satisfied with that answer, Woo Yeonjae slowly pulled away, his eyes rolling upward to look at Seoyoon.

“Yeah, that’s how it should be.”

Even though he hadn’t said anything particularly wrong, Seoyoon suddenly felt the need to tread carefully.

“But Seoyoon.”

At the subtly lowered tone, Seoyoon blinked in response instead of speaking.

“Don’t smile.”

“Huh?”

“It’ll only attract weirdos.”

Moon Seoyoon absentmindedly touched his cheek as the thought crossed his mind. He knew well enough what his own appearance conveyed. In short, he looked easygoing, even approachable. That was why people often stopped him on campus under the pretext of promoting their clubs or asking for directions to places clearly visible ahead.

“No wonder those cult freaks latch onto you like that.”

When Woo Yeonjae heard about it, he would simply say, “Some cult guys tried to get you? Just ignore them.” Kim Hyunseung, too, often remarked, “Moon, you look like the kind of guy who’d get mixed up with weirdos and end up ruining your life,” making it clear that Yeonjae’s comments weren’t entirely off the mark.

“I’m not exactly someone who smiles a lot, though…”

He was aware that his appearance might seem weak for a guy, but that didn’t mean he went around smiling all the time. While he wasn’t the type to be assertive enough to ignore people who approached him, he also wasn’t someone who smiled too easily.

“Just be careful. Don’t get caught up in some bullshit situation.”

“What kind of situation would that even be…? Okay, I got it.”

It was a scary world, after all, so there was no harm in being cautious. Seoyoon gave a vague answer and shifted his gaze back to the album.

The album, filled with photos taken by Woo Yeonjae’s mother, featured many pictures of Seoyoon’s own mother. It was only natural since parents were always around when they were kids, about six or seven years old.

“Do you want to take it with you?”

Noticing Seoyoon’s lingering gaze, Woo Yeonjae asked lightly.

“No, I think it’s better if it stays here.”

He didn’t really have a place to store it even if he took it. Albums could always be replaced, but since he didn’t often visit his family home, there wasn’t much point in bringing a picture of his mother to his empty room. It was better for it to stay at Woo Yeonjae’s house, where at least his aunt might look at it from time to time.

“I’ll just come by to see it sometimes.”

That was the better option.

* * *

Woo Yeonjae’s eyelids drooped. Moon Seoyoon, who had been nodding off, was now completely asleep, leaning his head against Yeonjae’s shoulder. Just like when he was a child, he would take a nap after lunch, and it seemed that habit had returned now that they were back at his family home.

Or rather, maybe it wasn’t a habit that had resurfaced but one that had never really gone away. Even in high school, he used to take quick naps ten minutes before afternoon classes started. It was hard to say for sure, since they had spent so much time apart after going to university.

Even while dozing off, Seoyoon held the album tightly. If it had been Yeonjae’s hand instead of the album, he would have gripped it just as tightly. Yeonjae wasn’t so indifferent to his childhood friend that he didn’t know about his little sleep habits.

“…”

It was easy to get Seoyoon to come out of the dorm. A plausible excuse, like his parents wanting to see him, was more than enough. After that, Yeonjae had even secured a promise that Seoyoon would spend the weekend at his apartment, but whether Seoyoon actually thought of it as a regular weekend thing was uncertain.

But Yeonjae had no intention of pushing him too hard. It was better to slowly reel him in without him noticing rather than scaring him off.

He highly doubted Seoyoon would do anything reckless at the dorm, but just the thought of him sharing that cramped space with another guy was unsettling. Maybe that’s why the anxiety kept creeping in, because he was starting to realize that Seoyoon had slipped away from him to the military and then the dormitory.

Once that sense of danger had taken root, it only grew darker and more insidious with time, never fully subsiding.

Yeonjae looked down at his peacefully sleeping friend, every nerve on edge. His gaze traveled over Seoyoon’s delicate features, finally resting on his slender waist.

When he had suddenly hugged him earlier, Seoyoon had flinched and recoiled, something uncharacteristic of him. Yeonjae had been hugging him like this since they were six years old.

There had been a few times when Seoyoon had reacted similarly. Specifically, it seemed to have started after they reunited following Yeonjae’s discharge from the military.

Yeonjae frowned slightly, a dry chuckle escaping from his slightly parted lips.

“How on earth did you end up getting touched by someone else…?”

Along with the anxiety and sense of impending danger, a sudden surge of unpleasant irritation welled up within him.