“I’m kidding. I need to get it over with quickly.”
“Breakfast will be here soon, so go shower.”
When Hui-myeong patted his back soothingly, Do-ha groggily got up and headed to the bathroom.
His back view showed an especially picture-perfect physique. With a height far above average, shoulders as broad as an athlete’s, a large ribcage, a sleek waistline, and well-sculpted back muscles. It was regrettable to send that body, which had naturally been his, to another woman.
It’s because it’s the wedding day.
There were many bad memories, but there were good times too. Since he was someone who loved him so crazily when even his mother had abandoned him, other feelings kept arising.
Hui-myeong shook his head vigorously, shaking off the idle thoughts. He seemed to be falling into unnecessary sentimentality. The past tends to be beautified.
While Do-ha was showering, room service arrived. After having breakfast set up on the living room table, Hui-myeong dried his hair in his bathrobe while looking out the window.
“The weather’s nice too.”
The visibility was particularly clear today, showing Seoul’s landscape far into the distance. It was perfect weather for sending off the man who’d been clinging to him for 10 years to get married.
Just as Hui-myeong put down the towel and sat at the table to check his phone, Do-ha came out.
“Breakfast is already here?”
He barely covered his lower body with skin-tight drawers, shaking his hair with a towel. Even sitting across from each other at the table in such raw attire was natural for them.
“Yeah. Eat before it gets cold.”
Hui-myeong took a bite of warm bread spread with butter and jam while looking at his phone.
“Don’t be late.”
At Do-ha’s words without context, Hui-myeong flinched. His appetite suddenly disappeared and he put down the bread on his plate. It was a sentence difficult to understand at first—where was he supposed to come to? No, more accurately, he didn’t want to understand.
“Don’t tell me you want me to come to your wedding?”
“You’re not coming?”
He snorted while spreading butter on his bread. For a moment, Hui-myeong’s fingertips trembled faintly. No matter how crazy Do-ha was, his wedding was a gathering of not only his family and in-laws but also key figures from Korea’s political and business circles. He never imagined the groom would brazenly invite his male lover to such a place.
“Do I have to go?”
Hui-myeong asked, suppressing the anger that suddenly surged up. No matter how obediently he tried to act, he couldn’t shamelessly attend his wedding. He especially didn’t want to see the groom Do-ha being blessed by everyone.
“As if I don’t know what you’ll be doing while I’m at the wedding.”
Do-ha smirked and bit into his bread. Crumbs fell with the crunching sound. When you thought about it, that moment when all personnel were focused on the wedding would be the best time to run away.
“Aren’t you really going too far?”
Even after finishing his words, Hui-myeong’s lips trembled. No matter how perverse his tastes were, telling someone he’d been crazy about for 10 years to attend his wedding was too cruel. Hui-myeong might have nothing, but he wasn’t shameless enough to show his face at such a place.
“I put in for your passport renewal.”
Do-ha cleanly ignored Hui-myeong’s words and only said what he wanted to say.
“Why!”
As soon as he heard those words, Hui-myeong shouted intensely.
“Why? It’s been 10 years since you came back from the US, so it’s time for renewal. Ah! Since you don’t have a passport, you can’t flee abroad while I’m on my honeymoon. You know that much, right?”
Do-ha continued speaking as if finding Hui-myeong’s reaction amusing.
“Wh-when did I ever say I was going abroad?”
So shocked that Hui-myeong unconsciously stammered. That was the reason. The reason the passport was nowhere to be found no matter how much he searched.
If he’d submitted it for renewal, he couldn’t even apply for a new passport right away and had to just wait for it to come out. He didn’t even know where it had been submitted, so even though it was his own, it wouldn’t be easy for Hui-myeong, who wasn’t familiar with administrative work, to find it.
“I suspended your card for the time being. Section Chief Kim will go around with you and pay for what you need. If there’s somewhere you want to go, tell Section Chief Kim.”
With each word that fell from Do-ha’s mouth, Hui-myeong’s face grew redder and redder. He’d cut off all his limbs and even cut off his money supply. He acted as if he’d anticipated Hui-myeong’s plan. Since they’d never been apart for even a week until now, he too seemed to have prepared thoroughly.
“Do you still not trust me that much?”
Even trying to keep his voice calm, he couldn’t erase the anger contained within it. Right. This was Do-ha—there was no way he’d leave him alone.
“Have you done anything to earn trust?”
He sneered and bit into his bread again.
For the past two years, Hui-myeong had behaved well without complaint. He’d decided not to run away anymore, and if not for the marriage, even now Hui-myeong would be stupidly stuck by his side. It was Do-ha who made him want to run away.
His plan was crumbling in real-time. No passport, no card, and maybe 10,000 won in cash left. How could he run away in this state?
“What did I do so wrong?”
He tried to hide his emotions, but couldn’t conceal the trembling in his voice.
“You’re always thinking about slipping away like a little rat whenever you get the chance.”
“I’ve been by your side for 10 years! Can’t you trust me for just a week?”
“Yeah. No. A bastard like you, once I let you loose, who knows what you’ll wheedle out of me while acting all sweet.”
Do-ha casually spat out his harsh words and drank his coffee.
All the thread-like affection he’d felt all day cooled and only malice remained. He felt foolish for reminiscing about the good times they’d had. To Do-ha, Jung Hui-myeong was probably nothing more than a pretty livestock that needed to be controlled.
Perhaps it was because he’d been caught. Since Do-ha had accurately seen through his attempt to run away with his passport.
“You cling to me like you’re dying when you’re sick, but as soon as your eyes clear up, you’re thinking of doing other things—you think I don’t know?”
“……”
Hui-myeong bit his lip and turned his head. He hated himself for being so fickle, like a seesaw. Unable to bear the loneliness, he’d cling to Do-ha as his only lifeline, then turn around and resolve to definitely leave him. Now he was confused about what his true feelings were.
“I’m tired.”
Unable to hold back, Hui-myeong muttered to himself.
“What?”
“I’m tired of you doing this!”
When Hui-myeong shouted, Do-ha threw the coffee cup he was holding at the wall. With a crash, the dark brown liquid splattered on the wall.
Hui-myeong squeezed his eyes shut. He’d pushed the wrong button. On such an important day of all days.
“Why are you acting like such a fucking asshole today?”
The affectionate morning greeting was nowhere to be found, and Do-ha’s face hardened fiercely.
“What did I do?”
He should hold back at this point. But even knowing this, Hui-myeong absolutely couldn’t contain his anger.
“You hold it in well then throw a fit on important days, don’t you? Just like a bastard who made grand plans during the week I’m gone.”
He stood up from his seat and stopped in front of Hui-myeong.
“Should I buy a ticket right now? Huh? Want to get beaten and have your hole torn apart in the room next to the honeymoon suite? Think I can’t do it?”
The angrier Do-ha got, the colder his voice became. Hui-myeong chewed his lips while imagining it. If he talked back any more here, he’d really take him along. It wasn’t too late even now—he had to give in to him. Only then would he proceed with the wedding as scheduled and leave for his honeymoon.
“……”
He should apologize or something, but his mouth wouldn’t open. Even knowing that one more step would lead to a catastrophe, he didn’t want to yield, especially not today.
“You’ve got some nerve, fuck.”
In the end, it was Do-ha who left first. He looked at his watch, cursed, and went into the room. With such a major life event ahead, he didn’t have time to be delayed by an argument.
Left alone, Hui-myeong’s head spun. Nothing had changed. No matter what, within a week he had to leave perfectly, without a trace. But he couldn’t think of any method. If he hid domestically, he’d be caught without fail and beaten.
What do I do?
Do-ha came out of the room, already changed. Wearing only a shirt and black pants, he already looked like a groom. It was no different from what he wore to work every day, but today it made his stomach churn.
The moment Do-ha raised his arms to put on his jacket while standing in front, Hui-myeong flinched and squeezed his eyes shut.
