Episode 48
Woo Hyun-se drove to the gallery operated by Woo Gi-bbeum. He considered crashing his car right into the gallery, wondering why he was doing such unnecessary things. Fortunately, she was absent, and Woo Hyun-se waited for the gallery owner while viewing the artwork, which wasn’t part of his plan.
Soon after, Woo Gi-bbeum arrived. She seemed pleased to have inconvenienced Woo Hyun-se, grinning mischievously. He wanted to spit in her smiling face, but his emotions had settled during the wait. He decided to postpone his revenge, thinking he’d get back at her another time.
“Is the kid alright?” Woo Gi-bbeum asked casually, standing next to Woo Hyun-se and looking at the paintings.
In Seo-hee wasn’t bad. But she wasn’t good either. If he had to pick something he liked, there was just one thing. They would make an excellent show window couple once married. They wouldn’t care about each other’s private lives at all.
Truthfully, Woo Hyun-se wouldn’t care if In Seo-hee had dozens of mistresses or brought home children from outside. Marriage was literally just a kind of contract for mutual benefit.
“You seem very interested in my marriage.”
“Isn’t it the eldest daughter’s duty to ease father’s worries by marrying off her younger brother quickly?”
Well said. Woo Hyun-se glanced at Woo Gi-bbeum with an incredulous look before turning back to the painting. Red fish were flowing into a turbulent blue whirlpool. It was dynamic, chaotic, and orderly at the same time.
The painting, which gave contrasting impressions, suddenly reminded him of Kwon Si-yul. Brazen yet innocent like a young boy untouched by the world. Kwon Si-yul was too clear, beautiful, and pretty for someone born male.
“Do you know about In Seo-hee’s lover?”
“I do. Why, are you concerned?”
Is idiocy hereditary in the Woo family? First Woo Tae-joo, and now Woo Gi-bbeum was also off the mark.
“They’re still together even though she’s getting married. What did they get?”
“Ah, that. I heard they got an officetel.”
As expected. Who would stick around for nothing? There’s no such thing as true love in this world. That’s how all the people Woo Hyun-se had seen until now were. They compared what they could get, took what they could, and greedily tried to possess. That was the natural way of the world.
“As expected, Assemblyman Woo’s eldest daughter knows everything.”
Woo Gi-bbeum just smiled faintly. She stretched and prepared to leave.
“But why did you come here?”
“I missed you, sis.”
“You’re good at bullshitting. Since you’re here, why don’t you buy a gift for your fiancée? Take this one. She stood in front of it for a long time.”
It seems she had already visited Woo Gi-bbeum’s gallery. Half-listening, Woo Hyun-se looked up at the painting with his hands in his pockets. As he gazed intently, other impressions came to mind.
The fan-shaped beige lighting breathed life into the painting. The fish’s colorful tails seemed to flutter gently. It reminded him of Kwon Si-yul’s long, loose clothes fluttering with each step.
These days, no matter what he did, thoughts of Kwon Si-yul lingered in his mind. A brief conversation they had one night replayed as if someone had pressed play.
‘What about art museums?’
‘I’ve never been to one.’
Kwon Si-yul hadn’t experienced many things. His only memory of exercise was running in the schoolyard, and he had never been to any performances.
That wasn’t sad. Ridiculously, Woo Hyun-se liked this aspect very much. Whenever Kwon Si-yul experienced something new in the future, he would always be embedded in those first memories. Even if Kwon Si-yul did something with someone else, he would follow like those fish tails. Just as Kwon Si-yul came to mind whenever he looked at any painting now, Kwon Si-yul would also think of him no matter what he did.
‘Shall we go next time?’
‘If it’s with you…’
Had he fallen asleep, burrowing into his arms, overcome with drowsiness? Woo Hyun-se’s face, which had been indifferent throughout, softened slightly. His eyes curved gently, and a faint fragrant scent emanated from his body. Of course, Woo Gi-bbeum, being a beta, couldn’t notice this.
Ever since that night on their trip, whenever he held Kwon Si-yul, his pheromones would unconsciously flow out. Before, he used to restrain himself out of habit, but now he didn’t bother. After all, no matter how much he released, the other party wouldn’t be able to tell.
“I’m putting this under your name.”
“I never said I’d buy it.”
“I’m going to send it in your name.”
Her authoritative attitude was at a level that would invite criticism if she wasn’t Assemblyman Woo’s daughter. Woo Hyun-se replied indifferently, “Do as you please,” and turned around. Ignoring her instruction to look around once more, he was about to leave when something occurred to him. He paused, turned back, and called out “Ms. Woo Gi-bbeum” as if meeting her for the first time. Woo Gi-bbeum turned back with a frown on her well-groomed eyebrows.
“Keep your meddling to this point. I won’t accept any more.”
“What?”
“I’m telling you this once because you’re still my sister.”
“…”
“The old man doesn’t know about what you’ve embezzled yet, right? You were quite skillful.”
Woo Gi-bbeum’s eyes widened as if to ask how he knew that. Then she quickly narrowed them and lifted one corner of her mouth.
“That’s quite an elegant warning, you bastard.”
Despite the sharp insult, Woo Hyun-se just laughed, “Haha.” It was a bright and kind laugh for someone who had just been threatened to have their leash cut off.
* * *
Woo Tae-joo frequented the bar like a mouse in and out of a straw bag. While it’s one thing for regular customers to come a few times a week, Woo Tae-joo visited the bar daily, to the point where it felt odd if he didn’t show up for a day. He would sit at the bar, order drinks, chat with the bartender, and if it looked busy, he would roll up his sleeves and offer to help.
Even when Si-yul tried to stop him, saying, “I’ll do it. You’re a customer, you shouldn’t work,” Woo Tae-joo would wink and say, “Come on, we all know each other here. Just give me a little service later,” and move even more busily and quickly than Si-yul. Since even the manager didn’t stop him, Si-yul stepped back, thinking it would look odd if he insisted on stopping him.
Woo Tae-joo had already memorized the entire menu and knew how to take orders. When Si-yul wondered how he became so proficient without formal training, Woo Tae-joo said he learned by watching over Si-yul’s shoulder. The manager, who had been observing, once asked casually:
‘Is it okay for you to be here like this?’
‘It’s vacation, so I have nothing else to do.’
‘Didn’t you usually go abroad during vacations?’
‘This time I can’t because I’m broke. My mom cut off my allowance. I was planning to go snowboarding in Whistler.’
He then hunched his large frame and pretended to cry, “Boo-hoo.” It seemed like he was asking for work. The manager covered her mouth and laughed, pretending not to understand his intention.
“Should we open the windows for a bit? The air feels stuffy,” the manager spoke up during a lull when all the customers had left. Although they had the ventilation on, opening the windows was better for clearing out the smell. Si-yul responded with a “Yes,” and scurried over to the window. Despite the reported cold wave, the air that touched his cheeks felt like blades made of ice.
The sudden chill tickled his nose, and he eventually sneezed, “Achoo!” Barely covering it with his arm, he moved to the next window, but Woo Tae-joo was already there beside him.
“I’ll open the rest. You should clear that table over there.”
“No, I can do this.”
“You’ll catch a cold if you breathe in the cold air. Go on.”
With Woo Tae-joo even pushing his back, Si-yul had no choice but to take care of the table. As he returned with a mountain of dishes, the bartender spoke to Si-yul, who was sniffling.
“Are you okay? I heard the flu is going around these days. You might have caught it.”
“No, it’s just a momentary sneeze.”
Si-yul grinned at the concerned bartender and rubbed his arms. Maybe because he was wearing thin clothes indoors, goosebumps rose on his skin from the penetrating cold. His throat felt scratchy and painful, as if something was poking it.
Is it really a cold?
Si-yul forcibly swallowed a cough that was about to escape. His body had been a bit off since returning from the camping trip. He kept getting fevers. Maybe it was because he had opened the window in the car after fooling around, complaining it was hot. He wondered if he had caught a cold from the chilly wind then. But the symptoms seemed different from usual colds.
He would be fine in the morning, but once he came to work, his body would slowly heat up. He wasn’t dizzy or nauseous, but his movements were slower than usual, and when he touched his forehead, there was always a mild fever. His nose wasn’t congested.
In fact, his sense of smell had become more sensitive than before. The perfumes of customers smelled stronger than usual, and sometimes he caught scents that were hard to describe. It was a smell that his body recognized before his nose did. When he asked others about it, they said they couldn’t smell anything.
If this state continued, he would have gone to the hospital, but all symptoms disappeared when he went home. The fever subsided, and his nose returned to normal. It was a condition that would easily be dismissed as malingering if he complained about being sick, so Si-yul kept his mouth shut.
It will pass eventually.
Si-yul carried the dishes without showing any signs. He couldn’t even say he was sick at this level. In fact, Si-yul had learned to swallow the words “I’m sick” rather than speak them. Although he grew up in a decent orphanage under a good director, it was impossible for all the children to receive equal love. Younger and weaker children came first, so even if he said he was sick, he would only get a single pill rather than ample attention.
Therefore, Si-yul had become accustomed to enduring even when he was sick. Only Kwon Yuwon, who always stuck by his side, would notice; most others would pass by without realizing Si-yul was suffering.
