96.
“Hmm, I guess it didn’t work out well. I don’t know.”
Fatigue remained clearly visible on Haseo’s face as he spoke with a disheveled smile. The dark circles under his eyes and the sighs that mixed with the end of each sentence. The manager looked at Haseo like this and quietly asked.
“Is it that person you mentioned before?”
“…Yes.”
Haseo nodded slightly. The manager silently approached and patted Haseo’s shoulder. At that warmth, Haseo closed his eyes for a moment.
“I liked him. Very much.”
“And?”
“Now I’m not so sure.”
“Because he’s a bad person?”
Though Haseo hadn’t explained in detail about Choi Mujin, the manager knew that he had hurt Haseo. It was because of what Haseo had revealed when he drank too much at the welcome party. From that incident, the manager also learned that the person Haseo liked was another man.
“That’s part of it. His actions and words don’t match. If you look at his actions, he’s affectionate, but his words are harsh.”
If he had just said one word that he liked him, Haseo could have forgotten everything.
“Was saying ‘I like you’ that difficult?”
After going through many things, Mujin did express his feelings, but it was too late. Haseo had come too far to trust Mujin’s words and give his heart to him.
“It can be both easy and difficult. But that’s how words are. A single word can make a person endure or break down.”
“I suppose so.”
Haseo answered with a bitter smile. Maybe that was true. He had wanted to endure until the end, but couldn’t. Besides, after losing his grandmother, he was filled with distrust, making everything difficult. Even when he belatedly tried to change Mujin, he wasn’t confident in his actions. Still, having someone listen made him feel a bit relieved.
“So it’s natural that you’re hurting right now. And at times like this, what you need is this.”
The manager handed Haseo a frappuccino topped with whipped cream.
“Eat. Eating and working makes you feel a bit better.”
“Is that what you did when you were heartbroken, Manager?”
“This guy?”
The manager narrowed his eyes and glared at Haseo.
“Yes, that’s what I did. And now I’m fine. I even have a much better boyfriend now. If it really doesn’t work out, just move on.”
Haseo laughed softly at the manager’s joking words.
“I’m serious, so don’t laugh. It’s almost opening time. Let’s get through today too!”
“Yes, fighting!”
“Right, fighting! A customer is coming in! Welcome~!”
Watching the manager greet customers energetically, Haseo likewise bowed to the customers. Then he took orders, entered them, and started making drinks. He was now quite familiar with this job.
In this ordinary daily life, Haseo was trying to find himself.
Choi Mujin was staring at his phone.
For several days, Haseo hadn’t called. Usually, he would call occasionally to talk about small everyday things.
At first, Mujin thought he might be busy. Then he wondered if Haseo wasn’t feeling well. But when the situation continued for one more day, he finally contacted Seo Miso.
— Nothing unusual has happened. He’s just living a normal life, doing his part-time jobs.
“No one approached him?”
— No one.
Yet Haseo wasn’t calling Mujin. After ending the call with Seo Miso, he suddenly checked his call history. There were only incoming call records from Haseo. Since Haseo had started contacting him, Mujin had never reached out first.
Reflecting on the reason, he quickly understood. Choi Mujin didn’t have the courage to contact Haseo first. He had been passive, not wanting to miss the chance Haseo was giving him. Realizing this, a sigh escaped unconsciously.
“How foolish.”
Choi Mujin pressed Haseo’s name in the call list. The dial tone continued for a long time, but the call wasn’t connected. He only heard the voice mail message. But he didn’t give up and persistently tried to reach him.
Once, then once more. After calling persistently like a stalker, Haseo finally answered.
— Hello.
His voice was filled with sleepiness.
“Haseo.”
A moment of silence passed between them.
— Yes.
“Did I wake you up? You sound tired.”
— A little. I’ve been busy with a lot of work lately.
He wanted to tell Haseo to quit all his jobs and come home. But that wouldn’t be what Haseo wanted. Choi Mujin carefully chose his words.
“When will you have some free time?”
— Next weekend. Oh, by the way, there’s something I didn’t tell you when we met.
“What is it?”
— Please give me your bank account. I’ll deposit part of the debt I owe you. Now that I’m somewhat used to working, I think I can give you something monthly. It’s not a large amount, but I’ll gradually increase it.
The moment he heard those words, his heart turned cold. The money wasn’t meant to be repaid. Since Haseo left home and found work, he had been worried that something like this might happen. But when it actually happened right in front of him, his mood sank.
“You don’t have to repay it.”
— No, I will repay it. Or would you prefer I offer my body like before? Would you like me to repay that way?
Choi Mujin swallowed a sigh at the sharp voice. The actions he had committed, wanting to be bound by emotions deeper than changing love, were now coming back to stab him.
— Just accept it. If you want, I’ll add interest. I don’t know when I can repay it all, but I’ll do my best.
“Haseo, why are you going to such lengths?”
He could live much more comfortably if he wanted to. Haseo became quiet at Mujin’s question.
— Just, I think I can live with peace of mind only by doing this.
Haseo left those words and ended the call. Even after that, Choi Mujin couldn’t put down his phone for a long time. After being in a daze in the silent room, he took out alcohol from the cabinet again.
The last words Haseo left kept echoing in his ear. It was a debt he had deliberately erased, but now he regretted the situation.
He wanted to prevent Haseo from leaving, and for that purpose, he had acted in the only way he knew. But for Haseo, it had been nothing but suffering all along.
“I wasn’t unaware of that.”
If Haseo tried to leave because of this, Choi Mujin would revert to his former self. No matter what, he was ultimately just a base human being. A foolish human who couldn’t hold onto people any other way.
Choi Mujin put down his drink and stood up. Suddenly, he wanted to see Haseo. And he wanted to ask.
What kind of love did Haseo want?
At that time, Haseo had left the gosiwon and was sitting at a table in a nearby 24-hour convenience store. In front of him was a can of beer he had bought from the store.
He didn’t particularly want to get drunk, so the randomly chosen beer wasn’t to his taste. However, he didn’t want to curl up in the small gosiwon. As he was blankly staring at the beer can, someone suddenly sat down across from him.
“Huh?”
When he looked up, a man made eye contact and smiled brightly.
“Convenience store beer is nice, isn’t it? I was just about to have a can too. There’s nothing like a can of beer after finishing work.”
The young man opened his beer can with a friendly smile. After gulping down half of it, he placed a folded piece of paper in the middle of the table. It was a small size, about two finger joints.
“A gift for you.”
Then he finished the rest of his beer and stood up. Surprised by the sudden encounter, Haseo just blinked before turning his gaze to the paper.
“Is he drunk?”
He unfolded the crumpled paper without much thought. It contained a small printout of an internet news article. Still, the title and important content were readable.
“○○ Hospital Fire Incident.”
It was the name of the hospital where Haseo’s grandmother had been hospitalized.
The content wasn’t particularly special. It reported that due to a sudden fire that broke out in a hospital room, people evacuated, resulting in three injuries and one death. The person who died that day was his grandmother.
“Everything was part of the plan.”
Below the article, such words were written in red pen. Haseo already knew that the incident was caused by someone. Suddenly, a fire broke out in a nearby hospital room, and in that situation, his father moved Haseo outside. After that, he tried to hand him over to someone else.
Haseo’s gaze moved further down.
“But whose plan was it?”
Who? All this time, Haseo had thought that the person behind all this was Chairman Jang of Isaac Finance. A person who disliked Choi Mujin and tried to bring down Haseo, whom he considered Mujin’s weakness. But looking at the writing here, he thought that there might be aspects different from what he had assumed.
If everything was indeed planned by Chairman Jang, it didn’t seem likely that he would hand over something like this. Or maybe not. Perhaps Chairman Jang, who had been ousted, sent this to shake Haseo.
Haseo folded the paper again and put it in his pocket. He felt he needed to investigate this matter further.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
