“Don’t throw it away.”
My wrist was caught as I tried to roughly fold and put away the ticket that had served its purpose. Kang Ikwon’s face turned serious.
“I’ll go.”
“What? You don’t have to force yourself. Then I’ll feel uncomfortable too…”
“Force myself…”
Kang Ikwon laughed with an expression like he’d heard something absurd.
“This is the first concert I’ve wanted to go to this much.”
The smile that had been stagnant ever since arriving at Han River Park now slowly bloomed fully, bursting like a flower bud inside his affectionate eyes. Kang Ikwon’s gaze was already entirely spring. A quietly excited heart rippled on the spring breeze. My heart swayed along with it like waves.
Ah, what do I do?
I barely caught the buoy drifting frantically.
Resolve or whatever, at this rate I’m going to get swept away completely.
As I handed over the envelope in a reverent atmosphere like a presentation ceremony, something suddenly occurred to me.
“Oh, this is today. I need to see what time it is. I asked someone else for it too…”
“Is that so?”
Kang Ikwon’s expression, which had been pulling out the ticket, hardened instantly.
“Jed Park.”
Kang Ikwon said slowly. At that low voice, the back of my neck suddenly went cold.
“Is this a coincidence?”
“What?”
“It wouldn’t be a bad joke.”
Along with incomprehensible words, Kang Ikwon lifted the ticket.
“Did you know this… person was performing when you chose it?”
“If you ask like that…”
I spoke honestly.
“I don’t know who that is.”
“You don’t know…?”
“I just asked for something that’s doing well.”
Is it someone he dislikes?
Unlike me, Kang Ikwon is deeply knowledgeable about classical music, so naturally he’d have preferences about performers. I’m such a layman I couldn’t even think that such things would be a matter of taste, but come to think of it, if I like Batman and you give me Avengers tickets, that’s kind of absurd. The more I chewed on it, the more embarrassed I became, thinking it was a thoughtless, insincere gift without much sense.
“You don’t know…”
Kang Ikwon rolled my answer around in his mouth very slowly. I rolled my eyes nervously, then held out my hand.
“You don’t like it? Hey, then just don’t go—”
“A coincidence.”
Kang Ikwon murmured.
“How fortuitous.”
And a long silence followed. For some reason, it feels like the temperature inside the car dropped sharply like cold water was thrown.
“The person who got it must have put in some effort.”
“Huh?”
“It’s quite a popular philharmonic’s Korea visit. Though the pianist’s level is low.”
Kang Ikwon put the ticket into the envelope. As if nothing had happened, his tone had become calm again. But the spring-like happiness that had been hovering around had also sunk together.
“Sorry, but…”
Kang Ikwon, who was about to return the envelope, stopped speaking. His gaze stuck to the back.
“—What is this?”
Kang Ikwon raised his head. What are you talking about? I was about to ask back, but when I met those eyes, my words were automatically blocked. They were fierce eyes I’d never seen before. Kang Ikwon flipped the envelope and silently thrust it before my eyes.
“Explain to me right now what this is.”
The tone was excessively calm. The noticeably slow and stiff movements seemed like an effort to suppress something boiling over. Without even knowing what it was, I was cowed by the edge and obediently examined the envelope when a stupid sound came from my mouth.
“Ah.”
Messy scrawl filling the back in unnecessarily large letters. I clicked my tongue and sighed lowly.
“I brought the wrong one… because I left in a hurry.”
“The wrong one?”
Kang Ikwon’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.
“Yeah. This isn’t mine, it’s what hyung received.”
The two identical envelopes held in hyung’s hands came to mind. And how I’d snatched it in a hurry after answering the phone.
“Mine is an A-section seat. This is what some man gave to Pujo hyung and left.”
That memo was supposed to be passed to me though. After hesitating, I swallowed that fact.
What does Kang Ikwon need to know anyway? I don’t even know who that is or what that is. In human relationships, especially romantic relationships, deliberately opening up about everything is no different from sowing countless seeds of discord. If you do that, you’ll burst when harvest time comes.
“What kind of man.”
In a voice whose inner thoughts couldn’t be read, he spoke slowly and distinctly, as if pressing down firmly on each word.
“Would just give away this expensive ticket, and leave?”
“…Well… he doesn’t know who it is, they said.”
Kang Ikwon didn’t take his eyes off the envelope for a long time. I was completely deflated without even knowing why. Under Kang Ikwon’s fingers, the envelope was crumpling and tearing apart.
“What’s wrong?”
Did you decode that writing? Is it a curse? I couldn’t hold back and was about to press him. Suddenly, Kang Ikwon raised his head and our eyes met. His lips were pulled up as if smiling, but with completely inorganic eyes without a trace of mirth, he checked his watch. Then he spoke matter-of-factly as if nothing had happened.
“Fortunately, we’ll make it in time.”
Kang Ikwon straightened his posture and grabbed the steering wheel.
“It’ll be traffic hour, but Yangjae is close from here.”
“Uh… you’re going?”
“Of course.”
Kang Ikwon answered in a calm tone without inflection.
“I told you, didn’t I? This is the first time I’ve wanted to go to something like this.”
We headed to Yangjae in a subtle atmosphere. The road where rush hour had just started was congested but not yet seriously jammed. Wanting to get out of the car quickly, I fidgeted, alternately crossing my legs. This is the first time being with Kang Ikwon feels uncomfortable. Contrary to my wish, the congestion that started from Sinsa Station intersection continued all the way to Baengbaeng intersection without fail.
“Give me the ticket.”
I was starting to get tired from the inexplicable pressure. I’m tired. Let’s just rip up the ticket and go eat. With that thought, I reached out my hand again, but Kang Ikwon annoyingly shook his head.
“I’ll keep this.”
Kang Ikwon said curtly without room for argument.
“Don’t even touch it.”
What?
Kang Ikwon skillfully slipped into the almost full parking lot. As the parking finished, cleaner and more efficient than ever before with no excess, unlike usual he didn’t wait for me and got out, immediately making a call to somewhere. I blankly stared at his upright back on the phone outside, then slowly followed out of the car. I was pondering what this unpleasant and vaguely dirty feeling was when, the moment our eyes met as Kang Ikwon turned around after hanging up the phone, I was so surprised it all flew away.
“Your jaw!”
I shouted urgently.
“Isn’t that a bruise?”
“Ah.”
He rubbed his jaw and spoke nonchalantly.
“I thought it might be. I’m the type who bruises late. Don’t worry about it.”
“Ah… what do I do?”
My eyes furrowed with regret. To leave a dark blue blemish on this fine face. If I were a prosecutor, I’d charge myself not with assault but with defacement.
“Does it hurt?”
“It’s fine.”
When I gently, carefully stroked the bruise, he smiled as if to reassure me instead. I was about to quickly remove my hand in case touching it made it hurt more, but he grabbed it and directly placed it on the bruised area, pressing down firmly.
“Don’t do that!”
“See?”
Kang Ikwon rubbed his lips against my fingertips like tickling them.
“It doesn’t hurt at all.”
And then he smiles sweetly again. Seeing that, I lost all my strength. I cupped his cheeks and rubbed and soothed them gently.
“You’re… pretty even with a bruise.”
“Am I pretty?”
“Pretty. So pretty I could die.”
Kang Ikwon lowered his head and bumped his forehead against mine with a tap.
“Don’t ever change that feeling.”
Of course. I nodded a hundred times inside and solemnly nodded once on the outside.
Since he said Yangjae, I only thought of the Seoul Arts Center, but it was a compact yet sophisticated concert hall like a gallery. Ah, this is the place where they did musicals before. With a pleased heart, I walked around looking without letting go of our clasped hands, and passersby glanced at us. Regardless, the aloof Kang Ikwon stopped in the lobby.
“Wait here for just a moment.”
“Going to the bathroom? Then give me the ticket before you go.”
Since it was my first time at a classical performance and I didn’t know when I’d come again, I wanted to take a proof shot in the lobby. Not giving up, I held out my hand again, and Kang Ikwon said “Ah, that ticket,” reached into his chest, then said calmly,
“I lost it.”
“…What?”
