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He could see a child coming out with both arms raised. The door handle was attached high up, so he must have opened it with both hands using all his strength. Taein wiped around his face once more as if finishing up and smiled toward Eundo.
“Kang Eundo.”
“Hyung…!”
Since he had urgently admitted the child without any belongings, Eundo was wearing clothes he hadn’t seen before. They seemed to be communal clothes with stains here and there. It looked like they hadn’t come out even after washing.
The child clung to Taein’s thigh like a cicada and buried his face in the fabric of his pants. Moisture seemed to immediately form on the black dress pants.
“Were you doing well? It’s fun playing with friends, right?”
“Hyung….”
“…Keep having fun playing. Hyung is also earning lots and lots of money. Look at this.”
He tried to show what he had bought, saying “look at this,” but Eundo was clinging to his legs with no intention of letting go. He only held on tighter. Though it was a child’s strength so he could easily pry him off, Taein couldn’t do so. He just stood still holding his bags and looking down at the top of Eundo’s head. Hair scattered here and there like wild grass. The shape of his round back of the head.
“Kang Eundo, hyung bought something you like.”
“Hyung….”
“Why do you keep calling me?”
“Hyung, I have something to say….”
It seemed like he had something to say so he kept saying “hyung, hyung.” When asked why he was calling, Eundo could be seen slightly lifting his head. Taein slowly closed and opened his eyes while gently touching Eundo’s soft cheek. It meant to tell him.
“Hyung… can I go to the boss too?”
“Huh?”
“I want to be with hyung….”
“……”
“Eundo is strong too. Eundo can work too.”
“…Play with your friends, what are you thinking such things for… That’s enough. Hyung will come more often.”
If he started work the day after tomorrow, he planned to request an advance first. Since Donghwan was in the middle, it wouldn’t be an impossible request. Taein decided to be shameless just once more. Though he calmly rubbed Eundo’s cheek pretending nothing was wrong, his heart felt like it was tearing. He wanted to collapse and cry, asking why the child was thinking such things.
“Hyung… also… Eundo won’t… say bad words… anymore….”
“…Kang Eundo, you’re not here because of that. It’s because hyung is going to earn lots of money so we can live in a good house. You’re here temporarily to eat well and play well in the meantime.”
“Hyung… I miss you….”
“……”
Even with his throat stinging, he had somehow managed to speak. But faced with Eundo looking straight at him and saying “I miss you,” his words were completely blocked. Seeing Eundo shed chicken-shit tears from the corners of his eyes while saying that, Taein raised his head upward. Because his own eyes were about to turn red too. He had never cried in front of the child. Each time he had turned his face away to cry or hidden to pour out his emotions.
“Kang Eundo. Men shouldn’t cry.”
The sky was excessively clear. With only a few small clouds floating, it was a clear light as if coated with blue glass. Taein barely pulled himself together and lowered his head. He could see Eundo still crying while hugging his thigh. For a moment, it felt like someone had kicked his already sunken heart. It was painful and agonizing.
“If you do this, hyung can’t earn money either….”
“Hyuuung….”
As if determined to burst into loud crying, the child closed his eyes. Taein put all his bags on the ground and first lowered both hands. He knelt down while cupping the child’s face.
“Kang Eundo, listen to hyung. It’s just for a little while. I’ll earn lots of money and make you happy. Eundo likes it when hyung is happy too. For both of us to be happy, I, hyung has to meet the boss a lot.”
“……”
Eundo, who was tightly closing his mouth and holding back tears, was looking at Taein with only his lips protruding forward. Working together or not using “bad words” was all a young child could think of as “ways to live with his hyung.” Now Eundo had no more methods left.
“Kang Eundo, you understand, right?”
“…Yeah.”
Eundo nodded within Taein’s hands. With his eyes tightly shut, two streams of tears flowed down as the last, and he didn’t cry anymore after that. Still, his eyelashes remained wet. Taein firmly touched Eundo’s face and arms, then cleared his throat. Because his throat was blocked up, words wouldn’t come out right away.
“Right, you’re smart….”
“Oh my, our Mr. Kang Taein.”
At the point where he couldn’t even finish his words, an unpleasant voice was heard. Taein instinctively felt anxiety and immediately stood up while hiding Eundo behind him. The person who appeared from afar was Jang Ihwan. A black car was stopped beside him, as if he had followed him by car. He thought he had glimpsed that car earlier too. Since he had never faced Jang Ihwan while leaving Eundo behind, Taein stood frozen, unable to say anything. He couldn’t run away or curse.
As if he had just finished parking, one more person got out of the car.
It was Gari.
“Wow, seeing the little guy after so long, he’s gotten even more handsome. Eundo. Come here.”
Jang Ihwan called the child, making clicking sounds at Eundo as if for him to hear. The more he did so, the more Taein just hid Eundo. There were plastic bags scattered beside them, but he hadn’t even been able to show them to the child. His heart was pounding and the edges of his vision started turning black. Still, it was when Taein opened his mouth to say something.
“Wait, let’s talk….”
“Hyung, is that the boss?”
From behind, Eundo peeked out his face curiously. Taein immediately pulled his head back saying no. Since it was a church in a quiet area, there were no people passing by and no staff were visible either. Even if they were discovered, would that really be better? Taein was afraid that if things got bigger and more complicated, it would affect Eundo too. He didn’t want Eundo to see anything rough.
“Why are you hiding him? Let us see Eundo too. Is he your precious brat?”
“……”
Because if he cursed, Eundo would hear. Taein just closed his mouth and glared at Jang Ihwan. His body also tensed up to the point where Eundo, who was standing behind, could feel it. Eundo, who had innocently asked “Is that the boss?” also seemed to realize his hyung had stiffened as his expression changed. With an “umm” sound, his brow protruded, then suddenly he stretched out one arm and jumped to the side. He quickly stood in front of his hyung.
“Kang Eundo!”
“Who are you, ajusshi?”
Eundo, who instinctively felt threatened, had suddenly jumped out to protect his hyung. Stretching out one arm was the pose of his favorite hero character. Because he thought power would surge forth if he did that. This wasn’t the first time. Whenever Eundo saw strangers, he would always ask things like “Who are you, who are you, do you know my hyung, are you friends?” Seeing Eundo with two small fists placed at his waist as if fluttering a cape, Taein first extended his arm. He tried to hide the child behind him again.
“Hah? Look at this little guy. Small but bold.”
Jang Ihwan’s eyes, which had approached as if amused, suddenly crumpled and turned to the side. Gari’s eyes were also fixed on the area behind Taein.
“Who’s that bastard?”
“Ah… looks like Daejeong. He must have been tailing us.”
“Wow… Yoon Donghwan put Daejeong on them? Well….”
“What should we do, hyung? Word will get back quickly.”
“Hey, are you scared? I’ve got nothing to fear now~ Fuck, he was the one who crossed the line first. Money or whatever, now fuck….”
While the two were talking, Taein pulled Eundo to the side. At a glance, there really was an unfamiliar person walking over. Seeing that Yoon Donghwan had put someone on them, was it one of Donghwan’s people anyway? Taein felt relieved first before grasping Donghwan’s intention. At least it didn’t seem like this person called Daejeong would attack him. And it seemed like Jang Ihwan and Gari also had hostility toward Daejeong.
Making quick judgments, Taein grabbed Eundo’s hand and walked without rest to the playground behind. Eundo also followed his hyung almost running on short legs.
“Hyung. Is that ajusshi bothering hyung? Hyung.”
“No. We’re playing hide-and-seek. That ajusshi is the police and hyung is the thief. You know thieves.”
“Is hyung a bad person?”
“Yeah, that’s why. If you get caught, you become ‘it,’ so hide right here. Hyung will just finish hide-and-seek and come back.”
If he just sent him into the daycare building, Eundo would probably come back out. He needed to explain this was hide-and-seek and make it fun so the child’s attention would be diverted. Even if not police and thieves, they often played by choosing someone to be ‘it.’ Among the few playground facilities, Taein gently pushed Eundo’s back toward the inside of a large, round facility that looked like an upturned coconut shell. Then Eundo sat crouched right next to the entrance with a slightly excited face.
“But hyung shouldn’t get caught, right?”
“Yeah, I got it. Wait just a bit.”
“Okay.”
Like that day, like the first day he came to the daycare. Eundo says he’ll sit still and wait for him. He needed to quickly help this person called Daejeong or whatever, and also play hide-and-seek with Eundo naturally. Taein instinctively thought he should help Daejeong. Jang Ihwan and Gari were two people, and when he glimpsed behind, Daejeong was alone. Keeping the building’s outer wall to his right, Taein ran at full speed. Quite some time had already passed, so a situation where he couldn’t do anything might have already come.
When he arrived breathlessly at the front of the daycare, there was no one there.
The car Gari had gotten out of was still parked there, but not one of the three people was visible.
Taein ran toward the car while holding his forehead with his hand. Since it was the middle of the road, there was also the possibility they had gone to a corner to cause trouble.
As the distance got closer, he could clearly see the car shaking up and down.
Inside the car.
As if certain, Taein pressed his body against the side of the black sedan and looked inside.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
