NHL 77

“That’s true. What was I trying to do, anyway?”

Joeon chuckled as if he found it absurd.

“If you’re okay with it….”

Dylan, who had suddenly brought it up, tossed it out as if it were a trivial matter.

“Take me with you next time.”

“Where to?”

“To your hometown. I’m curious. I want to see the place where you were born and raised.”

“I’m not sure it’s a place you’d like, Dylan. It’s too crowded and also….”

“So what? It’s not like everything in the world has to be exactly to my taste. Besides, you never know if you’ll like something or not until you’ve been there.”

“That may be true, but….”

“Are you like this because you don’t want to show me? Are you hiding something good?”

At the playful question, Joeon couldn’t help but laugh.

“Not at all.”

“It would be fun. I’m curious about the neighborhood you lived in when you were young. Which school you went to, what snacks you ate, what you played, things like that.”

Dylan’s gaze, which had melted like ice, was much softer than before. A heaviness settled in Joeon’s chest from the surging emotions. A light smile hung on Dylan’s face as he rested his chin on his hand and leaned in closer. Their eyes met in the air.

The moment he became conscious of the awkward silence, the smile faded faintly from Dylan’s lips. Joeon quietly dropped his head toward the dining table. The conversation he’d had with Amy a little while ago flashed through his mind.

It might not be Amy who was misinterpreting the other person’s feelings, but Joeon himself.

After all, he was just…

His ears burned with embarrassment.

“Next time….”

He said, unnecessarily turning his eyes to his laptop.

“Let’s go together. I’ll introduce you to all the good spots—though, honestly, I don’t know them that well myself.”

Joeon had to summon every ounce of courage he had to speak in as casual a tone as possible.

“Sounds like a good plan, right?”

“Yeah.”

We’re just friends. It’s something you could easily say between friends. It’s stupid of me to get excited over nothing.

“I’m looking forward to it. What are you doing tomorrow? Interview prep again?”

Dylan walked around the table, came up behind him, and peeked at the monitor. His hand on Joeon’s shoulder felt burning hot. When Joeon raised his hand to cover the screen, the large man grabbed Joeon’s wrist and teased him. A rich scent wafted from his hair, which had turned a light brown now that it wasn’t quite dry yet.

“Why, show me.”

His heart raced wildly.

“I’m embarrassed.”

“Hmm, alright. I suppose I can’t help it.”

A sweet, provocative voice brushed against his earlobe, which was so hot it was practically burning a dark red.

“I won’t disturb you. Good night.”

With a light greeting, Dylan gave Joeon’s hair a gentle, regretful pat and headed toward his room. Only then did Joeon let out a long sigh, setting down the weight that had been pressing on his chest.

His brain wasn’t working, so he sat there blankly for a long time. When he finally came to his senses and went to the bathroom to splash some water on his face, he returned to see something had changed on the monitor and couldn’t help but laugh. A line of text, completely unrelated to the practice Q&A he had written, had been added to the bottom.

Joeon glanced at Dylan’s room, looked at the firmly closed door, and turned his gaze back to the monitor.

1. Your resume is quite impressive. You have many skills, and your contributions to your previous company are clear. I can see a quiet passion in you.

I would like to work with you—what do you think?

1. That sounds good. I would be happy to.

There was no need to prepare for this kind of Q&A. After all, if an interviewer expresses an intent to hire you on the spot, the standard procedure is to ask for time to consider the decision.

But this Q&A didn’t seem related to hiring at all. Joeon chewed over the sentence, “I would like to work with you,” for a long time.

His mouth tasted bitter.

🏒🥅

Joeon left the house in a slightly more formal outfit than usual—a long coat over dark jeans—traveling alone without a companion. There was a Polar Bears game tonight. There was no need to ask Dylan if he wanted to come along. When Joeon woke up, Dylan had already left for morning training. Sometimes he would stop by the house around noon, but not today.

Joeon did a little cleaning and set off in the late afternoon. As he walked through the downtown streets to catch the streetcar, Joeon felt that the city landscape had changed quite a bit since before he went West.

Green buds were starting to sprout on the trees lining the streets. The piles of snow that usually piled up by the roadside in winter had all melted away, and the biting, bone-chilling cold had long since vanished. With the start of daylight saving time last weekend, mornings arrived earlier. The days were getting longer.

The unpredictable weather, with occasional flurries of snow, remained, but it was that time of year when you could finally feel that spring was near, thanks to the warm sunshine.

“The Black Star Tavern”—a dim orange light flickered on the crude, tacky sign that reminded one of the 90s. The colorful lights spilling from inside the shop began to multiply. As the sky grew darker, the streets grew brighter.

The patio in front of the shop, which would have been bustling with people in the summer, was cold and empty without a single table, but the view inside reflecting through the windows looked warmer than any winter.

After getting off the streetcar, Joeon checked the address Amy had sent and stepped inside. “The Black Star Tavern” was a very small pub that seemed like a place only neighborhood locals would visit.

There were a few table seats overlooking the street, and a bar was set up in the center of the hall. The stage where the Bobby Beavers would perform was located in the back. It was a small platform, so small the word ‘stage’ felt heavy, but it was the perfect corner spot to capture the attention of the customers.

Contrary to Joeon’s expectation that it would be empty because it was early, the interior was quite crowded with customers. Bobby, the birthday boy, was chatting with the bartender, who appeared to be the owner of the pub, and Aaron was helping set up the stage.

Amy, who had been capturing the whole hall on camera, spotted Joeon and gave him a bright smile. She soon turned off the camera, approached him, and greeted him.

“You’re here! It’s been a while. How have you been?”

“I’ve been good. How about you, Amy?”

“I’ve been busy. I wish it was vacation time already.”

“Hang in there just a little longer. It’s almost over.”

“That’s true.”

“My exams were already a disaster, though,” Amy joked. Bobby, having finished his conversation with the bartender, spotted Joeon before Aaron did and came over to greet him.

“Long time no see, John.”

“Happy birthday, Bobby.”

“Oh, thank you. Another year goes by just like that. But I like this time of year. Not because it’s my birthday, but because winter is finally ending. Every year, I used to bet with my friends on whether it would snow on my birthday or not.”

“Which side do you usually bet on?”

“The side that it will snow, obviously!”

“You must have lost money this year? The weather today was quite warm. I saw buds sprouting on the trees on my way here.”

“Damn climate change! If it had been yesterday, I would have won money.”

Bobby laughed, revealing his beaver-like front teeth. That was because there were very slight snow flurries late last night.

“Sit anywhere you like. I’ll go call Aaron for you. Oh, the calamari here is delicious, so make sure to try it.”

“Thanks.”

Following the beaver’s recommendation, Joeon ordered calamari and a draft beer. While waiting for his menu, he took a sip of the beer, topped with foam as thick as snow, and waved toward Aaron, who was approaching from a distance.

“John, finally seeing your face.”

“Long time no see, Aaron. How have you been?”

“Of course. I heard you quit your job and went on a trip to Calgary? That’s bold. How was it?”

Joeon hesitated at the mention of a trip, but he didn’t correct him and let it slide.

“It was cold.”

“Well, I’m sure it was. It’s not exactly the kind of town you go to in winter.”

“By the way, I heard you moved out? Congratulations. I heard about it when I went home. I was surprised your room was empty.”

As Aaron sat down next to him, he waved his hand as if to say, ‘don’t even get me started.’

“I just decided to rent a basement in a friend’s house I know. Do you have any idea how angry my mom got over that?”

“Well, that’s to be expected. You’re still young, after all.”