Attention.
Jiho hated that word the most.
The cold air hit his face as he yanked open the fridge door.
And now, he was getting a front-row seat to what it felt like to be a local celebrity.
The kind you didn't sign up to be.
Although he was a little embarrassed by the whole thing, but it was even more annoying to have people point at him and giggle behind his back.
He'd officially become the campus gossip headline of the week.
Well, I'd bet they'll forget about it in a few days.
Jiho pressed down his head and threw a stock of his favorite energy drink into the basket from the shelves.
Somewhere nearby, a pair of students were whispering.
"Hey, did you see that clip? The one with Seo Minjae?"
"Yeah, it's everywhere. Poor guy who got hit though..."
Yun Jiho tightened his grip on the basket and calmly shifted his gaze. He walked away quietly, without drawing attention.
Haa...
People really loved turning someone else's misery into entertainment.
Not that he placed that much importance on it.
Jiho was on his way to a nearby café when Kyungho called.
He figured it would be better than the cafeteria in terms of privacy.
Tsk.
"What's up?" Jiho answered flatly, already throwing in a warning. "If this is about that shit again, don't even start..."
"Can't I call you just because I missed you?"
"Cut the crap."
Kyungho fell silent, then changed the subject. "...Where are you right now?"
"Outside. Why?"
"Oh. Outside where? I'm also just outside... Let's meet up."
Why did he sound so excited?
"That's not necessary. It's troublesome." Jiho said, then he push the café door open. The bell overhead jingle as he stepped inside. "I'm just going to have lunch."
"That so? Well... can't be helped." Kyungho said resignedly. "I wanted to introduce you to some cool seniors. Seriously, it's not because of the project or anything... But you'll like them. Though you might already know some of the—"
For some reason, Kyungho suddenly trailed off.
"Mmm… Are you, by any chance, at Seal Café? The one near campus?"
Hmm?
Jiho glanced at the aesthetic signboard hanging above the counter.
Rustic wood with "Seal Café" painted in minimalist white.
"…Yun Jiho."
Kyungho's voice called out. Strangely, the voice on the other side of the phone seems to overlapped with reality.
This was definitely off-campus.
A remote café that hardly had any customers.
Perfect to avoid any unwanted attention.
But—
Why the hell are these guys here?!
"Jiho-ya, come here!"
At first glance, Kyungho was cheerfully waving him over without a clue.
Yun Jiho furrowed his brows when he noticed the group of people seated at the makeshift long table.
If that one guy hadn't been practically glowing like a human lightbulb, Jiho might've missed him entirely.
Seo Minjae.
The center of all his current problems.
But with every pair of eyes locked on him, he had no choice but to walk over.
Jiho briefly glanced at the other side and muttered, "What a coincidence…"
"That's right," Seo Minjae replied, lounging back in his chair carelessly. "I didn't know you liked this café enough to run here every day."
If it weren't for that damn video, why do you think he'll come this far.
Everyone was staring at him like a monkey in an exhibition.
Jiho sat down at the seat Kyungho had vacated and shot back flatly, "That's up to me."
Noting the cynical smile spreading across Minjae's face, Jiho took a deep breath. He had never met someone so unpredictably annoying.
"Sunbae, is it that entertaining?"
Seo Minjae turned his gaze to him with a lazy glint in his eyes. The faint tug at the corner of his lips didn't go unnoticed by Jiho.
"Is it that obvious?" Minjae nodded, then with a pleasant grin he admitted. "I'm having a lot of fun right now."
Screw this scumbag.
The others at the table listened with doubt, trying to make sense of the strange riddle they were playing. Probably only Jiho and Minjae knew what the hell was actually going on.
Jiho gripped the glass tightly, barely resisting the urge to dump the whole water jug on that smug face.
"Okay, okay! Everyone, this is my friend—Yun Jiho." Kyungho thoughtfully interrupted and clapped his hand, cutting in like the world's most oblivious host.
"He's the one I was talking about. In short, he's like Minjae-sunbae's counterpart. That kind of presence in our department…"
Jiho listened as Kyungho continued to blabbered on.
He couldn't hide the twitch in his brows.
Like his other half? My foot.
Say that again!
And why the hell are you handing out my biography?
Jiho squeezed Kyungho's arm secretly, and said through gritted teeth. "That's enough."
Oh.
Their eyes met in thin air, Kyungho gulped at the threatening stare.
Basically meaning: you've said enough, hand over the mic to someone else before I murder you.
"Ahem! Um… Minjae-sunbae, you already know Jiho, right?"
Kyungho's eyes darted nervously as he tried to cleared his throat. Just in time to accidentally catch Seo Minjae staring at Jiho.
He came back to life in an instant and cheerfully concluded.
"Well, what are the chances. We've got both the current stars of Hankyeong in one place."
Kyungho laughed weakly.
Anything but that.
Jiho narrowed his eyes and pinched the nearest bit of Kyungho's skin without mercy.
Heh.
Can someone kindly dump this guy outside? Preferably headfirst?
***
Dead center.
Seo Minjae chuckled contentedly as he watched Jiho's face visibly darkened.
He glanced at the clueless guy standing next to him.
Lee Kyungho—? I like this guy.
Jiho shot him a glare at the sound of his laughter.
Who said this guy was expressionless?
Minjae smiled to himself.
Well, it was totally worth the effort.
After all, Jiho had been dodging him like a contagious disease all week.
But if he thought Seo Minjae was the type to back off that easily…
Then he didn't know a damn thing.