Perhaps it was because he’d been dealing with these idiots for hours now, but his body grew heavy even at a time when he’d normally have stayed wide awake.
The three people—Mr. Ko, Mr. Baek, and Mr. Cha—who had been cheering for Kwon Jeonghoo with deep and profound loyalty until just moments ago were now lost in planning their vacation, chattering noisily away.
Having dragged their chairs to a corner to sit together, they engaged in a heated debate about how to make the most of their time off.
Cha Uihyeon, being the friendliest of the bunch, turned to Yoon Minoh, who was being left out of the group, and asked:
“Come to think of it, Minoh, where’s your family home?”
Perhaps because he’d gotten his hands on vacation time even before his official debut, Yoon Minoh didn’t seem to understand its value and maintained his insolent attitude. Even his rambling answers consistently displayed his immature colors.
“Why do you want to know? So you can shove it?”
“……”
“Must be because you’re old that you’re so nosy.”
“……”
“Keep your bickering among yourselves, please.”
For the crime of asking just one question, Cha Uihyeon had to endure a total of three insults. As he fell into shock, Baek Seonwoo clicked his tongue disapprovingly, making sure he could hear.
“A brat that rude… reminds me exactly of Dowoon when he was young.”
“You just look like a dumbass.”
“This crazy bastard…!”
As if accustomed to it, Yoon Minoh snickered and mocked Baek Seonwoo’s speech.
“Thish cwazy bashtard…!”
It was a dogfight like no other. When Ko Ijae grabbed his arm, Baek Seonwoo roughly shoved him away and snapped.
“Hey, let go!”
“Hey, let gwo!”
To Yoon Minoh, who responded without knowing when to stop, Ko Ijae hurriedly offered an apology. It seemed Yoon Minoh was venting his frustration about having his voice blocked earlier.
“Um, I’m really sorry about blocking your voice earlier. Given the situation…”
“I don’t accept bullshit apologies. You’ve got bad breath.”
“…Are you perhaps a masochist?”
Ko Ijae made a very plausible hypothesis that perhaps this bastard was trying to invite violence upon himself.
If he was acting out due to an interest in masochism, Ko Ijae had no talent for sadistic acts, so he hoped the kid would please continue picking fights with Baek Seonwoo as he had been.
But Yoon Minoh persistently muttered as if he wanted to get beaten by just about anyone.
“You all look like cave crickets with those messed-up faces…”
It was a chaotic scene that made one feel like their grip on reality was slipping away entirely.
Watching their rampage from a distance, Yeo Dowoon yanked down the blanket that Kwon Jeonghoo had pulled all the way over his head and suggested:
“Captain, Captain. Since you got vacation time, why don’t you take that brat and go see a psychiatrist?”
“……”
“Isn’t this a God-given opportunity?”
His other hand was alternately pointing at Baek Seonwoo and Yoon Minoh, who were arguing loudly.
The saying that watching fights is the most entertaining must have reached the end of its lifespan in the 21st century.
Kwon Jeonghoo watched his bickering subordinates as if viewing the world’s most unfunny comedy show, then parted his lips to give an honest assessment.
“Let’s get group therapy including you.”
But Yeo Dowoon shook his head as if he’d anticipated that response.
“I’m plenty sensible, so why would I need that?”
“You have that fetish where your eyes roll back when you see a guide. If you don’t want to hurt innocent people, you should get that treated too. You’ll end up in handcuffs at this rate.”
“……”
“Waiting with tofu wouldn’t be so bad though…”
Lowering his voice for a moment, Kwon Jeonghoo whispered at a barely audible volume.
“But then I wouldn’t get to see you for a while. Your face.”
Yeo Dowoon, who had been ready to deflect any harsh words like sturdy armor, lost his composure as if caught off guard. It felt like a spoonful loaded with mayonnaise was being forcefully shoved into his mouth.
Since the speaker himself, Kwon Jeonghoo, appeared completely unperturbed, Yeo Dowoon felt like he was the only one going through this chaos and curtly retorted:
“I don’t like tofu. You know that.”
At that, Kwon Jeonghoo wore a mischievous smile like an uncle who enjoyed hanging out with his younger cousin. The unusually stiff hospital gown rustled as it creased.
He opened the first drawer of the nightstand beside the bed, took out his wallet, and placed it in Yeo Dowoon’s hand as he replied:
“Go buy those guys some ice cream. Get me the same thing you’re having.”
“…What’s this about? All of a sudden.”
“Oh, I don’t mind if it’s one you’ve already eaten from.”
“……”
“Actually, that would be even better.”
When Yeo Dowoon, having decided it would be better not to associate with him at all, abruptly straightened his legs, Kwon Jeonghoo glanced at his leather wallet and added. The voice calling “Dowoon-ah” sounded playful.
“There’s a photo of you in there.”
Yeo Dowoon’s voice cracked from the absurdity as he replied.
“…A photo of me?”
***
Kwon Jeonghoo’s words were true. Yeo Dowoon was stunned as he looked at his own ID photo carefully placed in one side of the wallet. He’d wondered where this had disappeared to, and it turned out it had been enshrined in Kwon Jeonghoo’s wallet.
The thought crossed his mind that perhaps he’d stolen it without telling him, but he shut the wallet like closing his mouth.
The ID photo taken when he joined the base at seventeen had its edges discolored to a brownish hue, as if betraying the years that had meaninglessly passed. What could possibly be good about this… The expression even looked displeased.
“Wow… how can even your taste be this awful?”
Yoon Minoh, picking up a melon-flavored ice cream, glared at Baek Seonwoo reaching for a red bean-flavored one and muttered. Baek Seonwoo asked back, utterly fed up.
“…Now you’re even picking fights over taste?”
“I wasn’t talking about you though?”
It was obviously directed at him, but since he was denying it, there was nothing more to say. Baek Seonwoo poured out his frustration to Ko Ijae, who was poking his side telling him to just bear with it.
“I really hate that bastard… I wish he’d just disappear.”
“Same here.”
Perhaps because he was young, Yoon Minoh had sharp hearing too.
Since they were the ones who had been arguing loudly in the hospital room and getting on Kwon Jeonghoo’s nerves, Ko Ijae thought it would be better to fight outside and gave up on further mediation.
Cha Uihyeon also declared neutrality and quietly sidled up next to Yeo Dowoon.
“Dowoon-ah. Do you really think you can pair with him?”
He asked in a whisper. It was meant to ensure that Yoon Minoh with his good hearing wouldn’t notice his voice, but that worry was also futile. The Yoon family troublemaker had already scrawled his signature on the contract long ago.
“What choice do I have?”
At least it was fortunate they said they’d raise his salary. Might as well make plenty of money, at least.
He planned to transfer everything to Cha Haseong’s name once his bank account was satisfyingly plump. That way, he’d be happy, and so would his sister and brother-in-law.
Cha Uihyeon, who had no inkling of Yeo Dowoon’s plans, muttered to himself as if feeling wistful.
“When did you grow up so much, Dowoon…”
The people at the base had a tendency to consistently treat Yeo Dowoon like a child.
It was natural since they’d been introduced to a seventeen-year-old greenhorn as a colleague, but seeing that the situation hadn’t changed even after ten years, it seemed like they had special filters installed in their eyes.
Yeo Dowoon ignored Cha Uihyeon’s mutterings and looked at Yoon Minoh.
‘When is that kid going to mature?’
When he thought about it, Yoon Minoh was only twenty—not much different from his own age back then. A tender age where he didn’t know what he should know, and didn’t know what he shouldn’t, leaving his head seemingly empty of any knowledge.
“Looks like you two are about to kiss.”
Yoon Minoh, who had been grappling with Baek Seonwoo, hurriedly let go of his hands at Yeo Dowoon’s murmur.
Perhaps because he was finally getting attention and felt like his heart would soar, his fierce gaze had settled into something much gentler. The truth was, he had caused all this commotion just to catch that petty man’s eye.
“What right does hyung have to bring up kissing with me?”
As for why he chose Baek Seonwoo as his target—it was because he was the most annoying one who talked the most.
Going back in time, it was like this:
Yoon Minoh clearly remembered Baek Seonwoo’s shamelessness on the plane to Yeongjong Island, when he’d dragged him into the seat next to him and flapped his mouth so much that Minoh couldn’t even sleep properly.
He’d been planning to get his revenge someday, and he’d found the right timing.
“Hyung, at least hyung shouldn’t be bringing up kissing with me…”
Yoon Minoh, approaching with dignified strides as if he were a warrior entering the Colosseum, drew out his words. It was a peculiar tone that sounded like both blame and prodding.
Every time Yoon Minoh looked at Yeo Dowoon, he felt a thrill run through his core. His thigh muscles tensed and strength entered his forearms. The desire to show off his masculinity to him broadly dominated his body.
“If you’re always just seducing me like that and then avoiding responsibility, doesn’t that make you a worthless jerk rather than an adult?”
He wanted to prove that he was just as capable a man. He wanted to proudly display his strength and be recognized. He’d heard that Alex, a promising puppy raised by someone he knew, loved mounting, and Yoon Minoh felt he could fully empathize with where that desire to dominate came from.
“You sure do whine a disgusting amount.”
Yeo Dowoon replied tepidly. Perhaps because it was past midnight, the air was cool and the wind was chilly. If he’d known it would be like this, he should have bought yuzu tea instead of green tea-flavored ice cream.
Yoon Minoh struggled to talk with him for as long as possible.
“I got a bump on the back of my head because of you, hyung. Take responsibility.”
“I got a bump on my forehead too. Want to see?”
Yeo Dowoon lifted his bangs as if showing off the bump he’d gotten from Kwon Jeonghoo’s finger flick. At that moment, the expression slowly cleared from Yoon Minoh’s face. The red stick going in and out of his mouth. The moisture that glistened on his lips like meat juices.
