The Probability of Becoming a Couple with Your Beloved

He clearly remembered that when he bought the glasses, they didn’t seem that big, but on this face, they looked much larger.

With each keystroke, the hair swayed slightly. When he first saw him, he thought the hair was so thick that it was unclear how he could see at all, but up close, it wasn’t like that at all. The hair was surprisingly shiny, like well-groomed straight strands.

Large round eyes flickered through them. Turning his gaze slightly to the side, he noticed the scar on the ear lobe. On the skin, from which the bandage had already been removed after several treatments, there was still a trace.

“…”

The ragged wound looked alien, like a drop of red paint on a snow-white canvas. Wonhyeok slowly reached out and touched the wound, or rather, Hangeom’s ear lobe.

“Uh.”

A groan escaped from Hangeom’s lips. Startled, Hangeom grabbed his ear and quickly moved to the corner of the sofa.

“…Ah, sorry. I wanted to look at the wound on your ear. Does it still hurt when you touch it?”

“I-it’s not that it hurts, I was just surprised.”

Ha-ha, Hangeom laughed awkwardly. Although he had only touched his ear, Hangeom seemed to have really been frightened and clutched at his heart.

“I just have terrible nerves…”

Hangeom mumbled something awkwardly. In fact, it did hurt a little, but his heart reacted much more strongly to Wonhyeok’s touch. He was so scared that cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Hangeom took off his glasses, brushed his bangs back, and quickly wiped away the sweat that had appeared.

“…”

Wonhyeok observed this series of actions with a deep and quiet gaze, like a predator silently stalking its prey.

“Ah, I corrected it as you said, what do you think?”

“Yes, it’s much better.”

The corners of Wonhyeok’s mouth smoothly lifted again.

For about an hour, Wonhyeok gave various advice on the draft assignment that Hangeom had written. He also shared tips about professors and chatted about various trivial things.

“I’ll give you the materials next week.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

When he was about to leave and was packing his things, the screen of Hangeom’s laptop, which hadn’t been put away yet, suddenly turned bright blue.

“Huh?”

Surprised, Hangeom tried pressing different buttons and even turning off the power, but nothing helped. Could this be the “blue screen of death” he had only heard about? Hangeom covered his mouth in shock. Although there wasn’t particularly important data there, the file with the draft of this assignment, which he had been correcting based on Wonhyeok’s advice, was saved here.

“Hangeom, it looks like it’s completely broken down.”

“W-what should I do…”

Hangeom fidgeted with his fingers and sighed deeply. Although he had bought this laptop cheaply on a used goods site, he had been using it without problems for over a year. Of course, it sometimes lagged and occasionally turned off by itself, but it had never broken down like this before.

“It looks like you’ll have to take it for repair, although it’s unknown if it can be fixed at all. And it will probably take a lot of time.”

“Ha… T-there’s nothing to be done. The assignment is still only in draft form anyway, ah! But I remember everything you told me, senior.”

Although rewriting everything from scratch was not an easy task, what could be done? This wasn’t a situation where one could back down. After all, it was about grades, so he had to manage somehow.

“Do you have another laptop at home?”

“…No.”

Even this laptop he had bought on a used goods site, making the transaction with trembling hands. How could he have another laptop?

“Then where are you going to do the assignment?”

“At an internet cafe.”

For Hangeom, this wasn’t new, as at the beginning of his first year, when he didn’t have a laptop, he often went to internet cafes to do assignments.

“Don’t go there, wait a minute.”

At this moment, Wonhyeok quickly went into the room and soon came out with a laptop in his hands. And he held it out to Hangeom.

“What is this for…”

“I’ll lend it to you.”

“What?! No, really, it’s okay. Besides, if you give it to me, you won’t be able to use it yourself.”

“I have another one. And a desktop computer too. This is a laptop I rarely use, so you can use it comfortably.”

For something to “rarely use,” this was an expensive laptop that Hangeom knew well.

“Return it when you finish the assignment and when it’s convenient for you.”

While Hangeom didn’t know what to do, Wonhyeok simply put the laptop in his bag. Hangeom, with his bag now heavier due to the broken laptop and the borrowed one, stood at the front door putting on his shoes, and secretly glanced at Wonhyeok, who was standing there seeing him off.

“Go carefully.”

Hangeom bowed deeply and grabbed the doorknob. There was a cheerful sound of the lock opening, and the door opened.

“Um, senior!”

At this moment, Hangeom let go of the doorknob and quickly ran back to Wonhyeok. The sound of the lock engaging again rang especially clearly in Wonhyeok’s ears.

“I won’t forget this kindness and will definitely repay you.”

“…”

He lowered his head and, as if out of habit, fidgeted with his fingers. His ear lobes had turned a gentle pink, like a ripe peach.

“I’ll be waiting.”

Wonhyeok, looking at the swaying hair, slowly nodded.

∞ ∞ ∞

The week after visiting Wonhyeok’s house, he really brought Hangeom a thick folder of materials. Moreover, he said that if there were any unclear points or difficulties, he could contact him at any time. Although it would be strange to ask for anything more from someone who not only gave materials but also lent a powerful laptop, now Hangeom noticed something else.

“Senior, a-are you sick by any chance?”

“Huh? Ah, I seem to have a cold. It’s always like this at this time of year.”

Wonhyeok, unlike usual, was wearing a baseball cap and a mask. Hangeom wanted to ask something else, but Wonhyeok quickly left, saying he had the next lecture.

“He seems to look very unwell…”

Deciding to definitely ask again when he saw him in the club room, Hangeom that day bought porridge, an ionic drink, and several essential medicines at the nearest store. He firmly decided to give them at the next meeting, but…

“Huh? Where’s senior Wonhyeok?”

The next day, Wonhyeok wasn’t in the club room.

“I don’t know? I don’t think I’ve seen him today.”

Hearing Bae Seokwoo’s words, Hangeom instinctively touched the strap of his bag. The package inside rustled loudly.

The next day, and the day after that, Wonhyeok was nowhere to be seen either. Not in the club room, not in the lounge, not in the cafeteria, not in the humanities department. Thinking that he might be so sick that he couldn’t come to university, Hangeom wanted to contact him, but always hesitated, fearing to disturb if Wonhyeok was resting.

And so on Friday, Hangeom resolutely surveyed the lounge on the first floor of the humanities department, carrying a bag with the borrowed laptop and folder of materials.

Thanks to Wonhyeok’s help, he had managed the assignment that was right in front of him without problems. He needed to return the received items, so today he decided to purposefully look for him. Suddenly he remembered how he used to secretly follow Wonhyeok to see his face, but now he had an obvious “reason” for this.

Received items need to be returned to the owner. This was self-evident.

As Hangeom was walking around the lounge, carefully examining the surroundings, he saw familiar faces in the far corner. It was Kang Yubin and Kim Seonu, with whom Wonhyeok often communicated.

Hangeom’s face noticeably brightened. He thought that if they were here, then Wonhyeok was probably here too. But no, Wonhyeok wasn’t there.

“U-um…”

Hangeom, clenching his fists and gathering courage several times, approached the two.

“Ah, you scared us.”

When a student in a black hoodie with bangs almost covering his eyes carefully approached, both flinched as if by agreement.

“Ah, hello. I’m Kang Hangeom, a sophomore from the English department.”

“A-ah, sophomore? What? Did something happen?”

Kim Seonu asked.

“I have something I need to return to senior Do Wonhyeok, d-do you know where he is?”

“Ah… Wonhyeok?”

Kim Seonu nodded and naturally exchanged glances with Kang Yubin.

“He didn’t come to university today.”

“What?”

“It seems he hasn’t been feeling well for the past few days, and today he apparently wasn’t in a condition to come to university at all.”

Hearing Kang Yubin’s words, Hangeom slightly bit his lip. So he really had been sick all this time. He should have stopped him then and asked how bad he felt.

“What kind of thing do you want to return? If you don’t mind, we can take it and pass it on to him.”

“Ah…”

Hangeom started fidgeting with the strap of his bag again. Although there were valuable things inside, these people were Wonhyeok’s close classmates, and they probably had more opportunities to meet him than Hangeom did, so this could be a good option.

But Hangeom kept remembering Wonhyeok’s face that day when he was wearing a mask and looking unwell. And the fact that he couldn’t even properly ask him how he was feeling.

“If he’s sick, then he’s probably at home…?”

“Hm, probably?”

Kang Yubin, apparently finding Hangeom’s manner of speech cute, playfully repeated after him and laughed.

“Still, I think it would be better if I return the things myself. Thank you for telling me.”

Hangeom bowed deeply and ran towards the exit. The two absentmindedly watched for a while as Hangeom moved like a puppy running to find its owner.