Why he disappeared without a word, why he didn’t come to the graduation ceremony, whether he really killed someone as the rumors suggested, if he was even alive.
But while I was wondering about all that, this bastard apparently just didn’t show up because he was sleeping in. Probably used his phone to make soup.
I vaguely thought he must be living well somewhere, but his face looks better than I expected.
Just to be safe, I dragged Gong Pyeonghwa outside.
Even as this bastard was being pulled away by me, he kept blowing hand kisses to his male partner, saying not to worry.
Ah. That’s annoying.
I deliberately ignored the irritation creeping up and dragged Gong Pyeonghwa behind the store where no one seemed to be around.
I had something I wanted to say first when we met, but now that can wait. I decided to clear up my curiosities first.
“Tell me honestly. What—”
“Alright. I’ll tell you honestly. I’ll get straight to the point.”
I hadn’t even finished speaking, yet this jerk.
“Our princess is having her first birthday party this week. I sincerely hope you’ll attend and honor us with your presence.”
Without giving me a chance to say anything, this bastard friend, no, this complete asshole handed me a first birthday party invitation.
This guy is giving a first birthday invitation to someone who was ready to run away to avoid wedding invitations. This bastard.
Gong Pyeonghwa was a son from a wealthy family.
The guy who always snuck out during class to buy bread at the school store, who secretly gathered friends to order chicken behind the schoolyard when he didn’t like the cafeteria food, who even diligently licked yogurt lids clean, was actually a young master. When I visited his house, I felt it too—he was definitely well-off.
The precious young master of a house with a butler and housekeepers.
The betrayal I felt then was beyond words.
The guy who always said “just one bite” before eating all of my cup noodles was rich?
I was a bit pissed off, but I thought it made sense since other people’s ramen always looks tastier than your own, even if yours has all the fixings.
Anyway, since this rich bastard cut off all contact and disappeared without a trace right after graduation, I really thought the rumors about his family going bankrupt might be true.
I actually went to his house, but while there wasn’t a foreclosure notice, the homeowner had changed.
I thought he couldn’t contact me because he had to flee in the night, but now he’s just handing me a first birthday party invitation out of nowhere?
Not a wedding, but a first birthday party?
That’s fortunate, but what the hell is going on?
“What happened to you?”
“Many things happened, and there were many hardships…”
Gong Pyeonghwa’s eyes grew moist as if recalling past events.
No way, no way…
Come to think of it, he came holding hands with a man earlier, and even now he was comforting a baby while wearing a baby carrier.
No matter how I looked at it, it was difficult to think of this in a positive way.
A friend who disappeared and cut off contact, now appearing at the reunion holding hands with an unknown man and carrying a baby.
Gong Pyeonghwa, who grew up wealthy but whose family went bankrupt, couldn’t even come to graduation and disappeared.
With only his healthy body to rely on, he might have done manual labor.
Even though he’s mentally childish, his outer appearance is impressive.
Did some rich woman take advantage of the naive, childish Gong Pyeonghwa? And then had an unplanned pregnancy, giving the baby to Pyeonghwa after birth?
“Anyway, just come to the first birthday party and grace us with your presence.”
Seeing how there’s no talk about marriage and jumping straight to a first birthday party… is it about money? Is he desperate for money? Has he not paid everything back yet? Does he need quick cash? Is he trying to collect money through the first birthday party? Is that why he suddenly appeared at the reunion? No wonder. The child looks like it’s already two years old.
“You bastard. Be honest. How much do you need? How much should I give you? How much is enough?!”
“You just need to bring yourself.”
“Don’t worry about your pride and just tell me honestly!”
In my imagination, Gong Pyeonghwa had already become a tragic male prostitute.
Abandoned by the rich woman, wandering the streets with a baby, then picked up by some gay man.
He has zero survival skills, but as an alpha with a solid physique, he was taken in by a gay man who had been eyeing his body.
And that gay man is the one who came holding hands with him earlier.
Is he your sugar daddy or something?
It must be a stepfather complex or something.
It doesn’t make sense for a non-classmate to come holding hands and wearing couple outfits unless it’s some kind of stepfather complex.
“No, really. I’m serious. And don’t shout. You’ll wake up our Iseul.”
The way he soothed the baby didn’t look awkward at all. He seemed used to it. Strangely, Gong Pyeonghwa looked like a perfect homemaker.
This can’t be real. It’s like those novels my mom’s daughter reads are happening in real life.
“You, you’re like, selling your body and stuff? You crazy bastard. You should live honorably. A perfectly healthy guy like you has nothing better to do than sell his body.”
“What are you talking about?”
Gong Pyeonghwa tilted his head with a dumb expression, as if he didn’t understand.
“You, you, you, are you selling your body to that man who came in with you earlier?!”
“The man who came in with me?”
Gong Pyeonghwa smiled lewdly.
“Ah— Do I give it to him? Huh? Do I give it to him? Hmm, so I’m the one who gives it? Should I give it to him tonight too? Make a sibling for our Iseul?”
What’s with this perverted old man?
As if the word “lewd” existed just for Gong Pyeonghwa, he smiled in the most obscene way possible.
Gong Pyeonghwa covered the baby’s ears while spouting nonsense.
“But I guess I should, right? It’ll be like our wedding night, right? Since it’s our first time in Korea? It’ll be totally new, right?”
W-what is he saying? This bastard.
“Ha, tonight’s gonna be hot! What can I say? Damn, it’s gonna be so good.”
How high can those cheekbones go? He looks so damn annoying.
I got tired of the face I was seeing for the first time in nearly 10 years after just 10 minutes. I think I’ve been looking at this bastard for too long.
“You’re not dating that guy for money, are you?”
“You crazy bastard. You’re not living up to your name? You have no compassion. No compassion at all. I’m dating him because I love him, why would I date him for money?”
Suddenly I became the materialistic one.
This is so unfair.
“Do I look that broke to you? Why would you think that? Not just you, all the other guys were saying the same thing.”
“There were huge rumors that your family business went bankrupt.”
“Oh, damn. Didn’t I tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“Do you have your phone with you right now?”
I silently took out my phone from my pocket and held it out.
But Gong Pyeonghwa didn’t take the phone, just pointed at it and said:
“This is made by my father’s company.”
“…”
“Our family is thriving like crazy.”
This fucking bastard?
Instead of the tragic male prostitute Gong Pyeonghwa, I now pictured the second son of a chaebol family.
An indescribable sense of betrayal washed over me. Have I ever seen such a complete asshole?
“…So you’re just gay then? That man is your, l-love? Something like that? You didn’t come to school because you were confused about your sexual identity or something?”
Then is the baby in his arms adopted? Right, there’s no way a story like the novels my mom’s daughter reads could exist in reality.
The fact that my friend is gay was a bit shocking, but at least it’s better than him being chased by debt collectors or becoming a tragic male prostitute selling his body.
“Ah. There was a reason for that. But it wasn’t that kind of reason…”
Whatever the reason, I was prepared to accept it. Maybe a gate opened on graduation day and he was transported to another dimension to save the world, only to return after the ceremony ended.
“I went backpacking before going to study abroad, and I got stranded there.”
What a crazy bastard, making my worries seem foolish. This is so absurd I don’t even know what to think anymore.
“…Well. I’m glad you seem to have found your true love.”
Stay calm.
“You two seem like a good match, and about the first birthday party… Hey. My head says to give you 300,000 won, but my heart says even 3,000 won is too much for you. What should I do?”
“Right?”
So you do have some shame.
“We look really good together, don’t we?”
This bastard. I thought he just had no shame, but he has no tact either.
“Everyone’s jaws dropped. Well, you were always more open-minded and unprejudiced in our friendship.”
No. I was so shocked I dropped my lighter. Actually, I’m still pretty shocked.
“Still, I didn’t think you’d be surprised since I married Saebyeok, of all people.”
“Huh?”
“Manseok said so. He asked why we were holding hands.”
It’s not Manseok, it’s Yunseong. Wait, that’s not important. Who?
“Hey. Who? Who?”
“Manseok.”
“It’s Yunseong. Bastard.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
