“I’m not broken…”
The dejected voice sounded pitiful. Hahyun bent down and looked at me as if examining me. His brown eyes scanned my face before stopping directly on my eyes.
“Hyung, did you not contact me today because you weren’t feeling well?”
“I did contact you. I said I was going to sleep… and then I slept straight through. I didn’t even know Hajin-ssi had come.”
“Ahh… I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
Feeling sorry, I reached out to hold his hand, but Hahyun was already crying.
“To think that I hurt hyung… I really must be crazy. How could I have thought to reduce you to this state unless I’m a worthless bastard?”
“…”
Guilt washed over me, feeling like it would tear into pieces and disappear. When I glanced to the side, I noticed Hajin’s lips curled up strangely.
You scary bastard. This is all because of you… and you’re smiling now?
I glared at Hajin with all my might before turning to Hahyun with a gentle smile.
“I told you, it’s fine. I’m perfectly okay. It seems like Hahyun was very worried because I couldn’t contact you.”
“Worried? More like he was fuming while indulging in his delusions.”
Hajin’s blunt comment made my blood boil. Here I was, doing my best to comfort Hahyun to clean up the mess he had created, and he was adding salt to the wound…
I shot Hajin a glare and said, “Even if Hahyun was delusional, he’s still far better than someone who didn’t bother to contact us once despite knowing the other person was worried!”
At my words, Hahyun abruptly stopped crying, and Hajin opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it and sighed.
“You don’t know anything…”
“How would I know unless you tell me? How could I possibly know when you keep making excuses and never tell me anything?”
“When the time comes, I’d tell you properly, of course.”
I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t say anything and just glared at Hajin. Hajin looked at me as if he had a lot to say, then waved his hand dismissively and said:
“So I’m the bad guy again. Think whatever you want.”
I was about to argue back, angry at Hajin who did whatever he pleased yet acted as if I was making unreasonable demands, when a phone rang.
The timing was truly impeccable. Was this planned too? Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense that situations like this always arose whenever I tried to question Hajin.
“Fuck!”
Hajin cursed as he checked the screen. Judging by his expression, it seemed like an important call he couldn’t ignore. He answered the phone irritably.
“What? You told me to rest.”
Hajin’s face crumpled at whatever the person on the other end said. It seemed like an urgent matter had come up that required him to leave. What could he possibly be doing that made him have to go out every night? Just as I was becoming suspicious, Hajin spoke:
“I’m coming now. No, I’ll be there right away, so let’s meet there then.”
Throughout the call, Hajin hadn’t taken his eyes off my face. Now he looked at me with a displeased expression.
“Yoon Juwon, are you happy that I’m going out?”
“…What is there to be happy about?”
“Your expression looks like you’re dying of happiness.”
Truthfully, I was hoping he would leave. If Hajin left, the tension between the brothers would end too. But was it that obvious? I lowered the corners of my mouth and tried to look nonchalant. Right on cue, Hahyun came to my defense.
“Why are you picking on an innocent person? It’s not Juwon hyung’s fault that you have to leave. You must be busy, so hurry up and go.”
Hajin left without another word. Feeling like I should at least see him off, I tried to get up, but my body wouldn’t move. Well, it made sense after enduring two days of the monstrous energy of the brothers going wild.
“Ugh…!”
“Hyung, are you in a lot of pain? What should we do… Should we call a hospital, or a doctor?”
Hahyun kept pacing back and forth, repeatedly asking what to do. After just one groan, he looked ready to lay me on the bed and hook me up to an oxygen machine right away.
“Hahyun, calm down. How can you be so frantic in front of someone who’s in pain?”
“Ah… I’m sorry. I was just so shocked.”
Hahyun was still in his work clothes. I couldn’t help but smile, vividly imagining Hahyun coming home after work, searching the entire house for me, then finding me in Hajin’s room and getting furiously angry.
“Why are you smiling?”
“Just because you’re cute.”
“…All of a sudden?”
“Yeah, suddenly you seem cute. No, our Hahyun is always cute.”
“Always cute?”
Hahyun asked with his eyes wide open. He looked just like a rabbit, so I nodded vigorously. Hahyun’s ears were gradually turning red. Seeing Hahyun blush at my simple words after doing all sorts of things to me yesterday gave me a strange feeling.
“Oh right, hyung, have you had dinner? There’s no way Seo Hajin would have taken care of that…”
“Not yet.”
“Sigh… how could he not even feed a sick person?”
It’s okay for another man to feed me?
Their relationship was strange—at each other’s throats when together, but acknowledging each other’s existence when apart as if nothing had happened. I couldn’t understand it, yet at the same time, considering their past where they relied on each other to face Chairman Seo’s abuse, I could also understand it.
“Hyung, wait just a bit. I’ll make something delicious for you right away. Is there anything you’d like to eat?”
Although I was hungry, I didn’t want to make Hahyun cook after working all day and coming home tired.
“Yes. The double meat cheeseburger from ShukShuk Burger and a milkshake.”
“…What? You want me to make a hamburger?”
“No, I want the one from ShukShuk Burger.”
“Should I order it then?”
“Yeah.”
Hahyun immediately picked up his phone and tapped quickly. After quickly finishing the food order, he said with wide eyes:
“Hyung, but remember when I ordered spaghetti before and you got angry? You said your affection was cooling off…”
Remembering that time made me feel sorry.
“I thought you didn’t like delivery food… So I was thinking of learning Western and Japanese cuisine and getting certified. I’ll make everything for you.”
Hahyun smiled as if genuinely delighted. Judging by his expression, you’d think I’d given him a luxury gift. Hahyun must really enjoy doing things for me.
“The hamburger will be here soon, so go change clothes and wash up.”
“…Should I stay here?”
“I’ll go to my room while you’re washing up.”
“Yes! Then please wait just a bit.”
As soon as Hahyun turned around, he loosened his tie and took off his jacket, draping it over his arm. I thought he could take his time, but he seemed in such a hurry. I kept smiling until Hahyun disappeared from sight, then picked up my phone.
Since it was obvious that he wouldn’t leave my side for even a moment after coming out of the bathroom, I needed to contact Hajin now. I was going to send a text but found even typing tiresome, so I called instead.
– Hey, Juwon.
“I let it slide earlier because of Hahyun, but this isn’t over yet.”
Laughter came through the phone.
– I already told Hahyun roughly. That the investigation isn’t even completely over. I need to have something to say to be able to say it.
“You were quite good at lying to Hahyun earlier, weren’t you? How can I believe whether it’s a lie or not?”
– Yoon Juwon, you weren’t any better than me.
I was at a loss for words but felt unfairly accused, leaving my mouth gaping.
– There’s nothing to doubt. I’m on my way to meet the prosecutor now.
“Is it serious?”
– Well, I’ll have to see when I get there.
“Be careful.”
– Yeah, I’m almost there so I’ll hang up now.
The call ended. My last words telling him to be careful were sincere.
* * *
I managed to get up and go outside, only to see Hahyun approaching with a plastic bag in hand, freshly showered. He must have rushed out of the bathroom, as water was still dripping from his hair.
“Hyung, the hamburgers are here. Fortunately, the delivery came quickly.”
“Go to the room and unwrap them. I’ll join you after going to the bathroom.”
“Okay.”
Hahyun went into the room. Feeling sorry for him sitting there looking like a drowned rat, I went to the bathroom to get a towel and returned to find Hahyun unwrapping the hamburger packaging. There was enough food to fill the entire table.
“Oh my, why did you buy so much?”
“I was afraid you’d be hungry. And I’m hungry too…”
“Come sit here.”
When I sat on the bed and pointed to the floor, Hahyun came over with a puzzled expression and sat down. I placed the towel on his head.
“Water is splashing on the hamburgers, so let’s dry it a bit before eating.”
Hahyun sat quietly, entrusting his head to me without saying a word. The dark brown hair that wrapped around my fingers was soft. As I pressed firmly to remove the moisture and my hand touched his nape, Hahyun’s shoulders flinched.
I couldn’t help but smile seeing Hahyun overreacting to my words, expressions, and the slightest touch. I liked it, so I pretended to touch his hair while actually stroking his nape, and even bent down as much as possible to blow air on him. Each time, Hahyun would either shudder or cross his legs.
So cute…
