“Hey, Jung Hui-myeong! You came too?”
When someone suddenly placed their hand on his shoulder, Hui-myeong was startled for a moment and turned his head. It was Choi Dae-hyeon, whom he often saw at Mad Hat.
“Get your hand off.”
Hui-myeong swatted his hand away as if disgusted. Of course they would be attending here. These bastards might be delinquents at Mad Hat, but once they came outside, they were all proper heirs of chaebol families.
“Hey, come here. Jung Hui-myeong’s here too.”
While he called another friend, Do-ha’s voice echoed in Hui-myeong’s head: ‘If you talk nonsense, I’ll rip your mouth open.’ If Do-ha were here, he would have stopped them immediately, but Hui-myeong alone had no power.
Do-ha’s friends who had approached were looking at Hui-myeong like they’d found an interesting prey, grinning.
“Oh, Jung Hui-myeong. As expected, Do-ha’s best friend, right?”
“Did you wear a brand new Saint Laurent suit to congratulate Do-ha on his marriage? Fuck, that’s so expensive, seriously.”
“Hey, if Do-ha’s going, of course Hui-myeong has to come. You’re not following him on the honeymoon? Keke.”
He wanted to say something back, but his mouth wouldn’t open. It was because memories from his high school days unconsciously surfaced.
Back then, when Do-ha and his friends gathered around him, pouring out insulting words and hitting him, he couldn’t do anything. The learned helplessness hadn’t been overcome even after ten years. All Hui-myeong could do in this situation was just keep his mouth shut.
As he trembled in silence, fortunately, an announcement soon rang out that the ceremony would begin. They all patted Hui-myeong’s shoulder and returned to their seats.
“Fuck.”
Hui-myeong cursed in a small voice so those nearby wouldn’t hear.
This was why he didn’t want to come to the wedding venue. Without Do-ha, those guys running wild looked pathetic. Well, if this scene was terrible for Hui-myeong himself, how funny must it be to those bastards?
When the announcement rang out once more, Hui-myeong shook his head and focused on the ceremony. Soon, the groom entered with music.
“……”
Hui-myeong stared blankly at Do-ha walking in. He was so dashing it was hard to believe this was the same person who had flipped the table and hit him at breakfast this morning. His body, solidly built through exercise, made the high-quality tuxedo shine, and thanks to his hairstyle swept back over his forehead, his handsome face was fully revealed.
“Oh my, the groom is so handsome.”
“Chairman Lee’s second son could even be a model.”
“He’s so tall, he’s completely celebrity material. Hohoho.”
The people at the same table each praised Do-ha’s appearance. Though they’d been closer than anyone else just a few hours ago, watching him march on the platform in formal wear made him feel distant, as if that had never happened.
Do-ha, walking confidently, naturally turned his gaze toward the guest seats as he approached Hui-myeong. It was a look checking whether Jung Hui-myeong was in attendance. Hui-myeong met his eyes directly with his eyes wide open, as if in defiance.
‘Tiresome bastard.’
He was truly sick of him displaying his possessiveness without restraint even at his own wedding.
Following the soft string quartet, the bride entered. Guests holding their phones took pictures and cheered. Wearing a mermaid dress that fit her slender body perfectly, she walked forward step by step with a smile mixed with joy, excitement, and shyness.
‘She’s… really pretty.’
When Hui-myeong heard the news that Do-ha was getting married, he secretly looked up information about the bride online. From her profession as a cellist to her family background, everything was perfect, and she was so beautiful it was impossible to imagine this was an arranged marriage. Moreover, with her beautiful bridal makeup and sparkling dress, she was truly like a princess.
Having clearly cursed Do-ha until just before, Hui-myeong choked up after seeing the bride. If he was marrying such a beautiful woman, he should settle down and live well with her—why wouldn’t he let him go? He couldn’t understand his intentions at all.
Do-ha, who had come out to greet her, bowed to his father-in-law and welcomed the bride with the happiest face in the world. The bride with a joyful smile linked arms with the man who would be her husband from today and walked out together. They were a perfect pair by anyone’s standards.
The wedding that followed was so boring it made him yawn. It was also an ordeal to force himself to stay seated, and he wanted to escape midway, but firstly, the atmosphere of the venue was so pristine that it seemed like it would be immediately obvious if he moved, and secondly, he was afraid that if Hui-myeong wasn’t in his seat when the bride and groom exited, Do-ha might come catch him without even finishing the wedding.
And why was the food coming out so slowly? The plates that came out for each course were only palm-sized and the food was all single-bite portions. Though he’d gotten used to eating such food while living with Do-ha, since breakfast had ended up that way this morning, Hui-myeong couldn’t help but be hungry.
‘I wish I could have a bowl of jajangmyeon.’
Thinking of the jajangmyeon he’d eaten before, he reflexively thought of Geum-gang.
That jajangmyeon was really delicious. Thinking about it now, it was a funny scene. Eating jajangmyeon at a pawn shop surrounded by gangsters. He’d thought about ordering jajangmyeon alone during the week without Do-ha, but it gave him a headache to think about having to ask Section Chief Kim for payment for everything.
He wanted to smoke too, but even if Section Chief Kim paid for it, it was obvious the report would go straight to Do-ha. At this rate, there was nothing Hui-myeong could do during his week of freedom.
‘Should I barge in and ask him to buy me some again?’
Thinking of Geum-gang, Hui-myeong’s lips naturally curved up. He couldn’t even remember the last words he’d heard from him. His head was already filled with imagining sitting around in the musty Daemul Pawn Shop eating jajangmyeon and sweet and sour pork.
Anyway, once this time passed, Do-ha would leave. Though he didn’t have his passport, he still had the idea of taking his watch to borrow money from Geum-gang.
‘The plan’s all messed up.’
Even while sick for several days, he’d been excited planning his escape. He’d been nervous at the thought of doing something on his own. But since it was ruined from the start, he had to plan everything from scratch again.
‘Borrowing money from hyung should be possible at least.’
Money aside, honestly, his desire to see Geum-gang was not insignificant. Even in the desperate situation of preparing to run away, he felt pathetic for going on about his first love.
‘He was just flustered back then.’
Hui-myeong was inwardly convinced that Geum-gang’s appearance when he poured out scary words wasn’t sincere. Ten years had passed, but people’s nature doesn’t change. Hui-myeong believed without doubt that after meeting a few more times, he would soon return to being the hyung of old. Even being in the middle of Do-ha’s wedding, thinking about Geum-gang made it somewhat bearable.
While the bride and groom changed clothes, string quartet and congratulatory performances continued. The people sitting at the same table were all older and conversed politely, but Hui-myeong blatantly played with his phone alone. Those who had been whispering while looking at Hui-myeong at first soon treated him like an invisible person.
Finally, when the bride and groom reappeared, Hui-myeong, who had been slouched over, froze and sat back against his chair. The two who had already become husband and wife walked around the seats greeting people, changed into a bright apricot dress and light formal wear.
Was Do-ha such a good actor? Hui-myeong was inwardly surprised. He’d been to his company a few times, but Do-ha was always sharp and prickly as usual. But right now before his eyes, he was treating guests with an endlessly gentle smile and courteous attitude.
‘So he knew how to be like that.’
The guests gathered here wouldn’t know what expression Do-ha had when he lost it and beat people, or how vulgar the words he spat out during sex were. Hui-myeong indifferently moved his gaze following the groom’s movements.
Finally it was Hui-myeong’s table’s turn, and the main couple went around greeting the guests. While Hui-myeong was frozen stiff, watching for cues, Do-ha pressed his shoulder firmly and bent down.
“Don’t run away like you’re thinking now, wait obediently. Keep your hole properly disciplined.”
At the low whisper, Hui-myeong shuddered for a moment. It was the moment he realized that even among all these guests, he was only watching Jung Hui-myeong.
“Y-yeah.”
“Thank you for coming.”
Do-ha, who had lightly pinched Hui-myeong’s earlobe as if to discipline him, smiled and moved to another table.
His whole body trembled and his stomach suddenly churned. He couldn’t stand how disgusting the entire situation unfolding was. He’d tried to endure and stay in his seat, but now he’d reached his limit.
As soon as he confirmed Do-ha had disappeared, Hui-myeong immediately ran to the bathroom and threw up everything he’d eaten. As expected, such a place couldn’t be comfortable.
Only after cleanly vomiting up from the bread he’d lightly eaten at the hotel in the morning to the course meal he’d just eaten did the churning stop.
‘This is really shitty.’
Staggering, Hui-myeong leaned against the sink and rinsed his mouth with water. Even the painkiller effects were kicking in, making his head fuzzy. He stared at the water pouring from the faucet for a while, then refreshingly washed his face with cold water. Water splashed all over the expensive suit, but he didn’t care.
‘I should be able to leave now.’
