#58
Tae-rim whispered softly. He was sincere. He had chosen the dark movie theater to hold hands, touch thighs, and get close. Since those two oblivious friends had interfered, he privately agreed to just hold hands. He hadn’t even wanted to watch together, but seeing Ha-min look happy meeting his friends, he willingly allowed it. He figured he could do this much since he had already compromised a lot.
“…”
Ha-min stopped resisting and quietly looked straight ahead. Whenever the screen brightened and illuminated Ha-min’s face, his flushed cheeks could be glimpsed. That sight alone was enjoyable enough. No, it was more than enjoyable.
**
Tae-rim silently cursed. His leniency was only going to last until the end of the movie.
His plan after that was to go somewhere with a nice night view for dinner and then go for a drive.
“They say you’re supposed to cure a hangover with more alcohol.”
The two friends, who had entered the bar before it was even evening, excitedly opened soju bottles. After the movie ended, they had argued about going to karaoke or having chicken and beer, but ended up here. Tae-rim could have just ignored them and dragged Ha-min away, but seeing Ha-min’s proper face unable to easily refuse his friends’ suggestions, Tae-rim willingly changed his mind.
When Tae-rim expressed his opinion to go along with them, Ha-min smiled brightly. It was obvious he was happy to hang out with his friends and also be with Tae-rim.
“Ha-min oppa will have beer, and what about you, sunbae-nim?”
Eun-soo, who had become comfortable with Tae-rim after a few phone calls, asked casually without any discomfort. Tae-rim smiled gently and shook his head.
“I drove here.”
“Ah- what a shame.”
Woo-kyung reacted like an audience member. From the start, Tae-rim found these gatherings tedious. It had been a long time since he enjoyed drinking sessions with people 5 years younger than him.
“Should I not drink either…?”
Seemingly concerned that Tae-rim was the only one not drinking, Ha-min asked with clear eyes. Tae-rim chuckled and naturally stroked Ha-min’s hair as he answered.
“Go ahead and drink. Just moderately.”
Hearing the appropriate answer, Ha-min nodded obediently. Fortunately, he seemed to be in a good mood. Although the plan had gone awry, it seemed the goal of cheering him up had been sufficiently achieved. Of course, Tae-rim wasn’t entirely satisfied.
“Oh, by the way, did you hear about yesterday, hyung?”
Woo-kyung, who was pouring drinks into the gathered glasses, suddenly spoke as if remembering something. Ha-min’s eyes widened at the unexpected topic.
“Huh?”
“You know, Cha Jun-seong was taken away in an ambulance yesterday.”
“What?”
Ha-min’s eyes grew impossibly wide. His face showed considerable surprise at the sudden news.
“We were really shocked when the ambulance suddenly came. They say he was found unconscious on the street.”
“Why…?”
“I don’t know. Some say he was mugged… others say he was beaten up by some gangster trying to extort money.”
“Was he badly hurt…?”
“Come on, hyung. Are you worried about him?”
Woo-kyung had brought up the topic thinking Ha-min would be pleased to hear it, but instead of feeling vindicated, Ha-min was frowning with concern in his eyes. When Woo-kyung made a puzzled comment, Ha-min shook his head in embarrassment.
“No, it’s not that I’m worried… it’s just that he got hurt.”
Ha-min displayed the compassion that all humans possess. Ha-min’s flaw and strength was that he didn’t discriminate in showing compassion to others.
“Well, I don’t know how badly he was hurt… Anyway, he had it coming. He was always picking fights with you, so he totally deserved it.”
“That’s why people should live kindly.”
Eun-soo chimed in from the side. Tae-rim, who already knew the whole story, was putting peanuts, the basic side dish, into his mouth with an uninterested face.
“Oh, but they say there was a cigarette burn mark. I heard he’s getting surgery to remove it?”
“Oh my.”
At Woo-kyung’s words, Tae-rim, who had been silent, paused mid-chew and threw out a comment in an artificial tone. When Ha-min unconsciously looked at Tae-rim at the sound, Tae-rim noticed his gaze and spoke with a gentle smile.
“Ah-”
At the gesture to open his mouth, Ha-min opened his mouth with a puzzled face, and Tae-rim popped a peanut into his small mouth.
As Ha-min chewed the savory peanut that had entered his mouth with a blank face, Tae-rim grinned.
“Want another?”
His caring demeanor seemed strangely pleasant.
**
The drinking atmosphere heated up more quickly than expected. Despite the completely out-of-place Tae-rim being there, thanks to the two friends who were crazy about partying, Ha-min was also smiling broadly and sipping his drink without discomfort. He seemed even more joyful because Tae-rim, who he thought might find it boring, was getting along moderately beside him.
When Ha-min glanced at him with alcohol-flushed eyes, Tae-rim naturally put some food into Ha-min’s mouth. Even the way he fed him was neat and without excess. Seeming satisfied that Ha-min obediently accepted the food, Ha-min simply put whatever was given into his mouth.
“But how did you two become so close?”
After badmouthing professors and Cha Jun-seong’s group, the topic of conversation had changed several times. Then it came to this subject. Woo-kyung suddenly asked, watching Ha-min quietly accept food from Tae-rim. Ha-min, who had been chewing his food, opened his eyes wide.
“I mean, it seems like you hang out with Tae-rim sunbae-nim more than with Tae-in hyung.”
Is that so…? Ha-min blinked with a blank face for a moment.
“That’s true. You said you were best friends with Tae-in oppa, but every time I see you, you’re always with sunbae-nim.”
Was it like that…? Ha-min blinked again with a stupid face.
“Oh? Ha-min oppa, you’re cross-eyed.”
Seeing his dazed, stupid expression, Eun-soo pointed and laughed. His fair face, moderately flushed, was reddish, and his clear eyes were hazy. Eun-soo, who had seen Ha-min drunk several times before, recognized it immediately upon seeing his face.
“No, I’m not.”
After several drinking sessions, Ha-min had somewhat increased his alcohol tolerance. He protested, widening his eyes.
“No, no, I’m asking how you two became so close?”
To Tae-rim’s eyes, all three of them had some level of intoxication. It was understandable, as empty bottles already filled half the table. Tae-rim glanced at Woo-kyung, whose tongue was slurring from the alcohol, and spoke casually.
“Because he’s the kindest in the neighborhood.”
He gazed intently at Ha-min, who was sitting dazed with his chin propped up.
“I liked him because he was kind.”
When he lived in that neighborhood, even the great Lee Tae-rim was going through his adolescence.
It was a time when he was dealing with various issues – his constantly sick younger brother, his grandfather’s sickbed, excessive interference and pressure from his parents, and so on. Tae-rim, naturally indifferent and ruthless by nature, was even worse then. When his parents weren’t around, he would smoke cigarettes at home, constantly changed the girls he hung out with, and occasionally threw punches at classmates he didn’t like. When Tae-rim first saw Ha-min during that time of his own storm and stress, he found him curious.
Ha-min would bow at a 90-degree angle to everyone he saw, always smiled brightly, worried excessively about sick friends falling while playing, and when Tae-in was sick and bedridden, he would write letters every day and read them aloud in front of Tae-in. The content was mostly silly things like “don’t be sick” and “let’s be friends forever.” After reading aloud to his heart’s content, he would hold Tae-in’s hand and cry loudly.
When playing in the garden, he would personally clear away anything that might trip his friends, and he would get along well with the household staff every day, even helping with housework. He was such an unusual child that even Tae-rim, who was uninterested in others, couldn’t help but notice him. Moreover, he would secretly follow Tae-rim around every day, unlike others who found Tae-rim uncomfortable, and would often come up calling “hyung, hyung,” showing him pictures he had drawn or offering snacks he had stuffed in his pockets.
Suddenly remembering the old times, Tae-rim chuckled and stroked Ha-min’s hair for no reason. That chubby kid used to follow him around calling “hyung, hyung” every day. Now it was the opposite. Now, if Tae-rim didn’t pursue him, Ha-min seemed to have no intention of approaching at all.
“Hyung really is kind. I’ll admit that.”
At Tae-rim’s brief answer, Woo-kyung readily agreed and took a drink. Then suddenly, with a frustrated look, he added:
“He’s kind, but sometimes he seems like a pushover. Even during this group project, if it weren’t for Chae-rin, he would have submitted it with all their names on it, right?”
The topic went deeper.
“He’s always showing his notes and assignments to other kids too.”
“It’s good to do things together…”
“I’m telling you, he doesn’t know how to look out for himself.”
Woo-kyung shook his head and scolded. Even hearing this criticism, Ha-min just smiled softly while carefully holding his beer glass. He was definitely drunk, his already easy smile becoming even looser. Tae-rim silently watched this scene and then naturally took away the beer glass that Ha-min was preciously holding. Ha-min looked at the retreating beer glass with pitiful eyes.
“But how did someone like hyung complete his military service?”
The topic this time was the military. The tone suggested that it was quite surprising that Ha-min, with his soft, even mushy personality, had completed his military service.
“Sunbae-nim, did you complete your military service?”
Woo-kyung asked Tae-rim respectfully. Tae-rim smiled gently and answered briefly.
“I’m a U.S. citizen.”
At this one-shot answer, Woo-kyung nodded with a surprised face. “Wow, I’m so fucking jealous,” he blurted out, then immediately added a question.
“Wow, then Ha-min hyung is the only one here who’s completed military service?”
“Ah, boring-ass military talk.”
Eun-soo grumbled, digging in her ear with an annoyed face.
