#Side Story 3
Side Story 2. My Poor Sea
The chilly winter wind of late December shook the hem of the man’s long coat. The monster stood atop the tallest skyscraper in the city, gazing down at the city below. His eyes shimmered emotionlessly like well-crafted glass marbles. The busy streets with people coming and going, the presence of countless people inside buildings, all irritated his sensitive senses.
Sometimes he thought.
This city was too noisy and bustling. To be honest, managing this city itself was troublesome and annoying. It overflowed with absurdities and people as greedy as ogres. Their greed was so great that it even overcame their fear of him, which was quite remarkable. It would be simple to grab each of them and turn their heads inside out, but sometimes even that task felt bothersome.
Today was such a day. Lost in strange thoughts and complexities, he lightly shook off Han Seong-won, who was desperately clinging to him, and left the boring space.
Oh-yul gazed down at the dizzying depths below and gently traced his only compass in this tedious life.
The once faint imprint had become quite clear, now constantly occupying a corner of his consciousness even without conscious effort. The emotions flowing through that imprint were so diverse that Oh-yul sometimes became immersed in those feelings.
Today, Ho-woo’s mood was very complicated. He seemed troubled and confused, so Oh-yul let out a short growl.
Didn’t he say he was going out?
Although he hadn’t said where he was going, Oh-yul was confident he could find Ho-woo anywhere within this city. The man with the sophisticated built-in tracker lightly kicked off the tall building and launched himself into the air.
***
The bustling crowd and Christmas carols ringing through the streets. The colorful lights decorating the trees twinkled beautifully.
The city had fully embraced the end-of-year atmosphere. Christmas was just a few days away. Although the meaning of Christmas had faded after the world collapsed once, it was still clearly a commemorative and romantic day. Ho-woo lingered in front of the department store, his face clearly showing signs of deep contemplation.
A few days ago, while Oh-yul was briefly away, Han Seong-won had quietly approached Ho-woo and tipped him off.
‘Ho-woo, do you know the boss’s birthday is coming up?’
As he said this, Han Seong-won’s eyes, tinged with red, rolled around. His attitude seemed as if he was gauging Ho-woo’s reaction.
‘Birthday?’
‘Ah… You didn’t know. Well, the boss isn’t the type to mention it himself. It’s not publicly known either.’
He awkwardly scratched his head.
‘The boss’s birthday is December 24th. He probably hasn’t celebrated it since entering the training center at age 9, but things are different now, aren’t they?’
Right?
Ho-woo couldn’t say anything in response to Han Seong-won’s attitude seeking agreement with just his gaze. He seemed to think that Ho-woo and Oh-yul were simply on very good terms, and by secretly tipping Ho-woo off, he hoped the birthday wouldn’t pass by meaninglessly.
Ho-woo felt conflicted, but trying to hide his emotions, he replied, ‘Thanks for letting me know,’ and soon Oh-yul returned, ending their conversation there.
Since then, Ho-woo had been lost in one particular worry.
Whether to prepare a birthday gift or not.
Many versions of Ho-woo fought in his head, pulling at each other’s hair. The soft-hearted faction argued, “He hasn’t been celebrated since he was 9! Let’s prepare something anyway!” while the hardline faction insisted, “Why should we care about that bastard’s birthday?” They fought without giving an inch, and just now a winner had emerged.
It was the moment when the always gentle, unable-to-say-no-to-others Ho-woo faction had won.
Although his feelings for Oh-yul were too complex to define clearly, one thing was certain – they would be facing each other for life, so he might as well take care of the basics.
Finally entering the department store, Ho-woo looked around the shops, wondering what to buy that would make that man happy. Although Oh-yul would probably be happy even if Ho-woo brought him trash as a gift, he didn’t want to just buy anything and present it as a gift.
After circling the department store for a long time, Ho-woo suddenly approached an item that caught his eye as if enchanted. It was a luxury brand he wouldn’t normally even glance at due to the price, but it immediately captured his heart.
“May I help you?”
An employee approached Ho-woo, who was staring at the display as if mesmerized, and politely asked. Ho-woo nodded lightly.
“Yes, could you show me this?”
Even if he wandered the department store like a ghost, he felt nothing would suit him as well as this. If he couldn’t buy a gift today, he wouldn’t have another chance to come to the department store alone.
“Ah… Is this a gift for him?”
The employee smiled faintly and took the item out of the glass display to show Ho-woo. Her attitude suggested she knew exactly who Ho-woo was buying for. Ho-woo awkwardly scratched his cheek. At times like this, he felt that being well-known wasn’t such a good thing. He should get used to it, but the young man who had never been in the public eye before still felt awkward.
“I’ll wrap it nicely for you.”
Under the employee’s skilled hands, the small box was instantly wrapped in gift paper. The colorful wrapping paper in red and green exuded a strong Christmas feeling to anyone who saw it. The employee finished by tying a gold ribbon around it and carefully placed the box in a small shopping bag while brightly saying goodbye.
“Have a merry Christmas.”
Though he knew it was a cliché greeting, Ho-woo left the store with a strange expression. Could he really enjoy Christmas with him? Once again, a heavy sense of guilt settled on his chest. His slightly excited mood sank heavily back underwater. The shopping bag in his hand was infinitely light, yet also heavy.
As Ho-woo trudged out of the department store, he felt a strange commotion. It could be because there were more people than usual, but it felt somewhat different from that kind of bustle.
Naturally following the gazes converging in one direction, Ho-woo turned his head and spotted a familiar figure standing a little way from the department store entrance. Oh-yul, whose eyes met Ho-woo’s, curved his eyes into long crescents, as if his previous expressionless face had been a lie.
“Ho-woo.”
The lips that parted slightly and rounded to pronounce Ho-woo’s name suddenly reminded Ho-woo of how they looked when begging for a kiss once. Ho-woo shook his head to push away the thought.
“Aren’t you supposed to be working at this time?”
Ho-woo checked the time and furrowed his brow at Oh-yul’s appearance in broad daylight. Whether weekday or weekend, this man had no days off. So him being here like this was strange in itself. Under Ho-woo’s steady gaze, Oh-yul furrowed his brow and lowered his eyes like an actor on stage after the curtain rose.
“Even I have days when I don’t want to work sometimes.”
The man’s gaze touched on the small shopping bag Ho-woo was holding, then dropped away.
“Would you like to go out with me?”
As always, he held out his hand without asking anything. The Esper who had been waiting for Ho-woo to take his hand soon raised the corners of his mouth at the touch of their temperatures meeting.
***
In the distance, pleasant screams rang out. “Pleasant screams” might sound a bit strange, but there was no other way to describe it. Ho-woo awkwardly fiddled with the paper wristband and hunched his shoulders for no reason. The gazes of people passing by were all focused on them.
It was a bit bewildering that when Oh-yul said “Let’s go out,” he suddenly brought him to an amusement park. Because he didn’t like bustling places.
“What should we ride first?”
The man holding out the park guide map asked Ho-woo with a serious face. Ho-woo wondered if a man who could jump from buildings barehanded and cross the sky would really enjoy mere amusement park rides, but he decided not to point this out to the excited person.
“Is there anything you want to ride?”
Even if he asked this, there probably wouldn’t be much Oh-yul could ride. He was too tall to begin with. Being too short is a problem, but being too tall is also a problem.
“I’m not sure. This is my first time here.”
Oh-yul looked away from the guide map and surveyed his surroundings as if seeing an unfamiliar landscape. He looked slightly awkward, as if the positive atmosphere created by couples leaning on each other, harmonious families, and boisterous groups huddled together was unfamiliar to him.
Ho-woo inwardly clicked his tongue at the reaction of the man who always wore a composed and nonchalant face. Even though he recognized him as a bastard not to be associated with, seeing such naive behavior inevitably softened his heart.
“Then let’s go ride this first.”
Near the entrance of the park was a large Viking ship ride. It was the most common ride and had no height restrictions, so it was quite a good choice. The tip of the ship protruding above the trees in the distance caught his eye.
“It seems to be that way.”
Ho-woo lightly tugged on his clothes and walked ahead. When he was young, they almost always came here for school trips. In this place where good and bad memories were mixed, Ho-woo unknowingly raised the corners of his lips and let out small laughs whenever he found familiarity amidst the unfamiliarity.
“It might be boring for you.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
