“…”
Resisting the urge to hang up mid-call, Yeonwoo had to listen to the repeated appointment time and place details. Lee Jonghoon, who insisted he would come along and earnestly asked Yeonwoo not to embarrass him, finally ended the call when the phone had become quite hot.
The man, who had only talked about himself until the very end, never said anything positive about Yeonwoo’s father. If he had at least said it was fortunate that his condition had improved, Yeonwoo wouldn’t have felt this bitter.
With a hardened expression, Yeonwoo put the phone in his pocket and walked heavily to find the puffed rice snack vendor.
The truck was parked, but no one was there. While walking toward the front of the truck to check if there was a contact number, someone tapped Yeonwoo’s shoulder. Already on edge, Yeonwoo hunched his shoulders and turned around with a stiff face.
At first, he thought it was the puffed rice vendor, but it wasn’t. Standing behind him was a young man with a youthful but strong-featured face, appearing to have just become an adult. Perhaps because he was a dominant Omega, Yeonwoo instinctively detected that the other was an Alpha, even though he wasn’t releasing pheromones, and naturally distanced himself. As Yeonwoo quickly tried to move away, the other spoke up.
“I’m not suspicious, don’t you remember me?”
“…”
“I’m Hyeonseong. From Dong-i Middle School, Class 3-7. We were in the same class.”
“…Ah.”
Only after his explanation did Yeonwoo look at him anew.
Now he could vaguely recall a face from years ago. But that was it. Even if they were middle school classmates, they weren’t close enough to approach and greet each other like this. This was because the Alpha who introduced himself as Hyeonseong had bullied Yeonwoo back then, saying he smelled like an Omega.
Considering the intensity of the bullying, it wasn’t that severe, but it was a particularly sensitive time. Moreover, there weren’t many people with special traits in the countryside, so whenever Hyeonseong said such things in the hallway or playground, Yeonwoo became terrified. He was uncomfortable with the other kids staring and with the possibility of rumors spreading that he was an Omega.
He couldn’t recall a single good memory with Hyeonseong, so he couldn’t understand why the other was initiating conversation. Sensing something from Yeonwoo’s stiff face, Hyeonseong’s expression hardened.
“Uh, I…”
Looking around awkwardly, Hyeonseong pulled out a business card from his pocket.
“I started a small company recently. It’s just an internet market, but business is going well. My father insisted, so I’m in college now, but I plan to open a store after graduation. By then, I think I’ll earn more. The outlook for what I do is promising.”
“…”
“Working and meeting different people, collaborating with them, I’ve come to realize many things. So, what I want to say is…”
Seeing Yeonwoo’s face grow increasingly rigid with wariness, Hyeonseong took a deep breath and bowed his head.
“I’m sorry for what I did to you back then. It was all my fault. You might think it’s ridiculous that I’m suddenly saying this now, but I’ve really regretted it a lot. Why did I act that way? It would have been better if I had just been honest.”
Raising his head with a flushed face, Hyeonseong blurted out:
“I, I’ve liked you since then.”
“…”
“I really liked you, but I was too young and immature to be honest.”
The Alpha’s eyes were red as he made this sudden confession. He seemed to believe that his courageous confession would lead to forgiveness and acceptance.
If Yeonwoo had even the slightest energy to be angry, he would have thrown the business card in Hyeonseong’s face. But Yeonwoo was extremely tired, so much that even standing like this was overwhelming.
He should have just stayed by his sleeping father’s side. He didn’t know why he had come out. Yeonwoo walked past Hyeonseong.
“Hey, Yeonwoo?”
The young Alpha behind him seemed flustered by Yeonwoo leaving without a word. Yeonwoo worried about how to react if Hyeonseong suddenly grabbed him, but fortunately, that didn’t happen. The young Alpha left behind simply stared as Yeonwoo entered the hospital.
Having quit his part-time job, Yeonwoo wanted to stay at a motel or guesthouse near the hospital for one night, then check on his father’s condition the next day. For a week, two weeks, or even a month if possible.
He had been extremely happy to see his father’s eyes and converse with him after several months. He thought the afterglow would last a long time, but it quickly dissipated. In the end, Yeonwoo gave the caregiver 200,000 won, asking him to get anything his father might want. Junseok insisted he hadn’t even spent all the money already received and didn’t want to accept it, but Yeonwoo stubbornly pressed it into his hand.
“Something came up in Seoul, so I might not be able to contact you for a while.”
“…What happened? Is it serious?”
“I need to resolve it before it gets worse. I’ll be fine, so please take good care of my father.”
“…”
“I’m always grateful. You know how I feel, right?”
“What’s there to be grateful for? I’m just doing my job for payment… Don’t say that.”
He had heard that caregivers could cause emotional distress depending on who they were. How fortunate that Junseok wasn’t like that. Knowing he wouldn’t accept more money even if offered, Yeonwoo thanked him repeatedly. After checking on his father one last time, Yeonwoo took almost the last bus back to Seoul, repeatedly typing an 11-digit number on his phone throughout the journey. Typing and deleting that number, which he couldn’t bring himself to actually call, somehow helped him breathe a little easier.
Returning home, Yeonwoo did a quick house cleaning, then immediately spread out his blanket and lay down. His depressed mood manifested as physical illness. The next day, he stayed in bed all day. Worried that this would lead to serious problems, he cooked half a packet of ramen and reheated a bowl of rice.
Despite his resolution to eat well after returning from Gangwon Province, everything had been halfhearted lately. Making another promise he probably couldn’t keep—to eat properly from now on—he cleared the dishes and crouched in front of the refrigerator.
Yeonwoo took out a box stored in the fruit compartment. Opening the lid revealed desserts he had barely touched. He hadn’t known before, but after looking it up, they seemed to be called financiers. The information also said they should be stored in the freezer for long-term preservation.
“…”
While just looking at them, too precious to eat, he thought of trying just one before freezing them. Taking one out and biting into it, Yeonwoo closed his eyes. Suddenly, he recalled the breakfast he had shared with that person over the weekend. And the various desserts on trays in that quiet, empty café. That had been so nice.
Thinking that he wouldn’t be this depressed if it was Ho Munbeom he was meeting on Wednesday evening, Yeonwoo picked up another financier. After eating three in his seated position, Yeonwoo patted his stomach as he sat spread out on the floor.
Despite having eaten ramen with rice and three small financiers, he didn’t feel full at all. Suddenly remembering Junseok asking why he was so thin, Yeonwoo raised his hand. Though he moved his clenched hand back and forth, nothing had changed.
“It’s the same.”
He probably said that because Yeonwoo’s face looked unwell. Yeonwoo lay down on the floor.
It’s not good to lie down right after eating.
He should move the remaining desserts to the freezer.
He should prepare clothes to wear tomorrow.
That person had told him to wear the clothes he had worn when meeting Ho Munbeom for the arranged date, but he didn’t want to.
Those clothes, which should have been thrown away, were now in Yeonwoo’s closet. It wasn’t that the clothes were precious, or that he felt resentful toward those who had said they would throw them away. But the moment Ho Munbeom, who hadn’t disregarded his words, had kept them for him, those clothes became special to Yeonwoo.
“…How could he do that.”
If it had been him, he would have listened with one ear and let it go.
He would have just forgotten about it and wouldn’t have cared at all whether the clothes were thrown away or not.
Yeonwoo remained lying on the cold floor for a long time, until it warmed with his body heat.
***
“What kind of outfit is that? I told you to dress properly.”
Those were the first words from Lee Jonghoon, who arrived 20 minutes late despite Yeonwoo being on time for their appointment.
Sitting in a corner of the hotel lobby, Yeonwoo lowered his head at Lee Jonghoon’s criticism of everything from his clothes to his shoes and hairstyle.
Not feeling like buying new clothes for today, Yeonwoo had chosen the cleanest outfit from what he already had. It hadn’t seemed particularly strange when he left. Yeonwoo pulled the sleeve of his jacket down to his hand without responding.
Lee Jonghoon looked down disapprovingly at Yeonwoo, who didn’t respond to his criticism. Then, checking the time, he urgently gestured with “Oh dear.”
“Twenty-five minutes have passed while I’ve been dealing with you here. They must have been waiting a long time! Get up, hurry!”
“…”
It was Lee Jonghoon who was late. Yet he seemed to be blaming Yeonwoo for it. Swallowing a sigh, Yeonwoo stood up.
Led by Lee Jonghoon’s hurrying, they arrived at a restaurant on the top floor of the hotel. They were guided not to the sparsely filled main hall, but to a private room inside.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
