Kang Ikwon, who had been following the direction the parabola disappeared, laughed shortly. His gaze returned from Moon Jaeyoung’s back to the culprit he was restraining.
“Agh!”
When Kang Ikwon forcefully twisted the wrist he was holding, cornrows’ body bounced up.
“It hurts, I said it hurts!”
Kang Ikwon grabbed cornrows by the scruff of the neck and dragged him toward the pool. Cornrows, who had calmed down after being subdued, struggled violently again. His face flushed not with shame but with pain. Eventually, cornrows burst into tears like a child. His pretty face that had been somewhat presentable contorted, but regardless, Kang Ikwon’s expression didn’t change one bit. He was planning to drown this one first and then go find Moon Jaeyoung.
“Don’t do it!”
Cornrows stretched out his limbs to resist and shouted. It was the moment when the annoyed Kang Ikwon was about to strike his head with the gun butt.
“Wait.”
A low voice rang out near his ear. At the same time, something softly dug into his side. Click, at the feeling as if he’d heard the sound of a gun being loaded, Kang Ikwon, momentarily creeped out, lowered his gaze. What reached his vision wasn’t a gun but a hand placed on his back as if to soothe him. The man, who had been looking at cornrows for a moment, sighed.
“What’s ‘be patient’ in English…? Don’t do it.”
“……”
“Well, my karma.”
The muttering man took off his robe without hesitation. Following the concise line falling from waist to pelvis and legs, the white hem flowed down to the floor. Rubbing his shoulders, the man stood at poolside. Kang Ikwon narrowed his brows, not understanding the situation. Moonlight and lighting scattered chaotically over the body wearing nothing but a night-colored swimsuit.
The man dove into the water immediately without even taking a deep breath.
Splash, with a sound that shook the quiet surroundings, a wide circle spread over the water surface. The wet back shone silver and gold. The man’s arms moved slowly, so endlessly slowly that Kang Ikwon wondered how they didn’t sink. The submerged head rose above the water surface after a moment. Shaking off the water, he dove down smoothly again, cutting through the current. His toes splashed like a mermaid’s fins before completely disappearing. And rose again, then sank again.
The rhythm that had been regularly repeating for several times broke, and nothing rose above the water for what felt like a bit too long. Kang Ikwon tossed cornrows aside. He slowly approached poolside, knelt on one knee, and looked inside. The light scattering from the surface didn’t mix with the faint light from the bottom and pushed each other away with all their might, making the inside of the water like a dark tank. A shadow deeper than darkness moved flexibly, then the faint sign of approaching water was felt. When he lowered his head to see better, the man rose above the surface. Deep, rippling eyes like water that he encountered right in front of him fixed on Kang Ikwon.
“Check if it’s your phone.”
A hand surrounded by foam threw something. Kang Ikwon reflexively raised his hand as if defending. Something cold and heavy hit his palm and fell. Without waiting for an answer, the man pushed strength into his arm gripping poolside and leapt up. Long legs that slipped up smoothly like a water snake passed by Kang Ikwon. When the man bent at the waist to pick up the robe, his buttocks protruded roundly over the smooth material of the swimsuit.
Only when their eyes met as the man turned around did Kang Ikwon realize he’d been staring at him intently. The man wasn’t particularly embarrassed, and Kang Ikwon didn’t withdraw his gaze either.
“Ah, fuck….”
The gazes of the man and Kang Ikwon who had been facing each other in silence turned simultaneously. Cornrows, who had been sitting on the floor grumbling and rubbing his wrist, lowered his head and mumbled when his eyes met Kang Ikwon’s.
“Fuck, these bastards who aren’t even proper foreigners, in Korea…”
His manner of rambling while hiding his lip movements, thinking Kang Ikwon wouldn’t understand Korean, was petty. Kang Ikwon, who had already lost interest in him, wasn’t particularly angry. Even if what he’d said out loud had been a much kinder and humbler apology, it wouldn’t have moved Kang Ikwon anyway. However, punishment flew from an unexpected place. The man shaking his wet hair said cheerfully.
“Shoot him.”
Kang Ikwon didn’t understand immediately. The characteristic gazing-like stare turned toward Kang Ikwon. Eyelashes of a shade slightly lighter than night slowly came down.
“Just, shoot him.”
For a moment he was at a loss for words at the appearance too lyrical to be recommending firing. The man walked over, sweeping back his hair darkened from being wet. A cold arm softly dug into his side. A smaller, drier coldness overlapped on the back of his hand, compared to Kang Ikwon. This time too, without waiting for an answer, the man pressed Kang Ikwon’s finger and pulled the trigger instead.
“Aaah!”
Pew, the plastic bullet grazed past his leg, hit the ground and bounced. Cornrows, who had been half-doubting, jumped up. He thought he heard that low laugh again, but when he looked down, the man’s face was expressionless. Whether cornrows was flailing or not, the man pulled the plastic trigger without blinking. Pew. Pew. Pew. It was rapid fire.
“Ah! Hey! Are you crazy?”
“Not as much as you.”
At the calm answer, cornrows’ face contorted as if about to cry once more. He eventually staggered away, dodging the indiscriminately flying BB pellets.
“You just wait!”
His mouth was alive till the end.
“That’s my line.”
The man who muttered as if to himself handed the gun back to Kang Ikwon. When Kang Ikwon didn’t take it, he tossed it carelessly, rummaged through his robe pocket, took out a new cigarette and lit it. The man looked down at his feet as if he’d forgotten Kang Ikwon’s existence, lost in thought. Each time his cheeks hollowed as he inhaled the cigarette, his upper lip with its particularly prominent peaks swelled plumply in contrast. A moment later, the long white cigarette slipped out from between them.
“Sorry.”
What came out of that mouth was brief, rough English. Kang Ikwon’s gaze stuck between the slightly wet cigarette end and the still parted lips. The man raised his head.
“I’ll apologize on his behalf. Sorry.”
The pronunciation, stressed as if a child who had just learned letters was pressing down hard, left a clear mark in the air. The tongue that dragged out the pronunciation lightly licked the upper lip and disappeared. The man who stepped back a pace stuck his hand into the robe pocket. That soft line moved a bit sheepishly. It was a smile.
I wasn’t trying to shoot at you.
Cornrows had said awkwardly. The direction the bullet flew was toward the door. If he hadn’t entered at that moment, the man would probably have been the one hit.
“Follow me.”
The man who tossed the barely smoked cigarette moved. The movement of his stepping feet and extending hand seemed slow enough to leave an afterimage, yet Kang Ikwon couldn’t avoid the man’s hand touching him without permission. Only when the fingers wrapped around Kang Ikwon’s fingertips like a loose ring and gently pulled did he shake it off. The man’s hand he’d rejected swayed in the air. Without any sign of embarrassment or displeasure, the man reached out his hand again.
“If you’re going out, that’s the shortcut. I’ll take you there. Follow me. Come, with me.”
His pronunciation was slow as if speaking to a child, and almost every syllable was stressed. His mouth opened wide, showing his tongue hitting the roof of his mouth and curling roundly. When he reached “me,” the man’s lips curved long as if smiling. Before even hearing an answer, he grabbed Kang Ikwon’s hand again and led the way. Whether the man’s temperature was high or Kang Ikwon’s body was cold, every time their fingertips brushed, an unpleasant heat rose as if a heating wire was passing through.
The man crossed through the chaotic people without bumping into anyone. Thump, thump, music that shook the ground dully like an earthquake rang from far away. Kang Ikwon’s gaze stuck to the cheek of the man walking slightly askew. The blue, dark night air rippled like seawater. Light that flowed like water droplets along the ear fell onto the hollow collarbone.
“Be careful, it’s under construction.”
Where the man took Kang Ikwon couldn’t be called a path. Not caring about Kang Ikwon who stood still with an absurd face, he jumped up over scattered cement bags and bricks. The hem of his robe fluttered white in the darkness like a flag. Sleek calves with appropriate muscle firmly stepped on the tilted earth and looked back at him. Are you telling me to climb over this like a monkey? Dumbfounded, Kang Ikwon stopped in place. Then, misunderstanding something, the man turned on his phone flashlight and shone it at Kang Ikwon’s feet.
“Are you scared because you can’t see?”
Fuck, Kang Ikwon laughed with an absurd face. Not seeing that, the man stretched his arm toward Kang Ikwon.
“Hold my hand and come over, then.”
Kang Ikwon snickered once more. This time it was a laugh with less strength than before.
Even after holding the man’s hand and crossing that barricade-like pile—absurdly, the man who volunteered to lead staggered, so Kang Ikwon had to hold his waist and lower him down—the man didn’t let go of Kang Ikwon’s hand and walked ahead as if guiding him. When they turned the corner, a bright and dense line of cars appeared as if it were a lie. Kang Ikwon, who wasn’t used to Korea’s late-night entertainment districts, became a bit dazed. Taxi? The man stopped and asked. When he nodded, the man skillfully caught a taxi and got in, practically pulling Kang Ikwon’s hand along.
“Driver. First, please take us to the overpass at the intersection.”
“That’s barely the basic fare….”
The taxi driver’s grumbling with an openly displeased expression faded weakly when he met Kang Ikwon’s eyes lurking under the black hood.
“Only I’ll get off there, and this person will go further.”
Only after saying it confidently as if he knew everything did he add, “Probably?”
The driver started with a reluctant air. The man tapped the seat as if choosing his words.
“Sorry, but I’ll just go there and get off. I… I’m not,”
“……”
“…Driver, what’s ‘suspicious’ in English?”
“You’re young, you should know. How would I know?”
“Ugh… I’m innocent.”
Claiming his innocence, the man loosely buried himself in the seat like a flowing cat. Kang Ikwon’s nerves were still drawn not to their clasped hands but to the defenseless thigh exposed. The man was unconcerned even though he was in a taxi in a busy district in the outfit he’d just come out of the pool in.
“I’m not hitting on you, so don’t worry… I’m not love you.”
The man muttered with his forehead against the window.
“I have a boyfriend.”
The man’s voice sounded a bit lonely contrary to the content, but his pronunciation was still clear and distinct as if coaxing a child who couldn’t understand. It was absurd—the one who couldn’t understand English wasn’t Kang Ikwon. The man rested his chin and looked out the window. As his consciousness drifted to a distant place, the robe opened even more carelessly. Through the fallen hem of the robe, sleekly falling thighs without excess and the black swimsuit were visible. Under the thin, clinging fabric, the contours of the roundly contained testicles stood out.
“Well, I’m going to end it today anyway.”
