#099
“Hello.”
Shin Gihyeon suddenly shouted to Lee Yeonwoo who answered the phone.
– Sunbae is appearing in our drama! It’s a special appearance, but….
“Ah, that? I heard from hyung.”
Then Shin Gihyeon said in a deflated voice.
– What, you already knew. Then bring corn.
At his words, he could now be certain. Shin Gihyeon was definitely obsessed with corn.
“Are you crazy about corn? Just buy and eat it in Seoul.”
– Don’t you have corn?
“I do have some. I don’t know when I’ll go though. Do you like corn more than me?”
– Why are you asking something so obvious. But why does your voice sound like that?
Did he just notice now? Lee Yeonwoo drank water and briefly answered that he had a cold. When asked if it was air conditioning sickness, he grumbled “If I was going to get it, I would have gotten it a long time ago.”
It was funny to get air conditioning sickness now when summer was almost over.
– Yeah. Take care of your health. I’m hanging up.
“Yeah.”
After hanging up, he soaked rice in soup to finish his meal quickly.
“Who was it?”
“Corn.”
“How can corn make a phone call?”
“Shin Gihyeon.”
Then Kim Haseon asked like a woodpecker without even properly chewing the food in his mouth.
“You’re in contact with Shin Gihyeon too?”
“He’s a friend.”
When Lee Yeonwoo answered in a slightly hoarse voice due to his cold, Kim Haseon muttered with a serious expression.
“Maybe I should try going on broadcast filming too.”
He seemed quite envious of Lee Yeonwoo’s celebrity acquaintances. Lee Yeonwoo grabbed Kim Haseon’s spoon instead of his own and hit his forehead with it.
“You think all broadcasts are good?”
“Ow! Why are you hitting me with my spoon!”
“Then should I hit your forehead with my spoon instead of your spoon?”
Kim Haseon rubbed his forehead and bragged that he was a million-subscriber YouTuber after all, and there were plenty of places that would call him.
Kim Haseon was popular for his clean broadcasts that didn’t cross the line and his high-level gaming skills.
Although it might not be terrestrial broadcasting calling him, if he built up his image somehow, terrestrial would become possible too, and eventually he could stand shoulder to shoulder with Kang Dojun….
“My hyung doesn’t do variety shows anymore.”
“What?”
Lee Yeonwoo cut him off sharply while Kim Haseon was spreading his wings of imagination.
Kim Haseon grabbed Lee Yeonwoo’s arm and shook it.
“Why? Why not? It was fun though?”
Like an inflatable balloon at an event venue swaying in the wind, Lee Yeonwoo’s arm shook helplessly as he was grabbed.
“He’s going to play with me.”
“…Who are you to say that?”
“Huh?”
“Who are you to make him give up such good money-making?”
A subtle crack appeared on Lee Yeonwoo’s face. That’s right. Who am I? Lee Yeonwoo. Twenty-five-year-old beekeeper. Who am I, drinking all the time? He had no proud record he could present with confidence.
Lee Yeonwoo soon shook his head and picked up Kim Haseon’s spoon again to strike his forehead. The force was stronger than before.
“Ow!”
“You’re also a million-subscriber YouTuber but you play with me.”
“I don’t give up my job though.”
Lee Yeonwoo glared at Kim Haseon, who came all the way to visit but was putting a wedge between Kang Dojun and himself.
“Hey you. Don’t eat the rice.”
“What, I’m the one who prepared it?”
“This is my house. My rice, my rice bowl, my utensils, side dishes hyung gave me.”
The more childish it got, the less Kim Haseon had to say in response. He glanced at Lee Yeonwoo’s face and reached out to check his temperature.
“Do you have a fever again?”
“I’ll be fine after eating and taking medicine.”
“Kid? Do you get a fever when you’re angry?”
“I have a fever because I’m sick.”
Yes, yes, I’m sure you do. At his slightly sarcastic words, faint wrinkles formed on Lee Yeonwoo’s forehead.
***
After lunch with Lee Yeonwoo, Kim Haseon packed the pet supplies that Kang Dojun had prepared and headed to Grandpa Jongsu’s house.
Since Lee Yeonwoo was lying down after taking medicine, he set out alone, but it wasn’t difficult since it wasn’t his first time on this path. Thanks to occasionally visiting the countryside, he had also become acquainted with the village residents.
“Hello!”
“…Who are you?”
“I’m Kim Seungseon, Yeonwoo’s friend!”
However, since Lee Yeonwoo kept calling him Kim Seungseon, except for Cheolsu, no one understood when he said Kim Haseon. Since he couldn’t confuse the elderly, he had no choice but to unify it as Kim Seungseon.
Should I really change my name…?
“Oh my, what brings you all the way here? Did you come to visit Yeonwoo? He’s sick right now, isn’t he?”
Grandpa Jongsu quickly recognized him and welcomed him warmly.
“Ah, I’m taking care of him right now. And these are dog supplies. Kang Dojun-ssi told me to give them to you.”
“Ah- collars for our puppies!”
He touched the pet supplies he received several times, then broke out in cold sweat as if the muzzle operation was difficult. Kim Haseon reached out to help him.
“Do you have dogs? It would be good if I could show you a demonstration….”
“They’re just mutts so they run around freely! They’ve all gone out right now.”
Hmm. Kim Haseon looked around and then put the muzzle on his own face.
“First, you fix this part to the mouth area, and adjust the strap in the back.”
“Like this?”
“Uh… yes.”
Feeling embarrassed, Kim Haseon quickly took off the muzzle and handed it over. Red marks were left on his face in the shape of the muzzle. Ah, embarrassing. What am I even doing….
“Oh, thank you. What will you eat for dinner later?”
At Grandpa Jongsu’s suggestion to come eat at their house if there was nothing to eat, he declined, saying there was food piled up like a mountain at Lee Yeonwoo’s house too.
After handing over the dog supplies and finishing his greetings, this time he headed to the apiary. Proper work was impossible, so he roughly caught what looked like wasps and installed sticky traps.
He couldn’t distinguish well between wasps and honeybees, so several times he caught innocent honeybees. Well, as long as Lee Yeonwoo doesn’t know.
“Sorry, honeybees.”
The reason he apologized out loud was because he was filming a video with his camera. Maybe the YouTube title could be ‘Beekeeping vlog’…. Rural daily life would be good too.
Lee Yeonwoo wouldn’t appear on screen, and he had gotten permission to film in exchange for doing work on behalf of the sick him, so there would be no problem.
While Kim Haseon was handling Lee Yeonwoo’s tasks one by one like this, Lee Yeonwoo was lying down with a pillow, blinking his vacant eyes at the ceiling.
‘Who are you to make him give up such good money-making?’
As if trying to vent his anger, he lifted his head high then slammed it down under the pillow. The soft pillow absorbed the damage Lee Yeonwoo would have received. It felt like Kang Dojun’s large, warm hand.
Kim Haseon was right. There was nothing wrong with what he said.
What am I, so insignificant, that hyung would go that far?
As Park Daeho said, it would really be more beneficial for both of them if he lived in Seoul. Kang Dojun was the one who treated his life that had rotted to the core.
Was it really right for such a person to give up a decent job and follow him into the countryside?
At first, he had just tried to be led along by whatever Kang Dojun did. But was it right for Kang Dojun, who was high up in the sky, to come down to match his rock-bottom life? It would be a big blow to him.
Rather, even if it didn’t suit him, if he stayed in Kang Dojun’s position and then they broke up, he could go back….
“Fuck.”
Break up what? I’ll stick to him so tightly that we can never break up. His conflicting feelings kept clashing.
He banged his head against the pillow.
“Kim Seungseon had to say something annoying.”
He probably said it without thinking, but that made it feel more sincere. Usually words that come out unconsciously are the real inner thoughts.
That didn’t mean Kim Haseon was putting Lee Yeonwoo down or anything like that. Kang Dojun had specs that would make anyone think that way.
Even now, if he turned on the TV, the variety show that Kang Dojun and he had recently filmed together would be playing. Just because Kang Dojun appeared on variety shows, episodes featuring him were heavily scheduled in the programming.
Lee Yeonwoo soon lifted the pillow that was under his head and covered his face with it.
Times like this were good. Everything around became dark and surrounding sounds grew distant. When he fell into a dazed state, no negative thoughts could be heard.
Buzz-buzz.
‘…Who is it?’
When his phone suddenly rang and interrupted his alone time, he felt annoyed. He just fumbled around with his hand to find his phone, then brought it to his ear and mumbled.
“Hello.”
– What are you doing? Show me your face.
Only then realizing it was a call from Kang Dojun, Lee Yeonwoo bolted up, switched to video call, and showed his face on screen.
– How’s your body? Your fever?
“I’m fine. I think I’ll be completely better tomorrow.”
– How do you know that? Take good care of yourself until you’re completely better.
He couldn’t refuse the words of someone speaking with such a pretty smile. He nodded slightly. After that, he answered the flood of questions about whether he enjoyed the side dishes sent, whether he checked the luggage, whether he looked at the album.
“Oh right. Hyung. Wait a moment.”
– Yeah, take your time.
Lee Yeonwoo got up as if remembering something and opened the album that was carefully placed to one side. Then he pointed to young Park Daeho covered in injuries and Kang Dojun standing next to him.
“Who beat you up back then? Why is your face like this?”
– Daeho and I fought back then.
Lee Yeonwoo looked at Kang Dojun’s crooked face standing next to Park Daeho, who was frowning deeply. As he saw earlier, unlike other bruises, he only had one bandage on the side of his cheek.
Kang Dojun on the other side of the screen grinned.
– I hit him more.
‘Does he want me to praise him?’
Knowing that violence was bad, he held back from unconsciously wanting to tell him he did well.
“Why did you fight?”
– I don’t remember.
“Kids that age all fight while growing up.”
He nodded without asking further. If he doesn’t remember, then he doesn’t remember. Whatever Kang Dojun said was right.
– Did you fight a lot when you were young too?
“I didn’t just get beaten up all the time.”
– So you did get beaten up?
Lee Yeonwoo confidently lifted his forearm and flexed with strength. Forgetting himself who had been gloomy for a while because of Kim Haseon’s words, he was absorbed in talking with Kang Dojun.
“I gave flesh to take bone.”
Times like this were good. Everything around became dark and surrounding sounds grew distant. When he fell into a dazed state, no negative thoughts could be heard.
It was like that when he was with Kang Dojun. Because he focused only on him.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
