“No, Dongtae. Yoonjo’s hurt, so he can’t play with you.”
From behind, Seonwoo skillfully grabbed Dongtae’s front paws and put them down, then patted his butt *tuk tuk*. Dongtae, who looked at Yoonjo weakly while expressing his dissatisfaction, settled down in a corner spot. Seeing him curl his head toward his butt, he seemed sulky.
At that sight, Yoonjo made a worried expression and asked Seonwoo.
“Is it okay to leave Dongtae like that? No, more than that, Dongtae isn’t hurt, right?”
“He can be scolded now. There’s a high probability that you got hurt because of Dongtae, Yoonjo.”
“…No? It was totally my fault though?”
Seonwoo, who sat below the sofa, made eye contact with Yoonjo and then lightly flicked Yoonjo’s nose tip. It didn’t hurt, but Yoonjo’s face, unprepared for the sudden attack, was colored with embarrassment.
“Even in Seoul, he chased birds whenever he saw them, so would he not have done that here? I thought carefully about why you went into a forest path you don’t usually take. I came to the conclusion that Dongtae must have run. He’s been well-behaved, so I forgot to tell you. It’s my fault.”
“What fault could hyung have! I’m the one who didn’t ask!”
“I’m his owner, so I should’ve told you first. It is my fault. I’m not going to say it’s not, so just listen.”
“No, I mean….”
Yoonjo, who had been trying to say it wasn’t with a squirm, subtly raised his eyes at Seonwoo’s gesture of tapping the sofa *tuk tuk* telling him to focus and listen.
“Until your leg fully heals, I’ll take care of your convenience. You can even come sleep here. I’ve already talked with Grandma and Grandpa too. They said it’s fine. And… I’m sorry for getting angry when you were hurt.”
“Uh….”
“You must have been scared alone in the forest, and I’m sorry for finding you too late. I’m sorry for not telling you that Dongtae sometimes chases things. That’s all my fault. Ultimately, the cause I provided is a big reason your leg ended up like that.”
Yoonjo, who had been lying down, squirmed and sat up. Then he lifted his leg with a *kkeungcha* and put it down on the floor. Seonwoo’s actions could have been irritating because Yoonjo was slow, but Seonwoo waited silently. Before long, when Yoonjo properly sat on the sofa, he said with a quite serious face.
“No matter how much I say I’m okay, I don’t think your heart will be okay at all, hyung. Uh… then let’s do it this way. You grant my requests until my leg fully heals.”
Give and take being clear was the way of the world. Yoonjo was always someone who deviated from such conditions, but there was no reason it couldn’t be done even in this situation. Was it compensation, or perhaps another condition? Seonwoo waited for Yoonjo’s answer with an uncharacteristically tense face.
Before long, Seonwoo, who heard Yoonjo’s request, twisted his lips. It was because he absolutely couldn’t manage his expression.
***
Yoonjo, who had been rolling around this way and that covered with a fluffy blanket, poked his eyes out slightly. Seonwoo, standing at the entrance to the main room, was leaning against the doorframe with a complicated face. He, who had been pressing the tips of his eyebrows firmly, said to Yoonjo as if letting it slip.
“It’s not too late yet, so Yoonjo-ya….”
“I’m pretty sleepy. So, hurry and come.”
Yoonjo patted the spot next to him *pang pang* and then pulled over Seonwoo’s pillow and patted it *pyeok pyeok*. The pillow puffed up as if it had been a lie that it was a bit deflated. Yoonjo pointed to the pillow with both hands as if handling something precious and said.
“Please lie down, teacher.”
Yoonjo’s request was light, but at the same time, it was a type that wasn’t light. It was too lonely to sleep alone in the living room, so let’s sleep together. Thinking it really wouldn’t do, Seonwoo took a step back from Yoonjo.
“No matter how I think about it, this doesn’t seem right. I’ll just sleep in the living room,”
“Oh my! Neighbors! Yoonjo’s leg became an elephant leg! It became a hard elephant…!”
Looking at the hand covering his mouth, Yoonjo narrowed his eyes. Seonwoo shook his head with a stiffly hardened face.
“It’s dawn right now. Don’t you know you can’t make noise?”
Only then could Yoonjo understand. That this expression of Seonwoo’s wasn’t anger but embarrassment. There were bound to be people in the world who hid their insides in various ways. Still, Yoonjo, who was glad to at least learn one of Seonwoo’s ways, nodded obediently.
When Seonwoo slowly removed his hand, Yoonjo immediately pulled Seonwoo’s arm and settled him on top of the blanket. Then he squirmed and crawled to a spot a bit farther away.
“Sleep well.”
At the same time as the words ended, he very refreshingly hid his face inside the blanket. Yoonjo, who had been still for a while, poked his head out slightly again and added.
“Please turn off the light. We need to save on electricity.”
As if trying to forget the sudden headache that came, Seonwoo rubbed his forehead with one hand and then dry-washed his face. He really wondered which tune to follow.
***
The savory smell of popcorn stung his nose. This place, impressive with wallpaper peeling here and there, was an old movie theater, the only one in town. It was so old that the term “classic cinema” suited it better than movie theater. The red carpet laid on the floor, holding the traces of time intact, was threadbare in spots and stained black.
Yoonjo put his hand into the popcorn bucket he was holding while watching Seonwoo walking over after purchasing tickets. Yoonjo picked up a few pieces of popcorn, put them in his mouth, and also put one in Seonwoo’s mouth. The white popcorn slid right between his red lips. Momentarily, the soft sensation of lips briefly touched his fingertips like a graze.
Yoonjo raised his head and looked at Seonwoo standing right behind him. Because his hat was pressed down deeply, his face wasn’t clearly visible from the side, but it was clearly visible looking up from below like this. The corners of Yoonjo’s eyes curved slightly.
“Delicious, right?”
“It just tastes like popcorn.”
At Seonwoo’s indifferent answer, Yoonjo’s mouth jutted out. Seonwoo’s gaze glanced downward. Yoonjo’s plumply raised lips looked similar to a duck. Even his eyebrows were slightly tilted, as if he was upset. But Seonwoo wasn’t someone who would give the answer Yoonjo wanted.
“But, hyung. Why a movie? Is it okay that Dongtae is alone?”
“Instead of worrying about Dongtae, worry about your leg first.”
“I’m sturdy, so I’ll probably get better soon. You can’t ignore the age buff. But wouldn’t going around like this be worse….”
Muttering, Yoonjo put popcorn in his mouth again and chewed. Seonwoo, who had been quietly watching his lips move and squirm, held out a cider. Yoonjo only turned his head and sucked hard on the straw. Yoonjo, who had been sucking *chok chok* until his cheek dimples formed deeply, soon pulled his mouth away.
Yoonjo, who had been frowning hard with his eyes tightly shut, licked his lips with his tongue. When the small, red tongue passed over his lips, they became shiny. It was clear enough to be seen even under the dim lighting.
“Ugh…. Carbonation is all good, but this is hard. My throat gets really scratchy. I can’t just put a whole bunch in my mouth at once either.”
“…It doesn’t look like a mouth that could fit all that anyway.”
“Really. I may not know about other things, but I acknowledge that I have a big mouth. Want to see?”
As soon as his lips parted, Seonwoo’s hand touched them. The touch blocking his mouth seemed to have not even a moment’s hesitation. Thinking the hand was unexpectedly large, Yoonjo blinked and then kissed Seonwoo’s palm. Even so, Seonwoo’s hand didn’t fall away. He thought he’d pull away in shock, but unexpectedly Seonwoo’s expression was calm. He even showed leisure as if telling him to do more, so ultimately it was Yoonjo who surrendered.
“Please remove it.”
“If you promise not to open your mouth. Isn’t opening it while eating popcorn too dirty?”
When Yoonjo reluctantly nodded, Seonwoo removed his hand. Yoonjo put popcorn in his mouth again *wagu wagu*. Occasionally Seonwoo put the straw to his mouth, and each time Yoonjo naturally held it in his mouth. The two, who had been still in place for a while, went inside when it was screening time.
Yoonjo, who walked limping while using crutches, looked at the empty screening room. There wasn’t a single person inside. It was natural. In this place where most households made a living from farming, watching a movie in broad daylight was nonsense.
Because there were no seat markings either, Yoonjo and Seonwoo found suitable spots and sat down. Sitting in the soft chair, Yoonjo asked Seonwoo cautiously, reading the situation.
“Hyung, but what brings you all the way here? I thought I’d be stuck lying down without moving until my leg fully healed.”
Seonwoo put the straw in Yoonjo’s mouth again as he was diligently eating popcorn *umul umul*. He pressed his hat down a bit more and leaned his body against the chair.
It was difficult to see the sudden plan to go to the movie theater as purely Seonwoo’s intention. Seonwoo recalled an old envelope left in the main room.
*’That child Yoonjo grew up among Grandma and Grandpa from way back, so he was good. Even though we didn’t let him run around naked, what do old folks do. Even what Yoonjo bought himself was quite something. So while his leg stump is broken, you know, do that thing. Go to town, and the arcade or whatever… go there too.’*
Clearing his throat with a *keum keum*, Yoonjo’s grandfather handed over a thick envelope. When he said he wouldn’t accept it, Grandpa held Seonwoo’s hand tightly, asking him to please do this.
Saying that because there’s not a single young person in the village, the child probably couldn’t play properly. Saying he knows it’s shameless, but still, the only person Yoonjo frequently meets and plays with is Seonwoo.
The money in the crumpled envelope was exactly 300,000 won. It was a bit short to buy the air conditioner Yoonjo wanted to put in the country house, but it wasn’t a small amount either.
His mouth suddenly tasted bitter. Even though they could afford to buy an air conditioner, Yoonjo’s grandparents didn’t and saved instead. Yet when handing it over telling him to take Yoonjo, there was no hesitation.
Come to think of it, that was the case. No matter how tight the circumstances here, could they not afford a single air conditioner? They even rebuilt the house as new construction.
The screen briefly darkened as if the movie was about to start. Seonwoo, who had been listening to the *wasak wasak* sound of eating popcorn, quietly opened his mouth.
“At home… do you usually spend a lot of time there?”
