“We did respond after getting a report, but students. How heartbroken would your parents be if they found out? Hm?”
“No! It’s not like that! My friend had indigestion, so I was patting their back.”
“Then why didn’t you open the door?”
“We were scared…”
Since they were civilians and still just kids, it was natural for them to be afraid of the police. He decided to believe their story about indigestion. The Chief pointed to the “Crime-Free Town” plaque hanging inside the police box and repeatedly urged the two officers heading out to work toward minimizing the number of local misdemeanors as much as possible. It was called urging, but it was closer to pressure.
Thinking about going in and writing in the incident log ‘Responded to report of public indecency but reporter misunderstood. Said they were patting back due to indigestion. Concluded after encouraging them to take care of their health’ made his head spin. It seemed like the town wasn’t crime-free, but rather things were hushed up like this.
Go Seok-jun softly curved his eyes and smiled gently at the students. In a gentle, mature voice, as if he were the students’ uncle, he guided them.
“A lot of bad adults come here, so it’s dangerous. Students shouldn’t come to scary places like this. If you go to the bathroom at the beach entrance over there, or ask to use the bathroom when you go into a cafe, they’ll all let you. Understood?”
“Yes…”
“Answer more energetically.”
“Yes!”
The students bowed their heads and left the bathroom. He also soothed the reporter who was pointing fingers insisting they definitely heard it clearly with their own two ears, saying they came to play, got indigestion, came here and vomited. Go Seok-jun shifted his gaze to the students hurrying away. The two people walking in the distance had their pinkies intertwined.
Maybe they’re students with nowhere to go, so they hid in the bathroom. As he quietly watched the students, Baek Sang-eun, who always held out his pinky for trivial reasons, suddenly came to mind. Soon after, Baek Sang-eun’s voice saying he was happy because they had a house so they could sleep together overlapped like an auditory hallucination.
“Is it trendy for guys to do that these days?”
Officer Seong looked up, saying “Huh?” Go Seok-jun lit the end of his cigarette and burned away his thoughts. He quietly watched his wicked and miscellaneous thoughts scatter as smoke.
Along with the white smoke, Go Seok-jun’s hair also swayed gently. The sight of him languidly holding a cigarette with gloomy eyes was quite beautiful. However, Officer Seong’s gaze watching Go Seok-jun was nothing but anxious. He bit his lips, looked around, and fidgeted restlessly, going “Sseup, sseup.”
“If you need to go, go to the bathroom.”
When Go Seok-jun gestured toward the bathroom with his chin, Officer Seong took a big breath beside him as if determined and opened his mouth.
“Sergeant. I’m sorry to say this, but…”
“Mm?”
“Sergeant! From the moment you first came to the police box, the light shining from your face almost blinded me! I’ve never seen a man as handsome as you, Sergeant! And just now, the way you smoked that cigarette was, no joke, like an actor!”
“So?”
“This is a no-smoking zone. If caught, the fine is 100,000 won.”
Officer Seong’s fingertip pointed to the no-smoking zone sign. Go Seok-jun flailed as if his fingertips caught fire and put out the cigarette. After causing a commotion, he put the butt in his cigarette pack and scrubbed his hands thoroughly with soap to destroy the evidence.
Officer Seong, who had been waiting outside, still chewed his lips with an anxious face and apologized, saying sorry. With all the chatter about being handsome and whatnot, he almost mistook Officer Seong for jumping on the latest trend too.
Shouldn’t he be thanking me for letting him off without a fine? Go Seok-jun casually tossed out a topic he wasn’t particularly curious about to ease the tense Officer Seong.
“Is Daniel a Christian name?”
“Ah. My mom is devout. ‘God is my judge.’ That’s what it means.”
“You grew up in a devout household, but Officer Daniel, you’re okay with it? I mean those kids just now.”
“It’s work, so whatever. And looking at their faces, they seemed like they’re dating, so I feel a bit sorry for them. God was born in a stable, so what sin is it to share love in a bathroom?”
Is he really a Christian? It flowed smoothly. Go Seok-jun silently listened to Officer Seong’s Bible stories that he wasn’t particularly interested in. Officer Seong, who had been talking for a while, went “Hup!” and covered his mouth, then apologized.
“Sergeant, how about we grab a coffee? There’s an amazing cafe here.”
He smiled ingratiatingly, saying he felt bad for rambling about stories no one asked about. Coffee was most welcome for Go Seok-jun too, so he moved his steps with a happy heart. As they got closer to the beach, a very refreshing atmosphere welcomed the two of them, completely different from the gloominess from before.
Bossa nova-style music flowed from a pub along the beach, and people on yellow and green surfboards were riding waves at the horizon.
The blue sky, the ocean whose boundary with the sky was ambiguous, the bronze skin of those riding the waves looked healthy. Go Seok-jun watched them with his mouth open. Now’s a good time, he thought, smacking his lips, when Officer Seong inhaled, going “Haeek.”
“Sergeant, Sergeant! Look at that man.”
“What ma—. What the hell is that?”
“Do you know him? Wow. That body is insane, right? That, you see, is not a body made by chugging protein and crying at the gym. That’s a body made purely by eating delicious protein and playing around.”
“Do you work out too, Officer Seong?”
“Yes. I’m one of those guys who chug protein and cry at the gym.”
Go Seok-jun also had a time when he chugged protein and cried at the gym. Though he quickly quit because his body didn’t develop as he thought it would.
A man who had taken off his top and wore only colorful beach pants walked out alone along the beach. His body was as big as the surfboard tucked under his side, and even his puppy-like calf was soaked with water. The puppy shaking off the water from its body wagged its tail with a smiling face as if satisfied with the water play.
It couldn’t not be a bizarre sight. Naturally, people’s gazes focused on every step he took, but whether he knew it or not, both the man and the dog calmly walked across the sandy beach.
“Shouldn’t we arrest him for actual public indecency?”
“There’s nothing indecent about it though?”
If it doesn’t look indecent to others’ eyes, I have nothing to say. If it only looked indecent to his own eyes, that was also a problem. He wished Baek Sang-eun wouldn’t acknowledge him, would just pass by. This was related to the tiny bit of honor Go Seok-jun had left. He didn’t want to be seen as someone who knew this half-naked pervert.
But doesn’t life always not go as planned? Especially for Go Seok-jun’s life, which was already twisted and tangled. Baek Sang-eun’s stride gradually widened, and eventually, the three people met at one point.
“Wow… Police, wow. Police uniform.”
Baek Sang-eun scanned Go Seok-jun, who was dressed up to his patrol vest, up and down and let out an exclamation. Go Seok-jun avoided his gaze, rubbing under his nose for no reason. Even so, the gaze chasing him was so sticky that Officer Seong’s notice was obvious.
Similarly, the two police officers couldn’t help but scan the man standing before them. Officer Seong looked him over because he was looking at the body he dreamed of, and Go Seok-jun looked Baek Sang-eun over out of concern for his nephew’s well-being.
Not only his build but even his bronzed, well-tanned skin caught the eye. His forearms, to exaggerate a bit, were as thick as a child’s waist. His well-defined abs were also split into pieces to the extent that it wouldn’t be easy even if one deliberately tried to make them by taking steroid injections. On top of that, his hair was tied back tightly, so how should he put it? It was kind of cheesy.
“Greet them.”
“Hello, Uncle.”
When he input the command, Baek Sang-eun bowed his head. When he gestured at Officer Seong with his chin, he just nodded his head half-heartedly. That bastard, how much more do I need to teach him…
“If you walk around like this, the police ahjussi will arrest you, okay?”
“Ah, but there are a lot of people here right now.”
“Right. There are a lot of people, so how can you walk around with your clothes off? Just, right now! Put your clothes on before I arrest you.”
Then Baek Sang-eun approached slightly and whispered softly in his ear. Salt water dripped from his hair and made a water stain on the shoulder of the police uniform.
“Why are you… saying such dirty things?”
“Baek Sang-eun!”
Whether Officer Seong was next to him or not, Go Seok-jun shook off the water pooled on his shoulder excessively and frowned. I really need to lock this bastard up so he’ll stop talking nonsense, but if I lock him up, he’d probably be happy, so I can’t even do that.
“You go to the hospital first, okay? When you go to the hospital, you must wear clothes. Got it?”
“Hospital, why? I will wear clothes though.”
“You promised Uncle, right? Let’s not worry Uncle and behave properly, okay?”
He smacked the broad back as if scolding. The skin where the salt water had dried stuck to his palm and felt sticky. Baek Sang-eun twisted his body, acting hurt. He waved his hand telling him to hurry and go, then moved his steps. He felt a gaze but didn’t look back. Washing his hands was the priority.
“Is he your nephew, Sergeant?”
“Mm, not a blood nephew, but my hyung’s friend’s son. We’ve lived together for a long time, so we’re practically family.”
It’s really embarrassing to call a guy walking around half-naked like that family. Officer Seong seemed quite impressed by Baek Sang-eun’s body, as he kept going on about muscle gain and muscle loss beside him. After rambling for a while, he asked what on earth he does for a living to have such a good body.
“He catches fish.”
Even at the indifferent answer, Officer Seong’s eyes widened like saucers.
“Hueok! What kind of fish?”
“A seaside person catches fish. Are you interested? Should I introduce you?”
Go Seok-jun paid for Officer Seong’s coffee too, whose eyes were sparkling. Even though he felt like he’d go crazy worrying about money, he couldn’t throw away his dignity as a senior. Besides, it was just one cup of coffee for a good police officer who overlooked the fine.
Having parked in a remote spot, they retraced their steps while sipping coffee. It was perfect weather to walk along the beach with just an iced americano in hand. It was moderately cool and the breeze was gentle. The pub that played music loud enough to boom even outside was already occupied by young people, and the window seats with ocean views at the cafe were also full.
“Wow, Sergeant, your nephew is really hot.”
Officer Seong, who referred to Baek Sang-eun with an old-fashioned word, pointed somewhere with his finger. It was the surfing school they had passed earlier. Baek Sang-eun, who had somehow put on clothes and wore a big box tee, stood next to a woman in a crop top and very loose cargo pants. She was quite a beauty even from afar.
