Soon after, he heard the sound of water from behind, followed by the sound of Sa Gong-hyun’s footsteps. Jae-young had no choice but to curl up and lie face down on the floor.
“I said go away!”
“What changes if you avoid it? Do you think I’ll forget so soon?”
Sa Gong-hyun, undeterred, picked up Jae-young.
He wanted to die. Of all things, he had released urine during sex.
He thought Sa Gong-hyun wouldn’t notice because they were in water, but amazingly, he had. Jae-young, covering his face in shame, lamented silently.
“I can shower by myself!”
“Stop fussing and stay still.”
Forcibly held by Sa Gong-hyun, he was made to shower, and even until he lay in bed, his crumpled face showed no signs of smoothing out.
***
Jae-young couldn’t help but maintain his sullen face.
There was a good reason why Jae-young’s mood had been unsatisfactory since the third day of their trip. The next day, he had fallen ill and stayed in bed all day, only getting up after a full day.
He was already displeased about wasting a precious day…
His gloomily sunken face looked over the figure confronting him.
“Will you go away if I ask nicely?”
“Do you think I want to follow you around? Not just anyone can receive my guide services.”
“That’s like saying you want me to include you among those ‘anyones.'”
“Just shut up and get in!”
Jeremy distorted his already fierce face. He shoved Jae-young into the passenger seat.
“Hey, don’t push me!”
Jae-young sat on the passenger seat with a short scream. Slam! The car door closed forcefully, blocking any chance of escape. The wind that rushed in as the door closed messed up his hair, which he had carefully styled since morning.
“I don’t know what Logi sees in someone like this that made him bring you all the way here.”
Jeremy grumbled as he got into the driver’s seat. Jae-young blew air upward through his lips. His bangs floated up and quickly settled back down.
“Keep talking all you want. You think that’s going to intimidate me?”
As Jae-young immediately talked back without yielding, Jeremy turned the steering wheel. It was a rough curve that matched his irritated gaze.
“I told you not to speak Korean in front of me!”
“Whether I use it or not is my freedom. What’s it to you?”
“Damn Tiny.”
When he mockingly called him ‘Tiny’ to ridicule Jae-young’s short stature, Jae-young kept his lips tightly shut.
If he continued to engage, he would surely lose to Jeremy again, just like yesterday. After all, he had even made a drinking bet with him last night and was thoroughly defeated.
“Did you take a hangover remedy without me knowing?”
Jeremy, who had been watching the road, glanced sideways. A sneer erupted from him.
“Don’t be so intimidated. It can’t be helped that Tiny is smaller and can’t handle alcohol as well as me.”
“Who do you take for a fool? Who drinks alcohol by their height?”
“Your stomach is smaller. I drink alcohol like water.”
Jeremy boasted, shrugging his shoulder once. Jae-young glared at him with narrowed eyes. Unable to contain his anger, he pinched Jeremy’s forearm hard.
“Damn it! What are you doing? That hurts!”
“I pinched you to hurt, not to tickle. How can someone be so childish?”
“What did I do!”
“Look at you now. Raising your voice because you hate to lose. You’re not an angry seven-year-old.”
“Are all Asians like you?! The worst!”
“I wonder if all Westerners are as unrefined as Jeremy? I’m the one who’s had it.”
“How do you never back down! If it weren’t for Logi, you would have been shot dead long ago! Damn it!”
“I’m trembling with fear. Besides, Logi, whom you’re crazy about, is also Asian. Are you stupid?”
Jeremy’s face, which was gripping the steering wheel as if to break it, turned bright red. He suddenly stopped the car.
…Maybe I went too far. Jae-young belatedly observed Jeremy’s reaction. After fuming for a while, Jeremy glared at him.
“Get out now!”
Jae-young was silent for a moment. Then he unfastened his seatbelt. As soon as he got out of the car, Jeremy’s vehicle, embodying his temperamental nature, sped away like a bullet.
Having been abandoned in the middle of a Manhattan road, car horns blared from everywhere. Jae-young, who had retreated to the sidewalk, glared at the disappearing car.
He exhaled a large breath that had built up in his lungs. He frowned as he looked around at the endless forest of buildings.
“Where am I now?”
The sun was too hot.
He walked as he pleased. Suddenly feeling hungry, he entered a random restaurant and sat down. He sat at a window seat with a clear view outside. Having ordered food as soon as he entered, he spent the boring time waiting.
“…I wonder what Sa Gong-hyun is doing.”
He muttered to himself. While Jae-young was wandering around Manhattan, Sa Gong-hyun was diligently fulfilling the purpose of his visit here. And that was in Newark, about an hour away from Manhattan.
If his business had been in New Jersey, he could have stayed there, but Sa Gong-hyun seemed concerned about the safety of that area. It was he who had turned the car heading to Newark midway, and he had even given Jae-young his own gun.
“Try to stay within Manhattan as much as possible. Don’t even think about setting foot in places that Jeremy restricts. And, though it’s unlikely, if someone threatens you, aim without hesitation. If unavoidable, it’s okay to shoot. I’ll take care of the aftermath.”
Jae-young pushed out his lower lip as he fiddled with the gun tucked at his waist.
Of course, he had added that there would be no need to use it if he was with Jeremy. He also mentioned that if he happened to leave New York State, it wouldn’t hurt to have it.
He had heard that it was the same caliber as the gun he had used at the shooting range they had visited daily before coming to Manhattan.
As he said, Jae-young had no intention of leaving Manhattan. This place already had more than enough places to explore.
He doubted that there would be a need to use a gun in this crowded central location. His worries seemed unnecessary.
Reflecting on Sa Gong-hyun’s thoughts, he found himself desperately wanting to see him. Since they had promised to meet together when the sun set and the movie-like landscape unfolded, even though dissatisfaction arose, he had no choice but to pass the time without saying much.
Jae-young turned on his phone, which had international roaming enabled. He went to the gallery and browsed through the pictures of him that he had taken secretly.
The photos he had taken since he started meeting him officially already exceeded thirty. Among them, Jae-young’s favorite was the photo taken when he was sleeping.
Since it was so rare to witness him sleeping, he had immediately opened his drowsy eyes wide and reached for his phone. Beer and food were set in front of Jae-young, who had a satisfied smile on his face.
After expressing gratitude to the server, he quickly opened the bottle cap. Jae-young hummed as he captured the food with his camera. Just as he was about to send the carefully taken photo to Sa Gong-hyun, the beer bottle placed on the table suddenly spilled.
“…What the!”
Since it tilted towards Jae-young, he reflexively stood up from his seat.
Jae-young furrowed his brows and raised his head. There was definitely a physical element involved in the bottle spilling.
“Idiot.”
As if to prove this, two American men with sports cuts mocked Jae-young. They even turned back to glare at him as they passed by.
The corner of his mouth twitched unconsciously. While Jae-young stared at them blankly, shaking off the beer spilled on his pants, the two Americans sat down and engaged in conversation.
Their snickering voices made it obvious what they were talking about.
“…Those crazy bastards.”
It was racial discrimination, even at a glance. What era was this that they would openly discriminate like this?
Ha, he couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh. Jae-young, who had irritably shaken his pants, moved. As he approached the kitchen area, a startled waiter handed him tissues.
“Oh my. Are you okay? Would you like to wipe it with this first?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Could I have two bottles of beer? Right away, please.”
He smiled kindly with his molars tightly clenched. The waiter gave him the beer with a sympathetic face.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
