“Why do you think that?”
“Too late.”
Yeojun turned his head sharply. If I said that he looked quite prim doing so, he’d probably strangle me. Euntae’s gaze suddenly turned to Yeojun’s large hands. If he were to be genuinely strangled by those hands, he felt he might really die. He idly raised his hand to stroke his own neck once. Yet, that night, Yeojun’s hands, which had grabbed his nape in desperation, had felt quite good. Come to think of it, despite being at such a close distance, they never brushed lips. Though he seemed to have kissed Yeojun’s cheeks, nape, and shoulders countless times, he had never overlapped their lips. Was it because he sensed a final line that Yeojun, who never permitted penetration and didn’t try to penetrate, wanted to protect? It was a bit amusing that they strangely maintained propriety while doing more embarrassing things than kissing.
“I’m really curious. Why do you think that?”
Stopping the mopping, he now gave his full attention to Yeojun. Euntae stood in place, using the mop handle as a support, and looked at Yeojun, asking him the question once more. His response that Yeojun seemed foolish was half joking and half sincere. Though he didn’t know with what intention Yeojun was asking such a question, judging by the steadfastness and straightforwardness Yeojun usually displayed, from Euntae’s standards, he could be considered foolish.
“Since you say you’re really curious, I don’t want to tell you even more.”
“Are you a child? You’re completely doing as you please.”
Yeojun didn’t respond to Euntae’s words. Instead, he picked up his phone and seemed to be making a call somewhere.
“Yes, hello. I’d like to report a home invasion…”
“Are you crazy?!”
The place Yeojun was calling was the 112 emergency center. After always telling him to leave, now he seemed ready to force him out. Euntae rushed over in panic and grabbed the phone to hang up. But when he looked at the screen to end the call, it was black. Even putting the phone to his ear, he couldn’t hear anything. He said “Hello?” several times, but there was no response. That was it. Yeojun had only been pretending to make a call without actually dialing.
“So you do feel guilty? You know who acted selfishly first, right?”
Yeojun burst into laughter as he watched Euntae staring at him in disbelief. Euntae had always thought he was the one teasing and getting on Yeojun’s nerves, but this time he’d been had, and a small laugh escaped his lips too. Seeing Yeojun play such a prank, it seemed the resentment from the other day was completely gone. Though it hardly even counted as resentment.
“Not a fool but a fox.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“It is a compliment. In today’s world, it’s better to be a fox than a fool.”
“You think so too?”
Euntae hesitated to answer Yeojun’s question. Though there wasn’t any particularly unpleasant tone in his voice, Euntae thought his words might sound negative to someone who had just asked if he seemed foolish. But he didn’t want to correct his statement or add an excuse for it either. He truly did think that way. In today’s world, if you’re not shrewd, you only end up losing.
“Still, I prefer a fool over a fox.”
“If that’s supposed to be a come-on, it’s really old-fashioned.”
“I’m just matching the old man’s age.”
“What? Old man?”
“Yes. Old man.”
“Think you won’t reach my age?”
“I will, but for now I’m still 9 years younger than you.”
“And tomorrow too, and the day after, and the day after that, I’ll still be younger,” Euntae added, and Yeojun stared at him with narrowed eyes and tightly closed lips. Eventually, unable to find a retort, Yeojun exclaimed, “Ah! This is frustrating!” and turned his head away. “It’s bad enough that I’m aging day by day, and now even this kid is mouthing off,” he vented aloud instead of keeping it to himself. Even when Euntae said, “That kid can hear you,” Yeojun didn’t pay any attention.
“But I genuinely like you, hyung.”
Yeojun, who was about to get up, looked at Euntae. His eyes met Euntae’s, who was now sitting beside him, looking at him. Euntae’s face was calm. It was his usual handsome face—so handsome that it occasionally seemed annoying. There wasn’t a trace of solemnity or excitement in his expression. Yes, he seems quite irritating right now.
“If you’ve said everything you wanted to say, get out now. This time I really will call the police.”
Yeojun finally stood up. He felt a bit embarrassed that for a moment, the word “like” had sounded special to him.
* * *
“Aren’t you going home?”
Standing at the convenience store counter, Yeojun said as he held out his card to pay. He wasn’t talking to the part-time worker handling the transaction. He was talking to Euntae, who was shamelessly placing the beer he planned to drink on the counter, asking the worker to include it in the payment. The part-timer briefly glanced between the two, and Euntae smiled good-naturedly, urging him not to worry and just process the payment quickly.
“Go ahead, call the police. This isn’t even your house.”
After finishing the payment, Yeojun carried the bag with various items out of the convenience store and went to an area set up like an outdoor café, taking a seat at one of the tables. Euntae followed, sitting across from him and already opening a can of beer. Yeojun was tempted to flick the top of the beer can out of annoyance but decided against such childish behavior.
“You’re being particularly persistent today.”
“Didn’t you know I’ve always been tenacious?”
It wasn’t that he didn’t know, but why that tenacity was being displayed here and now was hard to understand. Yeojun silently stared at Euntae for a moment, then took out a cigarette and put one in his mouth.
“Don’t worry. I’m fine.”
This time, Euntae just silently looked at Yeojun. He wondered if Yeojun finally understood that he wasn’t looking at him with pity but with concern. Yeojun, who had been meeting Euntae’s gaze without avoidance, slightly awkwardly raised his hand to lightly scratch his forehead.
“I know. I know that you’re not the type of person with such wide-reaching sympathy to pity me or anyone else.”
Yeojun felt a bit apologetic about kicking Euntae out so abruptly. Though it was true that he had been angry when he kicked Euntae out, being left alone in the silence afterward allowed his emotions to settle and he regained his composure. And thinking calmly, he could see Euntae’s goodwill. He wondered why Euntae was acting this way toward him, but well, between acquaintances, some level of concern was possible. He wondered if he’d become so hardened that he couldn’t even accept others’ goodwill sincerely. And he seemed to have become stingy with words of apology and gratitude too, which was why even now the words circled in his mouth but wouldn’t come out.
“Did I do something wrong again?”
As Yeojun was inwardly chewing his words and just puffing on his cigarette, Euntae asked. Yeojun, who had been exhaling smoke while looking elsewhere, turned to Euntae and asked, “What?”
“No, it’s just… when you say things that don’t suit your character… It’s strange…”
“Go. Just go away, you bastard.”
“Ah, it’s cold. Aren’t you cold, hyung? Why are we drinking out here when there’s a perfectly good house?”
“You’re the only one drinking, you know?”
“Oh, am I?”
Euntae responded slyly and took a sip of beer from the can. Meanwhile, he glanced at Yeojun’s reaction, and seeing him turn his head away again, mumbling with a cigarette in his mouth, Euntae couldn’t help but smile at how cute it was.
He hadn’t expected Yeojun to feel sorry about kicking him out like that. When he’d been coldly rejected, he felt quite angry and though he had some grounds to feel wronged, he thought he was in the wrong. Of course, even now he wasn’t saying he’d done the right thing.
How cute. It was obvious that he’d been stewing over this for two days, and that made him seem cute. Even if that wasn’t the case, his obvious discomfort right in front of him was enough. Euntae knew that though Yeojun’s words were harsh and his expressions rough, he was actually a good person. For some reason, his reputation wasn’t good, but the Yeojun that Euntae had experienced wasn’t a bad person. Even if he showed twisted aspects occasionally, they were easy enough to overlook. Sometimes those things even seemed cute. It might be Park Euntae’s rose-colored glasses, but because of this, he felt upset inside that people didn’t recognize Yeojun’s true worth.
“I thought enduring was the best policy.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
