The man with the dragon tattoo chuckled and came to the register still holding the condom. The man, who had the box wedged between his index and middle fingers, vulgarly spun it around right in front of my eyes.
“Since we came to a convenience store, we should buy something. Should I buy one for the part-timer? This guy says he doesn’t need it because his own dick is enough?”
My hand holding the phone trembled. The man’s deliberately joking words were light, but his eyes were cold. When my father used to go to the gambling house, guys with builds like this would come every few days and turn the house upside down. In just a few years, I had completely forgotten that familiar sense of fear.
“Why no response? You’re not mute. Ah… if the mother’s mute, is the son mute too?”
He dropped the condom on the register with a thud. I opened my lips that wouldn’t move and spoke.
“Should I… ring this up?”
My hand grasping the condom fumbled several times. He chuckled and glanced at my major textbook placed below the register. Beep- I scanned the barcode.
“Ah, a law student. Then you must know the law well. We’re not people who do illegal stuff recklessly. You got the thing that came to your house, right? That’s officially from the court. Now you’re an adult, so pay back the money.”
A commotion arose from the side. Another thug was blocking customers from entering the convenience store.
“Hey hey. We’re just talking for a bit, so go somewhere else. There are lots of convenience stores around.”
People were chased away without knowing why. Not only were they threatening me, they were even causing damage to the convenience store. Then the tattooed man stared at exactly one spot. The CCTV on the ceiling. He grinned and even made a V sign.
“We don’t use violence or anything like that. We’re not gangsters or anything. Instead, rumors will spread all around you. That you’re a bastard who borrowed money and didn’t pay it back. Can the convenience store owner trust you with the cash register?”
I firmly gripped the phone I couldn’t bring myself to press and met the man’s eyes. His snake-like glittering eyes were telling me how persistently they could torment me.
Because of them, who wouldn’t lay a finger on me, I couldn’t call Jong-hwa. The man pressed the ribbed condom into my hand while muttering as if regretful.
“If you were a girl, I could’ve told you an easier method. You’d use this with me. But I don’t have a hobby of doing it with guys.”
The man who smacked his lips turned around with a grin.
“Think carefully. Next is school.”
My legs gave out. I pressed my forehead against the register and closed my eyes. My mind went blank. My brain rotation, which Jong-hwa always said was all I had, completely stopped.
He said next is school. What kinds of things would they spout at school? I didn’t even want to imagine. I crushed the rectangular box in my hand.
***
Jung Hyun-wook, standing in front of the convenience store again today, smiled brightly and waved a fruit bag.
“You like fruit, right? The ma’am gave it to me.”
It seemed he had just arrived, as the sweat beaded on his forehead hadn’t dried yet. He wasn’t even wearing a cap. I raised my hand and pushed back the hair stuck to his forehead. Jung Hyun-wook stepped back.
“It’s dirty. I sweated too much, so I couldn’t even wear a cap. I was worried about the smell.”
He pulled my wrist, hastening his steps.
“Let’s go quickly.”
I asked while being half-dragged.
“Did you have a lot of work today?”
Healthy heat radiated from Jung Hyun-wook, who wore only short sleeves.
“Business is doing well these days. The boss says wholesale customers increased because of me. But it’s just because the weather got warmer, that’s all.”
Jung Hyun-wook showed a pleased smile. He’s polite and ingratiating with adults wherever he goes. An upright personality with no wrinkles, showing signs of being well-raised and educated. When I looked at him, I felt like I was becoming an upright person too. Could my crumpled life be smoothed out if I stayed by his side?
When we got home, he threw off his t-shirt from the entrance and went into the bathroom. He immediately groaned as if receiving a cold water baptism. Then suddenly he shouted loudly.
“The ma’am said to separate apples and strawberries! She said if you put them next to apples, they spoil quickly!”
My hand, which had been unconsciously picking out strawberries from the bag, stopped. I transferred the strawberries to a plastic basket and ran water over them. I put the apples in the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. Then I tied the knot of the black plastic bag tightly as if sealing it.
Today, while Jung Hyun-wook washed up, I set the table. I took out the side dishes the lady gave us and arranged them. I even put a fried egg on top of Jung Hyun-wook’s rice.
A question mark appeared in Jung Hyun-wook’s eyes as he came out shaking his hair.
“What’s this?”
“The lady gave them to us.”
His thick thighs revealed below his shorts forcibly folded and went under the small dining table.
“It’s the pickled perilla leaves I like.”
I naturally smiled at his excited words.
“She said she safely finished her daughter’s wedding. She said she used two whole days of paid leave.”
Jung Hyun-wook, who had shoved a mouthful of rice into his cheek, smiled so broadly his face seemed to melt at my words. That look was innocent. I pushed a water glass toward him.
“You’ll choke. I should have made egg soup or something.”
At the words I unconsciously blurted out, he turned red to his ears, embarrassed about something, and pushed away the finished dining table.
“I like being together with you like this every day.”
He put away the side dish containers and brought the washed strawberries.
“The boss asked me today. He asked if the friend who comes to pick me up at the convenience store every day is my girlfriend.”
When the sweet and sour scent of strawberries reached my nose, saliva pooled in my mouth.
“I said I confessed that I liked you but haven’t received an answer yet.”
I stopped mid-bite into a strawberry. His fingertip casually rubbed and passed over my lower lip stained with juice. The delicate flesh pressed down and bounced back out.
“I’m not pressuring you. I’ll wait. I can wait.”
His gaze as he said that was directed at my lips. He cleared his throat and stood up, then went to the sink and busily organized the dishes.
“Go wash up now.”
I watched his back as he washed the dishes. When I looked at his back, many thoughts came to mind. What he was waiting for was probably my answer to his confession, but my imagination was always far ahead of that.
I bit my lower lip, where the heat from when he pressed on it still remained.
What could I give Jung Hyun-wook? When I have nothing.
For him who said he was happy being with me, all I could do was extend this time a little more.
After washing up and coming out, my blanket was laid out inside as usual. Jung Hyun-wook was already rolled up in his blanket and lying down.
I immediately turned off the lights and quietly burrowed into the blanket. The sound of the blanket rustling in the still room scratched at my ears. That sound stimulated my ears especially today.
My nerves were on edge as if it would be a disaster if the sound leaked out. I carefully pulled up the blanket while holding my breath.
Is Jung Hyun-wook awake? I called him softly in a barely audible voice.
“Jung Hyun-wook, are you asleep?”
There was no answer. But I could feel that he hadn’t fallen asleep yet. He seemed to have just decided not to answer.
A tense tension circulated in the silence. Soon, a suppressed voice answered.
“Not yet.”
I swallowed my saliva. I was nervous like someone facing a line that shouldn’t be crossed. After slowly raising my body, I approached him on my knees.
Jung Hyun-wook raised his upper body as if surprised. But before he could fully raise his body, I lifted his blanket near his legs and stuck my head in. I wriggled and crawled all the way between his legs. Jung Hyun-wook was fully erect.
“Mo Hyo-kyung…!”
He threw back the blanket. I desperately grabbed the edge of the blanket and held on. I didn’t have the confidence to see his face. Hidden in the pitch-black darkness, I barely said,
“Just… just stay like this. I’m embarrassed.”
I pulled down the elastic of his loose running pants. Triangle briefs. Seeing his thigh muscles writhing and swelling, I seemed to understand the reason.
Sung Woo-jae had said that Jung Hyun-wook going to a regular high school was purely because of ice hockey. At one time, he was the most promising player in the high school division, and all prestigious universities with hockey teams had their eyes on Jung Hyun-wook, but he joked that he actually went to a better university through academics.
With trembling hands, I groped above his underwear. The bulge in front was already damp and wet. As I hooked my finger over the waistband, my wrist was urgently grabbed. But I was faster in pulling down the fabric without hesitation. His thick member sprang up.
