BHB 90

“I just don’t know what to do anymore.”

“…”

“We keep fighting. Even though I don’t want to.”

Yeowon stared at distant mountains, his melancholy voice drifting away like cigarette smoke. All he wanted was to give Taegang everything, to just live peacefully with him like before. His mood was completely ruined as everything seemed to be falling apart.

“It might be because you’re too close.” Baek Seungha added as if offering practical advice, “Sometimes you need some distance.”

“…”

“Whether it’s friends, family, or lovers.”

It wasn’t what he wanted to hear, but it was practical advice. He had already stepped back to draw a line, only to find himself on the verge of further collapse. This was the most difficult thing he’d ever faced in his life. Taegang had always been the most stable and comfortable person in the world for him, but now he was the most difficult and uncomfortable. Yet it all felt like his fault. He shouldn’t have accepted Taegang’s proposal so recklessly, like an impulsive child. Only now was he realizing that once a line is crossed, one must properly take responsibility for it.

But how could he have known Taegang would get so angry? He thought he’d consider it just a passing phase. In the end, it was his fault again. His complacency was to blame.

“…I was thinking of doing that anyway.”

He thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to stay apart for a while. It wasn’t good for Taegang to be acting out at such an inopportune time.

After responding half-heartedly in a bitter voice, he turned his head. When Baek Seungha came into view, he suddenly remembered their not-so-pleasant parting yesterday, and feeling awkward, he cleared his throat and spoke again.

“I’m sorry about yesterday.”

“For what?”

“For being so rude.”

“You always apologize after you’ve already done the damage.”

“That’s better than not apologizing at all, isn’t it?”

“True. That’s why I can’t stay mad at you.”

Seeing him accept his apology so readily, Yeowon let out a light laugh as if finding it absurd.

“Anyway… I don’t know why things are bad between you two, but that guy Lee Taegang, even though he seems like trash on the outside, he’s not entirely like that. He’s loyal, knows how to be generous, and doesn’t even make a show of it.”

“I’ve felt this before, but you’re surprisingly innocent, Han Yeowon.”

“What?” Yeowon frowned at his unexpected comment, delivered with an amused smile. 

Being called innocent was something he’d never heard in his life, so it felt more like an insult than a compliment. It was clearly a meaningful remark in context, but Baek Seungha didn’t elaborate. It had always seemed like he had something to say about Lee Taegang, but each time he vaguely brushed it off. 

Sensing that something definite had happened between them, Yeowon found himself speaking without thinking, “…What is it?”

Feeling something unusual in his earnest gaze, Yeowon frowned. He had just assumed they didn’t get along, but from Baek Seungha’s questions, looks, and tone of voice, he instinctively felt there was something more.

“Did something happen between you two that I don’t know about?”

An unsettling feeling suddenly enveloped his entire body. But Baek Seungha hesitated, unable to speak easily. As Yeowon, now more suspicious of his behavior after he started but couldn’t finish, grabbed his arm to press him further—

HONK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

A sudden car horn blared loudly enough to disrupt the entire alley. It rang so powerfully and for so long that Yeowon frowned, squeezing his eyes shut and covering his ears with both hands. Turning his head angrily to identify the culprit through the blinding headlights, he saw a red foreign car that stood out even in the dark alley.

“Crazy….”

Knowing exactly who the owner was, Yeowon could only let out a hollow laugh. The outrageous behavior came out of nowhere. The car’s owner boldly blocked the alley and smoothly exited the driver’s seat. 

Slam. 

The car door closed, and he approached with the same disheveled appearance he had seen at home earlier.

“So after you left, the one you met was…” His voice traveled along the tips of his ears like a shiver throughout his body. “…this bastard?”

Though he had heard Lee Taegang’s voice for over ten years, he had never found it so chilling. Yeowon felt like someone caught in the middle of doing something wrong.

“Why are you here…?”

Before he could finish his question, so stunned was he, Taegang didn’t even consider answering but turned his gaze to Baek Seungha standing opposite.

“Is it because of this bastard?”

“… What?”

“You want to break up. Is it because of this bastard?”

“What are you talking about out of nowhere?” Yeowon let out an exasperated breath at his abrupt accusation.

“I shouldn’t have just stood by and watched.” Lee Taegang muttered fiercely, as if talking to himself, without taking his eyes off Baek Seungha.

“Wait, how did you even know I was here…?”

Yeowon suddenly remembered how he had called Do Youngjae before Yeowon could even finish his question. Yeowon had clearly told him not to answer the call, but it seemed he had already made contact. Yeowon pressed his forehead once as his head throbbed, then looked at him with an expression full of fatigue.

“… Can’t you just go for today?” Yeowon asked as politely as possible, feeling like he didn’t have the energy to argue with him today. From what he could see, Lee Taegang still seemed to be in a state where calmness was nowhere to be found.

But despite his request, Lee Taegang just smiled crookedly and spat out a sarcastic remark, “Why? Are you trying to do something with that bastard after sending me away?”

“What nonsense are you talking about again?”

“How can I not be angry when I leave and find you like this with that bastard?”

“Watch your language first, will you? That guy is our senior. Are you going to keep calling him ‘this bastard, that bastard’?”

When Yeowon said something to restrain Lee Taegang who was openly using hostile terms, he let out a low laugh as if he found it quite amusing. As Yeowon was unable to hide his bewildered face at the eerie-sounding laughter and was about to say something, Taegang walked past him. More precisely, he walked toward Baek Seungha who was in front of Yeowon and stopped directly in front of him.

At the same moment Yeowon sensed that Lee Taegang’s mood was unusual, Yeowon also felt that Baek Seungha’s demeanor across from him was different from normal, causing his breathing to slow deliberately. With the sudden tension, Yeowon could hardly move his body or mouth.

“You know I’ve been letting it slide.” Lee Taegang was the first to speak.

“You’re always so damn brief with your words.”

“Don’t change the subject.”

“Oh really? Then should I say it here? In front of Yeowon.”

Something definitely happened. Yeowon, once again certain, tried to intervene in the conversation, but Lee Taegang’s actions came first.

“You won’t be able to. Because I’m really going to kill you today.” Lee Taegang grabbed Baek Seungha by the collar and swung his fist, chewing on his own savage warning.

“What are you…!”

This is a time when he never knows what might happen if an accident occurs. Yeowon grabbed Lee Taegang’s waist and hung on, trying to stop him even as his body was dragged along. He felt like going crazy, not understanding why he was acting like this toward Baek Seungha in the first place, or what kind of ridiculous misunderstanding he had. 

But paying no attention, Taegang struck Baek Seungha’s face with his fist. 

Thud. 

At the dull sound that seemed like it could dislocate his jaw, Yeowon grabbed Lee Taegang’s arm again with a maddened expression. “Are you crazy? What the hell are you doing, you lunatic!”

His sudden violence without regard for the surroundings was so unexpected it was bewildering. Even as he stepped in once more, shocked by his aggression as he struck Baek Seungha’s face, Lee Taegang didn’t stop. 

He seemed truly fixated on Baek Seungha in front of him and continued with a vicious voice, “You’ve been shitty from the start. Fuck, I felt like I was going to lose it every time you hung around.”

Fearing that one more hit might really dislocate Baek Seungha’s lower jaw, Yeowon shouted urgently, “Stop it, Lee Taegang. Damn it, this is not the time for you to be fighting!”

But what was funny was that in this situation, he was the only one surprised and flustered. Lee Taegang was wielding violence indiscriminately, and Baek Seungha, despite suddenly being punched, didn’t seem particularly surprised or flustered. Baek Seungha actually looked calm. As if he had known this would happen all along, like someone who knew everything, he remained detached, just staring at Lee Taegang, who was gripping his collar with no apparent intention of letting go, and spoke in a chilling voice.

“Yeowon doesn’t know, does he?”

At those words, Lee Taegang’s brow twitched. “Your mouth is running without knowing your place.”

“Damn, you talk like shit. What do you mean ‘mouth’ to your senior? You uneducated bastard.”

“Look at the homeless trash putting on airs.”

Listening to the conversation between these hot-tempered men made Yeowon feel like his head was starting to ache.

“Must be nice, having so much money. You piece of shit.”

“Do I look like I’m joking right now?”

“Then do I look like I’m joking to you?”

“I’ve been really patient, you know.”

“Hey, Taegang. Now it’s getting pitiful.”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

“It’s pathetic how you’re the only one getting so worked up about this. It seems like the person in question doesn’t even know.”

Just when Yeowon was vaguely wondering what the two of them were talking about, unable to grasp it…

“Yeowon doesn’t know, does he? How you’ve been cleaning up the people around him from behind.”

“Shut up.”

“You made me drop out of school because I bothered you, even drove me out of Seoul. So what?”

“I said shut up.”

“Han Yeowon. Did you get him?”