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If they were friends, he could give his liver and gallbladder, so what would money matter?
Taein also wanted to become friends with Gu Wanjae and do something for him, but… Gu Wanjae was so stubborn that it was completely impossible to show off any kindness.
Gu Wanjae even disapproved of Taein paying the house maintenance fees.
Why are you paying when I don’t even pay?
He said it felt bad because it seemed like drawing a line.
The talk about drawing lines was close to something he said impulsively when Taein had paid the maintenance fees about three times. At that time, Gu Wanjae was very angry.
But what could he do?
Taein diligently paid the maintenance fees until January of the following year. Rather than paying, it was closer to forcibly putting it in the cupboard.
“I’m leaving it here.”
“……”
The guy who had been cheerful and jovial just while eating had a changed expression. Taein looked at Gu Wanjae lying crookedly with his legs crossed on the sofa, then opened the cupboard. Several hundred thousand won was already piled up in the cupboard. It was all money that Taein had left saying it was for maintenance fees.
“Huh? It’s here.”
“…I got it, you bastard.”
“Hey… why do we fight about this kind of thing every day?”
“When did I fight?”
“This is picking a fight.”
“Shibal, you’re the one fighting with me and saying that.”
“Wow, scary.”
Over the course of about 6-7 months, Taein had adapted a lot to Gu Wanjae’s way of speaking. It was only awkward and strange at first, but from the moment he understood what kind of guy Gu Wanjae was, his mind became comfortable too. Above all, the title of friend seemed to make people that way.
“Scary? Shibal, you don’t look scared at all.”
“Hey, don’t talk like that.”
“……”
“If that’s the case, we can eat whatever we want with that money, right?”
“Then go to a restaurant. Don’t put it there.”
“…If we go, you’ll pay anyway.”
“So what?”
When words were exchanged with Gu Wanjae about maintenance fees, it felt like hitting a huge wall. Taein wanted to express such sincerity somehow, but Gu Wanjae bounced off his intentions like a wall.
“What do you mean ‘so what?'”
“Ugh, shit.”
“Hey.”
“…What.”
“Put yourself in my position. Your friend gives you a bed, buys you food, shows you movies, huh? Does everything besides that too. If you were me, could you stand not paying a single penny?”
“It’s not about money!”
“…Right. I know. But what you’re paying is also money.”
“Shibal!”
“Hey, don’t get angry.”
“No, shibal. Why are you paying money that I don’t even pay in the first place!”
Gu Wanjae seemed genuinely angry, his face even turning red. As Taein spoke soothingly in front of him, he sighed at those words and opened his mouth.
“That’s because your parents…”
When the maintenance fee talk didn’t end, parent talk would inevitably come up. Gu Wanjae’s father was covering all of Gu Wanjae’s house, allowance, and other expenses. Gu Wanjae would express his father as ‘that bastard father,’ or ‘father bitch,’ ‘father bastard,’ etc., making people uncomfortable. His anger toward his father was considerable. He rarely talked about his mother, but whenever his father was mentioned, he would grind his teeth and curse. That bastard should have his fucking head cut off in cement and fried in the blazing sun. Those words were so intense that they stayed in mind even months later.
Anyway, Gu Wanjae said he was receiving support for all house rent, allowance, and other expenses to make that father suffer. He said if he didn’t do at least this much, he’d go crazy and couldn’t live. So his claim was that his friend Taein should also enjoy it to the fullest.
Each time, Taein would listen with a reluctant expression, and since he couldn’t restrain the excited Gu Wanjae, he would end with saying “okay.”
“What the shibal about parents.”
“…No.”
“What about parents?”
“I said no.”
“…Huhh.”
Gu Wanjae, who let out a big sigh, got up with an “ugh” sound. Going into the room was instantaneous.
Taein stood alone in the living room looking outside, touching his ears or just stroking the back of his neck.
He wanted to avoid talking about parents as much as possible, but without doing so, he couldn’t fully convey his intentions.
Gu Wanjae came out of the room in less than 5 minutes.
He was properly dressed in a black suit. Gu Wanjae, who went straight to open the front door without looking back, slammed the door hard enough to make a bang. Taein looked at the closed door and stood in front of the large window.
Gu Wanjae came out through the first-floor main entrance and caught a taxi.
It seemed like he was going somewhere.
He didn’t know exactly what he was doing, but since November last year, he had been steadily attending hyung gatherings. Those hyungs that Lee Wuyong would get in the middle and wrongly convey messages about. Taein had heard so much talk about organizations at school that he wondered if Gu Wanjae was doing something similar. But Gu Wanjae said what he was doing was business. It might look like it had no substance, but anyway it was something like a business entity, he would deflect. Even so, he would ask “Do you want to do it too?” asking if he wanted to learn the work.
Each time, Taein answered that he wouldn’t do it.
* * *
There wasn’t much that changed from becoming a second-year. Taein attended school from Gu Wanjae’s house for a few days, then naturally returned to the facility as Gu Wanjae frequently left the house empty. Gu Wanjae got angry saying “You can stay at my house!” but it was awkward to be in an empty house for 1-2 weeks at a time. Only after making the excuse that he had things to barely take care of did Gu Wanjae pretend to understand. No, he probably didn’t understand.
– Shibal bastard, I’m hurt.
He said that and hung up the phone.
He had heard “shibal bastard” two days ago. Taein lightly laughed as he came out of the orphanage bathroom after washing his hair. What a peculiar view of friendship this guy had. If you’re friends, do you really have to give your liver and gallbladder? At first, Taein thought “Ah, so this is what all friends are like,” but looking around, it wasn’t necessarily so. There was no one as unique as Gu Wanjae.
Maybe he didn’t know well what a friend was?
Even in middle school, he would spread shit around to delinquent bastards, had no interest in guys who sucked up, and heard gossip from guys he hung around with. Thinking about it, Gu Wanjae was also a guy with as little luck with friends as himself. Taein tried to understand Gu Wanjae’s feelings while drying his hair with a towel. It was an effort, anyway.
Then, he heard some sound from behind.
One of the younger guys living in another room had opened the door.
“Uh… hyung, hello.”
“Oh, hello.”
Even if they weren’t that close, they would exchange greetings. Taein briefly returned the greeting and concentrated only on drying his hair. In summer, even if you went out dripping water, it would dry quickly, but since the weather was still chilly, he had to properly shake off the moisture before going out. Taein, who had been shaking his hair hard enough to make his face red, touched his roughly dried hair. It felt cold but nothing came off on his hands.
Then he immediately got up, packed his bag, and went outside.
If he went now, there would be no one at school.
The sky was also dark.
When attending school from Gu Wanjae’s officetel, it didn’t matter if he took his time. But at the facility, order and timing were important. Even if you dawdled a little, the bathroom would be packed and it would become difficult to use. If someone used it for a long time, there would be cases where guys who couldn’t stand it anymore would flee the facility en masse. It was to go to the public bathroom 3 minutes away by running.
He had never been there, but if the movement lines got tangled, it was naturally supposed to be that way. Taein hated that, so he had instinctively woken up early since childhood. Even after returning to the facility, that habit was properly ingrained. He would probably wake up early anytime.
The problem, if it was a problem, was that he came to school too early because he left too quickly.
Since it was late winter, the sun rose late anyway, and when he hurried out and arrived at school, the surroundings were like night.
A slightly blue night.
He wondered if even the door would be locked, but that wasn’t the case.
Taein opened the glass door and went inside, then went straight to find the classroom.
As expected, there was no one who had come to school before him.
Taein opened the classroom door and went inside. Third row, second desk from the back. He put his bag down there and sat in the chair. The vibration went off in less than 5 minutes.
Taein, who took out his phone from his pocket, grinned with his face brightened by the screen light.
Caller: Gu Wanjae.
One short text message made him laugh.
The content was disappointingly simple.
Hey.
At the text with just one measly character written, Taein pressed reply.
Why. He wrote that and sent it. An answer quickly arrived from Gu Wanjae.
[Don’t you ever contact me??] [Gu Wanjae]
[You bastard] [Gu Wanjae]
It had only been a few days. Taein was also planning to contact him soon. But since Gu Wanjae seemed very angry, he was just waiting a few days. Thinking about what to write, he wrote this text meaning to calm down his anger a bit.
[How do I contact a sulking guy]
As soon as he sent it, a text with many typos arrived, as if hastily written.
[Don’t talk shit I’m not sulking you shibal bastard] [Gu Wanjae]
Was he saying he wasn’t sulking? He roughly interpreted it and wrote a reply text.
[Anyone can see you’re sulking though]
There was some teasing, but his last words were “I’m hurt.” Taein giggled alone while writing the text. Gu Wanjae’s texts kept arriving.
[?? You make people fucking weird don’t you you bastard] [Gu Wanjae]
[You better know you’re gonna die] [Gu Wanjae]
Even as a second-year, there were still guys who talked about Gu Wanjae like a mythical figure. Did those guys know? The fact that Gu Wanjae surprisingly sulked easily, valued loyalty between friends, and was often hurt by friends. Even at such texts from Gu Wanjae, Taein, who didn’t bat an eye, raised the corner of his mouth in a grin and wondered whether to press reply or not.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
