Chapter 34: The Lunatic Who Received a Middle-Finger Emoji as a Good-Night Kiss

Thankfully, Haejin didn’t leave—he just stood there. When their eyes met, he smiled like he’d been waiting.

“What? Not going in?”

“I’m seriously asking—delete the photo.”

“Requests can be refused, right?”

“No, they can’t. If you don’t delete it, the conditional deal is off.”

“If the negotiation breaks, I’m fine with that too. No phone means I can chase you everywhere again.”

“Haa…”

Lee Chae sighed; Haejin giggled and added,

“I won’t show anyone, I’ll keep it to myself. I’ll only use it at night for a little while.”

Use it at night was scarier than posting it on the school board.

Lee Chae glared like he was about to vomit.

“Delete it while I’m asking nicely.”

He said it as menacingly as possible. Haejin seemed to get the message and offered alternatives.

“Nothing’s free—pick one of three.”

Nothing ever came free with this guy.

Since there were three, one had to be normal. Lee Chae decided to hear him out.

“Fine, let’s hear them.”

“Option 1: two-hour call tonight.”

“Nope.”

“Option 2: movie tomorrow.”

“No time.”

“F*ck.”

Haejin muttered under his breath and went silent—he knew this was his last shot.

“One chance. Choose wisely.”

He suddenly grinned.

In the dim alley, the faint light from a broken streetlamp cast shadows on Haejin’s pale cheeks.

Even the lighting made him look unfairly good.

Lee Chae didn’t want to look, but his eyes kept drifting—annoying.

“Then send me a photo you’re satisfied with. Whatever you send, I’ll delete the one from earlier.”

Definitely easier than 1 or 2.

Lee Chae didn’t say no.

Haejin’s grin widened; Lee Chae’s heart felt like it would explode.

He wasn’t sick, yet every time this guy smiled, his heart went haywire.

“What, you hate this too?”

“No, I’ll do it. I’m going in first.”

The quiet alley, his abnormally loud heartbeat—terrified it might be heard, Lee Chae turned quickly.

He opened the rusty gate, slammed the door shut, and leaned against it.

His heart was racing like crazy.

Back at Legion, Haejin collapsed on the bed without changing, opened the phone, and admired Lee Chae’s photo.

No matter how many times he looked, it was hilarious—yet his body kept heating up.

“Haa… let’s put out the urgent fire first.”

He had to delete this photo once Lee Chae sent a new one.

So he had to enjoy it fully now.

Haa…

Staring until the screen might burn, Haejin recalled their intense first-contact guiding.

The scorching heat wherever those hands touched, the endless breaths from slightly parted lips, the wide eyes that looked fiercer and thus cuter, the desire that couldn’t be hidden no matter how hard he tried…

Thoughts speeding up, mouth falling open, breath growing hot.

He called Lee Chae’s name over and over, frantically trying to release the heat pooling in his chest.

But the body heated up again instantly.

He couldn’t cool down.

“This is driving me insane!”

He took a cold shower.

While toweling his hair, a message ping arrived.

Lee Chae glaring angrily at the lens.

“Aigoo, so scary.”

They’d only just parted, yet the soft, pale Lee Chae floated before his eyes.

He zoomed in, stared until sick of it, then traced the lips on the screen with his finger.

It was impossible, but the cheeks in the photo seemed to flush.

Toes tingled, stomach boiled with heat.

Mouth dry, he licked his lips and wore down every feature with his fingertips.

How long had it been since the last release…

Haejin laughed hollowly but couldn’t let go of the phone.

Looked like sleep was impossible tonight.

“You have no sense. At least send a text with the photo.”

Searching for a reason to message, he opened his album.

There was the earlier funny-pretty Lee Chae and the new scary-pretty one glaring at the camera.

He deleted the old one, leaving only the new, screenshotted the album, and sent it.

[Did what you asked, so gimme a kiss.]

After a long while:

[ㅗ]

Haejin burst out laughing the moment he saw it.

“Pfft—”

He got flipped off and still laughed.

He thought for a second and sent:

[You have to give me the middle finger in person for me to eat it. I’ll eat well.]

[ㅗㅗㅗㅗㅗ.]

Imagining Lee Chae cursing with a non-threatening face, he couldn’t stop laughing.

“Guess I have to go first again.”

[mwah mwah /lips/ /lips/ /lips/]

No reply came, but it was still fun.

That night Haejin couldn’t sleep from excitement.

So he woke up at dawn, stood in front of the closet with a fluttering heart.

Casual felt too plain; the uniform got good reactions but was overkill for daily wear.

Jae-hyung stumbled in reeking of alcohol and looked at him pitifully.

“Hyung, the uniform is a definite no. Japchae—no, future sister-in-law will make a rotting face.”

“Then pick for me.”

Jae-hyung said it was easy, stood beside him, and flipped through clothes.

He picked casually but quickly put together a decent semi-suit.

“You have a good body so anything looks flashy. Better to tone it down. Clean shirt and trousers are best, but if you want to dress up a little, wear this.”

He smelled like liquor, so it wasn’t very trustworthy, but Jae-hyung was popular, so Haejin decided to believe him.

“Problem at headquarters? Meeting? Why are you dressed like that?”

Huk.

Total failure.

Lee Chae didn’t say “cool”—he looked like he was staring at a creepy middle-aged man.

“Someone who already stands out dressing like that just draws more eyes. Walk separately.”

Lee Chae slung his backpack over both shoulders and fled.

He’d dressed up to look good, and this was the result…

The unexpected reaction was shocking.

Haejin stood dazed for a while, then snapped out of it and ran after him.

“We agreed to go together.”

“We are together.”

No comeback.

All he could do was walk fast…

On the bus, getting off, walking to school—Lee Chae said nothing.

Haejin followed silently, gradually slowing down.

He saw a tiny hamster forcibly puffing itself up and marching.

So that’s how he walked.

Waiting for infrequent buses, walking dangerous empty roads alone, silently…

No complaints, no whining, just quietly…

Haejin unknowingly muttered,

“Our Lee Chae is really amazing.”

“What nonsense.”

Lee Chae turned and stared.

Haejin smiled softly.

“I said you’re cool…”

He expected another “stop talking nonsense,” but Lee Chae just cleared his throat and turned away.

Every tiny reaction on the walk together felt special to Haejin.

This must be first love.

When he’d casually said it at Legion, Jin-woo said first love sucked, Jae-hyung said only current love mattered—but to Haejin, first love was this mysterious experience where everything with Lee Chae felt extraordinary.

Staring at Lee Chae in a trance, they reached the library.

Wednesday—no class for hours. Probably planning to study.

“You’re not coming to class, right?”

“Yeah. I keep promises.”

Relieved, Lee Chae turned—then an irritating voice rang out.

“Jung Lee Chae.”

“Yeo-jun hyung, what brings you here?”

“A friend goes here, came to return something he left and saw you.”

“Ah… so nice to see you like this!”

“Right?”

Lee Chae’s eyes went round, smiling brightly at the guy.

BAM! A huge rock dropped on Haejin’s chest.

It felt excessive for mere annoyance at a pest.

I’ve felt this before…

Haejin narrowed his eyes at the guy.

The guy looked back.

Good-looking, but hostility in his eyes.

From Lee Chae’s personality and their conversation, not a student here—probably from the cleanup crew.

“Hello? You’re Esper Cha Haejin, right?”

Haejin decided to test if this was a pest or not.

“Yes, you know me. Our Lee Chae must talk about me a lot.”

Yeo-jun smirked.

“No. We only work at the cleanup crew. You’re famous, though—everyone knows you, not just me.”

An odd tension flowed between them.

That answer alone didn’t tell Haejin if the guy was a pest or not.

He definitely has a problem with me…

But whether that problem was romantic rivalry was unclear.

While glaring at the man, Lee Chae suddenly cut in.

“If you’re done, go.”

He’s telling me to leave? Not that guy?

Haejin was too dumbfounded to speak.