Yeonjun had finally finished showering and stepped out of the bathroom to find Haein, who had finished doing the dishes, casually flipping through the IPTV that had come as an option with the apartment when Yeonjun moved in, as though this were his own home.
“This program is only partnered with this service, so I was disappointed that I couldn’t watch the reruns. Can I watch a little before I leave?”
The complete lack of hesitation in every single thing he did seemed like proof of just how young he really was.
Yeonjun sighed and squeezed the dripping water from his hair with a towel as he answered.
“Won’t your parents worry?”
“They said as long as I’m not out doing anything bad and I don’t come home having made a baby, it’s fine.”
How could he be so completely nonchalant?
Just as Yeonjun sighed, Haein turned his head and their eyes met.
The instant Haein’s pale gray gaze landed on Yeonjun, Yeonjun was overcome by an inexplicable embarrassment. Without realizing it, he crossed both arms over the upper body the towel did not cover.
“……?”
At Yeonjun’s sudden reaction, Haein involuntarily sucked in a sharp breath.
Yeonjun’s face turned bright red.
“W-What are you looking at!”
It was not as though they were different sexes. At a swimming pool, shirtless men were everywhere.
Yeonjun could not understand why he was so embarrassed.
“No, when you react like that, it makes it seem like I did something weird…!”
Haein muttered while forcibly fixing his gaze on the TV.
Yeonjun answered as though the accusation were ridiculous.
“Shut up. Don’t make me conscious of it.”
Haah.
Why had he recklessly challenged himself to drink alcohol when he could not even handle it?
Regret finally came crashing down on Yeonjun, but the damage had already been done.
Everything was a complete mess.
The biggest mess of all, however, was Yeonjun himself.
A little later, once Yeonjun had finished getting ready for work and was preparing to leave, Haein also stopped the program he had been watching and picked up the bag sitting in front of the aquarium.
…?
Yeonjun stared at it in confusion, as though asking what it was.
Haein answered brightly,
“You packed this for me yesterday, hyung!”
Me?
Yeonjun had absolutely no memory of it and was bewildered, but he could not confidently say he would never have done such a thing.
After all, shrimp and aquatic plants had something in common.
Even though all he did for them was manage the lighting and filtration, they multiplied at a terrifying rate every single time, forcing him to constantly deal with them.
At least shrimp would regulate their population somewhat depending on their environment.
Aquatic plants, on the other hand, would quickly grow into ugly, spiky messes if neglected. Their roots would spread even into places they had no business reaching, growing with disgusting vigor like weeds.
So just like other aquarium hobbyists, Yeonjun possessed the instinct to give them away to other people whenever the opportunity presented itself.
What the hell did I do while I had no memory of anything?
Yeonjun once again vowed to himself never to touch alcohol and left the apartment with Haein.
“Are you going to school now?”
When Yeonjun asked, Haein shrugged.
“No. I only have afternoon classes today, so I’m going to stop by home first.”
Yeonjun remembered the little TMI Haesal had once shared about being a college student and gave an appropriate nod.
“Okay. Then get home safely…….”
Yeonjun had planned to take a different route to work than usual regardless of which way Haein was going.
He looked at Haein, then suddenly stopped.
He had missed his chance to say thank you because he had been needlessly embarrassed, but he could not become the kind of shameless person who genuinely did not know how to be grateful.
Yeonjun vigorously shook his head as though steadying himself, then calmly opened his wallet and pulled out a fifty-thousand-won bill.
“You went through all that trouble coming here. Think of it as transportation money.”
If he thought of it as roughly what a designated-driver fee from the office to here might cost… would that be about right?
Yeonjun casually held out the bill.
Haein blinked once, his eyes flashing, then simply stared at it without taking it.
Why?
Did college students these days not consider fifty thousand won money?
Just as Yeonjun began wondering in confusion whether he should take out another bill, Haein grinned.
“I didn’t come here to get paid for it.”
No, I know that.
Yeonjun tilted his head and looked up at Haein askew.
“Just use it for transportation. It’s not like you flew here without taking anything.”
Haein continued answering an entirely different question.
“I already got this, so let’s say I’ve been paid more than enough for transportation. If it really bothers you, you can grant me one favor later.”
Ha. Look at this guy.
Yeonjun had noticed it not long after first meeting Haein, but the guy had an infuriating talent for maneuvering him into situations where he had no choice but to accept his proposals.
“How do I know what you’re going to ask me for?”
“I won’t ask for anything weird. Just something really minor.”
“If it’s a raid, I’m not doing it.”
Yeonjun drew the line firmly.
Haein burst out laughing.
“Would you do it if it were PvP?”
Haein saw Yeonjun’s brows instantly draw together and clenched his teeth to keep from bursting into loud laughter.
“Hyung, that expression just now was incredible.”
“None of your business.”
At Yeonjun’s curt reply, Haein finally brought his laughter under control and finished answering.
“If you don’t like it, you can refuse when the time comes. It looks like it’s getting late, so hurry and go to work.”
Their bickering flowed so naturally that Yeonjun swallowed a sigh and turned away.
If the words thank you were absolutely never going to come out of his mouth, maybe he should at least say goodbye.
Yeonjun hesitated for a moment and turned back.
Just then, Haein waved his hand high in the air and shouted,
“Oh, right, hyung!”
What now?
Yeonjun stopped and looked toward Haein, who had already gotten some distance away.
“My name! It’s Do Haein! Just remember that much for now!”
Yeonjun raised a hand and gave a small wave to show that he understood, then turned around again and headed toward the bus stop.
DoHaesal, DoHae, Do Haein.
So both DoHaesal and DoHae had been nicknames taken from his real name.
And because he was Do Haein, he was DoHaen.
Having reached that realization by himself, Yeonjun headed to work.
He had worried that the atmosphere from yesterday’s screwup might carry over into today.
Fortunately, when he arrived at the office a little earlier than usual, an empty office with no one inside was waiting for him.
Is Team Leader An going to cut it close again today?
The moment Yeonjun pulled out his chair and sat down at his desk, he noticed a vitamin drink in front of his monitor that he definitely had not left there.
[Assistant Manager Seong, I know you’re thorough and good at what you do. Let’s stay focused and do well from now on.]
He did not need to go searching for the owner of handwriting that looked as though an ant crawling across the page could have written better.
Yeonjun stood and looked toward Team Leader An’s desk.
On top of the cabinet beside the chair, where documents were usually placed, sat Team Leader An’s work bag.
Yeonjun had thought he had come in unusually early today.
Apparently, someone had arrived even earlier.
In any case, it was time to get his head together and work properly.
Yeonjun stretched long toward the ceiling and swallowed a sigh.
[DoHaen] Hyung, what time are you logging in today? 6:37 PM
That evening, Yeonjun received the message from Haein as naturally as anything.
He stared at the messenger screen for a long time before cautiously typing.
[Ignis] Probably a little after 9? 6:45 PM
Hoo……
This was where the real issue began.
Yeonjun had hesitated over it countless times because he could not easily make up his mind, but now there really was nowhere left to retreat.
[Ignis] There’s something I want to ask you to do 6:46 PM
Considering he had previously acted offended and demanded how he could agree to a favor when he did not even know what Haein would ask for, he was being shameless to an astonishing degree.
[DoHaen] ? 6:47 PM
[DoHaen] What is it that you’re laying all this groundwork first? 6:47 PM
What else?
It was nothing particularly extraordinary and, at the same time, a fairly important issue for Yeonjun.
[Ignis] If I’m still online after 1 6:48 PM
[Ignis] kick me out even if you have to kick my ass 6:48 PM
It might have sounded like a joke, but Yeonjun was completely serious.
Why had his bedtime kept getting pushed later and later lately?
Wouldn’t this much be okay? I think I can handle this much.
The whole disaster had happened because he kept making arbitrary judgments like that and overestimating his own stamina.
So now, he needed someone else to prod him and force him out before Yeonjun could decide for himself how long he should stay logged in.
[DoHaen] ? 6:49 PM
Haein had finished class normally and returned home. He had been rolling around on his bed when Yeonjun’s completely unexpected request made him imagine Yeonjun asking him to smack his butt, and he immediately broke into a fit of coughing.
It was not exactly something that seemed to suit him, but for someone who looked so neat and rigid to have that kind of preference was also rather……
For a brief moment, Haein entertained thoughts that would make Yeonjun recoil and ask if he was some kind of lunatic if he could see inside Haein’s head.
Then he vigorously shook his head.
[DoHaen] Hyung, seriously… 6:51 PM
[DoHaen] How could you have such a… 6:51 PM
[DoHaen] preference I never would’ve imagined; 6:52 PM
[DoHaen] I’m into it 6:53 PM
A bunny emoticon giving a thumbs-up immediately came flying in.
Yeonjun frowned in disbelief.
What the hell are you imagining, you lunatic?
[You’re dea—]
Yeonjun had been about to type the final syllable to complete You’re dead when Haein’s youthful face suddenly flashed through his mind, and his fingers stopped.
No matter how he looked at him, Haein did not seem like he had completed military service yet.
How pathetic would a man in his thirties be, threatening a kid who was at most twenty or twenty-one with ‘you’re dead’?
Overcome by a profound sense of futility, Yeonjun deleted the two syllables he had typed and started over.
[Ignis] Don’t think anything weird; 6:53 PM
When Yeonjun reacted with disgust, Haein teased him as though he were sitting right on top of Yeonjun’s head and could see through him completely.
[DoHaen] What was I thinking? 6:53 PM
If I keep dealing with him, the only thing that’s going to take damage is my sanity.
Yeonjun reached that brief conclusion and shook his head from side to side.
He could almost hear Haein snickering somewhere.
Notes:
DoHaesal / DoHae / Haesal = his gaming identity.
DoHaen = a nickname based on his real-life name, used as his messenger display name.
Do Haein = his actual name.
Leave a Reply