PSY CH 5

Jooyoung knew who he was.

He remembered him not just because his type of appearance was rare in Maeyang, but also because he’d often seen him with Dohyun. The two of them frequently smoked in front of the arcade, and Jooyoung had seen the man helping Dohyun with odd jobs a few times. He was Dohyun’s friend.

“Is Dohyun here by any chance?”

“Dohyun?”

“Yes, Hwang Dohyun.”

The man, who had been lounging casually, suddenly yanked his chair closer.

“What do you want with Hwangdo?”

His tone was as loose as his appearance.

“I have something to give him.”

“Something to give him? What is it?”

The sparkle in his eyes was a bit overwhelming—his curiosity was obvious and direct.

Jooyoung hesitated. Should he wait for Dohyun to show up? Or just leave?

Just then, by coincidence, Dohyun appeared from the right side. As always, he was wearing a long-sleeved anorak despite the weather being over 30 degrees Celsius. His right sleeve was rolled up to the elbow, and both hands, gloved in cotton work gloves, were carrying large envelopes.

“Hangyeol, this—”

He called out to his friend while walking over, but stopped in his tracks when he saw Jooyoung. He looked slightly taken aback, as if he hadn’t expected to see Jooyoung here.

“Hwangdo, this guy came looking for you. Says he got something for you.”

The man with piercing said to Dohyun, leaning forward as he watched the two of them with interest.

Dohyun walked over to the counter, set the two envelopes down beneath it, then raised his arm to wipe sweat from his forehead with his shoulder. Then, in a quiet voice, he said.

“I clearly told you it’s not just an empty word.”

Jooyoung was the only one who understood what he meant.

“I came to give you this.”

“Give me what?”

Dohyun stopped mid-motion as he pushed his hair back and looked down at Jooyoung. His gaze, as expected, was tilted with suspicion. 

“This.”

“…”

“Grandpa told me to give you this.”

Jooyoung held out the envelope in his hand. Dohyun only glanced down with his eyes to check what it was, then asked bluntly.

“What is this?”

“Spending money.”

Jooyoung slightly waved his hand, signaling for him to take it. But Dohyun didn’t accept it right away. He just stared at the envelope with a frown.

“Why would he give this to you…”

“…”

“No.”

Suddenly, with a scowl, he snatched the envelope out of Jooyoung’s hand. Without even pretending to check what was inside, he simply threw it into the drawer—like he’d just received something completely useless.

“So, do you two know each other?”

The man who had been watching with curiosity suddenly butted in. His index finger pointed back and forth between them, and his head moved accordingly.

“How do you know each other? Did the old man introduce you?”

“…”

“Huh? Huh?”

Bang. With a rough shove, Dohyun shut the drawer loudly.

“You leaving or what?”

Jooyoung hadn’t expected a thank-you or anything like that—but he also didn’t expect to be dismissed this obviously. Annoyed, he snapped back coldly.

“I’m leaving.”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

Dohyun was even worse. Although he said “go ahead,” his tone practically indicated “get lost.”

Jooyoung looked at him, bewildered. Of course, the guy couldn’t have cared less about how Jooyoung saw him. As if flipping a switch, he stepped behind the counter and got back to work. It was as blunt a dismissal as outright telling him to get lost.

“…”

Jooyoung felt irritated, but that didn’t mean he had anything specific to say to Dohyun. He was simply annoyed and unfamiliar with how Dohyun had turned into someone else. The fact that he didn’t understand the reason for this change made it all the more frustrating.

“Dohyun used to absolutely adore you.”

Why had Grandpa told such a lie?

He said that Dohyun only ever knew Jooyoung and used to talk about him all the time. That might’ve been true in the past. But now, Dohyun didn’t seem like that at all. On the contrary, he seemed to dislike Jooyoung.

Every time his cold eyes blinked, his long eyelashes fluttered like wings. Jooyoung quietly stared at the counter before turning around. Naturally, Dohyun didn’t stop him. 

***

The house had been unusually busy since the morning. As Jooyoung grabbed his wallet and phone to leave, his aunt called him from the kitchen. On the dining table, there were three or four transparent containers filled with side dishes. Jooyoung looked at them in confusion.

“Can you take this to Dohyun?”

With a clattering sound, the last container was placed on the table. As Jooyoung was checking if there was anything else to help with, he stopped.

“Dohyun?”

“Yeah, just drop it off to him on your way.”

“…”

“The shopping bag… Young-ah, go to the veranda and get a big shopping bag, will you?”

Leaving his busy aunt in the kitchen, Jooyoung went to the veranda. He passed between the densely packed flower pots and pulled out the biggest shopping bag from the box where they were stored. 

Jooyoung carefully unfolded the shopping bag to make it easier for his aunt to pack the side dishes. His aunt glanced at him briefly, then spoke in a cautious tone.

“Mingyu’s dad usually does it, but he had to leave early this morning for something, so…” 

“Sorry?”

“Could you do this for me, just for today?” 

“Ah…”

Only then did Jooyoung realize his aunt had been watching over his reaction and misunderstood his neutral expression.

“No, it’s fine. I’m going that way anyway.”

When Jooyoung smiled, his aunt seemed to relax and smiled back. After packing all the side dishes, the shopping bag had become quite heavy.

“Don’t take the bus for. Just take a taxi.”

His aunt followed him to the front door and pulled 10,000 won from her wallet.

“Aunt, it’s really fine. The bus stop is right in front.”

“Forget it. Seeing how fair your skin is, you’ll get sunburn.”

His aunt shook her head as, saying that his face was as delicate as baby’s butt. Jooyoung knew it was her way of worrying, so he just smiled.

“You know Dohyun lives on the 5th floor, right? Just take it up to him.”

The side dishes were a variety of types: braised beef, marinated beef, stuffed cucumber kimchi, and stir-fried anchovies, all of which his aunt had made herself.

Honestly, Jooyoung wasn’t looking forward to finding Dohyun, but ignoring his aunt’s request was even harder. As he stepped out of the house with her seeing him off, he swallowed a sigh.

Dohyun’s house was on the 5th floor, the top floor of the building that housed the pawn shop. As Jooyoung turned the corner of the stairwell, a security iron gate, typical of mixed-use residential buildings, appeared. Beyond it were more stairs and a front door. The 5th floor seemed to be only his apartment, with no other offices or businesses.

Jooyoung pressed the bell under the rectangular intercom. Buzz—the sharp bell sound of an old house rang out. 

― …Who is it?

Before long, a deep voice came from the intercom.

“It’s me, Jooyoung.”

After stating his name, Jooyoung suddenly thought that Dohyun might not open the door. Hadn’t he been turned away at the arcade just yesterday? Jooyoung calmly explained the reason for his visit.

“I brought you some side dishes. My aunt asked me to give them to you.”

― ……

A brief silence followed. Just as Jooyoung started to think it might have been easier to leave the bag here and go, he heard the clunk of the iron gate being unlocked.

Jooyoung adjusted the shopping bag and climbed the stairs to the front door. A road bike was chained to the railing. When he took the final step, the front door opened.

“…”

Dohyun, holding the door handle, looked down at Jooyoung in silence. He seemed to have just woken up, his hair sticking up like a bird’s nest, and he wasn’t even wearing a shirt. He had thrown on a loose pair of sweatpants, barely covering himself. 

Jooyoung thrust the shopping bag towards him.

“Here.”

Dohyun stared at it for a long moment before finally reaching out to take the bag. Next to his slippers, a small pair of shoes, which didn’t seem to belong to Dohyun, peeked out.

Then suddenly, with a loud bang, the door slammed shut right in front of Jooyoung. The sound was so loud that Jooyoung’s shoulder jerked in surprise.

It wasn’t until a few seconds later that Jooyoung realized Dohyun had taken the side dishes and left without so much as a “thank you” or “I’ll enjoy the meal.

“Huh…”

Jooyoung’s lips parted slightly, and a breath of disbelief slipped out between them.