YHP 56

His fair cheeks flushed.

“Auntie… can I have one more of these?”

Jeong-in slammed the bowl down and shook the empty makgeolli bottle. Ho-jin quickly grabbed his hand.

“No, you don’t have to give us any more.”

The CEO stood in front of the refrigerator, not knowing what to do, and watched Ho-jin and Jeong-in with her arms crossed.

“Does he want it or not?”

“Ah, just give it to us. Give us everything you have in the store.”

Jeong-in shouted boldly. Then, he shook out the few drops of makgeolli left and poured them into his bowl.

“This is amazing… How could I have lived without knowing about this until now?”

“Hyung, you really need to stop now. You’ll have a hard time tomorrow if you drink any more.”

There’s a reason why they say you can’t recognize your own parents when you’re drunk on makgeolli. Ho-jin, who was born and raised in the home of the chestnut makgeolli, had already experienced hell by being dragged to countless feasts. And when Ho-jin pleaded with a tearful face, Jeong-in began to grumble in a slurred pronunciation.

“Hey, Yoo Ho-jin. Are you a genius?”

“…Excuse me?”

“Are you such a genius… How do you know if I’ll have a hard time tomorrow or not, Mr. Know-It-All? Or are you a master? Don’t be ridiculous. You’re still an undergraduate. You don’t even have a bachelor’s degree, but you’re acting like you know everything….”

His eyes were already glazed over. Ho-jin held back his laughter as he watched his neatly defined double eyelids flutter.

Jeong-in was much weaker to alcohol than Ho-jin had vaguely guessed. It immediately showed on his face as he drank, and he didn’t even seem to realize that he was drunk.

To be honest, it was cute. If not now, where else could he see such a sight, a well-ripened peach babbling nonsense? But no matter how cute he was, he couldn’t just let it go on like this. Considering what was at stake, he really had to stop him here.

“Auntie, can we get the bill?”

“Huh?”

It was the moment Ho-jin got up from his seat.

“Ho-jinaaa.”

With a voice like melted sugar, Jeong-in called Ho-jin’s name.

He felt as if a huge spear had been thrust into him from head to toe. He had no choice but to stop in his tracks.

“…Let’s just drink one more bottle, huh?”

“……”

“Just one more bottle.”

Ho-jin stiffly turned his neck and looked down at Jeong-in. Then, Jeong-in reached out and grabbed Ho-jin’s sleeve.

“Huuuh?”

His heart melted at the touch of his hand, shaking gently as he smiled like an April peach blossom. But Jeong-in was already too drunk. If he had his way, he really wanted to buy him all the makgeolli in the world, but he couldn’t do that, thinking about how hard it would be for him tomorrow.

“I can’t.”

He shook his head, barely suppressing a sigh that was boiling up from the depths of his heart.

“…You’re stingy.”

“We can drink again another day.”

“…I hate you.”

As if he was so upset, his red face dropped. At that, Ho-jin couldn’t bear it and laughed.

“I know you don’t hate me.”

“……”

Then Jeong-in closed his mouth.

“Now, get up. I’ll take you home.”

It was the moment he lowered himself to Jeong-in’s eye level, who was just staring blankly at his knees without saying a word, and was about to make eye contact. Jeong-in, who had only been moving his lips, suddenly apologized.

“I’m sorry.”

“Yes?”

His slender eyelashes fluttered.

“What I said about hating you, I didn’t really mean it. I just… I said something mean.”

“Ah, I know.”

How could he be so kind?

He seemed to be wrapped up so tightly that there wasn’t even room for a needle to enter, but in reality, he was such a soft person. Ho-jin chuckled and helped Jeong-in up. However, Jeong-in couldn’t stand up right away. Just a moment ago, he had been shaking the bottle of alcohol perfectly fine, but in an instant, he had become like a deflated balloon, drooping and unable to support himself. It didn’t seem like he was in a state to walk on his own.

“Auntie, can you help me for a second?”

“He’s plastered, not just plastered, but completely wasted.”

The CEO clicked her tongue, but helped Ho-jin carry Jeong-in on his back. After briefly saying goodbye to her, Ho-jin straightened Jeong-in and headed out into the glittering streets.

With each step he took, his limp arms swayed powerlessly. Ho-jin hunched over and started walking, worried that Jeong-in might fall backward and get hurt. In theory, it should have hurt since the center of gravity was on his back, but for some reason, it didn’t hurt or feel difficult at all. He just felt good.

“At this rate, I won’t be able to work out today either.”

“…Sorry.”

Jeong-in, who had buried his nose in Ho-jin’s neck, apologized once again.

Ho-jin, who had been walking along, slowly stopped in his tracks.

“Why do you have so many things to be sorry about, Hyung?”

“I don’t know.”

In response to his question, a small sigh escaped from behind him.

“…Why do I have so many things to be sorry about?”

The voice that rose above the noisy sounds of the night reached his ears clearly.

It was a question that didn’t need any consideration. Ho-jin answered without hesitation.

“Because you’re a good person.”

“……”

“Because you’re such a good person that you’re even sorry for things you don’t have to be sorry for.”

The scent of azaleas blooming everywhere tickled his nose.

“I think that kind of Hyung is…”

I like you.

He decided to put aside the feelings he couldn’t bring himself to express right away for now.

“…Is cool.”

The question that came back was clear. Ho-jin quickly nodded his head.

“Of course. Choi Jeong-in is a very, very kind and cool person.”

“Hmph…. I see.”

Before he knew it, it was a familiar alleyway. The pale crescent moon repeatedly appeared and disappeared between the densely packed buildings. Jeong-in, who was on Ho-jin’s back, yawned from time to time. The round, warm sound tickled his heart.

Ho-jin chuckled and entered the building. He familiarly entered the password and opened Jeong-in’s door. Then, he asked the person on his back for permission.

“I’m going to go in for a second.”

“Go ahead….”

He carefully laid Jeong-in down on the bed. Then, Jeong-in, with his flushed cheeks, rolled over towards the wall. Just before he hit the wall, Ho-jin barely managed to grab him.

“That was close.”

He almost broke his pretty forehead.

He carefully placed a pillow under Jeong-in’s neck and spread out the blanket that was lying around at his feet and covered him. Jeong-in crawled into the blanket as if it were natural.

“…Hyung.”

After watching him for a moment, he called out to Jeong-in.

“Hyuuung.”

He tried calling him one more time. Jeong-in still didn’t answer, as if he had already fallen fast asleep.

It was a golden opportunity to see Jeong-in as much as he wanted. Ho-jin rested his chin on the bed and quietly stared at Jeong-in.

“…The Grandmother must have paid a little more attention when she made Hyung.”

He was as beautiful as a painting drawn with a fine brush.

“She made his face and heart all pretty and sent him.”

Jeong-in was the one who had emptied both bottles of makgeolli, but just looking at the drunk person made him feel like he was getting drunk too. Rubbing his eyes, which were slowly getting heavy, he slowly leaned his forehead against Jeong-in’s hand. He pressed his face against each of the plump knuckles, putting his weight on them as if pressing them down.

It was something he would never have dreamed of doing if Jeong-in had been sober.

“Oh….”

Surprised, Ho-jin quickly got up.

“I’m sorry…. Good night.”

He turned off the light and left the room as if running away. It felt like heat was blooming in every place that had touched Jeong-in’s knuckles.

***

His head was splitting.

Jeong-in, clutching his throbbing head, got up and looked around with dazed eyes.

What unfolded before his eyes was not the scenery of his studio apartment. Warm sunlight, textbooks and notebooks, post-it notes fluttering in the wind, and a hand. A hand that couldn’t do anything and was stopped in the air.

‘…….’

Ah, it’s a dream again.

No sooner had he realized this than his mouth opened on its own.

‘That’s enough. I just need to get out of here.’

The story unfolded with the same plot as always. His vision blurring, Jeong-in brushed past Won-kyung and Jeong-hoon with quick steps, exiting through the front door and slamming it shut. It was simultaneous. A tearing sound echoed from beyond the door.

About to wake from the dream, Jeong-in turned back with all his might. As he did, the firmly closed front door creaked open with an eerie metallic groan.

His fathers were still standing beyond the half-open doorway. It was the very next moment that he noticed something was wrong.

‘Huh?’

The scenery beyond the door had transformed into a single sheet of paper. There was not a speck of realism to it. In the stiff, blurry scene that looked as if it had been printed on an old printer, Jeong-in gasped, staring at the tear that ran through Won-kyung and Jeong-hoon’s chests.

Did I tear it?

Big Daddy and Little Daddy, did I do that to them?

“Hukk…”

His eyes snapped open. His heart pounded as if it would burst. Jeong-in placed a hand on his racing chest, breathing rapidly.

“Haa, haa…”

His head throbbed. It hurt as if it would shatter at any moment. Unable to bear it, he squeezed his eyes shut. Red and blue dots flickered wildly.

“Ugh…”

The pain was beyond a simple hangover. With a feverishness creeping up on him, Jeong-in crawled across the floor and opened a drawer. Inside, a heat cycle test kit he’d bought just in case after his last bout was rolling around.

With a hand that barely had the strength, he managed to tear open the packaging. He pressed the kit with his fingertip and waited for a moment, and then numbers flickered on the LCD screen. Starting from 0, the numbers soon began to soar at a terrifying rate.

“…Ah, this is driving me crazy.”

The standard was only 50. But the numbers on the kit exceeded 80, 90, and then displayed an error message.