DS 45

Eun-myeong slowly took steps while holding a paper bag.

‘…Ugh.’

His body ached as if it had been struck by a truck. He walked awkwardly due to the sharp pain shooting through his hip bones. Anyone who saw him might think he’d just had circumcision surgery.

Moreover, while his clothes concealed it now, underneath was absolute chaos. When he went to shower in the bathroom, dragging his aching body, Eun-myeong thought he might pass out.

Gasp!

His reflection in the mirror was incredibly shocking. His entire body was covered in bite marks as if he had some kind of skin disease.

While the man had always enjoyed biting and sucking on his nape and chest, this time it seemed like he had deliberately focused on marking visible areas.

‘No, you can’t leave marks.’

Even though Eun-myeong had clearly said this beforehand yesterday, it was truly a perverted taste.

He had no choice but to pick out the clothes the man had bought him instead of his disheveled ones. Fortunately, there was a turtleneck. After carefully putting on the soft fabric that wrapped around his skin, he stood in front of the mirror. The clothes were certainly high quality.

The problem was that Eun-myeong’s face was a mess. It was worse than an oversteamed bun. His eyelids were so swollen they looked like they’d been punched…

“Sigh.”

Eun-myeong let out a deep sigh as he walked. He wondered if he’d look too terrible at Young-hee’s birthday. He didn’t even know what he was thinking coming to this appointment.

“Hyung!”

Across the crosswalk, he could see Young-hee enthusiastically waving his arms. Perhaps because it was his birthday, his face looked especially polished and neat.

* * *

Even sitting in the store, Eun-myeong remained lost in thought. He stared at his thighs with downcast eyes.

“Hyung!”

At the sound of a slap to his forehead, Eun-myeong suddenly looked up.

“Huh?”

While he responded absent-mindedly, Young-hee was frowning at him. Ah, he’d been caught spacing out.

“Hyung, you’re not focusing on what I’m saying. I told you I got confessed to?”

“Ah, oh, sorry…”

When he quickly apologized, Young-hee pushed out his lips in a pout.

“Fine, forget it, I won’t say anything.”

Young-hee had been excitedly telling the story about being confessed to by a female friend. But Eun-myeong couldn’t process the words properly as they just flowed past him. Thoughts of the man kept rushing into his mind, cutting through Young-hee’s words like scissors.

“I’m sorry, I’ll really listen now. So what happened? Did you accept?”

“Nah, I’m not interested.”

Young-hee lifted his beer glass. The yellow liquid swirled inside.

Young-hee, who had just become an adult, dragged Eun-myeong to this bar, saying he needed to savor this joy. It wasn’t a casual pub where middle-aged men went to unwind, but rather a stylishly decorated bar.

With booming music echoing in their heads and flashy neon signs, most of the customers were well-dressed young people.

Come to think of it, calling them “young people” was kind of funny. They were probably around his age anyway. Eun-myeong secretly glanced at the menu posted on the wall. He hoped the money he had would be enough…

If he’d known they were coming to a place like this, he would have prepared himself better mentally. If there was any silver lining, it was that he was wearing nice clothes despite the chaos on his body.

“Did you buy new clothes, hyung?”

Recognizing the quality, Young-hee praised Eun-myeong, saying it was really cool, giving him a thumbs up. Eun-myeong smiled shyly, showing his front teeth.

“But is it okay to meet me on your birthday?”

He wasn’t an interesting person. He didn’t have many stories to tell like Young-hee and wasn’t good at jokes either.

When Eun-myeong looked around, he made eye contact with several people. Some women were glancing at their table. No, not at the table, but at Young-hee sitting across from him.

Young-hee wore a black coat today and looked very cold. They say fashion means dressing cold when it’s cold and hot when it’s hot.

As far as Eun-myeong knew, Young-hee had many friends and was equally popular. He stood out wherever he went, and people couldn’t help but like him for his cheerful, ready laugh.

“Ah, whatever, I have no friends anyway, I’m being ostracized.”

Eun-myeong’s eyebrows drooped at these serious words. It was truly unfortunate that such a thing had happened. That must be why he wanted to meet on his birthday. Eun-myeong finally started to understand Young-hee.

“Young-hee, here.”

Eun-myeong fidgeted with the paper bag handles he’d been holding. Though it felt a bit awkward and embarrassing to give it here, he really wanted to give the birthday present now.

“Huh?”

When handed the pink paper bag, Young-hee, who had been drinking beer, coughed and spluttered.

“What’s this?”

Young-hee quickly wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and then rubbed his hands on his pants.

“It’s nothing special, but since it’s your birthday…”

“A birthday present? From you to me? Really? Wow, maybe the sun will rise from the west tomorrow, are you crazy?”

He was being extremely dramatic. Eun-myeong worried that Young-hee might be disappointed when he opened it.

“Okay, I’m opening it right now, seriously.”

It’s really nothing special. Eun-myeong felt sorry seeing Young-hee’s expectant expression. As the older one, he felt a bit sad that he couldn’t live up to those expectations.

Young-hee carefully took out the contents. Then he stared at the plastic-wrapped item for a long while.

“Arm sleeves.”

The utterly ordinary arm sleeves even looked a bit old-fashioned. They had a green camouflage pattern. Though he had carefully chosen the gift, under the fancy store lights, it looked even more modest.

Maybe it was too inadequate. He let out a small sigh at his rock-bottom sense of taste.

“I heard all ship captains wear these, saying their skin gets tanned otherwise. The sun is really strong at dawn, you know.”

Young-hee placed the arm sleeves on his face and sighed. He slid down in his chair like melting ice. Seeing this, Eun-myeong gently added:

“Sorry, it’s not something nice.”

“No, that’s not it, ah…”

His lips pressed tightly together beneath the arm sleeves.

“Hyung.”

Suddenly, Young-hee sat up straight. He hugged the arm sleeves tightly to his chest and leaned his upper body toward Eun-myeong.

“About what I said rudely before.”

Young-hee slowly continued. Eun-myeong looked up. His gentle eyes, without a trace of darkness, purely reflected the other’s face. Sometimes, looking at that face made Young-hee feel breathless.

“I was really fucking sorry, I really didn’t want to say it like that.”

“Mm.”

Eun-myeong was grateful for Young-hee’s apology. He couldn’t remember ever receiving apologies before. Even if he got hit by a stone thrown by someone while walking down the street, it was entirely his fault.

“When I really become a captain later, I’ll get you a job at a really good place.”

Young-hee declared his ambition with the most serious face Eun-myeong had seen recently.

“Where my hyung can earn lots of money, not suffer much, and not be looked down upon.”

Eun-myeong smiled slightly. Then nodded.

“Yeah, thank you.”

“No, I’m not just saying it, I really mean it.”

Young-hee playfully hit the table, telling him not to take it lightly. Eun-myeong shook his head.

“I’m not just saying it either, really, thank you.”

Until now, Eun-myeong had only looked straight ahead. Like a racehorse with blinders, he’d lived quickly, thinking only about paying back his debt.

“Thanks to you, I can breathe a little easier.”

But walking slowly like this, he could see the precious things embedded around him. Aunt Jung-hye, the supermarket owner, and Young-hee. They were all people he was grateful for. People who offered him companionship and warmth with just their hearts, expecting nothing in return.

Young-hee looked down at him quietly. His face stood at the junction between adulthood and youth.

“Hyung.”

“Mmm?” Eun-myeong responded.

“I really, really have so fucking much to tell you.”

Ah, Eun-myeong nodded. Inwardly, he wondered if Young-hee was a bit drunk.

“But I can’t right now. Because I don’t have anything.”

His voice was so low that Eun-myeong could only innocently nod, unable to say anything directly.

“Wait for me a little. Don’t go too far ahead, okay?”

Going ahead? Eun-myeong had never once overtaken anyone in his life. His life was always at the bottom, so he wondered what Young-hee meant.

“Oh, okay.”

Though he didn’t understand, Eun-myeong told a white lie, afraid that Young-hee would feel bad if he said he didn’t understand. He just wanted Young-hee to be happy on his birthday.

“Hyung, you promised me! You should keep your word!”

Eun-myeong nodded again as if pushed.

“Then let’s cheers, cheers!”

Young-hee, in high spirits, raised his glass high. Loud music thumped through the store. Along with it, Eun-myeong’s heart seemed to beat stronger and faster.

And so one drink became two, two became three… Eun-myeong’s lips trembled slightly. He got drunk quickly and kept giggling. His cheeks were flushed pink.