111.
“Swindler.”
“…”
“Liar.”
“…”
The pronunciation of each word uttered in a calm voice was particularly clear and distinct. Whenever Ryu Ho-yeon did this, Choi Jae-won couldn’t muster any rebuttal and just burned inside. It was only natural since he had nothing to say.
“Was it fun all this time? No, was it fun?”
“…”
The words omitted at the beginning were crystal clear without being said. He was probably asking if Choi Jae-won had fun being called “hyung” despite being five years younger. Choi Jae-won slightly bowed his head, the ordinary gaze somehow painful to meet.
Ryu Ho-yeon called him a swindler once more without malice (though it wasn’t certain if it was truly without malice). He seemed to enjoy poking at Choi Jae-won and kept chanting “swindler” like a broken alarm clock.
Not knowing that the person doing the chanting was harboring an even bigger lie, Choi Jae-won scanned the still surface of his coffee cup without offering any proper defense. Drops of cold sweat as large as marbles appeared like a vision.
But even that cold sweat wasn’t particularly serious in tone.
When the lie was first exposed by Lee Han-seo, he had been afraid, worried about what might happen, but when Ryu Ho-yeon seemed not to mind much, Choi Jae-won quickly relaxed. If this issue had been serious enough to tear apart their relationship, Ryu Ho-yeon wouldn’t have teased him so lightly, and Choi Jae-won wouldn’t have quietly accepted the teasing.
“Lia—mmph!”
Choi Jae-won, who had been acting as if he could only sit silently and take verbal jabs, didn’t let it continue until the end. The lips that had been chattering playfully were almost swallowed whole.
He had known well enough when hearing the lively, bouncy tone, but now that he’d stolen a breath, he knew more certainly just how much Ryu Ho-yeon was enjoying this. He was simply grateful that he wasn’t receiving as much resentment or hatred as he had prepared for.
Choi Jae-won gently bit the tip of Ryu Ho-yeon’s tongue as if retaliating against those annoying upturned lips that kept moving without rest. Feeling something fidgeting below, he opened his eyes slightly to see what was happening—Ryu Ho-yeon had carefully rolled up his overly long sleeves that had been covering both hands and was firmly gripping Choi Jae-won’s collar. Even while being kissed, he couldn’t help but smile.
Finally unable to hold it in, Choi Jae-won let out a faint “pfft…” laugh, to which the hand gripping his collar shook strongly as if in protest.
“Don’t laugh.”
“I didn’t laugh.”
“And don’t speak informally.”
“Yes, hyung.”
It wasn’t that he didn’t feel guilty, and it was true that Ryu Ho-yeon had willingly played along, but hearing him immediately switch tactics and submissively call him “hyung” was strangely annoying. Ryu Ho-yeon slightly frowned around his eyes and silently looked up at Choi Jae-won. In response, Choi Jae-won, who had seemingly put away all traces of his previous shame, just smiled brightly.
“What else should I not do?”
“…”
“Hmm? Hoyeon hyung, what else shouldn’t I do? Tell me anything.”
He urged as if he were a genie from a lamp who could grant any wish. Well, it was true that he could fulfill almost any wish that could be solved with money, so it wasn’t much different.
Think I can’t answer if you ask? Ryu Ho-yeon opened his mouth immediately.
“Well, first…”
“First?”
“Stop bullying other people.”
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t understand.”
That day, Lee Han-seo, who had barely calmed down thanks to Park Woo-jun, had grabbed Ryu Ho-yeon as soon as he caught his breath and revealed everything from the age difference with Choi Jae-won. He had no idea how fierce Lee Han-seo’s voice had been as he proclaimed that he and Ryu Ho-yeon had been close friends before he knew Choi Jae-won, and that the awful person whom Ryu Ho-yeon called “Jaewon hyung” was actually five years younger.
‘You can’t remember? That’s okay. We can make new memories going forward. I’m just so grateful that you’re alive, Hoyeon. To you, I’m just a stranger you’re meeting for the first time… I know this might be burdensome to hear, but… but really, thank you. I really missed you a lot.’
‘…’
Ryu Ho-yeon felt terrible not being able to embrace Lee Han-seo who was trying so hard to hold back his tears. Ryu Ho-yeon determined that he would have to create a memory-recovery event as soon as possible, by any means. If it had ended there, there would have been a commotion but a relatively touching conclusion.
‘But… but this doesn’t seem right… I can’t just let that crazy swindler Choi Jae-won get away with this so happily…’
Lee Han-seo was indeed Lee Han-seo.
‘I’ve decided. I’m staying here with you until you recover your memory. Park Woo-jun. You don’t mind, right?’
‘Nope!’
‘Ah, hyung!’
‘What. Why. What do you want me to do. Don’t like it? Honestly, what would you do if I just took Hoyeon and ran off to the Central Branch right now? Do you have any way to stop me?’
Even if there was a way to stop Lee Han-seo, there was no way to stop Park Woo-jun. Wasn’t he the Park Woo-jun who competed for first and second place in pure destructive power even among the U-class dungeon team, which consisted only of outstanding S-class Espers from various countries?
Park Woo-jun, who would smile so innocently that he looked stupid, making a “hehe” sound with just a gesture or glance from Lee Han-seo, had well noticed the timing and created a small gust of wind at his fingertip. It was nothing short of a silent demonstration that he could easily sink this palm-sized island if he wanted to. As always, the only one who could remain unharmed in the face of the fierce gust created by Park Woo-jun would be Lee Han-seo.
In the end, Choi Jae-won lost. He surrendered and permitted their cohabitation.
‘Excuse me for interrupting, but… what about me…?’
‘Damn, Lee Han-seo wasn’t the end of it.’
And so there was one more (temporary) cohabitant for whom arrangements had not been decided.
‘I’m fine sleeping in the living room. Just throw me a spare pillow if you have one. As long as I’m with Esper Ryu Ho-yeon, anywhere…’
The protagonist was Song Won-young, who was revealed to be Choi Jae-won’s rival just as quickly as he had seemed to be Ryu Ho-yeon’s not-quite-rival.
Thus, Choi Jae-won, who ended up taking on three extra mouths to feed besides himself, Ryu Ho-yeon, and the other servants, became a Scrooge covered in pettiness from that day on. He would give obvious dirty looks, acting as if he begrudged even a grain of rice or a sip of milk going into someone else’s mouth.
It was sad how obvious it was that he wasn’t really concerned about the consumed items but was desperate to drive them away as quickly as possible.
“Well, I don’t really understand what you mean…”
Just now, Choi Jae-won had made a fuss because Lee Han-seo ate the last piece of bread (more was scheduled to arrive the next morning), yet he innocently tilted his head.
“Jaewon.”
Ah, this was good too. Both the unfamiliar “Mr. Choi Jae-won” that Ryu Ho-yeon used to say and the sweet nickname “Jaewon hyung” were welcome, but was this why they say first love is the most powerful?
It was most thrilling when Ryu Ho-yeon shed his uncharacteristic younger brother act and tersely uttered just “Jaewon” like before. Choi Jae-won quickly became happy again and smiled broadly.
“I really don’t know what you’re talking about, hyung. What do you mean by other people? Are there any other ‘people’ on this island besides you and me?”
“You…”
“How can something that can’t even be understood when asked nicely to leave be called a person? It’s an animal.”
The retort “Then what are you, who pretended to be older and chose to live on a deserted island just to have a living person all to yourself—are you human?” rose to the tip of his tongue, but Ryu Ho-yeon managed to hold it back. It must have been the power of his considerable affection.
Choi Jae-won brightly crinkled the corners of his eyes and sought Ryu Ho-yeon’s lips again. The eager kiss quickly raised the temperature in the room, and just as the moist lips traveled down his neck toward his collarbone…
‘Hoyeon! The drama you’ve been waiting for is starting! Come out quickly!!’
‘That’s right, Esper Ryu Ho-yeon! I’ve made pancakes for you! They’re best when they’re hot… I made them crispy on the outside and soft on the inside with exactly three sprinkles of cinnamon powder, just like you mentioned in your interview in the Center’s periodical issue 355!’
“…”
He had a bad feeling when he heard Lee Han-seo’s “Hoyeon!” and sure enough, he was right. Although Ryu Ho-yeon hadn’t been particularly swayed by the drama, which could be watched later anyway, his Adam’s apple bobbed at Song Won-young’s temptation that followed immediately.
“Hyung…”
“I can make you more delicious pancakes, let me put out this urgent fire first…” That was roughly the meaning he tried to convey as he looked up desperately.
“Sorry. I need to go out.”
“…”
“Um… let’s meet again in about an hour. Can we continue then?”
It was the fate of a purely devoted lover that he couldn’t say, “What nonsense is this, pausing like a YouTube video and continuing an hour later?”
Choi Jae-won ground his teeth but outwardly smiled and nodded. He had to get rid of them somehow. Somehow…
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
