The next day, filming for <Basalt> was delayed more than expected, so Haeseong and his party could only come up to Seoul when it was almost evening.
Rrrrr—.
It had already been 20 minutes. Haeseong was continuously calling someone in the car going home. It was Euiju.
“It’s really strange. He’s not someone who’s normally this unreachable.”
Park Hyeonju, who was driving, glanced at the rearview mirror while watching Haeseong’s mood.
As she said, Euiju hadn’t connected with anyone from the company since yesterday. Even though Haeseong called incessantly, it was the same.
Haeseong, who had been ignoring Euiju enough to make one think it was some kind of whim, was now throwing all kinds of tantrums saying he wasn’t answering his calls. Of course, since it was Euiju’s day off, it would be proper not to call him, but Haeseong didn’t seem to care about that at all.
Park Hyeonju, who dropped by the company and then took Haeseong home, handed him the paper bag she was holding. Haeseong, who had been about to quickly go inside, looked at it as if annoyed.
“What is it.”
“It’s your birthday in a few days. A fan in America sent it early. The company finished inspecting it, so you can open it without worry.”
Haeseong, who had been about to turn away indifferently regardless of what was inside, paused at the word “gift.” He turned around and received the bag.
“Then rest well. Euiju-ssi is coming to work tomorrow, so don’t call too much.”
Park Hyeonju closed the front door with a relieved face as if she had completed her mission. In the house where quiet silence had settled, only Haeseong stood blankly holding the luxurious paper bag.
“…What.”
Coming into the living room and opening the carefully wrapped box, he found premium cookies inside. Since he didn’t like sweet things, Haeseong was about to just toss it aside when he suddenly stopped his action. After pondering for a moment, he soon carefully placed it on the table.
When he lay down on the sofa with his legs up, thanks to his already grown height, his legs stuck out beyond the edge. Haeseong wiggled his feet and muttered softly.
“…Birthday, he says.”
June 17th.
It was Haeseong’s first birthday since Euiju was hired.
Of course, on the day itself there would be a party thrown by the company, but that was just a ceremonial event as always. The real thing would be after the schedule ended, after that.
Since becoming aware of his feelings of liking him sexually, he had been looking forward to and excited about that moment of being together with him. Although right now he couldn’t answer his calls because he was busy with household matters, tomorrow morning he would come early to wake him up. As that thought came to him, the corners of Haeseong’s mouth, who had closed his eyes, rose beautifully.
He was excited. His heart strangely fluttered. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t looking forward to it.
Unlike other peers, Haeseong had no choice but to already be indifferent to everything. It had already been almost 9 years since he went out into society first and was active, and unlike other peers, he had already finished various life experiences.
Whether it was news of being cast in a famous director’s film, receiving expensive gifts that others couldn’t easily have, or when a famous female idol openly expressed her favor, Haeseong didn’t feel great joy or achievement.
It was natural. Although his observational skills and mental agility were fast so his acting skills improved quickly, the start of the work wasn’t voluntary, nor was it something he did because he liked it. Acting was now a habit, just a routine of repetitive work.
Haeseong, who had been lost in thought, buried his face in both hands. His flushed cheeks were hidden.
‘…I thought the feelings of excitement over trivial things had already all died.’
Would he know his birthday? Before asking for a gift, he would see what he prepared first. He would demand that he make time completely available just for that day, and if he tried to just pass it by saying he didn’t know it was his birthday, he planned to give him a bitter taste.
What to do on his birthday—Haeseong, who had been indulging in cute fantasies unlike himself, suddenly got up from his seat. He brought his phone that had been thrown carelessly on the table and opened the search window.
「Countries where same-sex marriage is legal」
「South Korea same-sex marriage」
“Fuck. Why is this so complicated.”
Haeseong, who had been scrolling through text consisting of long passages, frowned and muttered with displeasure.
Originally, he had planned to ask Lee Siwoo, but he couldn’t. Because his first phone call with Lee Siwoo had really been terrible.
“Sunbae. I heard you like men.”
That’s what Haeseong had said as soon as Lee Siwoo answered the phone.
[…What?]
“Last time you said you wanted to get close to me, right? I’m going to ask you some things, so cooperate.”
At Haeseong’s absurd proposal, Lee Siwoo naturally became angry and shouted loudly asking what kind of rude behavior that was, and unable to contain his anger, he hung up the phone.
Although he hung up in a fit of temper, Haeseong knew well. How much Lee Siwoo had been trying to build bridges wanting to get close to him from before. Haeseong thought nonchalantly that contact would probably come on its own before long.
Haeseong, who had roughly finished searching, went into the bathroom, finished showering, and came into his room. He sat on the bed and called Euiju.
As expected, he didn’t answer. Haeseong’s brow narrowed again.
“Fuck.”
What the hell was he so busy with that he couldn’t be reached at all? Since this was the first time this had ever happened, Haeseong’s mood began to become uncomfortable again. After promising to run over whenever he needed him, once again he had no interest in him at all like this.
Not answering calls to this extent—what else could there be besides household matters? Once again, he had been pushed aside by his family.
Bzzzzt—.
Haeseong, who had been lying on the bed carelessly, quickly sat up at his phone’s vibration.
「Jang Yeonguk」
His expression crumpled instantly.
“What.”
[What. You were alive. You haven’t been answering calls all this time.]
“I was busy.”
When Haeseong spoke as if annoyed, a snickering sound was heard from across the receiver.
[By any chance, can you reach Euiju hyung? Now he’s not even checking messages at all.]
One of Haeseong’s eyebrows rose. He thought he had stopped contacting him, but it seemed they had been continuously exchanging messages until now. Haeseong, whose mood was completely twisted, sneered blatantly.
“Really? I contacted him just now. I guess he didn’t have time to take care of you too. That’s unfortunate.”
[Even though he doesn’t reply, hyung was someone who checked everything without fail. Since he’s not even reading them at all, I wondered if something happened.]
“Nothing’s wrong, so you don’t need to worry. And you, I warned you last time.”
[Hey. I stopped trying to seduce him because I’m scared of you… I’m just curious because I can’t reach him.]
“It’s annoying, so let’s talk later.”
[Hey, Jin Haeseong! In four days, your birth….]
Without listening further, Haeseong coldly hung up and immediately called Euiju. Since not only him but also company employees and even Jang Yeonguk couldn’t reach him, he wondered if something had really happened.
The process of repeatedly calling while lying in bed was too boring. When it passed 30 minutes, Haeseong’s eyes began to grow heavy.
Before long, Haeseong, holding his phone in his hand, fell into an uncomfortable sleep.
As the homeowner fell asleep, quiet silence also descended on the perfectly soundproofed house. Raindrops endlessly hit and scattered against the window, but only that sound couldn’t come inside. Only the small breathing sounds Haeseong made were cutting through the silence inside.
The features of the face sleeping with the mouth slightly open were uniformly pretty and beautiful the more you examined them one by one. No matter how much his frame had thickened and he had grown, since his base was outstanding, he couldn’t help but still be beautiful. Between the raindrops being crushed beyond the large window, Seoul’s night view was beautifully revealed. With the boy sleeping against that background, it created a landscape like an isolated world. If Euiju had seen it, he would have worn a pleased smile.
However, he didn’t come to work even until Haeseong’s birthday.
***
“Wow. Don’t you think the scale of the gifts is getting bigger as the days go by?”
“I know, right. How much is all of this.”
Gifts that departed from all over the country—no, all over the world—and arrived filled one side of the office. Even though there were this many, it was an amazing scale since they said not all of them had arrived yet. Even now, packages were continuously coming in.
Other department newcomers who rushed over for inspection, wondering if even some crumbs might fall their way, excitedly tore open the packaging. Various items of different categories and different price ranges that had finished inspection were prettily placed on one side.
However, the atmosphere in the waiting room where Haeseong was located was quite different. Although the birthday protagonist Jin Haeseong and Team Leader Kim Jaeho were there, only heavy silence flowed inside.
Kim Jaeho’s back was drenched with the cold sweat he had shed watching Haeseong’s mood for several hours already.
Haeseong’s phone placed on the table had been vibrating incessantly since earlier. Haeseong glanced at it, then turned his head to the opposite side again.
His friends, whom he hadn’t cared about at all since meeting Euiju, kept calling saying it was his birthday. They were so annoyingly persistent—contacts asking to meet had been endless since yesterday, but Haeseong just leaned against the sofa and blankly glared at the ceiling.
As Haeseong grew taller and his bones became solid, his appearance began to exude more masculine vibes, making the atmosphere quite different from usual. Before his build grew, even if the atmosphere was equally sharp and scary, he didn’t think it was threatening.
Kim Jaeho was at a point where it was difficult to guarantee whether he could stop Haeseong if he threw a fit now.
Everything revolved around the protagonist Jin Haeseong—it was truly an abundant birthday lacking nothing, but the reality wasn’t.
Because Euiju had been absent without leave for four days straight.
