Chapter 11
Seven fifteen in the morning.
Last night's rain had completely cleared, leaving behind crisp air with the scent of damp earth mingled with green leaves. The fourth-floor hallway of the Architecture faculty was completely deserted, without a student in sight.
Keonho carried his bag, yawning broadly as he climbed the final set of stairs. He had intentionally arrived early to clean up the mess he had left the previous night, but froze the moment he turned into the hallway.
Seonghyeon was already standing there, holding two bags of piping hot breakfast in one hand and a light jacket draped over his arm.
Their eyes met in the quiet corridor. Seonghyeon was slightly taken aback, his lips parting to speak: "Keonho, I..."
Keonho didn't let Seonghyeon finish. He rolled his eyes, shot his senior a razor-sharp glare, ignored him entirely, and brushed right past Seonghyeon toward the workshop door. He pulled out his key, inserted it with a loud CLACK, and pushed the door wide open.
"Opening the door for some air, last night's rain-"
The words caught right in Keonho's throat. His eyes widened, his mouth agape so wide he almost dropped the bag in his hand.
In a flash, Keonho brought both hands up to clamp tightly over his mouth, his eyes darting frantically in utter shock.
Walking right behind him, Seonghyeon frowned seeing Keonho suddenly rooted to the spot at the doorway: "What are you doing standing there-"
The word "there" caught right in Seonghyeon's throat.
Inside the workshop, bathed in the dim early morning light, the long leather sofa in the corner-which usually accumulated piles of old drafts and model boards all year round-now held a scene that completely shattered the worldviews of the two students at the door.
James sat with his head tilted back against the sofa, his left arm resting lightly across his stomach, his eyes closed in deep sleep after a night of pure exhaustion. But the most striking detail... was that his right thigh had become an absurdly luxurious pillow for Juhoon.
The usually arrogant genius junior was curled up on the sofa, his head resting comfortably on James's lap, sleeping peacefully like a cat. On top of that, Juhoon was covered with James's thick wool overshirt-which still held the faint, familiar scent of sandalwood.
James's bandaged right arm hung loosely down by the side of the sofa, his relaxed fingers resting mere centimeters away from Juhoon's soft black hair.
Seonghyeon stood frozen like a concrete statue. His black-rimmed glasses nearly slipped down his nose. He stared at the scene on the sofa, then looked at Keonho.
Keonho used one hand to slap Seonghyeon's shoulder repeatedly while keeping his other hand glued over his mouth, signaling wildly with his eyes: "Go! Get out before those two wake up!"
Seonghyeon swallowed hard, nodding rapidly. Both of them tiptoed back as stealthily as quiet cats, retreating out the doorway. Keonho carefully gripped the handle, letting the wooden door click shut with an ultralight SNAP, leaving no trace behind.
The moment they reached the middle of the hallway, Keonho finally pulled his hands away from his mouth, took a deep breath, and whispered in a stunned gasp:
"Holy crap... Did you see that, Senior Seonghyeon? Am I dreaming?"
Seonghyeon hadn't fully recovered his composure either. He looked at the two breakfast bags in his hands, clearing his throat to regain a semblance of calm:
"...I saw it. Stop yelling."
"My goodness! The arrogant young master Juhoon, the genius who carried their entire team, actually sleeping with his head on James's lap?" Keonho clutched his head, his eyes shining like he had just unearthed treasure. "And James actually let him stay like that! Normally, if anyone touches him, he backs away immediately!"
Seonghyeon stared at the closed workshop door, letting out a soft sigh, though a faint smile unintentionally tugged at the corner of his lips:
"Whatever. Let's go down to the cafeteria for coffee. Come back at eight."
"Deal! Coffee's on me today to celebrate this massive bombshell!" Keonho brightened up instantly, completely forgetting his fiery fight with Seonghyeon from last night.
Right at eight in the morning.
Heavy footsteps echoed loudly down the hallway. Keonho and Seonghyeon returned to the workshop, intentionally stomping their feet and talking loudly from afar to give fair warning.
"Ah, what a great sleep!" Keonho pushed the door open, his voice booming like a loudspeaker. "Senior Seonghyeon, the weather is insanely nice today!"
Inside the workshop, order had been restored.
James sat at the central work table, a black coffee in hand, eyes focused on his laptop screen. Though his face still bore faint traces of exhaustion from last night's storm, his demeanor was entirely that of the calm, familiar team leader.
Juhoon stood at the brush-washing sink, wiping his face dry with a towel. His dark hair hung slightly low, and James's shirt had been neatly folded and placed on the sofa armrest.
Keonho glanced at the sofa, then at Juhoon, his lips twitching as he struggled to suppress a smirk. Seonghyeon walked over, dropping the bag of warm sandwiches onto the table:
"Eat breakfast and review the drawings one last time. Professor Park starts the preliminary grading at ten."
James looked up, nodding lightly: "Thanks, Seonghyeon."
Juhoon walked back to the table, his usual sharp edges noticeably softened. Without a word, he picked up a sandwich and pulled up a chair right next to James. The proximity between them was so natural that even Keonho and Seonghyeon could feel the quiet yet powerful shift that had occurred overnight.
The project review turned out to be a resounding success. The technical sheets and spatial models of James's team received high praise from Professor Park.
By three in the afternoon, all four walked out of the conference room feeling as though a mountain had been lifted from their shoulders.
"It's done! We survived this hurdle, brothers!" Keonho cheered, clapping loudly. "We have to hit a serious BBQ joint tonight!"
"My treat," Seonghyeon said briefly, hands in his pockets.
Keonho's eyes lit up: "Damn! Senior Seonghyeon is the best! I take back everything I cursed you with last night!"
Juhoon stood by the balcony railing, holding the approved drawings. He turned to look at James-who was carefully placing the scale model back into its protective case.
"Are you free this afternoon?" Juhoon spoke, his voice just loud enough for James to hear.
James paused, looking up at his junior: "Is something up?"
Juhoon twirled his car keys between his fingers, his gaze steady and raw, devoid of his usual proud mask or the avoidance of past days:
"I want to take you somewhere. My personal studio in the suburbs."
James froze for a second. He recalled the image of the sleek black sedan parked under yesterday afternoon's rain, and Juhoon's heavy, resigned expression as he walked down the stairs. He understood that this was Juhoon's most private sanctuary-the one place where he could truly just be himself.
Looking into Juhoon's expectant eyes, James let out a soft smile and nodded:
"Sure. Let's go."
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