LM 62

Exhaling a puff of air upward like a whale spouting water, his bangs fluttered across his forehead. As he roughly combed his messy hair with his fingers and opened the locker room door, a black head suddenly popped out. Startled, he jumped straight up in place, then looked down while pressing his hand to his fluttering chest.

“Hyung!”

It turned out to be none other than Woo Taeju. Seeing Kwon Siyul’s rabbit-like eyes, Woo Taeju smiled so brightly that his eyes almost disappeared.

“Come here for a moment.”

“I need to start work now.”

“It’ll just take a second. Really, it won’t take long.”

Ignoring Kwon Siyul’s reluctance, Woo Taeju grabbed his wrist and pulled. Back inside the locker room, Woo Taeju brought out a box he had been hiding behind his back. He made a “ta-da” sound effect, but Kwon Siyul’s expression turned pale upon seeing what it was he was holding in his hands.

“This is…”

“Yes, these are health supplements. I specially got them for you from a place known to have good ratings.”

Even the package shape was identical. The intense bitter taste that lingered in his mind even after Woo Hyunse had tried to mask it with candy was still vivid in his mind. Just looking at the wrapper made that bitter taste scrape against his tongue again.

“It’s a secret from the others.”

Woo Taeju whispered, putting his index finger to his lips. Kwon Siyul swallowed hard, feeling sour stomach acid rising up his throat, and pushed the box back toward Woo Taeju.

“I’m already taking these. Someone I know gave them to me.”

Woo Taeju paused and looked at Kwon Siyul. His eyes clearly reflected his surprise at this unexpected development.

“Oh…Really? This place is known for being very effective, but…”

“I’m fine, so you should take them for yourself.”

Woo Taeju’s shoulders slumped immediately upon hearing the rejection. His disappointment was as obvious as day. As Kwon Siyul was pondering how to escape this awkward moment, Woo Taeju forced out a smile and pushed the box back toward Kwon Siyul.

“Just take these, hyung. I had to wait over a month and even paid extra to get them early. I’m healthy enough without these things.”

“Can’t I just accept the thought? These are really bitter.”

“Good medicine is supposed to be bitter. Accept both my feelings and this.”

They went back and forth, with Woo Taeju insisting that Kwon Siyul had to take them or he’d throw them away. Kwon Siyul was unfamiliar with such forceful kindness and didn’t know how to handle it.

Even when Kwon Siyul showed his discomfort, Woo Taeju wouldn’t back down. Kwon Siyul was left with no other choice but to give in. Seeing Woo Taeju looking around as if to say “Where’s the trash can?”, he couldn’t refuse any longer.

Reluctantly accepting the box, the burden felt about 10 times its actual weight. While dark clouds gathered under Kwon Siyul’s eyes, the victorious Woo Taeju simply chattered on cheerfully.

“You shouldn’t stop taking supplements after just a month or two. When you finish what you have, take these.”

“I really don’t need them.”

“Oh, and this too.”

He reached into his pocket and placed a bag of chocolates on top of the box, saying they were to get rid of the bitter taste after taking the medicine.

“You’re really stubborn, aren’t you?”

Siyul gave a wry smile, as if he couldn’t help it. Woo Taeju quietly watched Kwon Siyul for a moment, then suddenly leaned in close.

“Can’t you call me Taeju instead of ‘you’? Try it, say ‘Taeju-ya.'”

“I’ll do it next time.”

“What’s so hard about that? Just once, Siyul hyung. Please?”

He kept insisting, even holding up one finger to emphasize “just once.” Kwon Siyul thought, What’s the big deal about calling his name after receiving an unwanted gift? He agreed and pushed away Woo Taeju’s face with his palm as it kept getting closer and closer to him. Their lips were almost touching.

“Taeju-ya.”

It was just a simple call, but Woo Taeju’s smiling lips suddenly froze. His expression gradually hardened. Kwon Siyul wondered if he was supposed to use an honorific instead. Confused by this unexpected reaction, Kwon Siyul awkwardly scratched his cheek.

“Did I say it wrong? Isn’t your name Woo Taeju…?”

It took a while for Woo Taeju to come to his senses. He shook his head, rubbed his face vigorously with both hands, and slapped his cheeks. Kwon Siyul was startled by this violent self-flagellation, as if Woo Taeju was trying to drive away sleepiness.

“What’s wrong?”

“No. It’s nothing. I was just surprised to hear you call my name.”

“You asked me to.”

“Right. I did ask you to. Right…That’s right.”

With his head bowed, Woo Taeju kept repeating the same words like a drunk person. Suddenly, he looked up. Quickly grasping Kwon Siyul’s hand, his next words came out rapidly.

“From now on, just call me Taeju. Don’t say ‘you.’ I don’t like that, it feels distant. We’re not strangers, are we, hyung?”

“I’ll try.”

Overwhelmed by Woo Taeju’s intensity, Kwon Siyul responded in a daze. Despite this positive signal, Woo Taeju seemed unsatisfied and pouted his lower lip. As he opened his mouth to say something more, a voice from outside the locker room interrupted them, calling for Woo Taeju. Seizing the opportunity, Kwon Siyul quickly pulled his hand away from Woo Taeju’s grip.

“I’ll leave the box here. You go out first.”

“Next time, you must call me Taeju-ya. Hyung, promise me.”

Woo Taeju solemnly made the request before leaving the locker room. Kwon Siyul laughed it off and evaded a direct answer, just as he did when avoiding Kwon Yuwon’s nagging. As soon as Woo Taeju’s gaze left him and the door closed, Kwon Siyul flung open his locker.

Putting the box inside, he couldn’t help but sigh. Aside from the problem of carrying this heavy thing, the thought of continuously taking bitter medicine already made him sick to his stomach.

Maybe he should give it to Kwon Yuwon instead. He could keep it at the inn and give it to him later. But if Woo Hyunse found the medicine, he might increase the daily dosage to four packets, saying it was good that Kwon Siyul got more.

“Ugh.”

The mere thought made him shudder involuntarily. Kwon Siyul shoved the herbal medicine box deep into his locker and closed the door. Out of sight, out of mind—at least he felt he could survive now.

Anyway, Woo Taeju was quite friendly, easily calling him “hyung.” Kwon Siyul still found it difficult to change how he addressed Woo Hyunse. Even when “hyung” was on the tip of his tongue, looking at that face made him unconsciously say “CEO” instead. He had no problem calling others hyung or noona at the orphanage or school, so he couldn’t understand why this word was so difficult to use when it came time to address Woo Hyunse.

It didn’t seem to be because they weren’t close enough yet. Perhaps it was simply that the title “CEO” he used at first had stuck so firmly to his lips that it wouldn’t come off.

“Next time, I must call him hyung.”

Hyunse hyung. Even practicing out loud, it still felt unfamiliar. Thinking that someday it would come naturally to him, Kwon Siyul kept practicing in his head as he hurried out of the locker room. Thanks to Woo Taeju, his preparation time had dragged on and he was now late.

There was still no contact from Kwon Yuwon. Although he had said before going into rut with Woo Hyunse that he might not be able to contact Kwon Siyul due to low phone credit, not even a single text message from him seemed really odd. He could have at least used a public phone, but Kwon Yuwon hadn’t made even that much effort.

Should he consider no news as good news? Damn. Kwon Siyul cursed his emotionally distant childhood friend in his mind as he tapped on his phone. His message inbox was filled with texts he had sent one-sidedly, piling up like a tower.

[I’ve prepared the health supplements.]

In the end he had decided to put the box of health supplements in a subway locker. The bar was close to Woo Hyunse’s house, but to get to the inn, he’d have to take a bus and travel quite a bit further. They say once you had tasted convenience, you couldn’t go back, and that described him to the tee perfectly. The alley he used to walk down easily even in the dead of night now seemed far, difficult, and bothersome.

[They say it’s good for you.]

[It doesn’t taste good though.]

[When are you coming back?]

Frustratingly, none of the messages, including the ones above, had lost their “1” indicator on the side. He stared at them intensely, as if the number might disappear if he looked hard enough, then threw his phone onto the sofa with an “Agh!” and flopped down.

He kept thinking about something Kwon Yuwon had muttered before leaving. He had apologized, saying he was sorry, which Kwon Siyul had assumed was for the same reason he’d been apologizing all day. But thinking back, he had said something about “doing something even more to be sorry about.”

What could that be?

“No way.”

Kwon Siyul covered his mouth as soon as he spoke. They say the words “no way” was often the precursor to disaster. He couldn’t help but worry that Kwon Yuwon might be causing some massive, uncontrollable trouble. Even though Kwon Yuwon had always been unparalleled in his competence since childhood, trouble had a way of following him. Overwhelmed by anxiety, Kwon Siyul tried calling him again, but as expected, there was no answer.

It couldn’t be, right?

It’s probably just needless worry.

To calm his nerves, he opened a phone game. There was nothing better to help clear his mind and kill time. However, his mind was so preoccupied that he kept failing to clear levels, even though it wasn’t a time-limited game.

The five hearts disappeared in an instant. He turned on the TV, but all the programs seemed boring. Kwon Siyul sprawled on the sofa, mechanically pressing the remote, but no channel did anything to spark his interest. He flopped back down on the sofa.

However, the last channel he stopped on was the news. He had disinterestedly turned his attention back to his phone, but one word caught his ear, making him immediately turn his eyes back onto the TV screen.