After Eunchan came back from the bathroom, he conserved his words as much as possible while enduring the bartender’s flirting.
“What’s your name, hyung?”
“I don’t really want to tell you.”
“You’re playing so hard to get. That’s attractive too.”
The more he pushed away, the more skillfully the bartender approached. Facing an opponent more difficult to deal with than Jang Heewoo, Eunchan just gulped down his alcohol. He’d long since finished the mojito he’d first ordered, and now he was sharing the whiskey Kim Wooseok had bought. If there was one good thing, it was that he could freeload expensive alcohol. If the boss had known about this, he would have insisted on coming himself instead of Eunchan.
“I got a call from my manager hyung for a second.”
As he was biting into a melon that had come out as a fruit snack, Choi Hanul whispered quietly in his ear. Eunchan nodded and continued focusing on the fruit. This time it was the pineapple’s turn to be eaten.
“Looks like what you ate earlier wasn’t quite enough.”
Kim Wooseok, who had pulled over the empty seat where Choi Hanul had been sitting, showed interest in Eunchan and struck up a conversation.
“Hey, let him eat. Hyung, should I peel more fruit for you?”
Before Eunchan could even answer, the bartender picked up a paring knife, peeled an apple, and served it on a plate. Then he moved away to attend to other customers.
“It’s okay to call you hyung, right? Hanul calls you hyung too.”
“Yes.”
It was better to have him call him hyung than to unnecessarily give out his name.
“Where do you live, hyung?”
“Just, well, the Gangbuk area.”
“Ah~ So you live in Hannam-dong?”
When Eunchan gave a vague answer while thinking of Miro’s house, Kim Wooseok looked at Eunchan inquisitively, pretending to probe.
“I heard you’re a university student? Which university do you go to?”
Instead of answering, Eunchan asked about Kim Wooseok’s university.
“Me? Korea University.”
Seeing him answer proudly with a smile, Eunchan felt a little intimidated. Just as Choi Hanul had said, he really was good at studying.
“What about you, hyung?”
“I went somewhere ordinary.”
He’d never even been near a university, but the lies came flowing out smoothly. Eunchan shoved an apple into his mouth and avoided eye contact. He had no confidence when it came to the length of his educational background.
“Hyung, I’m on the waiting list wanting to buy that watch you’re wearing right now. How did you get it so quickly?”
Kim Wooseok began showing interest in the watch fastened to Eunchan’s wrist. Since it was a watch Miro had given him and Eunchan knew nothing about it, he answered this question honestly.
“I received it as a gift.”
“Wow… Someone gave you this as a gift? I’m jealous.”
“I heard you’re close with Hanul?”
Under the burdensome gaze, Eunchan quickly changed the subject. Kim Wooseok, who had taken his eyes off Eunchan’s wrist, smiled slightly.
“We weren’t on bad terms, but actually after graduating middle school we didn’t even keep in touch.”
“Really? You two seemed close.”
“Well, I always wanted to be close with Hanul, so I was happy when he suddenly contacted me. How do you know Hanul, hyung?”
Though it was a relationship formed through money, Eunchan packaged it as favorably and normally as possible in his answer.
“I met him through an acquaintance’s introduction. Um… An acquaintance draws paintings, and Hanul came to an exhibition.”
“Ah, really? Whose exhibition? I like looking at paintings too.”
“…Jang Heewoo.”
Since he didn’t know any artists, he hastily sold out Jang Heewoo’s name. It was just the other day they’d been screwing each other over and getting on each other’s nerves, yet here he was using his name like this.
“Hyung, are you close with Jang Heewoo? Wow! Can you take me to an exhibition too?”
Whether Jang Heewoo was a more famous artist than he’d thought, Kim Wooseok excitedly grabbed Eunchan’s hand and pleaded.
“Huh? We just say hello to each other…”
“What? What were you talking about?”
Choi Hanul, who had returned after finishing his call, looked back and forth between Eunchan and Kim Wooseok, who had gotten closer, and asked.
“Oh, sorry. Sit down. We were talking about exhibitions. You know Jang Heewoo, right?”
“Jang Heewoo?”
Choi Hanul, who had sat in the seat Kim Wooseok vacated, looked back at Eunchan with surprised eyes. Eunchan signaled with his eyes for him to play along.
“Uh, um… Right, yeah.”
Choi Hanul reluctantly nodded. Between the awkward Eunchan and Hanul, Kim Wooseok alone was excited and began chattering about how he’d wanted to get close to Jang Heewoo for a long time but couldn’t, and how he was really happy to have this opportunity.
Eunchan, who had mocked Jang Heewoo for not being able to paint, belatedly blushed with embarrassment. So he really was a famous artist.
“Wooseok-ah, someone over there is looking for you. Go say hello.”
“Where? Ah~ Those guys said they were going to Busan, but I guess they came today. I’ll just go say hello real quick, I’ll be back.”
With good timing, the bartender came looking for Kim Wooseok. Saying they were friends he knew and that he’d go say hello, he briefly left his seat.
When only the two were left, Choi Hanul began questioning Eunchan with a serious face.
“What do we do if you lie about knowing Jang Heewoo?”
“We’re not strangers.”
They were on even worse terms than strangers. Eunchan retorted while sipping his drink.
“You really know Jang Heewoo? How?”
“It just ended up that way. I didn’t know Jang Heewoo was such a great artist.”
“One painting goes for several thousand. Plus he’s a conglomerate president. Though I heard he doesn’t participate in management because his health isn’t good.”
“Which conglomerate?”
“JNE. It’s famous, didn’t you know?”
All he knew was that Jang Heewoo had a really nasty temper. Besides, Eunchan was more interested in the older brother than the younger one, so he hadn’t been particularly curious.
“It’ll be big trouble if Kim Wooseok really asks to be introduced to Jang Heewoo…”
“That person isn’t in a leisurely situation to be meeting anyone, so it’ll be fine.”
Since he was sick, there was a high possibility he was stuck in the hospital. Eunchan comforted Choi Hanul, telling him not to worry too much.
From the point when Hanul and Eunchan said they knew Jang Heewoo, Kim Wooseok became friendlier and more affable. He even brought around champagne that was more expensive than the whiskey they’d ordered. Good things are good things, so Eunchan drank whatever was offered to him.
Since he wasn’t particularly weak with alcohol to begin with, Eunchan also happily downed the cocktails the bartender served as compliments. As the time when the sun set arrived, the inside of the bar filled with visiting customers. Next to Eunchan, a man he’d never seen before also sat down and ordered whiskey.
“I’ve never seen your face before. Nice to meet you.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Are you here alone?”
While Eunchan was busy being absorbed in enjoying the snacks and drinks served, the man next to him kept striking up conversation with him. Eunchan pointed with his chin at Kim Wooseok and Choi Hanul, who were deeply immersed in their own conversation, and downed the champagne again.
“Want to go out with me if you’re bored?”
Whether he’d judged that Eunchan was being left out alone, the man whispered to Eunchan with suggestive eyes. Eunchan endured the goosebumps rising and waved his hand, telling him to go away.
“Don’t be like that.”
However, the man had no intention of giving up on Eunchan. Seeing a particularly eye-catching person sitting in front of the bar at a place he’d come to after a long time, the man whistled. Among faces that were all pretty much the same, it was a handsome appearance that stood out. Everyone had been measuring the timing to talk to the new customer, but since the bartender had apparently set his sights on him and was blocking others from approaching, they could only watch from afar. Then the bartender left his spot, and the man quickly slipped in next to Eunchan.
While the man kept being annoying and saying he’d buy him a drink, Eunchan checked his ringing phone. It was a call from Miro. To answer the phone in a quiet place, Eunchan stood up from his chair. And only then did he realize he was drunk.
When he staggered for a moment, the man grabbed Eunchan’s wrist. However, Eunchan, who was still fine, shook his arm off roughly and pushed the man away.
“Go play by yourself over there.”
He was in a hurry because he wanted to quickly answer the continuously ringing phone, but the man who kept being clingy was annoying. Eunchan ran his hand through his hair and walked out of the bar.
“Hello.”
— U-Uenchan, where are you?
As he inhaled the cool breeze instead of cigarette smoke, he felt refreshed inside. Since he’d only been inside the dark bar with no windows, his sense of time had dulled and he hadn’t even known the sun had set.
“I came to a bar for a bit. Sorry, I didn’t realize it got this late.”
— Did you drink a lot?
“A little. Not enough to be drunk.”
— I’ll come pick you up. Eunchan, w-wait.
How would he even know where this was to come? However, Miro’s proposal was quite honest. From here to Miro’s house was a rather long distance. Even taking the subway required a transfer, and taking the bus would take close to two hours just to get home. Taking a taxi seemed like a waste of money.
“It’s fine. I’ll head in now.”
Still, he didn’t want to trouble someone for no reason. He didn’t want to make him come in front of a gay bar either.
— No, Eunchan stay there. Got it?
With Miro’s entreaty, the call ended. Eunchan leaned against the cold wall and enjoyed looking at the night sky. Even having someone who’d at least say they’d come pick him up, his fortune had improved a lot. For now, he was thinking of sobering up a bit here before going home.
Even when Eunchan came back inside the bar, the man was still sitting in that spot. Persistently clingy bastard. When Choi Hanul asked where he’d been, he waved his phone.
“We’re going to a second round, want to come with us?”
“No, I’ll head home.”
Choi Hanul smiled and suggested Eunchan come along. Eunchan, who had wanted to go home quickly anyway, shook his head and declined. Kim Wooseok headed to the register to pay, and in the meantime Choi Hanul whispered in Eunchan’s ear that he’d prepared a gift so take it.
“Thanks for today. I asked them to wrap up a bottle of champagne, so take it when the bartender comes.”
“You didn’t have to.”
“No, I did. Oh, and give me your phone number.”
Eunchan readily gave Choi Hanul his number.
“Take revenge in moderation and focus on work.”
It was sincere advice. Choi Hanul only smiled and didn’t give an answer. After seeing the two off as they left, Eunchan sat down and waited for the bartender. His seat had been taken at just the right time.
