OMS 127
by Cherry#Side Story 2
“I’m still doing okay. I might go back abroad, depending on how things go.”
Kim Tae-han sat in his chair, gazing at the sky as he listened to the voice on the other end of the phone. It had been three months since he left his life wandering overseas and settled in Jeju Island, and he was finding that he liked it here more than he had expected. Of course, there had been a small commotion recently.
[How’s Ji-yoon doing? Did she break up with that gangster bastard?]
“Yeah, she’s sorted it out. She went to Seoul the day before yesterday, so she’ll be in touch with you. Take good care of her. You know she’s talented.”
Kim Ji-yoon had been an assistant director when Tae-han was filming an independent movie. They had met by chance in Jeju Island, and she had told him that she was living here with her boyfriend. At first, he thought she was just an ordinary person, but later she confessed that her boyfriend was a gangster.
She said she used to love him, but not anymore, and that she wanted to get away but was afraid. She was a smart and capable worker, but breaking up wasn’t easy, considering who she was dealing with. That’s why they had met at the cafe that day to discuss concrete plans, but her boyfriend had shown up.
[What’s gotten into Kim Tae-han? The guy who only cared about himself. You saved someone’s life.]
“I guess so. Now I just need to take care of myself.”
[When are you coming to Seoul? You didn’t even come when your father passed away last year.]
Tae-han didn’t answer. Last year, Chairman Kim had died in the secluded villa where he had been confined. Whether it was due to old age, stress, or some other reason, he didn’t know for sure. He hadn’t felt surprised or saddened when he read about his funeral in the news. However, seeing his mother, his brother, and Lee Hee-soo in one corner of the article had made his heart ache slightly.
He had thought he would die back then, but now he had a feeling that he could greet them casually if he met them. Kim Jun-han wouldn’t even allow that, though. The truth was, he felt guilty, but he also didn’t go to Seoul because he was afraid of being killed by Kim Jun-han.
“I’ll go when my brother dies.”
The other person laughed, calling him a crazy bastard, thinking he was joking. He ended the call, put his legs up on the table, and covered his face with the book he had been reading. He closed his eyes and tried to calm his breathing, but strangely, an unrelated face kept appearing in his mind.
After thinking about it for a while, Tae-han put the book aside and took out his phone. He typed the cafe’s name into the search bar, and several photos came up. There were quite a few reviews, and hilariously, most of them praised the owner’s appearance.
[The Hallabong juice is delicious, and the owner is handsome.]
[I’m going to see the owner’s face.]
[Does the owner have a boyfriend? Oh, and the brunch here is great too. Be sure to try it!]
Tae-han laughed with an absurd expression, then carefully pictured the owner’s face. He had neat features and was quite handsome. He was tall and had a solid build. It was strange. He wasn’t the type of man he was usually attracted to. And the knife scar on his stomach that he had glimpsed during their fight…
“Shit, have I been alone for too long?”
He laughed as he recalled the way the man had trembled like a chihuahua after being beaten so badly. He pushed the book aside and got up from the chair. Sprinklers were spraying cool streams of water in the yard.
He stretched his arms up and took a deep breath. Spring came earlier in Jeju Island than on the mainland, and he briefly wondered if spring might come to Kim Tae-han as well. To find out, he would have to see his face one more time.
“Hello, boss. Good morning.”
Kyung-soo was speechless when he saw Tae-han walk in and take a seat by the window as if it were the most natural thing in the world, then order brunch. The employee who took the order came over and quietly whispered, glancing at Tae-han.
“He comes every day.”
Gangsters had come by, and he had been so scared that he had closed the cafe for a few days, but as soon as he reopened, Kim Tae-han had been his first customer. He had been feeling complicated for various reasons and had closed the cafe, but Kim Tae-han, unaware of the situation, had been coming to the cafe almost every day.
After eating brunch, he would drink tea, take out his laptop, and start working. And when he left, he would order a sandwich to go and say goodbye, saying he would see him tomorrow. Today, as the sun was setting, he approached the counter again.
“Excuse me, boss.”
Kyung-soo, who was blending fruit in the blender, looked at Kim Tae-han and gave him a polite smile. He had been so surprised on the first day that he had struggled to manage his expression, but now he could pretend to be calm quite convincingly.
“What can I do for you?”
“What are you doing after work?”
“Pardon?”
He couldn’t hear over the noise of the blender and tilted his head, so Tae-han took out a piece of paper, wrote something on it, and showed it to him. “Would you like to have dinner tonight?” Kyung-soo froze in surprise, and Kim Tae-han wrote his phone number below the words.
“I’ll be waiting for your call.”
He clearly understood what he had said from reading his lips, but he couldn’t bring himself to answer. By the time he came to his senses, Tae-han had already left, and Kyung-soo hurriedly chased after him, calling out to the departing Kim Tae-han.
“Hey!”
Kim Tae-han turned around as soon as he called out. Seeing him silhouetted against the setting sun reminded him of the day they had first met. Suppressing his emotions, Kyung-soo took out the note from his pocket and held it out.
“Here. Take this back…”
Kim Tae-han took the note and made a face as if he had realized something.
“I’m sorry. I should have asked if you had a boyfriend first.”
Kyung-soo was dumbfounded. Wasn’t that his line? He had caused such a ruckus with his boyfriend not long ago, and now he was hitting on him again. Old habits die hard, and he couldn’t shake his old ways…
As he was thinking this, he belatedly felt sorry. The truth was, Kim Tae-han hadn’t always been like this. He had been fine until the beginning of their relationship, but he had changed and eventually fallen apart after Lee Hee-soo married his brother.
Did I ruin Kim Tae-han after all…?
As soon as that thought crossed his mind, Kyung-soo didn’t want to see his face anymore.
“Please don’t come here anymore…”
He said with difficulty and turned around, but Kim Tae-han came up and grabbed his arm. He was surprised and looked at him, and his face was slightly flushed.
“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. It’s just that I wanted to get to know you. You.”
At this point, he wondered what he was thinking.
“Aren’t you sorry to your boyfriend?”
Kim Tae-han raised his eyebrows. “Who?”
“Don’t tell me you broke up? Because of that incident?”
Tae-han scratched his chin with a troubled expression.
“I think you’re misunderstanding something… That friend from before isn’t my boyfriend, but an old colleague. We met here, and I helped him because he was in a difficult situation, and he went straight to Seoul.”
Ah… Kyung-soo was embarrassed and quickly lowered his gaze. Then Tae-han chuckled softly.
“So that’s why. You were looking at me like I was trash.”
“Wh-who said they were looking at you like trash?”
Tae-han added with a self-deprecating expression.
“Actually, I am trash.”
“……”
Tae-han seemed to have more to say, but he pursed his lips.
“I’m sorry. I let my feelings get ahead of me. I should have asked for your consent before asking you out to dinner. I must have surprised you.”
“……”
“The truth is, I’m attracted to you. But if you don’t want to, I’d like to be friends with you. I quite like you. You.”
“Friends…?”
“Yes, friends.”
Kyung-soo hesitated, then cautiously held out his hand.
“I, I need to see your ID… We have to be the same age to be friends…”
Tae-han smiled and took out his ID from his wallet.
“Come on, it’s obvious you’re younger than me, right? I meet a lot of people, so I have a good eye for that. Here, take a look. See? I’m older than you, right? Should I call you ‘hyung’ now? Or ‘oppa’ is fine too.”
He was so sure that he was younger that he even teased him. Kyung-soo took out his ID and held it out, tilting his chin slightly. Tae-han, who had been grinning, looked at the ID and the smile disappeared from his face. Tae-han looked back and forth between the ID and Kyung-soo with an incredulous expression.
“Y-you’re three years older than me?”
“See? I told you we couldn’t be friends…”
Tae-han was uncharacteristically flustered, and Kyung-soo quietly raised the corners of his mouth.
“I guess there’s no choice. You’ll have to call me ‘oppa’…”
“Ha,”
“Unless you don’t want to…”
Tae-han laughed in disbelief and nodded. “Okay. Kyung-soo oppa. Is that okay?” Kyung-soo laughed sincerely. It felt like he had gone back to those days. To the moment he had first met Kim Tae-han.
If I had chosen you back then, if I hadn’t hurt you, if I had looked back at your heart even once, if I had…
No. Let’s forget it. It’s all in the past…
I’m Kim Kyung-soo, not Lee Hee-soo. From now on, I’ll enjoy the life I’ve been given.
Whether or not I put Kim Tae-han in that life is something I’ll have to think about more.