He sat down with his back against the door and hugged both knees. He clenched his teeth until his jaw muscles bulged, lest his crying sounds leak out.He hadn’t even confessed yet, but it felt like being rejected. He’d thought it wouldn’t be easy, but being turned down hurt more than he’d expected.
In the end, Ian cried until both eyes were swollen, then fell asleep leaning against the door. Not knowing that Ganghyuk opened the living room window and smoked cigarettes until the butts piled up in heaps.
5.
“Have breakfast before you go.”
Ganghyuk’s eyebrows lifted faintly as if surprised. He’d thought Ian wouldn’t even acknowledge him after crying late into last night.
But Ian, even with puffy fish eyes, didn’t avoid his gaze. When he stared directly, Ian cleared his throat a bit as if embarrassed but led Ganghyuk toward the dining table.
“I just made toast and scrambled eggs simply, but do you not like bread?”
On the dining table, two prettily plated dishes were neatly arranged. There was bread toasted to a golden brown, eggs in a pale yellow, and salad with dressing—quite a complete set.
“I’ll eat well.”
In fact, he didn’t usually eat breakfast, but when the kid went to this extent, leaving without eating felt like something he couldn’t do. As Ganghyuk sat in the chair, Ian’s cheeks puffed up then deflated.
“Should I make you coffee? Do you like black, or instant coffee? There’s milk too. And orange juice.”
Ian opened the refrigerator door and took out milk and orange juice. When his grandfather was alive, they often ate three meals a day with rice, but occasionally they’d have a simple breakfast with bread like this.
Each time, his grandfather and Ian would each drink one glass of milk, orange juice, and instant coffee. But Ganghyuk seemed like he’d drink black coffee, so when he asked, an unexpected answer came back.
“Give me what you’re drinking.”
…Does he really not know this kind of thing is cheating?
Ian’s heart fluttered at the words that seemed indifferent yet affectionate, and after briefly pursing his lips, he took out six cups from the cupboard. Various drinks filled the cups of all different shapes and colors.
Ganghyuk curved his lips looking at the three cups placed before him. When eating breakfast at hotels, Sucheol always ate like this.
Not only did he pile his plate full of foods he wouldn’t normally eat, saying he had to get his money’s worth, but he also made sure to taste every single beverage available.
He took a sip of the least sweet milk. The taste, which he couldn’t remember when he’d last tried, was better than expected.
With one bite of salad, a refreshing taste spread throughout his mouth. The butter-scented toast wasn’t bad either. He just wished he could drink a bitter espresso, that’s all.
“Does it suit your taste? I often ate like this with Grandfather. He was quite fond of bread, you see.”
When he raised his head at the voice that seemed bright yet shadowed, he saw the kid munching away with his lips. He ate so contentedly. Both cheeks bulged out, but it didn’t look ugly—it was cute.
Was it because he covered his mouth with his hand when speaking? Or perhaps because he didn’t make eating sounds, so it was fine.
Since Sucheol sometimes made smacking sounds when eating, which killed his appetite, Ganghyuk found himself observing Ian without realizing it.
“…It’s a little bit Executive Director’s fault too.”
Then he snapped to attention at Ian’s grumbling. A more sullen gaze than before came across from the other side.
“What fault.”
“That I’m wavering back and forth over you, Executive Director. Why do you stare at me like that? You look at me with eyes full of affection, as if I’m cute. It’s confusing.”
Seeing how the tiny thing spoke his mind without fail, he’d changed a lot from when he was young. Back then, he couldn’t even speak properly.
Though even then, he couldn’t hide his curious gaze. He’d blush while handing over candy with crumpled wrappers in his fern-like hands. After they’d gotten somewhat close, he’d crawl up onto his thighs and cling to his embrace, refusing to let go.
“Because you’re cute.”
“What?”
“You’re cute, you know.”
The eyes that widened as if flustered were a bit amusing, so Ganghyuk let out a snicker. It certainly seemed like it was somewhat his fault too. Even if he’d taken Ian in out of gratitude to repay his debt to Yeon Cheolho, there was no need to spend time together like this.
Moving into this house was like that, and yesterday when Ian spoke through his tears and it blew his mind was like that too.
Seeing himself laugh while listening to utterly trivial stories, he was indeed acting unlike himself. It wasn’t normal how he didn’t ignore the kid’s whining and even threw in jokes.
“Thanks for the meal.”
He rose from his seat, leaving behind Ian who seemed dazed. The round eyes smoothly rolled along, following him.
“I’ll be home late today too. If anything happens, don’t rack your brain—just contact me right away.”
Right. Adding words like this was also strange.
But Ganghyuk had decided that since he’d taken on Ian, he would properly take responsibility. Even if he couldn’t accept Ian’s feelings, hadn’t he decided to protect him until he could live well enough on his own, just like he’d said yesterday?
He opened the front door, leaving behind the gaze that followed him to the end. First, he had to resolve what had happened to the kid yesterday. He took out a cigarette and hung it on his lips. As he lit the end of the white stick, the sky that had started to break into dawn also began to slowly redden.
ლ
“Ugh, fuck. What the…”
With the feeling of his entire head ringing, Im Changyu shook his head, trying to regain his senses. He felt a warm sensation from his forehead area and tried to wipe it, but his arms were awkwardly twisted behind him.
Through his blurry vision, he saw a figure sitting in a chair. And the people standing beside him as well.
A familiar smell reached the tip of his nose. The acrid cigarette smell stimulated his urge to smoke. He also needed to piss, wondering how long he’d been unconscious.
What came before the physiological urge was a spine-chilling sense of crisis. Changyu blinked his eyes, trying to grasp the situation.
He’d definitely gone to work in Hyoseong-dong this morning. Along with the two guys he always took along, they’d parked the car inside a shabby alley and were chatting while giggling with cigarettes in their mouths about which bastards they’d threaten today.
Then a can spewing whitish smoke rolled to Changyu’s feet. He remembered Hosik standing next to him kicking the can, asking what the hell it was.
But then his vision spun and his body tilted forward. Seeing Hosik and Wanghun staggering like him was his last memory.
“Who the hell are you guys?”
Changyu glared at the bastards in front of him through gritted teeth. It seemed he’d been kidnapped. Though he’d been in fistfights and knife fights before, this was the first time he’d been dragged to some unknown location, so fear arose, but his eyes were quite sharp with hostility.
The lamp flickering above his head had weak light. Changyu was under the light, but the bastards were hidden in darkness, with only their black forms faintly distinguishable.
At times like this, momentum was important. If they caught on that he was scared, it would only worsen the situation. Besides, Changyu had Geumin behind him. Though they now presented themselves as a proper construction company, at their core they were Geumsongpa, who’d ruled Seoul.
Changyu too had been in the organization since the days when Geumin Construction was still Geumsongpa—he was an original member. Back then he was just a lowly member, but having his loyalty recognized, he now had a fairly decent title.
“You must know who I am to pull shit like this, right?”
When the bastards remained silent, Changyu’s voice grew louder. His mind spun rapidly. Was it Mijung? Those annoying bastards whose insides were pitch black just like Geumin, yet outwardly presented elegance. But they really disliked doing illegal work like this.
Then was it Seongun? Seongun had been a rival organization that interfered at every turn since Geumin’s Geumsongpa days. Following Geumin, they’d entered construction a step late, but still hadn’t properly established themselves, so they were constantly watching for a chance to swallow Geumin Construction. But lately they should have their hands too full with internal affairs to pay attention this way.
As he eliminated possibilities one by one, one strong candidate remained.
Taehyun Construction. An organization that had always been ahead of Geumin, both then and now. Since when Taehyun was still the Hyunho faction, Geumin had never once beaten Taehyun.
