BHB 114

Lee Taegang slowly continued speaking while stroking his chin. He first avoided his gaze and lowered his eyes thoughtfully, then quietly set down the mug he was holding.

“…There were many reasons, but I think the others are all excuses. Actually, there’s only one reason.”

“……”

“Because you liked me too much.”

“……”

“Because you liked me too much, even as a friend… I didn’t have the confidence to cut that off.” He continued these words calmly with an indifferent face. 

In contrast, Yeowon couldn’t relax his stiff expression. He never imagined he would hear such things. As the weighty confessions continued, his heart pounded as if it might burst. A strange sensation, as if his entire body was covered in a sticky liquid, made it difficult for him to speak.

All day long, they did nothing. Since their phones were turned off, they naturally couldn’t use the internet, and occasionally watching TV was all they did. During the long day, the only time Yeowon had a conversation with Lee Taegang was during breakfast.

When Yeowon watched TV in the living room, Lee Taegang spent time sitting on the terrace. It felt like a meaningless time, but strangely, it wasn’t boring. The few weeks he had spent without Lee Taegang had been tediously dull and monotonous, but now, even doing nothing, he would steal glances at Lee Taegang and find that time had passed quickly when he came to his senses.

Watching Lee Taegang all day made him wonder what he was thinking. He seemed to be making efforts, knowingly or unknowingly, to avoid being seen by him. He didn’t try to run into him in that spacious house, even under the pretense of coincidence.

His attitude was puzzling. Until now, he had been insistent, as if demanding to be understood, but now, after revealing everything, he was strangely avoiding him. Even for lunch, he just told him to eat and avoided the place himself, so he couldn’t even tell if he was eating or not.

It might be more comfortable for him if Lee Taegang avoided him. Seeing his face wasn’t as comfortable as before, and the knot of emotions stubbornly remained like persistent debris, so it was natural. But it should be Yeowon who avoided him, not the other way around; Lee Taegang avoiding him left a strangely unpleasant feeling. If he hadn’t taken him and run away in the first place, Lee Taegang might have been dragged away and already left Korea. Or he might have been locked up somewhere and beaten like a dog. And despite having uncomfortable conversations, wasn’t he the one who talked about them as if nothing happened?

“What are we eating for dinner?” Yeowon flung open Lee Taegang’s door and deliberately brought up the topic first. 

He wanted to make dinner himself and had opened the refrigerator, but for a place supposedly regularly maintained by a caretaker, there was almost nothing in it. Just a few bottles of water and canned beer. Instant rice and frozen foods. Plus, with no ramen left, he had been pondering and asked about it.

“…I’ll go out and buy something.” He seemed momentarily startled, his shoulders flinching as he sat on the bed. 

But soon he got up, and as he tried to pass by him, Yeowon followed, asking curiously, “What if you’re spotted when you go out?”

“They wouldn’t have caught on yet.”

“How do you know?”

“There’s no CCTV within several kilometers around here.”

“…Really?”

“Just stay put.” He replied softly and headed towards the front door. 

Yeowon pouted with a displeased face and added, “I want to go too, then.”

“…What for? Just stay here.”

“I’m feeling restless. Being in one place all day.”

It wasn’t untrue. He wanted to get some fresh air, and he also wanted to annoy Lee Taegang, who was deliberately avoiding him. 

But he responded indifferently without blinking an eye, “Suit yourself, then.”

‘Tch. There’s no fun in teasing this guy anyway.

Yeowon twitched the corner of his mouth in dissatisfaction and followed behind him as he went ahead.

The villa was luxurious and spacious, but there was nothing around it. All that existed were a few streetlights, the smell of the seaside, and sand wandering the streets. Seeing that there weren’t even common tourists, he was convinced that this place was indeed private property owned by his cousin.

Yeowon had come out wearing slippers from the villa but soon regretted it. The sand blowing from the beach kept getting into his slippers, which was irritating. He shook his slippers on the ground irritably while walking leisurely, but when he came to his senses, Lee Taegang was already far ahead.

He was really a ridiculous guy. Where was all that fuss about liking him when he could show such insensitivity? When he saw this indifference, all those words felt hollow. Yeowon quickly walked, leaving behind the annoying sand, to narrow the distance.

After walking for over twenty minutes, stores began to appear on the otherwise empty road. Of course, they were mostly stores that had already closed or ones where it was unclear if they were open for business. He had thought about eating something before returning, but Lee Taegang silently entered a shabby store.

The place he entered with familiarity was a run-down supermarket like a hole-in-the-wall shop with an elderly woman dozing at the counter. It sold various items like snacks, ramen, and drinks, but the variety couldn’t be compared to what was sold in Seoul. Lee Taegang grabbed whatever was convenient—a few packages of ramen, instant meals ready to eat, and cereal and milk that were close to their expiration dates.

At the checkout counter, Yeowon tried to use his card, but Lee Taegang stopped him, handed over two 50,000 won bills, and left without taking the change.

“I was going to pay.”

When he spoke unenthusiastically toward Lee Taegang who was walking ahead again, he responded just as flatly.

“Do you have cash?”

“…I could just use my card.”

“If you use a card, they’ll find out right away.”

“…Ah….”Having a sudden realization, Yeowon nodded slightly. “You’re really skilled at this.”

“Got to hold out a little longer.”

“……”

“Even though you deliberately ran away.”

It seemed like he didn’t know that fact, but apparently he did. Yeowon awkwardly looked elsewhere.

The return journey felt shorter than the way there. Only the gentle sound of waves and the footsteps walking on the sandy road echoed quietly. The sticky air characteristic of the sea blew in, making the skin feel unpleasantly clammy, but the atmosphere between him and Lee Taegang was just dry. And because they were walking without saying anything again, it felt suffocatingly uncomfortable to the point his whole body itched. Perhaps because it had never been this awkward before, he alone was restless the whole time.

Yeowon wanted to walk as slowly as possible. He liked the quiet sound of waves, enjoyed walking together after a long time, and the rare moment of leisure felt peaceful. However, Lee Taegang’s pace began to quicken again. As the distance between them gradually widened, Yeowon glared at his back and jogged a little to match his pace.

“Need to take a dump? What’s the rush?”

When he threw out the question in a mischievous tone, Lee Taegang just glanced at him once and let out a deflated sigh.

“Walk slowly.”

“Why bother?” Lee Taegang replied indifferently, as if there was no need to do so.

“Let’s walk slowly.” Yeowon repeated stubbornly.

Lee Taegang added with a low sigh, “You said you were hungry.”

“I want to walk for a bit.”

His tone sounded like he was being needlessly stubborn. Lee Taegang stared down at him blankly, then suddenly averted his gaze and quickened his pace again.

“Hey! You keep…, ugh!”

Just as Yeowon was about to lose his temper at his seemingly avoidant attitude, he let out a groan as something pierced his foot. It seemed wearing slippers on the sandy road was the problem. 

Yeowon limped on one foot and quietly cursed, “Shit.” 

Nothing was going right. Lee Taegang kept acting strange, and he was strange for constantly reacting to it. That situation suddenly felt irritation and sadness as he injured his foot.

Was he being distant because of what he had done? He admitted it. All the things he did in anger were actions that would make Lee Taegang more than justified in being angry. Even if there were reasons and he thought his actions were justified, if asked whether they were truly justified enough to crush over ten years of history, he had no answer.

“Ha.”

As he stood still for a long while with a sigh that felt stronger than the bleeding from his foot, the presence that had somehow drawn near let out a low exhalation.

“What are you… Hey!”

Yeowon was shocked by his sudden action of hoisting him up and hit his back. No matter how big and strong he was, carrying a sturdy man over 180cm tall like this was never an easy feat. Moreover, it was somewhat embarrassing, making his face hot with surprise.

The place where Lee Taegang set him down was a nearby bench. Benches designed to overlook the sandy beach and sea existed throughout the area. He carefully placed him there and knelt down on one knee in front of him.

“What, what are you doing?”

Being suddenly carried was startling enough, but then he unexpectedly knelt before him and lifted his injured foot. It was a series of embarrassing actions.

“Get up quickly. What are you doing?” Worried that someone might see, Yeowon looked around hurriedly and spoke urgently. 

But Lee Taegang examined his injured sole carefully and gently removed the piece of glass embedded in his flesh.

“Ugh.”

As he shuddered from the slight pain, Lee Taegang furrowed his brows.