#Side Story 04
Gyo-ha burst into Liu’s house less than 30 minutes after ending the call. Unlike Hwi-kyung, who wasn’t accustomed to driving at dawn, Gyo-ha’s dawn driving skills were excellent due to his eventful university-industry cooperation schedule.
Hwi-kyung felt the unfairness of the world whenever Gyo-ha, who made sudden stops as if it were nothing, could drive faster than himself who strictly adhered to safe driving. While some people had accidents because wild animals jumped out despite obeying all traffic signals, Lee Gyo-ha, who never lost to anyone when it came to reckless driving, claimed he had never had an accident throughout his regression life.
One stroke of luck must be ancestral spirits protecting him. That’s what Hwi-kyung thought as he watched Gyo-ha rush in and embrace him tightly.
“I missed you.”
With that one sentence, thoughts about the unfairness of luck melted away like snow. Pulled into Gyo-ha’s arms, Hwi-kyung didn’t even mind Liu jeering from behind.
“Why did you come to someone else’s house at this dawn?”
“I had some circumstances.”
“What circumstances?”
“…While driving at dawn, a wild animal jumped out and caused my tire to puncture.”
“What?”
“So I asked Liu for help.”
“Why didn’t you call me…”
“Because you would be at graduate school. You’ve been busy lately.”
Hwi-kyung squirmed to escape from Gyo-ha’s embrace. One hug should have been enough, but Gyo-ha seemed to have no intention of letting Hwi-kyung go, continuing to hold him tight. Due to Gyo-ha’s high body temperature, Hwi-kyung also heated up instantly in his arms.
Displaying such blatant affection in a coworker’s house where they were imposing, not even their own home. Belatedly recognizing Liu’s presence, Hwi-kyung patted Gyo-ha’s back, telling him to let go now. However, Gyo-ha, despite understanding the signal, pretended not to notice and clung to Hwi-kyung like a leech.
Only Liu, who had woken up to help Hwi-kyung, tightly closed his eyes at the ostentatious behavior of Gyo-ha wrapping an arm around Hwi-kyung’s waist. Why do lovey-dovey couples always end up being a nuisance to those around them? This was truly a problem that should be made into a research topic.
“I was really worried when I came home at dawn and you weren’t there.”
“I’m sorry for not contacting you.”
“I was shocked thinking you might have gone to meet someone else instead of me.”
Hearing those words, Hwi-kyung’s conscience stirred. After all, Hwi-kyung had also suspected that Gyo-ha might be hiding someone else in the graduate school.
“Of course, you wouldn’t do that… but this world is full of strange people who make others their office wife or husband without mutual consent.”
When Hwi-kyung said nothing, Gyo-ha hastily added excuses as if he had been caught doing something wrong. After sixteen regressions, Gyo-ha was gradually realizing that he had an annoying personality.
Usually, Hwi-kyung would tolerate whatever nonsense Gyo-ha said, but due to recent late returns and frequent all-nighters at graduate school, Gyo-ha had many things weighing on his mind.
Just now, didn’t words that the usual Hwi-kyung wouldn’t say come pouring out? Gyo-ha wasn’t very good at understanding social contexts enough to read highly developed passive aggression. But he always knew how to keenly sense Hwi-kyung’s personal state.
“It seems a university husband would come before an office husband…”
See even now. It should have ended with ‘Don’t talk nonsense about office husbands,’ but he was adding an extra attack. Gyo-ha buried his face between Hwi-kyung’s neck and shoulder, rubbing his hair as if trying to be cute.
“Were you lonely because you couldn’t see me often due to graduate school?”
“……”
“Come on, say something. Was the accident perhaps because you were trying to come see me?”
“……”
“Is that right?”
Hwi-kyung’s hands, which had been pushing Gyo-ha away telling him not to stick together in someone else’s house, suddenly stopped. Though Gyo-ha had asked jokingly, Hwi-kyung had indeed been stranded on the dawn road while trying to see Gyo-ha.
He hadn’t gone to see Gyo-ha for any other purpose. He simply took the wheel for the irrational reason that it seemed suspicious when he came home and Lee Gyo-ha wasn’t there again.
Gyo-ha certainly wouldn’t know these details, yet he somehow guessed Hwi-kyung’s actions correctly. The truly absurd thing was that Gyo-ha hadn’t asked with confidence that Hwi-kyung would have done such a thing.
A subtle silence fell between the two. A mood that suggested they might kiss in three seconds if this were an Enflix American drama flickered between them.
[Wait.]
Liu rose abruptly from the sofa before the critical three seconds passed. The bean bag couch collapsed to the side with a thud due to Liu’s hurried movement.
[Couldn’t you do your displays of affection somewhere I’m not?]
After fixing the car tire, bringing them home, and even opening a can of beer for them, they call their lover over for a display of affection? This should be recognized as a mental injury case.
* * *
Before daybreak, Gyo-ha took Hwi-kyung and returned home. He didn’t forget to thank Liu. Though he was concerned that Hwi-kyung had asked for help from a colleague on his behalf, it seemed clear that all Liu wanted was for the couple to get out of his house.
While he couldn’t file it as a workplace injury, he could at least show a small token of gratitude. Gyo-ha paid a sum as a thank-you fee, enough to brighten Liu’s expression along with his words of thanks.
As a result, Liu willingly agreed to keep Hwi-kyung’s car in his garage. Hwi-kyung repeatedly thanked Liu for his kindness and got into the passenger seat of Gyo-ha’s car.
“I’ve been too busy lately, haven’t I?”
Once they were alone, Gyo-ha immediately got to the point. The dawn road, as daylight faintly appeared, was brighter and more pleasant than when Hwi-kyung had been driving.
“I should have at least called to say I was coming home this dawn. I didn’t because I thought you’d be sleeping early and didn’t want to wake you.”
“…I’ve been going to bed late these days.”
“Really? You used to go to bed sharply at 11. Perhaps you can’t sleep without me?”
“……”
“Really?”
To be precise, it was because he had too many thoughts to fall asleep. When with Gyo-ha, his intelligence seemed to drop and he had no thoughts, but when Gyo-ha wasn’t beside him, Hwi-kyung suffered from mental noise again.
Hadn’t this predicament arisen today because he took the wheel at dawn over a trivial suspicion? If he had just waited patiently, he would have properly reunited with Gyo-ha who had returned home after a long time.
Hwi-kyung was too embarrassed to answer verbally, so he just nodded slightly. In the past, he would have denied it no matter what, but now there was no reason to. Gyo-ha wasn’t the type to tease him about such things, and he knew there was nothing to gain by lying in a relationship.
“I looked it up online, and even for graduate school, business school students don’t usually stay out overnight this often.”
“Yes.”
“But since you’ve been coming home so sporadically lately… I started to wonder.”
“Did you really think I was cheating? And at graduate school of all places?”
“That’s not it, just… it’s true that you’ve been staying out frequently.”
A faint blue vein appeared on Gyo-ha’s right hand gripping the steering wheel. He wasn’t angry, but it was just so absurd that they had both suspected each other of seeing other people.
“I also wondered when you said you were at a colleague’s house without calling me today.”
“Would I, of all people, have an affair? Not Lee Gyo-ha?”
“Come on. You never know with people.”
“I have higher standards than you think, so that won’t happen.”
“Am I handsome?”
“……”
“Actually, I know. Thank you.”
Only those born with talent can make someone angry with just a few words. Hwi-kyung’s hands also tensed up. Gyo-ha glanced at Hwi-kyung’s hands from the corner of his eye and quickly backed down. If he pushed any further, he might get punched by the surprisingly impulsive Hwi-kyung.
How nice would it be if a lover’s punch didn’t hurt at all and felt like affection? Unfortunately, Hwi-kyung’s punches were quite spicy and painful. Despite his delicate and elegant appearance, Hwi-kyung’s specialty was hitting only the critical spots.
As Gyo-ha became docile to avoid those painful punches, Hwi-kyung let out a small sigh.
“I’m sorry for the suspicion. I guess I was a bit anxious even though I knew it wouldn’t happen.”
“I’ll also try to avoid nonsense and come home as early as possible from now on. Even if I have to knock out the professor…”
“No, please don’t knock out the professor.”
By the time the two arrived home, it was already 7 AM. The surroundings quickly brightened as the sun rose. Gyo-ha, saying he would sleep a little, just changed his clothes and collapsed while hugging Hwi-kyung like a body pillow.
Looking closely, his handsome face was haggard with fatigue in various places. Hwi-kyung, in the position of being heavily embraced by Gyo-ha, reached out his hand to stroke the edge of Gyo-ha’s eyebrow as he slept. With his mouth closed while sleeping, Gyo-ha’s appearance was quite solemn, unlike his personality.
Anyone would easily like Gyo-ha. That’s why Hwi-kyung sometimes felt insecure. Unlike Hwi-kyung, Gyo-ha had many things and didn’t hesitate to share them with others. Regardless of how he himself thought of people, it was natural for people to flock around Gyo-ha.
Wouldn’t someone among them want to make advances toward Gyo-ha? Hwi-kyung, after imagining a non-existent rival in love, closed his eyes following Gyo-ha. Thanks to Gyo-ha’s warmth that he felt after a long time, Hwi-kyung’s eyes also closed quickly.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
