Even after wiping them away, the tears wouldn’t stop. Hic, I didn’t even eat anything, and I already feel drained. That only made Eunho sadder.
“Th-that’s why it would’ve been better if we both turned into rabbits, hng!”
How nice would that be! Living cozily with a rabbit-like husband! Imagining himself frolicking across a grassy field with Yi-beom, nibbling on carrots together, Eunho let out another sob.
When he lifted his head, he saw the glow of the streetlights. Beside them stood a cherry blossom tree that had grown between the stone walls. Pale pink petals—resembling the color of Eunho’s fur—fluttered down in a soft flurry.
A petal settled on the bridge of his twitching nose.
“Even the day we first met, hng, the cherry blossoms were blooming…”
Careful not to strain his neck, Eunho tilted his head back to look at the sky. The wind blew, and the cherry tree swayed. The day he first met Yi-beom, he had seen cherry blossoms too—fully in bloom, just like now.
That day was the day he had just turned twenty. To celebrate January 1st, everyone in his class had gathered at a bar, each proudly sticking their ID cards to their foreheads.
Eunho had downed two glasses of beer early on and completely zoned out. Seeing him collapse face-first onto the table, his classmates burst into laughter.
“What’s wrong with this bastard?”
“Hey, Jung Eunho! You dead already, you little shit?”
“Hey, hey, leave him. He’ll wake up and puke at this rate. Honestly, passing out might be better than being a puking drunk.”
After grumbling over him for a moment, his friends soon forgot about Eunho. Glasses clinked rapidly above his round head.
How much time had passed? Eunho slowly lifted the head he’d been pressing against the table.
I’m dizzy…
His vision was blurry. He could barely tell who was who. When Eunho let out a groan, someone sitting beside him spoke.
“Hey, you okay?”
“No, I don’t think so. I need the bathroom…”
“Uh, yeah. It’s over there.”
Worried he might throw up, someone quickly pointed toward a corner of the bar. Over there? Tilting his head, Eunho began making his way in that direction, one step at a time.
He felt like a baby who had just learned to walk. If he lost focus even slightly, it felt like his knees would buckle, so he had to tense his whole body. Unaware that he probably looked ridiculous, Eunho staggered forward.
When he pushed open the rusty door, it creaked loudly.
Feels like a ghost’s going to pop out…
Muttering unconsciously, Eunho stepped inside.
Contrary to expectations, the place beyond the door wasn’t a bathroom but an alley. One side was stacked high with empty liquor bottles, and cigarette butts were scattered across the ground.
With his eyes half-closed, Eunho didn’t even realize he was outside.
Then a strong gust of wind blew. The wind tousled his hair, and only then did Eunho properly open his eyes.
When did I come outside?
Just as that thought crossed his mind, his body pitched forward.
Ah!
Bracing for the pain that was about to come, Eunho squeezed his eyes shut. But no matter how long he waited, he didn’t hit the ground.
What? Slowly, Eunho opened his eyes. The first thing that entered his vision was a white shirt.
“You okay?”
A low voice rumbled by his ear. When he lifted his head, he saw a man leaning against the stone wall. It seemed he hadn’t fallen because the man had caught him. Without thinking, Eunho muttered,
“Ahjussi.”
“What?”
The man’s brow furrowed sharply. He had a rough, intimidating look, yet strangely, Eunho wasn’t afraid. Perhaps it was the odd conviction that someone who caught a falling person had to be kind.
Though he’d called him Ahjussi, the man looked far too young for that. His messy hair fell to the nape of his neck, and three buttons of his white shirt were undone, revealing his chest beneath.
Does he work out? Staring blankly at the sculpted muscles etched like a carving, Eunho met the man’s eyes.
“Ahjussi, do you know me?”
“No.”
“Then why did you catch me?”
“Because you were falling.”
That wasn’t what he meant—he meant why bother catching someone who was falling—but it felt like if he asked further, the man might get angry.
As Eunho simply blinked at him, the man lifted the cigarette in his hand to his lips. Then he glanced down at Eunho, who was looking up at him.
“Fuck.”
With a rough curse, the man blew the smoke in the opposite direction. Then he flicked the still-mostly-full cigarette to the ground.
“Go home early. If you drink like that just because you’re young, you’ll suffer for it.”
“…I only had two glasses.”
“That’s plenty for a baby.”
The man opened the iron door that had been shut. Once again, it let out a creepy creak.
“Don’t come this way.”
“……”
“The bathroom’s on the other side. Don’t get confused.”
He shoved Eunho lightly through the iron door. Stumbling back into the bar, Eunho blankly turned around.
Through the closing door, he saw the man. He was already leaning against the wall again, rummaging through his pocket.
Bang—the door shut, and Eunho blinked. Then he alternated glances between his friends clinking glasses and the iron door. From outside came the sound of a lighter flicking on.
“Ahjussi.”
Opening the door again, Eunho called out to him.
“The bathroom’s this way.”
The man looked at Eunho, who had appeared again, as if he couldn’t believe it. He spat the cigarette from his lips.
“I said it’s over there.”
“No, it’s not.”
“I don’t like repeating myself.”
“…Y-you already did. Twice.”
“You little—fuck…”
As the man cursed in that harsh tone, Eunho suddenly grabbed him. Instead of the acrid scent of cigarette smoke, a faint floral fragrance clung to him. Liking that scent, Eunho rested his head against the man’s chest.
“Will you take me there?”
He lifted his head slightly. Beneath the streetlight, he could see the man’s face. His once-composed expression was thoroughly twisted, and for some reason, that made Eunho let out a laugh.
“You’ve got no fear, do you?”
“……”
“Are you hitting on me right now?”
“Yes.”
“Do you even know how old I am?”
Mmm. After hesitating for a moment, Eunho answered,
“Fifty.”
“What?”
Yi-beom, who was only thirty at the time, went cold in an instant. Seeing that, Eunho burst into laughter.
“I’ll date you as long as you’re not over fifty, Ahjussi.”
The wind blew, and cherry blossom petals drifted down over their heads. Eunho tightened his grip on the man’s collar.
That was how he first met Yi-beom.
“Hngh, h-hic!”
Remembering that day made the tears pour out even more. His chest felt tight, so Eunho patted it with his small paw. No matter how hard he hit it, with rabbit paws it only made a soft thump, thump.
“Hic, hng, I—I can’t live with a tiger either!”
Whether their first meeting had been fated or beautiful, what remained now was simply a tiger and a rabbit. Drawing in a breath, Eunho muttered,
“R-rabbits and tigers don’t even show up together in old folktales.”
He could never live with a tiger that was trying to kill him. Wiping away his tears briskly, Eunho stood up on his hind legs.
It was too late to go to a friend’s or a relative’s house. Besides, with the world turned upside down like this, he didn’t even know if buses and subways were running properly. After pondering for a moment, Eunho suddenly gasped.
“Hyung! I should go to Hyung!”
Not far away lived Eunho’s older brother, Eunchan. Since their parents had passed away early, Eunho and his brother were especially close compared to their other siblings.
When Eunho had hesitated for a long time about living with Yi-beom because it would mean being farther from his brother’s house, Yi-beom had promptly gotten a place nearby. Thanks to that, whenever Yi-beom came home late, Eunho would often hop over to his brother’s place to eat.
Hyung and I share the same blood. He must be a rabbit too!
He vaguely recalled seeing news that blood relatives tended to turn into the same animal. Eunho’s steps grew lighter. Regaining his energy quickly, he ran toward his brother’s house.
