HYUNG 30

“I saw something else that was fun instead, so it is okay.”

Ham Dowon, who had not even been looking at his phone, said something nonsensical with a smirk and then started the car.

I thought he would drop me off at a nearby station, but Ham Dowon ended up driving me all the way home. Even when I pointed to a station halfway and asked to be let out, he shouted “I do not want to!” like a child throwing a tantrum.

“Thank you for the ride. And for this, the bread too.”

I got out of the car, which had been running relentlessly until it stopped in my apartment parking lot, clutching the heavy bags of bread. Since we were already here, I figured saying something harsh like ‘why did you not just drop me off earlier’ would only be said to make myself feel better, so I kept those words to myself. Instead, I smiled and waved toward the driver’s seat. Ham Dowon stared at me intently before casting his eyes down as he always did. However, he quickly looked up, gazed straight at me, and covered his mouth with his hand.

“Hyung.”

“Yes.”

“Hyuuung…”

“What is it?”

“Hyung… I, I do not want to go. What should I do?”

Ham Dowon looked at me in a crooked posture, with his arms resting on the steering wheel and his head tilted. He whined in a slightly high-pitched voice as if grumbling or acting cute; he must have been exhausted after driving for so long. Seriously, he should have just dropped me off and gone home…

“Then park the car here and take a taxi. You can just pick it up when you come to school next time.”

“…Hyung.”

“Are you asking to stay over? But I have to leave very early tomorrow morning. I have to pack my bags, too.”

“I did not mean it like that… Never mind. Hyung, have a safe trip home, and I will be in touch.”

“Sure. Thanks. Get home safe.”

I waved at Ham Dowon’s departing car and entered the building. This bag of bread is really heavy. Wondering what was inside, I rummaged through and found several types of bread I recognized, some I did not, and quite a lot of cookies and baked sweets. Ye Hwanyoung will love this. Ah, by the way, I think Ham Dowon said he had something really important to tell me, but did he already say it? What did he mean? Did he forget? While I was thinking about it for a while, the elevator doors opened.

After washing up and checking the time, it was already nearly 12:00. I have to leave early tomorrow; will I be able to wake up? I turned off the light and lay in bed, and I saw that one text message and one missed call had arrived on my phone. It was Ham Dowon.

Hyung, are you sleeping? Today was really fun. I am sure it was for you too, right? Hyung, I hope you have sweet dreams!! ♡♡♡♡

This Ham Dowon guy… I guess he has a lot of aegyo. He sent hearts. Four of them… I thought about sending a reply saying I was grateful too, but while setting my alarm, I fell asleep before I knew it.

“Where are Mom and Dad?”

“They are at the shop. But where is my bread?”

“Your bread? Your breeaad? Did you leave it in my custody or something?”

“I did leave it in your custody!”

I did not expect the whole family to come rushing out to welcome me the moment I entered the house, but I did not think all I would see was Ye Hwanyoung, who, despite being a high schooler, was sprawled out like an unemployed person.

“Here.”

“Ugh!”

She looked so annoying that I dropped the two bags of bread right onto her face. Ye Hwanyoung got up with a scream, and though she glared at me, she began rummaging through the paper bags with an excited face.

“Ah! This place! I really wanted to eat this! Was it not super hard to buy?”

Ye Hwanyoung shouted excitedly as she held up bread from the shop run by Ham Dowon’s unnie. I slumped down on the sofa and grumbled.

“Did you ask me to buy it knowing that? Huh?”

“I did not actually expect you to buy it. I just wanted to see you put in some effort.”

The words coming out of Ye Hwanyoung, who was mumbling after taking a bite of a financier she had unwrapped, were so obnoxious I wanted to give her a few noogies. Instead, I settled for poking her thigh with my foot.

“Are you my girlfriend? Why do you want to see me put in effort?”

“Why not? Since you do not even have a girlfriend, you can do that much for your sister. But really, how did you buy it? Did you, like, stand in line before they opened?”

I clicked my tongue at Ye Hwanyoung, who was now about to eat a madeleine. Is her throat not dry? I got up, took a drink out of the fridge, and tossed it to her. Ye Hwanyoung caught it skillfully.

“Thank you. But I asked how you bought it?”

“An acquaintance helped me, okay. It is a place run by the unnie of a junior at school.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Really. Why would I lie about something like that?”

“The owner here is a very famous person!”

Ye Hwanyoung had an impressed face. It was probably not for me. It was for that unnie. She should try acting like that toward her own brother. I sat on the sofa, nudged Ye Hwanyoung out of the way, and turned on the TV.

“Is that so? I would not know. I went through the trouble of bringing bread, but someone ate it all by themselves without even offering a bite, so I did not even get to taste it properly.”

“Ahhh, oppaaa. Oppaaaang! Are you sulking? Are you sulking?”

“Oof!”

“Eat this and feel better.”

Ye Hwanyoung climbed onto the sofa where I was sitting with a sly attitude and forced bread into my mouth. Even when I shook my head saying my throat was getting blocked, she kept pushing it in as if she were torturing me, so I had no choice but to open up and chew.

“It is delicious, right!”

“I am the one who bought it, you know?”

“I am the one who told you about the place! So, I am asking if it is delicious or not!”

“…It is delicious.”

It was a piece of green tea pound cake; the green tea flavor was rich and it was savory because of the walnuts. Even though it was a common type of bread I had eaten in many places, the taste was far superior. I guess there is a reason it is famous.

“Since I brought it for you, massage my shoulders a bit.”

“Are you an old man or something?”

“I am an old man. I am seven years older than you.”

“Kkondae.”

Even while grumbling, Ye Hwanyoung started massaging my shoulders and thumping them with her fists. I completely surrendered my body and manipulated the remote. The OTT service I had connected to the television earlier popped up immediately. It seemed my parents were using it well. I had set it up for them because they both like watching movies and dramas, and I was glad I did.

“Oh, that one was fun.”

“Hey, this is rated 19 and over.”

Ye Hwanyoung pointed her finger at a certain drama. This is something minors cannot watch, this brat… Ye Hwanyoung, with a face showing no remorse, thump! struck my back hard.

“I watched it with Mom and Dad, okay? Anyway, Mom said that one was fun. She said she wanted to live a life like that once.”

“…This is a story about people making and selling drugs at a bakery?”

Surely nothing suspicious is happening at our tteok shop? I suddenly became anxious.

“Yeah. Exactly. She said she wants to live a life full of thrills.”

“You watch it when you are all grown up. Do not sit there watching with Mom and Dad.”

I put on a G-rated teen movie instead. Ye Hwanyoung let out a small huff of breath.

“Mom and Dad like it when I watch with them, too, you know?”

“What do you mean ‘letting’ them watch with you? You just watch together because you want to. …Hey, ouch! That hurts!”

“It is all knotted up like a rock, so if I do not press hard, it won’t loosen up.”

Maybe because she is into baking, her hand strength was incredibly strong. It hurt a lot at first, but after she kept massaging, it started to feel refreshing.

“Is it good?”

“Yeah. It is good.”

“Then leave me a generous amount of allowance before you go.”

“Why do you not go check my room over there.”

“What is it?”

Ye Hwanyoung’s voice suddenly brightened.

“I am telling you to go, so just go. There is a white paper bag, so why do you not open it. If you do not want to, then don’t.”

“What is it, what is it!”

Ye Hwanyoung jumped up from her seat and ran excitedly toward my room. She should have finished massaging my shoulders before leaving, that brat… However, the voice shouting “Waaaah! Oppaaaaaa!” was so excited that I decided to just let it go.

“Oppa, oppa, oppa! Did you really buy this? This is mine? For real?”

“Yeah. For real.”

Ye Hwanyoung hugged the noise-canceling headphone box and spun around the living room in excitement. I was planning to buy it after I got my part-time job pay, but since the money I had saved up was more than enough, I bought it to give to her in person since I was visiting home.

“Oppaaaang!”

“Ugh, gross.”

Seeing Ye Hwanyoung twisting her body like that really gave me the creeps. When I recoiled in disgust, Ye Hwanyoung suddenly frowned and lowered her voice.

“Enjoy it while your one and only younger sister is willingly acting cute. Do not regret it later.”

“Whatever. Go get my phone from my bag. It is in the front pocket of the backpack.”