Well, if you thought about it, he was doing nothing and only draining the household, so he should be grateful to even be treated like livestock. It was just a bit depressing that his lying skills were so pathetic compared to the nearly thirty years he’d lived.
And it seemed that wasn’t a point only Hongdan felt. Hyeonchan’s brow also crumpled greatly, seemingly realizing it was an absurd lie.
“Say something that makes sense.”
“Ah, it’s real!”
At this point, it was do or die. Originally, fights are won by the person with the louder voice.
Hongdan decided to try being unreasonable for now.
“I, I- I’m raising a pig these days, so I can’t leave the house carelessly. Sorry, really. I’ll send you the money for today’s drinks later, so make sure to let me know.”
Though he had to writhe in extreme self-loathing with every word he uttered.
Anyway, just how many things requiring blanket kicks had been created in the past few days because of that bastard Yeon Seonha? His life, which was becoming tiresome again because of him, was unfair, and unfair again.
“No, what’s with the sudden pig talk? Are you talking about something like a guinea pig?”
In the midst of this, this kind guy was trying to believe his shabby lie, making it more upsetting.
“Yeah, well, something like that. Guinea pigs are pigs if you think about it. Haha.”
Hongdan swallowed tears at Hyeonchan’s effort and firmly resolved.
On the day this beggar-like three months of cohabitation ended and money he couldn’t spend in a lifetime was deposited into his account, he would definitely take this kind friend to a high-class restaurant first. And there, he would feed him the most expensive meal and stop him. No, he’d rent the world’s most expensive resort and let him play rich Middle Eastern for several days.
Reaffirming that determination, Hongdan shook off Hyeonchan’s hand. Then he ran straight away.
“Hey, I’m leaving. Make sure to send me how much the drinks cost! Don’t play the generous guy alone again! Make sure to send it! Got it?”
“Wait…… Hey! I won’t chase you, so stop running! Just look ahead and walk properly!”
“Okay! I love you too, Hyeonchan! See you next time!”
“What love, shi…… I said don’t run! You’ll fall, man!”
Until he turned the corner and was out of sight, Hyeonchan was shouting worried nagging at Hongdan. I really must treat that guy well first. Repeating it countless times in his mind, Hongdan quickly scanned the roadside. A taxi driver who seemed about to smoke a cigarette, rummaging through his pockets, caught his eye, and he waved largely at him.
“Sir, sir! Mapo! Please go to Mapo!”
***
Bang-!
“Huk…… heok…… shiit……”
Despite running like a madman all the way from Jongno, the inside of the house was only quiet. The only light source illuminating the dark house was the sensor light that turned on because he entered.
Hongdan caught his breath and threw his knit vest over his shirt onto the sofa first. The suede blouson he’d worn bundled up when going to work because he got cold easily had long been thrown on the floor the moment he opened the front door. He could clearly feel sweat beading on his forehead. He roughly rubbed his damp face with his forearm.
“Sniff.”
In the meantime, the house had been encroached upon by the coconut scent as if it had become a tropical rainforest. Smelling the familiar scent, Hongdan muttered.
“Doesn’t seem like he went anywhere. Is he sleeping?”
Unlike in the morning, there was no hesitation in the hand flinging open Seonha’s door.
Creak-
The interior was a bit brighter than the living room thanks to the moonlight coming through the window. Therefore, there was no need to wait for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. Under it, Seonha was curled up with his whole body and tightly covered with the blanket.
At first, he thought he might be protesting because Hongdan had stayed out without notice, but the moment he stepped into the room, Hongdan realized that wasn’t the reason.
“What is this idiot doing still not knowing how to turn on the boiler?”
This old villa had quite severe drafts. But since he lived alone, he didn’t use both rooms, so he’d only put draft stoppers on the bedroom and living room. In other words, this place, which had originally been no different from a storage room, was exposed to the early winter wind without even insulation material, let alone a common blind.
Hongdan turned on his phone flashlight to the lowest brightness, then tiptoed and carefully moved his steps. Then he positioned himself at Seonha’s bedside and reached his arm toward the boiler temperature control on the wall.
“Uuu……”
Though he’d only touched his butt down for a moment, a chill permeated enough to miss the clothes he’d thrown in the living room. Inwardly, he felt faint respect for the guy who hadn’t coughed once despite spending two nights in this cold cave. He briefly considered whether to place his hand to check if his forehead had a fever, but soon shook his head slightly. It was better to cut off compassion that wouldn’t particularly help him.
Hongdan completed the mission of turning on the boiler hot enough to easily burn Seonha’s back and raised his knees to get up from his seat.
At that moment.
“Hongdan……”
Seonha called Hongdan in a heavily congested voice. Thud- Hongdan was so startled he fell right on his butt.
“Ah, you scared me, shi. Are you a ghost? Why call someone so pitifully?”
“Uung…… it’s bright……”
The phone flashlight must have gone toward Seonha’s face. Seonha crumpled his face like a newborn who’d just come out into the world.
“Oh, sorry. I was turning on the boiler.”
Thanks to that, something caught Hongdan’s eye.
On Seonha’s pillow were tear stains dried so thickly that anyone who wasn’t a complete idiot couldn’t help but notice.
Naturally, Hongdan’s brow furrowed.
“You…… cried, by any chance?”
The moment he asked that question, he wanted to leave this space immediately. Because it was actually a stupid question no different from identity verification.
I should have just let this troublesome guy freeze to death. Crooked thoughts surged up wildly. However, Seonha instead sniffled his nose conspicuously, grating on Hongdan’s nerves.
Damn…….
The voice that followed also had tears mixed in.
“……Hongdan didn’t come home.”
I shouldn’t have asked, really.
He had a premonition that the conversation wouldn’t end easily. Hongdan lowered the knees he’d been keeping half-raised while sitting awkwardly.
“A full-grown adult will come in on their own. Do you think I lost my memory like you?”
Actually, he could have just kicked off and left. But then the guy would obviously bury his face in the pillowcase all night playing the pitiful heroine again, like today.
He hated seeing that sight. He hated even more the sight of himself unable to ignore it.
Therefore, he came to the conclusion that it would be better for his mental health in many ways to just deal with him roughly now and get rid of him.
Hongdan firmly resolved to strike that annoying head and knock him out if necessary, and settled into a slightly more comfortable position. Then Seonha wriggled up toward Hongdan’s knees as if he’d been waiting for that docile gesture. Still rolled up in the blanket, he really looked no different from a robust silkworm cocoon.
“Well, well. Where are you clinging to right now?”
Naturally, before Seonha’s crown could touch Hongdan’s legs, a pale hand blocked that advance.
“Tch.”
When the skinship he’d tried to sneakily attempt failed, Seonha pouted his lips.
Just how long is that bastard going to keep up this infantile regression act?
Hongdan flicked his finger at the protruding lips and gave a warning he should be grateful for if he even pretended to listen.
“If you stick out your mouth in that state one more time, I’ll just grab and tear it off.”
But as expected, the lips that seemed to be pulling in for a moment gradually protruded again as the talking went on.
“I was so anxious today. I thought you weren’t going to keep coming home like this.”
“You have a lot to be anxious about. All my stuff is here, where would I go?”
“You didn’t answer my calls either……”
“Yep. Because I didn’t want to hear this whining.”
Now Seonha’s lower lip was pouting even more than before. Hongdan contemplated whether to just twist that bewitching lip until it bruised blue and purple, but remembering the tear stains on the pillowcase, he just wiggled his fingers briefly.
Honestly, it was he himself who had run here paying even night surcharge fees because he was worried about the guy acting like this. So there was a corner that felt a bit embarrassed to only rebuke Seonha.
“Did your anger…… calm down a bit……?”
Seonha too, as if prepared to have his mouth chewed on, kept glancing at Hongdan before carefully opening his mouth.
“Well……”
Hongdan couldn’t answer easily. Certainly in the morning, he had been filled with enough anger to want to overturn everything before his eyes immediately. But while spending time with Hyeonchan, his resentment gradually subsided, and it was completely resolved by witnessing this pitiful scene after returning home.
Hongdan scratched his nape with an awkward expression.
“Well…… I’m also running out of stamina to keep being angry.”
Then Seonha’s upper body instantly lifted up.
“Then you’ll come home on time now?”
The tone of his voice also brightened considerably. Now it was similar to when he’d boasted about preparing him a meal in the morning. Hongdan stared down blankly at the other person’s face, which gave the impression of being radiant.
Just like that cat in that green monster movie.
Looking at the ashen pupils blinking while containing only him, Hongdan was reminded of the movie he’d first seen at Seonha’s house long ago.
Even at that time it was a work that had passed ten years, but Seonha had played it at his single comment that he hadn’t seen it yet. Something about this being modern people’s culture or whatever. The movie was decently fun and the dinner he ate at that house was quite delicious too. However, what remained in Hongdan’s memory until now was only that damn “culture” talk.
After that too, Seonha often brought him various things and asked questions like have you tried this, have you seen that? And if Hongdan shook his head at even one of them, he immediately grabbed his hand and started crash course civilization lessons. Thanks to that, by the time Hongdan had just become an adult, he could at least pretend to have grown up in an ordinary family without any special circumstances.
When he entered university and built friendships with new people, he was so grateful for that.
Thinking about it now, in the end, the bastard with the least culture was the one spouting about culture.
The moment he realized that, a snicker escaped from Hongdan’s mouth. It was novel that there existed such moments where he could lightly laugh and pass by while reminiscing about the past with Seonha.
“What great relationship do you and I have that there’s an ‘on time’? I just come in when I want to come in.”
Unable to erase the hostility deeply embedded in his heart, the words he uttered still had sharp edges, but a slight languor seeped through in his tone.
“Uuung- Don’t do that, Hongdan. I’m really too scared to be here alone. Sunlight doesn’t come in well, and the door and floor keep making noises. The bathroom tiles toooo…… some are broken, and stuff.”
“Anyone would think our house is a haunted spot or something.”
“Without you, it’s similar.”
“Bullshit.”
A natural chuckle followed even the cursing.
Only then did Seonha also obediently place the back of his head on the pillow. Then, while fiddling with the blanket and pulling it up to his chin, he called Hongdan quietly.
“But Hongdan.”
“What.”
“Did you…… drink?”
