HPK 64

“Hey, a present.”

Wooseung, who was neatly packing his toothbrush, toothpaste, and underwear into his bag, only lifted his head from his squatting position. Taejung came out of the bedroom, roughly drying his wet hair with a towel. He tossed the small box he was holding towards Wooseung with a swoosh.

He caught the box in a fluster. The box, which felt both heavy and light, had a picture of a cell phone on it. He blinked blankly, then looked at Taejung with a feeling of ‘no way.’ His eyes urgently followed Taejung’s back as he had already crossed the living room and was heading to the kitchen.

“…What is this?”

He asked cautiously, holding the box with both hands. Through the transparent door between the kitchen and the living room, he could see Taejung opening the refrigerator door. He took out an electrolyte drink, gulped it down with a glug glug, and came out to the living room.

“I told you it’s a present.”

He pressed the electrolyte drink against the crown of Wooseung’s head and plopped down on the sofa.

“You said your phone was broken.”

“…Ah.”

“What, was that a lie?”

“No. It’s really broken. But this is a bit sudden…”

Even as he said that, Wooseung could not take his eyes off the box. It was the same brand as the one he had been using, but Wooseung’s phone was a model that had come out a long time ago. On top of that, he had bought it secondhand, so this was the first time he had a new phone since elementary school.

“Now you can’t ignore my calls with some bullshit excuse, huh?”

Taejung teased Wooseung with a broad smile. Wooseung shook his head, saying he did not ignore it on purpose, but his gaze remained fixed on the box, unable to tear itself away.

Normally, Taejung would have gotten angry, asking where he was looking while answering, but this time, he just stared at Wooseung quietly. The muscles in his face were more relaxed than usual. He seemed unaware of it himself, but he was clearly happy. More than he had expected.

“Can I open it?”

His eyes, bathed in the sunlight, sparkled.

“…Yeah.”

Taejung, without realizing it, answered in a deep voice and was so surprised at himself that he hurriedly drank his electrolyte drink.

His fingers, which had been stroking the hard corners, slowly opened the box. The half-bitten apple logo embedded on the back of the phone was brilliant. Wooseung stroked the back with his hand and then carefully took out the phone. His hand even trembled slightly, as if he were afraid of dropping it.

“…”

The electrolyte drink in Taejung’s hand hit the floor below the sofa with a thud, thud. He was currently feeling very strange, but it was a feeling that was hard to define, so he himself did not quite understand why he was like this. So, he needlessly picked a fight with Wooseung, who was busy looking at the phone.

“I’m totally a low priority, huh.”

“Ah.”

Only then did Wooseung’s head snap up. His slightly flushed cheeks were as red as ripe plums. Because his skin was so fair, the redness was very noticeable.

“Thank you. I’ll use it well.”

He bowed his head with a nod, clutching the phone preciously. Taejung, still with a sulky face, just kept tapping the floor under the sofa with the plastic bottle with a thud, thud. But the moment he saw the faint smile on the fair face he was now facing.

“…Whether you use it well or not.”

For some reason, Taejung’s cheeks also held a subtle warmth. So, Taejung deliberately answered brusquely and glared at Wooseung.

It definitely had not felt like this when he had tossed it to him saying, “Hey, a present.” Taejung was confused by this emotion he was feeling for the first time in his life. He did not know if he was in a bad mood or a good one, and while he wanted to keep looking, he felt like he was being swept away, which was also unpleasant.

♡

Wooseung, who had arrived earlier than the appointment time, finished ordering first and sat down. It was a window seat, so the sunlight poured in pleasantly from under the blinds. Normally, he would have watched the people passing by on the street, but Wooseung immediately took out his phone. When he was watching short videos on social media, he really lost all track of time. He was so amazed and happy with the phone, whose back did not get hot no matter how long he held it, that for the past few days, Wooseung had not been able to put it down.

“Changed your phone?”

Just then, Jaemin plopped down across from him and pointed to the phone with a jut of his chin. Wooseung slowly nodded his head and turned off the phone.

“With what money?”

As expected, the question he had anticipated flew at him.

“My grandmother…”

“Hey, you took it from her again?”

Even though he had come up with an excuse that Jaemin would find plausible, he scowled as if he had been waiting for it. Since they had often visited each other’s houses, Jaemin also knew well about his grandmother’s long-standing love for her grandson. Even the pocket money and gifts she gave him secretly from Yejin.

“Shouldn’t you have gotten one for Yejin first before buying your own.”

“Yejin got a new one too.”

Taking advantage of the moment Jaemin was away from his seat to order, he put his phone down on the sofa altogether. Making excuses for the nagging would lead to more lies, which was uncomfortable. It was better to just get it out of his sight in the first place.

“You seem to be very busy these days.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m busy.”

Jaemin, who had returned, set down his drink and rubbed his eyes as if he were tired. It was not just a passing remark; Jaemin really had been busy lately. He had been in touch even less frequently these days than when he was busy adjusting after moving to the narcotics team.

“So damn tired, really.”

After rubbing his dry face for a while, he drained half of his drink in one go.

“Are you sick somewhere?”

His sunken eyes looked like those of someone who had not slept for days. His skin, which had been nicely tanned by the sun, was dull, and his complexion was also dark.

“Huh? What do you mean sick. I’m just tired. Have you ever seen me sick?”

Jaemin awkwardly avoided his gaze and cleared his throat. It was just a question asked because his complexion was not good, but he was overly defensive, listing all sorts of reasons. He said it was because he had been so busy since the team was reorganized. It was a relief if he was not sick, but there was definitely something different about him than usual.

“Ah, this.”

Jaemin handed him a shopping bag. The reason he, who had been so busy he barely even texted, had suddenly called Wooseung over was because he had something to give him.

“Tell her I said thank you. I’ll really enjoy it.”

“After seeing your picture, she was giving me a hard time, saying you’re nothing but skin and bones. Even if I tell her you’ve never been the type to gain weight, do you think my mom would believe that?”

Jaemin’s mother had a generous hand and often shared side dishes with those around her. Wooseung had also benefited greatly from this, and this time too, she had packed containers full of side dishes for him.

“I’ll wash them and give them back right away.”

“Just bring them with you next time you go to Daejeon.”

After that, they chatted idly as usual. But Jaemin, who had quickly finished his drink, was restlessly shaking his leg and looking around here and there the whole time, like someone being chased. The hand that was stroking his mouth and the nape of his neck was also somewhat erratic.

“Hey, you…”

“Ah, shit. I can’t. Hey, I’m going for a smoke.”

Something seemed strange, and he was about to ask if he was okay, but Jaemin beat him to it and stood up first. He grabbed his e-cigarette and quickly went outside the cafe, then disappeared in a flash towards the alley where the outdoor unit of the air conditioner was located. Wooseung turned his head to look at where he had disappeared and wondered when Jaemin had switched from regular cigarettes to e-cigarettes.

♡

“Subway?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m taking the bus. I’m going first.”

Jaemin, who had been running towards the opposite direction with his hands in his pockets, suddenly stopped and came back this way.

“Why?”

“Hey, what’s the name of that place you work at?”

“…Why are you suddenly asking that?”

Jaemin glanced once towards the road and then looked back at Wooseung, brushing his hair back.

“Ahem. A college friend of mine is interested in that waiter thing. Ah, you know, what I was talking about last time.”

“You’ve never mentioned it before…”

“No, shit. So where do you work.”

“It’s a place called Factory in Yeoksam. I work there.”

“Yeoksam? Okay. Hey, see you later.”

After asking the random question, Jaemin immediately turned away with a relieved expression. He casually raised and lowered his hand and walked away at a faster pace than before.

“…”

He had lied, saying it was Factory and not Girin, but he thought there was no way he would get caught. Wooseung turned around with a lingering sense of unease. He had intended to go straight home. But suddenly, he remembered the batting cage he had spotted on his way to the cafe earlier.

His deliberation was short. Wooseung turned on his heel and changed his destination. In the batting cage, there were only two men who looked to be about his age. He put in a thousand won and swung the baseball bat lightly. The first few times, the ball flew off in completely wrong directions, but the last one he hit properly. After spending another two thousand won, he picked up his shopping bag and bag and came out.

Even then, Wooseung did not go home. He stopped by a coin karaoke and sang four songs, and feeling it was not enough, he put in another thousand won and sang four more songs. A day without having to fret over 1.5 million won was sweeter than he had expected.

[Bank Account 1,850,000 won]

Wooseung was able to pay all his overdue utility bills and even buy Yejin a new phone. And even after that, this much balance remained in his bank account. Although it was unlikely that Taejung would give him more money, so it was right to be frugal as usual… Still, he had really wanted to get Yejin a new phone. Yejin, who had been so happy with just a cheap perfume from the drugstore, was practically jumping for joy when he got her a new phone. He could tell just by seeing how her social media stories had been constantly updated since yesterday.

Until the day before yesterday, the thought that he had really entered into a sponsor relationship with Taejung had kept him up at night, and he had been checking his banking app all day. But that too was only for a short while.

Today, walking the streets without the pressure of having to earn a certain amount was more enjoyable than he had thought, and he even felt a slight sense of liberation. It was like he could finally breathe.

Of course, it was money earned through a shameless act he could not tell others about…

Wooseung thought, as he always did, that if no one knew, then it would be okay.