Someday I’ll have to go down to my hometown and sort everything out. It’s something I can’t postpone forever. Maybe through this opportunity, I could completely shake off hyung. Perhaps it wasn’t even something to hate hyung for so long in the first place……
It was wrong to rely on and expect so much from a complete stranger. Now that both his body and mind had stabilized, it seemed Eunchan had gained the courage and tolerance to calmly look back on the past.
After finishing their meal, the two entered a nearby cafe to have dessert. Since he was treating him anyway, Eunchan wanted to feed him something good, so he ordered slice cake, waffles, and a frappuccino.
Eunchan took a picture of the cake and drinks that came out, sent it to Miro, and then signaled to Hyungsik that he could eat.
[I’ll go home after eating this. Where are you, Miro-ssi?]
Could Miro return home within today? Miro hadn’t replied to the first message either. Eunchan put his silent phone on the table and scooped up whipped cream with his fork, putting it in his mouth.
“Hyung, are you meeting anyone these days?”
“Who would I meet?”
“No, I was wondering if you’re dating or something. You keep looking at your phone.”
Hyungsik, who had been carefully watching what Eunchan was doing, threw out a question. Eunchan hid his flustered feelings inside and answered with a nonchalant face.
“Who would I meet? I don’t even have time for that.”
Time was abundant, so he stayed stuck with Miro every day and didn’t go outside the house. However, Eunchan told Hyungsik not to talk nonsense and put a straw in his mouth. He wanted to keep his relationship with Miro a secret as much as possible. It wasn’t a bad thing, but there was Miro’s company business, and homosexuality wasn’t yet socially accepted enough to be disclosed to people, so he was cautious.
“By the way, don’t you have any work these days?”
Worried that Hyungsik might say something strange again, Eunchan asked about work to change the subject.
“Well, these days. It’s quiet.”
“What about the boss?”
“He’s looking forward to going on vacation to Southeast Asia.”
Seeing that the boss, who would have been most stressed if there was no work, had no particular worries, it seemed this job had paid quite well. Seeing how he said nothing when Eunchan said he was taking a break, maybe they had earned more than imaginable.
“Ask for a bonus. Looks like we made a lot this time.”
“He’ll at least pretend to listen if hyung says it. If I say it, it won’t get through.”
Hyungsik grumbled that he still treats him like a child. Since Eunchan had seen Hyungsik since his student days, in Eunchan’s eyes too, he still looked like a kid wearing a school uniform.
“Has there been any contact from the Myeongjin lawyer since then?”
“No. It was canceled and ended.”
“I wonder if they found Kim Noeul?”
“Last time hyung and the boss said the lawyer might find and kill Kim Noeul, so I’m uneasy too.”
With cream all over his mouth, Hyungsik confessed it was scary.
“There’s no way something would happen…… We’re not even related to it anymore.”
Although he spoke to Hyungsik as if it was nothing, Eunchan couldn’t easily dispel his suspicions about Han Inju. The development company for the land with the grave they had been commissioned for was also Myeongjin, and one brother was dead while they didn’t even know if the remaining one was alive or dead.
The fact that Kim Noeul and Kim Haengbok’s hometown was Muan, that the development company there was Myeongjin, and even the Myeongjin flower basket he saw in front of Jang Heewoo’s hospital room. Everything bothered him. When he came to his senses, there wasn’t a single person around him who wasn’t related to Myeongjin, to the point where you could say he was in the middle of Myeongjin.
Should I just go to Jang Heewoo and ask what his relationship with Myeongjin is? It would be fortunate if I don’t just get scolded asking what business it is of mine. No wait, JN was also Miro’s company anyway. Let me ask Miro. Maybe he knows about Han Inju.
“Hyung, don’t look into it any more. Like you said, we’re not related to it anymore. What if there’s another accident?”
Seeing that Eunchan looked like he would dig deeper, Hyungsik dissuaded him and shook his head.
“Okay. Haven’t you seen any strange people around Miro-ssi’s house recently?”
“No, there are just no people walking around at all. There aren’t even streetlights……”
Since Miro and Eunchan were living there, Hyungsik didn’t bother to say out loud that it was like a creepy abandoned house. However, since Eunchan was thinking similarly to Hyungsik, it was okay.
“I know, it’s a bit scary. Has the stalker completely given up?”
“How long has it been since the stalker appeared?”
“I think he said about one or two years.”
“Isn’t that long? I don’t think they’d give up that easily. Or did they give up after seeing that you’re living together?”
“Well, the younger brother was suspicious.”
It seemed like Jang Heewoo was hospitalized around that time too. Did he not give stalking orders because he started getting sick? However, from the perspective of actually meeting and having a conversation with him, although Jang Heewoo hated Miro, he was rather on the side of appealing that he himself was the victim.
‘What do you do for him?’
He remembered the words Jang Heewoo said when they first met. As if Miro was accustomed to hiring and using people, Jang Heewoo had asked Eunchan that.
“I hung around that younger brother’s hospital watching, but he really just stayed in the hospital? There were no people coming and going either……”
“I don’t know either. Anyway, as long as there’s no harm, it’s fine.”
Eunchan raised his hand to massage the back of his neck, then gulped down his green tea latte that he had ordered for himself until the bottom was revealed in one go. The two shared the cake and spent time talking about the games Hyungsik was interested in these days and the installment savings he had joined. Hyungsik, who had reluctantly joined the installment savings that Eunchan recommended, made a crying face saying he had no money to spend.
“Still, save it up. You never know when you’ll need it.”
Although it was a measly salary, you could still use it when needed if you saved it up. As a life senior, Eunchan didn’t spare advice to Hyungsik, but Hyungsik just nodded his head halfheartedly with dead eyes to shut Eunchan up.
“Yes.”
“You’re not listening to me.”
“No. Hyung, want to go to karaoke after a long time?”
When the plates on the table were emptied and the footsteps of customers visiting the cafe had also somewhat subsided, Hyungsik smiled brightly and made a proposal.
“No, I’m not going.”
Eunchan, whose pride was already hurt by Hyungsik who wouldn’t listen to advice that would be beneficial even a little bit, immediately refused. Moreover, since it was late, he wanted to go home and check if Miro had come.
“Why- Let’s go sing. Ah, did you hear Uju Daebak Boys’ new song?”
“Yeah. Why is there so much English in their songs? The lyrics are weird too.”
“That’s trendy these days. Making it a bit like pop songs.”
“Really, all kinds of things become trends.”
While cleaning up the messy table, Eunchan swallowed a hollow laugh. Hyungsik stood up saying he would return the cups and plates, and in the meantime, Eunchan checked his phone once more.
[I.will.go.home.soon.^^.How.about.Eunchan.?]
It was just when he was worried because there had been no reply, but fortunately there was contact. He sent a message that he was also departing for home soon and waited for Hyungsik to come. Did Miro eat dinner? He had decided to buy a gift, but he just wanted to go home quickly.
“Hyung, that person who saved us back then is there.”
“Who?”
“Over there by the window. I remember because that person carried you on their back.”
Eunchan looked at the person Hyungsik was pointing at. It was the friend of the man with transparent glasses he had met before.
“I gave a cake to the other friend.”
Should I take care of this person too? If it weren’t for Hyungsik, I wouldn’t have even recognized him. As Eunchan was pondering what to give, the man was packing his things while on a phone call. At his busy movements, Eunchan signaled to Hyungsik with his eyes.
“You go say hello.”
“To say thank you?”
“Yeah.”
You recognized him, so you handle it. Eunchan patted Hyungsik’s shoulder and then stepped out of the cafe first. Greeting the cold wind with his face, Eunchan did neck exercises. He wanted to send Hyungsik off first, then catch a taxi and go home quickly. Looking at the man and Hyungsik awkwardly greeting each other through the window, Eunchan made his next plan.
……But strangely, it feels like I keep seeing only the same people.
Eunchan noticed that a couple of people he had seen at the meat restaurant were sitting inside the cafe. It was somewhat far from the meat restaurant, so it wasn’t a cafe you’d come to for dessert.
That kid too, clearly the university and officetel are in opposite directions, yet it was strange to run into him here. Even though he hadn’t drunk alcohol, Eunchan held his spinning head. Was it because he had become a bit sensitive since his father’s funeral? Everything in the world seemed suspicious.
“Hyung? Are you sick?”
Hyungsik, who had finished greeting and come out, worried seeing Eunchan frowning heavily and making a face.
“No, I’m fine. You’re going home, right? I should go quickly and rest too.”
Since it was dinner after meeting in a long time, Hyungsik showed his regret, but reluctantly nodded at Eunchan’s tired-looking face. Coming out to the roadside to catch a taxi, Eunchan turned around and looked at the cafe again. The man who had exchanged greetings with Hyungsik was sitting by the window, watching Eunchan and Hyungsik until the end.
He took a taxi and came inside the complex. At the gloomy atmosphere, even the taxi driver added that it was a good place but the flaw was that it was a bit dark. When they arrived in front of the house, Miro was standing in front. When the taxi stopped in front of him, Miro immediately opened the front passenger door and greeted Eunchan.
“Di, did you come?”
“Yes, let me pay first.”
“I’ll do it. Eunchan, get out.”
Naturally, Miro took out his wallet from his pocket. Not wanting to argue unnecessarily, Eunchan obediently unfastened his seatbelt and got out of the taxi. At least coming home, his anxious heart seemed to settle. When the taxi that had finished payment turned the corner and disappeared from view, Eunchan hugged Miro.
“Were you busy with work?”
“Mm, a little. How about Eunchan?”
Miro’s arms crossed over his waist and back, firmly binding Eunchan. Inhaling Miro’s rose scent, Eunchan told him that nothing special happened and he just ate with Hyungsik and parted ways.
