At those words he’d blurted out, Yunsu had gulped down alcohol at a terrifying speed, but now because of him, it looked like they wouldn’t even get to see the second round. Where could he take such a drunk? And Ahn Shinwook and Song Taesu, walking haphazardly in front of and behind him, were the same. He’d known it would be like this from when they went out saying they’d buy more alcohol and came back sucking on soju packs side by side.
“This won’t work. Let’s keep the second round for next time. I’m too embarrassed by those guys to go anywhere.”
Kim Younghwan, who was relatively sober, made the decision, and,
“Let’s take them on a walk wherever our feet lead us, then say let’s meet tomorrow, and they’ll forget everything and go home.”
Lee Eunsub made a realistic prediction.
“If they make a fuss about why we’re not going, we’ll spread out a spot next to the fountain, feed them this stuff, and then disband.”
And Shin Jaewoo, who had been walking a couple steps ahead, lightly shook the bag containing the remaining alcohol and snacks as he spoke. They’d brought it because Kwon Yunsu stubbornly insisted the flow shouldn’t be broken.
Lee Euishin glared at Shin Jaewoo with fresh eyes. Broad shoulders and a sturdy neckline, a clean face where his gaze went to the mole by his left eye every time he grinned. With that fluttering face, the guy was looking at Kwon Yunsu. Not just once or twice. How many times had he cast covetous eyes on my country bumpkin?
“Hey.”
Lee Euishin tossed out a word at the back of his head. Shin Jaewoo flinched his shoulders, then turned his head. His face smiled as if surprised. When he stared intently, he nodded and shouted toward the front.
“Song Taesu, let’s rest at the fountain before going!”
The drunks turned their bodies toward the fountain. Frowning while watching Kwon Yunsu, whose feet were tangled and swaying severely, Shin Jaewoo smiled again seeing that. What are you grinning about, you bastard? Thinking he’d drown Shin Jaewoo in the fountain if need be, Lee Euishin moved his steps.
“When Yunsu and I went to our part-time job, you came to our department, right?”
Approaching him sitting far away, Shin Jaewoo suddenly asked.
“You could have just called me instead, …though of course I wouldn’t have answered right away.”
Cleanly ignoring the provocation from the start, Lee Euishin threw a fastball.
“You’re eyeing Kwon Yunsu.”
At the end of his gaze, the drunks sitting on the bare ground next to the fountain drinking beer came into view. Kim Younghwan and Lee Eunsub were smoking a little distance away. The center of that frame against the dim night background was, of course, Kwon Yunsu. My country bumpkin who, after drinking all the alcohol, became free of all worldly faults. …He couldn’t stand thinking that other guys would look at him this way too.
“Remove those eyes while I’m speaking nicely.”
Shin Jaewoo took a sip of beer and turned his gaze.
“You’re saying strange things.”
“Where do you get off acting like that, you bastard?”
He replied without even looking. And the next moment,
“…Ah, it doesn’t work.”
Lee Euishin learned the guy’s true nature.
The guy was gay. Naturally. That’s why he’d looked at Kwon Yunsu with those eyes.
When he glared as if he’d tear him to death, Shin Jaewoo smiled gently and nodded.
“Right, I do look at Yunsu favorably. He’s cute and pretty, isn’t he?”
The cute and pretty Kwon Yunsu was blowing on a bottle and suddenly singing “Butterfly” toward the fountain. There’s not even a single fish living in that fountain. This is maddening.
“So fucking disgusting… What will you do if I spread rumors, you idiot?”
“Lee Euishin, you won’t do that.”
“What?”
“Because it’s bothersome. And you don’t have anyone to tell that kind of story to anyway.”
Right. Lee Euishin had no friends. He was annoyed at the unnecessarily perceptive guy. The following nonsense was even more irritating.
“If Yunsu says he doesn’t like it, I won’t touch him.”
“You’re already overstepping enough. Stop your shitty schemes and back off.”
“Schemes? …You don’t know anything.”
Shin Jaewoo’s smile deepened.
“You can’t call this level schemes. Why do you think I started exercising at dawn? Because I feel like I’ll die from frustration, like I might suddenly pounce. Then he might run away. So I’m waiting.”
“You’re talking crazy.”
Waiting for what? As if Kwon Yunsu would awaken just because you wait, you idiot. He’s someone who doesn’t even know what thoughts are stuck inside him, so what are you believing in to wait? He’s the type who’ll barely understand if you grab him by the collar and shove it in. I’m the living witness of forced education. Do you know who stuck a university sign on Kwon Yunsu’s forehead?
As if denying his own agitation, Lee Euishin roughly poured out his thoughts. Waiting. That was what he’d done longest as Kwon Yunsu’s friend. So,
“But it’s really interesting. Looking at those senses, he’s absolutely not an easy catch, but Yunsu… it feels like he might fall for it if you seduce him well.”
…At Shin Jaewoo’s following words, Lee Euishin was decisively shaken.
Because he could feel that the guy’s interest in Kwon Yunsu was sincere in those light words. And because he couldn’t deny and had to acknowledge it. Wasn’t he planting confusion in Kwon Yunsu with exactly that kind of feeling? Because it seemed like if he seduced and brainwashed him well this way and that, he’d fall for it. Because it seemed like he’d vaguely become his.
“…Listen carefully.”
After lightly exhaling, Lee Euishin glared straight at Shin Jaewoo.
“You can’t touch a single fingertip of Kwon Yunsu. If you get clingy beyond just turning your eyes, I can turn you into a rag. I won’t discriminate between fire and water.”
“…Ha.”
There was no need to explain how much he was serious. He hadn’t hidden anything and would continue to be like that. It was quite a while later when Shin Jaewoo opened his mouth again.
“Yeah, you’re definitely a bit difficult. Unless you were a homosexual from the start. …But for now, there’s not much difference. Yunsu doesn’t know, you know, that kind of thing about you.”
“……”
“Maybe I’m at an advantage. To him, you’re a familiar ‘friend,’ and being familiar isn’t good for starting a romance. Especially for a type like Yunsu.”
It wasn’t even worth responding to.
“More than that, Lee Euishin, I’m really curious about you. How can you treat Yunsu like a servant at your house? To me he seems like a harmless princess. Have some sense of crisis, he’s the type who’d work anywhere. Is he pretty or what? Looking at him really makes me feel good.”
Feeling good, wanting to feel better… How many times had he cut down guys approaching Kwon Yunsu with knives in his eyes? And Lee Euishin had never once felt good. Because Kwon Yunsu was pretty, because he received affection everywhere, his heart was always anxious and impatient. Kwon Yunsu was like a thorny path in life.
“Romance or whatever, you do plenty of that stuff with other bastards.”
“……”
“Whether I look like a friend or not, who cares? I’ve never been friends with Kwon Yunsu. You have wide connections, right? If you heard the story about me visiting your department, you must have heard about me from one of your classmates who graduated from the same middle school as me—that bastard was avoiding my eyes. If you’re curious about what I mean by not discriminating between fire and water, go ask that bastard. Before meeting Kwon Yunsu, after coming back, what kind of things I went around doing.”
“……”
“How many years do you think I’ve been watching him? Fuck off, asshole. There’s no place for you.”
Lee Euishin brushed off his seat and stood up. If nothing else, he was grateful to Shin Jaewoo for one thing. For definitively reminding him that he shouldn’t be leisurely acting like he’s a country bumpkin in his hands anymore.
“Kwon Yunsu, let’s go home.”
Kwon Yunsu, who had been sticking his head into the fountain listening to Song Taesu’s amateur fishing lecture, brightly raised his head. Even in the darkness, Lee Euishin clearly recognized it. That pure gratification seeped into Kwon Yunsu’s gentle eyes. The stupid drunk had completely forgotten complex emotions like betrayal and anger.
“Euishin-ah, I… want to throw up……”
Lee Euishin promptly embraced the hesitantly approaching Kwon Yunsu.
“Let’s do it when we get home.”
Responding with “Ung ung” and leaning his forehead, Kwon Yunsu’s body was hotter than usual. It seemed like his legs had no strength and he couldn’t walk properly.
“…I want to sleep here.”
Briefly standing the guy who was saying nonsensical things, he quickly bent down and piggybacked him. The place where he’d parked the car wasn’t far from here.
“Be grateful to me for life, you bastard.”
“…Euishin-ah, good night……”
After the sweet goodnight greeting, piggybacking Kwon Yunsu who’d completely passed out, Lee Euishin strode along.
“Hey, aren’t you even going to say goodbye?!”
“So how much compensation are you going to give?”
He completely ignored the soccer idiots shouting from behind.
You’re talking crazy. My country bumpkin got hit with water balloons for half a day—we’re the ones who should be receiving compensation.
It was a complicated and ominous feeling, but anyway, it was a safe journey home. Next to him Kwon Yunsu was asleep, and where they were returning, there was no mother, no father, no irritating soccer idiots.
How should I push? Where should I grip and shake to make you fall, Kwon Yunsu?
