44.
#Let’s Have Breakfast Together
“…Ah, big brother!”
Haram’s voice was heard through Dawoon’s sleepy haze. Dawoon groaned, covering his eyes with one hand to resist the brightness. When he tried to sit up, his head felt like it was splitting. That’s when he remembered he had collapsed while drinking the night before.
“Big brother! Are you still sleeping?”
The child’s booming voice was closer than expected. Hearing it right next to his ear made his throbbing headache worse.
“Are you awake?”
Haram asked again when he saw Dawoon’s involuntary grimace. Dawoon turned his head with difficulty to see Haram resting his chin on the bed, looking at him.
“It’s morning. You can get up now.”
Dawoon smiled without resistance at the words suggesting he could get up, not that he had to. Though his headache persisted, he reached out to pat Haram’s head, making the child beam happily. He was full of energy from the morning. The child’s bright smile improved Dawoon’s mood as well.
“What time is it?”
In response to Dawoon’s question, Haram grabbed the phone from the bedside table to check the time.
“6:30!”
It was 30 minutes earlier than Haram’s usual wake-up time. It was also the time Dawoon had woken up yesterday to leave early, as if escaping. Dawoon felt sorry, wondering if Haram had woken up early too, thinking he might leave early again like yesterday.
“Why are you up so early? You could have slept more.”
As Dawoon sat up on the bed and asked, Haram spread his arms wide. Understanding it as a request for a hug, Dawoon embraced him and placed him on his lap.
“I’m going to have breakfast with you, big brother.”
“Ah…”
Having skipped breakfast when leaving early yesterday, it seemed Haram thought Dawoon had eaten and left before him.
“Okay. I’ll wash up and come down. Do you want to go down first?”
Haram nodded vigorously and climbed down from Dawoon’s lap. It seemed impossible to avoid the breakfast table today because of Haram. The problem was that Dawoon wasn’t sure if he could eat anything due to his unsettled stomach.
“Are you awake, sir?”
The butler’s voice was heard through the door left ajar by Haram.
“I’ve instructed to prepare something easy to swallow for breakfast, so you needn’t worry.”
Dawoon smiled bitterly at the butler’s words. It seemed his intoxicated state from last night was evident. Come to think of it, how did he get home yesterday? He couldn’t remember anything…
“Excuse me.”
He hurriedly called out to the butler. There was a presence at the door, as if the butler had stopped mid-turn.
“How did I get home yesterday?”
Did Ui-hyeon bring him back? Even if it was Ui-hyeon, Choi Yu-na had also been there…
“The young master carried you in, sir.”
The butler’s answer stopped Dawoon’s train of thought. He came back with Hayun? How?
He quickly pulled his phone over to check the call log. There was a record of a call from Hayun last night. Since he didn’t remember answering it, Ui-hyeon must have picked up. Not understanding what had happened, he called Ui-hyeon.
[Hello?]
Only after hearing the groggy voice did Dawoon realize it was still too early.
“Sorry. Looks like I woke you up.”
[What time is it… Haa… 6:30…]
Dawoon heard Ui-hyeon letting out a long sigh. He was probably swallowing the curses that were rising up.
“I didn’t think about the time.”
[Why? What’s the matter?]
Seeing that Dawoon had no intention of hanging up, Ui-hyeon asked resignedly.
“Did my brother come to pick me up yesterday?”
[He did.]
“How did he know?”
[How else? Your brother’s name popped up on your phone, how could I not answer? I confessed everything, so of course he came to get you.]
Ui-hyeon’s voice was curt, either because he wasn’t fully awake or because he was displeased about encountering Hayun.
“What did my brother… say?”
[Nothing. He just glared at me nicely and left.]
Dawoon felt embarrassed at the mention of glaring. Somehow, he could picture the situation. His brother probably didn’t lecture him at length, but he must have been silently furious. It was Dawoon’s fault for not knowing his exact alcohol tolerance.
“Sorry.”
[If you’re really sorry, buy me a meal later.]
“Okay.”
As he was about to agree and hang up, Dawoon became curious about what happened to Choi Yu-na.
“Yesterday, Choi Yu-na unnie…”
His words trailed off as he heard a knock on the door. As he stared silently, the door opened and Hayun entered.
“Aren’t you coming down for breakfast?”
His tone and expression were the same as usual, as if nothing had happened. Dawoon stared at him without blinking. His mouth felt dry from tension. He felt a chill as the sensation of Hayun touching him seemed to vividly come back to life.
Feeling uncomfortable under the prolonged gaze, Dawoon turned his head and took a deep breath, his chest heaving.
“Go ahead. I’ll wash up and come down.”
With both Haram and now Hayun coming to call him for breakfast, it seemed impossible to avoid it today. Fortunately, Hayun withdrew at the answer that Dawoon would come down soon.
[Hey, Jeong Dawoon. If you’re done talking, can I hang up? Can I go back to sleep?]
Ui-hyeon asked in an irritated voice, realizing the call hadn’t ended.
“Sorry. Go ahead. See you at school later.”
In the end, Dawoon ended the call without asking about Choi Yu-na.
***
After showering, when Dawoon went to the dining room, Haram and Hayun were already seated, and the staff were setting down breakfast foods like fruits and salads.
“Big brother! Here.”
Haram pointed to the seat next to him. Instead of food, only a set of utensils was placed there. As Dawoon sat down, a staff member brought over a tray with a soup bowl and set it down.
“Pollack soup?”
The clear broth contained dried pollack and beaten eggs.
“You can just drink the broth, sir. It should help settle your stomach.”
At the butler’s words, Dawoon lowered his head in embarrassment and picked up his spoon. He scooped up some soup and put it in his mouth. After repeating this a few times and drinking the hot broth, his headache seemed to subside and his stomach felt a bit better. Puzzled by this, he tilted his head, and a soft laugh was heard. When he raised his eyes, he saw Hayun smiling at him, apparently having been watching for some time.
It really seems like nothing happened.
Looking at Hayun’s smiling face, Dawoon felt his head becoming fuzzy. Was it just that he had been oversensitive? Was this such an insignificant matter to everyone else too? He started to wonder if he was the strange one for trying to avoid it more and more.
“From now on, drinking outside is forbidden.”
Despite his smiling face, Hayun warned in a quite stern voice.
“It’s okay to drink at home. You’ll get to know your tolerance that way.”
Dawoon wondered what occasions there would be to drink at home. Besides, with Haram around, he didn’t want to show the child the sight of drinking alcohol.
“If you need a drinking companion, I can do that for you.”
Hayun said with a grin.
“Not necessary.”
The words came out reflexively, without time to think. It was because other thoughts had suddenly come to mind. Perhaps because of the quick refusal, Hayun looked at him with a slightly bewildered expression. Dawoon quickly lowered his gaze and focused intently on his spoon, afraid that Hayun might guess what he was thinking.
“Big brother, are you hungry? Should I ask for more?”
Haram, who had been watching, asked as he saw Dawoon’s soup bowl becoming empty. Hayun, as if he had been waiting, immediately instructed a waiting staff member to bring more soup. Having missed the chance to say it was enough, Dawoon had no choice but to finish another bowl.
***
As Dawoon came out of the front door, he hesitated upon seeing Hayun’s car parked right in front. He was about to pass by, but Hayun was standing in front of the car.
“I’ll give you a ride.”
“But we’re going in different directions.”
“It’s fine to take a small detour.”
Hayun checked his watch and replied that there was still plenty of time. He opened the back seat door and gestured for Dawoon to get in.
Although reluctant, Dawoon had no excuse to refuse. With the driver and other staff watching, he didn’t want to draw more attention, so he quietly got into the car, and Hayun followed.
As soon as the door closed, the car started moving. The driver didn’t even ask for the destination, as if he already knew where to go.
Dawoon sat as close to the door as possible, only looking outside.
“Is your stomach okay? Do you need any medicine?”
Hayun asked in a gentle voice.
“It’s fine.”
Even as he answered, Dawoon kept his gaze fixed outside. He felt that if he looked at Hayun’s face, other thoughts would keep coming to mind.
“Did you drink just with Ui-hyeon?”
The question was strange. Dawoon had heard that Hayun had come to pick him up personally, so hadn’t he encountered Choi Yu-na?
“We were drinking together, but we happened to meet Choi Yu-na unnie and she joined us.”
Seeing no need to lie, Dawoon answered honestly.
“Happened to meet?”
The voice asking sounded a bit sharp. That’s why Dawoon turned to look and met Hayun’s eyes. Contrary to his expectation, Hayun’s expression was calm. Dawoon swallowed dryly, feeling unnecessarily tense. After staring at him as if captivated, Dawoon blinked rapidly and turned his gaze away.
“Choi Yu-na unnie, it’s not what you think.”
He didn’t know why he was making excuses about her. After making eye contact with Hayun, he was blurting out whatever came to mind to suppress the memories that were trying to surface.
“She can’t be the partner grandfather wants, and she doesn’t have other expectations of me either.”
Although he was rambling without context, Hayun listened silently without asking what he meant.
“That sunbae, she says she’s similar to me.”
Even as he spoke, Dawoon felt pathetic. Would Hayun even understand what he meant by such vague statements?
“It seems you two had a private conversation.”
Hayun, who had been listening quietly, responded softly.
