Seonha immediately made a call. However, what came through the receiver wasn’t Hongdan’s characteristically prickly tone. Actually, if it had been Hongdan, he wouldn’t have answered his call in the first place.
“—Yes, Young Master.”
The person he’d called was none other than Director Do.
Despite it being the middle of the night, Jaehyuk’s voice was as steady and heavy as always. This firm consistency was also why Seonha had trusted Jaehyuk for so long. Seonha spoke languidly.
“I have a favor to ask…”
“—Yes.”
“I think something happened to Hongdan.”
Though he spoke vaguely, Seonha knew. Hongdan was probably gaming furiously right about now. For someone who usually relieved stress through reading or sleeping to sit in front of a computer meant he’d already passed his limit. Seonha could of course gauge what that limit was.
He was clearly going through something difficult to digest on his own. The sudden coldness was probably influenced by that too.
…He just hoped that was the case.
“—To Madam?”
“Yeah. Look into it. As quickly as possible.”
“—…Understood.”
It seemed numerous questions were contained within the brief silence. But Jaehyuk chose to obediently agree without voicing them. So Seonha also ended the call without regret.
The Jaehyuk he knew wasn’t the type to put off work. In other words, no matter how late, he’d give him the answer he was waiting for before the weekend came. He just had to endure this frustrating feeling until then. However, to Seonha, the mere three days or so felt as daunting as 30 years. He tapped his chin with the corner of his phone, collecting his impatient feelings that were getting urgent again.
“Should I go catch him?”
If he tracked the login records, he could easily find out Hongdan’s location. But he couldn’t rashly get up.
Of course, Seonha had resolved to have at least Hongdan’s shell if the situation didn’t go well. Nevertheless, he wanted to make him come into his arms on his own if possible. He wanted to receive that blind affection once more.
If only it turned out that way, he could now return that love several times over.
“Mm…”
After mulling it over for a moment, Seonha soon made up his mind and stopped tapping his chin.
“No.”
His smooth lips curved into a grin again.
“Even if it’s you, you should try going astray at least once.”
That smile didn’t look like it contained tender feelings at all. Rather, it resembled the sneer he’d made while talking with Hyeonchan.
“That way, it’ll be easier for you to give up everything and choose me.”
***
In the end, Hongdan committed the pathetic act of pulling an all-nighter at a PC cafe when he’d be thirty the day after tomorrow. Perhaps because it was the first time he’d drained his brain and killed time like this, unlike his body that drooped just from standing still, his mind actually felt clearer. He thought he understood why Buddhism emphasized abandoning worldly desires and ascending to nirvana.
However, that joy of reaching such a sacred state was brief, as another worldly desire found Hongdan.
“……”
“…What.”
Because of Hyeonchan, who seemed to not be looking at him at all today.
Even now, Hyeonchan only asked the meaning with his gaze at Hongdan’s stare but didn’t turn his head. Hongdan stopped buttoning the shirt he’d borrowed from him and just fiddled with the collar.
“No, just…”
“Don’t want to go to work? What are you going to do if someone who got excluded from work duties takes a day off on the same day?”
He’d only roughly explained to Hyeonchan that he’d committed uncharacteristic acts all night because he was upset about work. It was also true that his staying out overnight was uncommon, so he’d prepared an excuse that wasn’t really an excuse at the same time. But strangely, Hyeonchan didn’t ask more.
“Nnooo… I have to go to work.”
What’s this?
Is he upset because I barged in this morning?
It was a bit inconsiderate. But he’s not the type to get angry over something like this…
Snap—!
“Huh, huh?”
“Should I button it for you?”
Before he knew it, Hyeonchan, fully dressed for work, was snapping his fingers in front of Hongdan. His face was still somewhat stiff, but at least he wasn’t avoiding his eyes anymore. Whatever the reason he’d been sulking for a bit, it seemed he at least wasn’t going to be angry at him.
The corners of Hongdan’s eyes crinkled slightly.
“Yeah. Button it for me.”
The gesture of lifting his shirt slightly was quite coquettish too. In the end, Hyeonchan also completely relaxed his expression and chuckled.
“Acting all seductive like this, you’ll be getting married again soon.”
Hyeonchan slowly buttoned it up. The touches that made contact here and there were gentle as usual.
Right now, Hongdan was properly awake because he’d pulled an all-nighter.
In other words, it meant that beyond being relaxed by Hyeonchan’s gaze finally reaching him, he’d gotten completely excited. He shrugged his shoulders conspicuously and joked around.
“Actually, I’m going to remarry soon.”
He’d expected a joke like ‘Should I come eat noodles this coming spring?’
“……”
There was an embarrassingly absent response. When he gingerly lifted his head, Hyeonchan’s face was frozen coldly.
Did I make some mistake again?
“Chan…?”
Hyeonchan was still holding his shirt collar. Hongdan wrapped his hand around it and carefully met his eyes.
Only then did Hyeonchan look at Hongdan. Unlike his complexion covered in frost, those characteristic brown eyes looked a bit sad.
“Hey, Hyeon…”
That’s when the flustered Hongdan habitually reached his hand toward Hyeonchan’s cheek.
“Are you getting back together with Yeon Seonha?”
“Huh?”
…Fuck.
Hongdan’s fingertips froze without even grazing one of Hyeonchan’s downy hairs. While he belatedly rolled his eyes choosing what excuse to make, Hyeonchan furrowed his brow and took half a step closer.
“It’s not that you’re contacting him because of alimony, but you’re actually getting back together with that bastard?”
“N-no, it’s not like that!”
“Then. Why didn’t you suddenly go home to your perfectly fine house?”
“Uh, uh…”
Hongdan couldn’t grasp whether it was right to give Hyeonchan a clumsy excuse, or rather to interrogate him about how he knew, and if he knew, how much he knew.
If the silence continued, it would soon become an affirmation.
Nevertheless, his mind was so anxious that his brain absolutely wouldn’t work.
In the end, he chose to just blurt out words as they came to mind.
“I-I just sometimes go off the rails, you know! I was pissed off about that work thing I mentioned earlier, so I wanted to do something uncharacteristic of me. You’ve heard the saying that kids who didn’t play when they were young act like they’re going through puberty when they become adults, right. It’s kind of like the law of conservation of acting out, you know? Haha, ha…”
Ah, was this a foolish choice after all?
While spouting nonsense, Hongdan kept glancing to observe Hyeonchan’s face. However, Hyeonchan looked like he’d glare at him even more coldly if anything, but absolutely had no intention of letting it slide easily. Well, it was language skills barely better than a preschooler’s.
“…It’s true.”
Still, Hongdan added timidly. His long-held belief was that you had to try being stubborn to get something out of it.
A staring contest continued between the two for a moment.
Hyeonchan, who usually gave in to Hongdan, seemed clear about what he wanted this time. But Hongdan was stubbornly clamping his lips shut even more than that.
In the end, Hyeonchan declared surrender by sighing briefly and widening the distance he’d narrowed again.
“Fine.”
A bright smile immediately bloomed cheerfully.
“Ah, that’s right! You should believe your friend of 20 years. If you go around listening to baseless rumors, I’ll be hurt, you know?”
Hongdan had thrown away all sense and even tapped Hyeonchan’s chest with his narrow shoulders.
That couldn’t be more annoying.
Nevertheless, Hyeonchan only took petty revenge by messing up his neatly arranged bangs.
“I said fine.”
“Hehe…”
The last button that Hyeonchan couldn’t fasten while engaging in what was sort of a standoff was buttoned by Hongdan. Then he turned around without regret. Though there were still about 15 minutes left, it seemed he was going to leave right away without spending more time.
Hyeonchan looked at Hongdan slinging his backpack over one shoulder. It was a tediously familiar bag. Because he used things so neatly, there was no overall sense of the passage of time, but if you looked carefully, there were clear signs of wear here and there.
Actually, that bag was bought by Yeon Seonha. Whether Hongdan also remembered that and still carried it around, or had forgotten because it was so long ago, he couldn’t know exactly.
Even when Hongdan was wearing his clothes from head to toe, what caught his eye first was that bag. The bag only covered half his back, but it looked huge as if it was enveloping Hongdan’s entire body. Hyeonchan quietly clenched his fist and called out to stop Hongdan.
“…Instead.”
“Hm?”
Hongdan turned to look at Hyeonchan, tilting his head. Hyeonchan continued while deliberately avoiding those innocent eyes.
“Instead of me only believing your words, you listen to mine as your friend too.”
“What…?”
“Don’t get involved with Yeon Seonha anymore.”
“……”
“What help is that trash bastard to your life anyway? Even if Yeon Seonha cried and begged you and put on a show now. There’s no need to waste your time and emotions sucking and scrubbing trying to recycle that filthy thing.”
“……”
“Is there something? Some other reason I don’t know?”
Hyeonchan only faced Hongdan after spitting out all his words. But the time their gazes met didn’t even last a second.
“…As if there would be.”
Because this time Hongdan immediately turned his head away.
Tap tap.
The sound of putting on shoes sounded somewhat urgent. Soon Hongdan waved his hand with a bright smile.
“Chan, I’m going. Thanks for lending me the clothes!”
However, Hyeonchan couldn’t smile back at him or wave his hand together until the front door closed.
“There is a reason.”
The back of Hongdan’s hand gripping the backpack strap was turning too pale.
“You just like him again, that’s all.”
Hyeonchan’s voice echoed forlornly in the darkened entrance.
