“Because your surname is Go? Are you an elementary schooler? Making nicknames from surnames.”
“You had a nickname made from your surname?”
It was a nuance of interest. Woojae rummaged through old memories and nodded his head. There were such things often in childhood. Kim became Kimbap, Eom became Thumbelina… They were simple and childish nicknames. He had one of those too.
“Yeah.”
“What was it?”
“Gorilla.”
It was Gorilla. Because his surname was Go, Gorilla. Gye Sajun tilted his head as if he didn’t understand.
“You mean the animal? You don’t look like one though?”
“It’s Gorilla because my surname is Go. There was even a kid called Kimbap because their surname was Kim—where is there a person who looks like kimbap?”
“Then what would be an appropriate nickname for me? I don’t have one of those.”
“You want one of those too?”
“You make one for me.”
Gye Sajun, asking with a serious face for him to make a nickname, looked a little cute. He was about to laugh it off, but the guy looked serious. Looking at that face, he even felt a sense of responsibility.
“Gye-name? Gyeran-mari? Gyeran-jjim?”
He listed things that an elementary schooler would know among words starting with ‘Gye,’ but none of them suited him.
“Is that all?”
“You’re asking so suddenly, I don’t know. You just suit Gye Sajun the best.”
“Hmm… You suit Go Woojae the best too.”
After the trivial conversation, Woojae laughed heartily. And Gye Sajun objected to that laugh.
“Why do you keep laughing?”
“Geez, it’s a problem whether I laugh or not.”
Even while saying that, he had a smile on his face, so Gye Sajun gazed at him with strange eyes. He’d been interesting, getting annoyed at everything and being on edge, but now that he was laughing in a comfortable place, it felt like he was seeing the real Go Woojae for the first time. This messy, cluttered place felt unfamiliar to him, but it didn’t seem that way to Go Woojae. The face that finally looked comfortable was a bit dissatisfying and at the same time warmed his heart.
“Hey, I’m going to the bathroom, so wait a bit.”
He must have been drinking a lot of water because the bathroom was urgent—Go Woojae left only those words and vacated his seat. It was puzzling that he took a key with an old, dented rabbit doll attached from the entrance, but he kept his mouth shut in case he’d get snapped at again if he asked for no reason. He didn’t dislike getting snapped at by him, but he was embarrassed for no reason about not knowing much. The food was stimulating but novel, and the feeling of his tongue swelling was just unfamiliar. Everything was a first.
Gye Sajun looked around the shop while waiting for Woojae. The old-looking wallpaper was full of graffiti. What looked like people’s names and dates, hearts… And he saw a marker. As he picked up the marker without thinking, the owner spoke to him.
“Oh, you can write. It’s like our own interior design.”
Gye Sajun nodded at the owner’s refreshingly smiling face, pondered for a moment, then wrote something down. Thinking it would be quite fun if Go Woojae discovered it later.
***
Meanwhile, Woojae had finished his business in the bathroom and was washing his hands. He didn’t know what scent to call it, but he scrubbed his hands roughly with white soap that smelled vaguely of soap. Then, remembering something, he washed his face right there. He even soaped his nape. Enough to wet his collar and bangs a bit.
It was an action due to a bit of competitive spirit and doubt. Since it was a waste to throw away the cucumber soap filling the dormitory, he wanted to do a kind of test.
Gye Sajun was standing at the entrance. Woojae obediently hung the bathroom key back in its place and took out a cat-shaped wallet from his pocket. He remembered Gye Sajun’s cat talk from earlier for no reason, but shook his head to erase it. Although one eye had fallen off, it was something Nari had saved up her allowance to buy a few years ago, so it was a cherished item he didn’t throw away. Woojae opened the worn-out cat’s head, took out a card, and made a show to Gye Sajun who was standing there blankly.
“Hey, I’m buying this. Okay? I’m really struggling right now but I’m treating you.”
Gye Sajun nodded with an expressionless face and went out the door. He probably intended to get in the car he’d parked earlier.
“Boss, check please!”
Woojae loitered at the empty counter and raised his hand to signal his intention to pay. The owner, who was clearing a table at the far end, answered by raising only his voice without moving.
“You already paid, student.”
“What?”
“That tall, handsome student from earlier already paid for everything.”
It was a bolt from the blue. Woojae rushed out of the shop so quickly his coat fluttered.
“Hey!”
“Not getting in?”
Gye Sajun was shamelessly opening the passenger door. Standing next to the expensive car, he finally looked like he’d arrived at his proper place. The distance between him and himself felt newly far. Even though they’d never been close in the first place.
“Why did you pay on your own?”
“I was bored waiting.”
Gye Sajun also seemed to be choosing his words quite carefully. Woojae didn’t want to break today’s peace either. Still, is “I was bored so I paid” something you say? But he was secretly grateful. He’d been troubled about the MT participation fee, so it was like saving at least some money. Woojae gestured with his chin at the tacky corner store with “Bonggu Super Market” written on it and suggested.
“Want to eat ice cream or something? I can buy you that much.”
“Do that.”
His grinning face didn’t seem like a person of this world. They say truly handsome people shine with a halo as if they have fluorescent lights stuck in their spine, but Gye Sajun’s fluorescent light was definitely in his teeth. The face smiling with teeth slightly showing had the magic to make even the same sex’s heart flutter. Of course, Woojae reminded himself that his heart didn’t flutter.
On the outside of the supermarket, refrigerators full of ice cream were lined up. Woojae grabbed the handle and pushed while asking Gye Sajun, who was peeking from beside him.
“Do you have a favorite flavor? Want to eat a hard ice cream bar, or a cone?”
“I’ll eat the same thing as you.”
It was a cute answer. When Woojae muttered with a laughing tone, “You’re a copycat,” Gye Sajun tilted his head to look at Woojae’s face. Woojae pretended not to see Gye Sajun like that and rummaged through the pile of ice cream.
“Tornado Bar? Fanfare? Shark Bar? Or Heat Hunter? Hard to decide.”
“…Why are all the names like that?”
At the serious voice, Woojae was at a loss for words too. Because he’d never once thought about what reason these ice creams had for having such names.
“Because it’s shaped like a whirlwind…?”
“What about Fanfare?”
“Because you want to celebrate when you eat it…?”
“Shark Bar seems to be shark-shaped, and Heat Hunter?”
“Because you can catch the heat…?”
Even while answering, he felt like he was becoming an idiot. Woojae roughly picked up a Tornado Bar with his cold, frozen hand. If he ate Fanfare after celebrating something, it felt like it would create the illusion of celebrating the meal with him.
“What flavor is this?”
He was like a child with so many questions. Woojae held up the Tornado Bar with the feeling of introducing a new civilization and opened his mouth.
“I love strawberry flavor, cherry flavor the best.”
The naturally following words were the latter part of the CM song he’d seen in TV commercials. Sung in a dry tone, it seemed like an idiot rather than a song. Gye Sajun frowned and asked.
“…You like strawberry flavor and cherry flavor?”
“You don’t know this famous song? You didn’t come from some deserted island, did you?”
Woojae attributed the embarrassment to his ignorance. After paying for the two ice creams and trudging back to the car, the inside was warm. Gye Sajun seemed to have turned on the heater first. Sitting in the car full of warmth, he worried about the ice cream.
Woojae hurriedly tore open the wrapper, handed one to Gye Sajun, and put one in his own mouth. Gye Sajun looked at the Tornado Bar this way and that, then imitated Woojae and put the long red stick in his mouth. Because the hard ice cream was spiral-shaped, a gap formed with his lips, so naturally it made noise every time he sucked.
“Is it good?”
“Sweet.”
He asked if it was good but only got an impression about the taste. Looking closely, Gye Sajun’s lips were swollen. The spicy energy didn’t seem to have subsided yet. Woojae tapped Gye Sajun’s shoulder to get his attention, then rubbed the Tornado Bar against his own lips.
“If it’s really spicy, like this. Yeah. Try pressing it against your lips and rolling it like this.”
Gye Sajun, who had been staring intently at his lips, started clumsily imitating him. Woojae licked his lips with his tongue, where the juice from the Tornado Bar had gotten on them. The complex taste of strawberry and cherry wrapped around his tongue. Gye Sajun was still looking at Woojae’s lips.
“How is it?”
“…Much better.”
“Should’ve bought you Fanfare.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s soft ice cream, it’s perfect for when it’s spicy.”
He could see Gye Sajun sticking out his tongue just like him and licking his swollen lips. The lips that had turned red from the coloring in the Tornado Bar looked as if he’d put on lipstick. He didn’t know much about cosmetics, but is it called lipstick? Rather than that, it looked like it was stained with flower water…
He realized they were staring at each other’s lips when the hard ice cream in his hand melted and the ice-cold juice ran between his fingers.
—Want to try kissing?
Why did those words suddenly come to mind? Perhaps because the cucumber soap scent had disappeared, Gye Sajun didn’t have that thirsty face like before. It seemed that soap was indeed the problem. Woojae looked at Gye Sajun with searching eyes, then turned his head at the strange air forming on his face.
“Hey, stop staring.”
“Okay.”
Is it unrelated to the soap?
It was awkward. Woojae shoved the remaining hard ice cream into his mouth all at once and crunched it. He even stuck out his tongue to lick what had gotten on his fingers. When only the stick remained in an instant and he looked around holding it, Gye Sajun took out a wet wipe from the glove box and handed it to him.
Woojae wrapped the stick with it and wiped his hands once too. Eating something cold after eating something spicy would definitely be bad for the stomach, but since it made him feel better, he thought it was a good method anyway. Gye Sajun held the half-remaining Tornado Bar in his lips and sucked on it, then looked at Woojae and said.
“The movie—there’s not much time left until the submission date.”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Want to watch it again today?”
At the unexpected suggestion, Woojae blinked both eyes. Because he’d been thinking he should watch it with the DVD at the library.
“Just the two of us?”
