HYUNG 62

I stared at the ‘Unblock’ button on the screen and hesitated. I could just contact him as someone taking the same class, but would he misunderstand even this? I hope he wouldn’t, but I have to contact him…

“…Hello.”

I was startled by the word [Dad] that suddenly popped up on the screen. I quickly pressed the receive button and walked out of the studio, whispering with the phone held to my ear. I could only hear my father’s panting voice.

— Hwan, Young. Hwanyoung is… Hwanyoung is… The car, a car…

My father sobbed. There was only one other time my usually calm father had shown such a shaken appearance. It was when young Ye Hwanyoung flew off the playground swing and went thud! face-first into the ground.

‧₊˚♪ 𝄞₊˚⊹

“Why did you call the kid while he was in the middle of class? He ran all the way here thinking something terrible happened because you overreacted.”

“No, I was just so shocked…”

Mom gave Dad’s arm a sharp smack, and Dad wore an embarrassed expression. Sigh, sigh. Only then did I let out the breath I had been holding. As soon as Ye Hwanyoung, who was sitting on the bed, made eye contact with me, she scowled and whipped her head away. Mom looked at the sweat beaded on my forehead and clicked her tongue.

“Ye Hwanyoung, are you a child? Huh?”

“Ah! Mom! I was in an accident! A car accident!”

“Truly, because of you, I won’t live out my natural lifespan, truly!”

“Ah, Mom. It hurts!”

Mom, with a face like she was boiling inside, began to beat the pillow mercilessly, and Ye Hwanyoung—even though she wasn’t the one being hit—shrank back and acted like a total crybaby.

Even though I had come all the way down by train, Ye Hwanyoung was perfectly fine. While playing on a handcart in the school yard with her friends, the cart had rolled out onto the road and collided with a passing car. They said the speed wasn’t fast because the car was trying to park. Her wrist was momentarily jolted so she ended up with a half-cast, but they said she should be hospitalized for a few days since it was technically a car accident.

“How can someone be this immature? I wish she was even half like her hyung.”

Mom clicked her tongue with her arms crossed.

“Ah, Mom! Don’t you know that comparisons are the worst thing for child-rearing? Huh? It’s the worst thing for a sensitive, turbulent adolescent! You’re crushing the kid’s spirit!”

“I’d rather your spirit be crushed a bit so you don’t cause trouble, okay?”

“Dad! I’m hungry! Hmm? I came out without even being able to eat dinner. Dad.”

Ye Hwanyoung shouted toward Dad. In the midst of that, she absolutely did not look my way. She seems to be very sulky.

“Sure. Our daughter. What do you want to eat?”

“Samgyetang for me.”

“Who eats Samgyetang in the autumn! Besides, after being hospitalized! Just eat chicken porridge! Let’s go, honey!”

Mom, having issued a thunderous command, linked arms with my restless father and walked out of the hospital room with brisk steps.

“Are you okay?”

“…”

Even though I asked quite tenderly, Ye Hwanyoung kept her arms crossed and just glared at nothing in particular.

“Does it hurt? I guess you won’t be able to do any baking for a while.”

“You blocked me, didn’t you?”

“Huh?”

“Oppa, you blocked me.”

“…No. Why would I block you?”

I tried to lightly grasp Ye Hwanyoung’s forearm while lying as nonchalantly as possible. However, Ye Hwanyoung avoided it sharply and glared at me with eyes brimming with tears.

“Am I a fool? You blocked me! Blocked! Give me your phone then!”

“My phone… I left it at home. Because I was shocked.”

“You said you came straight from school! If you’re going to lie, at least do it properly! I said I had something to tell you, but you just blocked me!”

A single tear fell drip from Ye Hwanyoung’s eye. As Ye Hwanyoung, huffing and puffing in resentment, rubbed her eyes roughly, I quickly pulled her arm.

“I told you not to rub your eyes.”

“What does it matter!”

“Hwanyoung, are you very angry? Hmm? Oppa had some bad things happen, so that’s why. I’m sorry.”

“…What kind of things.”

“Just some bad things.”

I gently pulled her into a hug and patted her back. Ye Hwanyoung, while still breathing heavily, did not push me away.

“Do you know that the first person I contacted after the accident was you, Oppa? But even then, you didn’t pick up the phone.”

“…I’m really sorry.”

“Oppa is a real piece of trash. A son of a bitch.”

“Don’t use bad language.”

“Oppa deserves to be cursed at.”

“Right. I deserve it, I do. Even so, don’t say it out loud. Just do it in your head, in your head.”

“So damn annoying…”

Ye Hwanyoung huffed in my arms for a long time, then suddenly thud! pushed me away hard and wore a prim expression.

“There’s something to drink in the fridge, so drink it if you want.”

“Who bought that already?”

“A friend. Even while crying her eyes out because she was shocked, she said shouldn’t you buy something when coming to a hospital room, so she bought it at the mart. Fools.”

Even while speaking roughly, Ye Hwanyoung let out a pfft! and laughed happily. When I opened the fridge, it was full of sterilized chocolate milk.

“Why is there so much?”

“Because it’s what I like. You’re supposed to buy a box of drinks when visiting someone in the hospital. I know exactly that there are 24, so just drink one.”

I took one out, inserted a straw, and took a slurp.

“…It’s sweet.”

“Of course it’s sweet, it’s chocolate milk. That’s the sweetest, so it’s the most delicious.”

I looked down at the brown milk carton with a chocolate drawn on it. This was something Ham Dowon ate often too. The sweetness in my mouth felt too strong, leaving a dry aftertaste.

“But what was it you had to say?”

“You ignored me the whole time, and now you’re curious?”

Holding the chocolate milk I hadn’t finished, I sat back down in the chair. Ye Hwanyoung did scowl, but her expression looked much more relaxed than before.

“I said I’m sorry for blocking you. What is it you want to have this time? Or what favor are you going to ask? Hmm? Tell me. I’ll do it all. I’ll really buy you a cake this time too.”

“Hmph.”

Ye Hwanyoung, while acting like she was sulky, stretched out her arm and snatched away the chocolate milk I was holding. She stared at me as if teasing and sucked up the drink.

“Don’t eat sweet things before dinner.”

“Nagging even now. I can eat it all. And am I a child?”

“You are a child. You’re only eighteen.”

“Ugh, why are you like this?”

When I lightly pushed her head, Ye Hwanyoung was disgusted. It was funny, so a pfft, pfft chuckle came out.

“Ah, stop laughing! I really have something to say. It’s very serious.”

“Right. What is it? Give it a try.”

Since Ye Hwanyoung put on a deliberately serious face, I followed suit. At most, it would be something like I want this this time but Mom said she wouldn’t buy it, she said she’d buy it only if I raised my grades, something like that. However, my prediction was completely wrong. It was a story that made me realize anew that although Hwanyoung is young, she is a respectable human being full of concerns.

“I’m going to quit baking and pastry. I’m not going to that department either.”

“…Why? Because you hurt your hand? You said it wasn’t a big injury. And you said it was fun.”

I suddenly felt worried. Is she really in a lot of pain? Whether that showed on my face, Ye Hwanyoung clicked her tongue and pressed down on my furrowed brow.

“It is fun. I’ll do it for the rest of my life, baking. But I won’t make it my career path. It’s something I’ve thought about for a while. But since that’s what I’ve learned and thought about until now… I didn’t know what to do, so I was going to ask. But someone just ignored all my calls and texts, and even blocked me…”

“…I’m sorry. But why don’t you want to make it your career path?”

“I can’t make money by making bread. I only make it for myself using expensive ingredients, so how could that be profitable? I can’t eat things made with cheap butter anymore. My palate has become high-end.”

“You said you wanted to take over our parents’ shop.”

“That’s right. That’s mine, okay? Don’t covet it. Instead, I’ve harbored a more grand dream. Not just doing a dessert shop at a rice cake shop, but trying various businesses. Starting from a rice cake shop, I could try a tteokbokki place, then make that into meal kits, and try a food service business too. Things like that. I’m still just thinking vaguely. I don’t know how it will turn out… I haven’t even decided which department to go to… It’s not like I’ve truly quit baking either…”

Ye Hwanyoung, who had been talking confidently, trailed off as if a bit embarrassed. I stared at her and let out a small laugh.

“That’s cool.”

“…It’s cool?”