LM 69

“Please be careful.”

He could make out the clanging sound of coins hitting the floor of the public phone booth. Kwon Siyul lowered his head deeply, then raised it and leaned the back of his head against the wall. There was nothing he could do from here on out. He could only pray for Kwon Yuwon’s safety.

“Don’t get hurt, and if it seems dangerous, run away immediately. Think of yourself first, no matter what.”

“Our Siyul has grown up. Even worrying about his big brother.”

“Please…”

Kwon Siyul gritted his teeth tightly. He was sick with worry, but the other’s light attitude in regard to all this, as if he was just simply joking around, set his heart aflame. In the past, Kwon Yuwon had beaten his chest saying he couldn’t die before his time because of Kwon Siyul, but now he was acting the opposite.

“You take care of yourself. I’m going to live to see you get married, have kids, and watch them grow up and get married too.”

That seemed a bit far-fetched. Instead of splashing muddy water on Kwon Yuwon’s ambitious dream, Kwon Siyul simply laughed. He couldn’t say he felt at ease, but he had enough composure to laugh at the joke, if only just a little.

“So, what are you going to do now?”

Silence transmitted through the receiver. Kwon Siyul didn’t push the other man. He knew that if he urged Kwon Yuwon to speak quickly here, given his personality, he would just hang up and run off saying he didn’t have time for this. Having spent years together, Kwon Siyul knew Kwon Yuwon inside out, just as Kwon Yuwon knew him.

The sound of a coin dropping rang out once more. Only then did Kwon Yuwon open his heavy mouth.

“I’m going to gouge out that pig’s eyes.”

Kwon Siyul understood immediately. It was slang used among drug dealers, meaning he was going to frame someone else. He guessed that the reason for stealing the drugs probably had something to do with this plan.

“Let’s end it here. I’m out of coins. Take care of yourself.”

Kwon Siyul wanted to reply, “You’re the one who needs to be careful. You’re making my heart race with worry,” but as the call ended, only a cold dial tone reached his ears. Kwon Siyul stared at the darkened phone screen, then bowed his head deeply and ran his hand through the back of his hair in the opposite direction. His hair quickly became messy, but it was still neater than his tangled insides.

“…”

After sighing repeatedly, he suddenly got up. There was no time to waste. While he was dallying, people desperately searching for Kwon Yuwon could barge in here.

Kwon Siyul pulled the hood of his sweater down low and rushed out of the inn. He racked his brain thinking about the safest place, but nothing came to mind except Woo Hyunse’s place. It was the only place unknown to people related to Kwon Yuwon and his line of work.

Thinking that he should completely cut ties with the inn now, Kwon Siyul hurriedly left the neighborhood. Even though he didn’t go out much except on holidays anyway, as Kwon Yuwon said, he should probably just commute between home and the bar until it was safe. It was frustrating, but what could he do when his life was on the line?

“This is driving me crazy.”

He wasn’t angry at Kwon Yuwon for putting him in this predicament. He was just worried. Worried that Kwon Yuwon might be caught by those guys and subjected to something terrible. He wanted to find out exactly where Kwon Yuwon was and help as much as he could, but his involvement might actually become a burden to Kwon Yuwon.

At times like this, it was better to keep a low profile. Suppressing his desire to take action, Kwon Siyul hurried to Woo Hyunse’s house.

Kwon Siyul debated whether to tell Woo Hyunse everything. But when he actually stood in front of Woo Hyunse, the words wouldn’t come out. He had already asked Woo Hyunse to check on Kwon Yuwon’s whereabouts, and asking for help now that Kwon Yuwon was in danger after committing a serious act seemed too brazen, even for him.

Above all, if Woo Hyunse got involved and ended up in a difficult position, how could Kwon Siyul bear all that guilt? While Kwon Siyul had no other choice given his past involvement, for Woo Hyunse it would be nothing short of an undeserved calamity.

Keeping his mouth shut was the best strategy in the end. Kwon Siyul tried hard to hide his burning anxiety. But just as you couldn’t hide a sneeze, his worry leaked out in the sighs he let out from time to time, no matter how hard he tried not to show it.

Woo Hyunse, being so close, couldn’t help but notice this. Watching Kwon Siyul stare at the TV while sighing like a kettle, he wrapped an arm around Kwon Siyul’s waist and pulled him into his embrace. Despite the sudden hug, Kwon Siyul didn’t startle but instead wriggled closer into Woo Hyunse’s arms.

“You’re sighing again.”

“Am I?”

“Yeah. That’s the twelfth time now.”

“That many?”

Kwon Siyul hadn’t realized that he was sighing as frequently as breathing in and out. It seemed his troubled mind was causing him to repeatedly exhale deeply. He rubbed his heavy chest and forced out a smile.

“I guess the food from earlier isn’t sitting well.”

Kwon Siyul watched Woo Hyunse’s reaction, hoping the other man would believe his lie. Woo Hyunse rubbed his chin for a moment, then took Kwon Siyul’s hand in his. He pressed firmly between Kwon Siyul’s index finger and thumb, causing an involuntary “oof” to escape Kwon Siyul’s lips. When Kwon Siyul yelped “ow ow ow” at the sharp pain, Woo Hyunse’s touch softened slightly.

“It seems like there’s more to it than that.”

“No, really. It’s just indigestion.”

“Do you have something on your mind?”

“No!”

His voice cracked at the end as he blurted it out hastily. Kwon Siyul pressed his lips tightly together and shook his head.

“It’s nothing like that. No worries. What would I have to worry about?”

“Is that so?”

As if his interest ended there, Woo Hyunse lowered his eyes and kneaded Kwon Siyul’s hand, then firmly grasped the soft flesh between his fingers, his wrist, forearm, and upper arm with his large hands before releasing. Due to his strong grip, red marks were left behind on Kwon Siyul’s pale arm.

When told to sit down on the sofa, Kwon Siyul obediently moved to sit between Woo Hyunse’s legs. This time it was his shoulders’ turn. Unlike the previous firm grip, Woo Hyunse’s gentle strokes made Kwon Siyul’s body relax. Then, a single word dropped onto Kwon Siyul’s crown.

“Kwon Yuwon?”

Kwon Siyul turned around startled, as if a caterpillar had fallen on his head. His eyes flickered. He quickly looked away, but his momentary reaction had already revealed his inner thoughts.

“How did you know?”

Realizing lies were futile now, Kwon Siyul admitted honestly. It was uncanny. Woo Hyunse could have guessed other reasons, but he pinpointed Kwon Yuwon specifically.

“Just a hunch.”

Woo Hyunse grinned. Kwon Siyul, having bowed his head right then, missed the playful smile. After Kwon Siyul had mentioned his dream about Kwon Yuwon and asked Woo Hyunse to check on him, what else could be troubling him besides Kwon Yuwon?

Although Woo Hyunse was busy enough to need two bodies, the actual investigation was Park Hae-jeong’s job, not his. Before long, Park Hae-jeong, with dark circles under his eyes, brought information like a carrier pigeon. Everything from past to present activities, without omission. He truly lived up to his salary, which was two to three times higher than others’.

“I think Yuwon has gotten into trouble.”

Kwon Siyul’s voice was gloomy. Although Woo Hyunse knew all the details of the incident, he pretended to know nothing and pulled Kwon Siyul up to sit on his thigh. Kwon Siyul curled up and rested his head on Woo Hyunse’s shoulder.

“He said he skimmed some drugs.”

Kwon Yuwon had apparently attached himself to a broker based in a provincial metropolitan city. Since drug delivery alone couldn’t bring in big money, it seemed he was trying to dive into the business properly. For some reason, he had a change of heart midway and skimmed some drugs, and now it appeared he was cooperating with the prosecution, intent on taking down everything related to drugs.

The timing couldn’t have been worse. It was akin to jumping into a fire pit carrying kindling in your arms. At this rate, he would either be abandoned by one side or lose his life under torture. So Woo Hyunse had urgently sent Park Hae-jeong, at least to keep Kwon Yuwon alive.

“You know, the pig used to supply drugs before. We cut contact after some bad stuff happened, but he reached out to Yuwon again.”

In truth, Woo Hyunse couldn’t care less if Kwon Yuwon died in a foreign land or was murdered by someone. He was outside Woo Hyunse’s circle of concern. If it weren’t for Kwon Siyul, he wouldn’t have bothered to save him even if he was placed in mortal danger right in front of his eyes.

Suddenly, a scene from his memory flashed by. Woo Hyunse stared down at Kwon Siyul’s black crown. There was a time when he had helped someone without any benefit or calculation. Kwon Siyul, who had tearfully begged him for help.

Why was that?

Was it really true that he had helped without expecting anything in return? Woo Hyunse couldn’t believe himself.

Unaware of Woo Hyunse’s inner thoughts, Kwon Siyul, leaning on his chest, spoke softly. Perhaps he had been waiting for someone to ask him. As if believing that sharing his worries with someone else would lighten the burden, even if just a little.

“He said he wouldn’t do it then…Kwon Yuwon lied to me.”

“That’s bad.”

“Yuwon is good. That pig is the bad guy.”

Like a parent wrapping a child in her skirt, Kwon Siyul insisted that his friend was innocent and that it was the group he associated with that was bad. Woo Hyunse narrowed his eyes and tilted his head back.

That word “pig” was bothering him.