Unrequited Love Thresher-Chapter 11: Can I Sit Here?

Still, it’s old.

The boy who’d said that absurd line about his parents buying the wrong size had hurriedly fled the changing room as if afraid Suhyeon would take the uniform back. Suhyeon stared blankly at the uniform in his hand. To him, it was a brand-new school uniform, so there was no need to overthink it.

“......”

And yet—something about it nagged at him.

Maybe because the boy had taken the old one. It kind of felt like scamming someone too naive to know better.

“Wait a sec.”

Suhyeon had grabbed the boy’s arm just as he was heading down the stairs, holding out money. But the boy adamantly refused to take it, pushing his hand away—and something about that made Suhyeon dig in harder, trying to press it into his palm by force.

So small. So weak. Yet resisting so stubbornly.

“Then instead of money, do you have a gym uniform?”

When the boy asked if he had a gym uniform instead, Suhyeon glanced him over. He did have one at home, but it was more worn out than the uniform, and the size probably wouldn’t fit either.

He really won’t take the cash...

In that case, buying a gym uniform would be better. Suhyeon asked for the boy’s number and, a few days later, made time to go buy one.

“This size would be perfect for a student,” the clerk said.

“It’s not for me... Could you give me one two sizes smaller?”

After finishing his part-time shift, Suhyeon was about to call the boy to deliver the uniform when—

“Hyung!”

“......!”

Someone jumped on him from behind, knocking the phone out of his hand.

Clatter. The phone flew forward... and right under a passing car, which crushed it instantly. He turned to see the idiot who caused this mess—his coworker at the café—staring wide-eyed and panicked.

He’d been uneasy about this clingy kid from the start, and sure enough, now he’d gone and done it.

“Ah, hyung, I’m so sorry!”

“Haa...”

Suhyeon let out a long sigh, picking up the shattered phone.

“Wow, this thing’s ancient anyway. Might as well get a new one, hyung.”

Ignoring the guy’s clueless babbling, Suhyeon started doing the mental math. He’d already been spending a lot preparing for school reentry, and now an unexpected expense had popped up.

But the bigger problem was the boy’s number.

Contacts for his job were written down at home—so no issue there. But the boy’s number, of course, wasn’t. It was a one-time contact meant to be deleted after giving him the gym uniform.

Now he needed to deliver it, but had no way to reach him. And buying a new phone immediately wasn’t in the cards either.

“Haa... I guess I’ll have to look for him on the first day of school.”

He’d probably see Suhyeon as some trash who ghosted him—but it couldn’t be helped.

On the first day of school.

While watching the orientation video of the new students, Suhyeon spotted a familiar face. Sitting right up front, wearing the perfectly fitting uniform—there was no doubt. That was the boy.

...So skinny.

Suhyeon had worn that uniform back when he was thinner, but even then, it hadn’t been quite that loose. Among all the other kids, he looked noticeably small.

What class is he in?

The video was grainy and didn’t show the whole auditorium, so there was no way to tell. Suhyeon considered heading up to the first-year floor to give him the uniform, but then thought better of it.

It’s probably chaos up there right now.

He’d wait until after first period, then try to find the boy’s class. But with schedule changes and subject rotations, it wasn’t easy. First-years were on the 4th floor, and checking each classroom one by one would take forever.

So during the third-period break, Suhyeon rushed up to the first-year floor. He started at Class 1 and was scanning down the hall when he spotted a familiar figure from behind.

That small back carrying his uniform.

“Wait—”

Just as he called out, a crowd of students surged into the hallway, heading toward the school store. The boy vanished in the mass of bodies. Panicking, Suhyeon forced his way through, weaving between students.

Where did he go...

Luckily, his height helped. He spotted the boy struggling in the crowd and immediately grabbed his wrist.

“Uwah...!”

He yanked the boy out with surprising ease.

So light...

It was like pulling up a carrot. Without thinking, Suhyeon dragged him into a nearby storage room.

“Huff...”

He caught his breath, turning around.

“Finally found you.”

As he exhaled, he saw the boy staring at him, eyes full of fear.

Why is he so scared—oh.

Only then did Suhyeon realize he was still gripping the kid’s wrist. He let go quickly. The boy’s wrist was so slender it fit entirely in one of Suhyeon’s hands—he might’ve broken it if he’d pulled any harder.

“Um...”

Seeing the boy’s wary expression, Suhyeon silently held out the gym uniform. The boy looked relieved and took it.

“You’ve been looking all over just to give me this?”

His eyes were wide with disbelief, like he couldn’t believe someone would actually keep a promise like this.

He really thought I was gonna bail, huh.

“Thank you.”

He hugged the uniform to his chest and smiled brightly. That smile made Suhyeon’s brow twitch.

It’s just a gym uniform. What’s he so happy about...

Something about the kid’s guileless expression made his fingertips tingle—an unfamiliar emotion. So Suhyeon turned around and left in a hurry. The warmth of the boy’s wrist still lingered in his hand.

Suhyeon murmured the name he’d seen on the tag on the kid’s chest.

“...Ha Giyeon.”

Snapping back to his senses, he clapped a hand over his mouth and picked up the pace.

He’s a first-year. No way we’ll cross paths again.

He seemed too timid to even say hello—thankfully.

But contrary to expectations, Ha Giyeon appeared in front of him right away.

“Can I sit here?”

Holding a lunch tray.

***

“Lunchtime already, huh.”

As soon as the bell rang, kids poured into the cafeteria. Ha Giyeon stood up slowly and made his way out of the classroom. Some kids ran off with friends, others awkwardly followed groups, and some wandered alone.

Watching ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) them reminded him of his past self.

Why was lunchtime so scary back then...

He used to envy kids who had friends to eat with. He’d asked more than once if he could join, only to be rejected with disgust or discomfort. Looking back, it made sense—having someone you’re not close with suddenly cling to you at lunch would be off-putting.

That’s why he used to try to eat with his brother.

“Ugh, go eat with your friends or something. Or eat alone.”

“Come on, Dohoon—your brother doesn’t have any friends, so of course he’s chasing us.”

“Can’t you see the sweat dripping off him? Poor thing.”

Even while being mocked like that, Giyeon had clung on and eaten quickly, just to avoid eating alone. He was too scared of the humiliation, so he’d grit his teeth and endure the scorn.

The cafeteria’s on the first floor, right?

But now, Giyeon wasn’t afraid of eating alone at all.

After years of brutal labor in his past life, eating alone felt natural. At the factory, he often skipped meals entirely, or got his head smacked for taking too long. He practically lived on antacids.

Compared to that, the cafeteria was a buffet.

And no one here even knew who he was. They were too busy making their own friends to care. He joined the long lunch line, standing at the back, when he heard murmuring behind him.

“Hey, that guy—he’s Ha Dohoon.”

“Shit... he really is good-looking.”

“What club is he in again?”

The same voices of admiration and envy he’d heard in the past. Ha Dohoon’s group was entering the cafeteria. In the past, Giyeon would’ve looked up to them like everyone else.

But now...

This is like watching F4 from one of those old dramas.

Different cast, same energy.

The thought almost made him laugh. Giyeon turned to face the wall, just in case they saw him. He was at the back of the line, and they wouldn’t cross paths—they always cut straight to the front.

That thought made his brow furrow.

Seriously...

He’d once thought it was normal, but now it bothered him to watch them cut the entire line like it was nothing. No one dared complain. Understandable—who knew what would happen if you pissed them off. Even if everyone knew it was wrong, they kept their mouths shut.

He’d been the same way.

Whatever...

He followed the line into the cafeteria. The smell of grilled meat hit him, and suddenly none of it mattered anymore.

Meat...!

He took a tray of bulgogi from the lunch lady and looked for a seat.

Honestly, he didn’t care where he sat, but he still had to be careful. Sitting near upperclassmen or cliques was a bad idea. Sitting across from an odd-numbered group could also get awkward.

A seat... preferably someone sitting alone.

As he scanned the room, his eyes met Ha Dohoon’s—sitting dead center.

His gaze had been drawn by the noise from Dohoon’s group, but also because Dohoon was staring at him intently.

What, why’s he staring? Is he gonna tell me to eat with him? Or glare at me to back off?

Giyeon quickly walked past and searched for another seat.

“Can I sit here?”

Right across from Son Suhyeon, who was eating alone. Suhyeon glanced up at him, then said nothing.

Guess he’s not okay with it...

Giyeon took the silence as rejection and turned to leave.

“Sorry.”

But then—

“Do what you want.”

“...!”

“It’s not like the seats are assigned.”

Suhyeon spoke indifferently, eyes still on his food. Relieved, Giyeon sat down quickly and started eating.

He’d eaten breakfast early, and now he was starving.

The moment he bit into the bulgogi, he regretted not getting lunch sooner.

“......”

Across from him, Suhyeon watched in silence as the boy devoured his tray with the expression of someone who’d just found happiness.

Had he skipped breakfast? The way he scraped his tray clean was honestly fascinating.

To be honest, Suhyeon had assumed the kid approached him to chat. They were at least somewhat familiar now.

But clearly not.

Dude’s just starving.

All he cares about is the food.