GB 39

The silence was like a delicate silk thread. It could be stretched infinitely if possible, but one had to be very careful. 

Yoon Moo-hwa was the first to break the precarious silence that seemed ready to snap if anyone pulled too hard.

“I’m late.” In stark contrast to the heavy atmosphere laden with tension, Yoon Moo-hwa’s words were no different from usual. “I was out buying something.”

Haero glanced at the box Yoon Moo-hwa had set down beside him.

It was a small box, but very meticulously wrapped. What could it be? At a glance, it looked like jewelry. The box that had contained Yoon Moo-hwa’s watch when he received it was narrower and taller than this one.

Could it be for me? 

It would feel strange if it were for someone else. Haero swallowed hard, despite not being greedy for gifts or possessions. Simply because he didn’t like the idea of Yoon Moo-hwa buying something so carefully wrapped for someone else.

“I’m sorry… I was going to tell you in advance. He was almost here when I found out.”

“I see. Understandable.” Yoon Moo-hwa, without mentioning the box, completely removed the tie he had loosened earlier.

Haero followed him closely as he entered his room.

“Hyung.”

He didn’t turn around even when called.

“Hyuuung.”

“…”

“Hyung, are you angry?”

“No.” Yoon Moo-hwa finally answered. But he didn’t stop walking.

He went inside, took off his jacket, and started unbuttoning his shirt. Though his actions were as efficient as usual, Haero felt strangely at a loss.

He felt awkward and tense. Yoon Moo-hwa seemed angry. There was no reason for it. He wasn’t usually on very affectionate terms with his father, and it was normal for them to have curt conversations like this whenever they met, so why did it feel so different today?

Is it because of the Naval Academy?

Haero was initially happy to hear about getting fitted for the uniform. It felt even more meaningful that Yoon Moo-hwa’s father was personally having it made. Knowing how Yoon Moo-hwa had been at odds with his father for taking him in, it was also important for Haero to make a good impression on Yoon Sang-won.

Yoon Moo-hwa hung his shirt on a hanger. Haero approached him from behind and grasped his waist. Or rather… it was closer to just placing his hands there.

“Hyung, should I not be friendly with your father?”

Yoon Moo-hwa almost let out a scoffing laugh.

Did Haero think he would tell him not to be friendly with his father, as if he cared about or interfered with all of Haero’s relationships?

“If you don’t like it, I won’t.”

Child.

This is why he can’t help but worry.

If Alyosha saw Haero like this now, he would understand his concerns.

However, Yoon Moo-hwa had no intention of letting others see Haero with all his defenses down like this. It was enough for Haero to show his vulnerabilities only in front of him.

Yoon Moo-hwa could have asked Haero why he thought that way. After a moment’s consideration, he turned around.

Haero flinched for a moment.

They were now in the dressing room. More precisely, Haero had followed him in. They stood almost without a gap in the narrow space.

Haero unconsciously averted his gaze hurriedly. Yoon Moo-hwa seemed not to mind at all. As if only he was conscious of everything suddenly, everything became hyper-aware. 

Yoon Moo-hwa pulled the open dressing room door behind Haero. 

Reflexively, Haero held his breath as their bodies pressed closer together.

There was a faint sound of the doorknob catching. 

Is it locked? Or am I just overreacting to it simply being closed?

Glancing up, Yoon Moo-hwa’s expression was still undisturbed.

Haero took a small step back. At the same time, Yoon Moo-hwa pulled back the hand that was falling from his waist.

Yoon Moo-hwa could have comforted Haero.

He was also well aware that Haero was tense right now.

He could have left the door open instead of closing it. But he didn’t.

“Should I not be friendly…?” The question was so childish it was beyond ridiculous, bordering on absurd. Yoon Moo-hwa smiled slightly. It wasn’t the pleasant smile Haero often saw. It felt strange. How could the same upturned corners of his mouth feel so unfamiliar.

And the words that came out of Yoon Moo-hwa’s mouth were also unexpected, “Do you want to?”

Yoon Moo-hwa’s voice was still admirably low, but now it felt even deeper and more hollow than usual.

Haero looked up at Yoon Moo-hwa, feeling an odd sensation as if he was sliding down along that voice.

The eyes that met him were no different from usual. Then what was this strange feeling?

“If Haero is okay with it, let’s do that. I don’t really like you being friendly with my father.”

He could have kindly explained the situation where his father might use Haero as a political tool, but Yoon Moo-hwa didn’t.

It was a kind of test.

It was the first time he had acted so cowardly with someone’s feelings and relationships. Not that he didn’t know how. Yoon Moo-hwa knew how to interrogate and could back someone into a corner.

Yoon Moo-hwa had no qualms about his paradoxical behavior of wanting to protect Haero while simultaneously testing him.

You were stubborn about entering the Naval Academy. But you’ll listen to me on this much, won’t you?

Yoon Moo-hwa pressured Haero very gently. He was coaxing while pulling him towards his side.

While approaching too physically, his mind remained utterly rational.

He’ll accept this. But why the Naval Academy? Yoon Moo-hwa couldn’t understand Haero’s willingness to face danger.

“…It’s okay.” After a moment, Haero nodded. It was as Yoon Moo-hwa had expected. “Alright. From now on, I’ll only contact your father through you.”

It wasn’t a difficult thing for Haero anyway. Since his reason for wanting to make a good impression on Yoon Sang-won was for Yoon Moo-hwa’s sake, if Yoon Moo-hwa was okay with it, Haero had no reason to initiate contact.

He rarely did anyway.

Haero lowered his gaze. He could see Yoon Moo-hwa’s feet and his own. They would differ in thickness, width, and length. 

Chewing his lip, Haero asked, “Can I go out now?”

“Ah.” Yoon Moo-hwa was truly good at lying. He just chose not to. “I closed it by mistake.”

He politely opened the door and released Haero.

Haero doesn’t know about himself. He can endure terrible torture, knows dozens of ways to kill himself even when restrained without any tools, and is proficient in methods of perfect lying and extracting truth from people.

Even though the door was opened, Haero didn’t leave immediately, instead glancing at Yoon Moo-hwa for a long time. Yoon Moo-hwa swallowed his laughter, thinking Haero looked like a puppy who had done something wrong, looking around with the whites of his eyes showing.

“Aren’t you going out?” Yoon Moo-hwa asked in an amused voice. 

Only then did Haero leave the room. His hesitant steps clearly seemed to be watching for something. It did make Yoon Moo-hwa feel a bit concerned.

Feeling generous, Yoon Moo-hwa wrapped his arms around Haero’s shoulders from behind as if pouncing.

“I bought you a gift, Haero.” He whispered in his ear.

Uncharacteristic events have been occurring consecutively over the past few days. Especially things like today, testing Haero or manipulating people according to his will, were unprecedented. Yoon Moo-hwa wondered if some sadistic tendency that hadn’t been detected in his aptitude tests was manifesting. However, the very notion of doing this to anyone other than Haero didn’t even form as a hypothesis, making it hard to explain with the word ‘sadism’.

He was fundamentally indifferent to others.

Haero shrank at Yoon Moo-hwa’s fingers fidgeting with his shoulder. It tickled. And he was bothered by the slight upturn of Yoon Moo-hwa’s lips.

Strangely, he felt like he knew the sensation of those lips that were both annoying and admirable.

Leaving Haero fiddling with his own lips, Yoon Moo-hwa went out first and soon returned with the box Haero had been curious about all along.

“Open it.”

At the whispered urging, Haero unwrapped the box as if entranced.

Yoon Moo-hwa took the yellow string and made a small ribbon with his large hands. Meanwhile, Haero’s eyes widened as he opened the box.

“It’s a gift,” Yoon Moo-hwa murmured, still as if whispering a secret.

“A gift for my admission?”

“…”

Even with two mouths, he wouldn’t want to congratulate Haero on his admission. He still thought it was dangerous and foolish for Haero to enter the Naval Academy and go out to sea.

“A gift for becoming an adult.” So he gave a more appropriate reason that Haero deserved.

At those words, Haero forgot the disappointment of New Year’s Eve when he became an adult, and smiled brightly as he lifted the bracelet.

Under the bright light, the bracelet sparkled modestly. No, the fact that it sparkled flawlessly was precisely what made it luxurious.

“Let me see.”

Yoon Moo-hwa placed something on Haero’s head. Haero was so enthralled by receiving a gift from Yoon Moo-hwa celebrating his adulthood that he didn’t even notice.

Yoon Moo-hwa placed the bracelet on Haero’s wrist, which was exactly the thickness of three of his fingers. As he thought, it suited him perfectly.

“You should be able to wear this around.”

“At the Naval Academy?”

“Yes… you can wear it there.”

Still reluctant, not wanting to give in to Haero’s wishes at all, even feeling the urge to pull him back, Yoon Moo-hwa nodded compliantly. Perhaps that desire to pull back had unconsciously mixed in, as Haero’s wrist was drawn slightly towards him. Pretending not to notice, he unfastened the clasp and put it on.

At the words that he could wear it at the Naval Academy, Haero felt his chest swell even more. He felt like he was inflating like a helium balloon, about to lift off the ground.

Raising his hand and turning his wrist this way and that under the light, the gently curving bracelet looked like a veil.

“Do you like it?”

What a question.

Haero would probably have been happy if Yoon Moo-hwa had given him a seashell. He would have been proud. Despite being twelve years older, Haero always thought of Yoon Moo-hwa as someone he needed to protect.

Haero hugged his wrist to his chest, his eyes as swollen as his heart, and nodded fervently.

The ribbon nearly fell off in the process, but it barely hung on, caught in Haero’s curly hair.

Yoon Moo-hwa nodded with satisfaction as he looked at Haero’s hair and ribbon, their colors faded under the soft light.

“I thought so.”

He knew it. Yellow really does suit Haero. Yoon Moo-hwa knows Haero well. While Haero might not know him well since Yoon Moo-hwa only showed parts of himself, Yoon Moo-hwa knew everything about Haero and felt he had to.