MIM 8

As soon as Shin-woo returned, he unnecessarily recited Gong Ji-un’s full name while looking for him. The guy had an annoyingly good memory. Jae-seung nodded and handed him wet wipes he had taken out of his bag. He was too busy replaying his conversation with Gong Ji-un to notice Shin-woo examining him.

A smile slowly spread across Shin-woo’s face as he fiddled with the wet wipes. He looked Jae-seung over with amused eyes.

“…Why the wet wipes?”

“Wipe yourself. Coffee splashed on you.”

“Where?”

Jae-seung clicked his tongue as he watched Shin-woo stare blankly at his own shoes. He snatched the wet wipes and scrubbed Shin-woo’s thighs. Coffee stains had been left on his pants from needlessly kneeling on the floor. As expected, the wet wipes couldn’t clean it completely.

As they walked to find the car, Jae-seung thought of the Omega who had given him his number a few days ago. Unfortunately, he had terrible handwriting, scribbling the fourth and last two digits carelessly. The fourth and last digits were likely either 0 or 6, and the second-to-last digit was either 7, 1, or 4. There were quite a few possibilities, so he hadn’t tried calling in the end.

If his handwriting was so bad, he should have typed the number instead of scrawling it illegibly, Jae-seung grumbled inwardly. Just then, Shin-woo spoke up abruptly.

“Don’t meet just anyone.”

“What?”

In his hand with the resolute expression was the empty wet wipes packaging. He continued speaking while putting the trash he had deliberately brought out into his pocket.

“Be suspicious if someone is nice to you for no reason. There’s no one in this city who genuinely wants to be friends with us right now.”

“Even if you don’t know them, what does it have to do with me?”

“People are imaginative enough as it is, so there’s plenty of rumors about us.”

The guy was attempting gaslighting as soon as Jae-seung had made one friend. But such nonsense wouldn’t work. Jae-seung stopped abruptly in front of the passenger seat and muttered through his teeth.

“You’re the one suspected of being a criminal, so why lump me together as ‘us’?”

“Well, we could be in cahoots, you and me.”

“…What?”

“As you know, I don’t turn down any job that pays.”

“……”

“I’m going to claim overtime pay for the time I spent here today too.”

What a money-grubbing bastard with a smart mouth. Jae-seung silently gritted his teeth, glaring at Shin-woo as he opened the car door. Being told that no one would want to be friends with them only made him more determined. He would become good friends with Gong Ji-un, just to show that guy.

He was set to meet Gong Ji-un again tomorrow, on the weekend. Since there was no school on weekends, it was the day when he spent the most time apart from Shin-woo. Usually, Shin-woo was busy working out all day, while Jae-seung learned martial arts at the mansion or had meals with the employees. But tomorrow will be different.

During the day, he could certainly go out alone. Worried that Shin-woo might notice and follow him, Jae-seung asked as casually as he could,

“What time will you be back if you go out tomorrow?”

“Why? Gonna miss me?”

“Are you kidding me?”

Was that really something to ask someone with separation anxiety? When Jae-seung got irritated, Shin-woo laughed so hard his cheeks turned red.

“I have a lot of work tomorrow, so I’ll be late. But I’ll call you in between.”

“Make sure you do. Especially if it’s going to be past 5 PM.”

“Of course, without fail.”

Judging by his promise, Shin-woo probably wouldn’t return until after sunset. Jae-seung could head out in the morning and be back well before evening. A half-day would be plenty of time to spend with a new friend.

There are people who want to be friends with me too. Jae-seung took a deep breath. His chest fluttered with excitement and a hint of anxiety.

“Want to get some ice cream before we go in?”

As Jae-seung sat in the passenger seat with his arms crossed, staring into space, Shin-woo suddenly poked his head in and asked. He was about to refuse, saying it was bothersome, but before he knew it, he was mentally calculating the distance. The parking lot was quite close to the back gate, and the ice cream shop was right next to the alley by the back gate. It was a distance that could be covered in under 3 minutes if they ran.

Jae-seung nodded. The bitter taste of coffee he had sipped at the cafe still lingered in his mouth, and he wouldn’t be able to have ice cream on the weekend since he wouldn’t be near school. He quite liked the banana ice cream there.

“Sweet Home,” which they frequented, was a small ice cream shop with a very lackluster sign. Perhaps due to being in business for a long time, the sign looked worn-out, and at night the lights were unlit, making it easy to pass by without realizing it was an ice cream shop unless you looked closely. Inside, there were only two small tables, so they usually bought ice cream to go rather than eating inside.

Luckily, one table was empty today. Shin-woo, who had craned his neck to peek inside, quickly dashed in. Despite having just knelt down to wipe a stranger’s feet moments ago, he seemed to have already forgotten about it and looked happy.

“Hello.”

As soon as Shin-woo sat down at the table, he greeted the ice cream shop owner with a bow. The owner glanced at him and asked:

“Two banana pudding flavors again today?”

“Yes. That’s what you’re having, right?”

Shin-woo turned to Jae-seung with a smirk. It seemed the owner had memorized their order since they always ordered the same thing. Jae-seung awkwardly pursed his lips and nodded.

Both being over 180cm tall, sitting face to face at the small table in the cramped shop made the distance uncomfortably close. To exaggerate a bit, it was so narrow that they might bump heads if they adjusted their posture. Shin-woo’s breath was close enough to feel, and his scabbed lips were clearly visible.

It felt awkward being this close face-to-face, something that hadn’t happened except when he couldn’t breathe properly. Jae-seung deliberately looked away, scanning the shop. As he looked around, his gaze fell on two men sitting at the back table. A small, thin man and a sturdy-built man were eating freshly served ice cream.

Both their ice creams had three scoops on the cone. Since two scoops were standard and there was no option to add more, it meant the owner had discretionarily given them three scoops. Jae-seung had thought the owner might like Shin-woo since he always got three scoops, but did all regulars get this service? Then why had he never gotten extra when coming along?  Feeling slightly miffed, Jae-seung pursed his lips.

Even while having these idle thoughts, he kept noticing the men behind Shin-woo’s shoulder. They looked oddly familiar. The smaller man had his eyes hidden by his bangs and a flat nose, while the larger man had sharp eyes and light eyebrows. It was a unique combination he wouldn’t forget if he’d seen them before, but they both looked too old to be students.

The more he looked, the more certain he was that he’d seen them somewhere, but he couldn’t place it.

“Here.”

Just then, Shin-woo brought the ice cream, breaking his concentration. Shin-woo handed Jae-seung the ice cream with three scoops and took a big bite of his own two-scoop cone. Though it didn’t feel great to have someone else’s kindness taken away, Jae-seung decided to eat quietly, not wanting to argue in front of the owner.

A place that skimps on portion sizes and isn’t particularly warm or welcoming—really, its only redeeming quality was the taste. Jae-seung took a big bite, stuffing half of his ice cream into his mouth and chewing it slowly.

“Let’s eat quickly and go.”

“How about a flower arranging club next? They say it brings peace to the mind.”

Shin-woo asked, licking the chocolate stuck in his ice cream. A flower arranging club? He had no intention of giving scissors to someone who could k1ll with flowers. That would be asking for trouble. Jae-seung shook his head without a word, dismissing the idea. Shin-woo tried to persuade him seriously.

“They say it helps manage anxiety. You’re already learning martial arts separately, so you don’t need to do physical activities for club activities too, right? You’ve only done sports so far. Competition can’t be good for anxiety.”

“I don’t like flower arranging.”

“I like flowers. Watching them bloom and wither at the same time makes me feel the order of nature and calms me down. No matter how much you struggle, things bloom when they’re supposed to.”

“……”

“And wither when it’s time.”

It was funny how genuinely peaceful the guy looked as he spoke. Does he really want him to get better and make these suggestions? The first thing Jae-seung did after treating his separation anxiety and finding stability would be to kick him out, and he must know that, yet he was spouting such carefree words.

Jae-seung finished chewing the remaining ice cream in his mouth and rubbed his cheek hard. As his nervous laughter gradually subsided, his head cooled down.

“When the time comes to wither?”

Jae-seung asked back with a raised corner of his mouth. Though Shin-woo must have understood immediately, he remained quiet. No emotion could be read in his calm eyes.

“If I tell you to leave, will you go without a fuss?”

Jae-seung rephrased his question. He needed to draw out any response from Shin-woo, who was hesitating to answer. Despite being together every day, he was always curious and thirsty for Shin-woo’s reactions, voice, inner thoughts, everything about him. Even knowing he had no memories left to discern what was true and what was false, and that he couldn’t trust the guy’s answers, he couldn’t stop questioning.

Shin-woo lowered his eyes and set his mouth firmly. Even his somewhat lonely expression seemed fabricated.

“If that’s my fate, I’ll have to accept it.”

Fate. Such a grand word. Did working for Ma-seung mean that much to him?

Jae-seung lifted his chin, looking over at Shin-woo, who continued eating his ice cream. It was strangely quiet around them. He realized that he could no longer hear the murmur of conversation or even breathing sounds. Looking around, he found three pairs of shiny eyes directed at him.