PM Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Seeing that Heeseong did not understand him at all, Daesik forced himself to relax his tightly knit brows. He slowly let out his roughened breath, then asked in the gentlest tone he could manage so as not to scare him.

“Which bastard hit you?”

“Ah, no one hit me….”

Heeseong lightly shook his head, and Daesik examined him closely to see if he was lying. After narrowing his eyes, Daesik’s expression twisted strangely when it seemed Heeseong was not lying.

“Then what is it. Did you cry?”

“…Yes.”

“Why.”

Heeseong could not bring himself to tell the truth. Instead, he hesitated, chewing on his plump lips and rolling his eyes around.

“I told you to say something if you’re scared.”

“It’s not because I was scared….”

“Then what?”

Heeseong fidgeted with his hands, hesitated, then lied.

“…I missed my brother.”

It was already his second lie. Feeling like he might get caught by Daesik’s persistent gaze, his heart pounded wildly. Cold sweat soaked his palms. He froze up, doing nothing but avoiding Daesik’s eyes.

At Heeseong’s answer, Daesik suddenly felt a tightness in his chest. Fuck. This feels shitty. He did not know why, but it felt clogged up, suffocating, and irritation flared hot inside him.

He did not understand why Yoon Heeseong crying like a little kid just because he missed his brother bothered him so much. Was it because Heeseong knew nothing about that bastard of a brother whom even he, having known him only briefly, had already noticed something was off about? Or was it simply annoying that he had cried until his gentle eyes were swollen? He could not tell.

Daesik’s narrowed gaze swept over Heeseong’s puffy eyes, nose, and lips. His swollen lips looked just like a flower bud, strangely drawing the eye. Even while feeling irritated, his face, round like a steamed bun, looked kind of cute.

He really looks like an idiot. His lips are all puffed up.

Tilting his head slightly, Daesik clicked his tongue inwardly.

“Why did you come so early?”

“…I lost track of time.”

After hesitating, Heeseong answered honestly. Admitting that he had forgotten felt embarrassing, and his cheeks flushed red. He lightly fidgeted with his lips and stole a cautious glance. He thought he might get scolded.

No matter how generous Daesik was and how much he let things slide, Heeseong, whose self esteem had been worn down by years of verbal abuse mixed with curses, could not help but shrink back.

“From now on, don’t come so early. It’s tiring.”

Daesik said this as he stepped behind the counter, then added to Heeseong who followed him inside.

“And you don’t need to clean either, so don’t do it.”

“Yes….”

Heeseong answered in a small voice after hesitating. Then he felt deeply moved again. At the kimchi factory, they had made him do all kinds of errands and cleaning on top of work, but Daesik did none of that.

Moved once more, Heeseong, with watery eyes, was about to sit down as usual when he startled. In the middle of the office stood a refrigerator he had never seen before. The brand new refrigerator, gleaming brightly, was as huge as Daesik himself.

“Wow….”

An exclamation slipped out of Heeseong’s gaping mouth.

“From now on, take snacks out of here and eat them.”

Heeseong, who had been standing there with his mouth watering, gasped again when he saw the inside of the refrigerator.

“The one in your room will be changed today too, so keep that in mind.”

Heeseong’s eyes widened as if they might pop out. He had not expected it to be replaced so quickly, and he could not close his mouth.

“Thank you, Boss…!”

“Yeah. Work hard.”

Seeing the refrigerator filled with food made his mood float upward. He even felt satisfied, thinking that this must be what it meant to feel full without eating.

He was that happy. He no longer groaned from hunger, did not work until his arms and legs trembled, and no one yelled at him or hit him.

Thinking about it, he had never been this comfortable. Even when he was with his brother, he had often been hit at the orphanage or the kimchi factory, cursed at, sick, and hungry.

His chest tingled again, swaying like nauseating waves. Something spread through him, as if he had drunk warm water. Heeseong bit down on his trembling lips, then pulled out a roll of gimbap and popped one piece into his mouth. For some reason, he felt like he might cry.

As he chewed, an orange juice was suddenly set down on the table.

“I’ll head out for a bit, so eat slowly.”

Daesik added with a lifted corner of his lips as he placed the juice down. Bright sunlight streamed in behind him as he opened the door. For some reason, Heeseong felt dazzled, his heart pounding. Thump. Thump.

* * *

The day passed so quickly that he did not even know how he worked through it. Fortunately, he did not make any mistakes, and he completely forgot about his other worries.

The restless feeling in his chest that had wavered all day finally settled by the time he got off work.

“Goodbye.”

“Yeah. Good work.”

After saying goodbye to Daesik, Heeseong went into his room and let out a long sigh. His chest kept fluttering, making him wonder if he had indigestion. But his stomach kept feeling hungry, which was strange. Whenever he had indigestion before, he usually threw up, so that did not seem to be it.

That’s strange.

Plopping down on the bed, Heeseong pressed on his solar plexus and tilted his head. At that moment, his phone rang. It was the boss.

It was the first time he had called at night. Blinking, Heeseong hurriedly answered.

“Hello?”

-How’s the fridge?

Heeseong blinked slowly. The fridge?

Slowly turning his gaze toward the refrigerator in the room, Heeseong opened his mouth. He had been so distracted by the strange feeling in his chest that he had not even noticed the fridge had changed.

The refrigerator in his room was just as big and shiny as the one in the office.

“It’s so… so nice!”

When he opened the door, food filled to the brim greeted him. Heeseong’s eyes sparkled.

“…I think I can put a lot in since it’s so big!”

-Yeah? Guess you’ll have to eat diligently then.

Heeseong bit his lips, then spoke.

“…Thank you, Boss!”

His chest swelled and fluttered again and again. Like ripples spreading across a calm lake, it gently spread outward. When Daesik’s laughter came through the phone, the fluttering grew a little stronger.

His cheeks warmed as if he had tasted something delicious. His toes tingled, and warmth spread to his fingertips, as if he had slipped under a cozy blanket.

In that moment, the anxiety that had left him pacing in circles, his worries about what to do, and even his concern for his brother all vanished like the wind.

After hanging up, Heeseong lay on the bed, a smile never leaving his face. Joy bloomed across his face, white like a glutinous rice cake, as if flowers were staining it with color.

* * *

When Heeseong woke up in the morning, he let out a huge yawn. He felt strangely tired even though he thought he had slept enough. His body felt a bit heavy too. He was taking his medicine regularly, so why was this happening?

The suppressants Daesik had bought him were expensive ones, so they were not hard on his body. There were no side effects either. Thanks to that, his condition stayed fine even though he took them every day.

But today felt a little different. He felt oddly sluggish and droopy, like when he had experienced side effects from the medicine he used to take before.

That’s strange. I’ve been fine this whole time.

“……”

Or was he just tired? With an uncertain feeling, Heeseong tilted his head slightly. He blinked his big eyes a few times, then decided it must be because he had worked after a long break. Even at the kimchi factory, Mondays after Sundays off had always been more tiring.

Having reached his own conclusion, Heeseong nodded and pushed himself up despite his stiff body. It took a bit of effort, but he neatly folded his blanket anyway. Then he looked at the large refrigerator in the corner of the room and grinned.

It was the refrigerator Daesik had replaced for him. Smiling broadly, Heeseong grabbed some snacks from the fridge and left the room.

“Good morning, Boss!”

Daesik, sitting in the office, grinned at Heeseong’s bright greeting.

“You came right on time.”

At Daesik’s praise, Heeseong’s cheeks lifted into a wide smile. He felt secretly proud that he had arrived neither early nor late, but exactly on time.

Daesik, who chuckled softly at Heeseong’s beaming face, asked while looking at the bundle of foil in his hands.

“What’s that.”

The packaging looked oddly familiar. Sure enough, Heeseong added,

“It’s the tuna gimbap I left over last time.”

Daesik’s eyebrow twitched upward. Eating leftovers. He did not like that at all. He should have replaced all the food in the room fridge.