#111
“Thank you for the congratulations.”
Even as Ho-woo gasped in disbelief, Oh-yul sat on the back of the sofa where Ho-woo was seated with a clean face, showing off his long legs.
“Last time you said you had nothing to say and hung up first, so what business do you have intercepting the call now?”
“I don’t have anything particular to say, but Ho-woo seemed to be in trouble. As his lover, I couldn’t just leave it be, so I answered. It seems like Kim Do-hyun has a lot of complaints about me.”
“Ha!”
Do-hyun let out an exclamation as if dumbfounded. Even if he were in that situation, Ho-woo thought it would be absurd, so he desperately reached out his hand as if asking for the phone back. However, Oh-yul gripped both of Ho-woo’s wrists with one hand and narrowed his eyes.
Ho-woo’s eyes wavered at the extremely uneasy smile.
“You’re very annoying.”
The words that flowed from Oh-yul’s mouth like a warning carried a chilling coldness. The man who had dropped his usual polite speech opened his mouth with a terribly expressionless face.
“If you’re a friend, know your place.”
“I believe I’m keeping it well even now?”
“Do you really think so?”
Do-hyun had some aspects that were excessive for a friend. Until now, Ho-woo hadn’t paid much attention to it because it hadn’t been particularly problematic.
“Isn’t it crossing the line more to interfere in all of Ho-woo’s relationships just because you’re his lover?”
Until now, that is.
“Stop!”
Ho-woo stopped the conversation between the two, feeling that if he left them alone, the relationship between his lover and friend would become irreparably strained.
“Give me back the phone for now.”
“……”
“Hurry up.”
As he wiggled his captured hand, Oh-yul seemed displeased but obediently returned the phone and released his hand. Leaving the man who somehow looked sulky behind, Ho-woo left the office entirely and headed to a place with few people.
“Kim Do-hyun.”
“……”
“Are you not answering?”
“What.”
At the grumpy voice that anyone could hear was saying ‘I’m upset,’ Ho-woo pressed his throbbing head with his hand. What a mess this was, right after coming back.
“I know you were very worried because I suddenly couldn’t be contacted. And I know you’re not the kind of person to be rude like this without reason.”
The sneering attitude towards Oh-yul seemed strongly like venting the frustrations that had built up over time.
“That bastard is a real son of a bitch.”
Do-hyun growled, grinding his teeth.
Something really did happen. Ho-woo, sensing that the call would be long, found a suitable place to sit.
“What happened?”
A sigh returned in response to the question about what had occurred.
“Since you weren’t answering, I called a few times.”
He might have called to check, since Ho-woo had told Do-hyun before meeting his father. Ho-woo nodded his head, giving a short answer to indicate he was listening. In response to Ho-woo’s acknowledgment, Do-hyun’s voice gradually rose higher, as if the anger he had somewhat suppressed was rising again.
“I called all weekend, but you didn’t answer, so I thought you might have had a big fight with your father and went to your house to comfort you. But then that bastard came out of the next door apartment so nonchalantly.”
Do-hyun disliked Oh-yul. He seemed to act kindly towards Ho-woo, but the way he looked at Do-hyun was creepy and made his skin crawl. Those dry eyes, completely devoid of emotion, were clearly observing him. That day too, he had looked at Do-hyun with such eyes.
‘Hello.’
Do-hyun, who had been lingering in front of the door worried about his friend who didn’t respond even after knocking and ringing the doorbell, greeted the familiar man who came out of the next-door apartment with some gladness. After all, he was a lover and a neighbor, so he was a good person to ask about Ho-woo’s situation.
‘Hmm.’
Instead of returning the greeting, he cleared his throat while adjusting the collar of his coat. Despite the attitude that seemed to ask what business he had, Do-hyun held back. For now, Ho-woo came first.
‘Ho-woo isn’t answering his phone, are you in contact with him?’
No matter how severely he had been scolded by his father, he wasn’t the type to ignore all contact and go off the grid. It seemed certain that something had happened, but Oh-yul looked leisurely, even relaxed.
‘I can’t contact him, but I know what he’s doing.’
Oh-yul’s eyes curved long. It was a smiling expression, but the eyes visible between those eye lines gleamed as if wearing a mask.
‘Are you curious?’
‘……’
The esper asked as if showing off, as if doing a favor.
‘I can’t tell you the details because it’s confidential, but nothing bad will happen. Think of it as if he went on a trip for two weeks.’
Oh-yul drew a deep line at their feet. He declared that now the worlds Ho-woo and Kim Do-hyun belonged to were different, that he couldn’t know about or interfere in everything, and lastly, as if bestowing a favor, he conveyed news of Ho-woo.
‘Isn’t it about time you stopped playing at being a pathetic lover-like friend?’
The esper whispered mockingly as he passed by. As if he already knew Do-hyun’s feelings.
After that day, Do-hyun called Ho-woo several times. As if refuting Oh-yul’s words, he persistently made calls and listened as the continuing ring changed to a voicemail message. Until this moment of talking now.
Ho-woo let out a deep sigh after hearing Do-hyun’s story. He had vaguely known. What feelings Do-hyun harbored for him.
So this was partly his fault for not managing the situation well. Hadn’t Do-hyun said it directly? That those who cling to Ho-woo would die. From Oh-yul’s perspective, he had very politely advised Do-hyun.
“For now, I understand.”
Ho-woo answered calmly. He had no intention of telling Do-hyun that he knew about his feelings or anything like that. It was an implicit secret between the two of them.
“I…”
“Do-hyun.”
“……”
“It’s okay. You were just worried, right? That’s all.”
“…Yeah.”
Ho-woo smiled bitterly and let out a long, silent breath. Do-hyun would keep an appropriate distance from now on. Only Do-hyun would know how much that appropriate distance would be.
“Let’s meet sometime later.”
Do-hyun gave a short answer to Ho-woo’s farewell. Ho-woo, who had been staring blankly at the disconnected phone, shoved it into his pocket and headed back to Oh-yul’s office.
Responding to the greetings from espers and guides he occasionally encountered, Ho-woo arrived at the door, took a small deep breath, and lightly knocked.
“Oh-yul? I’m coming in.”
He would have already known it was him standing outside the door even before he spoke, but Ho-woo politely announced first. There was no response, but he opened the door. And he froze in shock at the sight before his eyes.
“What, what are you doing?”
“…Reflecting?”
The esper who had raised both arms above his head rolled his eyes. With a sulky face, he watched Ho-woo’s reaction.
A man who wouldn’t even feel arm pain if he held them up all day was raising his hands and saying he was reflecting. It was outrageous and absurd, but also cute. When Ho-woo laughed a little in disbelief, Oh-yul followed with a grin.
“Don’t be angry.”
“So you know you did something wrong.”
When Ho-woo pretended to be angry, the man who seemed like he would have nine fox tails blinked his eyes, fluttering his long eyelashes.
“Don’t fight with Do-hyun.”
He didn’t want to give up either his long-time friend or the lover who had changed his life. Ho-woo greedily wanted to hold both of them in his hands. He wished they could get along well, but that was just a hope, and he would be grateful if they just didn’t fight. He would have to be careful with his own behavior from now on too.
“Is Kim Do-hyun very precious to you?”
“I’ve known him since I was ten. It would be a lie to say he’s not precious, wouldn’t it? But he’s just a friend.”
Ho-woo said firmly. He stood firm and sent a straight gaze so that Oh-yul wouldn’t feel insecure. Why was the man who had just gotten a signature on a ridiculous contract and put it in a drawer so insecure that he was bothering Do-hyun?
Ho-woo clicked his tongue and spread his arms wide. At the gesture telling him to come and hug, the man lowered his arms and quickly burrowed into Ho-woo’s embrace, deeply inhaling his scent. The arm that tightly wrapped around his waist firmly bound Ho-woo.
“I hope there are many things in this city that Ho-woo holds dear.”
Ho-woo laughed softly and rested his chin on his shoulder. He thought it was funny that such a jealous man would say something like this.
“Precious to me too…”
They’ll be hostages.
Oh-yul trailed off. Ho-woo leaned in to hear the almost inaudible voice, but Oh-yul led him away again, saying he had more scheduled activities.
***
Ho-woo lay down on the long sofa and checked the news on his phone. The huge living room that had been empty was now filled with Ho-woo’s belongings that had been moved from his house, occupying every corner.
He couldn’t even think of entering his original home due to the commotion of journalists crowding around since the moment his face was revealed.
Even the photo taken earlier with Oh-yul in front of the subway was heating up portal sites again, seeming to bring an even more intense reaction. Even acquaintances who had known Ho-woo appeared on broadcasts for interviews.
‘Ho-woo was a good kid. He was just an ordinary person who diligently did his own work.’
Who on earth are you?
Ho-woo tried to remember the face of the person who conducted the interview. They said they were a middle school classmate, but he couldn’t remember at all, which suggested they weren’t even that close.
Well, even people from the company he had quit were giving interviews.
Ho-woo recalled the news he had just seen and frowned. It wasn’t wrong, but it wasn’t a good feeling to see someone speaking negatively about him amidst people who were speaking well of him.
