112
The first day ended with lounging around on the bed with Eundo. He didn’t know how long it had been since he’d enjoyed such leisure time. If he had been alone, he would have been anxious even about that, but having Eundo by his side made his heart feel incredibly light. Of course, it would have been a different story if Yoon Donghwan had been there, but Yoon Donghwan didn’t return to the hotel until late at night. Then around dawn.
Just as he was drifting off to sleep, he saw dim lighting turn on.
Eundo was already asleep, and Taein was on the verge of falling asleep as well. He was tired, but still, sleeping through the night without Yoon Donghwan around felt a bit wrong, so he had been trying to just put Eundo to sleep. Taein had been holding out and holding out when he saw the lights come on and snapped to attention. When he went out to look, Yoon Donghwan was taking off his watch. It was an expensive-looking, heavy watch.
“What, you weren’t sleeping?”
“…No.”
“If you haven’t slept until now, you’re not going to sleep at all?”
“No, I was going to sleep somewhere else.”
“Somewhere else?”
“Yes, since there’s only one bed, I was going to sleep on the sofa or the floor. If it’s okay, Yoon Donghwan-ssi can sleep next to Eundo. …Just in case, I’m saying this, but the kid has been washed clean.”
“I don’t have any of those intentions toward the kid. The kid is clean even if he’s dirty.”
Should he say thank you? Or was he ultimately saying that he was dirty?
As Taein was choosing his words, Yoon Donghwan added one more thing.
“Stay here with the kid until you get used to the work.”
“…Why,”
“What do you mean why? You said you had nowhere to go, so I’m trying to be generous. Is that reason enough?”
“……”
Taein wasn’t open-hearted enough to readily accept this kind of kindness or consideration. So far, whenever anyone had approached him as if being considerate, things had never ended well. Everyone had wanted something and tried to somehow squeeze him dry when he had nothing. His defensive personality had hardened as a natural progression for Taein, who had something to protect. It wasn’t because Donghwan was a bad person, but because of habits ingrained in his body that he kept asking for reasons and couldn’t easily accept things.
“Because you keep asking for reasons, I keep having to make up reasons.”
He added that he must look like a complete lunatic. Taein didn’t understand the meaning one hundred percent and just repeated the same words in his head. Asking for reasons makes him try to create reasons… But maybe he didn’t need to think about it deeply. Yoon Donghwan was wearing his usual light smile. It seemed like he had said it without much meaning.
“Do you drink a little?”
Yoon Donghwan, who had passed by Taein, said this while only showing his back. As the days were getting warmer, Yoon Donghwan was also dressing lighter and lighter. In the beginning, he often wore three-piece suits, but lately he seemed to go around wearing almost only shirts. Taein unconsciously had such thoughts before answering the question first.
“I’m not unable to drink.”
“Well, that’s welcome news to hear.”
The room had a separate liquor refrigerator in addition to the basic refrigerator. It wasn’t a proper kitchen, but the conditions were sufficient for simple meals, and the liquor refrigerator was one of them. This hotel room had many unnecessarily expensive and fancy things. Still, the liquor refrigerator seemed useful to Yoon Donghwan as the inside was packed full of alcohol.
Having worked in liquor delivery, he could tell at a glance how expensive those liquors were.
The cheapest-looking one was liquor that cost over 300,000 won wholesale.
That Japanese liquor with Chinese characters written on it was alcohol he hadn’t seen more than a few times a year. Most establishments didn’t even sell it, and they only ordered it when special orders came in occasionally, and unlike other liquors, it didn’t wait in the warehouse. They kept it inside the office and either experienced hyungs or the manager would personally make the delivery. That was probably liquor that sold for ten million won at JAM or Dohwa.
Donghwan took out one bottle of expensive foreign liquor and one bottle of soju. He thought there was no soju, but it seemed to have been inside. The contents of the familiar green bottle were sloshing around.
In the compartment under the living room table, there was a can of peanuts and a sealed pack of raisins. It seemed he was only taking out simple snacks as he didn’t prepare anything else. Even if he wanted to help, there was nothing to help with. As soon as Yoon Donghwan sat on the sofa, he started pouring alcohol first. He slowly poured foreign liquor into two glass cups in turn.
“There’s no ice.”
“…It’s fine.”
“That freezing thing is really no joke every time.”
“Yes.”
At Taein’s response, Yoon Donghwan laughed outright. Taein, who spoke in short, clipped sentences every time, seemed absurd to him. Soon, a glass filled about one-third was handed toward Taein. Yoon Donghwan pushed the glass about a hand’s width and then swallowed the liquor filled in his own glass. No matter how strong the alcohol was, drinking half a glass of foreign liquor right off the bat would be too much.
Taein only took one sip of the alcohol for now.
People who delivered alcohol also liked to drink. Taein only drank to wet his lips occasionally when the opportunity arose, and wasn’t particularly someone who enjoyed it personally. Especially expensive high-proof liquors – he hadn’t tried them much and didn’t really know if they tasted good.
“Are you going to drink just one sip like that? I poured it for you though.”
“…I haven’t had much experience with foreign liquor.”
Even as he said that, Taein’s hand reached for the glass again. Even if it was just for the courtesy of pouring it, he felt he should drink a bit more. Taein brought the glass to his lips and gulped down the clear brown liquor all at once as if drinking cold water. Perhaps because he suddenly drank it all, his throat felt as hot as if it were on fire. As soon as he somehow emptied the glass, he heard an encouraging sound from beside him.
“Oh, you’re pushing yourself.”
“I received the glass…”
The alcohol was bitter enough to cut off his words. When he had just tasted it lightly, it hadn’t been this strong. Taein covered his lips with his fist and swallowed saliva several times. In front of him, Yoon Donghwan had already emptied one glass and was pouring a new one. His actions were natural, as if he had been drinking before coming to the hotel.
“Ahem, I’ll pour it.”
Taein, who finished with a cough, took the liquor bottle from Donghwan. The smooth texture and heavy grip confirmed it was the liquor he knew. Taein, who tilted the bottle opening toward the glass, intently watched the thin stream of liquid fall into the cup. Perhaps because of the hotel lighting, the reflected light was particularly pretty.
After he finished pouring, Yoon Donghwan took the bottle and filled his own glass as well.
“Cheers.”
Following Yoon Donghwan, who held up his half-filled glass, Taein also raised his glass.
Clink, the sound of glass hitting glass briefly echoed around them. The surroundings were so quiet that not only the sound of glasses clinking, but also the sound of changing positions and heavy breathing reached his ears. Taein often had reactions come up quickly with alcohol that didn’t suit him. How long had it been since he emptied his glass that he was already feeling hot energy in his chest? After drinking another half glass, his mood seemed to improve as well.
“I don’t have anything else.”
Then he saw Yoon Donghwan getting up from his seat. There were three sofas surrounding the table in total. With a long sofa at the center, there was an ottoman on each side of the table. Yoon Donghwan, who had been sitting on the ottoman sofa, approached the sofa where he was sitting. Sitting down heavily beside him while grabbing the liquor bottle, Donghwan poured a little alcohol into Taein’s empty glass.
“If we’re both good to each other, that’s enough. We’ve already shaken hands, so we’re going together.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“We help each other out. You give to me, and I give to you.”
“Yes, I’ll repay you too. Right now my situation doesn’t allow me to be helpful, but.”
When he quietly expressed his thoughts, Yoon Donghwan immediately countered.
“No, that’s not right. You hug me sometimes so I don’t have to go to the hospital, right? The effect is direct.”
“Ah.”
He recalled images of Yoon Donghwan bringing his neck close or leaning his head against his body. If that counted as giving, then it was giving. Taein nodded while feeling embarrassed. Then Yoon Donghwan poured a full glass of alcohol for him. The liquor glass that was already half full was now filled to the brim.
“You’re a good drinker, right?”
“Usually…”
“Usually you drink well?”
“Yes…”
“You don’t seem to drink well at all.”
“I drink soju well…”
“Then drink soju.”
Yoon Donghwan opened the soju he had brought to drink from the bottle himself and put it in a completely new glass. Since it was a small liquor glass, it was just the right size to hold soju too.
“Here, soju. This is what I was going to drink.”
“I’m better with soju…”
“Yeah, I heard.”
Donghwan poured soju into his own glass too. It suited his taste to drink his favorite foreign liquor with soju on the side, so he had brought two types of alcohol, but the combination seemed a bit strong for Taein to drink. Especially this foreign liquor was famous for being quickly absorbed into the body, so unless someone had a fairly strong tolerance, they couldn’t handle it. He hadn’t brought such alcohol on purpose, but somehow he had ended up choosing exactly that kind of liquor.
Donghwan drank the soju filled to the brim like it was a soft drink.
Taein also sipped soju while picking at peanuts.
“As you know, I’m not good at being sensitive. When it comes to dealing with people and such.”
In the atmosphere relaxed by alcohol, Yoon Donghwan opened his mouth as if talking about someone else’s business.
Taein, who had been swirling his glass and making the soju slosh around, quickly turned his head to look at Donghwan.
Their thighs were close enough to touch. They had maintained this distance ever since Donghwan had sat down heavily earlier. It was an embarrassingly small gap to even call a distance. The profile he ended up looking up at was also right in front of his nose. A face and neck that looked fine. He seemed to be getting more and more drunk while Yoon Donghwan didn’t seem to have had even one drink. Perhaps sensing his staring gaze, Yoon Donghwan quickly looked to the side.
“You weren’t listening.”
“…I was listening though…”
“What did I say then?”
“…That you’re not sensitive.”
He answered like that, but honestly he didn’t remember well. Did he say he wasn’t sensitive to people? Did he say he didn’t know how to deal with people? While puzzling thoughts were rummaging through his head, Yoon Donghwan puffed out his cheek with his tongue and asked something else.
“Can I be honest?”
There was only one answer he could give.
However, because of the alcohol, he seemed to be listening to people halfheartedly, so this time he tried to listen carefully and hear the story properly.
“Ah, yes… Go ahead.”
At the permission that was finally given, Yoon Donghwan seemed to hesitate for a moment. He rubbed his lips with his tongue for a while and touched his forehead with his hand. He could also see him swallowing saliva with a gulp. His firm neck moved up and down several times.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
