#108
He had hoped it would stop soon, but as time passed, the rain fell even more heavily. It didn’t seem to be just a brief shower. The strong sunshine from earlier felt like something from years ago. The sky quickly darkened and thunder and lightning made a racket all around.
“I’m sorry, but the last boat has been canceled. The wave conditions aren’t good because of the rain. You’ll probably have to take the first boat tomorrow…”
The port staff also looked at Ha-seong and Do-hyeok, who were soaked from the rain, with a sympathetic expression. They had come just in case, but as expected, the boat was canceled. Hearing the staff’s additional explanation that the weather often changes frequently because it’s an island village, the two left the port office.
“How did things get so tangled up?”
The heavy rain was still pouring down as if mocking Ha-seong and Do-hyeok. There was no sign of it stopping, and even if it did stop, the situation wouldn’t change much. The time for the last boat to depart had already passed anyway. Even if the rain stopped, there was no boat to take.
“Aren’t you cold?”
Do-hyeok asked while patting down Ha-seong’s wet clothes.
“Yeah. That’s not the problem right now though. I don’t mind, but what about you? You have to go to work tomorrow.”
“I explained the situation to Shin-woo roughly.”
He had been looking at his phone earlier, so it seemed he had contacted Shin-woo.
“What about the raid you were supposed to handle tomorrow?”
“There aren’t that many. I also told them to hand it over to Kang Won-hyeok or other teams.”
Ha-seong let out a deep sigh. They had come all this way to find information, but they hadn’t learned anything and were now trapped on a remote island they barely knew. He should have come alone after all. Getting excited about wanting to go together and bringing Do-hyeok along.
“Let’s go for now. We need to find a place to stay first. I think there were quite a few guesthouses near Baek Sa-jin’s house earlier.”
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
The two moved back to that neighborhood. Even on the way, they could see the fierce waves churning and rolling in the sea. Ha-seong and Do-hyeok, who had returned to that neighborhood, first entered a guesthouse they could see.
“Oh my, what should we do? There are no rooms available right now.”
They visited a total of three places, but all they heard were regretful words that there were no rooms. It seemed there were more tourists, and also quite a few people like the two of them who had unexpectedly gotten stranded on this island due to the sudden weather change.
Ha-seong didn’t give up and went further inside. And he found one guesthouse that looked somewhat old.
“Is anyone there?”
When Ha-seong cautiously entered, a kind-looking grandmother walked out from inside.
“Did you come to get a room?”
The grandmother asked, immediately grasping the situation from looking at the two men’s appearance.
“Yes. It suddenly started raining. We’d like to stay just one night, do you have a room?”
“You came at the right time. There’s a room available.”
Relief finally showed on Ha-seong’s face. If they couldn’t find a room like this, he had even been thinking of staying at Baek Sa-jin’s house as a last resort. Still, he didn’t really want to stay in someone else’s house without permission, especially that bastard’s house, so this was fortunate.
“But there’s only one room left. Since it’s two men anyway, it shouldn’t matter, but… it’s the room in the back and it’s a bit small.”
“We have no choice. We’ll take that one.”
This wasn’t the time to be picky about room size. Do-hyeok also didn’t say anything, so it seemed he didn’t particularly mind either.
“Alright. Hey, Min-woo!”
When the grandmother called out loudly, there was a rustling sound from inside, then a young-looking boy came out. Looking at his face, he seemed like a high school student.
“These guests will be staying in the back room. Show them the way.”
“Yes, grandmother.”
The boy called Min-woo came out with an umbrella and looked at the two men.
“This way… please come.”
What was that? It seemed like he was slightly startled when he saw Ha-seong and Do-hyeok. Did he see wrong? Ha-seong stared intently at Min-woo, who somehow had a dark expression.
“This is my grandson. I have to prepare dinner, so he’ll give you a simple explanation.”
“Yes.”
Saying that, the grandmother quickly went to the other side. Min-woo said he would guide them to the room and quickly turned around to walk ahead. Slightly awkward behavior.
Ha-seong wondered if he was the only one who felt this way and looked at Do-hyeok, but he didn’t seem to think it was particularly strange. Rather, he was only concerned about whether Ha-seong was cold. Ha-seong followed behind Min-woo, thinking it might just be his imagination.
“You can use this room. Toiletries and towels are all in the bathroom. If you need more, I’ll bring them. You can turn on the heating yourself, and our guesthouse has grandmother cook dinner personally, so you can eat that. It’s free. Oh, you just need to check out before lunch tomorrow.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Ha-seong received the room key from Min-woo. The boy, who hadn’t made eye contact with Ha-seong and Do-hyeok throughout his explanation, only glanced at the two at the very end before quickly disappearing into his room with his head down.
“What’s that about? Is he a Cha Do-hyeok fan?”
Why was he acting so awkwardly? Ha-seong was thinking it was strange when Do-hyeok urged him to hurry inside.
As the grandmother had worried, the room size was quite small. It seemed like a room for someone traveling alone. It was spacious enough for one person, but a bit small for two grown men to use. But there was no choice. In a situation like this, he was grateful just to have a place to lay down.
Fortunately, their clothes had dried a lot on the way, so it seemed they could wear them as they were.
“Do you want to wash up first?”
“Hyung, wash up first. You’ll catch a cold.”
Do-hyeok gently touched Ha-seong’s wet hair this time.
“Ah, okay.”
Was it because that touch was more tender than expected? Ha-seong’s body stiffened slightly. Moreover, asking if he wanted to wash up first – why did even those words sound strange? Ha-seong felt embarrassed by himself and quickly escaped to the bathroom.
It was when both of them had finished washing up and come out. Min-woo, who had helped guide them to the room earlier, knocked on the door and poked his head inside slightly.
“Please come for dinner.”
The two followed the boy into the spacious area on the other side. The space, which seemed about three times the size of the room Do-hyeok and Ha-seong were staying in, was like a restaurant. There were about two tables set up, and there seemed to be a separate kitchen inside as well.
“Sit over here.”
The grandmother who came out of that kitchen pointed to a table. When they got closer, they could see appetizing dishes laid out in a row. Seaweed soup with steam rising from it. Kimchi, which would be missed if absent from a Korean table, rolled omelet, dried squid, and various other side dishes. And as the finishing touch, a spicy fish stew placed prominently in the center.
“Wow… grandmother, you’re serving this for free? You should charge money for this.”
“It’s an old person’s hobby. Hurry and sit down. And Min-woo, you sit down too. You haven’t eaten dinner.”
“Ah, I, I’m fine. Grandmother.”
“What do you mean fine? You rascal. You’re going to eat snacks instead of rice again, aren’t you?”
The grandmother and grandson were having a tug-of-war over the meal. Ha-seong slightly raised the corners of his mouth at the heartwarming sight and sided with the grandmother’s opinion.
“That’s right. Let’s eat together.”
With Ha-seong’s support, Min-woo had no choice but to sigh and sit next to Ha-seong. When the grandmother scooped heaping bowls of rice, the feast was properly complete.
“I can’t eat all this…”
“Just eat it. That’s manners.”
When Do-hyeok started to complain, Ha-seong cut him off decisively. Fortunately, the grandmother sitting at the next table seemed not to have heard as she was turning on the TV.
“But how did you bachelors come here? Looking at your appearance, it doesn’t seem like you came to have fun.”
It was when they had started eating to some extent. The grandmother, who had finished watching her drama, looked at Ha-seong and Do-hyeok and asked.
“Ah… we had some business on this island.”
When Ha-seong gave a vague answer, the grandmother joked that these people were probably the only ones coming to this small island for business.
“Um…”
That’s when it happened. Min-woo, who had been eating with his nose buried in his rice bowl, spoke up.
“H-hyung… you’re a hunter, right?”
Min-woo looked at Do-hyeok with timid eyes.
“Yeah.”
“I see… a hunter.”
Min-woo muttered quietly. So Min-woo was also a Do-hyeok fan after all. Ha-seong vaguely guessed. Anyway, Cha Do-hyeok was really amazing. He was famous enough that even a boy living on this remote island knew him.
Ha-seong felt an inexplicable sense of pride as he finished his meal.
* * *
After eating their fill, the two immediately returned to their room. Time had quickly passed as they went to the port, heard disappointing news, came back here, and looked for a place to stay. Moreover, perhaps because it was an island with few residents, the streetlights were sparse and the roads also quickly became dark.
Ha-seong opened the wardrobe, planning to wake up early tomorrow morning. He was about to lay down his tired body when a problem arose.
“Hey.”
Ha-seong’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the wardrobe.
“What?”
“There’s a problem.”
Then Do-hyeok got up from his seat and came over to Ha-seong’s side.
“There’s only one blanket?”
There was exactly one blanket, one mattress, and one pillow each. As expected, this seemed to be a single-person room after all.
“We can just sleep together. What’s the big deal?”
“You’re not being serious, are you?”
Ha-seong furrowed his brow and glared at Do-hyeok. Whether it was a joke or serious, Do-hyeok just shrugged his shoulders with an unreadable expression.
“Then I’ll go ask outside.”
“Huh? You will?”
How unusual for him to step forward first. Do-hyeok strode out of the room. Right, it’s a guesthouse, so wouldn’t they have a spare blanket? Sharing a blanket with Do-hyeok and sleeping together.
“……”
Ha-seong suddenly remembered the incident when he was pinned under Do-hyeok and kissed, and the day he had a strange dream about him due to sexual frustration.
“Am I really crazy? Why am I like this?”
When his face was about to get hot for a moment, Ha-seong quickly shook his head.
“Hyung, they said there are no spare blankets.”
And some time later, Do-hyeok returned with devastating news.
“Looks like we’ll have to sleep together?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
