Chapter 137
Trudge, trudge. On the narrow road running through the quiet forest, two sets of footsteps gently broke the silence.
Glance… Glance. Bang.
After leaving the shopping area through the store door that led to the path. Following a brief introduction and Muyoung’s suggestion that they go together, he nodded without hesitation.
Muyoung, who seemed bothered by his gaze since then and had been occasionally glancing sideways, immediately widened his stride and bounded forward as soon as he spotted the forest path beside the road, as if relieved.
“F-from here on, we need to go this way.”
“Alright.”
“It gets dark from here, so watch your step— Aah!”
Just as he turned back to speak, his foot slipped on the slope and he tumbled sideways. Seokjae, who had been deliberately matching his pace, returned to his normal speed as soon as they separated, closing the distance in an instant and grabbing Muyoung’s waist as he came within reach.
“…Right, we should be careful.”
After supporting him with one arm and helping him up, Seokjae found himself fascinated by the waist that seemed like it would snap with just a bit of pressure, unconsciously stroking it gently before slowly letting go.
‘So this foolish kid is the one who saved me.’
He felt his pride wounded at the thought of being indebted to someone who looked so frail that they might not last another day. Yet at the same time, he kept alternating between thoughts that Muyoung’s movements, both similar to and different from what he’d expected in the city—sloppy yet strangely efficient—made him more capable than his previous group members, enough to have saved him.
“Ha, haha… Thank you.”
Muyoung, embarrassed at unintentionally proving his point about the dangerous path through personal experience, laughed awkwardly. Seokjae, who had been lost in thought for a moment, examined his face again.
‘…He looks stupid.’
For some reason, every time Muyoung smiled, his gaze was naturally drawn to him, and he muttered inwardly for what must have been the umpteenth time. Perhaps it was because he’d never seen a human who looked so gentle and soft, and found it fascinating. His eyes kept wandering to him.
“…A-ahem.”
Muyoung, completely oblivious to Seokjae’s thoughts, couldn’t even ask why he was staring at him so intensely, along with his handsome face making his cheeks burn for some reason. All he could do was avoid eye contact by turning his gaze away.
“…”
“…”
After that, Muyoung walked with his eyes fixed on the ground, using the excuse of being careful not to fall again, so he didn’t smile again.
Nevertheless, Seokjae’s gaze didn’t leave Muyoung. This time, he kept observing him, wondering when he would smile again.
For a long while, only their soft breathing lingered between the two. Then, a neat gate that seemed out of place in the dark forest appeared before them. Muyoung, relieved to finally escape from his gaze before his face exploded, brightened and pointed at the gate.
“There it is. Where we’re staying.”
Creeeeak—
As they opened the wooden gate that was as tall as Seokjae and entered, a moderate-sized house with a yard came into view. Seokjae, surveying the exterior of the house which bore traces of human habitation, raised one eyebrow and said with curiosity:
“You managed to find quite a place. Did the owner let you stay?”
“No, we found it by chance while escaping into the forest. It seems like it was used as some kind of guest house. There were suitcases and such inside. But the owner wasn’t around…”
“Hmm…”
He had wondered why there was a house in such a remote location, but considering it was likely a business promoting natural or rural imagery, Seokjae nodded in understanding.
Slide—
During their conversation, sensing their presence from inside, the glass window slid open sideways.
“Hyung, you’re back?”
“Ah, Yeongjoong, you came out.”
The person who poked his head through the glass window, which had been covered with curtains, was a man who appeared to be around the same age as Muyoung.
‘Why did he go out alone?’
That was Seokjae’s first thought upon seeing him. Normally, when going to the city to get supplies like food or medicine, the more people the better. Yet, leaving behind a perfectly capable companion to go to the city alone? Seokjae couldn’t help but find it strange.
“How’s grandfather doing?”
“He seems a bit better thanks to the painkillers you brought, hyung.”
“That’s a relief…”
‘So there’s another person to look after.’
While that question was answered, another sprouted in its place. The question of whether Muyoung had ever actually been assigned the role of caretaker.
In terms of danger, going to the city was far more dangerous than guarding the house. Yet, based on what he’d seen of his movements today, it seemed less like talent and more like adaptation for survival. His instincts told him something about this situation.
‘So the dangerous work is all done by this soft tofu-like guy.’
Seokjae slightly raised one eyebrow and tilted his head, feeling oddly uncomfortable. By then, their conversation seemed to have ended, and the boy called Yeongjoong carefully looked at Seokjae and asked:
“Um… who is this person?”
“Ah, well, you see…”
He could have simply said he was someone he had saved. Instead, for some reason, Muyoung glanced nervously at him, probably thinking he might hurt his pride…
‘Tsk.’
Inwardly clicking his tongue, Seokjae put his arm around Muyoung’s shoulder and said impassively:
“Someone this guy picked up.”
“What?! P-picked up?!”
“That’s right, isn’t it? You called me over here.”
“Well, yes, I did call you, but…”
Seeing Muyoung’s face, alarmed at the more degrading expression than being “saved,” made Seokjae snicker.
‘If you didn’t like it, you should have just stated the facts promptly instead of worrying about me.’
He had expected this reaction, and sure enough, Muyoung couldn’t even get angry at him for his brazen expression.
In the end, Muyoung seemed to give up on hoping for clarification and waved his hand toward Yeongjoong, saying it wasn’t like that.
“I see. So hyung saved you by chance. Just like me.”
“Like you?”
“Yes, yes. I was about to die after falling in the subway, but hyung saved me.”
“Come on, I just helped you up after you fell. And with Seokjae-ssi, we just happened to meet and travel together.”
“…”
Seokjae was displeased at being lumped together with the idiot who nearly died from falling, but he couldn’t honestly say he had harbored ill intentions and was breaking down the door when he was expelled from his group, so he just kept quiet.
Just as they were wrapping up their introductions and exchanging names, suddenly a new figure appeared from inside.
“What, you’re back?”
“Ah…”
This time it was a pot-bellied middle-aged man who seemed even older than the young one but appeared to have even less manners. He approached with heavy footsteps and stretched out his thick hand as if demanding something expected.
“Let’s see what you brought.”
“…Yes.”
Despite the attitude that treated him like a servant, without even a word of appreciation or thanks for his hard work, Muyoung just smiled awkwardly and handed over the bag he was carrying on his back.
‘He gives it to him without smashing his head in? Is he really an idiot?’
For someone like Seokjae, who would have made sure there weren’t even bones left to collect if someone had treated him that way, this was completely incomprehensible. As he silently frowned, the pot-bellied man, rummaging through the bag, suddenly burst out in anger.
“There’s no banana!”
“…What?”
“I’m sorry. I looked hard today too, but there weren’t any.”
The request was so ridiculous that Seokjae unconsciously echoed in disbelief, but Muyoung apologized naturally, as if he had already expected it. Seokjae’s incredulous gaze shifted from the pot-bellied man to Muyoung.
‘What am I hearing right now? Banana? Did he say banana? Is he throwing a tantrum about food in this situation? And this idiot is actually apologizing and trying to accommodate him?’
It was such an absurd conversation that he couldn’t even manage a derisive laugh, outweighing all the other bizarre things that had happened today. Lost for words, Seokjae stood there as Yeongjoong murmured beside him.
“Ugh, here we go again.”
“Again?”
“Yeah… well, it’s not for nothing, he has his reasons, but—”
He continued saying something more, but Seokjae had already heard the answer he wanted. Considering the rest to be unnecessary information, he let Yeongjoong’s words go in one ear and out the other.
“How can there be no bananas! You can find bananas even at a convenience store!”
He stomped his feet and shouted like a three-year-old throwing a tantrum. Even for a forest area far from the city, it was far too careless behavior. Just by looking at him, a conclusion could be drawn: this bastard had never properly lived in the hellish city.
‘So… at least three people are leeching off this soft tofu.’
Seokjae realized at this opportunity that just as seeing frustrating things irritated him, seeing something too stupid also made him angry.
“But all the ones I saw were completely smashed or… in an inedible state.”
“Did I ask for something else? Bananas! I only asked for bananas! My wife can’t eat anything else right now—”
Even though it wasn’t his business, he stood with his arms crossed, watching to see how far this would go, and it was getting more and more ridiculous.
“Hey.”
Finally unable to hold back, Seokjae stepped in front of Muyoung, blocking him.
“S-Seokjae-ssi?!”
“W-what? Who are you?!”
Completely hidden behind his back without a single hair showing, a flustered Muyoung grabbed his clothes and tugged, but Seokjae didn’t budge an inch, standing like a doorkeeper and coldly eyeing the pot-bellied man.
“You don’t need to know that. I need to repay my benefactor for his kindness… and now seems like the perfect time.”
Crack, crack, as he loosened each finger one by one while speaking, his appearance was so terrifying it would make even the grim reaper flee.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
