#Side Story, In Heat - 7
Seeing Seung-jo's expression, which was even more rigid than when he had heard "You only think about Kang Mu-heon" earlier in the day, Young-ui smiled, showing his teeth as if he had expected this, and slightly raised his upper body.
"You hate it even when other guys just mention Kang Mu-heon's name. When Mu-heon comes to your side, you try not to let him go. Even though you can't win in kendo, you get even more upset if he wins in something else. Meanwhile, he doesn't even care. And then you treat Mu-heon exceptionally well. Isn't that right?"
"You... what are you?"
It gave him goosebumps. Seung-jo, wearing an expression of incomprehension, unconsciously stepped back slightly and stood up, causing Young-ui to make a face as if he was about to burst into laughter.
"I told you. I'm a homo with nothing better to do who's been watching your stupid actions for a year."
He thought he should turn away immediately, but strangely, he couldn't. Words he didn't want to hear were digging into his ears with unusual clarity.
"You seem to think the feelings you have now are just for a friend, but not only me, almost everyone who sees you doesn't think so."
"..."
"Your face is saying 'don't be ridiculous'. Should I give you the best example that even you can understand?"
"What."
"Every time Kang Mu-heon takes off his clothes to put on his kendo uniform."
The moment he heard those words, an image of Mu-heon appeared large and detailed in Seung-jo's mind, which had rarely imagined anything before.
It was a familiar sight. After school classes ended, they would go to the kendo club room, where they had to take off their school uniform shirts and pants to put on the kendo uniform. Every time, Mu-heon would carelessly chat with him while stripping off his clothes right in front of him, not caring about others' gazes, which irritated Seung-jo so much. There were times when he even got angry, wondering if Mu-heon wasn't embarrassed at all even when others looked at him.
Seeing Seung-jo frown as he recalled those times, Young-ui said, "Yes, that's the face."
"You make a face like you're about to die from displeasure."
"...I just don't like how he undresses anywhere without any sense of shame."
"Why should he be ashamed?"
"Because other guys are watching."
"If that's the case, shouldn't you hate it more when you undress in such places? But you change clothes and leave without changing your expression at all."
"That's..."
Young-ui spoke to Seung-jo, who had opened his mouth but fell silent, unable to think of a rebuttal.
"You still don't think it's strange? If it's okay for you to undress in front of others, why shouldn't your friend do the same? Is Kang Mu-heon a girl or something? He's not."
At Young-ui's words, Seung-jo suddenly felt his mind becoming confused. Young-ui didn't give Seung-jo a chance to think and delivered his final words.
"No one calls that kind of concern friendship. Think carefully about what you've been doing until tomorrow. And let's meet here again at night."
The next dawn, the boys who woke up rubbing their sleepy eyes folded their blankets in unison and went outside for morning training. Mu-heon asked curiously to Seung-jo, who was blinking his bloodshot eyes from not having slept a wink last night.
"What's wrong with your eyes? Do you have an eye infection?"
"No. It's just because soap got in earlier when I was washing my face, and I had to rinse it out hard."
"You should have been more careful. Ah... maybe it's because we're in the mountains, but the dawn air is so fresh, I like it. This is the kind of place where sweating feels good."
"...Yeah."
Every time he saw Mu-heon's enthusiastic face, he kept remembering what Young-ui had said last night, making it difficult to look at him properly. As they lined up in the front yard, feeling tired from not having slept, the instructor who had been waiting announced today's schedule.
"Boys. I don't know if you slept well. Yesterday was a bit tough, wasn't it? Today we'll start with pair training and jogging at dawn, then have breakfast and basic posture training, have lunch and light sparring, have dinner and a talent show for bonding, and then it's bedtime!"
"Ugh..."
"You brats, does just hearing it make you sick? Hahaha. Well then, let's start with the training now. Pair up in twos!"
"Seung-jo. He..."
"Mu-heon! Do you want to try with... with me?"
As Mu-heon turned around to call Seung-jo as if it were natural, suddenly a bear-like guy rushed up to him and snorted. Seung-jo's face, who had been approaching thinking he would naturally be with Mu-heon, hardened terribly.
The kids around them saw Seung-jo's face and slowly backed away, but Mu-heon and the bear-like guy didn't notice.
"You want to do it with me?"
"Yeah. Don't you want to?"
The moment he saw the bear's aggressive approach making Mu-heon look troubled, Seung-jo completely lost his reason.
"Kang Mu-heon. You called me earlier."
As he approached with a chilling smile, pushing the bear aside, Mu-heon nodded.
"Oh, together..."
"You called to do it together, right?"
Seung-jo held out his hand as he watched his friend slowly nod while glancing at the bear's expression.
"Okay, then let's go."
"Hey, Jeong Seung-jo! Suddenly butting in... uh..."
The bear, who had pushed Seung-jo's shoulder without knowing his place, froze the moment their eyes met, seeing a killing intent unbefitting a boy.
"It seems you didn't hear just now, but you're the one who butted in."
The smile on his face was gentle, but his eyes were full of anger. Taking advantage of the gap when the completely cowed bear unconsciously stepped back a few paces, Seung-jo grabbed Mu-heon's arm and pulled.
"Uh... hey man, Seung-jo, wait a second...! Seong-woo, sorry but I'll go first."
Most of the kids were watching this commotion with surprised expressions, but only one person, Hong Young-ui, wasn't hiding his smiling face.
That night, Seung-jo looked at Mu-heon's sleeping face beside him and kept recalling his own behavior today.
Himself getting angry when Mu-heon talked with other guys, himself raging when Mu-heon changed clothes in front of other guys, himself only wanting Mu-heon to be by his side...
He knew that all of these were not very good emotions as a friend. At best, it was intense jealousy, and at worst, strong possessiveness.
Hi, if you like the story, please rate and review this novel on novelupdates. Thanks!
Jin Soram, the top-ranked hunter representing South Korea's Rift Phenomenon Management Headquarters, is stronger than anyone else and lazier than anyone else. As soon as he arrives at the office, he buries himself under a blanket and falls asleep. When he goes out on a mission, he causes accidents and returns to the office, often shirking his duties.
"Do you know how it feels to play a game that's already messed up? ...Anyway, the next round will come, so this time, I'm just going to play it recklessly."
In fact, his true identity is someone who has regressed through three lives, trying to save the world from the Great Rift but failing each time. After repeating a life where he couldn't sleep peacefully even for a day, he became completely exhausted before this life even began.
"I know. You worked hard, Jin Soram."
And then there's Han Tae-un, the man who saved Soram and died in all three previous lives. As he did in every life, he comes to Soram's side once again. The Great Rift is approaching soon. It's impossible to resolve it in this life without any preparation. Soram vows to save Tae-un in this life and die himself. At least, he won't let Tae-un save a failure like himself again.
"For now, until then, let's sleep..."
As Soram sluggishly lives his life waiting for that moment, a gradual change occurs in his heart.
'I thought this was a messed-up round... but I want to live a little longer here.'
Leonardo Blaine, the true war hero of the Raina Logia Empire and the commander of the Armsilver 11th Squad, is dishonorably discharged for disobeying orders during the final battle that could have led the Empire to victory in the territorial war. People criticize and point fingers at him, and after being released on parole from prison, he disappears without a trace.
Three years later, his name has been forgotten by the world. The Council has been persistently pursuing him, but he has proven difficult to capture. Frustrated by this, Hugo Agrizendro, the commander of the Council's army, decides to personally apprehend him.
"Since when have you been watching me?"
Leonardo was calculative and astute, so it wouldn't be surprising if he had been observing Hugo for some time now. However, Leonardo's answer was something that even Hugo had not anticipated.
"From the very beginning."
Graduate student Yi-han finds himself reborn in another world as the youngest child of a mage family.
– I’m never attending school, ever again!
‘What do you wish to achieve in life?’
‘I wish to play around and live comforta-‘
‘You must be aware of your talent. Now go attend Einroguard!’
‘Patriarch!’
My future would be guaranteed once I graduate. For my future!
Check out these other novels as well!!!
