BHB 105

Generally speaking, Han Yeowon’s life had been free of hardships and adversity. Since coming of age, he had been wealthy, never lacking financially, and thus never experiencing the stress of laborious work. If he had to name one difficult thing, perhaps it would be studying for university entrance exams for over a year until the blood vessels in his eyes burst? Even then, he had easily entered a fairly prestigious school in Seoul by receiving what was essentially free tutoring from Taegang, who was known as a gifted student.

Moreover, he had many friends who would come running when called, and quite a few partners that others would envy. Not that he had worked desperately to get them. Overall, he had lived an easy life.

Even if he lacked parental care, it wasn’t enough to become a weakness in his life. That empty space was always solidly filled by someone named Lee Taegang.

Taegang was an aloof and cold person, but he was the only one who most keenly noticed when he was sick, who made sure he ate, and who looked after him. Sleeping in the same bed was natural, and because of that, Yeowon often felt contentment. Trivial conversations that went back and forth day and night marked the beginning and end of each day. Repetitive routines became daily life and part of his existence, and he felt from him the comfort that others felt from their families.

But he never dreamed that this one constant would become the only hardship in his life. Because of his existence he considered the most special in his life.

Those unaccustomed to hardship and adversity found it difficult to overcome them. He had done everything in anger and impulse, but in the end, he was the one most affected by the aftermath.

“Hey, wake up.”

The sunlight coming through the window pierced his eyes fiercely. As he slowly blinked at the stinging light, an unfamiliar wallpaper and a room relatively smaller than where he used to stay came into view.

“I said wake up, you unemployed bum.”

As he stirred with sluggish movements, the owner of the room irritably poked his leg with his foot. His voice was full of contempt.

“Ah… making a fuss so early in the morning.” Yeowon muttered quietly as he got up. 

Perhaps because it wasn’t the bed he used to sleep in, his back always aches when he woke up. When he grumbled like that to the room’s owner, he scolded him for having no shame.

“What morning? It’s two in the afternoon now.”

At these reproachful words accompanied by an exasperated sigh, he let out a small sigh.

“…Already?”

“Yes. I mean, how can someone who doesn’t work or go to school sleep this much?”nDo Youngjae, the owner of the room, shook his head as if he couldn’t understand at all.

“…Because I don’t work or go to school, I can sleep a lot.”

“Good for you, unemployed.”

“Why am I unemployed?”

“If you don’t work or go to school, you’re unemployed.”

He wasn’t wrong.

It had been almost two weeks since he quit school, and the same amount of time since he moved out of his house. The secretary had done an excellent job. The very next day after Yeowon’s instructions, the house was disposed of and everything was packed up. The matter was swiftly handled before he could reconsider what he had done in anger.

“…Food.”

Having no retort to Youngjae’s words, Yeowon slowly got up and changed the subject.

“Outside. Who would have thought you’d become a boarder in my house.”

“…What boarder? I’m just staying temporarily. Luckily your parents went on a trip abroad.”

“Right, and before they left, they prepared a ton of side dishes for you. Eat them all.”

“…I should have given them some spending money before they left.”

“Bank transfers are also possible.”

“Really? Call them then.”

“I’m kidding, idiot.”

Youngjae lightly tapped his shoulder, telling him not to exaggerate. When he went out, there was a table set with several side dishes haphazardly laid out, but for Yeowon, even being able to eat like this at home was luxurious. When he lived with Taegang, they occasionally called a housekeeper, but in reality, they usually went out to eat or simply made do with delivered food.

Yeowon sat at the table and first took a big spoonful of rice, filling his mouth. Then he picked up a vegetable side dish and pushed it into his mouth as if stuffing it, eating vigorously. 

Youngjae quietly observed him from across the table. With his chin resting on his hand, he watched him eat deliciously as if possessed, then slowly opened his mouth, “Is it good?”

“Yeah. Your mother could open a restaurant.”

“What restaurant?”

“I could set one up for her. Or we could go into business together and open a restaurant.”

“You’re talking nonsense as soon as you wake up.”

These days, Yeowon’s interest was in business. Now that he had quit school, which he hadn’t cared about anyway, he needed to do something. Since all he had was his parents’ money, his attention naturally turned to business. Whether opening a store or recruiting talent to start a business, he was considering various approaches.

But to Youngjae, Yeowon’s behavior seemed like he was trying to escape from something.

On the day of the festival, it seemed clear that something had happened, but Yeowon hadn’t said a word about it. He only asked if he could stay at his house for a few days.

That day, Youngjae had to handle all the cleanup work. Fortunately, since it was just the first day of the festival, there weren’t many people. Still, it wasn’t easy to check the videos people had secretly recorded. Moreover, it took quite a long time to clean up because a table was destroyed and the food they were selling was spilled. Despite his help with the aftermath, Yeowon still hadn’t explained what had happened.

“So. How long are you going to keep this up?”

When he heard that he had quit school, he was so dumbfounded he couldn’t speak. He had always lived by his instincts, but this seemed incredibly reckless. When he criticized him, asking why he did it, Yeowon only replied that he had been thinking about it for a while.

It was all incomprehensible. Why had Chaemin and Taegang fought that night, and why had Han Yeowon intervened to mediate between them? The music had been loud, and because he had to keep people away, he couldn’t hear their conversation properly; he could only guess.

“What?”

“You know what. How long are you going to live like a homeless person, staying at someone else’s place, and acting like you’re unemployed?”

Moreover, despite having plenty of money, he hadn’t found a new place to live. It was already shocking that he had suddenly quit school, but hearing that he had also sold his house left him speechless. He wondered if he had any sense, but Yeowon’s face was so frighteningly impassive that he couldn’t question him further.

“Hey, it hasn’t even been two weeks.”

“That’s not all, though.”

Youngjae was right. This wasn’t the only thing Yeowon was putting off.

“How long are you going to be like this with Taegang?”

Yeowon had completely cut off contact with Taegang, with whom he had been inseparable, as if they would die together. Moreover, he apparently hadn’t told him where he was, as Taegang had interrogated Youngjae multiple times. Asking if he knew where Han Yeowon was. He had asked so many times that Youngjae almost wanted to tell him out of annoyance. But Yeowon had already preemptively emphasized to Youngjae several times: never tell Taegang that he was here.

Taegang had been bothering him for about a week, but at some point after that, he suddenly went quiet. The silence meant that Taegang was no longer coming to school either.

“You didn’t even tell him you dropped out?”

In fact, he had been curious about the reason all along but was waiting for him to tell him first. It seemed like something significant had happened. But when Taegang learned about Yeowon’s withdrawal, his reaction was such a shock to Youngjae that he couldn’t help but bring it up.

“That guy even went to the professor’s office.”

Yeowon, who had been recklessly eating, finally paused a little.

“I was really surprised. He caused a scene at the department office…”

“…What?”

Hearing this for the first time, Yeowon stopped chewing the food in his mouth and finally raised his head to look at Youngjae.

After asking, Yeowon cleared his throat a couple of times and added, “…I told you not to talk to me about him.”

“I wasn’t going to, but seeing you in this state makes me want to.”

“…What about me?”

“Just fix it already. Why is everything always so complicated with you two?”

“…”

“What the hell happened anyway?” Youngjae asked again out of frustration, but Yeowon just kept his lips tightly sealed.

“You know, I always thought Taegang was a bit scary.”

“…”

“You know, with his size, his tattoos, and all that. His general vibe too.” Youngjae scratched his ear and continued speaking frankly, “But that day, he seemed… strangely…”

He hesitated, recalling the day Taegang had gone to the department office. It wasn’t easy to describe Taegang that day.

“How should I put it… Should I say he looked pitiful? Or should I say he looked sad…”

“…”

“I know what I’m saying sounds strange. But really, he did.”

At this unexpected news, Yeowon’s chopsticks paused once more.

“Oh right. And I thought Taegang’s parents considered him like a… neglected child? But I guess not. They even had professors monitor him?”

That was news to Yeowon too, causing his face to darken quickly.

“The professor always told the teaching assistant to keep an eye on Taegang. Also hinted to treat him well.”

Suddenly, Yeowon recalled Taegang hanging out with the teaching assistant a few times. He wondered if the assistant had sensed something and subtly brought it up to Taegang.

“But the most shocking thing is that the professor was also keeping an eye on you.”