Haeseong simply had a sudden question, that was all.
He felt a strange affection toward Euiju that he had never felt toward the adults he’d known for years, and he was merely curious if this might be connected to physical contact. These filthy feelings had started after his manager massaged his legs, after all.
So to compare, he hugged Kim Jaeho.
“Fuck…”
The result was so disgusting, unpleasant, and horrible that he felt sorry for even trying to compare it to his manager.
“That’s enough. You can go.”
“Wh-what?”
His thick eyebrows twitched and his long eyes sharpened to points. Haeseong looked down at Kim Jaeho with a cold gaze, then turned his body without hesitation and headed to the bedroom.
“What the hell…”
Only Kim Jaeho, sprawled on the floor, blinked his eyes with a stupid expression on his face.
Haeseong entered the room to retrieve the phone he’d left behind and felt a faint vibration. It was vibrating from the phone that had fallen on the floor. Haeseong rushed over and answered the call.
[Honey…]
“Fuck. Do you really want to die? You said you’d answer the phone. Do you know how many times I called?!”
His highly agitated voice traveled through the phone to Euiju. Hearing a small laugh from the other end made Haeseong’s face flush even redder with anger. He was genuinely angry, but it was annoying that Euiju seemed to dismiss it as if he were just being cute.
[Sorry. Are you very angry? I should have put it on ring mode but I forgot. Did you wait long?]
“Yes. I’m fucking pissed. If you want to make it up to me, appear in front of me right now. Get on a plane right now and come here immediately.”
[Mm… Haeseong-ah, wait a moment.]
Click. The call ended.
‘What the…’
Haeseong looked at the disconnected phone in disbelief. Soon he let out a hollow laugh. When a person gets too angry, heat rises to their face and their heart pounds fiercely. He was experiencing that fact firsthand right now.
“Are you kidding me, seriously.”
First, not telling him until the day before the important fact that he’d be coming down two days later, then ignoring his calls. And now hanging up on him arbitrarily.
It was really nothing major, but as these trivial things kept piling up, Haeseong couldn’t help but get angrier and angrier. Just as he ran his fingers irritably through his hair and was about to press the call button again—
The phone vibrated strongly. Haeseong’s pretty eyes widened as far as they could go. It was because Euiju was calling him via video chat.
“…”
Although they’d talked on the phone frequently over the past month, this was the first video call, so Haeseong’s face was instantly colored with confusion. Should he answer it? All sorts of thoughts ran through his head.
Then the call ended. Haeseong quickly looked around, then hurried to the mirror and fixed his hair. His thin, voluminous hair that had been dried not long ago was a bit weighed down from the moisture, but his appearance was as outstanding as always. After checking his appearance, Haeseong cleared his throat and called back.
[What? Why didn’t you answer?]
Euiju’s face filled the small phone screen. Seeing it, the corners of Haeseong’s mouth lifted as if he’d never been angry. To hide it, Haeseong awkwardly turned his head.
“…I might not answer either. You did that too, ahjussi.”
[Haha, that’s true. Did you eat dinner?]
“I was just about to eat.”
Despite having lived half his life in front of cameras, Haeseong was apparently shy and couldn’t look at the screen properly. Noticing this, Euiju’s eyes curved prettily as if looking at something cute.
[How was filming? Did you get close with Rhythm?]
The original name of the retriever he’d filmed with today was ‘Rhythm.’ At Euiju’s question, Haeseong shook his head.
“They said the dog usually hates being shampooed. It smelled awful, I really hated it. You know, ahjussi, the first scene. I had to meet it looking like a drowned rat, and since the body was wet, it smelled even worse.”
[I see. That must have been tough.]
“What about you, ahjussi?”
[Hm?]
“…I’m asking how you were.”
Haeseong, who had been too shy to look at the camera, turned his head and stared at the screen. The face of the manager he’d wanted to see all day filled the screen. Strangely, his face began to heat up.
[Me? As I said yesterday, I went to Roun’s hospital and some businesses. Oh, right. Haeseong-ah.]
Euiju said “ah” as if remembering something.
[I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?]
“Only tell me the good one. Don’t even open your mouth about the bad one. I don’t want to hear it.”
[Okay. It’s not a big deal… I think I’ll be able to come over tomorrow evening. It looks like things will wrap up faster than expected. No, more than anything…]
Euiju, who had cut off his words, paused unusually for him. Haeseong stared intently at his lips.
[You kept weighing on my mind, Haeseong, so I thought I should hurry down.]
Euiju said with a slight smile. Haeseong asked in disbelief.
“…I’m on your mind?”
[Yeah. It keeps happening.]
For a moment, Haeseong’s beautiful lips began to curve upward as he blinked vacantly. Haeseong quickly switched the screen to the rear camera.
“…I’ll eat, exercise, and call you back.”
[What? Wait…!]
Click. Haeseong unilaterally hung up. He threw himself on the bed and buried his face in the pillow. Thump thump. The innocent pillow was assaulted.
His face, which had already heated up from anger, was now heating up for a different reason.
—You kept weighing on my mind, Haeseong, so I thought I should hurry down.
He’d clearly said it was an appointment that had been scheduled in advance due to family circumstances. Lee Euiju, who cherished his family terribly, said he’d finished his work quickly because he was worried about him.
“…Does that make sense?”
Haeseong’s hidden face was full of a beaming smile. He twisted his body on the bed while lying down, and ran his hands wildly through his hair with his fingers between the strands. His emotions swelled so much that the top of his head felt hot. He felt so good that all the fatigue from the day seemed to fly away.
After making such a fuss for a while, Haeseong slapped his flushed cheeks a couple of times and headed to the dining table. The greens that had looked disgusting just moments ago were starting to look appetizing. Although the company that had no real interest in Haeseong’s tastes had prepared it out of obligation, Haeseong began eating quickly as if it were a meal Euiju had made for him.
After eating, Haeseong sat on the sofa to digest and memorized his script, then worked up a sweat on the treadmill before washing up and lying down on the bed. He picked up his phone to call Euiju again, and after debating whether to make a video call or not, he eventually made a regular call. This time, Euiju’s voice was heard before even a few rings.
[Did you finish everything?]
“What’s the bad news?”
It was Haeseong firing off a question without giving Euiju a chance to breathe. In fact, he’d been wanting to ask since mealtime out of curiosity. Euiju’s voice, sounding troubled, slowly flowed in.
[It looks like I’ll have to go up to Seoul a day early from Jeju Island. I’m really sorry.]
“…What did you say?”
Haeseong’s brow furrowed instantly.
“What’s the reason this time…”
[There’s a problem with the columbarium where my parents are, so it seems I need to handle the transfer. I think I need to go.]
Haeseong’s mouth, which had been about to argue about what he was even doing as a manager, quickly shut. Although Haeseong was usually arrogant, rude, and ill-mannered, he knew well what things shouldn’t be touched.
Noticing this, Euiju asked with a small laugh.
[Are you lying down?]
“…Yes.”
[Me too. Roun fell asleep early today. The kids are all asleep too.]
The corners of Haeseong’s mouth lifted slightly as he pictured the very small room that was nothing but a bed and desk. The mattress that creaked whenever he moved, the old wooden desk that was worn here and there and covered in graffiti.
He naturally pictured Euiju lying in that narrow room. Even then, the room had been soaked with its owner’s scent, and now that the owner was there, it would be completely filled with his fragrance.
The narrow room. A room so packed that just a bed and desk filled it. A warm room, full of a familiar smell. Haeseong closed his eyes to imagine that scent. With only Euiju’s breathing audible in the quiet, somehow, it felt like he was with him. He thought that if it was like this, even if Euiju left a day early, he might not be lonely.
Only each other’s breathing passed between them in the stillness. Haeseong turned on his side and brought the phone close to his ear. After confirming he could hear Euiju’s breathing in a small sound, he closed his eyes again.
It was truly a peaceful night.
[Haeseong-ah.]
At Euiju’s call that broke the comfortable silence, Haeseong opened his eyes slightly.
[Your father—why isn’t he by your side when you’re still so young?]
The question was quite cautious. In fact, although they’d shared a lot of casual conversation, Euiju hadn’t asked Haeseong personal questions and had always been careful, so it was an unexpected question.
Haeseong’s body froze in place.
[Sorry. You don’t have to say if you don’t want to.]
The stillness flowing in the slightly heavier atmosphere reversed the subtle mood between the two. After a moment of silence, Haeseong opened his mouth as if it were nothing.
“Who knows. He probably found a fake like me disgusting to look at.”
A voice that seemed steeped in loneliness, not like someone who had lived seventeen years and half a year of life, flowed through Haeseong’s vocal cords.
