Bombshell Statement (6)
***
“Hyun-soo’s friend, what brings you here at this hour?”
“Ah, hello.”
Mo Yeon bowed his head as he entered through the door.
It must have been around four o’clock. When Mo Yeon visited ‘Eden’s Kiss’ before opening hours, the door was surprisingly open. Mark, who was preparing to open alone, welcomed Mo Yeon with a friendly face.
Unlike how he usually saw it in the evenings, the brightly lit interior made it look similar to a regular cocktail bar he had visited once with Tae Young-won. Except for the name of the establishment, which he still couldn’t get used to.
“I was wondering if you found the man you were looking for since you suddenly stopped coming. I asked that bastard Hyun-soo, but he said he didn’t know. Did you come at this hour to give me an update?”
Mo Yeon silently shook his head at the subtle question. A bitter smile formed on his face without him realizing it. Seeing that expression, Mark seemed to intuit that Mo Yeon had given up, and that this visit would be his last. But he didn’t ask any further questions.
“I see. That’s too bad.”
A clearly awkward person in this scene had been visiting two or three times a week and then suddenly stopped coming. Mo Yeon must have been quite a unique presence even to someone like Mark, who meets all kinds of people.
“Then why are you here today? To say goodbye?”
“That, and… I left my phone here last time.”
“Your phone?”
“Yes, so I was wondering if I could find it.”
As indifferent as Mo Yeon normally was about his phone, going without it for over a week was starting to feel inconvenient. He had tablets and laptops for classes, so there was no problem there, and part of him deliberately avoided looking for it because he didn’t want to contact Tae Young-won. But now he felt it was time to retrieve it.
While waiting for an answer, Mark’s expression seemed a bit strange. Mo Yeon looked at him curiously.
“Hyun-soo took it with him the last time you were here.”
“…”
“You haven’t gotten it back yet?”
His slightly widened eyes blinked blankly. Then they gradually filled with bewilderment.
After his last conversation with Tae Young-won, Mo Yeon strangely felt refreshed.
In fact, perhaps he felt a sense of liberation.
It was somewhat surprising that Tae Young-won acted as though he hadn’t heard Mo Yeon’s claim about seeing ghosts, despite his various shocks. Of course, Mo Yeon didn’t interpret this differently. After all, when Mo Yeon asked if there was another way, Tae Young-won couldn’t answer in the end.
He simply needed time to accept things. As he said, he had developed “feelings.” Compared to Mo Yeon’s expectation that Tae Young-won would leave without looking back, this ending wasn’t so bad.
The bouquet he received on his birthday was already starting to wilt. Not knowing flowers withered so quickly, he was quite surprised. After returning home, he had placed three intact orange roses in a glass bottle filled with water.
He hadn’t yet worn the watch that came with the flowers. The watch, probably chosen by Tae Young-won himself, had a brown leather strap and a classic design, but the face wasn’t too large, making it suitable for everyday wear.
For several days, Mo Yeon placed the watch and flowers side by side on the dining table, occasionally staring at them blankly, thinking:
‘Who gives such gifts to a mere sex partner for their birthday?’
And it wasn’t just the gifts. Always waiting for him, making sure he ate properly, holding him while sleeping, constantly saying he was cute—saying things that would be problematic if others heard…
No matter how he looked at it, Tae Young-won was partly to blame for Mo Yeon falling for him. From a step back, Mo Yeon could increasingly see why he liked Tae Young-won, even as he grew more annoyed with him.
He had thought that Tae Young-won’s fabricated persona was much better, that no one would like Tae Young-won if they knew his true self, but that wasn’t entirely true. Tae Young-won was indeed someone Mo Yeon could like.
While cleaning up the withered flowers, he also thoroughly cleaned the house. Taking out the partially filled garbage bag, Mo Yeon encountered an unexpected figure in front of his officetel.
“How did you know where to find me?”
When asked in a flat voice, Kim Hyun-soo hesitated. Mo Yeon hadn’t meant to pressure him, but Hyun-soo already looked uneasy.
“Well, Mark hyung contacted me when you came by. As for the address, that’s… ah, shit.”
Kim Hyun-soo ran his hand through his hair in embarrassment. Mo Yeon was genuinely curious how he had found him. The Kim Hyun-soo he knew had always been like this. Mo Yeon had thought he was as much of a social butterfly as Tae Young-won, but apparently Hyun-soo struggled to feel comfortable around Mo Yeon’s sharp tone. Of course, there was also the fact that Mo Yeon was his senior.
It was ironic that his unflinching, sharp manner of speaking—which didn’t faze Tae Young-won—made Kim Hyun-soo uncomfortable around him.
“I heard you telling the taxi driver your address last time. I didn’t try to memorize it, but I remembered it. I don’t usually eavesdrop, but it just came to mind…”
As the explanations kept coming, Mo Yeon nodded to indicate he understood.
“I get it. You came to return my phone, right?”
“Yes, sorry for the delay. Just a moment.”
Kim Hyun-soo began rummaging through his backpack. Mo Yeon watched silently before moving his lips.
Honestly, Kim Hyun-soo had helped him out, and it seemed too dismissive to just take the phone and send him away. Even to Mo Yeon, it seemed excessively cold.
Mo Yeon had learned something from being around Tae Young-won.
Both Tae Young-won and the people around him seemed to practice a certain level of kindness that went beyond what was strictly necessary. At any rate, Kim Hyun-soo had kept his phone safe. He was also a junior from the same department.
“I don’t have anything fancy to offer… but follow me if you want some water.”
Still rummaging through his bag, Kim Hyun-soo looked up at Mo Yeon with wide eyes. Seeing his relieved expression made Mo Yeon feel a bit awkward, so he started walking first.
“Come inside and take your time finding it. Looks like you have a lot in your bag.”
“Okay.”
The elevator ride to the apartment naturally didn’t take long. During the walk to the apartment, Kim Hyun-soo, seemingly uncomfortable, kept adding comments.
“You’re not wearing glasses today. I guess you really only wear them at school.”
“Yes.”
“…Wow.”
Kim Hyun-soo let out a short exclamation as he entered the hallway. When Mo Yeon looked at him questioningly, he was looking around the living room with curiosity.
“This is the first time I’ve visited someone’s house and seen it so clean. It’s really spacious.”
With the intent to offer water, Mo Yeon went to the kitchen and poured some first.
It seemed Kim Hyun-soo had spotted the vase and watch on the dining table. Since he wouldn’t know who had given them, Mo Yeon wasn’t particularly concerned.
After staying still for a moment, Kim Hyun-soo seemed to come to his senses and rummaged through his bag.
“I was originally planning to give it to you at school and kept carrying it around… but I thought it might be difficult to talk there.”
“Talk?”
“Yes, ah, here it is.”
He seemed to have finally found Mo Yeon’s phone. Mo Yeon handed Kim Hyun-soo a glass of water and took the phone.
“I didn’t turn it on, but I charged it. You should be able to use it right away.”
“Thanks.”
Mo Yeon immediately turned on the phone.
“Oh right, I thought it would be awkward to come empty-handed, so I brought this.”
Mo Yeon looked at Kim Hyun-soo curiously. Kim Hyun-soo slightly shook what he was holding.
“Do you like coffee?”
“…”
It was a small white box, containing drip coffee bags from a famous coffee brand.
“Yes.”
Even though he couldn’t drink coffee, Mo Yeon nodded. This too could be considered manners learned from being around Tae Young-won.
“…”
And then, at that moment, Mo Yeon’s phone vibrated.
[Sunbae Tae Young-won]
Mo Yeon unconsciously looked at Kim Hyun-soo. Of course, he didn’t show much surprise or confusion.
Kim Hyun-soo nodded and smiled, as if indicating that Mo Yeon should feel free to take the call. It was also a gesture suggesting he wouldn’t interfere with the phone conversation.
But Mo Yeon didn’t want to do that.
Even if Kim Hyun-soo hadn’t been there, he wouldn’t have answered this call. What was the point of calling now that everything was over? They weren’t even ex-lovers, just former sex partners.
As he left it ringing, the vibration soon stopped. It didn’t seem like the call had naturally ended after a long time without being answered. Tae Young-won had probably waited briefly and then hung up himself.
‘Such an impatient person.’
Mo Yeon, who had been glaring at his phone without realizing it, inwardly scoffed. But immediately, the phone vibrated again.
Perhaps because he was deliberately not answering the phone, he felt Kim Hyun-soo’s gaze. But honestly, he was curious about Tae Young-won’s intentions.
He’s probably drunk.
It must have been difficult to accept, so he might be drunk. Nine o’clock was certainly a time when someone could be intoxicated.
‘If he’s drunk and asks what ghosts look like, I’ll kill him.’
I’ll kill him even if he just asks if I really see ghosts.
Or if he’s calling drunk to forget everything that happened and ask for sex, then I’ll really kill him.
After glaring at the phone screen for a long time, Mo Yeon finally had no choice but to put the phone to his ear.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
