Chapter 54
When Yuwon returned home, he set his dripping umbrella at an angle and took off his wet sneakers. As he was about to pass through the entrance, his legs suddenly gave out and he leaned against the wall. Only about an hour had passed since he left the house, but it felt like several days had gone by.
His head was still throbbing. He had been deceived by the Director and met Minhyeon, but thanks to that, he heard Minhyeon’s story. He had comforted the crying Minhyeon and promised to do volunteer work at the orphanage together.
Misook, who had come out to the entrance with an umbrella to see him off, repeatedly apologized to Yuwon. She said that after hearing Minhyeon’s circumstances, she simply couldn’t refuse his request, and that she was truly sorry for deceiving him. However, Yuwon could only answer that it was okay. He would have acted the same way as Misook if he had been in the same situation.
Holding tightly to Yuwon’s hand as he said he would be going now, Misook added a final request.
‘I’m always sorry to you, Yuwon… but you know, right? That kid Minhyeon, he’s been following only you around since he was little. You don’t need to help for long. Just come during your break from work. You can have lunch here too while you’re at it. Okay?’
They decided to conduct volunteer activities only for preschool children during morning hours. It would be staying for just an hour or two at most, so he hadn’t planned to eat lunch and leave, but Misook seemed to want to provide him with at least meals.
Yuwon nodded like a good child. He had always been this way since childhood. Whenever the Director said something, he always answered that he understood. He had to do so to repay her consistent affection.
But now the situation was different. Even if it wasn’t the Director’s request, now that he knew Minhyeon’s circumstances, he couldn’t turn his back on him. He wanted to be a source of strength by his side until his wounded heart healed. He intended to help as much as he could.
Strictly speaking, Minhyeon had been separated from parents twice. Once by abandonment, and once by death. Heaven was truly heartless—it was far too cruel a situation for Minhyeon.
‘I should have just stayed with hyung. Even without parents, I was fine as long as I had hyung.’
‘……’
‘It’s because I was greedy. I’m being punished because I was needlessly greedy.’
Greed. That word from Minhyeon’s mouth shook Yuwon’s heart turbulently.
Was that really the case? Was the desire to rely on someone and live because one hated being alone in the world really greed? Would I also be punished for being greedy?
When his thoughts reached that point, Jeonghyeok’s face flickered before his eyes. Ajeossi’s face smiling at him, often looking at him intently as if he found him lovable. Was wanting to be by his side also my greed?
Just as he was biting his lips at the sudden plummeting feeling, the mechanical sound of number keys being pressed broke the heavy silence. Soon the front door opened. It was Jeonghyeok.
“Oh, you’re back?”
Like yesterday, today was also an earlier return than usual. Jeonghyeok brushed off the moisture from his shoulders and asked.
“What are you doing there?”
“I was just about to go in.”
“Did you meet the Director well?”
“Ah, yes.”
Yuwon nodded and continued.
“She asked if I could do some volunteer work for a while. Help little kids study, go to the playground with them. Things like that.”
“And so.”
“……”
“You said you’d do it?”
Though his face was expressionless, blatant displeasure could be felt in his tone. Did he really need to get permission from ajeossi for even this kind of thing? Yuwon couldn’t easily speak, and Jeonghyeok silently waited for Yuwon’s answer.
When both of them remained motionless for a while, the sensor light in the entrance went out. Only quiet silence flowed in the dark interior. After deliberating, Yuwon opened his mouth.
“It’s just staying for an hour or two a day and coming back. It’s also something the Director requested… it’s difficult to refuse.”
“Why specifically you?”
“I told her I’m taking a break from work. Since the Director thinks I live alone, she probably wants me to do volunteer work and have lunch there too.”
It was an explanation mixed with lies and many parts omitted.
To explain today’s events from beginning to end, he would inevitably have to bring up Minhyeon’s story, but he thought there was no need to go that far. Minhyeon’s circumstances were, after all, his private life.
However, judging that he shouldn’t hide Minhyeon’s existence entirely, Yuwon added only minimal explanation.
“I’m not doing it alone. There’s a kid called Kim Minhyeon who used to live with me. He’s an art student, so he’s going to teach art to the kids.”
“Art student?”
“Yes.”
“But you didn’t go to college.”
Jeonghyeok looked at Yuwon intently as he spoke. It was as if he was asking out of simple curiosity—you started working as soon as you turned twenty, so how did that kid get to go to college?
“Ah… he’s a kid who was adopted. Even after being adopted, he kept in touch with the Director often. He apparently kept saying he wanted to do volunteer work when he had the chance.”
“If he wants to do it, he can do it alone, why you too.”
“It’s the Director’s opinion, I guess.”
Yuwon shrugged once and smiled coolly. He tried his best to hide his emotions somehow, as if to say it was nothing to worry about, but to Jeonghyeok, it was all clumsy acting.
Jeonghyeok felt a strange sense of déjà vu from Yuwon’s eyes. A conversation they had once had flashed through his mind.
“Wasn’t there anyone you were close to there besides school friends?”
“There was one person… but I haven’t seen him in a long time.”
“Why.”
“He was adopted. Once they leave, you rarely see them. It’s no different from being reborn as a new person.”
Jeonghyeok clearly remembered the shadow that had fallen over Yuwon’s face when he said that. The rare melancholy expression seemed suspicious, so he had asked for the kid’s name, and Yuwon had said he couldn’t remember.
Even that answer was suspicious. How could he forget a name, no matter what? It was an obvious lie, but he had to let it pass. But maybe he shouldn’t have. He should have somehow extracted that name and kept it.
Jeonghyeok asked Yuwon with deliberate calmness.
“How many times a week are you going?”
“I’ll go every day on weekdays.”
“…For how long.”
“Short would be a month, long would be at most three months? I don’t intend to do it for too long.”
Not just a few days, but saying he’d spend months rubbing shoulders with that bastard. What bullshit.
Volunteer work or whatever, he didn’t like the idea of spending time with someone other than himself. It might sound ridiculous when he was even assigning people to monitor him, but the words “please don’t wander outside the house” rose to the tip of his tongue. But he couldn’t bring himself to say it.
Yuwon was still avoiding his touch. He only allowed embraces and kisses, but the moment he showed signs of wanting more, he would quickly withdraw. Not only that. Sometimes it used to be fun when he would react sharply if poked, but lately he was just being overly docile. No matter what he said, he would just say “yes, yes,” being obedient, and his expression was somehow hazy too.
Jeonghyeok bit his jaw tightly and controlled his seething insides.
He couldn’t express everything as he pleased. If he did that and Yuwon got scared, if he distanced himself even more than now. Then he might really go crazy. His patience, which wasn’t much to begin with, had dried up completely, and he was precariously enduring with only his last remaining rationality.
At times like this, it was better not to face Yuwon at all. When he was right in front of him, rough impulses kept arising. Right now, he wanted to drag him into the bedroom, lay him on the bed, and make it so his legs couldn’t move…
“I’ll just eat lunch and come right back.”
Yuwon’s voice cut through the dark thoughts.
“It’s doing good work, so please look upon it favorably too, ajeossi. Okay?”
To Jeonghyeok, who clearly didn’t like it, Yuwon smiled warmly and asked for permission. Seeing that smiling face, his heart melted again. As Yuwon said, it was volunteer work of all things, and he didn’t want to become a petty boyfriend who wouldn’t even allow that.
Jeonghyeok reluctantly answered.
“…Don’t do it for too long.”
“I understand.”
Looking at the innocent face answering obediently, this time one side of his chest stung. The slightly curved corners of his eyes and cute lips were newly pretty. Even his slightly raised cheeks drew attention. It was regrettable to look away.
I’ve become a complete sucker. Jeonghyeok mocked himself internally.
***
In the night when darkness had fallen, Jeonghyeok opened his eyes without any sign and checked the spot beside him. Yuwon was lying curled up with his back to Jeonghyeok. His small back rose and fell with his steady breathing.
“……”
Jeonghyeok, who had been quietly staring at Yuwon, stretched out his arm and took the phone placed by Yuwon’s pillow. He had been checking Yuwon’s phone like a daily routine, but in fact, there wasn’t anything special. The chat room with Jaejoon and Seongcheol was momentarily noisy, and he occasionally contacted the orphanage teachers including Misook. Other than that, there were just some spam messages piled up.
But the reason he kept checking the phone was because there was one thing that bothered him. That phone number he couldn’t identify, which Yuwon had deliberately deleted not long ago.
Jeonghyeok recalled the name ‘Kim Minhyeon’ that Yuwon had mentioned. He went into the contacts list, found that name and pressed it, and his phone number appeared.
“Ha.”
At the same time, a short laugh escaped.
The familiar last digits caught his eye. It was that bastard.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
