PA 53

The emptiness of working without the big guy who chattered by his side every day felt much larger than Yejun had expected. The closing time was approaching, and the customers left the cafe one by one. After finishing cleaning the kitchen, Yejun came out into the main hall with his cleaning tools. He flipped the chairs over and placed them on the tables, then started sweeping the floor.

Yejun’s plan for today was to close the cafe earlier than usual, go home, and brainstorm a new piece.

After finishing mopping, Yejun straightened his back and turned his gaze out the window. Raindrops began to patter down from the clear blue sky. As if drawn by something, he went out onto the terrace. There, he took in the sight of the raindrops soaking the ground and enjoyed the music-like sound of the rain falling on the awning.

Being left alone in a distant foreign land seemed to make him think even more. Yejun’s thoughts traced back through the time he had lived frantically to adapt to this place, and they continued to branch out uncontrollably, tailing one another all the way back to the reason he had fled to Barcelona. The end of those countless thoughts was always, as it had been, Junhyuk.

I hope he’s doing well. He must be, of course….

In the end, Yejun’s reddened eyes grew moist, and he muttered in a voice so small it was unintelligible. He shook his head from side to side as if to shake something out of his mind and went back inside the cafe.

“Shall we get going now?”

Yejun deliberately shouted in a cheerful voice and then brought out the clear plastic umbrella he had propped up in a corner of the kitchen. Then he stepped out into the open space where a light rain was falling. Quickly leaving the bustling city center lined with shops, Yejun purposely walked along the road that skirted the harbor, looking out at the sea.

The cool breeze blowing from the sea gently soothed the stuffy, melancholic emotions welling up inside him. Despite the gentle rain, the Mediterranean sun shone dazzlingly, and the moist air was refreshingly clear. Cheerful music flowed from every dreamlike street infused with Gaudí’s imagination, and the people were full of leisure.

Yejun liked his life here, but that didn’t mean he was completely free from homesickness for his home country. He always missed the members he had lived with, crammed into a small house, and the smile of his late mother was always poignant. But he still couldn’t bring himself to return to Korea.

“Hoo….”

With a faint smile instead of tears, Yejun slowly walked toward the gentle hill that led to the blue sea. On either side of the hill, a residential area with low stone buildings stretched out. He climbed the stairs toward the house on the hill, enjoying the rainy scenery.

“I miss you.”

As always, Yejun stood in front of the house with the impressive red roof and gazed for a long time at the turquoise sea that spread out coolly below the hill. Then, as he was about to go inside, he took a key out of his pocket, and at that moment, he felt someone standing on the opposite side of the road. Yejun’s gaze naturally shifted in that direction.

“……”

For a moment, he was at a loss for words and couldn’t say anything. A person he had missed so dearly was standing less than two meters away.

“Cha, Cha Junhyuk?”

“Lee Yejun.”

The person slowly approached Yejun, looking as if he might collapse at any moment.

“H-How….”

It was as if he heard a voice in his ear telling him to run into the house quickly. But his feet were stuck to the ground, completely unable to move. In that time, Junhyuk came closer and stared at him with moist eyes.

“Why are you here?”

“…I missed you so much….”

At that moment, it was no illusion that Junhyuk’s eyes were growing moist.

☂︎

Junhyuk had barely slept for nearly a week since he had slept at the hospital last time.

— To reiterate, if you go more than 72 hours in a state of complete sleep deprivation, it can cause major abnormalities in mental function, and if it continues for more than 10 days, it can pose a great threat to your life. In a state of extreme sleep deprivation, our brain continuously induces unconscious sleep for a few seconds at a time. It’s a way to protect our body.

“So I’ll just handle the urgent matters… and sleep after that.”

— What I’m saying is that there’s a high probability that your body, Mr. Executive Director, is currently in a state of repeated, very light sleep.

Despite his personal doctor’s urgent pleas, Junhyuk hung up the phone and had the private jet take off. As the doctor had predicted, Junhyuk didn’t get a wink of sleep the entire way to Spain.

It’s been seven years.

But Junhyuk didn’t care. He wanted to have Yejun in front of him right now. Junhyuk’s heart pounded like crazy just at the fact that Yejun hadn’t forgotten him.

I have to see him with my own eyes and touch him with my own hands….

Junhyuk was secretly anxious that Yejun might adamantly reject him. He had to keep gulping down cold water for no reason. Even so, he couldn’t help the fact that his mouth was going dry.

I won’t lose you this time… ever.

Junhyuk arrived in Barcelona as the morning sun was rising. After getting off the plane, he headed straight for the cafe.

There it is.

The cafe sign, which he had only seen in the photos Gyeongchan sent, came into view. Junhyuk stood in the narrow alley across from the cafe and turned his gaze toward it. There was Yejun, preparing to open. His fingertips, trembling faintly in the air, moved as if tracing a silhouette to envelop Yejun, and his dark, deep eyes wavered endlessly.

…He’s the same.

Yejun hadn’t changed at all. Seeing him looking just as he had at twenty, his heart went beyond pounding and began to thud. Junhyuk wanted to run over and embrace Yejun right now. But his legs had no intention of moving, as if they were tied to thousand-pound stones.

Since it was a weekday, the customers who occasionally came in mostly seemed to be getting takeout. Junhyuk captured the sight of a busy Yejun, who was showing a kind smile, with his eyes. During a quiet period with no customers, Yejun opened his laptop and wrote something diligently. Yejun’s eyes, looking at the laptop screen, sparkled as if they were studded with stars.

Seven years ago, Yejun had been trying to give up on life. The thought that he had regained those sparkling eyes brought a smile to Junhyuk’s lips.

Thank goodness.

Just after lunchtime, Yejun got up from his seat and began to move about busily, cleaning the inside of the cafe. In the meantime, all the customers left, and Yejun was left alone. It was then. Raindrops began to patter-patter down on Junhyuk’s head. But right now, it was a clear day with the sun out.

A sunshower?

Yejun came out to the terrace and leaned against the pillar that firmly supported the awning. Then he stared blankly at the rainy scenery. The view of Barcelona in a sunshower was clear and serene. To avoid being seen by Yejun, who was admiring his surroundings, Junhyuk hid behind a building structure.

Feeling that the presence in the cafe had disappeared, Junhyuk raised his head. Yejun had finished cleaning up the cafe and was gone. Junhyuk ran out to the main street and searched for Yejun. But Yejun had vanished without a trace.

Ah… damn it.

Junhyuk took out his phone, opened a map app, and entered Yejun’s home address. The map app showed him the shortest route to Yejun’s house in great detail. Junhyuk quickened his pace and headed for Yejun’s home.

The house with the red roof on the hill was old, but it was kept clean and tidy. Junhyuk loitered in front of the house, looking for traces of Yejun. On the windowsill of the second-floor room, which seemed to be Yejun’s, there were small pots with colorful little flowers blooming, neatly arranged.

Letting out a soft chuckle, Junhyuk leaned against the small wall and closed his eyes. The smell of the rain-soaked earth felt stronger. His mind grew increasingly hazy, and he felt as if he were floating up into the sky. At that moment, Junhyuk felt like he had dozed off for a second. The doctor’s warning came to mind. He shook his head hard to clear his mind and looked down toward the bottom of the stairs.

It was then. He saw Yejun coming up the stairs, holding a clear plastic umbrella. The sky-blue cable-knit sweater suited the moist, clear weather perfectly. Moreover, on Yejun’s pale face as he climbed the stairs, there was a strange smile that seemed to hold both sadness and joy.

Junhyuk’s legs swayed. He leaned his body against the high wall on the opposite side of the road from Yejun. As his mind grew hazier, the unsealed emotions surged up. Junhyuk’s eyes grew moist.

Yejun, having come up the hill, gazed at the surrounding scenery for a moment before taking out his key to go inside the house. But at that moment, Yejun cautiously turned his head.

“……”

The two, whose eyes met, couldn’t move a muscle, as if paralyzed for a moment. Junhyuk’s consciousness was distant, but his legs moved toward Yejun on their own.

“Cha, Cha Junhyuk?”

“Lee Yejun.”

He had no time to feel how his two legs were supporting his body.

“H-How….”

Yejun’s clear, tear-filled eyes trembled violently.

“Why are you here?”

“…I missed you so much….”

Junhyuk’s vision went black, and he collapsed on the spot.

☂︎

Sanghyeon had turned his body completely toward the window and was looking down at the forest of buildings where a gloomy rain was falling. Unable to concentrate on his work at all, Sanghyeon wished for quitting time to come.

“Mr. Chairman.”

It seemed his earnest wish had no effect. Secretary Song came into the chairman’s office and looked at him with a troubled expression.

“What is it?”

“Well… Ms. Han Jiyun, the third daughter of the Hangang Group, is requesting to see you.”

Sanghyeon, who was looking out the window with his back to Secretary Song, furrowed his brow. He just nodded, as if it were too much trouble to even answer.

“Hello, Mr. Chairman.”

“Yes, Jiyun. Have you been well?”

As soon as he faced Jiyun, any sign of annoyance or lethargy vanished from Sanghyeon’s face. Sanghyeon strode toward Jiyun, extended his hand for a handshake, and beamed a bright smile, as if none of that had happened.

“So… what brings our Jiyun to see me?”

“……”

After exchanging simple greetings with Jiyun, Sanghyeon cut to the chase and got straight to the point. Faced with Sanghyeon’s clear, no-nonsense attitude, Jiyun’s gaze grew even sharper.

“Mr. Chairman.”

“Yes, go ahead and speak.”

“Please help me get together with Junhyuk.”

“……”

“I want to become husband and wife with Junhyuk.”

Sanghyeon also knew that Junhyuk had taken the private jet to Spain.

He probably went to see Yejun….

“Jiyun, do you think you know Junhyuk well?”

Sanghyeon, who had decided to act decisively, couldn’t bring himself to speak too harshly to Jiyun, who might get hurt.

“That he likes men?”

Sanghyeon had no intention of speaking directly about Junhyuk’s orientation. But contrary to his expectations, Jiyun spoke of Junhyuk’s most private life without any hesitation.

“Ah….”

It was at that moment. Sanghyeon saw Jiyun’s very bold and audacious attitude overlap with the image of Jeonghee he had seen some thirty years ago.

Junhyuk’s birth mother, Yoon Jeonghee, who had loved him passionately.

But despite Jeonghee’s passionate courtship, Sanghyeon could not bring himself to love her. To this day, Jeonghee was a debt Sanghyeon could never repay, a very heavy stone weighing on a corner of his heart.

“Yes, and even so, Jiyun, you still covet Junhyuk?”

“Yes.”

In an instant, Sanghyeon’s gaze and tone of voice turned ice-cold. Jiyun poured out a passionate speech, as if grasping at the last straw.

“I have the Hangang Group behind me. If Junhyuk marries me, both Taejin and Saeil Group will grow into not only top Korean companies, but global ones.”