Seongyeom struggled to maintain his smile. It was the bright, innocent smile that sometimes made even angry customers who he’d made mistakes for during part-time jobs break into reluctant laughter.
Am I loose…?
The corners of his smiling mouth gradually fell. His emotions ran wild because of the alcohol. Seongyeom slowly approached Siwon and stared blankly at his face. As he admired that handsome face, he was so moved that tears welled up profusely.
“Teacher?”
Seongyeom examined Siwon’s face this way and that with teary eyes. Black eyes like the night sky, a straight nose, and lips as neat and pretty as if they’d been cut exactly in half. Taking in each feature, Seongyeom grabbed both of Siwon’s cheeks with an audible smack and kneaded them.
“Ugh! What are you doing?”
Siwon looked at Seongyeom with an expression that said ‘what kind of person is this?’ Seongyeom, who had been ecstatically touching Siwon’s cheeks as if they were high-quality clay with good texture, narrowed his brow and shook his head as if moved when he saw himself reflected in those black eyes.
“You’re pretty.”
“What?”
“So pretty!”
With each word, the smell of alcohol wafted from Seongyeom, and Siwon let out a small sigh. But when Seongyeom swayed and was about to fall, he wrapped his arm around and caught his waist. The drunk teacher hesitated for a moment, then this time crumpled his chin and whimpered.
“I’m sad…”
“…What is it this time?”
“You’re this handsome but you’re a gangster! What a cruel fate…!”
Seongyeom hung onto Siwon’s neck as if he was about to burst into full-blown wailing. Siwon hesitated for a moment, then awkwardly adjusted his hold so Seongyeom wouldn’t fall.
Seongyeom, who was buried in Siwon’s embrace, was completely out of it. With his cheeks flushed like peaches, he stuck out his lips.
“What.”
When Siwon asked coldly, the soft-looking corners of his mouth turned down sharply.
“Give me a kiss.”
“Ha, you’re full of surprises. Get up now.”
“Mmm.”
“Are you playing around with me right now?”
What kind of drunk antics from a young punk…
Before he could even finish the thought, Seongyeom shrugged his shoulders and slid down. Siwon reflexively pulled Seongyeom into his arms, but ended up losing his balance.
Crash!
“Boss?!”
“Hyung!”
The commotion grew closer and Siwon’s door swung wide open. Everyone barged into the room with surprised faces, competing to get in first.
“These guys, so rude…”
Not only Yi Cheong and Seoldong, but also Teolbo, Siwon’s attendant, were there. They all looked clearly flustered seeing Seongyeom’s appearance. When Siwon looked at his subordinates coldly, they belatedly turned pale and quickly retreated.
“We apologize. Have a pleasant time, Boss!”
“Pleasant time, my ass. Take this away.”
Siwon helped Seongyeom up and pushed his shoulder to make him walk on his own. Seongyeom, who had inadvertently closed his eyes and taken a few steps, immediately swayed, turned around, and collapsed toward Siwon.
“Whoa…!”
Siwon caught Seongyeom again by a hair’s breadth and fell to the floor.
“Hyung!”
“Are you alright?!”
The startled organization members rushed over to help Siwon up and pulled Seongyeom from his arms.
“Hehe, mmnya…”
Seongyeom, already lost in dreamland, peacefully smacked his lips. He looked very peaceful. Only the organization members, completely sobered up, looked down at Seongyeom like a time bomb with reddened faces.
‘You’re fucked now.’
“What is this.”
Through it all, Seongyeom’s hands kept clutching Siwon’s clothes. In the end, the drinking session concluded with Seongyeom returning in Siwon’s arms.
In the back seat of the car with the air conditioning blasting, Seongyeom hugged Siwon’s waist tightly and absolutely wouldn’t let go.
“Amusing.”
“Boss?”
Daerim, the only one besides Siwon who hadn’t drunk alcohol, held the steering wheel. He had been secretly watching for signs that they might go bury the tutor they’d just met today.
“I said it’s amusing, this Lee Seongyeom.”
“I see.”
While stopped at a red light, Daerim checked Siwon’s expression in the rearview mirror. Rarely, Siwon was wearing a faint smile.
***
The next day.
Seongyeom groaned as the hot summer sunlight hit his face, then opened his eyes wide. Alcohol that hadn’t been broken down yet pounded on his skull. He sat up with difficulty and looked around. It was an all-too-familiar scene. This place, a 30-year-old corridor-style apartment with absolutely no soundproofing, was definitely Seongyeom’s room.
But how did I get here yesterday?
He remembered watching the fascinating love triangle between Yi Cheong, Seoldong, and Ahjussi Daerim while drinking shot after shot of soju-beer mix last night. While drunk, he asked why the Boss was so young, and saw the hyungs take out the karaoke machine. Then suddenly, the scene of himself sneaking up to the second floor flashed vividly in his mind.
“Ahhh, what! What is this memory!”
He had been curious about Siwon’s room and tried to spy on it, but ended up opening the door, and inside with the President in comfortable clothes…
“AHHHHH!”
“Lee Seongyeom, be quiet!”
Late for morning. Along with the savory smell of soybean paste stew, a piercing shriek echoed throughout the entire apartment.
“Sheesh, if you’re awake, hurry up and come out. Why are you screaming from the morning!”
The door burst open and Ms. Na, Seongyeom’s mother and the owner of the 24-hour drivers’ restaurant, strode in. As soon as she saw her son rolling around clutching his head from a hangover, she habitually landed a sharp smack on his back, but her eyes were already examining every detail of her son’s complexion.
“Ow! That hurts, Mom! You’re killing me, seriously!”
“Who’s killing who! The one who drank and is screaming is in the wrong. Did you have that nightmare again? Look at this sweat.”
Ms. Na grumbled but swept Seongyeom’s wet bangs back with her rough fingers.
“No, it’s just because of the hangover.”
“What’s so great about crawling in after drinking. Snap out of it and come out. The food’s ready.”
“Honey, the seasoning is perfect.”
At the doorway stood Seongyeom’s father, Mr. Lee Cheolmin, who had been tasting the food.
“Son, good morning.”
“Good morning…”
Ms. Na left the room without saying anything more. That behavior confused Seongyeom even more.
Normally, she’d lecture me for three verses and more for coming in late in a completely wasted state.
He went out to the living room with an uneasy feeling.
“What’s all this?”
As soon as he left the room, he saw a feast spread on the dining table. Soybean paste stew, rolled omelet, stir-fried anchovies, and even grilled croaker that Ms. Na always detested for its smell. The table was set with only things Seongyeom liked.
“Why? Is it some special day today?”
“Why what. I just made it after a long time. Hurry up and sit down to eat.”
Ms. Na, who had wiped her wet hands on her apron, casually handed the utensils to her son. The moment Seongyeom was about to receive them with both hands, she frowned as if dissatisfied and waved her hand away.
“Geez, Gyeom’s dad! You’re already sitting in front of the TV? Stop watching and come eat!”
Father, who had become one with the living room sofa watching the morning show, quickly turned off the TV at Ms. Na’s words and walked to the dining table. Seongyeom nodded, reconfirming the clear hierarchy.
Since the restaurant started doing well, Mom implicitly became number one in this house’s hierarchy. Of course, whether this or that, I’m always at the bottom of the family hierarchy.
Seongyeom sat in front of the dining table without complaint and waited until his mother deigned to grant him the utensils.
“Go ahead and eat.”
Ms. Na, who finally handed over the utensils, opened the lid of the pot containing the soybean paste stew. He looked at the steaming mother-made stew with emotion and took a spoonful.
It’s delicious. The savory, rich broth soothes my queasy stomach so smoothly.
When he turned to the side with a moved expression, Father also looked at Mother with a spoon in hand, seemingly moved and proud.
“What, why?”
“Honey, how long has it been since we had a home-cooked meal?”
“Honestly… Don’t overdo it. Hurry up and eat.”
Ms. Na, who burst into laughter at Father’s aegyo, put on plastic gloves and deboned the fish. Seongyeom put the fish meat on a spoonful of rice and put it in his mouth.
Yes, this is the taste…!
In the middle of a happy breakfast, Ms. Na pointed to the entrance.
“Oh, Lee Seongyeom. Take that with you when you leave later.”
Seongyeom nodded absentmindedly thinking it was an errand and looked where she pointed. In front of the shoe cabinet were two giant jumbo-sized 5-tier food containers.
Next to them was also the super-large suitcase he’d bought when he threatened to run away after being caught as gay in high school, sitting there prominently.
“Cough?! Keck, keck! No, why did you take that out? Cough, keck, keck!”
“Ugh, seriously. Here, eat!”
Ms. Na, who had been looking at her son who choked on just one spoonful of stew with pitiful eyes, fed him a spoonful of rice instead of water. Following that, seasoned spinach mixed with minced garlic, sesame oil, salt, and sesame seeds also went into his mouth.
“What else would it be. It’s for your boss. Isn’t it a big family there?”
“Huh?”
“If he’s that kind of man, Mom thinks… it’s not bad. He’s tall and quite good-looking too.”
“Right, right. He has money and is polite too. He’s a proper person. Right, honey?”
“No, wait! What is all this…!”
Seongyeom suddenly recalled what happened last night. His mouth, which had been chewing rice, slowly stopped.
The memory of barging into the Boss’s room completely drunk and kneading his cheeks. The memory of muttering something while pointing fingers, then soon clinging to him and bending backwards. He even remembered throwing a tantrum in the car on the way back, saying he’d go with the President.
“Ahhh…”
He even seemed to have grabbed Siwon’s waist and giggled saying it was warm. Seongyeom squeezed his eyes shut with a pale complexion.
The sea in front of Incheon, is it very cold…?
Father, who had no idea of his son’s feelings, dropped a nuclear bomb of a comment.
“Bring the lunch boxes to your son-in-law. If your mom is okay with it, Dad’s all good.”
“Son-in-law.”
Seongyeom’s eyes contorted as if about to burst into tears at any moment.
“What, are you that moved?”
Dad… that man, he’s a gangster…
That will probably become the food for my memorial service.
Swallowing words he couldn’t bear to speak aloud, Seongyeom ate a spoonful of tear-soaked rice.
