PCL Ch 50

It was embarrassing to say it myself, but I was on the side that my friends’ parents liked.

My grades were pretty good, and I wasn’t the type of person who enjoyed disobedience and bluffing. Even when I went to a friend’s house, I didn’t make a fuss and pretended to be dead, and since I was a child, I was extremely careful about manners, so I tended to help with tidying up after greetings or meals.

So, I was sure Lim Dae-han’s parents would like me quite a bit.

“…” 

“…” 

“…”

However, contrary to my expectations, when I greeted Lim Dae-han’s parents, they just stared at me blankly. I lifted my bowed head after saying hello, and his father, who resembled him, said something.

“Is he your friend?”

Lim Dae-han just replied, “Uhm?” with an awkward face. It was then that his mother talked to me, “Ah… You’re Dae-han’s friend. Are you in the same class? You have a different feeling from his usual friends.” She greeted me awkwardly.

I also knew exactly what kind of behavior Dae-han’s friends had, so I understood why his mother and father were awkward. I just smiled awkwardly and said, “Yes. We are in the same class.” It was all I had to say, and Lim Dae-han was embarrassed to say the least. His ears turned red and pulled my arm, telling me to go for dinner. Of course, Dae-ryong seemed to like me, so he was holding my hand from the other side as Lim Dae-han dragged me away.

The intercom sounded again while we were relaxing in the hanok’s living room, and we went down to the house below to come down for dinner.

After seeing the table, I realized how rude and inconsiderate I was when my friends came over, because I cooked ramen, ordered delivery, or just grilled some ham or eggs for a side dish that was already there.

A large table for eight was filled with food. The table seemed to sag. I opened my eyes wide and took a quick glance at the food, and both Dae-han and Dae-ryong seemed indifferent.

“Let’s eat.”

Lim Dae-han’s father bluntly urged us to eat. It seemed that his father was quite strict. He was an example of a strict father in the drama. He doesn’t laugh easily, he’s blunt toward his children, and he’s patriarchal. But that was my prejudice. This was due to the Dae-ryong, who was nearby, approaching his father right away. His father sat Dae-ryong on his thigh without saying a word.

“…”

“My son, let’s eat yamyam.”

Then, my eyes widened at his father’s cute act. I immediately shifted my sight to Lim Dae-han without realizing it. Lim Dae-han squinted one eye slightly and drew the chair closer to me. I nodded nervously when I noticed his chin signaling me to sit down.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t asked for your friend’s name. What’s your name?”

“My name is Ki Young-hyun.”

“It’s a nice name. It turned out nicely. There are a lot of things lacking here, but you can relax and enjoy.”

Lim Dae-han’s mother spoke to me kindly. I didn’t know what she mean by lacking a lot. She shouldn’t have said that even out of courtesy. But, strangely, I couldn’t keep up with his mother, who was much smaller than his father.

“Let’s eat.”

Lim Dae-han took a seat next to me. I was afraid I’d eat it like in school, but there was no such thing because the side dishes were placed in separate bowls.

Lim Dae-han, on the other hand, ate well. Instead of saying this and that, Dae-ryong was busy squeezing his chubby fingers out while on his father’s thigh. His mother used to take a peek at me a lot. Just frantically reading those gazes and the strangely floating and chaotic air overwhelmed me.

While Lim Dae-han’s mother was eating for a while, she asked me.

“Young-hyun-ah, is the food suit your taste?”

“Ah, yes. It’s very tasty.”

The food was moderately seasoned. It wasn’t too sweet, sour, or salty. The taste was just right so that no one would like it or dislike it. As I was vigorously eating the meal, I moistened my mouth with water. His mother smiled at me cautiously. Then she hesitated for a moment and spoke carefully.

“It’s… It’s good then. But perhaps.”

“…”

“You weren’t forced to come to our house, were you?”

His mother asked me with a worried look on her face. I asked back, confused.

“Yes?”

“No… No matter how much I think about it, Dae-han is not someone who would bring a friend…”

“What do you mean.”

Lim Dae-han averted his gaze, which had been fixed on me. They took turns looking at Dae-han as if both his mother and father were thinking the same thing.

“It’s not like that.”

Lim Dae-han added afterward that it was unfair. I nodded slowly with an expression in agreement. At the same time, the corners of his father’s bluntly lowered lips rose with excitement. Hot, hot, hot! On television, there was frequently a smile that could be described as a handsome man’s.

“That’s right… When did you see our son bullying the weak?”

“… Still.”

“He got caught while drinking or smoking. Nonetheless, he did not bother anyone.”

I managed to raise the corners of my lips and answered his mother’s words. He didn’t bother me, but it was unfortunate that his friends did something similar, which initially made the atmosphere in the classroom bleak. But it isn’t anymore. It wasn’t because I was his lover, but because it was the truth.

Recently, Lim Dae-han was well attached to the school and did not smoke or drink alcohol. Since we get along well together, our classmates frequently came to us to talk to Dae-han while pretending to talk to me when Dae-han and I were together. Although Lim Dae-han also maintained his characteristic sullen attitude, he managed to keep the conversation going.  It was a big development.

“By the way, why did you bring a friend? You haven’t brought them with you these days.”

His mother questioned Lim Dae-han without even eating. Lim Dae-han responded with a hesitant expression.

“I bring him here because I like him.”

“…”

Lim Dae-han responded as if it wasn’t a big deal even though I was next to him. I stiffened as it was and glanced around him. Lim Dae-han had the same expression as usual. He’s crazy… I couldn’t say anything, only thought in my heart, and then carefully moved my gaze to his parents.

However, contrary to my expectations, his parents said, “Oh…” I looked at Lim Dae-han, who maintained his original expression of laziness and irritation at everything. He then placed his palm on the table and clashed his chopsticks with a loud clatter. He pretended to be okay, but I knew he wasn’t. The tips of his ears were red as if saying, “Look at me, look at me.”

After dinner, the family sat together to eat fruit. Even when I was eating fresh and delicious fruit, I noticed his mother and father in the middle.

His father, who has big hands, grabbed the fruit that could fit easily in one hand and carefully cut the skin with a knife. Then his mother took it with a fork and handed it to me. “He is the one who’s good at handling knives. I’m not good at cutting,” she said while smiling. It was a very sweet family.

Dae-ryong sat next to his father and swayed his legs. Even though he was sitting on the edge of the sofa, his feet did not touch the floor. Dae-ryong opened his mouth wide and bit the apple stuck in the small plastic fork.

I looked down at the small, round tooth marks, and when I saw such Dae-ryong, I smiled unconsciously. Dae-ryong then quickly turned his head toward me.

“…”

“…”

He must be felt a little bit weird that I watched him eat. I  averted my gaze and tilted my head to pretend I hadn’t seen him. Dae-ryong, who was still staring at me, set the fork he was holding on the table and approached me. Then he took a seat between me and Lim Dae-han.

I tapped Dae-ryong’s shoulder. Dae-ryong grabbed my finger as it touched his shoulder and opened his mouth.

“Mom…”

“Yes, son. What is it?”

“Today I… I want to sleep with hyungs…”

My gaze met Dae-han’s in an instant. I could feel Dae-ryong’s gaze, which alternated between us but couldn’t reach us properly due to his low gaze.  A fire blazed in Lim Dae-han’s eyes. Lim Dae-han grabbed Dae-ryong, who was sitting between us and sat him on his lap. Dae-ryong’s hand, which had been entangled in my fingers, fell out. I clenched my fist and moved my index finger, feeling strangely empty.

Lim Dae-han put his hand on Dae-ryong’s tiny head and made him look straight ahead.

“No.”

“What?”

“No. Hyungs have something to talk about today, so Dae-ryong can’t sleep together with us.”

Well… He said firmly to the child. I squinted at Lim Dae-han, who was strangely crooked and childlike to his heart’s content, and looked at him with a sour face.

Despite the fact that he definitely felt my gaze, he feigned not to notice and purposefully avoided looking at me.

“…Okay”

After giving an answer after a long pause, Dae-ryong came down from Lim Dae-han’s thigh. He shrank his shoulders and lowered his head, as well as the corners of his mouth, before slowly blinking at me. I felt sorry for the boy who was smiling because he liked his older brothers until now. Haa… A sigh came out of nowhere.

Dae-ryong trudged past me as if he was expressing his emotions freely. I could see his little lips protruding from his puffed cheeks like a bird’s beak. Then he climbed onto the sofa next to me, crouched, and buried his face in the sofa. He looked sad. He must have been upset. It’s been a while since Lim Dae-han came, therefore he’d want to sleep with him.

I glanced into his parents’ eyes as I looked at the little, curled-up body. They were both very sad.

I put my hand on Dae-ryong’s back. I lowered my body as if hugging him and whispered in his ear.

“Dae-ryong, do you want to sleep with your hyung?”

“…”

“Hmm? Tell me, Dae-ryong-a.”

Then I rubbed Dae-ryong’s small feet with my finger, just as Lim Dae-han did before. His back jumped up when I tickled his foot one more time.

Dae-ryong looked at me as he turned his face in his hand. Then, using the armrest of the sofa as a pillow, he looked at me again and lay down. He didn’t even care that his parents were there, and he then said while rubbing my shoulder with his small hand.

“I want to sleep with Young-hyun hyung…”

He said Young-hyun…

But because it wasn’t wrong, so I didn’t fix it.  I had that much sense, too. Instead, I gently stroked Dae-ryong’s thin hair. I could feel Lim Dae-han poking my butt from behind, but I didn’t react.

“Dae-ryong, let’s sleep together.”

Dae-ryong turned to Lim Dae-han after he finished speaking and asked.

“Can I do that?”

Lim Dae-han nodded while squinting one eye while stroking his eyebrows. Dae-ryong’s face which had been gloomy, instantly brightened.

“Good for you, Dae-ryong. Young-hyun-ah, I know it’s hard, but please put up with him for one day.”

His mother asked me to look after Dae-ryong with a pleasant expression. I nodded with a confident expression.

“Don’t worry. There are also Lim Dae-, Dae-han…”

I thought it was a bit odd to call him with his last name in front of her, so I switched my words. I turned my head to the other side as I felt Dae-han’s gaze.

His mother had reorganized the table as she was about to clean up the fruits she had eaten. Just as I was trying to help his mother, Lim Dae-han grabbed my forearm with one hand.

“…What?”

When asked what was going on, Lim Dae-han tilted his head crookedly and pointed to Dae-ryong who was sitting calmly.

“Take Dae-ryong upstairs. I need to talk to my parents.”

“Ah… Okay.”

I reached out to Dae-ryong. Dae-ryong, who had been wiggling on the sofa, rushed up to hug me. I lifted him as hard as I could. He felt strangely heavier than before after only one lunch. It wasn’t quite like that, but…

I hugged Dae-ryong tightly in my arms and bowed my head to his parents.

“Go in and rest.”

I returned the way I came, leaving his parents, who greeted me warmly. I organized my thoughts in my head as I made my way to Lim Dae-han’s room. 

What was Lim Dae-han going to talk about?

“Ah…”

It was then that I remembered the reason I came to Lim Dae-han’s house. It was to uncover Lim Dae-han’s secret, that was about the talk with the teacher. It would have been pretty serious if he needed to talk to his parents without me… I didn’t think I could ask. Of course, he said he would tell me, but I wasn’t sure when. It must be something important. What if Lim Dae-han hid something from me?

My self-confidence, which I had because Lim Dae-han liked me, gradually disappeared.

***