PUPPY 19

“Hmm?”

Seowoo moved closer toward Juwon, who had called him. Juwon was standing by the liquor display shelf.

“Look at this, 200,000 won.”

He said, pointing to the whiskey on the highest shelf.

“That’s alcohol.”

“I think this is the most expensive thing here.”

“Um… I’ll buy it for you when you turn twenty.”

Seowoo, who was standing side by side with Juwon, said as he looked up at him. At that, Juwon narrowed his eyes and asked in a playful voice.

“Is that a trick to buy yourself some time?”

“I’m serious. I have money.”

“Alright. Then let’s come here on December 31st. You can treat me as soon as you turn twenty.”

“Okay.”

After reaching an agreement with Juwon, Seowoo successfully managed to buy a few cans of cat food. Juwon, who had been pestering Seowoo to buy him the 200,000-won liquor, bought a chocolate bar and ice cream with his own money.

“Here.”

Juwon handed Seowoo the ice cream.

“Ice cream?”

“You said you wanted some.”

“Thanks.”

Because he had been sick with a cold, Seowoo received special care from his grandparents. Just in case the cold worsened and he started coughing, not only cold food but even cold water was not allowed. Even after Seowoo’s cold had fully recovered, his family’s worries were endless.

“If my mom catches me eating chocolate, I’m dead. I have to finish it all outside before I go in.”

“I’ll probably be dead too if they catch me eating ice cream.”

It was a comfort that Juwon, who was much taller and bigger than him, was in the same boat.

“It’s good, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Things they tell you not to eat are always more delicious.”

Juwon took another big bite of the chocolate bar. In just two bites, Juwon’s chocolate bar was completely gone. “Ah, a one-bite snack,” Juwon whispered as if disappointed.

“It’s still a little chilly.”

When he had a cold, his throat was swollen and hot, and he had desperately craved ice cream, but now that he actually had a bite, it was so cold that he didn’t dare to finish it.

“Give it.”

Juwon took the ice cream Seowoo was holding. Without any hesitation, Juwon took a crunch— bite of the ice cream that had Seowoo’s teeth marks on it and swallowed.

“…So we need to break through the midfield pressure and push forward right away, but there’s no one there.”

“Did they lose yesterday too?”

“No, surprisingly, they won.”

As they walked home, Juwon talked about his favorite soccer team. Seowoo played along with Juwon’s words while sneaking glances at his side profile. The way he passionately explained the current team’s strength and other details was no different from any other ordinary friend his age.

Except for the fact that he was too handsome and had an overly good physique….

Walking home with Juwon and talking had now become a natural part of his daily life. When he studied late into the evening, his grandfather used to come pick him up from the reading room. Since he started walking home with someone, be it a girl or a boy, through the dark alleyway, that was no longer necessary, which was a relief.

Maybe because he left the reading room a little early today, he didn’t feel like going home. Seowoo sneaked a glance at Juwon’s side profile. But their eyes met immediately.

“What?”

“Oh, nothing.”

When Seowoo smiled and mumbled his reply, Juwon raised his hand and patted Seowoo’s head. He didn’t know why he had been so scared of Juwon at the beginning of the semester.

“We’re here.”

“I’ll call you after I wash up.”

“Okay.”

Having a short phone call with Juwon before going to bed had also become a new routine. They used to exchange good-night messages, but Juwon started calling, saying that typing was a hassle.

“See you tomorrow.”

There was a hint of hesitation in Juwon’s expression as he said goodbye.

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

He could see Seowoo, who had turned around, taking the key out of his bag. The fact that today would be over once Seowoo opened that door and went inside felt particularly disappointing.

It was the moment Seowoo was about to put the key in the keyhole.

“Seowoo.”

“Huh?”

“…Are you tired?”

Juwon asked Seowoo, his expression a little tense.

“No.”

“Then, should we hang out before going home?”

We studied a lot today. Juwon added, tapping the ground with the tip of his toe. Seowoo felt unnecessarily nervous at the sight of Juwon, who couldn’t meet his eyes and kept his gaze elsewhere.

It wasn’t a tension born from fear or dread of Juwon… but some other kind of tension.

“Where to?”

“The park. Just, for a walk.”

To spend more time with Seowoo, Juwon threw out the bait of a walk, an activity happily enjoyed by people of all ages and genders.

“…Should we?”

As expected, it’s a bullseye every time. Thinking that, Juwon nodded.

“Then, I’ll just stop by my house for a second and….”

“Just throw your bag at my house and let’s go.”

Once Seowoo goes inside his house, he rarely comes back out. Knowing this well, Juwon quickly reached his hand out toward Seowoo. As if asking for the bag he was wearing.

“Let’s do that.”

At Seowoo’s permission, Juwon casually threw both their bags on the wooden porch and hurried out.

“Let’s go.”

“Go.”

He said it nonchalantly, but his palms were sweating. Juwon secretly wiped his hands on his pants. And pretending to be unfazed, he put an arm around Seowoo’s shoulders and took a deep breath. Seowoo’s scent was mixed in with the fresh evening air.

🦴

In the park established along the small stream, residents from the nearby apartments were taking a stroll. Juwon and Seowoo walked together among the people walking and chatting. Just then, Juwon pointed to a swing on the lawn with a nod of his chin and said.

“Wanna get on the swing?”

Seowoo, who had nodded, sat on the swing.

“I’ll push you.”

“If you push me, wouldn’t I dive right in?”

“You probably won’t fly off… Should we try?”

If Juwon pulled the swing chain with all his might, he felt like he would really be pushed far away. Seowoo reflexively raised his hand and moved it to the swing chain, and in the process, he ended up grabbing Juwon’s hand.

“Ah, sorry.”

“…It’s fine.”

This is driving me crazy. Although he answered in a nonchalant voice, Juwon thought this to himself.

He didn’t know if Seowoo had always been like this or if he had just started becoming conscious of it lately, but whenever their hands touched in a strange atmosphere, Seowoo would apologize like this.

“Let’s just walk.”

“Okay.”

The two of them, having gotten off the swing, started walking along the path, trying hard to ignore the awkwardness.

“Juwon, the path is over here… where are you keep going?”

Seowoo had to call out to Juwon several times, who was deliberately walking in a zigzag pattern on the straight path. They were just walking on an ordinary path, but Juwon’s face looked full of energy. On the other hand, Seowoo was getting tired in real-time from trailing behind Juwon.

“Let’s go now.”

“Why, are you tired?”

It was a question asked out of courtesy, but Seowoo nodded his head vigorously as if he had been waiting for it.

“Yeah.”

“Then, let’s sit for a bit and then go.”

They had just arrived at the midpoint of the park. If we turn back now, we’ll have to walk as much as we’ve already walked, so Ryu Seowoo will be even more tired. Juwon rationalized to himself that this was a consideration for Seowoo, not to satisfy his selfish desire to hang out a little longer, and pointed to a place where there was a bench.

Next to the old bench were old exercise machines, including a three-tiered pull-up bar. Since new equipment was installed in the center of the park, there were hardly any visitors here.

“It’s been a really long time since I’ve seen a pull-up bar.”

Juwon said, placing his hand on the medium-height pull-up bar.

“I used to think it was really high, but it’s lower than I thought.”

“Wanna do a pull-up?”

Saying that, Juwon placed his hands on the highest pull-up bar and did a pull-up very easily. The sight of him doing a pull-up with only the strength of his muscles, without any momentum, was like a scene from a movie. Every time he pulled his whole body up, the muscles in Juwon’s forearms could be seen twitching.

“Hah—, that was tough.”

Juwon, having come down from the pull-up bar, let out a long breath. Seowoo thought it was unexpected that Juwon would also say something was tough.

“You wanna try too?”

Juwon, who had approached Seowoo’s side, asked. Perhaps because he had been moving so energetically just before, a wave of heat rushed from Juwon.

“No.”

At Juwon’s question, Seowoo, who had just been holding onto the lowest pull-up bar, shook his head.

“I… was really sick when I was young.”

He could have politely refused by saying he was a little tired today and didn’t have enough muscle strength to do a pull-up, but words Seowoo himself hadn’t expected just popped out of his mouth.

“……”

“I was constantly hospitalized, so I couldn’t even go to school much when I was in elementary school.”

Before other friends could even get close to Seowoo, their worried parents had to listen to detailed explanations about what Seowoo’s illness was and what they had to be especially careful about.

As far as Seowoo could remember, this was the first time he had explained his condition to someone else directly.

“Were you very sick?”

Seowoo gave a faint smile at Juwon’s question.

“Yeah… back then. But I’m really okay now. I was declared fully cured, and they said I just need to manage myself well so my immunity doesn’t drop.”

“That’s a relief.”

Juwon also replied with a small smile. He had thought that facing a worried face or eyes would only be a burden. He was all better now, and he was also worried about how it would sound if he brought up the past, as if he were making a big deal out of it. But looking at Juwon’s face, Seowoo realized that all of this was just groundless fear. Rather, he felt a sense of relief.

“Anyway, what I was trying to say is… I skipped most of my PE classes, so I’m not good at this kind of thing.”

Juwon, who had been listening quietly to Seowoo’s words, raised one corner of his mouth and asked.

“Then, wanna try now?”