PSY CH 114

Jooyoung decided to keep quiet about the pills for now. He’d considered bringing it up a few times, but every attempt fizzled out. Thinking of how embarrassed Dohyun got over small mistakes, it didn’t feel like a topic he could broach so easily.

Especially not now, when Dohyun was slowly starting to change. Jooyoung didn’t want to disturb that peace.

Not long ago, they had gotten matching rings.

Maybe Dohyun hadn’t expected his request to be accepted so quickly, because he seemed stunned the whole time. Even so, Jooyoung would catch him every so often fidgeting with the ring by himself. He thought that it was quite endearing—how such a big guy couldn’t hide his emotions like a child.

“Anyway, that’s what I decided!”

Arin hadn’t visited the pawnshop in a while, but when she did, she brought unexpected news.

She was going to live with her boyfriend, not in Maeyang, but in Busan.

“I thought you said you couldn’t move out until your siblings graduated.”

Arin had always wanted to leave Maeyang, but she’d said in a bitter voice that she couldn’t because of her younger siblings. That she needed to stay until at least one of them graduated.

“She dropped out.”

“Your sibling?”

“Yeah. The third one.”

Arin tapped her foot under the sofa.

“For whose sake that I stuck living here, and now this? I can’t even…”

Her expression was tangled and conflicted, like she’d been through a lot.

“But then I thought, maybe they do it because they believe in me. Like, if things get bad, ‘noona will fix it or unnie will take care of it.’”

“…”

“And when things go wrong, it’s always my fault.” 

She said realizing that had made her feel suddenly hollow.

“I’m not their parent.”

Leaning heavily back into the sofa, Arin stared blankly up at the ceiling. The LED lights looked too bright in a space worn down by time.

She still seemed full of thoughts, but it looked like her decision was final. After checking the time, she stood up, stretched, and smiled wide enough to show her teeth.

“Anyway, since that’s how it is, we’ve got to have a farewell party before I go.”

“It’s just the two of us. What’s the point of a party?”

“You’re being cold again,” she grumbled.

Even as she left the pawnshop, she insisted there would be a farewell party. Maybe she was the breadwinner of her household, but in moments like this, Arin just looked her age.

Just like how Dohyun sometimes looked like a child.

Left alone, Jooyoung’s thoughts naturally returned to Dohyun. He couldn’t stop worrying about him.

Going to a psychiatrist and taking medication wasn’t anything special. Of course, if it had led to public trouble like it had with Jooyoung, it’d be a different story—but that didn’t seem to be the case with Dohyun. So he really didn’t need to worry so much…

Then why couldn’t he stop thinking about it?

Doing something like this wasn’t like him.

Jooyoung had always been self-centered, no matter the situation. He swore he’d never once cared about someone else’s misfortune or problems.

The only person who had ever really stuck in his mind was Dohyun, back when they were kids.

“…”

It felt strange, like wearing clothes that didn’t fit. Uncomfortable, but his thoughts kept drifting in one direction. It was truly hard to change the flow. As he fidgeted with the pill packet in his hand, he was lost in thought. His face, tinged with emotion, looked like a sulky child.

That was when someone entered through the metal door Arin had forgotten to shut behind her. Jooyoung quickly slipped the packet into a drawer to greet the guest.

He was surprised when he saw who it was. The man standing beyond the counter was Hangyeol.

He shifted uncomfortably, glancing between Jooyoung and the wall, as if unsure what to do. After some hesitation, he finally spoke.

“You were working at my parents’ restaurant that day… right, hyung?”

To that, Jooyoung replied indifferently, “Yeah.”

“Why?”

Rather than asking why, his tone sounded slightly accusatory. So Jooyoung was about to say, “It has nothing to do with you.”

“I know better than you how that bastard lived—that’s why I’m saying this.”

… If he hadn’t remembered Hangyeol saying that once.

“…”

After a brief pause, Jooyoung stood from his chair and came out from behind the counter. Hangyeol looked a little startled by Jooyoung’s approach but stood firm, eyes glaring.

“Dohyun hurt his hand,” He said abruptly, without any preface, so Hangyeol didn’t immediately understand. “But your parents called him to help at the restaurant anyway. So I went instead.”

It seemed he hadn’t been told the full story, as he began to look flustered.

“Ah, I-I didn’t, I mean…”

Jooyoung cut him off before he could say more.

“You said you’ve been friends with Dohyun since middle school, right?”

“Huh? Y-yeah,” Hangyeol answered with a bewildered expression.

“Was Dohyun clumsy back then too?”

“Huh?”

“You said he’s always been clumsy, remember?”

Hangyeol, who had come all the way here after working up his courage, looked bewildered. He had no idea why Jooyoung was asking this. After a brief silence, Jooyoung opened his mouth again.

“The scars on Dohyun’s arm…”

“…”

“Do you know how Dohyun got those scars?”

Was it really just from being clumsy? Then why did he have so many scars?

If anyone knew Dohyun well enough to answer, it wasn’t his grandpa who occasionally looked in on him, nor his aunt who sometimes brought him side dishes. It was Hangyeol who was standing right in front of him.

Considering how he reacted when he found out about Jooyoung and Dohyun’s relationship, maybe Hangyeol knew more than Jooyoung had expected.

“Those scars… it’s just…”

Hangyeol muttered, lost in thought. His gaze drifted across the floor before stopping abruptly and turning back to Jooyoung.

“Why are you suddenly asking about that?”

Just moments ago, he’d been hesitant and unsure—but now his voice turned sharp again. Like he was rebuilding the wall he’d almost let fall. A clear boundary could be felt from him.

“You come here to thank me, didn’t you?”

Jooyoung’s words struck a nerve, causing Hangyeol to flinch.

“What? No! I just wanted to know what your intentions are!”

Like an animal puffing up in front of a threat, he lifted his chin defiantly.

“You’re trying to win me over or something, so you can do something to Hwangdo—!”

“Win you over?”

Jooyoung laughed, unable to hide his amusement. Hangyeol, who had been firing off accusations, clammed up at Jooyoung’s reaction. He stood there sulking for a while before finally mumbling, “…My mom said to bring you and Hwangdo over.”

His cheeks had turned noticeably red.

“She wants to treat you to a meal.”

“…”

“She said she was really thankful… for that day…”

Muttering curses under his breath, Hangyeol rubbed his face roughly with both hands. His exaggerated gestures and erratic behavior were just as Jooyoung remembered. For a moment, it almost felt like the hostility between them had never existed.

“That’s what I came to say.”

That day, Hangyeol’s mother gave him a white envelope containing payment as she saw him off. It held 200,000 won—an excessive amount for just half a day’s work.

When Jooyoung told Dohyun about it, he said that was the usual rate. That sometimes, when someone was desperate for cash, they’d try to coax Hangyeol into going in his place. However, most didn’t do a good job of it.

And yet, they were even offering him a meal. It wasn’t necessary, but since it was a suggestion from an elder, it felt awkward to refuse.

“When?”

“Any day but the weekend, I guess…”

Hangyeol scratched his jaw with a sour expression.

“Just pick a day with Hwangdo and let me know.”

As he turned to leave, Jooyoung asked, “Did your runaway plan fail?”

Hangyeol stopped in his tracks.

“I saw you that day.”

“That day?”

“When you entered the terminal.”

A short silence followed before Hangyeol spun around. His face turned bright red, like it might burst. 

“You saw me? From where? How?!”

Panicking, he belatedly raised his arms to cover his face and blinked rapidly.

“I passed by in a car.”

“Why were you watching me?!”

Hangyeol shouted, almost like a scream, startled by Jooyoung’s casual tone. Jooyoung frowned slightly, then relaxed and replied with indifference:

“If there’s something else you want to do, it’s better to just tell your parents directly.”

“…”

“What’s the point of running away?”

“Even if I told you, you wouldn’t care.”

Jooyoung slowly looked him up and down.

“Do you even have something you want to do?”

Flinching, Hangyeol clenched his fists and snapped like a kid, “I do, okay?!”

Jooyoung stared quietly, then stepped closer.

“You have my number, right?”

“Wha—? Yeah.”

“If I want to win your favor, how do I do that?” 

A brief pause ensued before Hangyeol blurted, “What?” in disbelief. He had been the one to bring up the idea of Jooyoung trying to win him over, but he hadn’t actually expected Jooyoung to say it out loud.

“I want to hear about Dohyun from you.”

“…”

“But I figured… you wouldn’t tell me unless I earned it.”

Hangyeol swallowed hard without even realizing it.