Chapter 114
As the car entered Hunstein County, Hyeon-woo’s phone vibrated in his pocket.
[Are you coming?]
[You know we’re meeting at 7, right?]
It was McRae. He had completely forgotten.
With fumbling hands, he swiped the screen to check the time. 6:30 PM. Fortunately, it seemed he wouldn’t be too late.
Hyeon-woo asked Marine to drop him off in front of Channing Station downtown.
McRae, who visits the hair salon once every two weeks for dyeing, had called Hyeon-woo out saying he was bored. Hyeon-woo could have ignored it, but knowing McRae’s past kindness, he couldn’t bring himself to do so.
[On my way.]
After sending the reply, Hyeon-woo leaned back in his seat and gazed out the window as the sunset began.
Hyeon-woo got out of Marine’s car and ran to the meeting place. He could see McRae standing in front of the station in the distance. The black dye must have faded again, as McRae’s light ash-gray hair contrasted with his brilliant features, creating a strangely decadent atmosphere.
Even from afar, Hyeon-woo could see people whispering and glancing at McRae. Just as he was about to start walking, he suddenly felt someone’s gaze.
Hyeon-woo instinctively turned his head towards where the gaze came from. He thought he saw a familiar flash of red hair, but it quickly disappeared among the crowd.
McRae waved at Hyeon-woo with a bright smile.
“You’re 5 minutes late.”
“…Sorry.”
“Did you visit the facility today too? Did you meet Jamie?”
“Yeah.”
“But why do you look so down? I thought you liked meeting Jamie.”
“…”
“Did something happen to the baby?”
“No, it’s not that.”
Hyeon-woo had once mentioned that he was volunteering when McRae asked what he did every weekend when the store was closed. He hadn’t said anything more, but McRae seemed to know everything about Jamie and the baby to be born, as if he had been volunteering together. It was clear he was hearing stories through Hyeon-woo’s mother.
“What’s wrong? I’ll listen, tell me.”
At McRae’s kind inquiry, Hyeon-woo unconsciously began to voice the thoughts that had been floating in his head all day.
Words he would never have spoken under normal circumstances, and to McRae of all people, began to pour out incoherently. It seems he needed somewhere to unburden himself. McRae listened attentively to the end as they walked towards the pre-booked salon, matching Hyeon-woo’s pace, and slowly nodded.
“I think the same. Adoption seems like the best option in the current situation, right? Jamie won’t be able to raise the child herself. She’s lacking in many ways, both economically and in terms of parenting capacity. Jamie probably knows that too.”
It was all true, but Hyeon-woo didn’t feel particularly good about it. As Hyeon-woo remained silent, McRae’s eyes narrowed as he glanced at him.
“So that’s why you felt uncomfortable? Worried that the child might grow up unhappily?”
“…”
“I grew up in an adoptive family too.”
“…!”
McRae smiled faintly at Hyeon-woo, who looked up at him with wide, surprised eyes.
“I grew up in an adoptive family, but there wasn’t a single moment when I wasn’t happy. I understand what you’re worried about, but that’s a prejudice.”
“…”
McRae thought Hyeon-woo was easy to read as he watched his face turn red. He liked that about him. Despite acting like a prickly hedgehog, his nature wasn’t cunning but rather kind.
While waiting for the dye to set, McRae observed Hyeon-woo through the mirror, sitting on the sofa behind him, staring at the back of his head, deep in thought.
McRae’s eyes softened. He felt good thinking that at this moment, Hyeon-woo’s mind was probably filled with thoughts about him.
*
“How is it? Does it look good?”
Hyeon-woo pushed away McRae’s black head with his palm as McRae bent down playfully to show his crown, and they left the hair salon.
It had gotten dark outside in the meantime.
“I’m hungry. Let’s go get dinner.”
“Okay.”
“Is there anything you want to eat?”
Hyeon-woo shook his head without answering.
“Hmm, I have something I want to eat.”
“…”
“What? Aren’t you going to ask what it is? I’m about to feel hurt.”
As McRae leaned in with a sly expression, Hyeon-woo twisted his body to avoid him and hastily replied.
“What is it? What is it?!”
McRae laughed silently at the cute reaction.
“What was it called… That soup that looks like it has a whole white mozzarella in it. Soondubo? Soondabo? Red soup. I want to eat that. Food from your country.”
“Sundubu-jjigae?”
“Oh, right! That, jjigae. Jjiga? Anyway, Maya said you like it. I’m curious. What does it taste like?”
Before Hyeon-woo could wonder how McRae knew about sundubu-jjigae and became curious about it, he realized the reason. It was his mother again.
If McRae had treated him with his usual sly and crude jokes, Hyeon-woo could have ignored it, but ever since he sensed McRae’s gaze changing from interest to affection, Hyeon-woo found it difficult to deal with him.
Although he hadn’t particularly been thinking about food since he had already had an early dinner with the volunteers at the center, hearing about sundubu-jjigae after a long time made him crave it. He missed the spicy, savory taste of chili oil.
“You’ll eat it with me, right? Sundubu-jjigae.”
“…Okay.”
McRae smiled slightly at Hyeon-woo’s docile response and waved his car keys that he had taken out of his pocket.
“There’s a small Chinatown about an hour’s drive away. I heard there are many Korean restaurants there too.”
He was about to walk towards where the car was parked.
“McRae.”
He heard Hyeon-woo’s voice carefully calling him from behind. When he turned around with a puzzled look, Hyeon-woo, who had been fidgeting with his hands clasped together, met McRae’s eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
“…”
“I was too inconsiderate. But my concern wasn’t about the child being unhappy growing up in an adoptive family. I was just sad about Jamie having to part with the child she loves. I was worried about the sadness and sense of loss Jamie would feel, not trying to judge adoptive families carelessly. If it sounded that way, I apologize.”
The smile faded from McRae’s face as he looked at Hyeon-woo offering a sincere apology. It was unexpected.
He liked the cute nose bridge rising under the innocent, dark eyes and the graceful profile. That was why he was interested at first.
So he visited Blue Door whenever he had the chance to observe Hyeon-woo. He became intrigued by the unexpected kindness Hyeon-woo showed towards the weak, despite being almost coldly indifferent to others.
He had assumed Hyeon-woo would be a self-centered iceberg, as cold as his attitude, but his expectations were again proven wrong. Not everyone can acknowledge their mistakes and seek forgiveness.
As time passed, McRae’s heart kept fluttering at the new aspects of Hyeon-woo that were revealed one by one, like peeling layers.
“It’s okay, I’m sorry too. For jumping to conclusions without understanding your intentions.”
“…”
“I think we still don’t know much about each other. That’s understandable. We’ve hardly had any deep conversations.”
McRae was right.
Hyeon-woo nodded. All he knew about McRae was his coffee bean preference for his morning orders and his iced tea preference on occasional hot afternoons.
“But you do know what kind of person I am, right?”
McRae’s face was once again filled with mischief as he squinted his eyes. Hyeon-woo responded without backing down to McRae’s seemingly probing attitude.
“Is there anyone in our neighborhood who doesn’t know about the Whalesharks? I know that much too. I’ve even seen a game in person.”
“What? When?! Which game was it?”
McRae’s shoulders jumped in surprise as he asked again with wide eyes and a flushed face.
“Who was the opposing team?”
“I don’t remember that.”
“…How was it?”
“It was like watching thugs.”
“What?!”
“You suddenly threw off your gloves and started beating up the opposing team’s player with your shoulder.”
“…Ah, the Blackhawks game.”
McRae wiped his reddened face with one palm. He seemed embarrassed. And rightly so. That game was closer to hand-to-hand combat than a sport.
“No! But! That, Eric, that bastard first…! Ha…!”
“…”
“Calling me a thug, I can’t let that slide. Come watch again.”
McRae took something out of his jacket’s inner pocket and held it out to Hyeon-woo. It was a premium seat ticket for the game, currently worth a fortune.
“I wasn’t planning to give this to you in this kind of atmosphere…”
“…”
“Anyway, watch again and tell me how it was. You, every time you see me, you think I’m just slacking off and not practicing, right? Watch in person and judge again.”
“…”
“You said you were sorry.”
“…”
“You said you didn’t mean to judge carelessly, right? So watch properly again.”
It was hard to refuse any further as McRae kept pressing on the part that was already weakened by guilt. Hyeon-woo inwardly sighed at McRae’s fox-like behavior.
McRae with nine tails. Not only did he have a face that could bewitch people, but his actions were also like those of a gumiho.
