As Yigyeom could forgive or not forgive him, Goo Daebom’s disposal was up to Kwon Taejung. He, who had considered tossing Goo Daebom into an old, rusty drum and throwing him into the sea like in the movies, stretched his legs onto the table, waiting for Baek, the secretary, to hear his story.
“That guy was totally disrespectful. He came up with all sorts of crap like asking for money in exchange for not asking about Tae-sung’s son, damn.”
“…That’s terrible.”
“Yeah. It’s freaking terrible.”
“I’m sure Yeon Yigyeom knows you’re not a gangster, right? Must’ve been surprised.”
“If only being surprised was the limit. That’s why Yigyeom came to his house. Left my place. Wants to be alone.”
Baek, now understanding the whole situation, surveyed Kwon Taejung’s clearly angry face.
“You must’ve been surprised too. Are you okay?”
“I thought I would be, but I’m not okay at all.”
“…”
“Him leaving my home hurt. Even when he talks about returning the money, it hurts. It’s like he’s saying there’s no need to see me anymore.”
“Isn’t this the first time you’re saying such things?”
“Jinwoo, honestly, I didn’t know what it felt like to be hurt. I never had to deal with anything like that until now.”
Kwon Taejung remembered Yigyeom crying because of me. The tear-streaked face, struggling to breathe, flashed in his mind, causing his heart to easily crumble.
“Oh, but now I know exactly what it feels like to be hurt. Oh, this is it. I made Yigyeom feel this way.”
“So, what have you decided to do?”
“I asked for time until the demolition, but I couldn’t bring myself to say no in the end.”
“Is everything settled for now?”
“Just… I won’t deliberately avoid trouble. That’s out of the question. Thankfully, there’s still some time until demolition, so I’ll find a way to fix it somehow.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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“Xfa rbwfbcf ab ajli Xbb Gjfybw. Mlcv bea ktfgf tf ubfr, ktb tf wffar. Lf wluta pera yibk eq jcv ajxf la bea bc Tlusfbw.”
“Yxjs, P’ii jggjcuf atja.”
“At night, get a few security guards at the entrance. Beta.”
“Xba la.”
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“Oh, Taejung, I reserved the center for Thursday.”
“The center? Why?”
“When Rut comes.”
“Ah… is it already time? Okay.”
As Kwon Taejung absentmindedly nodded, thoughts of Yigyeom surfaced again. He worried about what job Yigyeom would get, whether he would contact the cat again, or if he would engage in the strenuous job of wearing a doll mask. These worries overpowered Baek’s words as if he had never heard them.
***
For half a day, Yigyeom sat dazed until darkness filled the room after the sunset before finally getting up from the spot and turning on the light. Suppressing tears for a while and then crying again seemed to have drained all his energy.
Afraid of collapsing without eating anything, Yigyeom, after opening the fridge, took out a bottle of orange juice Kwon Taejung had bought before and saw a black box inside.
“…”
What’s this? Yigyeom pulled out the flat box and was speechless for a moment, staring at the pretty chocolates inside.
“These are chocolates. My sister likes them, thought you might too. She says eating a few when stressed or tired helps relax.”
Remembering the memory when Kwon Taejung showed him these during our meal, Yigyeom scooped up each beautiful chocolate, regretting it was almost a shame to eat them.
“…”
Recalling Kwon Taejung’s smiling face, Yigyeom carefully put one of the chocolates into his mouth. It had slightly melted, leaving traces on his fingertips, almost as if the chocolate melted just by looking at Kwon Taejung. Overwhelmed by the sweetness filling his mouth, Yigyeom choked up.
“I think I might like you.”
What should I do… I missed him. As Kwon Taejung filled his mind, his heart ached as if it would shatter. He thought he had no more strength to cry or more tears left, but Kwon Taejung was, of course, an exception. Just thinking about him made him shed tears like this.
It had only been half a day without Kwon Taejung. If I already miss him like this, how will I endure tomorrow, let alone the day after?
“…”
Gazing at the chocolates on the floor, Yigyeom, silently shedding tears, managed to gather himself and put the box back in the fridge. If he kept looking at them, he felt like he would cry all night.
Taking a deep breath, feeling suffocated, Yigyeom opened the door, feeling a pleasant breeze brush against his wet face. Seated by the door, resting his head against the frame, Yigyeom gazed at the closed door.
They went out together, but in the end, he came back alone. And in a month and a half, he would leave this place alone again.
“…”
If it were a shabby goshiwon without a window or a single-room neighborhood, it wouldn’t be too bad to live alone. Working from morning to night and just coming in to sleep would mean he didn’t need to consider better places.
But even a window would make it slightly better, less suffocating. Imagining a room without a window, Yigyeom sighed. The thought of a room with a window itself felt like luxury and greed to me. When did he lose track of what was reasonable?
“…”
Trying to refocus, Yigyeom couldn’t help but think of Kwon Taejung once again. Among all the things in my head and heart, he was the most mismatched with his temperament.
He didn’t match so much that just keeping him in mind made me feel overwhelmed and exhausted. Yet, he couldn’t easily push him out of his heart, which hurt even more.
Exhaling softly, Yigyeom, touched by the warm breeze on his wet cheek, choked up. He needed to figure out the topic, but now he just missed Kwon Taejung. The warmth on his face felt like Kwon Taejung’s touch. It felt like he would open the green door at any moment and come to him. So, Yigyeom couldn’t leave the door for a long time. Not at all.
***
Leaning back slightly in the driver’s seat, Kwon Taejung rested his body. The radio, left on to fill the awkward silence, incessantly continued someone’s story. Though the content didn’t register, it certainly dispelled the unnerving silence.
Originally planning to head home from the container, he couldn’t bring himself to move. Ultimately, Yigyeom’s place was where he ended up. Parking the car where Yigyeom had rushed to him in his intoxicated state, he prepared to spend the night.
Honestly, leaving Yigyeom alone in such a silent and unsafe place was absurd. Anyone could easily come and go. What was he thinking, believing in a simple return home? Until Yigyeom smiled at him again, his house was now under that streetlight.
He wanted to call or ask if Yigyeom could stay alone, but he restrained himself from needlessly interfering. It seemed right to give him a few days alone to think.
Suppressing the desire to contact him, Kwon Taejung fixed his gaze outside, where Yigyeom might come from the alleyway at any moment.
“Ugh…”
Honestly, worrying felt maddening. Knowing Yigyeom, who is tender-hearted and physically not okay, was alone in an empty house, he didn’t need to ask or see to understand what he might be thinking, which made it worse.
Traces remained, yet neither the grandfather nor he were in that house. Yigyeom would feel very lonely and hurt. What if he cries alone and collapses? Or is he already collapsed? Unable to shake off these worries, Kwon Taejung got out of the car and entered the alley.
“…”
He raised his hand to knock on the door but hesitated, fearing he might wake a sleeping Yigyeom. Kwon Taejung sighed and sank against a brick pile across from the door. The end of the alley felt too far from Yigyeom. And here felt far too. He wanted to open that door, go in, and be with Yigyeom.
He wanted to worry if he’d tire him by being a pillow, feel embarrassed when their eyes met, see Yigyeom’s cheeks flush. He longed to get closer, gently hold Yigyeom, embrace him completely, and feel his warm body against his.
“…Damn, really.”
If I had known, I’d rather have been born a gangster. Then Yigyeom might not have cried so much. Kwon Taejung, feeling guilty, leaned his head against the crumbling wall, gazing at the closed, cruel door.
Thinking Yigyeom might rush out from behind that door, Kwon Taejung couldn’t leave the front of the door until deep into the dawn, waiting in case Yigyeom might come.
***
Looking for a new job, Yigyeom saw that the café he had left was hiring for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday afternoons and ended up returning to work there.
It wasn’t a full workweek, and working for three days in the afternoon felt uncertain as no one had been hired yet, but seeing the pleased boss who was happy that Yigyeom was back made him resolve to work harder.
After securing the spot at the previous café, Yigyeom contacted Kang Jihoon and was able to resume work. Kang Jihoon was delighted and introduced various jobs to Yigyeom.
Mostly helping at newly opened stores’ opening events, local wedding hall gigs, or guest service jobs were all there was. However, Yigyeom was content. Working busily meant he could avoid thinking about Kwon Taejung.
“Oh, I’m so hungry. Hey, let’s go eat chicken. I’ll treat. I really want a beer.”
Normally, he would have just gone home. However, after spending the last few days at home, unable to sleep while thinking about his grandfather and Kwon Taejung, Yigyeom gladly nodded. Drinking some alcohol and falling asleep as if collapsing seemed much better.
