GB 38

“It’s overprotection.” 

Yoon Moo-hwa had his arms crossed.

“I’m telling you, it’s overprotection.”

Pretending not to hear even though he could hear everything, Yoon Moo-hwa pointed inside the display case. It was one of the bracelets shining under the lights.

“Can I see that one, please?”

“Certainly. Would you like to try it on, sir?”

“No, it’s a gift.”

Alyosha let out a sarcastic laugh. “Don’t tell me that’s for the baby? You’re giving that as a gift? You know being overprotective actually makes them stand out more, right?”

“He stands out anyway,” Yoon Moo-hwa replied calmly. “If that’s the case, you should at least show who’s protecting him.”

The bracelet seemed perfect for everyday wear– thin and shiny, but not flashy or too eye-catching. While the military academy rules prohibited piercings and accessories, bracelets and rings with religious significance or non-ostentatious designs were allowed. So this shouldn’t be a problem.

Yoon Moo-hwa placed the bracelet on three of his fingers. He nodded. “I’ll take this one. Please wrap it up.”

While the clerk took the bracelet inside for wrapping, Yoon Moo-hwa drank his coffee. Alyosha was just looking around. 

Yoon Moo-hwa frowned. “You said you had something to look at too, so we came together. What are you doing?”

“I don’t know what to buy.”

“Is it for your girlfriend?”

Alyosha grinned and nodded at Yoon Moo-hwa’s question.

Yoon Moo-hwa tried to recall Alyosha’s last girlfriend in his memory. But before he could fully describe her, Alyosha shook his head. It meant she had changed in the meantime.

“Don’t you change girlfriends too often?”

It was a promiscuity Yoon Moo-hwa couldn’t understand. Alyosha argued that he was just spreading his love around, but it didn’t convince Yoon Moo-hwa at all.

“But Moo-hwa, you’re the strange one. In times like these, when you don’t know when you’ll die, how can you suppress your feelings? I’m just trying to be honest with myself. Love intensely when you love, and break up cleanly when it’s over!”

Yoon Moo-hwa ignored him completely. He just flipped through the catalog, brushing off Alyosha’s words. 

Alyosha stepped right up to Yoon Moo-hwa and grinned. “Don’t you have someone like that? Not even a steady relationship? There’s a rumor going around. They say Yoon Moo-hwa got an artificial implant down there to avoid distractions from missions.”

“You know artificial genitals can get erect too, right?”

“Yeah, but that’s for physiological functions, not reproduction, right? Or did you cut it off? Isn’t that too wasteful?”

There was still no response. Yoon Moo-hwa wasn’t in the mood to play along with lewd jokes. He was just waiting for the wrapped bracelet to come out.

“I can’t find anything I like. Seems your taste in lovers and accessories is the same, Moo-hwa. Simple and clean.”

Simple and clean?  Yoon Moo-hwa couldn’t help but smirk. 

Not noticing the smile, Alyosha kept talking. “Still, it feels wrong to go back empty-handed. Should I buy a gift for Haero?”

“Why would you?” Yoon Moo-hwa, who had been treating Alyosha as if he didn’t exist, immediately reacted to that one sentence.

Alyosha smiled again and leaned his body completely towards Yoon Moo-hwa, “I’ll give you some honest advice. Yoon Moo-hwa, your thing is real. And unlike the rumors, if it functions properly, it should be great. So why don’t we hear any dating news? Is it because of that brother? Are people running away because your brother’s complex is too intense?”

“Sir, would you like to check the wrapping? We can change the ribbon color if you’d like.”

Thanks to the clerk’s timely return, Yoon Moo-hwa avoided an annoying situation. 

Suppressing a sigh, he stood up and asked, “Do you have a yellow ribbon instead of navy blue?” 

It wasn’t because he disliked the fact of entering the naval academy that he was changing from navy; it was simply because yellow suited Haero well.

Haero looked good in warm colors. He suited the red sea at sunset more than the blue sea at sunrise.

“Your brother is twenty now. He’s grown up. Let him graduate. And Moo-hwa, live your own life!” Alyosha chattered non-stop, like someone who didn’t know the word ‘give up’.

Yoon Moo-hwa, who had been silent, chose one of the yellow ribbons shown by the clerk and turned to look at him.

“Do you think I’m not living my own life?” His tone was genuinely curious.

Alyosha flinched for a moment, feeling as if Yoon Moo-hwa’s artificial eye was staring at him through the eyepatch.

Soon, Yoon Moo-hwa turned his head away.

“Interesting.”

He muttered in a tone that didn’t sound interesting at all, cynically enough to freeze the surroundings. Alyosha frowned.

While he teased Yoon Moo-hwa for overprotecting his brother, it was actually quite severe. He treated the perfectly grown 20-year-old man as if he were an 8-year-old, and not even a little brother, but a little sister.

“Can you really send him to the Naval Academy? Shouldn’t you be stopping his enrollment rather than buying bracelets now?” Alyosha, quickly regaining his composure, teased Yoon Moo-hwa with a grin.

Yoon Moo-hwa left the store without a word. Alyosha followed, seemingly tireless. “You and I both know from experience. It makes gentlemen of the sea, but the foundation is for hot-blooded kids. They’re even physically fit.”

“If that’s all you have to say, you should go now.” Yoon Moo-hwa snapped, as if disgusted. 

Alyosha raised both hands and grinned. “I’m saying this for your sake, Moo-hwa. That baby will be fine. But what about you? Won’t you be worried?”

“Haa…”

As Yoon Moo-hwa rubbed his forehead as if used to this, Alyosha backed away slowly while continuing to chatter, “Well, I hope this becomes a good opportunity for you to become independent from that baby. At this rate, it seems like you’ll be watching like a hawk even when that baby gets a lover!”

Alyosha, having said his piece, seemed to judge that he had finally hit the mark properly and ran away quickly.

Insufferable brat. He always retreats just before crossing the line completely. 

Yoon Moo-hwa watched the retreating Alyosha with cold eyes before heading to his car.

* * *

As Yoon Moo-hwa entered the official residence, he frowned, sensing something off.

A large luxury sedan was parked below the building. He had a guess who it might be. Yoon Moo-hwa glared at the car as he got out.

And as he had guessed, Yoon Sang-won was inside the house. With Haero.

“You’re here.” Yoon Sang-won, standing and sipping tea, greeted him casually. 

Haero, who had been sitting on the sofa, turned his head hastily with a bewildered look.

His face was full of embarrassment. There was someone else next to Haero. Judging by the measuring tape and basting needle in hand, and the cloth draped over the shoulder, it was easy to guess why his father had barged in. 

The tailor’s expression also tensed at Yoon Moo-hwa’s chilly gaze and the instantly frozen atmosphere.

“There are ready-made uniforms.”

“It’s not against school rules to have one custom-made.”

“It’s a military uniform.”

“He’s also a student.”

A tense atmosphere flowed between father and son, neither giving an inch.

Yoon Moo-hwa put down his car keys on the side table and loosened his tie. “It’s unpleasant for you to come in like this without notice.”

“You’re talking as if I’m an intruder. I clearly said it. I was notified. To Haero. Right, Haero?”

Yoon Moo-hwa and Haero’s gazes met.

Haero, seemingly very embarrassed, only let out a troubled groan, “Ah…”

There had been no time to speak. When Yoon Sang-won had contacted him, he was already in the parking lot. There would have been no time to stop it or contact Yoon Moo-hwa.

Haero bit his lip firmly.

That expression alone was telling enough. Yoon Moo-hwa glanced at Haero and placed the box from his pocket next to the car keys.

“It’s problematic if you act like this because I didn’t answer your call.”

“That’s true, but today I really came to congratulate Haero on his admission.”

“You’re quite early. It’s not even confirmed yet.”

“The admission has been granted, how is it not confirmed?”

Yoon Moo-hwa avoided Haero’s gaze. He would be angry at Yoon Moo-hwa’s words that it wasn’t confirmed.

But due to Yoon Sang-won’s attitude, Yoon Moo-hwa only felt more strongly that Haero going to the Naval Academy was the wrong choice.

After graduation, Haero would be used even more as Yoon Sang-won’s item. It’s not that Sang-won treated Haero with only such materialistic intentions, but that would inevitably take priority. He had entered the political world.

“Can I talk with Haero for a moment?”

“The fitting is almost done anyway.” Yoon Sang-won wore a triumphant expression.

Yoon Moo-hwa swallowed a sigh at his father’s arbitrary behavior.

The tailor, who had been tense due to the confrontation between the two famous figures– Yoon Moo-hwa, seen as the face of the navy and rising as the next-generation hero, and Yoon Sang-won, who had already been hailed as a naval hero– stood up abruptly.

Yoon Sang-won approached Yoon Moo-hwa and lightly gripped his shoulder. “I’m busy today so I’ll be going, but next time, it would be nice to have a meal outside, right? With Haero too.”

“Only at times like this…” Yoon Moo-hwa, about to say something, clamped his mouth shut.

He wanted to rebuke him for only using Haero at times like this, but it wasn’t something to say in front of the person in question.

Sly old man.

Knowing why Yoon Moo-hwa had closed his mouth, YoonSang-won left the house with a leisurely farewell, saying “Haero, take care. See you next time” until the end. 

The tailor, hurriedly packing his bag and following, both disappeared, leaving only silence in the house.

At the sound of the door closing, Haero’s shoulders flinched.

Though they were more than used to being alone together, this time was different.

Yoon Moo-hwa turned to look at him.

Haero swallowed hard, not even thinking to wet his lips.