63
“…What?”
“If not, then say no, you bastard.”
He heard shouting: “You can’t, right? You can’t, fuck!”
He didn’t know what to say. More precisely, words wouldn’t come to mind. He was angry, but he didn’t want to express this outwardly either. It wasn’t just anyone else, but Gu Wanjae – whenever problems arose from Gu Wanjae’s words, he always felt this kind of emotion. It was closer to sadness than anger. A sense of betrayal came first, thinking “So that’s all you think of me.”
Taein became expressionless to the point of being calm, just staring at Gu Wanjae’s face.
Gu Wanjae was the only one getting excited and shouting.
Still wanting to insult him more, he was even making threats: “Fucking bastard, won’t you speak? Say you won’t fuck old guys, you bastard!”
Taein pushed down his sunken emotions and slightly lifted his chin.
“…Fucking son of a bitch.”
That was all that came out of his mouth.
After muttering the curse like a recitation, Taein turned around.
Ahead were only sharply curved roads, mountains, and small fences, but he didn’t want to be in the same space as Gu Wanjae. He wanted to put some distance between them somehow.
At first Taein walked stumblingly as his steps took him, but after leaving the dirt area, he walked almost at a run.
Normally Gu Wanjae would have started the car and quickly caught up to this point, but there was no sound of a car from behind.
Instead, he heard this:
“That bastard thinks he can go somewhere every day! Where the hell are you going to go!”
It made sense for him to say that. Even on the day they were forced to kiss at the underground gambling den, he eventually got in Gu Wanjae’s car. Now it was even more so – a mountain road halfway up. Even if Gu Wanjae started the engine in 10 minutes, he could easily catch up to someone like Taein. With that thought, Taein ran at full speed. He heard “Hey bastard! Even if you run for an hour, it’ll still be the same road!” from behind, but it sounded farther away than at first. Taein turned along the stone wall. It was the first curve.
“Haa, ha.”
Fuck, I should have given him the finger before turning. As he ran, heat filled his chest and his breathing became tight. Having heated himself up, Taein now wanted to respond to Gu Wanjae’s words. You fucking bastard, you go get fucked by old guys! You son of a bitch! But then his heart sank again. He didn’t want to say such things. But Gu Wanjae had said them. He was a complete fucking bastard.
While Taein was wavering, he saw a car coming up this way. A black mid-sized car was quickly climbing the road that looked like a twisted slide.
“Haa….”
What’s the point of running like this? He’d get caught anyway. Like Gu Wanjae’s confidence that he could catch him even if he started an hour later, the outcome of running seemed obvious too. Taein stopped there and caught his breath.
He’d never done anything like this before, but he hated the idea of seeing Gu Wanjae’s mocking expression as he dragged his car over even more. Having made up his mind, Taein stretched out his arm widely toward the approaching car.
With his face red and looking like he was being chased, Taein looked like someone who’d gotten lost in the mountains. He clearly looked like he’d just fallen from a high mountain cliff, showing signs of hardship.
The car seemed to stop because of that. Moreover, Taein looked young, so unless someone was quite heartless, they would at least roll down their window to check on him. The car that had stopped briefly rolled down the driver’s side window.
“What are you doing here?”
The person in the driver’s seat was a female driver who appeared to be in her 50s. Taein bowed ninety degrees toward her like he used to do at the dumpling shop.
“Hello…. Could I possibly get a ride in the direction you’re going….”
At this request he was making for the first time in his life, Taein’s already red face became even redder.
The driver didn’t think long about the troubled-looking Taein.
“Get in for now.”
“Thank you. Thank you.”
Taein, who bowed his head and headed to the passenger side, said thanks four times. The driver, who only moved one briefcase from the passenger seat to the back, unlocked the door and looked to the side. Taein, who got in saying “Thank you,” was still catching his breath. His chest was greatly rising and falling every time he finished speaking.
“What were you doing here?”
The car that started at the same time as those words passed through a sharply curved bend. Taein then spotted a car coming down from the other lane. A white SUV – the car Gu Wanjae had driven today.
Taein instinctively turned his head to the side, but still answered the woman’s question.
“I came with a friend… and we fought.”
“Ha, I thought….”
Only then seeming relieved, the woman made a comfortable face and stepped on the accelerator. It was the moment when the car that shot forward with a whoosh passed Gu Wanjae’s SUV. Taein looked at the SUV getting farther away in the rearview mirror. The speed was fast enough that he wouldn’t have been caught even if he was looking straight ahead.
“If it’s a friend, did you guys come to hang out together, or is it a girlfriend?”
“Ah, we just came to hang out with friends… and the group split up.”
“Oh my, fighting and bickering between friends when you’re young really isn’t a big deal once it passes.”
Taein, whose breathing had stabilized, quietly listened to those words. He kept his eyes ahead. Besides the scenery outside the car window, if there was anything else to see, it was a small photo hanging from the rearview mirror.
It was a photo of two people making V signs, who seemed to be the woman’s son and daughter. Taein looked at that photo once and turned his eyes away. At the same time, a brief thought passed through his mind. If he had been born under ordinary parents, would one of them have carried his photo like this?
It wasn’t that he wanted to feel envious or have presumptuous fantasies.
It was just an idle thought. Taein quickly forgot such brief reflections.
Then his pants vibrated. The caller was Gu Wanjae. Taein only checked who it was and turned off his phone.
He just wanted to get out of the mountains, but the woman was concerned because Taein was the same age as her son and accompanied him all the way to the city center. It wasn’t that far a distance. After about 15 minutes, people standing on sidewalks became visible and familiar franchises could be seen between streets. Taein got off in front of a cafe, and even while the car was leaving, he bowed his head. He probably greeted her about three times. When the car was no longer visible, Taein turned around.
What caught his eye on the street he’d turned onto randomly was a jjimjilbang. There didn’t seem to be any other suitable places to go besides that location. Can I go in now? While confused, Taein, who had decided on the jjimjilbang as his destination, quickly arrived in front of that building. Without needing to climb stairs, the counter was right in front. A sign reading “24-hour access available” that dispelled his doubts was also prominently posted near the counter.
Admission fee: 8,000 won. It was a cost-effective place to spend a day. Taein, who paid with a 10,000 won bill and received 2,000 won in change, headed upstairs.
Since it was an awkward time, there were hardly any people in the changing room. He’d been living without counting days, but today was also a weekday. Taein, who found locker number 14 indicated on his key, undressed in front of it. Thanks to having sex whenever he made eye contact with Gu Wanjae, Alpha pheromones were faintly flowing from Taein’s body. Taein knew this too, so he had come up to the jjimjilbang without much worry.
The timing worked out well – there were no people in the men’s bath either. There were only a few grandfathers in the distance. Taein went into the bath and washed his body. Public baths were unfamiliar, but coming when there were no people like this seemed okay. Shampoo, soap, and such things that people had left behind were scattered everywhere. Taein, who busily went back and forth using them by himself, even did a thorough final rinse with water.
When he came out, he felt refreshed. His head was a bit foggy from being in the humid place, but his body felt clean.
Taein changed into jjimjilbang clothes and went upstairs.
The jjimjilbang was equally empty like the men’s bath. Someone was watching a Go match, and Taein sat nearby too. Having nothing to do, Taein was watching the Go match along with them when drowsiness settled in his eyes.
Go, whose rules he didn’t know and had no interest in. When his head suddenly dropped, Taein simply leaned his body against the wall.
After repeating sleeping and waking like this, several hours had passed.
When he fully opened his eyes, the jjimjilbang clock was pointing to 6:50.
There were more people than before, and the entire jjimjilbang had vitality. The inside became brighter as evening approached. Even in the midst of confusion, Taein rummaged through his pockets. From the pocket as deep as the length of shorts, he pulled out his phone that was completely turned off.
“…Son of a bitch….”
The curse came out briefly, but his hand went to the power button.
Obviously. Gu Wanjae was always like that. He would cause trouble. Then be more surprised himself and make strange excuses. He thought it would be the same this time too. Sure enough. As soon as the screen turned on, Gu Wanjae’s messages arrived one after another.
[Hey this isn’t right] [Gu Wanjae]
[Kang Taein] [Gu Wanjae]
[Where are you] [Gu Wanjae]
[Taein I’m sorry] [Gu Wanjae]
[I don’t like hyung Geon] [Gu Wanjae]
The last thing that caught his eye was the message saying he didn’t like hyung Geon. Taein, who had been reading messages while crouching, let out a hollow laugh at that childish complaint. So what if you don’t like him, you crazy bastard. At the same time, Taein opened the reply window and thought about what to send.
Should I not send anything?
No. Still, knowing Gu Wanjae’s personality, he might report to the police….
Taein also told Gu Wanjae about his vague plan to just sleep one night and leave.
[I don’t want to see your face today and I’ll think about it tomorrow and contact you there’s nothing wrong so don’t worry]
He pressed the send button and immediately turned off his phone.
Honestly, just having slept a bit and woken up, the sense of betrayal he’d felt toward Gu Wanjae had diminished by half. It was also because after mixing with that guy in every way, no matter what he said, the shock didn’t last long. Really, fuck. I’m something too. Taein thought this and sighed. Then he quietly stared at his turned-off phone.
“Fucking bastard….”
Taein, who quietly uttered the words, unknowingly smiled slightly.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
