PSY CH 34

Dohyun stared at Hangyeol in silence. His hair was messy, and his ears were full of piercings. At a certain point, he’d come back with a new piercing every time he fought with his parents. The growing number of them made the neighborhood elders frown, but the girls around them seemed to like it—said it suited him well.

“But the taste’s not worth waiting for.”

“Really? It looks so delicious!”

He suddenly remembered Jooyoung and Hangyeol chatting side by side. The two had completely different vibes, but thanks to Hangyeol’s friendly nature, Jooyoung hadn’t seemed uncomfortable. Quite unlike the Jooyoung he knew.

Dohyun irritably grabbed his lighter and a pack of cigarettes.

“It’s hot as hell out there.”

“So what.”

Ignoring Hangyeol’s startled expression, he headed straight outside.

Blinding sunlight poured down outside, harsh enough to sting the eyes. The awning couldn’t completely block the sun either. Dohyun frowned as he put a cigarette to his lips. His cheap lighter was already out of fuel—tik, tik—it clicked but failed to spark.

“Fuck.”

He muttered the curse under his breath and snapped the cigarette in half. Just as he was thinking about whether there was a new lighter at the counter, he saw Arin walking toward the parking lot on his left. Behind the building, there was nothing but the parking lot and the recycling area, so unless you were a tenant, there was no reason to go there. It was even stranger considering the entrance to Viking Karaoke was on the right.

“…”

Frowning, Dohyun stared in that direction for a moment, then turned and strode off with quick, determined steps.

Walking along the wall, Dohyun quickly spotted Arin. She was talking to someone in the handicapped parking space painted blue. When Dohyun saw who was standing across from her, his steps came to an abrupt halt.

“Sorry about yesterday. I just snapped for a second… Those crazy bitches must’ve thought I couldn’t hear them. Oh right! Was this heavy? It must’ve been super heavy with two blankets.”

“Yeah, it was heavy.”

“Ugh, come on.”

Arin laughed brightly and playfully tapped Jooyoung’s arm. Next to her was a tarpaulin bag containing two thin summer blankets.

“Can you carry it?”

“I came with mister. He parked over there and said he’d wait.”

“Then I’ll carry it over for you.”

“It’s okay. He’ll get jealous.”

Perhaps Jooyoung made a weird face, Arin laughed again. 

“Come on, oppa, with your looks? Of course, he’d get jealous.”

“…”

“Even those old ladies yesterday thought we were dating.”

“Well, that’s…”

“Anyway, you’ve got a face that attracts rumors even when you’re just standing still. So it’s not entirely my fault.”

Dohyun leaned against the building’s outer wall and listened to Jooyoung’s soft laughter. It was a completely different side of him—his voice was relaxed, occasionally laced with chuckles.

Unlike when it was him. Even when he tried to help, all Jooyoung ever did was chase him away…

Dohyun’s lips twisted bitterly.

“But I really am sorry. Because of me, you…”

Arin’s voice dropped too low to catch the rest, but Dohyun clearly saw her laugh and lightly slap Jooyoung’s arm again. The easy, physical closeness between them gave off a sense of intimacy.

“But who knows. They’re both young, good-looking—it could happen in the blink of an eye.”

Jooyoung had pale skin with a pink flush at each joint. His sharp, catlike eyes and short chin gave him an odd, striking look. He was more than attractive enough to draw attention from women.

But was it only women’s attention he drew?

“…”

Dohyun tapped his cigarette pack against the wall. His mood endlessly sank even lower. It felt like someone had grabbed his head and shoved it down. He didn’t know why everything was getting under his skin today, one thing after another.

He didn’t realize he was pressing the pack so hard that it was practically crushed. By the time he noticed, the cigarettes were all bent and unusable.

“…Ha.”

Staring down at the mess, he let out a dry laugh. Suddenly, he wondered what the hell he was even doing—eavesdropping on other people’s conversation, riding this emotional rollercoaster by himself like some kind of idiot…

“Ah, fuck—! Shit, you scared me!”

He hadn’t sensed anyone approaching, yet Arin was standing right in front of him. She must’ve turned the corner at the same time he had—both of them looked equally startled. From behind, Jooyoung called out, “What’s wrong?” and started walking over.

“Ah…”

But the moment Jooyoung met Dohyun’s eyes, he stopped in his tracks. Just moments ago, he’d been smiling—but now, not even a hint of that remained on his face.

“It’s nothing! I’ll go!”

Arin gave Dohyun a quick once-over and scoffed before turning to leave first. That left only Jooyoung and Dohyun behind the building. Since there was only one way out, Jooyoung couldn’t leave without passing Dohyun.

Tension immediately flashed across Jooyoung’s face.

“…Hah.”

The change was so blatant, Dohyun couldn’t help but laugh. He leaned against the wall, posture cocky and lopsided—as if daring Jooyoung to try walking past him. He wasn’t even aware of how childish he was being.

“…”

After a long pause, Jooyoung seemed to realize Dohyun had no intention of stepping aside. Resignedly, he started walking. Amid the haze of cigarette smoke and exhaust, a familiar scent drifted in. It was Jooyoung’s unique scent—sharp and bitter, like a lemon crushed whole, rind and all.

Suddenly, he remembered Arin had smelled similar when she passed by earlier. Just how close had they been standing…? Dohyun’s mood dropped like a rock.

Crunch. Dohyun crushed the cigarette pack in his hand completely. And when Jooyoung brushed past, he reached out and grabbed his arm.

“Ah…!”

“I told you to watch your behavior. In the end, it’s your Grandpa who ends up taking the flak.”

The sudden grip on his arm had been startling enough—what followed was even more confusing. Jooyoung furrowed his brows and looked up at Dohyun.

“What are you even talking about?”

“What are you thinking, hanging around with someone like her?”

Only then did Jooyoung begin to piece it together. Because Arin had a bad reputation, being seen with her had dragged Jooyoung into the same gutter of gossip. Dohyun was worried that this would ultimately cause trouble for Jungseop. Jooyoung could understand that much, but still, a surge of unfairness rose in him.

“I didn’t do anything worth being criticize about. So—”

“Just being seen with her is enough to start it.”

“Why?”

Jooyoung couldn’t help but ask. He hadn’t committed some heinous crime, so why was simply spending time with someone reason enough for condemnation?

“…Why would that be something to get criticized for?”

If it were his Grandpa, Jooyoung was sure the old man would have understood. If anything, he would have shown more kindness after hearing Arin’s story, not less. And Dohyun—someone who had once been close to his Grandpa—should know that.

“Go on. Tell me. Why is being around Arin something to be ashamed of?”

“…”

“If you’re just saying this because other people are gossiping about me…”

Jooyoung raised his arm and shook off Dohyun’s hand.

“Then go ahead and gossip about me, too. Say whatever you want—I don’t care.”

He looked at him one last time before turning away. As he passed the old sign that read “Parking lot in the back”, warm sunlight touched the tips of his toes. The air felt different from the chilly atmosphere behind the building, which had been shielded from the sun.

That’s when a sharp, bitter voice flew in from behind.

“You don’t even get hard for women, do you?”

Jooyoung blinked slowly, not immediately grasping the meaning behind the words.

“Then why are you always fluttering around next to one…”

“…”

“…when you can’t even get it up?”

Forcing his frozen body to move, Jooyoung turned to face Dohyun. Dohyun had his head tilted in that familiar crooked way, eyes shamelessly raking over Jooyoung from head to toe.

Jooyoung opened his mouth, then managed to push out a choked response.

“…That’s sexual harassment. Do not cross the line.”

Dohyun let out a disbelieving laugh.

“Sexual harassment?”

“…”

“Sexual harassment, my fucking ass.”

Gone was the grin—his face turned cold in an instant as he stepped in closer. Under Dohyun’s icy gaze, Jooyoung instinctively drew his shoulders in.

“Hey.”

Even with all his past threats, Dohyun had never called Jooyoung just “hey.” His speech had always had a strange edge to it—sometimes mixing in casual language—but he never forgot to use honorifics. Jooyoung’s eyes wavered violently. The man standing in front of him no longer felt like the Dohyun he knew.

“Did I say anything wrong?”

“…”

“You said you date men. Then it’s true that you don’t get hard for women, do you?”

Jooyoung stared him down with his lips tightly pressed together. He could feel his cheek twitching. There was absolutely no reason he had to listen to this kind of sexual insult from Dohyun.

“But, you know…”

“…”

“I just got curious all of a sudden.”

Dohyun leaned in slightly. A crude smile crept across his lips, and at the same time, his eyes flashed with a murky gleam. 

“Are you the one who plays the girl role?”

Jooyoung’s eyes flew wide open, stunned in disbelief.