HPK 72

Taejung, who had been panting languidly, stretched out his arm and fumbled around here and there, then finally found what he was looking for and grabbed it. Beep, beep. After lowering the air conditioner’s temperature, he flopped his head back onto the bed.

“Wow, it’s fucking hot.”

However, contrary to his complaint, a faint hint of laughter was mingled in his voice.

“How do you have sex in here?”

Wooseung answered with labored breaths. It was a question not worth answering.

“Ah, right. You’re a virgin.”

Taejung said hatefully as he abruptly sat up and swept back his disheveled hair. He got out of bed completely and stretched out refreshingly. The muscles that packed his back rippled and bulged.

After cracking his neck from side to side to loosen the stiff muscles, he went to the refrigerator and took out a drink. He emptied nearly half of it in an instant and roughly wiped his lips with the palm of his hand. Perhaps because he had a good physique, even though it was a trivial action, it looked like a scene from a sports drink commercial.

Taejung swung the hand holding the plastic bottle back and forth as he wandered around the place, just as he had when he first set foot in this house.

“Is this also from a temple?”

He picked up a calendar from the top of the drawer, turned it over front and back, and then asked Wooseung. On the calendar, above the number for June, there was a large picture of a young monk looking at mushrooms.

“…Ugh, yes.”

Wooseung, who had been curled up like a shrimp, propped himself up and barely managed to answer in a deeply sunken voice. Looking at the calendar, he was reminded anew of the fact that he hadn’t gone to church or the temple these past few days. Being with him had kept him so busy that he hadn’t even thought about it. Even when it was physically taxing, he always went twice a month… This was the first time this had happened.

“I’m showering first.”

Taejung, who had put down the calendar, headed for the bathroom. Wooseung looked down at the bedding, which was thoroughly soaked with all sorts of bodily fluids, and let out a sigh. When was he going to wash and dry this?

Still, thinking it would be better to clean it up before Taejung came out, he immediately started tidying the bedding. Washing a comforter with the washing machine at home was something he couldn’t even dream of. He neatly folded the comforter and put it into a large tarpaulin bag to make it easier to carry to the coin laundromat.

Looking at the mattress, now left with only the waterproof cover, he suddenly thought that he should clean other places too. Taejung’s sudden visit left obvious traces of a hasty cleanup here and there. He put the things that were scattered messily on the floor and shelves back in their places and ran the vacuum cleaner.

‘Wow, is this a house?’

It was a typical remark from him. Perhaps that was why, surprisingly, he didn’t feel bad.

A place filled with damp humidity all year round, the corners of the ceiling were packed with traces of mold removal, and the wallpaper behind the refrigerator was peeling. People always tried hard to ignore the poverty that was not hidden but openly revealed. They thought it was politeness and consideration. Even though he had felt sorry for not having anything to offer amidst his shabby belongings, he had never felt ashamed.

But to Wooseung’s worried words that the bathroom was small, Taejung had given a very typical “It looks like it” reply. Was it because he didn’t have to worry about what he might be thinking inside? Wooseung was actually relieved by his brazen reply and blatant admiration.

To think he felt more at ease when someone pointed out his poverty, it was truly a funny and strange thing. Wooseung let out a small laugh and turned off the vacuum cleaner. Since the house was small, the cleaning was over in no time.

Crash! Clatter—!

It was then. A loud noise echoed from the bathroom, followed by a shouted curse, “Ah, fuck!”

“What happened?”

Wooseung rushed to the bathroom. However, no particular answer came from inside. It was clear that something had happened.

“President, are you okay?”

He was worried that Taejung might have broken the sink or something. Considering his build and fierce temper, it wasn’t an entirely impossible scenario. He was a man who would just kick things first if he got upset.

“I’m coming in.”

In the end, Wooseung, unable to overcome his anxiety, grabbed the doorknob and turned it. As the cloudy steam poured out, the revealed scene was, contrary to his worries, not a big deal.

The shelf in the corner had collapsed, and all the shower supplies had spilled onto the floor. The bathroom was so small that Wooseung himself often knocked the shelf down with his elbow.

“I didn’t do it.”

As soon as Wooseung looked at the floor, Taejung said in a sulky tone. He must have been washing his hair, as his forehead was covered with fluffy bubbles.

“This fucking thing just suddenly fell over. On its own.”

He looked like someone who had done something wrong and was hurriedly saying he didn’t do it. On top of that, his hair was all lathered up. He tried to hold back the laughter that was tickling his throat, but the white foam and Taejung’s scowling face were such a mismatch that he eventually couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.

“Ahaha, what are you doing?”

Laughter that sounded like tiny bubbles popping filled the bathroom.

In that moment, the frown on Taejung’s irritated face slowly smoothed out. His brow became flat, and the corners of his mouth drooped downwards. Unaware of the foam trickling down his forehead, he just stared blankly at the bright, laughing face. He couldn’t take his eyes off him, even as the laughter gradually subsided.

“The bathroom is small, so that happens often.”

“…”

“If you leave it, I’ll clean it up.”

Wooseung naturally reached out his hand and wiped away the foam that was going into his eyes. Then he turned to leave the bathroom.

“Ouch…!”

If only Taejung hadn’t grabbed his forearm and spun him around. Wooseung, who was dragged along, was so surprised that he just blinked his eyes stupidly.

“What is it?”

“Pardon?”

“Why are you laughing?”

Taejung asked with a serious face, as if he were genuinely curious. Wooseung, suddenly grabbed and asked why he was laughing, hesitated, not knowing what to say. Was he upset that he laughed? But he didn’t seem particularly angry…

“Um, just…”

“…”

“Because it was funny that the President got startled while washing his hair… so I laughed.”

Taejung muttered to himself, “My hair?” and then suddenly let go of Wooseung’s arm with a jerk. He then wiped his own hair once, saw the foam smeared all over his hand, and spat out a curse as if chewing on it.

“This, fuck.”

“…”

“Hey, why the hell are you coming in while a person is washing up?”

Normally, he would have immediately said sorry and quickly left the bathroom. However, Wooseung couldn’t move from his spot, as if his feet were tied down. The face that had held a faint smile had also stiffened by now.

“What are you looking at, you son of a…”

Only after Taejung fiercely contorted his face did he come to his senses and leave the bathroom. From beyond the closed door, a loud clattering sound rang out once. It seemed Taejung had kicked the shower supplies that were spilled on the floor.

“…”

Wooseung stared blankly at the white foam left on his own hand. The scene he had just witnessed, which was hard to believe, slowly came back to him, piece by piece.

The face that had turned bright red upon seeing the hand covered in fluffy white foam. The furrowed brow, as if in dismay. These changes were so unbelievable for the Taejung who was always arrogant and acted as he pleased.

He slowly moved his feet and went to the mattress, which was now left with only the white waterproof cover, and squatted down. He pointlessly took out the neatly arranged comforter from the tarpaulin bag and fiddled with it.

The small, unsettling incidents from the past carefully overlapped with the image of Taejung getting angry with a flushed face.

[It’s like he came to keep tabs on his girlfriend lol]

The text message he had dismissed as nonsense.

‘Looks like I’m the first for everything, huh?’

The face that was smiling, clearly delighted.

‘I don’t eat raw things.’

Even the way he said surprising things so casually.

The strength drained from his hands, and the comforter fell to the floor with a thud. Wooseung stared blankly down at the comforter.

Having been used for a long time, the comforter, which was covered in lint from frequent washing, couldn’t be called soft even as a polite compliment. In contrast, the bedding he used at Taejung’s house comfortably enveloped his entire body’s skin like fine-grained powder. The stark difference between the two felt as if it were speaking of Taejung’s and his own circumstances. That was why the assumption that had just popped into his head felt so utterly absurd.

But then again…

‘Where’s your house.’

‘Ah! You can drop me off at Hwagok Station.’

‘Tell me the address.’

Taejung’s behavior, which had been changing little by little for some time now, kept tripping up his denial. It was as if his navigation system, which had clearly had ‘N-a’ entered as the destination, had gotten lost on its own and was constantly searching for a new route.

‘Hey, a present.’

Wooseung’s gaze fell on the phone placed on the table, then moved to the bathroom where the sound of water could be heard. And for a while, he just stared at that spot. He pictured the man who would be beyond it, the man who would blush and then suddenly get angry.

As his complicated mind began to clear up a little, a single thought rose like the sun.

It was a new destination, and a place he had never been to in his entire life.