62
The place they arrived at was the middle of some mountain. Taein wondered if he’d been here before when Gu Wanjae pointed downward with his hand. He said there’s that motel down there. Just go over the hill and it comes out. The only motel Taein could think of with Wanjae was that place where they had their first encounter. Feeling somewhat embarrassed by the emotion, Taein said “Oh” and changed the subject to something else.
Wanjae said the air was good and walked around the area a bit before telling Taein to wait just 30 minutes.
Right in front was the mountain and behind was the road. Even though it was winter, the mountain was dense with trees, so if you went just a little forward, you wouldn’t be able to see anything. Wanjae jumped over the fence onto the dirt and could be seen entering into that mountain.
Doing this kind of thing and calling it a regular business?
It wasn’t even funny.
Taein had stayed only inside the car even when Wanjae was walking around the area. He was also watching the mountain climbing through the car window.
At first there weren’t many cars, but as time passed, one or two cars came up the road below. Two familiar hyungs got out of a car parked right next to them. Taein still had an awkward relationship with them. They would greet each other when they met at the guesthouse, but that was all. After the gambling den, Wanjae generally didn’t take him to places where the hyungs were.
“Isn’t that Seonyeong’s car?”
“Yes, but Wanjae probably rode in it today.”
“Right, I see that kid.”
The hyungs seemed to have recognized him through the front windshield. From the moment Taein sensed their presence, he leaned back and pretended to sleep. They were words without much meaning. As their voices gradually grew distant, Taein opened his eyes slightly and looked ahead. They too were climbing that mountain path Wanjae had gone up. The people who disappeared among the trees didn’t show themselves for a long time.
Taein repeated such behavior a couple more times before actually falling asleep.
He woke up to sounds about an hour later.
Taein checked the time on his phone and looked ahead.
He could see men walking down between the trees. They were with some frail-looking man. The reason he particularly caught the eye was because while the men in suits all had good builds, only he was incredibly small. The other hyung next to him was carrying what looked like a large luggage bag, and some hyung was coming down carrying a box.
He had no idea what had happened up there.
Taein opened his eyes properly and looked ahead at the sight he was seeing for the first time. Before he knew it, he had leaned forward and made eye contact with the person at the front of the group.
The handsome hyung.
It was hyung Geon.
The gambling den was the first and last time he’d seen him, but maybe because his face was so handsome, even his name came to mind immediately.
The distance wasn’t close, so Taein quickly averted his eyes. He was just looking at his feet when he heard the sound of the hyungs who had completely come down scattering to their respective cars. This way, yes. Hey, see you at dinner. Got it. Various sounds were mixing and coming in through the slightly open window gap. The sound of engines starting could be heard from various places and someone was even laughing. Then, the sound of glass being tapped came from right next to him.
“Ah.”
The person who had come up to the car window was hyung Geon.
It would be a bit much to just nod his head like this. Making a quick judgment, Taein opened the door and as soon as his feet touched the ground, he bowed deeply at the waist.
“Hello.”
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
He’d never stood together with him before, so he didn’t know how tall the hyung was. When he was sitting in the gambling den room, he had only briefly thought that since his upper body looked big, he must be tall too. The hyung was as big as expected. He was as tall as Wanjae, who stood out with his head above others wherever he went.
“Ah, yes. Have you been well?”
“Did you follow Wanjae?”
“Yes. He said he had some business to take care of briefly.”
He could see the hyung’s eyebrows rise significantly. The hyung just said “business” and didn’t elaborate specifically. Instead, he brought up something else.
“Did you go to Seoul well?”
“Yes?”
“You went to Seoul last week.”
Taein quickly turned his mind.
It seemed that Wanjae, who found it awkward to bring him to gatherings, had made up some appropriate story.
Taein, who had briefly looked elsewhere, said “Ah” and nodded.
“Yes, a hyung I know… got seriously injured….”
“Didn’t he say your father passed away?”
“Ah, yes. My father also passed away.”
Taein, who hastily added this, felt heat rising in his throat. A normal person would first suspect if it was a lie, but hyung Geon seemed familiar with someone’s death as his expression didn’t change much. He just nodded saying “Mm.” Then the hyung who raised his eyes could be felt looking at various parts of his face.
“You’re a beta.”
“……”
“You don’t have beard marks.”
It wasn’t particularly problematic statement, but Taein alone felt startled. A guy who just turned twenty might not have facial hair. But rather than that, Taein first thought of his own traits. Omegas generally don’t grow beards, and even the downy hair that grows falls out completely later on. Taein opened and closed his mouth trying to say something.
“I….”
That’s when it happened. He felt his shoulder being gripped heavily, then a familiar voice flowed forward.
“Hyung-nim, what are you talking about with Taein? Please include me too.”
The one who cheekily threw out those words was Gu Wanjae. Though Wanjae gripped his shoulder hard enough for his arms to come together completely, he had a bright smile on his face.
“It’s nice to see a friend after a long time.”
“Is that so?”
The hyung who was standing with one leg cocked diagonally lifted his chin toward Taein.
“But maybe because I’m seeing him in daylight… his impression is a bit different. He was unique then too.”
“He’s unique. It’s hard to find a guy who looks like this even in all of Seoul.”
Saying this, Wanjae raised his hand and gently stroked Taein’s cheek with the back of his hand.
“……”
“He’s a beta but doesn’t have a beard?”
“Hey, hyung-nim, I don’t have one either.”
“How old did you say you were this year?”
“Wow, hyung-nim, are you serious? You know my age but somehow don’t know your dongsaeng’s age?”
“You bastard, you’re always stuck to me, so when would I have time to know your age….”
The hyung who added “the bastard who even quit school…” lifted the corner of his mouth. Then the hyung who took out a cigarette from his back pocket bit the filter part with his teeth. Wanjae just said “I’m hurt” and took out a lighter from his pocket. The lighter that lit with clicking sounds transferred its flame to the hyung’s cigarette.
“Phew, anyway it’s strange. He seems like he’d keep his distance from a guy like this.”
The hyung who pointed at Wanjae with his face blew out cigarette smoke.
“Hyung-nim, I’m getting more and more hurt?”
“Hurt my ass.”
It wasn’t once or twice that the hyung had heard Wanjae talking nonsense, so he started to laugh then stopped. It was a face that said he was an amusing guy.
Taein just kept his mouth shut because the hyung made him feel awkward and there was no part for him to join the conversation.
The hyung only said he was leaving after finishing his cigarette.
The cars that had been packed together had already all left.
Only hyung Geon’s car and one white SUV were stopped on the dirt road. In hyung Geon’s car, another hyung was waiting as the driver. He was looking this way with the window rolled up. Hyung Geon who turned around and raised his hand got into the back seat of that car. The car quickly backed up and picked up speed. Making a screeching sound, it spun its wheels brilliantly before entering the paved road.
Wanjae bowed ninety degrees toward the car. Taein also bent his waist next to him in confusion.
How many seconds had passed? Wanjae, who slowly straightened his waist, seemed to be looking beyond the roadway.
Only one unknown car was coming toward this place.
Wanjae only turned his head toward Taein after even examining that car’s driver.
“Hey.”
“Yeah.”
“What are you?”
“What do you mean?”
“…Why did you get out of the car?”
“…Then should I have just stayed put? He came over here first.”
“Whether he came first or not, why do you care about that?”
“Hey… pick on something worth picking on…. Rather, the situation almost got weird because of you.”
“What?”
“Why did you say your father died? If you were going to lie, you should have told me too… it just made the story tangled for no reason. It only passed because the hyung is an indifferent person, but what if he wasn’t? You would have been in trouble too.”
“An indifferent person?”
Before the words were even finished, Wanjae interrupted. With his brows deeply furrowed.
“Yeah. That’s right.”
“Why are you saying that to me? What’s right about it? I don’t know? How much observation did you do to even know that the hyung is indifferent? Amazing, Kang Taein. You know more than me, so we might as well fucking work together.”
“Hey, be sarcastic about something worth being sarcastic about. Do you know this from observation? Anyway, the way you think when you see things is fucking weird. What did I do? And what’s the hyung’s fault? He didn’t do anything to me either. He just talked to me.”
“Hey.”
Wanjae, who had been listening to Taein’s words with an expression that he couldn’t understand throughout, squinted one eye and said “Hey.”
“What.”
“Nothing happened? So what? You wish that hyung would do something for you, that’s what you’re saying right now?”
“…You’d think so. Crazy bastard.”
“Yeah, that’s right, I’m a crazy bastard.”
“Haah… fine, let’s stop this….”
It seemed like if they talked more, they’d just repeat tiresome words to each other. Taein gave up and tried to get into the car. When he put his hand on the door handle, he could see Wanjae following along the car window. It was just a few steps, but he had quickly come close and stood behind him. It was when Taein, who had seen his very angry-looking face, pulled the door with a dull sound.
“Hey asshole, be honest about how things turned out. You think because your asshole got opened up a bit, you can put another guy’s dick in there too. Yeah, fuck… opening it once is the hard part, after that what does it matter who sticks it in? After doing it with me, you think you can put an old bastard’s dick in too… shit… I can see right through you, bastard.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
