HPK 107

A week passed since Wooseung and Taejung had their not quite an argument. In that time, nothing had been resolved, and Taejung’s attitude had not changed much either.

Beeeep!

The sound of a whistle echoed throughout the living room. Wooseung, who was heading to the kitchen while clutching his throbbing head, paused for a moment and looked at Taejung, who was playing a soccer game while sitting sprawled on the sofa. The fingers holding the controller moved quickly, then came to a sudden stop. Soon after, with a low curse, he tossed it onto the table in annoyance.

He thought about just walking past, but in the end, he was the one to speak first again.

“Are you going out today too?”

Taejung, perhaps aware that Wooseung was behind him, was not surprised by the sudden question. He picked up the cigarette pack from the side of the table and rose from his seat. Wooseung raised his head to follow the suddenly elevated gaze. He seemed to have gotten bigger lately, probably from going to the gym so often.

“You’re quite interested in the guest.”

Taejung, while putting a cigarette in his mouth, brought up that same “guest” talk again. When Wooseung openly scowled, he sneered with mumbled pronunciation, “Well, I am a guest, aren’t I?”

It was truly childish to a fault. Even when Wooseung tried to initiate conversation, it was always like this, so they could not have a proper conversation at all. Nevertheless, Wooseung always spoke first. It was because the current situation, with its strange atmosphere and nothing resolved, was just too uncomfortable.

“What business is it of yours whether I go out or not.”

“…Haah.”

Wooseung gave up on continuing the conversation and started walking. When he entered the dining room and looked back through the transparent door, Taejung was already gone. It seemed he had gone out for a smoke.

He got a glass of cool water and drank it all without leaving a drop. But his insides still felt hot and flushed. Wooseung checked the time.

5 p.m. In an hour, Taejung would be leaving again.

The thought of the house becoming empty made his chest feel tight again. Wooseung got another glass of cold water and drank it.

And as expected, he left the house a short while later, and a deep silence, like stagnant water, settled over the large house. It felt like it would never be scooped out, no matter how much he tried.

Wooseung sat blankly on the living room sofa, staring at the front door that showed no sign of opening. The hallway had not been lit even once since Taejung left. Perhaps because it was dawn and darkness had fallen, it was so pitch black that he could not look any longer and turned his head away.

[When are you coming back from the South Sea??]

Hyojun, who had gone down to the South Sea, had been out of contact for several days. At first, he would reply sporadically, sending pictures of home-cooked meals his grandmother made or photos of the sea, but now even that had stopped. He thought it might be because he was spending time with his grandmother after a long while, but…

Wooseung stopped thinking and opened a part-time job search app.

[Hanju Global Co., Ltd.: Overtime 3–4 times/week / Room & Board Provided / Beginners Welcome / Weekly/Daily Pay]

[W.A. Inc.: PCB Manufacturing / Beginners Welcome / 3 Teams 2 Shifts / Room & Board / Weekly Pay]

He clicked on a few of the job postings he had bookmarked and skimmed through them. As Taejung’s attitude was ambiguous, Wooseung also needed to prepare for the future. He could survive for a few months with the cash he had withdrawn from his card, so it was not immediately urgent, but there was no harm in looking in advance. He was also thinking of asking Chanil to find out about clubs in other areas.

“…”

His thumb rubbed the screen meaninglessly. He could not remember a time when he had not been tied down by money, so browsing through job postings was a familiar task for him. But perhaps because it had been over a month since he last worked, it felt quite unfamiliar. He even thought that the working conditions were too harsh.

They say humans are creatures of adaptation; it seemed he had quickly gone soft after staying in a comfortable place. He had never been picky about work, but since when had he become so particular?

The Monday morning he had faced with a sense of helplessness. The dawns when he kept checking the time, conscious of the madam-hyung’s mood. His mother’s summer blanket, her favorite fruits, all the things Yejin said she needed.

‘I told you not to act like you sell your body, so why can’t you fix your habits? Huh?’

It seemed he had picked up a habit without even realizing it. The more he mulled over Taejung’s words, the more it felt true.

How long could he enjoy this current peace? A vague sense of anxiety unpleasantly tightened around his heart. He would rather just fall asleep than feel this way, but ever since Taejung started leaving the house empty, he could only manage to sleep lightly.

Wooseung put down his phone and leaned his back against the sofa. Even when he raised the air conditioner’s temperature and wrapped himself in a blanket, sleep strangely would not come. Was it because there was no one to bother him to the point of annoyance? He even felt a sense of emptiness.

Wooseung could not shake the impression that he was like a tamed animal. But it was not particularly unpleasant. After all, an animal that lives in a house lives in a better environment than a person who wanders the streets.

The moon, which had been hidden by clouds, slowly began to reveal itself. It was an especially bright moonlit night. But the moonlight shining into the living room was not as bright as the light that turned on when one entered the front door.

After hesitating for a long time, he finally walked to the dining room. Click. He turned on the light and went to the wooden display cabinet.

“…”

After some thought, he picked up one of the long, slender bottles. He grabbed a glass as well and went out to the living room. With every step, the liquid inside the bottle sloshed around.

He turned on the TV and flipped through the channels, but since it was late, there was not much to watch. He went into the ATT platform and played a horror movie that was featured on the main page. It was a movie with a plot about receiving emails from a dead lover.

Sipping the neat whiskey, Wooseung watched the movie. In truth, he was not really able to concentrate. He kept busily glancing towards the hallway that led to the front door every now and then. Unconsciously hoping the light would turn on, or that he would hear the thud-click of the lock being undone.

Like that, without him realizing, the speed at which he tilted the glass grew faster and faster.

Even an hour after the movie started, the light at the front door did not turn on.

♡

Behind Taejung, who was striding down the hallway, Jaewon followed with a tense expression.

“Hello.”

“President, hello~”

The female hosts who were waiting for Taejung to pass by a corner greeted him one after another. Their smiling faces, as they made eye contact with each other, were flushed red. They did not care that Taejung ignored them without so much as a glance, let alone a greeting.

Taejung, who was heading straight for the waiting room, stopped in front of the door with the number ‘8’ on it.

“Is this room taken?”

“Yes, it is being cleaned right now.”

Jaewon, sensing the situation, opened the door wide. The two waiters who were cleaning inside looked up at the suddenly opened door. They saw Taejung and bowed their heads.

Taejung entered the room and kicked the trash can. Thump. Wet tissues, crushed fruit, and cans spilled out with a clatter, mixed with the alcohol the female hosts had spit out.

Taejung stared blankly at the dirty floor, then spun around. He met Jaewon’s eyes and stared at him intently.

“Is there some kind of problem…”

Jaewon trailed off awkwardly as he approached Taejung. His face was stained with nervousness, his posture extremely polite with his hands behind his back.

“Jaewon-ah.”

“Yes, President.”

“Don’t you smell that?”

Jaewon swallowed hard. The hands of the waiters who were cleaning the table also began to slow down. Jaewon took a deep breath, then exhaled and bowed his head low.

“I apologize. I will get it taken care of immediately.”

Tap, tap. His straight fingers tapped the table irregularly. A moment later, Taejung furrowed his brow as if he could not understand.

“This kid is getting more and more careless.”

“No, sir. President. I will clean it thoroughly and make sure this never happens again.”

Jaewon’s head was buried towards the floor, showing no sign of being raised. Taejung, with the hand that had been tapping the table, wiped its surface and brought it to his nose. A foul smell of urine, the kind you would only smell in a public restroom, unpleasantly pierced his nostrils.

“Fuck, it really smells like…”

At that moment, a smack sound rang out. The palm of his hand had struck the entire area from Jaewon’s temple to his left cheek.

“Keuk…”

Jaewon stumbled as his vision spun. But he quickly regained his balance and stood firm. The pain spreading from his temple was extraordinary, but he endured it stoically.

“The sincerity.”

Smack!

“Is gone.”

Smack!

“The sincerity. Huh?”

“I’m sorry, keuk, I am sorry.”

“You’ve gotten soft because you’re dating.”

“That is not true, President.”

His cheekbone was swollen, and the capillaries in his left eye had all burst, turning it bright red. Red blood trickled down from his left nostril.

“Are you in a fucking position to be doing that right now?”

Taejung, who was about to strike him again, paused when he saw the blood. Then he checked his own hand. Fortunately, no blood had splattered on it. Nevertheless, Taejung shook his hand as if something dirty was on it. His hard, swollen muscles writhed in unison, seething with anger.

“…I am sorry.”

Jaewon swallowed the saliva that tasted of blood and bowed his head once more.

Taejung did not reply and spat on the floor. Ptooey. Then, without any lingering attachment, he turned and left the room.

“Yongsu, Hyunjoo, you heard the President. Make sure you get rid of the smell completely.”

Even as he hurriedly followed after him, Jaewon did not forget to give another warning to the waiters. The waiters, with frightened faces, nodded their heads in a flurry.