#075
Kang Dojun couldn’t rest even after coming home. He sat alone at the living room table, kneading clay for what was supposed to be a completely natural daily routine.
‘Clay tray?’
He’d heard it was a trendy DIY activity these days. He never dreamed he’d be doing it himself.
The PD said to just show his usual daily life, but contrary to his words, he’d carelessly thrown a clay tray making set at him.
‘Isn’t this too artificial?’
It was ridiculous. Reading a script would have been much more natural.
That damn trend. He’d been hearing about it sickeningly since “Rural Conquest.” What bromance. What picnic. What DIY.
Still, Kang Dojun worked his hands diligently, recalling the making method and results he’d looked up online.
“…Was it like this?”
He didn’t forget to glance at the camera and mutter to himself either.
Online, they said to make the base first, then attach the rim around the sides.
After that, he’d heard to let it dry for 1-2 days, but the PD asked him to send the final result painted with colors later. In other words, it was homework.
He was scheduled to go to the broadcasting station in a week to watch today’s footage with the MCs, so he just needed to send it before then.
While he was diligently making the base, Yeonwoo’s tightly closed door quietly slid open.
“Hyung.”
At the small whisper calling him, Kang Dojun got up and approached his room. It was to prevent him from coming out to the living room where the cameras were as much as possible.
He carefully checked on Yeonwoo. Fortunately, resting in the camera-free room seemed to have been effective, as he’d returned to his usual appearance.
Kang Dojun lightly covered the microphone attached to his clothes with his hand and spoke quietly.
“Do you need anything? I’ll bring it to you.”
Yeonwoo glanced at his hand. Clay was stuck to it.
“I want to make one too.”
“They gave us two, I’ll give you one. Make it in your room.”
Yeonwoo grabbed Kang Dojun as he went to get the clay tray set.
“I’ll come out to the living room.”
He didn’t want to leave Kang Dojun alone in front of the boring cameras. He had a tendency to try to handle everything by himself.
He’d sent him to his room telling him to calm his mind and body, but the place where his mind and body were most at peace was next to Kang Dojun.
Yeonwoo quietly stepped into the living room. He sat at the table and looked at the clay tray Kang Dojun had been making.
“Is this what hyung was making?”
“Yeah. I just need to build up the rim on the sides now.”
Without a chance to stop him, Kang Dojun went over to Yeonwoo who had come out and sat in the living room, handing him the spare clay. Yeonwoo kneaded the clay he received and asked. He was starting to get excited at the texture of clay in his hands for the first time since elementary school.
“How do I do it?”
“First you wet it with water…”
Before he even finished speaking, Yeonwoo dunked the elongated clay more than halfway into the paper cup of water and looked at Kang Dojun. It meant what should he do next.
“…You got it too wet. I’ll give you more clay.”
“Okay.”
“Then you flatten it. Do you have a shape you want?”
Yeonwoo checked the circular clay plate in Kang Dojun’s hands.
“A circle.”
Kang Dojun handed him the rolling pin and clay knife.
Yeonwoo secretly glanced at Kang Dojun’s result and tried to make it similar. But when it didn’t work as easily as he thought, he called out to Kang Dojun who was stretching clay long like an earthworm.
“Hyung, why is your circle so round?”
“Because it’s a circle, it’s round.”
Yeonwoo looked down at what he’d made. It was oval-shaped, not a circle.
‘Ah…’
Kang Dojun quickly picked up the clay knife and reached for Yeonwoo’s clay. Even though he hadn’t used a compass or put a round object under the clay, the oval shape became as neat as a circle with a radius.
His high school art skills were being put to use.
“Hyung is really good at everything except cutting hair.”
“…I’ll get good at that too.”
“I’m good at swimming, and I’m good at raising bees. I’m good at catching hornets, and I’m good at fishing too.”
Yeonwoo listed his strengths in a row to keep up with his accomplished boyfriend.
“That’s cool.”
“Right?”
Yeonwoo’s lips curved up slightly at Kang Dojun’s praise. He seemed definitely in a better mood than before, which was reassuring.
‘Did he fish before the deep-sea fishing boats?’
“What did you do on the deep-sea fishing boats?”
“Worked like hell and earned like hell.”
The money earned from deep-sea fishing boats and the military was all used to buy the house in the countryside and the bees. Though the military salary was peanuts.
Yeonwoo stretched the clay long like an earthworm following Kang Dojun and recalled his deep-sea fishing boat days. Come to think of it, there were some strange guys there too.
‘Lots of guys quit midway. It won’t change anything if you quit too.’
‘But I worked so well.’
Well, it was a bit awkward at first, but later everyone became close and got along without distinction.
“Was there anything difficult about it?”
“Um, hangovers?”
“Hangovers?”
Kang Dojun frowned. He was drinking then too? He couldn’t gauge when he’d started drinking.
Yeonwoo attached the rim to the circular base Kang Dojun had made for him.
“But what do we do with this after making it? A side dish bowl?”
He seemed to be making it first because Kang Dojun was doing it, without knowing what it was.
“I heard you can put decorative items on it.”
At Kang Dojun’s explanation, Yeonwoo looked even more confused. What decorative items was he talking about? He picked up his phone with hands stained and splotchy with clay and searched the internet.
Rings, necklaces, watches, ah, coasters looked quite useful.
He thought it would be finished once made, but they had to let it dry for several days, then scrape it smooth with sandpaper and paint it with colors.
‘It’s quite complicated.’
“What will hyung use yours for?”
“I haven’t thought about it.”
“Let’s make coasters.”
At Yeonwoo’s words, Kang Dojun looked down at the clay he was making. It was circular in shape, and it wouldn’t be bad to use as a coaster.
“Let’s do that.”
Yeonwoo seemed excited and started making it more enthusiastically.
After completing the couple’s clay trays, Yeonwoo lay on his room’s bed rolling around. Having gotten used to always sleeping attached to Kang Dojun, he couldn’t fall asleep when he tried to sleep alone.
The bed he was lying on felt strange.
‘Is hyung sleeping?’
The cameras would be retrieved in the morning, so they had to spend the night in their respective rooms.
After tossing and turning for a while, Yeonwoo finally went out to the living room. He quietly opened Kang Dojun’s door, but it was dark and silent.
He’d been busy moving around since morning and had done all the driving, so he must be tired. However, Yeonwoo was surprisingly wide awake.
Bored by himself, Yeonwoo took a portable camera and quietly went out to the terrace.
‘Is the power on?’
He checked the power and moved to the vegetable garden he’d been diligently tending. The lettuce had grown a lot. He brought the camera closer to show the lettuce.
“I grew these.”
He muttered to himself and showed off the lettuce. In one corner of the vegetable garden was a plant called a Venus flytrap. He’d brought it from a plant store thinking it might catch bugs that were after the lettuce.
But he’d never once seen the Venus flytrap close its mouth.
Yeonwoo filmed the Venus flytrap with the camera.
“This one only drinks water and doesn’t eat bugs.”
Calling it a guy who doesn’t live up to his name under his breath, he experimented with putting his finger in and out of the Venus flytrap’s mouth like playing “rice, barley, rice, barley” to see if it would close.
“Ah, that startled me.”
Just then, the Venus flytrap quickly snapped shut as if it would chew and swallow his hand. Yeonwoo was startled and stepped back. He soon came to his senses and, annoyed that he’d been surprised by such a thing, tapped the Venus flytrap as if scolding it.
“This one doesn’t eat the bugs it’s supposed to eat… But I guess it’s not dead.”
Since he was already out on the terrace, Yeonwoo watered the vegetable garden with a watering can.
“I did water it earlier, but today was hot.”
As if plants were people who sought water when hot, he sprayed enough water to thoroughly soak the soil, and satisfied, Yeonwoo hummed a tune.
Then he stopped singing at a sudden thought.
“If you sing at night…”
Yeonwoo was about to explain to the camera why he stopped singing, then closed his mouth.
He wanted to say ghosts would come, but there was a superstition that if you mention the word “ghost,” they’d think you’re talking about them and come looking.
“I’m sleepy, so I should go to bed.”
Yeonwoo rubbed his goose-bumped nape and made an excuse for no reason. Then he turned off the camera and hurried inside.
Since he’d been out on the terrace, he thoroughly washed his hands and feet in the bathroom before heading to his room. Not his room, but Kang Dojun’s room.
Come to think of it, they’d slept together during “Rural Conquest” too, so there was no reason they couldn’t sleep together now. He climbed onto the bed where he was sleeping and wriggled under the covers.
Kang Dojun familiarly made room even in his sleep. Yeonwoo pulled the covers over himself completely and pressed his crown against Kang Dojun’s back. The familiar scent reassured him.
He didn’t need a pillow, and he endured the uncomfortable position. It was a bit hot too, but that wasn’t a problem.
All the discomforts that bothered him disappeared with the single existence called Kang Dojun.
Just moments ago his eyes had been bright as if it were midday, but coming to Kang Dojun’s side seemed to calm him, and fatigue quickly washed over him. He opened his mouth and yawned big like a cat. He barely restrained his desire to embrace him and settled for gripping his clothes.
Since it was under the covers, it wouldn’t show on camera anyway, but it didn’t hurt to be careful.
He fell asleep feeling Kang Dojun turn in his sleep to face his direction.
Maybe it was because he’d talked about deep-sea fishing boats while making the clay tray. That night he dreamed an old dream.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
