Episode 133
“But why?”
Junman suddenly wondered why Yoon Inbeom was asking him to vacate the house. Even if he could use Mitchell’s place for a while by talking to him, he would still end up being homeless afterward.
Of course, he could stubbornly stay at Mitchell’s house, but it was hard to predict how Geon-woo and Mitchell would react.
“I want to stay just a few more days.”
Despite having taken advantage of their kindness this much, he was ungrateful and hoped for continued favors. He planned to cling on until the end unless there was a convincing reason.
“A friend will be using this place. It was something I had promised a few months ago, but I forgot about it.”
“Then what about me?”
“Isn’t it time for you to go back to Korea?”
His tone, mixed with a sigh, was full of annoyance. With his smile gone, his answer was extremely curt. Junman, bewildered by Yoon Inbeom’s suddenly changed attitude, finally raised his voice.
“Hey! Is this how you talk to your hyung?”
Although he was indebted to Yoon Inbeom, disrespecting him as an older brother was a different matter. The proud Junman wouldn’t let such a sneering tone slide.
“What hyung… Just vacate the house quickly. And give me the card.”
“You, you bastard… now.”
“What? Bastard? Did you really think you were someone great because I picked you up when you were rolling around like a beggar and treated you nicely? Damn… Hey! I have no reason to look good to you anymore, so just get out while I’m asking nicely. How can a beggar spend ten thousand dollars in just a few days? Hey, pay back the money. I’m definitely going to collect it. Do you understand?”
“You, you…”
The courtesy he had been maintaining on the surface disappeared in an instant. His true face, caring only for his own benefit, was revealed.
“You fucking bastard. You’ll see! I’ll make you regret what you said today!”
“Do whatever you want. Damn it, just get out quickly!”
Junman, overcome with anger, gulped down wine straight from the bottle. He took out the card from his wallet, but he had no intention of handing it over nicely. He went out to the terrace and threw the card outside. One side of the terrace was bushes, and the other side was a sandy beach. The card flew like a boomerang, and it wasn’t visible where it fell.
Seeing Yoon Inbeom’s face turn red and blue, Junman inwardly sneered and started packing his belongings scattered around the house. Though curses kept coming out as he felt pathetic dragging his suitcase out to the entrance, he tried to act nonchalant.
In the midst of this, he even packed two unopened bottles of new wine. Since he bought them, they were his. He still had no intention of paying back the ten thousand dollars.
Junman left Yoon Inbeom’s house and walked down the street for a while before stopping at a suitable place and opening his phone. As the cool breeze hit his heated face, the heat subsided slightly. He was about to send a message to Mitchell.
[Something suddenly came up, so is it okay if I impose on you just for today? Just one day is enough.]
After pressing send, he wasn’t satisfied and quickly sent an additional message.
[It’s better for both of us if I stay here quietly, right?]
He waited for a reply, giving reasons that couldn’t be refused. Or should he ask for money? He had various thoughts but gave up.
If Geon-woo was with him, that troublesome brother might insist on canceling even the promise to book a plane ticket. He guessed their relationship had become stronger than before.
When no reply came even after more than an hour of waiting, he figured it was a refusal. While he was repeatedly considering whether he should send another message asking for money, thinking it would have been better to do so, fortunately, Mitchell contacted him.
[There’s no one at home right now because of some business.]
“Damn… what terrible timing.”
There’s no way they would let him into an empty house. No, would they even let him into the house in the first place? He had thought about staying in the house that would be empty for a week just before, but honestly, there was no way they would allow it.
Grumbling, Junman started looking for a hotel. As the twilight was setting in, he became anxious to find a place to stay for tonight as soon as possible. Then he suddenly realized he didn’t have a penny to his name.
Yet, a grin escaped Junman’s lips. He still had Yoon Inbeom’s card in his wallet. What he had thrown from the terrace was a VIP membership card issued by a department store. One that couldn’t even be used because the rank had already dropped. He threw that because it was similar in color to Yoon Inbeom’s card.
The fool didn’t even notice.
Of course, he had no intention of using Yoon Inbeom’s card right away. It shouldn’t be discovered yet.
He planned to use a large sum and then discard the card. Shouldn’t he give one last big “fuck you”?
[Isn’t there any way for just one day?]
So for now, it’s better to beg Mitchell, even if it’s pathetic. He believed that even if not his house, Mitchell would somehow find another way.
[Alright. Please vacate the house before noon tomorrow. I hope you don’t run into the helpers coming at 1 PM.]
“Huh? Mitchell, you bastard!”
When the door password for Mitchell’s house arrived afterward, Junman even kissed his phone screen.
“As expected, a handsome guy has a good heart too.”
Even though he had hated him so much, all that hatred disappeared just because he let him sleep over once. He was incredibly simple-minded.
Although he was kicked out by Yoon Inbeom, Mitchell took him in. Everything worked out well. Of course, he had to leave his suitcase in the taxi after riding without paying and frantically running away because he had no taxi fare, but still.
Thanks to Mitchell, he had a good rest for a day.
***
“Go or don’t go, whatever.”
A sullen voice came from the living room. Mitchell, who was about to load his duffel bag into the car, looked at the sofa and slowly walked towards it. The shoulder strap was taut because the bag was full of luggage.
“What are you doing here?”
Geon-woo was lying on the floor between the sofa and the table, muttering to himself. The way he was lying as if hiding his body in the narrow space might have made someone think he was playing hide-and-seek if they saw him.
“New York. New Yooork-.”
Geon-woo repeated the same word over and over as if practicing pronunciation. Rather than hiding, he was sprawled out without any motivation.
There were two reasons why Geon-woo was angry.
First, because of his brother who had stayed at the house a few days ago. He let Junman sleep at this house without telling him. Even though it was just for one day and it was to send Junman back to Korea, he couldn’t help but feel annoyed.
The second was because of Mitchell’s trip to New York before. At the time, he thought it was a business visit, but he started to suspect that he might have gone to meet Jeff. Geon-woo had been like this ever since he heard that Jeff was running a hotel in New York.
“Did you drink?”
“I’m thinking about drinking now.”
“Hmm.”
“You know what? There are New Yorkers living in New York, but in Korea, there’s a saying ‘new yoker’ which means a new curser. Like the emergence of a new curser? That’s me.”
“……”
“You watermelon-seed-fucking bastard.”
Geon-woo said, staring intently at Mitchell. One of Mitchell’s eyebrows rose strangely, and then he opened his mouth.
“That’s… very offensive? And long.”
“I guess your Korean teacher didn’t teach you these things?”
Mitchell was quite diligent in studying Korean. His skills improved noticeably day by day. He even interpreted the recorded file of Yoon Inbeom and Geon-woo’s conversation. He went through the process of breaking down words one by one and confirming with Alex, and found out that there was nothing special in the conversation, though it was annoying.
Moreover, he now knows that ‘shibal-nom’ is a curse word. Although he didn’t confront Geon-woo about it.
And right now, he heard the longest curse among all the Korean words he had encountered so far.
“It’s familiar to me, but it’s a new curse for you. That’s why I’m a new yoker.”
Geon-woo deliberately held his stomach and laughed exaggeratedly, acting over the top. Watching Geon-woo like this, Mitchell sighed. Anyway, Geon-woo was indeed a curser.
There was no particular way to clear up Geon-woo’s misunderstanding. The fact that he was still in contact with Jeff had caused anger, and where was the evidence to prove that they hadn’t met when asked to provide it? He thought Geon-woo would believe him if he explained moderately, but Geon-woo’s temper was extraordinary.
“I’ll load the luggage first and come back.”
They had to hurry to make it in time for the flight departure. Mitchell left Geon-woo grumbling on the floor and moved the luggage. Just then, the car keys disappeared, and he spent time looking in odd places. Mitchell approached Geon-woo with slightly hurried steps.
He silently knelt down and kissed him. The angle was off, but the two were used to kisses like this.
Even Geon-woo, who had been grumbling so much, stopped his spiteful words for a moment when Mitchell’s lips approached. He covered the mischievous tongue with an even more mischievous tongue to stop it.
Geon-woo grabbed Mitchell’s shoulders with both hands as if telling him not to go. The kiss continued a bit longer, but eventually, their lips parted.
“I’m going?”
When Mitchell spoke while looking at his watch, Geon-woo sighed and turned his head away.
“Do whatever you want.”
Mitchell looked at Geon-woo and then turned around. It was the day before Mitchell’s birthday.
