65.
#Absolutely Not Normal
The table was set with rice, stew, and ordinary side dishes. Dawoon was quietly using his chopsticks, but Ui-hyeon had been sitting stiffly without moving for a while. He couldn’t even look at Dawoon properly. With a deeply furrowed brow, he kept staring outside, as if struggling to accept what he had heard.
“It’ll get cold.”
Dawoon said, urging him to eat as he had been like that for too long. Only then did Ui-hyeon’s gaze turn to Dawoon. However, he still frowned heavily, seemingly unsure of what to say. A deep sigh, “Haa,” was heard. He raised one hand to mess up his hair, then took another deep breath.
So it really isn’t a normal situation.
Dawoon confirmed again from his reaction. In fact, he hadn’t even told Ui-hyeon that they had gone all the way. He had only vaguely mentioned that Hayun had touched him under the pretext of teaching him about sex. Even that was enough to confuse Ui-hyeon thoroughly.
“Honestly… I don’t know.”
Dawoon had thought more intense expressions might come out, but Ui-hyeon was still carefully choosing his words, considering Dawoon.
“I have a brother too, but he’s fundamentally different from your brother. We’re close in age, so we’re always at each other’s throats. On the other hand, your brother often seems more like a parent than a brother when I hear about him.”
Ui-hyeon cautiously continued.
“But even for a parent, that’s a bit…”
He trailed off there, frowning again as if unsure how to explain further.
“And that.”
Ui-hyeon gestured towards Dawoon’s neck.
“If it was just to teach you, there’s no need to go that far, right?”
The restaurant owner’s wife was out of sight, probably busy in the kitchen, but Ui-hyeon still avoided explicit expressions, perhaps worried someone might overhear.
“That…”
Ui-hyeon seemed to have something he wanted to say but was hesitating whether he should.
“It’s okay. Say it.”
Dawoon already knew it wasn’t normal. Compared to what he had expected, Ui-hyeon’s reaction was quite mild.
“It’s like marking territory.”
After saying it, Ui-hyeon let out a deep sigh as if he couldn’t believe it himself. Marking territory? Why would a brother do that to his younger sibling? Dawoon understood his feelings, having wondered the same thing himself.
“I belong to my brother.”
Dawoon put down his chopsticks and answered. In fact, he had barely eaten, just pretending to eat. He hadn’t had much appetite from the start. He had only been pretending to eat because he couldn’t bear to meet Ui-hyeon’s eyes after confessing his situation.
“What do you mean by that?”
Ui-hyeon frowned, seemingly more confused.
“You know my mother was the second wife, right?”
Dawoon had never explained his family situation himself. Still, it was something that those who should know, knew. Since his father had been the heir and vice chairman of the Haedo Group, even his remarriage had made the news. So while children Dawoon’s age might not know, their parents all knew the story.
“Apparently, my father was seeing her even when my brother’s mother was still alive.”
At these words, Ui-hyeon let out a groan. The complicated affairs of adults were uncomfortable topics for them.
“It’s strange, isn’t it? From my brother’s perspective, he must have really hated me…”
Even as he said it himself, Dawoon’s heart ached.
Even now, I don’t want Jeong Hayun to hate me.
It was so funny that he chuckled. Watching this, Ui-hyeon’s brow furrowed.
“You find this funny?”
Despite the disapproving tone, Dawoon just smiled faintly.
It’s not like I can cry, can I? Not now, not at this point.
“Not long after my brother’s mother passed away, my father introduced me and my mother to my brother, and it happened to be on my brother’s birthday.”
This time too, a low sigh escaped Ui-hyeon’s lips. As Dawoon spoke, he realized just how messed up his family was. With each word he uttered, the good memories he had of his father were crumbling one by one.
“Instead of hating and rejecting us, he seems to have accepted it as his birthday gift.”
There was no need to add that Hayun treated him well because he considered Dawoon his. Even with just this much said, the perceptive Ui-hyeon would understand roughly. After sitting with a serious expression for a while, he let out a deep sigh.
“What the hell is that? It’s not normal. That’s absolutely not normal.”
Having sorted out his thoughts, Ui-hyeon immediately declared it wasn’t right.
“Whatever issues there were between your parents, that has nothing to do with you.”
Feeling agitated, Ui-hyeon downed a glass of cold water before continuing.
“You’re not some object, and all this talk about belonging to him… You really can’t judge a person by their appearance.”
As he spoke, he seemed to get more irritated, roughly running his hand through his hair.
“You should move out and live independently. If you have nowhere to go, you can stay at my place. Pack your things and leave right away. Something feels… not right. Your brother seems dangerous.”
Dawoon was a bit touched by the offer to let him stay. He was grateful to Ui-hyeon for pushing his way into his life and being there as a friend, despite Dawoon’s personality that others found difficult to get close to.
It was fortunate. To have someone he could open up to, even if not completely, but at least this much.
In truth, it had been too hard to bear everything alone. Sometimes it felt like his insides were burning, and other times he felt so stifled he could barely breathe. Because the other party was Jeong Hayun, he thought he couldn’t complain to anyone. For now, Ui-hyeon was the only one he could talk to. The only one he could share even a part of this with.
“Thank you. Just for saying that.”
He said sincerely, but Ui-hyeon frowned again.
“I’m not just saying it. I really want to go to your house right now, pack your things, and bring you back with me.”
Dawoon was grateful that Ui-hyeon was getting angry on his behalf. But it couldn’t be done.
“I can’t leave. I can’t leave Haram behind.”
“Hey! Is Haram the important thing right now? From what I can see, if you don’t get out of there right now…”
Dawoon shook his head at Ui-hyeon, who was continuing to speak heatedly.
“I can’t do it. No, I won’t do it. I absolutely can’t separate from Haram.”
“Haa, what are you trying to do, really.”
Ui-hyeon, feeling frustrated, poured water into his empty cup and gulped it down.
“Your brother is strange, but you’re not in your right mind either. It’s not like there’s no one else to look after Haram in that house.”
Dawoon smiled bitterly at Ui-hyeon’s words and lowered his head. Maybe so. But it wasn’t just because of Haram. If he left home and relied on Ui-hyeon, would Hayun just sit back and watch? No, he wouldn’t. Jeong Hayun was a scarier person than Dawoon had believed all this time. He realized this fact seeing how Hayun treated Ms. Lim and Choi Yu-na. He certainly had the same blood as their grandfather flowing through him.
He couldn’t burden Ui-hyeon. He didn’t want to think that Hayun might do something to Ui-hyeon too, but he couldn’t ignore even the slightest possibility. Ui-hyeon was a precious friend to Dawoon as well.
“So you’re just going to live like that? Continuously?”
Ui-hyeon asked with a sigh.
“I don’t know. If it will continue. Or if it was just a temporary whim.”
“You said it’s happened several times already. How long have you been wearing turtlenecks?”
If it had been just once, those marks should have disappeared long ago.
“It’s going to get hotter soon…”
Ui-hyeon trailed off, looking at Dawoon’s neck. Unable to find more words to say, he frowned, then let out another deep sigh and turned his head away.
“Want to go for a drink?”
Ui-hyeon suggested, seemingly feeling stifled. Dawoon just shook his head. In his current physical state, if he drank on top of it, he felt he really wouldn’t be able to handle the aftermath.
“I have a bit of a cold, so I’m tired. I want to go home early and rest.”
“Is resting really resting for you?”
He meant wouldn’t it be uncomfortable to face Hayun again. This time, Dawoon had no answer and just smiled.
“Wait for me after your lectures are over. Let’s go to my place.”
“No…”
“I’m not telling you to pack all your things and come. My mom’s been asking me to bring you over anyway, so come have dinner and then go.”
He used the excuse of his mother asking, but Dawoon could tell it was just because he wanted Dawoon to rest comfortably, even if just for a little while. When Dawoon looked at him clearly, Ui-hyeon turned and their eyes met.
When Dawoon smiled faintly, Ui-hyeon waved his hand, saying it was annoying and not to smile like that. Still, Dawoon was grateful. Just being able to open up about something he thought he couldn’t tell anyone had made him feel much better.
***
“She really talks too much about useless things.”
Ui-hyeon grumbled as he returned to his room with Dawoon after dinner. His mother, who hadn’t seen Dawoon in a long time, was extremely happy to see him and asked about everything. Starting with light questions about college life, she moved on to asking if he had a girlfriend, and eventually asked when Dawoon’s brother was getting married. As the questions became increasingly difficult to answer, Ui-hyeon finally got irritated, pulled Dawoon up, and dragged him to his room.
While Ui-hyeon momentarily left the room saying he’d bring some fruit, Dawoon, sprawled on Ui-hyeon’s bed, felt his eyelids growing heavy. Having not slept properly for several days and now with a full stomach, sleep was overtaking him.
I shouldn’t sleep… I need to go home…
Contrary to his thoughts, his body was becoming more and more relaxed.
