Hui-myeong quickly looked him over trying not to show it. Even when they went to school together, he was bigger than the rugby club guys, but his appearance now was unfamiliarly massive. On top of that, wearing a black suit with no tie, anyone could see he was a complete thug.
Meanwhile, the man looked between the watch and Hui-myeong alternately.
“Did you steal it?”
He asked with suspicious eyes.
“N-no. I-I received it as a gift.”
Hui-myeong hurriedly waved both hands as he spoke. Whether it was because they were meeting after so long, or because he was overwhelmed by his presence, formal speech kept coming out.
“Is it okay to just pawn something you got as a gift?”
“I need money.”
“Is it okay if it disappears?”
“Things… you lose them sometimes while living.”
It was an excuse that wouldn’t work on Do-ha. The moment he said he lost it, Do-ha would go to the ends of the earth to find the handcuff-like watch he’d given him.
“Five hundred.”
He set the price while putting the watch down on the table with a thunk.
“O-only five hundred?”
As soon as he heard the amount, Hui-myeong stuttered. He’d definitely heard it was an office worker’s annual salary, but five hundred would be about a monthly salary. Moreover, considering he needed five thousand, it was hopelessly insufficient. Bluntly speaking, five hundred was money that would quickly be spent and gone even just going to the department store with Do-ha for some air.
“Only borrow what you can pay back. Are you not coming back for this?”
The man said while tapping the watch on the table with his finger. To anyone watching, it was just an attitude toward a customer. As if the man before his eyes had never been involved in his life even once.
“I will come back for it, but…”
“With interest plus storage fees, it’s better not to borrow a large amount.”
The man’s words were blunt.
Isn’t it Kang-i hyung? That can’t be. Seeing him act so nonchalant, even Hui-myeong began to get confused.
“I-I’ll think about it and come back.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Hui-myeong picked up the watch and stood up.
“Hey!”
“Y-yes?”
At the rough voice calling him, Hui-myeong flinched and stopped walking.
“Don’t think about borrowing money elsewhere. If you get caught doing that, you’ll die by my hand.”
“…Yes.”
After answering, Hui-myeong fled from the office as if escaping.
Unlike the indifferent expression he’d had just moments ago, the man’s gaze was fixed on where Hui-myeong had disappeared. It was a look where you couldn’t tell what he was thinking. One guy approached the man trying to reverse the bleak atmosphere.
“Hyungnim, do you know that pretty one from earlier?”
From a subordinate’s position, it was natural to have such doubts. Hui-myeong had known his name precisely, and this man was ruthless enough to make any customer who came in borrow at least a million won. Above all, the look the man had just shown was the first the subordinate had seen in the 7 years they’d been together.
“How would I.”
The man answered briefly, then lit a cigarette and approached the window. Unlike his tone, the man’s face was plastered with thoughts he couldn’t erase. A man like a well-raised young master and a man who was naturally a gangster. On the surface, the two seemed so distant they wouldn’t even pass each other on the street.
How could I forget you…
Exhaling smoke laden with worry, the man thought. Jung Hui-myeong. No matter how harsh the years had passed, those three letters of his name, which used to start happy days, were still branded in the man’s heart.
Through the smoke obscuring his view, the man clearly watched Jung Hui-myeong leaving the building. The raindrops that happened to fall made his figure blurry.
***
It’s Kang-i hyung. It’s definitely Kang-i hyung. To think he’s working in a place like that.
Hui-myeong walked while recalling the face of the man he’d just seen.
An ordinary pawn shop owner wouldn’t say not to think about borrowing money. Normally, like his subordinates, he’d coax him saying they’d lend even without collateral. But acting like he didn’t know him, he couldn’t get excited and be happy alone.
There’s no way I could forget hyung’s face.
It was impossible that he’d been mistaken. But seeing the man’s reaction, Hui-myeong naturally lost confidence.
As he blankly exited the building entrance, rain that had started at some point was blackening the ground. Hui-myeong pulled his hood over and ran to the street to catch a taxi.
“It’s raining a lot. It wasn’t even in the weather forecast.”
“Yes.”
Hui-myeong answered briefly to the taxi driver’s formal remark, then quickly turned his gaze out the window.
But why didn’t hyung acknowledge me?
At the sight of his first love encountered after 10 years, Hui-myeong’s heart pounded. Though a long time had passed, he’d never forgotten even once. How could he forget him?
Didn’t he even want to see me?
Thinking that way made him feel hurt. He’d just longed for him, never imagining they’d meet in such a scary place. Moreover, among that group, he seemed to have the highest rank.
Looking back at his past, it wasn’t strange for him to be doing such work. Geum-gang, who was three years older than his classmates, made it routine to work at night and sleep at school during the day. Having gone through a major crisis with “that incident,” there was no way he could do ordinary work.
“We’ve arrived.”
When he came to his senses, they were in front of a convenience store near home. Hui-myeong had the taxi wait briefly and ran to retrieve his phone. Getting back in the taxi, he checked his phone notifications, but there was no contact from Do-ha.
Thank goodness.
While relieved at not being caught, the taxi arrived at the final destination.
He brushed off the raindrops on his clothes in the elevator and entered the house, where the entrance sensor light turned on as usual. The living room with high ceilings was brightly lit just as when he’d left.
However, as soon as he stepped inside, Hui-myeong flinched in surprise at the shadow cast there.
“Wh-when did you get here?”
Hui-myeong stuttered while looking at Do-ha sitting on the sofa. It hadn’t even been an hour since he’d gone out and come back, but he was already home.
“I told you to loosen up and wait. Where did you go, Jung Hui-myeong?”
He looked up at Hui-myeong crookedly while sitting in the chair. Though his tone was gentle, Hui-myeong immediately noticed the coldness underlying it.
“I felt a bit stuffy, so I went out. I’ll go wash and loosen up.”
Though he acted nonchalant, Hui-myeong was very flustered inside. If it became known that he’d taken a taxi with his emergency money hidden to try selling his watch and gone to a pawn shop, and even who he’d met there, there was no telling what Do-ha would do. His steps quickened as he grew anxious about being caught.
“Hui-myeong-ah.”
At the cold voice suddenly calling him, Hui-myeong stiffened rigidly.
“…Yeah?”
“When was the last time you got hit?”
Do-ha turned his head and looked at him languidly. Those words sounded like a warning that it was time to be hit.
“A-about a week ago?”
Hui-myeong instinctively cowered and stuttered. Violence was a tool Do-ha had used to handle him since the beginning of their relationship.
A week ago, Hui-myeong had been slapped after complaining to Do-ha who’d returned from meeting Seol Jay. Though he’d expected to be hit, his hand was especially harsh that day. Since they’d gotten along well for a while, being hit that day was so upsetting it remained especially memorable.
“Are you having other thoughts because I’m preparing for marriage?”
“N-no. That can’t be.”
Hui-myeong shook his head.
“Then tell me straight. Where did you go?”
At his increasingly cold tone, cold sweat formed on Hui-myeong’s hands. He had to make up something, something believable.
Hui-myeong hesitantly approached and took out cigarettes and a lighter from his hoodie pocket. He looked intimidated like a student undergoing a belongings inspection in front of a teacher.
As soon as he saw the items, Do-ha let out a hollow laugh. As much as he didn’t smoke, he extremely hated Hui-myeong smoking too.
“I-I’m sorry. I felt stuffy. I only smoked one. After that I swung on the swings for a bit and came in because it started raining.”
Hui-myeong deliberately bowed his head deeply as if he’d committed a great sin. It was fortunate he had the cigarettes. With this level of wrongdoing, they could get past it moderately. Since he’d even laughed, Hui-myeong hoped he wouldn’t make a big deal of it.
When Do-ha stood up, Hui-myeong flinched and stepped back. Do-ha looked at him as if he were cute, then took the cigarettes and lighter and threw them in the trash.
“Jung Hui-myeong.”
Do-ha called his name with both hands in his pockets.
“Y-yeah.”
“Until my wedding ceremony ends, I want to see only your pretty side.”
