The place they arrived at after driving for 20 minutes was a basketball court located in a quiet vacant lot. As if what he’d said about playing with friends was true, three students who appeared to be Haeseong’s age were shooting free throws at one hoop on the basketball court.
‘What is this place?’
It was an odd location for a basketball court. Though it was a park, it was small in scale, and there was even a parking lot right next to the basketball court. Since there were no passersby or picnickers visible at all, there was no need to be conscious of people’s gazes, so perhaps this was a place Haeseong frequented. Euiju thought to make a note of the address separately in his notebook.
“Ahjussi. Go to the back and get my basketball shoes.”
At the command that dropped as soon as he finished parking, Euiju got out of the car and retrieved the basketball shoes from the storage compartment at the back of the van.
“Tie them.”
Haeseong roughly shoved his feet into the basketball shoes and stuck out his feet. Euiju bent down without complaint and tied Haeseong’s shoelaces firmly. After jumping in place a couple times to check the condition, Haeseong turned around and headed toward his friends. There was naturally no word of thanks.
Euiju, who had been watching Haeseong join his friends and bounce the ball, called Kim Jaeho. While listening to the ringtone, he began organizing the shoes Haeseong had tossed aside.
[Yes, Euiju-ssi. Is something wrong?]
“Ah, Team Leader-nim. Haeseong-ssi said he’s meeting with friends, so we’re at a basketball court now. Do you happen to know where this is?”
[Ahh… I know it. Oh man, I forgot to mention it. From next time, try not to go there if possible. The kids he meets there are low quality, so the Director-nim and company people don’t like it. Today, well, it can’t be helped…]
“…Understood. I’ll watch from here today, then take him home and clock out right away.”
[Okay. Call immediately if anything happens.]
Euiju let out a faint laugh as he looked at the disconnected call. If he told him not to come here, would Haeseong obediently follow his words? He wasn’t confident.
He sat on a chair set up on one side and watched them playing basketball happily. Looking at Haeseong standing side by side with friends of considerable build reminded him of what he’d heard from the team leader during the handover.
-The one thing Haeseong currently thinks of as a complex is his height. He’s seventeen now, but his current height barely exceeds 160cm. As a company, we’re doing everything we can. We consistently send him to the hospital so his growth plates don’t close, give him milk and medicine at set times, and he does Pilates regularly. Director-nim’s family are all tall, so to me it seems like needless worry. Anyway, he himself is under tremendous stress about it.
Indeed, being among his friends, it was visible that he was the shortest among them. His height, barely reaching his friends’ shoulders, was small, and his frame was also slimmer than the surrounding friends.
However, even to Euiju’s eyes, he had long limbs and a thin body line, so his expected height seemed like it would be tall, but right now compared to his peers he was too small, so he understood why he kept worrying about it. Since his profession was what it was, he would probably worry about it more.
Despite being the shortest, Haeseong had the best basketball skills. The way he dribbled and took steps was quite nimble and not ordinary. He passed the big-bodied friends and shot consecutively. Haeseong, who played a game that transcended his physical complex, was cool by anyone’s standards. The corners of his mouth rising each time he scored a goal reached the pinnacle of beauty.
After bouncing the ball happily for a while, they approached the bench when the sun began to slowly set. Despite being the smallest in build, Haeseong sat squarely in the middle seat and occupied both armrests.
The hierarchy seemed visible from that sight alone.
“Fuck, you stink, so don’t sit down.”
Haeseong coldly kicked the butt of the friend who tried to sit next to him. The friend whose butt was kicked brushed off his dirt-covered bottom as if it was nothing. Another boy standing there swaggering beside him glanced at Euiju’s face and tapped Haeseong’s shoulder with a smirk.
“Yo. Did you throw another fit? I only just noticed your manager’s face changed.”
Haeseong turned his head to the opposite side as if annoyed. The boy who got his butt kicked by Haeseong continued speaking.
“Fuck, our old man said so. Kids these days have no persistence, so when their pride gets hurt they immediately run away without a care. Looking at the kids coming under this bastard Haeseong, they all tuck tail and run… Doesn’t that person also look like a kid these days?”
“Puhup- Pahaha! Yo you bastard, he’s gonna hear everything, you fucker!”
“Shibal, let him hear it? Do you think he’ll still be here the next time we meet? Yo Jin Haeseong. Try telling your manager to bring us some water. I’m fucking thirsty but he’s sitting there with no sense.”
Haeseong, who had been paying no attention to his friends’ conversation and just flapping his t-shirt, turned his head to look at Euiju. When their eyes met, he smoothly raised one corner of his mouth and gestured toward his friend with the tip of his chin.
It was a gesture saying, didn’t you hear what they said, don’t sit there clueless, hurry up and go get some water.
Euiju silently got up from his seat without any change in expression and headed toward the van. Behind his back, the mocking laughter of adolescents who had just passed puberty played as background noise.
“Wow, fuck. That bastard doesn’t seem to care even when being ordered around. The guy before would turn beet red when we teased him even a little, it was fucking hilarious.”
“True. Why did that bastard leave? His reactions were really fucking funny.”
Even at his friends’ questions, Haeseong only chuckled and didn’t say anything particular. He merely cast an indifferent gaze at Euiju’s back as he silently went to carry out the task.
A person’s face doesn’t lie. When embarrassed or ashamed or angry, even if the mouth stays shut, the face or ears naturally turn red.
But that guy didn’t have such a reaction.
The newly hired managers, when facing Haeseong’s arrogant attitude from their first day at work, usually trembled their lips or reddened their faces as if suppressing anger. In this Korean society where age is everything in the hierarchy, how insulting and infuriating it must be to be ordered around by a kid whose hair hasn’t even dried yet. They easily got heated even at small insults and provocations.
However, that guy was different. Whether he was good at managing his expressions or really didn’t care. From the moment he spat on him until now, there had been absolutely no change in expression. He literally looked calm without emotional ups and downs.
“He is different.”
As Haeseong scanned up and down Euiju, who was lightly carrying three bottles of water in one hand, and chuckled while opening his mouth, one boy who had been watching his mood subtly asked.
“Should we work him harder?”
At his friend’s words, Haeseong turned his head to look at him. The corners of his mouth rose refreshingly, creating a beautiful arc.
“Shall we try?”
In his sparkling eyes, a strange competitive spirit rippled. The corners of the boys’ mouths who met his gaze rose meanly.
***
“Ahjussi. Clean this up too.”
Haeseong, who had been moving his body without rest, was in the car taking a break. This was because people had gathered one by one in the previously quiet park, and the number of people strolling through the park had quickly increased. However, Euiju couldn’t follow him into the car.
“Put this in my bag too.”
Jang Yeonguk took off his wrist guards and threw them to Euiju. Euiju, who picked up the guards that hit his chest and fell to the floor, silently carried out their orders.
The order to organize their stuff was on the easier side. At least there was no risk of getting hurt from this trivial command.
Haeseong’s friends persistently pestered Euiju to be their basketball opponent, then once Euiju became their opponent, the three of them became one team and began tormenting him. While physical fighting was forced, they rushed at him all at once without giving him time to rest, resulting in rough scuffling.
Since Euiju was an adult, he absolutely couldn’t touch them. By the time the game ended, Euiju’s clothes were stretched here and there while becoming a dirt-covered mess, and moreover, his wrist hurt to the point of aching. His shoulder, which had been continuously bumped, even felt pain.
“Huu…”
There was exactly one reason why he couldn’t go against them until reaching this state.
-Take care of these guys. Handle it.
It was because of Haeseong’s indifferent yet definite order.
“Ahjussi. Go buy something cold.”
Jang Yeonguk, the very person who had concentrated on knocking down Euiju with his large build and ultimately caused his wrist injury, approached and gave an order. With both hands in his pockets swaggering around, he looked no different from a neighborhood punk. Euiju, who had been sitting on the bench massaging his aching wrist, said firmly.
“I cannot leave my seat with my actor here.”
Since there was no convenience store nearby, he would have to leave his seat for quite a long time to buy drinks. At Euiju’s firm refusal, Jang Yeonguk let out a hollow laugh, gathered phlegm, and spat near Euiju’s shoes.
As expected of a friend, his actions were exactly the same as someone else’s.
“Wow. You work fucking hard, huh? Well yeah. You can’t get fired when you’re broke. How unfair would it be if you got kicked out without getting paid properly after suffering like a dog like this.”
Jang Yeonguk, who sneered as if Euiju, who was bigger than him, wasn’t scary but rather amusing, tapped Euiju’s shoulder telling him to work harder.
The boys, who threw their bags to Euiju demanding he take them home, quickly climbed into the car. The sight of Euiju receiving orders that weren’t orders from those smaller than him was quite pitiful.
