Lines and Boundaries
"Exactly. Yeonjae, who would you cut?"
A faint smile hung on Seo Jio's face as he asked, unhurried.
"...Do I even get a say in this?"
"Anyone can see you're the one who does."
How on earth had he arrived at that conclusion?
Puzzling as it was, if I did hold the deciding vote, the answer came easy.
"Then you."
"..."
The corners of Seo Jio's leisurely grin stiffened just a touch.
"That's cold. Why me? Bihyeok was the one glaring first."
Why should I care about that?
What image exactly was this guy expecting from me? I wondered what I must have looked like in that fan meeting video, and I couldn't shake my irritation.
"I'm thinking logically. Originally it was Seojin, Bihyeok, and me eating together. If things got uncomfortable once you joined, then you're the one who should be cut."
My calm assessment drew a response at a noticeably faster pace than before.
"If you're going to be logical, wouldn't it be better for each class to eat with its own classmates? It's easier, and Bihyeok has friends in the music department anyway, doesn't he?"
"Fair point."
It was a reasonable argument, so I conceded it. Whereupon Noh Bihyeok turned to look at me as though I'd betrayed him.
Seriously, what are you two doing.
"Shall we do that, then? From now on, we eat 'logically' with our own classes?"
"Lee Yeonjae."
If they wanted to fight, why not just slug it out openly? Why did they have to drag me into the middle of it?
As I turned my head around helplessly, I found Baek Seojin watching our exchange with bright, entertained eyes.
Neither here nor there was anyone I could count on.
Swallowing the sigh rising up my throat, I spoke.
"Let me ask just one question first. Are you absolutely sure I have a say in this?"
No one answered, but all three faces read as an emphatic yes.
So I smiled and gave my answer.
"Then I'll be the one to leave. You three eat together."
"...!"
I rose without a trace of regret, and Baek Seojin grabbed me by the right leg.
"Why me! I haven't done anything wrong! Yeonjae!"
"Seojin. Let go of—"
"Those two were just having some stupid power struggle. I'm perfectly happy with my seat right now!"
What power struggle? And what did she mean, happy with her seat?
My head was starting to ache. I managed, barely, to pry her off.
"The bell's about to ring. Let's head back to our classroom for now."
"Sure. We're 'same class' after all — we should stick together, hm?"
Seo Jio smiled pointedly as he looked at Noh Bihyeok. Enough, already.
Catching my look, Baek Seojin smacked Seo Jio on the back and hauled him off by the collar.
In a moment, Noh Bihyeok and I were alone.
"Bihyeok. Do you not like Seo Jio?"
It didn't seem like a situation that called for beating around the bush, so I asked outright.
Noh Bihyeok hesitated a moment, then gave a small nod.
"Why? Do you two know each other?"
"No, I met him for the first time today."
"So you just don't like him, then."
"...Yeah."
Fair enough. I nodded along quietly.
Did anyone need a special reason to dislike a person? I knew perfectly well that sometimes there was no reason at all — just a reluctance to get close. There was no way I wouldn't understand that.
"Sorry. You're in the same class as him, and I went and made things awkward for no reason."
I told the sulking, apologetic Noh Bihyeok that it was fine.
It wasn't as if I'd had any particular intention of getting close to Seo Jio either.
His motive for approaching me was obvious. He was the kind of kid who couldn't hide what was in his eyes. Just like—
Like you.
I studied Noh Bihyeok quietly for a moment, then spoke gently.
"Bihyeok. You don't need to get along with everyone. That's not something anyone can actually do."
"..."
"Still, thinking about your debut down the line, I'd say it's better not to make enemies if you can help it. Let's try to keep you running into Seo Jio as little as possible."
When I said lunch might be better off as just the two of us from now on, Noh Bihyeok wavered, then agreed.
Then he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
He clearly knew he'd been acting childish.
"Lee Yeonjae. I'm sorry..."
"I told you, it's fine. Do you have training tonight? If not, let's grab dinner together."
"Okay..."
That deflated voice somehow sat wrong with me.
He should have been joking back — why can't we just shamelessly eat together, huh? — because that suited him far better.
And all of this had started the moment that guy showed up.
"Yeonjae. What? Is there something on my face? Good looks?"
"..."
The face that greeted me the second we returned to the classroom left my feelings decidedly mixed.
Maybe he really is contagious.
I'd had no particular thoughts about it, yet somehow it had become awkward just looking at Seo Jio.
"Wow. So now you're not even going to respond to me at all?"
"I like quiet."
Still, I couldn't outright ignore someone talking to my face.
If I gave him just enough acknowledgment, I figured his pride would take the hint and he'd back off on his own.
Which is to say — I hadn't expected him to hold out this long.
"Seojin."
"Yeah?"
"Could you check my ear? I think it's bleeding."
"...You poor thing, our Yeonjae."
Before I knew it, the final bell had rung, and Seo Jio was still planted beside me.
A full day of being harassed by him had left me utterly drained.
Baek Seojin handed me a piece of candy, cheering me on. If only she'd just taken him away instead.
"What's the candy for? Where's mine?"
"...You're not going home?"
"I waited so we could walk together."
The reply, delivered as if it were the most natural thing in the world, wrung a sigh out of me at last.
Even with me sighing openly right in front of him, Seo Jio remained serenely smiling.
"Seo Jio."
"Can't you call me Jio? You're oddly cold to me specifically. Is it my imagination?"
"It's not."
I didn't have the strength left to soften my tone anymore.
"That's harsh."
"You're right. I am being harsh right now. So why don't you go play with someone else."
"No thanks. No one else is as famous as you."
So he wasn't even going to pretend to hide it anymore.
The sheer audacity of him saying it outright was, in a strange way, funny.
When I laughed without a sound, Seo Jio slowly reached out his hand.
"I want to be close with you, the way that Noh Bihyeok kid is. I want a taste of your popularity too."
His neat, white hand tapped against mine where it hung at my side.
"There's a precedent sitting right there, so I assumed you'd accept me too. But is there a reason Bihyeok gets a yes and I don't?"
Tap, tap. The light touch against my hand felt like it was jabbing into my cheek.
How was even this identical to Noh Bihyeok?
The fleeting observation pulled a dry laugh out of me.
"It's not that I dislike you, specifically. But that doesn't mean I have any reason to get close to you either. There's nothing in it for me."
At my quiet reply, Seo Jio's brow furrowed.
"And what benefit has Noh Bihyeok given you?"
"He's fun."
"I'm pretty sure I'm more fun than he is."
"He's already enough."
It was a fortress of a conversation — impregnable on every side.
Yet even against that tight, seamless wall, he kept relentlessly wedging himself in. Honestly, impressive.
Far from being offended, Seo Jio looked oddly more energized than before.
"Then I'd better get closer to you, shouldn't I? I'll show you there are feelings more satisfying than 'enough.'"
"..."
This kid is genuinely not normal.
I had no idea how I was going to shake him loose. The road ahead looked impossibly long.
A sigh packed full with my frustration sat right on the verge of bursting out.
And yet — sharp instincts after all, apparently — Seo Jio raised both hands in surrender.
"Fine. That's it for today. We'll talk tomorrow."
"You've just made me want to skip school for the first time in my life. Congratulations."
"Wow. I'm your first? I'm honored."
"..."
Conversations were supposed to be held with people.
What exactly was I doing, talking to someone with whom communication was impossible?
It wasn't worth spending the energy to be annoyed, so I simply stood up.
"See you tomorrow, Yeonjae."
I glanced briefly at his loosely drooping eyes, then turned my back without a word.
Just ignore him. He'll drop off eventually.
Surrender.
I lost. I lost, okay.
With a worn-out face, I called over the kid fidgeting in front of me.
"Seo Jio."
"Call me Ji—"
"Yeah, got it. Jio. Let's talk."
It took a full week for me to learn this: even ignoring someone takes stamina.
Seo Jio was not an ordinary lunatic.
On day three, I'd finally broken down and brought earplugs to school.
The moment class ended, I'd shove them in — and Seo Jio, entirely unbothered, would crouch down right beside me anyway.
Then, with a bright smile, he'd write on slips of memo paper and stick them onto my arm, one by one.
I peeled them all off and threw them away without reading a single one. So the next day, he typed something on his phone and thrust the screen in front of my eyes.
Yeonjae~ I can make your day way more fun ♥
The letters floated this way and vanished that way, flashing with garish light effects. I could only stare, dumbfounded.
This wasn't an idol concert. It was the first time I'd ever seen someone use an LED marquee app on their phone — in a classroom.
I endured, and endured, and only as the week mark approached did I finally admit it.
That this was a kid I had no capacity to handle.
I dragged Seo Jio to a quiet spot behind the sports field.
"Jio. I lost. Enough already."
"Enough of what?"
"You heard me. I'll let you do whatever you want, so just keep it reasonable."
"When you put it that way, I feel—"
Seo Jio, who'd been starting his sentence with a laugh, caught my eye and stopped.
Because for the first time, I was meeting Seo Jio head-on. With every emotion I'd been hiding laid bare.
"...I guess I was more of a nuisance than I thought."
You figured that out just now?
Reading the contempt in my eyes, Seo Jio apologized, looking sheepish for once.
"Sorry. You ignored me so thoroughly that it made me stubborn."
"I asked you what the difference was between you and Bihyeok."
In truth, Seo Jio and Noh Bihyeok were similar in an astonishing number of ways. The eyes that seemed to want something from you. The sly, impish gestures. The habit of laughing things off. Height that towered over other kids their age. Even faces built to win people over.
But the two of them were never the same.
"Simple. He knows where the line is. You don't."
"..."
Noh Bihyeok was plenty mischievous himself, but he guarded that line with real sensitivity.
There was a softness in him that occasionally reminded me of Angae, even.
That was why I thought of Noh Bihyeok differently.
Of course, he was also genuinely a good kid, in and of himself.
Good enough that the thought had crossed my mind — if my fame lasts, will you stay by my side?
"You said you want to be next to me because I'm famous. Fine. Do as you like. Use me all you want."
"..."
"But Jio, I'm genuinely curious about something."
A laugh slipped out even though nothing about this was funny.
It was the first time in the past week I'd laughed in front of him — and the strange thing was that Seo Jio, who was always laughing, was the one frozen in place.
"Did I get sold off at an auction without my knowledge?"
"What is that supposed to—"
"The way you act, it's like I was put up for sale as a toy. You've had a whole week of playing with me, after all."
No answer came back to my smiling remark.
Here, there was only Seo Jio and me.
No lurking gazes watching us, and Seo Jio's phone was the kind that couldn't record.
Which meant this was a place where neither Bambi nor the actor Lee Yeonjae needed to exist.
"Know your limits. Just hold the line properly."
And then I'd leave you alone.
"..."
Seo Jio met my gaze in silence for a long moment.
I studied his loosely drooping eyes briefly, then turned away.
I'd said everything I needed to say. Felt good, for once.
Just as I was about to leave, Seo Jio spoke up.
"Yeonjae. I'm sorry I upset you."
"Sure. Noted."
The moment I accepted the apology at speed, his eyes went wide, as if he hadn't expected it.
I had zero interest in letting this conversation stretch out any longer.
I quickened my pace, and Seo Jio scrambled to catch up.
"I'll keep the line from now on. No more pushing my luck either."
"Good."
"And I'll make it a relationship that benefits you too. Since fun is apparently Bihyeok's job, I'll bring something else."
"...?"
What benefit could you possibly offer me?
I didn't bother saying it out loud, but apparently my eyes delivered the message anyway.
Seo Jio smiled, uncharacteristically docile, and opened his mouth.
"How about..."