LA0S | Chapter 3

The man smiled, his long, sharp eyes crinkling into crescents. While his lips stretched into a wide grin, Lee Jinha’s expression was blank, his gaze halfway unfocused.

“I’ve heard a lot about you from Youngmin hyung. Really… nice to meet you.”

“…”

Lee Jinha clenched his jaw as he shut his slightly parted lips. He could feel his face growing stiffer by the second. Probably looked just as bad as it felt.

“I heard we’ll be working together for the contest this time. Let’s get along.” Kim Chayoung offered a handshake, his smile soft and unassuming.

Ignoring the extended hand, Lee Jinha stared straight at his face.

“Jinha, what are you doing? Don’t make Chayoung feel awkward.”

Beside him, Shin Youngmin elbowed his ribs, snapping him out of his daze. Instinctively, Jinha took a couple of steps back. It was a reflexive move.

Kim Chayoung’s hand hung in the air as he watched Jinha retreat. His dark eyes glanced downward briefly before settling back on Jinha.

Damn it. He muttered a quiet curse under his breath. Jinha couldn’t even muster the thought to fix his scrunched expression and turned away. His mind was a tangled mess, so scrambled he didn’t even know what he was thinking.

His stomach churned as he swallowed his erratic breaths. The kind of situation he wouldn’t even wish to dream about had unfolded right in front of him. His vision swam.

“Hey, Jinha. Where are you going?”

He heard Youngmin calling from behind, but he ignored it. The only thought in his mind was that he had to get away from here, now. He moved his legs. But before he could take another step, a large hand grabbed his shoulder. The grip was firm, and it turned him effortlessly. Before he knew it, he was facing Kim Chayoung again.

“Oh, shit.”

This time, he couldn’t hold back the curse that slipped through his teeth.

Youngmin’s eyes widened slightly in surprise, and the people lounging around the break room all turned to look at them. The only one unfazed by the commotion was Kim Chayoung. Jinha glared at him, his face twisted into a savage scowl.

This was the worst. He hadn’t expected to run into Kim Chayoung here.

“Hey, Jinha. What’s with the sudden outburst? If you don’t like something, just say it calmly. What kind of rude behavior is this, especially to my junior?”

Youngmin’s lips tightened in annoyance, making it clear he wasn’t happy.

Right. Youngmin was the one who’d brought him here. If it weren’t for him, he wouldn’t have had to see this bastard.

Jinha opened his mouth to respond, but before he could say anything, Chayoung interjected smoothly.

“Must’ve been exciting to meet me again after so long. Jinha and I went to the same high school, you see.”

Chayoung shrugged lightly and spoke to Youngmin, his voice as soft and pleasant as the faint smile on his lips.

“Really? You guys knew each other? Wow, what a small world.”

“Yes. You know how it is, sunbae. The closer you are, the harsher the words.”

“Well, that’s true.” Youngmin nodded in understanding, his frown easing.

The closer you are, the harsher the words? What a load of crap. Even after years, that shameless attitude hadn’t changed a bit.

“I thought there was some bad blood between you two. Sorry for snapping at you, Jinha.”

Jinha let Youngmin’s words pass through one ear and out the other as he shot daggers at Chayoung. He tried to shake off the arm resting on his shoulder, but Chayoung only tightened his grip. How the hell was he so strong?

“Let go.”

“We need to talk, Jinha.”

“Let go unless you want a punch. I’m not just saying it.” Jinha muttered, just loud enough for Chayoung to hear.

“Would a punch make you talk? Go on, then.”

Chayoung answered mockingly, turning his face slightly to offer his cheek. Jinha clenched his fist, his gaze locked on the smooth, irritatingly composed face.

“I have nothing to say.”

“I do. A lot.” He stretched out the word “a lot,” letting out a low chuckle.

“Standing here isn’t comfortable. Let’s sit, shall we? My neck’s starting to hurt.”

Shorter than the two of them, Youngmin joked about respecting the elderly while pointing at a nearby table.

“Hey, let go.”

Jinha was practically dragged to a seat, forced to sit down against his will. As he tried to stand up again, a large hand pressed lightly on his thigh. It wasn’t overly forceful, but it wasn’t gentle either.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m telling you to stay put. Unless you want to see worse.”

What worse could he mean?

Chayoung sat down beside Jinha, pulling his chair closer with a loud scrape. The two hands’ distance between them vanished, leaving them shoulder-to-shoulder.

“Well, since you two already know each other, I guess introductions are unnecessary. Work it out together using this.”

Youngmin pulled a neatly folded paper from his pocket and unfolded it. It was the collaboration contract that he’d drafted and Jinha had reluctantly agreed to.

Leaning forward, Chayoung scanned the printed paper, his lips moving slightly as he read. Unlike the startled and confused Jinha, he was strangely calm.

Right. The contract.

“Sunbae. You said I could decline if it didn’t work for me, right? I’m declining.”

“Huh? Oh. Yeah, I did say that, but… Jinha, this guy’s really talented. You know that, don’t you? You were classmates.”

It didn’t matter how talented Chayoung was. Jinha had no intention of seeing him again, let alone working with him.

“We didn’t get along. I’ll be going now.”

Fearing Chayoung might grab him again, Jinha practically bolted from the break room, taking the stairs two at a time.

“Haah. Hah…”

Only when he was well out of the art building did he finally release the breath he’d been holding. He hadn’t run that far, but it felt like he’d sprinted full-speed. His breathing was a mess.

Clutching his chest, he steadied his steps and walked away from the campus. The wind stung his face, drying the sweat and leaving a prickly sensation.

“…”

The slightly upturned eyes, the soft smile, the low, steady voice. Kim Chayoung. It really was the Chayoung he remembered. This time, his heart pounded for an entirely different reason.

“How the hell is he at our school?”

Kim Chayoung had entered Sege University, not Hankook University. Jinha knew that better than anyone; he’d seen him submit the application himself.

“Wait a second.”

Hadn’t Youngmin said he was a freshman? Did that mean he’d retaken the entrance exam? Or was it a transfer? There wasn’t a huge gap between the two schools, but still—why?

“Doesn’t matter. Not like I’ll see him again.”

Muttering to himself, Jinha clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging into his palms as veins popped on the back of his hands.

ꕥ

“Um, excuse me…”

It was the break between one major class and the next. Having stayed up late for his part-time job, Jinha was dozing off when a voice woke him. He groggily lifted his head.

“Sorry to wake you…”

A girl with long, wavy hair spilling down to her chest stood hesitantly. Jinha didn’t remember her name, only that she was in the same department. Her uneasy gaze made it clear she found him intimidating, but that wasn’t anything new to him.

“What did you say?”

His voice came out husky, still heavy with sleep. She flinched slightly, blinking quickly.

“Oh… Someone’s looking for you.”

She pointed toward the back door.

“For me?”

Who would come looking for him? He didn’t have anyone who’d bother.

Yawning, Jinha turned his head. His sleepy eyes widened, and his lips pressed shut. Drowsiness vanished, replaced by pure irritation.

He quickly averted his gaze as if he hadn’t seen anything.

“Jinha.”

The smooth, unimpeded voice rang through the classroom. Jinha shoved his earbuds in, pretending not to hear. He cranked up the volume on his phone and buried his face in his arms.

He had work right after school and needed to catch up on sleep. Forcing his eyes shut, he tried to will himself back to sleep.

He’d probably leave soon. The guy was sharp enough to get the hint. Slowly, Jinha pulled out one earbud, straining to hear. The faint rustling of people settling down reached him. Maybe class was starting.

As he lifted his head from his arms, a pale face loomed right in front of him, startling him.

“Whoa, what the—!”

“You’re still just as jumpy as ever.”

“Who wouldn’t be in this situation?!”

Trying to calm his racing heart, Jinha’s irritation flared again. Was this guy insane?

“Why are you in someone else’s classroom? Get lost.”

Even as he said it, Jinha couldn’t shake the childishness of his words. But no matter how petty he sounded, he just wanted this guy out of his sight.

Chayoung shrugged and stood, his towering frame casting a shadow over Jinha.