I Liked It First

Chapter 4

Doyeon didn’t want Aeyoung to be on the receiving end of those gazes.

He opened up his own worksheets next to Aeyoung’s papers filled with English vocabulary and got to work. Whenever he placed his elbow on the table, the table legs creaked.

I need to grow up to help Aeyoung and mom financially…

Their old, yellow walls… Their kitchen table they studied on, since they didn’t have a desk… Their old sink that was rusty and old, despite their constant cleaning…

Doyeon had a dream.

He was going to get into a good university, get a good job, and let Aeyoung have the dream campus life she wanted. And, if he could, he would move his family into a better shared house where they didn’t have to be scared of the winter cold or mold.

For the future, all he could do was study. He couldn’t be the main character of a rags-to-riches story, but he had to be the side character at least.

“I’m always relieved by how responsible and independent you are, Doyeon. In our family, you’re the eldest, the dad, and the head of household.”

Doyeon clenched his worksheet as his mother’s words rang in his head.

His chest was stuffy, as though something was pressing on it, but he shook it off.

* * *

[March 14th.]

On Pi Day, their classroom was very loud. There was a little event held at the end of their normal class schedule, and that event filled their corridors and classrooms.

Small tasks like drawing the perfect circle, throwing a frisbee the furthest, and halving 31 centimeters perfectly with your closed eyes were performed.

Doyeon prowled down the corridor and registered for some plant club, while Kangbin screamed his head off in front of a guess-the-song booth that played music for 3.14 seconds. He guessed six songs correctly and got a snack.

“I’m such a genius. I guessed all the names right.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Doyeon brushed the crumbs off of Kangbin’s chest. Kangbin finished off the chocolate-covered portion of his snack and held the chocolate-less end out to Doyeon.

“Want a bite?”

“No. Eat it.”

“Aw, but the end doesn’t taste good.”

“What the hell? Then why did you offer it to me?”

“Because I thought you’d like it?”

“Shut up.”

He shoved the treat in Kangbin’s mouth and walked into the classroom.

There were kids gathered around the front desk. Doyeon circled around them to get a view.

“What are you doing?”

“It’s a speed mental math game. The winner gets that.”

Someone next to him pointed at the box on the teacher’s desk. There were a bunch of snacks in the box.

A snack box for the winner? Lured in, Doyeon wrote his name on the competitor list. Aeyoung will love that.

The game was simple. In tournament style, players had to mentally calculate a card with mathematical questions written on it the moment it was flipped. The fastest one to solve the problem won the game.

Doyeon sailed through the preliminaries and met Kangbin at the semi-finals.

“Darling, I’m not going easy on you. That’s all mine.”

“No, they’re mine.”

Doyeon and Kangbin glared at the box of snacks on the table and began solving questions. They were basic multiplication questions like “137x238” and “742-323.”

Doyeon wrote the answer on his board confidently and rang the bell in the middle.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

Kangbin wrapped his hands around his head and wailed every time Doyeon slammed the bell.

“My snacks!”

“My snacks.”

Doyeon won easily against Kangbin and sat for the final round.

There was a saying that said one often meets one’s enemies on one-way streets. His competitor was Hyunoh Gong. Hyunoh was spinning his pencil after winning the other semi-final round, but he smiled when Doyeon sat across from him.

“It’s you again.”

“Yeah, I’m tired of you, too.”

“You’re going to let me win again?”

“No. I’m winning this time.”

Doyeon clenched his pen, determined to beat Hyunoh no matter what. Hyunoh seemed to think the same thing, because he lowered his hands that were supporting his chin and became serious.

Their eyes sparked with fire for the sake of a box of snacks. It was a mere quiz competition.

“The winner needs to share snacks with Kangbin too!” Kangbin shouted next to them.

Surprisingly, no one cared.

One of their classmates, who was wearing a butterfly tie made of tissue, swung a broom around in the air.

“Finals... begin! Solve the question as soon as the card flips!” he announced.

Gulp. Doyeon was ready.

A few seconds later, the card was flipped.

[6,346×3,359.]

[21,316,214.]

Ding!

Hyunoh slammed the bell first.

[4,758,232÷68]

[69,974.]

Ding!

This time, it was Doyeon.

He saw Hyunoh’s eyes narrow as he wrote the final number. Doyeon smiled confidently.

I told you, Hyunoh Gong. I’m winning this time.

Victories and losses continued to be exchanged. By the time they were on the twelfth question, they had each answered six questions correctly.

Everyone watched their fierce competition. Doyeon and Hyunoh both looked like generals at war, which made the fun, loud mood die down to solemn whispers.

“What’s with them...? They’re solving plus and minus questions...”

“I don’t know... I think their parents might be enemies...”

Finally, the thirteenth question. Since they were tied, this determined the winner.

The question was longer because it was the final question. “678,323×594,828.” Their pens raced across their boards as though magic had taken over them.

Hands were faster than eyes! Doyeon reached for the bell as soon as he finished writing the last number: “4.”

Ding!

Someone rang the bell.

“Huh?”

The boy who had been judging the whole round tilted his head. The two had solved the question at the same time, and they had their hands on the bell together.

“My thumb got here first,” Hyunoh said.

“My palm is pressing on the bell,” Doyeon shot back.

“Are you two dating? Are you guys enjoying yourselves?” Kangbin laughed as he pointed at their hands folded together on top of the bell.

The judge also had to think for a very long time, but no matter how many angles he viewed, it was hard to determine who pressed the bell first. Besides, their expressions were so serious that he instinctively felt this shouldn’t be judged rashly. It was a mere math competition!

The other students offered to bring their teacher back, who was conducting another event in another classroom.

“They pressed the bell at the same time, and they’re both saying they won!”

The two were still holding each other’s hand when the teacher arrived.

Doyeon grabbed Hyunoh’s finger, which was sliding down further.

What does he think he’s doing?!

“Don’t start cheating.”

“Doyeon, you’ve gone crazy for those snacks...”

“What about you?”

“I’m just here to win,” Hyunoh smiled.

Doyeon frowned. He couldn’t believe how competitive this kid was.

He seemed laid back all the time, but when it came to things like this, he acted like a different person. Did he have some illness that prevented him from losing to others?

Doyeon clenched his hand tighter, which made Hyunoh smile. Then he moved the finger Doyeon was holding and rubbed Doyeon’s wrist.

“Gah!”

When Hyunoh did that, Doyeon felt chills run up his body, and he leaped from his seat. He was halfway out of his chair but managed to sit himself back down. At least he didn’t move his hand from the bell.

He got scolded by the teacher instead. “Don’t move, Doyeon.”

“But this as—er, Hyunoh!”

“What about Hyunoh?”

“He—he rubbed my hand like some pervert...”

Ugh. Doyeon seethed when the teacher ignored him and glared at Hyunoh. Hyunoh was holding back his laughter as though he was having fun.

Annoyed, Doyeon rubbed his ear with his other hand. His ears had become hot.

The teacher stared at their hands for a long time before making a decision.

“Hyunoh wins! Hyunoh’s thumb takes up more space.”

“Aw...”

In despair, Doyeon lowered his head. Aeyoung’s snacks... I’m sorry, Aeyoung... Your brother should have worked on his math skills more...!

He was still holding onto Hyunoh’s finger, however. Hyunoh shook Doyeon’s hand off and took the box on the desk proudly. He disappeared after that.

Doyeon stared at Hyunoh’s back and muttered to himself.

He must really be a pervert. Why did he rub my wrist like…?

Doyeon recalled Hyunoh’s finger rubbing his wrist and sent another middle finger to him in his mind.

For some reason, the heat within his ears wasn't dying down.

* * *

The way back home was dark.

Hyunoh, Kangbin, Sunwoo, and Doyeon walked down the road together, with Doyeon stretching.

“I’m leaving now. Have fun studying,” Doyeon said goodbye to the other three.

Kangbin and Sunwoo waved their hands and disappeared around the corner first, while Hyunoh stayed. He looked conflicted.

Curious, Doyeon approached him. “What are you doing? Don’t you have lessons? …You dead?”

Hyunoh finally raised his head and shoved the box of snacks into Doyeon’s arms.

“You have it.”