Chapter 57
Minhyeon first realized his feelings for Yuwon seven years ago, in the summer.
That day was the day they were supposed to go to the beach. The excited children woke up from dawn and busily packed their swimsuits and spare clothes. Let’s pick up seashells, let’s have swimming competitions. Their chattering voices flowed all the way beyond the door.
A chartered bus was parked in front of the villa. A driver wearing sunglasses stretched in front of the bus, and the teachers went in and out of the bus moving luggage. Bottled water, snacks, and a first aid kit were piled up in the front seats of the bus in order.
Minhyeon was staring blankly at that scene through the window. What was the point of going on a picnic so far away? He didn’t feel like it since he disliked both riding the bus for a long time and having seawater touch his body.
As he was slumped over with his head leaning against the window frame, he sensed someone behind him.
‘Kim Minhyeon. Did you pack all your clothes?’
‘I don’t want to go to the beach.’
‘Why?’
‘It’s bothersome.’
Even at his indifferent reply, Yuwon just smiled, saying there would be many bothersome things. He patted his back, telling him to get up quickly and pack his bag together. Honestly, he didn’t want to get up. But since it was Yuwon hyung, since it was Yuwon hyung and no one else asking, he had no choice but to get up.
Minhyeon roughly packed just a towel and socks. He had no intention whatsoever of going into the sea, and if his feet accidentally got wet, he planned to just change his socks. That’s how he got on the bus. The seat next to Yuwon naturally belonged to Minhyeon. In the long bus journey where he had to be cramped up, that was the only satisfying thing.
After arriving at the beach, they only took a group photo and then immediately settled under a parasol. Except for a few children like Minhyeon who didn’t want to go into the water, the rest immediately jumped into the sea. They played riding the tubes they brought and splashing in the water.
Screams and boisterous laughter mixed together. Even though they went to the swimming pool every year, going to the beach was occasional, so everyone seemed quite excited. Minhyeon sat with his knees together and quietly watched them.
Even in the midst of the chaos, only Yuwon was visible in Minhyeon’s eyes. He repeatedly dove into the sea and came out, swimming. He also played pranks with children of similar age, choosing someone to push into the sea.
Then he looked around, spotted Minhyeon sitting there, and came out of the sea. Water dripped down as he walked over with heavy steps.
‘Are you really not going in?’
‘Yeah. I absolutely hate getting water on my clothes.’
‘You’re really so picky. Ah, give me a drink.’
Yuwon, who received an ion drink from Minhyeon, must have been thirsty because as soon as he opened the cap, he tilted his head back and gulped down the drink. Perhaps because he drank hastily, the transparent liquid flowed down under his slightly protruding Adam’s apple.
Following the round droplets falling, Minhyeon’s gaze moved downward. Due to playing hard in the water, Yuwon was soaked like a drowned mouse. Especially the white t-shirt he wore on top was clinging to his body.
His smooth figure without an ounce of excess fat was completely revealed. Minhyeon, who was staring as if enchanted at the beautiful line from his shoulders to his waist, unconsciously swallowed his saliva.
At that moment when his gaze finally stopped at the white skin showing through the thin fabric…
‘……’
Minhyeon quickly lowered his head. A sense of dismay suddenly rushed over him. They had changed clothes in the same space and even showered together hundreds of times. Why on earth. He felt as if he had committed a sin.
Yuwon, who had finished drinking, jumped back into the sea. Left alone again, Minhyeon tried to erase his confused emotions.
On the way back to Seoul, the children whose energy was depleted all fell asleep on the bus. Yuwon was also deep in sleep with his head tilted to the side. But Minhyeon alone was wide awake. Far from feeling sleepy, his heart had been fluttering since earlier, which seemed strange.
The bus raced through the lush forest, and fragments of broken sunlight repeatedly illuminated and disappeared from Yuwon’s cheek through the trees. Minhyeon stared blankly at that glowing skin. He took in every detail with his eyes, from the clear features that seemed to have found their proper places to the hair that lay calmly.
He never got tired of looking for however long. It was a fascinating experience. It was the first time he had been enchanted by something other than art.
After that, his gaze often followed Yuwon. It happened naturally even without intention.
I follow Yuwon hyung too much because of that. Because he’s the only one I rely on in this world. Because I like hyung too much. He denied his emotions with various reasons, but looking back, it was first love. Minhyeon only realized this fact after leaving Yuwon. How could he not know when it was so clear? His younger self was too immature and foolish.
So he decided. Never to let Yuwon go again. Never to make the mistake of leaving Yuwon again. He had firmly made up his mind and returned to Yuwon.
Of course, he thought there could be a lover or so. He was confident he could wait until they broke up, and his goal was to gradually approach and naturally take the place beside him.
But cohabitation? He never expected there would be a lover he was even living with. How deep must their relationship be to live together? Thinking that Yuwon had given his heart to someone else to that extent made his stomach burn.
After staring at the officetel entrance for a while, Minhyeon finally moved his steps. Contrary to his gentle eyes, his face was filled with firm resolve.
The fact that Yuwon was cohabiting with someone was quite shocking, but that was unavoidable. He wasn’t planning to express his feelings right away anyway, and hoping for acceptance from someone of the same gender was greedy in the first place.
There would be plenty of time ahead, so there was no need to be impatient. For now, it was important to persistently stay by Yuwon’s side under the pretext of being his younger brother.
If he waited like that, someday an opportunity would come to him too. Minhyeon believed this without doubt.
***
When Yuwon entered the house, he first contacted Jeonghyeok.
[I’m home]
Knowing that a phone call would come immediately if he didn’t do this, he sent the message out of habit.
After showering with the feeling of having completed one task, Yuwon went to the kitchen and moved the pork belly from the freezer to the refrigerator. He also confirmed that there were cabbage and radish he had bought recently in the vegetable compartment.
He was planning to make boiled pork for dinner tonight. Once when he was too lazy to grill pork belly, he had boiled it instead, and even just adding soybean paste and soy sauce and boiling it thoroughly made it savory and tender, which was very delicious. When served with pickled cabbage and radish salad, it felt quite similar to bossam bought from outside.
Having roughly finished preparing to cook, Yuwon lay down on the sofa intending to rest a bit. Although he wasn’t at the orphanage for very long, dealing with young children was surprisingly draining. Perhaps because of that, he ended up eating more lunch than usual, and after eating a lot, drowsiness poured over him like food coma, so he had been trying to keep his eyes open.
As soon as he raised his arm to cover his eyes, sleep came gently. His eyes slowly closed to the sleep that crept up unconsciously, and soon his breathing deepened. Like that, Yuwon helplessly fell into deep sleep.
How much time had passed? At the end of his consciousness that had faded to black, suddenly beep beep beep, the sound of the door lock being released rang out. Click, the door closed and he could hear the footsteps of a man who had taken off his shoes walking into the living room. It was a very strange dream where only sounds could be heard in the darkness.
“Mmph…”
Yuwon tossed and turned and then curled up completely. The texture of the sofa touching his skin felt unfamiliar. Even the sound of his own breathing touching his ears was strange. It was as if he was on the boundary between dream and reality. He felt confused about whether his eyes were closed or open right now.
However, he could clearly feel the presence from across the room. Even though it was just a dream, it was so intense that he couldn’t ignore it.
Gradually his body felt stuffy as if being constricted. It seemed like he was having a nightmare. Yuwon forcibly pushed up his heavy eyelids. As he barely opened his eyes drowsily, his dark vision gradually brightened. At the same time, Yuwon made a “huh” sound and bolted upright.
“Ah, ajeossi?”
Not knowing how long he had been standing there, Jeonghyeok was standing right in front of him. Seeing that he was in the same outfit he had left in that morning, it seemed like he had just come in.
Jeonghyeok smiled crookedly and said.
“Why are you so surprised?”
“I was half asleep so I thought I was dreaming. I was really startled…”
He really thought it was a dream, but he was startled to see Jeonghyeok standing there. His heart went thump thump, racing. The sleepiness had long since fled.
When he checked the time, it was now 1 o’clock. It seemed like only about ten minutes had passed since he fell asleep. When he sighed for no reason, Jeonghyeok asked with a worried face.
“You look tired. Aren’t you working too hard there?”
“No, it’s not hard at all. I just fell asleep because of food coma.”
“Do the kids listen well?”
“Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. But they’re cute. Today they were fighting over who would give me colored pencils first, and they were screaming so loud. I thought my ears would burst.”
At first glance it sounded like he was complaining, but you could tell from his expression. Yuwon was very happy. There was even pride on his face as he explained about the children he was taking care of.
Jeonghyeok, who was quietly looking down at Yuwon like that, recalled the content he had received from Choi Seongsu a little while ago.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
