The pitch-black bag, with all items picked back up except for the R-19 comic book that had been thrown in the trash, was slung over Yeo Dowoon’s shoulder.
“Take my car. I’ll give you a ride. Captain, just carry that cake box.”
Yeo Dowoon said reluctantly. It was because he couldn’t send someone who was dying from pain home alone.
This was why he thought people needed family. That way, whether things went well or not, at least they wouldn’t be lonely. Of course, he himself was someone without the qualifications to start a family.
Kwon Jeonghoo didn’t refuse his goodwill.
“Alright, then.”
At that moment, Yeo Dowoon was caught up in deliberation.
The thought that he should ask for Cha Haseong’s opinion beforehand since he would be riding along too collided with the thought that it was just a ride to the officetel, so did he really need to get permission?
The conclusion didn’t come easily. It was a situation where he might as well clutch his head. Kwon Jeonghoo ruffled his hair as if finding him strange and asked.
“Where did you park the car?”
“Underground parking lot.”
Yeo Dowoon was afraid of receiving forsythia-colored emoticons again if he unnecessarily reached out and contacted him, so he decided to use a little trick. He decided to pretend not to know and play innocent.
Then Cha Haseong would be puzzled first and demand an explanation of the situation. He just needed to cleanly end the conversation by saying they happened to be going the same way.
“Did you get a new car?”
A glossy car body designed as if it would stick flat to the ground was parked in the middle of the dark underground space, as if showing off its flashy exterior.
The other cars were parked with wide distances between them, as if they didn’t want to be associated with it at all.
Well, if there was a foreign car sitting there that would charge unimaginable costs even for a scratch the size of a thread, who wouldn’t try to avoid it?
“I guess you spend all your money on cars.”
*Beep beep!* When the lock was released, Kwon Jeonghoo naturally took the passenger seat and spoke. The grip of the handle was also exceptional. Yeo Dowoon also skillfully got into the driver’s seat following him.
He wondered if he had to fasten Kwon Jeonghoo’s seatbelt too.
He did that when driving with Yoon Minoh, but he couldn’t readily move his body to show gentlemanly manners to someone old enough.
“Let’s go.”
Fortunately, Kwon Jeonghoo fastened his seatbelt himself. Even though he commanded, Yeo Dowoon just rested his elbow on the steering wheel and propped up his chin. It was because Cha Haseong hadn’t arrived yet.
“I need to pick up one more person.”
“One more?”
“Yes. There he comes.”
Yeo Dowoon said, pointing beyond the car window.
Kwon Jeonghoo, who had been smiling, suddenly stiffened his face upon encountering an unwelcome guest. Cha Haseong, knowing that someone had already taken the front seat, got in the back seat.
For a while, no words were exchanged.
Kwon Jeonghoo and Cha Haseong exchanged deeply guarded looks through the rearview mirror.
Their expressions were fierce, as if ferocious beasts had encountered each other in one territory and were scheming ways to drive the other out. Yeo Dowoon, sensing the clashing atmosphere, grabbed the steering wheel and spoke.
“…I’ll be going now.”
*Vroom*, the engine finally started.
***
Yeo Dowoon drove steadily. Occasionally there were situations where he had to slam on the brakes, but he handled them calmly. It was perfect driving that projected his desire not to create a single flaw.
“……”
That was because the atmosphere was solemn—far too excessively solemn. Cha Haseong was silently turning pages, and Kwon Jeonghoo had his face leaning against the car window with his eyes closed.
He wondered if he was sleeping, but that didn’t seem to be the case either, as blue veins were raised on his clenched fist. Looking at just that, it was closer to the appearance of someone suppressing their irritation.
It was an uncomfortable situation that was more than enough to make Yeo Dowoon feel intimidated.
“Can I turn on some music?”
Yeo Dowoon finally couldn’t endure it and asked. He wanted to play some music to smooth over this silence. Cha Haseong and Kwon Jeonghoo nodded in agreement. Yeo Dowoon turned on the music at maximum volume.
Ah, bad song choice.
“Do you really have to listen to that kind of stuff?”
When gangster rap full of all sorts of explicit curses and vulgarities pounded his eardrums, Cha Haseong got irritated. The highly explicit lyrics characteristic of gangster rap burst out loudly.
“The lyrics are too disgusting.”
His voice was split far more sensitively than ever. Yeo Dowoon felt very wronged. What was he supposed to do about randomly played music being like this?
But since he was the one who suggested playing music, he quickly played a different song. When a familiar intro flowed out, Yeo Dowoon relaxed and focused on driving.
“Turn it off.”
He could have focused with all his might if Kwon Jeonghoo hadn’t uttered in a low voice. When one became quiet, another had an outburst.
What was the problem this time?
The moment lyrics saying *”Me standing behind you, me standing watching you for a lifetime”* continued, Kwon Jeonghoo warned threateningly.
“You’d better turn it off if you don’t want your audio destroyed.”
Even the street thugs in back alleys probably wouldn’t be more fickle than this.
But Yeo Dowoon obediently turned off the music as told. He secretly sighed at the ominous silence that made even the fine hairs on his skin stand on end filling the car.
As a result, he suddenly even thought that compared to these two people, that bastard Yoon Minoh might be decent.
That guy was just a perverted bastard with defects in his peripheral nerves, not the type to pressure people and add mental fatigue like this.
…No. That bastard is the same.
“Strangely, we keep hitting red lights.”
When they frequently encountered red lights, Yeo Dowoon opened his mouth without realizing it. Perhaps because he didn’t specify a particular person, both Kwon Jeonghoo and Cha Haseong answered simultaneously.
“So it seems.”
“So it seems.”
The nuances were similar too, so Yeo Dowoon awkwardly held only the steering wheel without being able to continue the conversation with either of them. Feeling like he needed to at least hear the navigation voice, he belatedly entered the address.
It was when he was inputting the characters for Apgujeong. Kwon Jeonghoo pressed the cancel button and asked.
“Why my house?”
“…Are you not going home?”
The signal happened to change to green, so Yeo Dowoon turned his gaze forward. He asked again.
“Do you have somewhere to stop by?”
Since he couldn’t completely turn his head, he glanced at Kwon Jeonghoo sideways whenever there was an opening. Kwon Jeonghoo, who had closed his eyelids again at some point, tapped the cake box as if checking its texture and said.
“Go to your house.”
“Pardon?”
If he had been a little worse at driving, he would have made an emergency stop. *Thud*, the car lightly jolted after hitting a speed bump. Cha Haseong’s brightly colored hand closed the slippery-looking book cover.
“Let me stay just during the vacation.”
At the declaration of war he had never considered, Yeo Dowoon froze while holding the steering wheel.
The square footage was spacious and there were many rooms, so it wasn’t a situation that would become difficult just because one more person joined in, but he thought Mr. Cha, who was currently living together as a roommate, would be very uncomfortable.
Sure enough, Cha Haseong had stopped reading his book and was staring at him blankly.
“Why would you want to mooch off someone else’s house when you have a perfectly good house?”
Cold sweat dampened his back. Yeo Dowoon chose to persuade Kwon Jeonghoo, who was a much more comfortable person to deal with than Cha Haseong. But the first attempt ended in failure. It was because Kwon Jeonghoo’s stance was firm.
“Your house is better.”
“Your house is better for living alone, Captain.”
“Why? Did you set up your house for cohabitation?”
“……”
“It’s a house you bought when you were dating your ex-girlfriend, right?”
“Why bring up someone I broke up with? Should I bring it up too?”
“You said you were going to get married.”
Damn it. Naturally, a groan came out. Kwon Jeonghoo dug into someone else’s past as if he had eaten something wrong. Yeo Dowoon was concerned about the back seat and checked Cha Haseong’s expression through the rearview mirror.
Sure enough, disillusionment had risen in his eyes. Yeo Dowoon couldn’t help himself and blurted out.
“I remember you were going to send out wedding invitations too, Captain.”
“You were going around asking how to register a marriage.”
As bickering began, they badmouthed each other’s past relationships without knowing any limits.
He didn’t know why they were this worked up, but it seemed like emotions weren’t being controlled well while bringing up failed love stories with Cha Haseong sitting in the back.
“I still vividly remember you picking out a bag and necklace for your first anniversary gift, Captain.”
“I still vividly remember you crying while pouring down soju after getting dumped.”
“…Memory distortion has its fucking limits. When did I cry?”
“Who was the one bawling that he’d never love again?”
His face was burning with shame. But he also felt wronged. Wouldn’t anyone be upset if they got dumped the day before Christmas? He had even received the watch he ordered and was writing a letter with an excited heart.
“What wonderful master and disciple you are.”
Yeo Dowoon, who had been reviewing Kwon Jeonghoo’s dating history in his head because he couldn’t lose, finally found reason and composure at Cha Haseong’s voice rebuking them as if they were pathetic.
Then he felt much more embarrassed than before. His confidence to hold his face up also quietly disappeared. When the scattered noise changed to silence, Yeo Dowoon asked one last time.
“Do you really mean to come to my house?”
He wished he would back off at this point and say it was a joke, but Kwon Jeonghoo was steadfast.
“Kick me out if you’re going to kick me out.”
He himself would know best that Yeo Dowoon couldn’t do that—it was a petty shifting of responsibility.
Yeo Dowoon carefully observed him, who couldn’t hide his pale complexion no matter how much he pretended to be fine. He didn’t feel like leaving him all alone in that quiet officetel either.
But if he put himself in Cha Haseong’s shoes, it was right to unconditionally refuse.
He had been forced to live together because he was an S-class guide, and if the environment that was already unsatisfactory became even more uncomfortable, how displeased would he become?
“If it’s just during the vacation period, I don’t mind.”
So Yeo Dowoon was dumbfounded by Cha Haseong’s generous treatment. He hurriedly worried whether he was doing this because he was feeling pressured from the continuous war of words.
At that moment, Cha Haseong added gently.
“This actually works out well.”
While informing him of the appearance of an uninvited guest more maddening than Kwon Jeonghoo’s intrusion.
“One of the Team Delta espers came by this morning…”
“……”
“They’ve already unpacked, saying they’d be staying for the entire vacation.”
“……”
“You two have fun together. I’m too drained.”
