No matter what happened—
Tae would always choose Yun over everyone else.
After a while—
Jun, Ye-Rim, and the others quietly left the college for the rest of the day.
Nobody felt comfortable staying after what happened earlier inside the classroom.
Meanwhile—
Tae slowly walked beside Yun through the quiet campus.
Neither of them spoke much.
The atmosphere between them still felt strangely heavy.
Before going to eat, Tae brought Yun to one of the empty benches near the garden area outside the building.
Then quietly—
He opened the small medicine box he bought earlier.
Yun silently sat there while Tae carefully treated the wound on his cheek.
The faint red mark still looked painful.
Tae’s expression darkened slightly after seeing it closely again.
Without saying anything—
He gently applied medicine over the swollen area before placing a small bandage carefully on Yun’s cheek.
His touch remained unbelievably soft.
Almost too careful.
“…Done.”
Afterward—
The two of them walked toward a nearby convenience store.
Soon, they sat beside the window quietly while eating ramen and drinking milk together.
The warm smell of food filled the small store while soft music quietly played in the background.
For a while—
Only silence stayed between them.
Then finally—
Tae quietly spoke first.
“…I’m sorry.”
Yun slowly lifted his eyes toward him.
Tae leaned back slightly in his chair before continuing quietly,
“I thought they would actually look after you.”
A faint frustration appeared inside his eyes afterward.
“I shouldn’t have told them to take care of you.”
Then after a short pause—
“I’m sorry, Yun.”
Yun quietly stared at the ramen for a few seconds without speaking.
Meanwhile—
Tae continued calmly,
“Actually, I only came here to see you during lunch break.”
“I still have a lot of work at the office.”
“So I need to leave later.”
Then quietly—
“But I’ll stay until your classes end.”
Tae looked toward Yun afterward.
“We only have one class left, right?”
Yun slowly nodded once.
“…Yes.”
For a brief moment—
Silence returned again.
Then suddenly—
Tae remembered something Yun said earlier inside the classroom.
His expression became slightly serious afterward.
“…Yun.”
Yun slowly looked up.
“You said you were scared earlier.”
Tae quietly placed his chopsticks down.
“Why?”
After a short pause, he asked softly,
“Was it because of them?”
Yun remained silent for a few seconds.
His fingers slowly tightened slightly around the warm milk carton.
Tae frowned faintly.
“…What happened?”
Then finally—
Yun quietly spoke.
“…It was because of you.”
Tae froze slightly.
Yun lowered his eyes afterward before speaking slowly again.
“I’ve never seen you like that before.”
His voice sounded small.
“You looked so cold…”
For a brief second—
Tae completely went silent after hearing those words.
Something uncomfortable quietly tightened inside his chest.
Because deep down—
Tae understood something clearly.
What if Yun someday discovered the truth?
The violence.
The gang world.
The terrifying side hidden behind Tae’s calm image.
The person standing beside Yun right now wasn’t simply a nice college student.
There was another side of him.
A darker side.
And for the first time in a while—
That thought genuinely bothered Tae.
But instead of speaking—
He simply stayed silent.
After finishing their food quietly, the two of them slowly returned toward the classroom together.
Before entering the building, Tae pulled his phone out briefly before calling Kim Joo.
“I’ll come to the office in an hour.”
Then he ended the call shortly afterward.
The final class passed quietly.
And once it finally ended—
Tae stood near Yun’s desk before speaking calmly,
“I’ll drop you home.”
But Yun immediately shook his head lightly.
“It’s okay.”
“You said you still have work at the office.”
Then quietly—
“I’ll take the bus.”
Tae stared at him silently for a moment before finally nodding once.
“…Okay.”
Then seriously—
“Make sure you call me after you get home.”
Yun slowly nodded.
Before leaving, Yun carefully handed over the notebook he used during class earlier.
“The notes…”
“I wrote everything down for you.”
Tae looked slightly surprised for a brief second.
Then slowly—
A small smile appeared on his lips.
He took the notebook carefully from Yun’s hands.
“I’ll study hard.”
Then quietly—
“Thank you for the notes.”
Tae quietly looked at Yun for a moment before speaking again.
“Then I’ll just drop you near the bus stand.”
“…Is that okay?”
Yun slowly nodded once.
“…Okay.”
“Just drop me near the bus stand.”
After that—
The two of them quietly left the college together.
The evening sky had already started turning orange while soft wind passed through the streets.
Neither of them talked much during the drive.
But strangely—
The silence between them no longer felt uncomfortable.
Soon, Tae stopped the car near the bus stand.
Almost at the same time—
A bus slowly arrived in front of them.
Tae quietly stepped out of the car while watching Yun carefully.
Meanwhile—
Yun adjusted the strap of his bag before looking toward Tae briefly.
“…I’ll call you after reaching home.”
Tae nodded once.
“Good.”
Then quietly—
“Be careful.”
Yun slowly got onto the bus afterward.
A few seconds later—
He sat beside the window quietly.
Meanwhile—
Tae remained standing outside near the road.
The soft evening wind moved through his brown hair while the city lights slowly flickered around him.
Then suddenly—
Yun leaned slightly toward the open bus window.
And with a small smile—
He raised his hand quietly toward Tae.
A silent goodbye.
For a brief second—
Tae simply stared at him silently.
Then slowly—
A faint smile appeared on his lips too.
The bus doors closed shortly afterward.
And as the bus slowly disappeared into the evening traffic—
Tae remained standing there for a few more seconds quietly.
Still looking toward the road Yun left behind.
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