LCL 29

Lim Dae-han: [Just finished]

Lim Dae-han: [The soccer team is having dinner]

Me: [Okay, come after dinner]

Lim Dae-han: [Should I quit? lol]

When I saw him earlier, unlike when he was brushing off Senior Seong-hong, he was actively running all over the field. Lim Dae-han was saying something he didn’t really mean.

Me: [It’s okay, I’m with my brothers anyway so I’ll go home after dinner]

Me: [Drinking beer now]

Lim Dae-han: [(Photo)]

He sent a photo. The sports drink held in his large hand was the one I had bought. Thankfully, it seems he had time to retrieve the drink. Is it strange that I feel relieved just from this?

We exchanged wishes for a good dinner. Expecting the reply intervals to get longer for a while, I put my phone down in advance. Ah, by the way, if he’s eating with the club, Senior Hyuna will be there too.

It bothers me. I don’t want it to bother me. I know Lim Dae-han probably doesn’t think much of it.

Wasn’t our goal to enjoy our youth at least in school? My thoughts and feelings are at odds. Feeling frustrated, I gulped down the beer.

My mouth felt bitter. This must be why people drink. I lowered my head deeply and raised it to find my brother tossing a well-cooked piece of beef onto my plate.

“I didn’t come here to drink with you. Drink slowly.”

“…Okay.”

“Why isn’t Lim Dae-han coming?”

“He said he’s having dinner with his club.”

“That guy…”

My brother started to say something but held back.

“What?”

“It’s annoying. Don’t talk to me.”

“…Okay.”

I didn’t really want to hear it anyway, knowing he’d just nag. We ate the meat and drank beer in silence.

About thirty minutes later, a familiar figure appeared at the glass door. It was Ye-jun hyung, dressed like an office worker. Ye-jun hyung put his hand near his eyebrow and scanned the inside of the restaurant.

My brother turned his head faster than anyone, sensing Ye-jun hyung’s presence. Ye-jun hyung entered the restaurant with his shirt sleeves rolled up. The idle waiter followed, asking if he had company, and Ye-jun hyung pointed towards us.

Ki Young-han fidgeted. He acted like a dog wagging its tail at just the word “walk,” but his expression was completely different.

Even though Ye-jun hyung had arrived, he didn’t welcome him warmly. Instead, with a face even more sullen than before, he smacked the chair where my bag was placed. As a result, my bag fell to the floor. It was just taking out his frustration on me. Isn’t he really crazy?

“…What are you doing?”

“Move your bag.”

Knowing I could never win a fight against this person, I backed down first. They say you avoid shit because it’s dirty, but I was scared too. In the end, I hurriedly picked up the bag that had fallen to the floor.

I got up from my seat, opened the chair cover, and put my bag inside. Ye-jun hyung approached with a smile and firmly gripped my brother’s shoulder.

“Young-han, are you starting again? Ah, I’m thirsty. Did you order beer?”

“You drank like that yesterday too, you’re not planning to drink again today, are you?”

“Young-han, I’ll have soju.”

Contrary to his grumbling, hyung pressed the call button to summon the waiter. Ye-jun hyung wiped his hands with the wet towel the waiter brought and ordered more meat along with the alcohol.

It was beef tripe and intestines, something Young-han hyung would never eat. He also asked for cold soju. I glanced around nervously, expecting hyung to complain about why he was eating such things, but surprisingly, he was being docile. He just grilled the meat silently. He looked used to it.

“Did you come here after work, hyung?”

“Yeah. Oh, I’m tired.”

“Eat some meat.”

Hyung carelessly tossed some beef onto my plate, but carefully placed it on Ye-jun hyung’s plate. I frowned at how he was fussing over not letting even a small piece fall off.

Ye-jun hyung naturally filled the glasses. Unable to wait for the soju, he took a sip of beer first and made a satisfied sound.

Hyung glanced sideways and twitched the corner of his mouth. Watching the two of them made me miss Lim Dae-han more. After wetting his throat, Ye-jun hyung looked around at the empty seat and asked.

“Where’s Dae-han?”

“He said he’s playing soccer and eating dinner there.”

“Ah, is that so? Well, that can happen with school life. Young-hyun, didn’t you have plans too? Did I call you too suddenly?”

“No, I didn’t have anything particular to do. I just came from studying.”

“Young-han must be tired too, studying and doing assignments. It’s time for projects now that the exam period is over, right?”

“I’m not tired.”

Hyung pretended to be tough in front of Ye-jun hyung. As if there’s any chance he’s not tired. He’s the one who gets the most sensitive during exam periods. What a show-off. I sneered inwardly, but hyung seemed to read my mind and immediately glared at me.

“…”

Still afraid to meet his fierce gaze directly, I averted my eyes slightly. I rubbed under my nose and quickly ate a piece of beef. Hyung withdrew his gaze and continued speaking. He even picked on Ye-jun hyung.

“Well, some people might be tired from drinking all the time.”

“How could I refuse when a colleague asked for a beer after getting scolded by the boss?”

Ye-jun hyung put his arm on hyung’s shoulder. He leaned in slightly and gave advice to hyung who was grilling the meat. The person who usually tenses up when anyone just touches him was quietly staying put.

He didn’t shake off the shoulder or push away the arm. Maybe his mood had improved, as he picked up several pieces of meat and placed them in front of Ye-jun hyung.

Ye-jun hyung ate heartily, his cheeks moving. Then he suggested grilling garlic too, but Hyung glared at him. I like grilling garlic, why not? I poured the garlic that was in a small bowl onto the grill instead of Hyung.

“Damn it. Who are you to pour the garlic?”

Making a fuss over everything… As I made a sad face, Ye-jun hyung took my side.

“How many times do I have to tell you not to treat Young-hyun like that?”

Ye-jun hyung is wise. A person can’t be this nice. That’s probably why he can handle that person with the weird personality. And hyung, who would normally have made a fuss by now, passed over the situation very naturally and familiarly.

So they are dating… Honestly, it was quite an interesting scene, so I flared my nostrils and anticipated hyung’s reaction. The soju arrived with frost on the surface. Hyung filled Ye-jun hyung’s glass with soju and said.

“What do you mean? This is me being nice to my brother.”

At that moment, I found it difficult to manage my expression.

I had drunk with them before, but drinking with my brothers was different from drinking with classmates or seniors. No matter how rough, family is family, so it was much more comfortable. There’s probably a psychological effect too.

I didn’t need to hide Lim Dae-han and could show my true self. The drinks we shared at the meat restaurant continued to a second round. We moved to hyung’s place nearby to talk more comfortably.

It had been a while since I visited hyung’s place. I used to go there often before, but this was the first time since the hyungs started living together. As a younger brother, I can’t just drop by anytime. Even I would be very annoyed if hyung suddenly showed up at our house.

When hyung lived alone, the house was very bleak. Originally, the apartment was bought by our parents to rent out. The old apartment in a large complex showed signs of age here and there.

But hyung wasn’t interested in interior design, so he just wallpapered and moved in. He had no intention of decorating the house except for necessities. It was a place without even common decorations. But coming after a long time, the energy of the house had changed. That is…

“You’re surprised, right?”

I looked around the house with my mouth wide open. Ye-jun hyung, who approached me, asked kindly as if to soothe my surprised mind.

Yes, it is a bit surprising… I couldn’t even answer and looked around. My eyes were busy darting here and there.

Is this really Ki Young-han’s house? Isn’t it someone else’s house? The house that had nothing but necessary items just a few months ago had turned into a newlywed home.

The state of the house is something to behold. Wow… I let out a long exclamation. Several framed photos of the two were placed on the TV side shelf.

The most shocking of them was a photo of the hyungs with their heads together, without anything on, in what appeared to be a bed. Even if you can only see up to their shoulders….

I know because I’m dating Lim Dae-han too. The atmosphere in the photo is clearly…

“…”

My pupils shook. Ye-jun hyung, reading my gaze, laughed awkwardly and flipped the frame over. I want to wash my eyes…

Is this how hyung felt when he saw me and Lim Dae-han kissing? If so, I now understand why he got angry.

“Ah. Young-hyun, don’t do this here. Sit at the dining table.”

Ye-jun hyung quickly led me to the kitchen. The kitchen wasn’t much different. All the dishes seemed new, not leftovers from the main house, but a pretty and clean set of dishes on the rack. There was even a small earthenware pot on the gas stove, suggesting they cook themselves.

Just then, my brother came out of the bedroom after changing clothes. Ye-jun hyung passed me off to him.

“Young-han, get some beer for Young-hyun. I’ll change clothes and be right back.”

“Okay.”

My brother turned on the stove to heat the pot. While Lim Dae-han and I rarely cook, it seemed these two make various dishes.

While heating the contents, he smoothly took out three cans of beer from the fridge and some snacks from the shelf, bringing them to the table.

I still can’t get used to this side of my brother. To our parents, he was ‘a son lacking in social skills but diligent and obedient.’ He would generally say ‘yes’ to whatever our parents said, even if not to others. Still, he wasn’t exactly a sweet son.

That’s how he was within the family, and I know he’s even worse outside. He’s the kind of person who never even tried to read the atmosphere. I thought he’d never be able to date or marry.

In our family’s vision of my brother’s future, there was no family. Who would have thought such a person could pretend to be so domestic?

“……”

I couldn’t say anything and just looked around. I don’t know where to focus my eyes. Maybe I should look at the photos I saw in the living room earlier. Except for that shocking one.

I fidgeted in my seat. I bit my lip. It’s awkward… As I was about to get up under the pretense of going to the bathroom, my brother sat across from me.

“Sit. Don’t wander around for no reason.”

“Okay.”

I sat back down as quickly as I had tried to get up. My brother opened a beer and handed it to me. I took it with both hands and carefully put it to my lips before setting it down. My brother, no longer needing to drive, also drank beer.