Boyfriends-In-Law | Jayhoon [Ongoing]

3.3: What's Happening?

The days leading up to the exam were a whirlwind of studying and exchanging silly banter with Jay. Despite everything, Jay made sure to greet Sunghoon each morning with the same ridiculous title "Boyfriend-in-law." Which Sunghoon had come to expect and somewhat tolerate.

On the day of the exam, Sunghoon glanced at Jay's latest text before heading out. Surprisingly, he felt calm.

When he arrived at college, most people seemed to be minding their own business, possibly because he was wearing a mask that hid his face. But as he walked into the exam hall and removed the mask, the stares returned. Sunghoon could feel the same uncomfortable sensation he'd experienced just a few days ago.

He noticed that no one wanted to sit beside him, leaving the seats around him empty. When the professor arrived, someone hurriedly sat next to him, probably because there weren’t any other seats left. Sunghoon kept quiet, focusing on his papers as the exam began.

Then, in a moment of clumsiness, he dropped his pen. It rolled across the floor, stopping at someone's feet. Sunghoon hesitated before politely asking the person to pick it up for him. But instead of helping, the guy scoffed and kicked the pen far out of sight, leaving Sunghoon frozen in place. He stared at his exam papers, the reality sinking in—he had no extra pen, and no one was going to help him.

Suddenly, he felt a gentle poke on his arm. He turned to see a boy with foxy eyes beside him, looking at him with concern. The boy whispered, "Are you okay?"

Sunghoon hesitated but eventually nodded. "Yeah… I lost my pen."

The boy smiled softly and pulled an extra pen from his bag, handing it to Sunghoon. "Here, you can use this."

Sunghoon mumbled a quiet thanks and returned to his exam. After the test, as students started leaving, Sunghoon returned the pen to the boy, "Thank you, for helping me."

"No problem at all," the boy said with a bright smile, as they walked out of the classroom together. Sunghoon felt a bit awkward, but the boy acted like everything was normal. He stretched his arms above his head and groaned, "Man, those questions were terrible!"

Sunghoon stayed silent as the boy continued chatting. Then, out of nowhere, the boy asked, "So, what's your name? I'm Kim Sunoo."

Sunghoon hesitated but replied, "Park Sunghoon."

Sunoo's eyes widened slightly. "That name sounds familiar…"

Sunghoon chuckled bitterly to himself. "Probably from the rumors."

Sunoo looked genuinely confused. "What rumors?"

Sunghoon shifted uncomfortably. "You haven't heard them? If you did, you'd probably be disgusted with me too. You shouldn’t mingle with me."

Sunoo shook his head. "I don't pay attention to rumors unless I see proof with my own eyes."

Sunghoon pressed his lips together, unsure how to respond. Just then, Shuhua appeared around the corner.

"Sunghoon-ah!" she called, waving as she approached them.

“Hey, how’d the exam go?” she asked.

Sunghoon gave a tired but genuine smile. “It went okay. Just a bit rough with...you know... people. But Sunoo-ssi here helped me.”

Shuhua’s eyes shifted to Sunoo, who greeted her with a friendly wave. “Hi, I’m Kim Sunoo. Nice to meet you.”

Shuhua returned the wave with a warm smile. “Hi Sunoo, I’m Shuhua. Thanks for helping our Sunghoon out.”

Sunoo shrugged and smiled. “No problem at all. I hope everything settles down for you, Sunghoon-ssi.”

Sunghoon nodded appreciatively. “Thanks."