HARD 21

Without realizing it, Go Woonha was also getting absorbed…. No, it was a topic that was hard not to get absorbed in from the start. Besides, while the effects on each slide were cute, the design wasn’t messy but clean, and the information was presented so well that it was easy to read.

“…The one-star reviews were things like, you’re not human, you’re a son of a bitch, you dump people when they start to like you, you’re a devil, I hope the same thing happens to you, you fucking bastard… things like that.”

“Mr. Gyuwon, you’re good at swearing.”

Somehow, it feels like you mean that.

Go Woonha smiled brightly.

Cha Gyuwon pretended not to notice and moved to the next slide. When he pressed the button once more, thump, two characters appeared in large letters.

THE WORST

It seemed he had intentionally tried to give it a cheesy effect, but that actually made it stand out and have a great impact. The intended message failed to be delivered, but it was impressive.

“In a word, hyung, you’re the worst.”

He had wanted to write piece of shit car but held back. Still, this was Go Woonha… a word like shit didn’t suit him. And to be more honest, you have to do something with someone to call them a piece of shit car or not. Right now, Cha Gyuwon was nothing to Go Woonha.

“This is fun, so fun.”

This time again, Go Woonha, oblivious to Cha Gyuwon’s dilemma, clapped his hands and said, “Wow.”

“Is there more after this?”

Seeing Go Woonha’s eyes sparkle with anticipation, Cha Gyuwon spoke with a reluctant and resignedly dead expression.

“…Hyung, you really are the worst.”

Ah, right. This wasn’t the situation for that.

Go Woonha said, “Sorry,” and drank his tea.

“Ah. Is it okay to drink this?”

“Drink while you watch. The next part, part two. My thoughts.”

“Is Mr. Cha Gyuwon’s user review coming out? But you’re still in the middle of using it, are you writing the review already?”

“…It’s not that. It’s just my feelings.”

“I am curious about the review, though.”

“If I tell you that, you’ll just say you listened well and then ghost me.”

How did he know? Apart from the amusement, he had gotten a glimpse of Cha Gyuwon’s obsessiveness, so he probably would have blocked him too. Go Woonha was inwardly impressed.

“You really did your homework on me.”

“Yes. But hyung, why are you so easy?”

Cha Gyuwon frowned and chewed on his lip before adding.

“I never wanted to say this to you, hyung, but after seeing all this, I have no choice. So I’m angry.”

“Don’t be angry. You can call me a slut.”

“Anyway, I’ve definitely realized that you’re not playing around because you have some sad backstory but simply because you enjoy it, and that you’re not harming others or trying to hurt yourself.”

It seemed the background check wasn’t entirely fruitless. Cha Gyuwon had tried to understand and figure out Woonha in his own way. Many had tried, but this was a method he had never seen before, so it was interesting. To use the special nature of a gangster family to privately deploy employees for a background check…. Those employees must have really hated it.

And how many times must Cha Gyuwon have been disappointed, hurt, and cried while collecting and archiving all of that? And yet, he managed to create such a splendid presentation. He’s a bit tiring, but he seems like an employee who gets the job done. As long as they get the job done, Go Woonha didn’t care if they had a tiring personality or not.

“Especially among the people you’ve met… the medical professionals all testified to it. That you’re very healthy, hyung.”

“Yup. I have good recovery too. Even with three people…. No, never mind. Continue.”

A mistake.

Go Woonha covered his mouth with his teacup. If he kept this up, Cha Gyuwon might get pissed off and go inside, and he wouldn’t be able to hear the results of this interesting presentation.

“You’re too indifferent, hyung.”

No matter how you look at it, wasn’t that just added right now? But Go Woonha admitted it. Seeing the numerous one-star reviews, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt. The fact that he wasn’t reacting with his usual “Didn’t you know?” or “What do you want me to do about it?” when told, “Aren’t you too indifferent?” showed just how successful this presentation was.

“Now for the conclusion.”

The presentation moved on to the third chapter.

Separate from the gravity of the word “conclusion,” the effects used on the slide were very cute. Did he make it all himself? No matter how he looked at it, he could feel the artistic style of a designer he had his eye on, so Go Woonha wondered if he had used it as a reference. The kitschiness and subcultural uniqueness reminded him of Bearvy.

But it didn’t seem particularly strange. Looking at the piles of manga and DVDs, it wouldn’t be surprising if he said he liked anime characters.

“But I still like you, hyung.”

Cha Gyuwon muttered, clenching his fists and jaw.

Is it something to say with such resentment?

Go Woonha put on a slightly hurt expression. Of course, he was just giving an appropriate reaction to a splendid presentation. But Cha Gyuwon was once again completely fooled by Go Woonha’s face. He stared blankly for a moment before barely coming to his senses and changing the slide again.

“To be honest, I really like your looks. So much so that I don’t care what you’re like on the inside. Even when I’m mad at you, it goes away when I see your face. Actually, just thinking about it is enough. When I first saw you, hyung… I thought you were an angel. Even though I saw you going to Gyuhan hyung’s bedroom!”

Is that something to get so angry about… Watching the fuming Cha Gyuwon, Go Woonha added sugar to his black tea. It had gotten a bit astringent after some time.

“You saw me back then? No, more importantly, what? An ang—?”

The problem was the latter part. This was difficult to just let slide, even for the shameless Go Woonha. He had to go to confession. Go Woonha decided with a heavy heart. But what would the listening priest think? My sex partner thinks I’m an angel… the moment I heard that, I thought the guy was crazy…. What would he say back?

“Yes. I told you before.”

I don’t remember. Because he hadn’t listened properly.

Go Woonha didn’t bother saying that he had completely forgotten. Cha Gyuwon was a bit worked up right now, and Go Woonha, who had already stimulated the kid who used gangsters to do a background check on a sex partner who ghosted him quite enough, didn’t want to provoke him any further. He played it safe.

“You say some strange things sometimes, hyung, but even then, I thought you were like an angel.”

“No… I get it. I get it. That word, let’s just stop….”

“But after doing a background check on you, hyung, I now understand why you say those things. You’re just… you’re the kind of person for whom that sort of dirty talk is normal, so you’re the kind of person who says things like asking someone to pee on you.”

Should he be grateful that he didn’t call him an angel who says such things? He would rather have blatant compliments or sarcasm; it was more uncomfortable to hear him sincerely spout nonsense that was clearly absurd. Besides, what kind of things? He couldn’t get a grasp on how Cha Gyuwon saw him or what he thought of him.

“Still, I’m glad nothing bad happened…. From now on, I’ll just accept that you were born that way, hyung. …Of course, I know you don’t care what I think.”

“Yeah. I don’t, but I’m a little confused right now. So what’s the conclusion? What have I become? Just a person who was born weird?”

Go Woonha asked, pointing at himself. Honestly, he had never once thought of himself as a weird person. …Surprisingly.

Cha Gyuwon looked at Go Woonha intently.

He answered with eyes that said, Isn’t that obvious?

“But you’re still as pretty as an angel in my eyes.”

“I was hoping for anything but that in the conclusion.”

Go Woonha lamented.

No, that wasn’t the only thing he had hoped wouldn’t be in the conclusion. Just as Go Woonha was about to confirm that this wasn’t a proposal or a request to date, Cha Gyuwon cut in.

“If you have something to say about me too, hyung, please tell me. Anything at all. I want to hear your evaluation too. If there’s anything I can improve on, I’ll listen without getting hurt.”

“……”

“I’m prepared.”

“First of all. This isn’t a request to date or a proposal or anything, right?”

“…Can I?”

“No. I’m asking because you can’t.”

Cha Gyuwon’s face fell. But unlike before, he didn’t look hurt. It really seemed like he had accepted that Go Woonha was just a weird guy. Should I be happy about this or not? Go Woonha idly scratched the back of his neck, thought for a moment, and then asked.

“Can I use your computer for a bit?”

A little while later, Go Woonha stood where Cha Gyuwon had been, and Cha Gyuwon took a seat where Go Woonha had been sitting. Go Woonha asked if there was any alcohol besides tea, but was told there wasn’t, so he had to settle for a Dr Pepper instead. What a taste… he’s an adult, but not a single drop of alcohol in the house.

“You asked me to be honest, right? Especially since you said something about… improving.”

Cha Gyuwon nodded.

It had started out as half a joke, but as he made it, he became serious. Of course, the number of slides was far less than Cha Gyuwon’s.

Unlike Cha Gyuwon’s cute and kitschy design, Go Woonha’s template was very simple.

“Do you know Rotten Tomatoes?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll explain it with that. Ah, do you like to hear the good news first, or the bad news first?”

After a moment of thoughtful expression, Cha Gyuwon carefully opened his mouth.

“From you, hyung, I want to hear nothing but good things, more than I deserve. Honestly….”

That’s too honest.

He wondered what on earth he had been doing at home all this time, not even shaving or answering his phone, to have changed so much. The foundation seemed the same, but he had become considerably braver compared to when he had been abandoned in the parking lot.

“Sorry. I’m a bad-news-first kind of guy. I save the best for last.”

Go Woonha said, looking regretful.

From the introduction with images of a fresh tomato and a mushy, rotten green tomato, they finally moved on to the main part. Instead of a red tomato, a rotten green tomato filled the screen.

“I’m only saying this because you asked, but this is your kissing score.”

Go Woonha said seriously. Cha Gyuwon’s expression, as he watched, was one of utter shock, as if he had been struck by lightning.

“You bite lips too much. I don’t want to go to work on Monday looking like someone who spent the whole weekend making out.”

“Is that why you didn’t kiss me much all this time?”

“What are you talking about? We pecked a lot. I’m talking about kissing. Tongue kissing.”

A rosy red tongue darted out and back in. Seeing Go Woonha’s tongue, Cha Gyuwon flinched as if it were within licking distance.

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like you have a talent for it. Because you try to take the lead right away. Harmony is important, but the problem is you get too into it and try to swallow me. It might be good to practice with something like konjac jelly later. Or maybe experience….”

“Are you telling me to go kiss someone else right now?”

Cha Gyuwon asked with a straight face. His hand slammed down on the table. Thump. The tabletop trembled for a long time as if there had been an earthquake. His strength was enormous. He had guessed from his hands and build, but….

Cha Gyuwon didn’t seem to even realize he had hit the desk.

“No, but don’t you think it’s unfair that I’m the only one who’s easy, Mr. Gyuwon?”

“It’s fine. Since I’m inexperienced, if we combine our experiences and divide, we’ll get the average.”

“Who said it would be the average….”

Go Woonha laughed mischievously.

“I think we’d need at least three more Cherry Boy Cha Gyuwons. No, five?”

“…You’re joking, right?”

“Now, next. Technique.”

Unfortunately, the next slide also had a green tomato.