LM 35

“Once the housing issue is resolved, I’ll have a decent job. Then I’ll see you get married…see my niece or nephew born…I’d like to live together, but your sister-in-law wouldn’t like that much, right? I should keep my home purchase savings account.”

“Why sister-in-law? It should be ‘older brother’s wife.'”

“Older brother, my ass. I’m two months older than you.”

Kwon Yuwon chuckled, raising one corner of his mouth. Kwon Siyul laughed along with him and leaned back in his chair.

But he wasn’t sure if he could get married. Kwon Siyul looked at the table and tried to envision his distant future. Unlike Kwon Yuwon’s blueprint for his life, which was clear down to the very last detail, his imagination was just as hazy as if trapped in a thick fog.

* * *

“Huh?”

Kwon Siyul, who was lying on his back playing a game on his phone, opened his eyes wide. The sender of the text message was a name that had been lingering in his mind. They had exchanged numbers but hadn’t contacted each other until now.

[Do you remember me? It’s Woo Taeju.]

Of course, he remembered. It was the day he boldly went to a motel with a stranger he met at a bar, declaring it would be his first time sleeping with someone else. Thanks to that sudden surge of courage, he spent the night with Woo Hyunse, so it was impossible to forget.

[Yes. We met at the bar last time.]

[You remember. What have you been up to these days?]

The greetings continued. Woo Taeju said he had been busy with final exams. Though Kwon Siyul knew he was a student, hearing about tests and assignments confirmed in his mind that he really was a college student.

[Are you free tomorrow?]

He asked as if he already knew tomorrow was Kwon Siyul’s day off. But Kwon Siyul already had plans. Of course, it was with Woo Hyunse.

It had happened just earlier. As Kwon Siyul was about to get out of the car, Woo Hyunse had stopped him. He said since tomorrow was a day off anyway, Kwon Siyul should stay the night. But Kwon Yuwon would be waiting at home with sharp eyes…Besides, Kwon Yuwon had a keen sense for these types of things.

The other day, when Kwon Siyul was sending a brief reply to Woo Hyunse, Kwon Yuwon had poked him in the side like a veteran detective, saying it seemed like Kwon Siyul had been texting more often lately, asking if he had met someone. Kwon Siyul had broken out in a cold sweat, hastily sending an incomplete “goodbye” before quickly opening a game as a response.

“I’m not meeting anyone. It’s just the part-time job group chat.”

Fortunately, Kwon Yuwon didn’t bother to probe any further. After drinking at the convenience store last time, Kwon Yuwon had been spacing out more often than usual. Thinking it must be because he gave up on a chance to make big money, Kwon Siyul was too busy trying to cover up his own situation to give Kwon Yuwon’s predicament a second thought.

“I can’t. Yuwon will get suspicious.”

After finishing his recollection, Kwon Siyul gripped his belt tightly and replied. He understood Woo Hyunse’s dissatisfaction. He too desperately wanted to be together. With Woo Hyunse, even just lying side by side in the car listening to the radio without saying a word made his heart flutter in his chest.

“Mr. Kwon Siyul always says no first to everything.”

“That’s because you always ask for difficult things, Mr. CEO.”

“I want to spend more time with Mr. Kwon Siyul. All night long.”

There was no way he couldn’t understand the hidden meaning of what the other man just said. His cheeks quickly flushed. He leaned toward the window to hide his red face.

“I’m going in.”

“How about tomorrow?”

“What about it?”

“We should spend the whole night together.”

“Oh, really.”

Woo Hyunse didn’t know how to give up. He always tried to achieve what he wanted, even if it put Kwon Siyul in a tough spot.

“I’ll let you know tomorrow.”

“Did I mention that my patience has grown a lot since meeting you, Mr. Kwon Siyul?”

“I think you still need a bit more. Keep working on it.”

“If I’m any more patient, I’ll become Buddha.”

His expression was dead serious as he joked. When Kwon Siyul laughed out loud, Woo Hyunse’s furrowed face relaxed slightly. There was still irritation mixed in, but his eyes had a less intense look than before.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Woo Hyunse asked as Kwon Siyul was unbuckling his seatbelt. Kwon Siyul paused with an “Ah,” then stretched his neck out and planted a loud kiss on the other’s cheek. He quickly grabbed Woo Hyunse’s chin as he tried to pull away and stole a kiss on the lips. In that brief moment, he even tasted the inside of his mouth before pulling back.

“Text me before you sleep.”

“Yuwon…”

Their lips met again. The excuse that was about to leave Kwon Siyul’s mouth was swallowed back.

“I can’t give up on that.”

Kwon Siyul stared at Woo Hyunse with parted lips. His eyes were dreamy as if enchanted by something. Maybe it would be okay if he hid in the bathroom to send a text. After making this little plan in his head, he nodded.

Because of what happened in the early morning, he couldn’t meet Woo Taeju. When Kwon Siyul sent “I have plans,” Woo Taeju expressed great disappointment but promised a next time. Even as Kwon Siyul replied “Let’s have a meal sometime,” he doubted if such a day would come around anytime soon. Woo Hyunse knew all of his days off. Would he let Kwon Siyul go easily if he said he was meeting someone else?

“No way.”

Kwon Siyul grinned as he turned on his phone game. He seemed to already know the answer to that question.

He woke up to the sound of an alarm. He fumbled around his pillow, searching for his phone. Squinting at the bright screen, he checked the time. 10 a.m. Considering when he fell asleep in the early morning, he definitely didn’t get enough sleep.

Still, he told himself he couldn’t sleep anymore. Kwon Siyul rubbed his sleepy eyes and got up. The loud noise naturally woke Kwon Yuwon too. With his face buried in the pillow, he simply groaned without lifting his head.

“Isn’t today your day off…?”

Kwon Yuwon wasn’t able to sleep well yesterday either. He had tossed and turned several times, got up to sigh once, went to the bathroom once, and went outside to get some air before coming back inside. It seemed he had finally managed to fall asleep later on in the night, but Kwon Siyul couldn’t help but worry about him.

Maybe that offer from the pig was still lingering in a corner of his mind. If only he could give it up cleanly.

“Uh, yeah.”

“You don’t seem to have holidays these days…”

Kwon Yuwon’s voice was still husky with sleep. 

Kwon Siyul retorted, “I need to make money, where’s the time to play?” and hurried into the bathroom. Lying to Kwon Yuwon, of all people, felt like being stabbed in the chest with a blunt knitting needle.

He got ready to leave quietly so as not to fully wake the other man. He didn’t even use the hair dryer. The sound of the wind might wake Kwon Yuwon, complaining it was too noisy. Since Kwon Siyul said he was going to work, Kwon Yuwon probably wouldn’t ask more questions, but if he happened to ask something, Kwon Siyul didn’t know what he would say.

Telling himself not to think too much about it, he just roughly dried his hair with a towel and came out. As he left the room, the cold air mingled with his damp hair. The chill made him sneeze involuntarily.

“Dress warmly. You’ll catch a cold…”

Kwon Yuwon, who Kwon Siyul originally thought was asleep, nagged from behind. His voice was still heavy with sleep. Kwon Siyul mumbled a vague “Yeah” and just tightened his collar. This level of cold was nothing to him, having undergone winter training twice.

Woo Hyunse wanted to come all the way to the inn, but Kwon Siyul desperately dissuaded him not to. He really didn’t want to risk running into Kwon Yuwon. Recently, even when being dropped off, he deliberately got out far from the inn’s alley and walked. Woo Hyunse seemed to be quite irritated by this, but Kwon Siyul wasn’t willing to compromise on this point.

This time too, they met far from the inn. When Kwon Siyul bent down and tapped on the car window, it opened with a click. He quickly squeezed himself into the car. Perhaps because he left with his hair not fully dried, his body felt more chilly and his skin was cold from the wind. He rubbed his arms with both hands and sniffled, doing his best to warm himself.

Suddenly, a hand reached out. It touched Kwon Siyul’s cheek, which was flushed red like a child’s in winter. Kwon Siyul’s eyes crinkled at the corners at the warm touch. Without pulling away, he nuzzled and buried his face in the hand held out to him.

“Why did you come dressed with so little layers?”

“Ah, it’s not that cold. This is nothing.”

His voice trembled intermittently from the cold, but he said this confidently. Woo Hyunse chuckled at Kwon Siyul’s bravado, then took off his coat and draped it over his body.

This time, Kwon Siyul didn’t refuse like he had by the river. Instead, he brought the collar to his nose, sniffing it and grinning. The scent that filled his nostrils was cool, but the warmth held in the coat was comforting.

“It’s perfect weather for catching a cold.”

“I don’t get colds easily. Do you know how tough I am?”

“Really? Your stamina didn’t seem that great.”

“What? I’ve never been told I have poor stamina. I’m good at hanging on the horizontal bar for a long time, and I got top grades in push-ups and sit-ups.”

Kwon Siyul immediately refuted the unfair assumption that he wasn’t strong enough. While he didn’t rank so good in subjects like math and English, he was confident about his high marks in physical education.

“You got tired quickly last time.”

“When was that?”

“In bed.”

After throwing out this unexpected answer, Woo Hyunse gently drove the car. Kwon Siyul, clutching the other’s coat tightly with both hands, jerked his head up to look at the driver’s seat. His face was nicely flushed from the comment.