PSY CH 51
by Lulu“Dohyun-ah.”
“…”
“Hwang Dohyun!”
Thud. At the sound of someone slapping the counter, he slowly raised his head. Standing in front of him was Mr. Kim from the hardware store. He didn’t even realize when the man had arrived.
“Is there something wrong? You didn’t even hear me calling you.”
Dohyun put down his phone and asked, “What is it?” He wanted to know why Mr. Kim had come to the counter. Mr. Kim scratched the back of his neck and said, “Gimme one more clicker.”
Dohyun opened the door behind the counter and came out with a clicker. He dropped it on the counter with a thud, and Mr. Kim grinned broadly.
“Guess I’ve got the magic touch these days—keeps hitting the jackpot.”
His yellow teeth gleamed under the light. Pulling up his belt, Mr. Kim headed back to his spot and immediately stuck a cigarette in his mouth. His stained teeth were probably the result of all the cigarette butts piled high in the paper cup beside him.
As soon as Mr. Kim walked away, Dohyun picked up his phone again. Since yesterday, he’d been picking it up and putting it down, lost in a single thought. It clearly had nothing to do with him, but he couldn’t shake it from his mind.
“…”
He tapped his index finger nervously on the counter. An anxiety he couldn’t understand kept creeping in.
After a while, Dohyun acted on impulse and opened his contacts, searching for “Bae Jooyoung.” He kept repeating the same thing to himself: reaching out to Jooyoung right now had nothing to do with Jooyoung meeting Hangyeol. They had an agreement, and Jooyoung was supposed to keep his word.
It had been five days since he last saw him—by now, Jooyoung’s body should’ve recovered. That’s all this was.
It took him another five minutes before he actually made the call.
— Hello.
Jooyoung’s voice on the phone sounded even more subdued than in person.
How many years had it been since they’d last spoken on the phone? They’d become physically intimate, but this was their first phone call since reuniting. The thought struck him as oddly surreal.
“It’s me.”
— …
“Today…”
His heart was beating too fast, making his voice crack.
“Ahem, come today.”
He bowed his head low, repeatedly running his hand over the back of his neck. His hair had grown out, and his fingers kept getting tangled in it.
— I can’t today.
Jooyoung’s refusal broke the long silence. Dohyun’s hand stopped mid-motion. He hadn’t expected Jooyoung to say no—he wasn’t in a position to refuse.
“Why not?”
— I have plans.
“What plans?”
— Do I need to tell you that, too?
Dohyun let out a dry, incredulous laugh. It wasn’t wrong per se, but he was irritated because it was obvious Jooyoung couldn’t come due to a promise he made with Hangyeol. What could be so important about a promise like that?
“I…”
— …
“Did I ever say you could say no?”
Even to his own ears, his voice sounded cold.
— …Haah.
A low sigh came through the receiver. Dohyun pressed one hand against the counter, his lips tightly sealed. The situation was taking a turn he hadn’t anticipated, leaving him both frustrated and furious.
— I’m not feeling well.
“…”
— Is that a good enough reason?
Dohyun rubbed the inside of his cheek with his tongue. It was obviously a lie. Just recently, Jooyoung had shamelessly asked Sunwoo to see CCTV footage, claiming something had been stolen. That alone said everything—Jooyoung was the kind of person who’d say anything to get out of a situation. He’d always been like that, even as a kid.
“Tell me, what’s wrong with your body?”
— Just a bit of a cold.
“…”
— I’ll come tomorrow… or the day after.
When Dohyun didn’t respond, Jooyoung added in a coaxing tone.
— It’s not like I’m saying I won’t come.
“…”
— Dohyun-ah.
His heart dropped with a thud at that familiar tone—the soft voice Jooyoung always used whenever Dohyun was being stubborn. The gentle expression the older man always wore—it all came flooding back, as vivid as ever.
Like cool rain hitting an empty void, a strange sense of satisfaction washed over him.
And the moment he realized that, his face flushed hot. The sensation of it burning up was unmistakable.
Unbelievable. Just hearing that voice trying to soothe him made him feel as full as if he’d had a proper meal.
His feelings for Jooyoung were so complicated that even he couldn’t define them. He hated him when he stared with those emotionless eyes. He was angry when Jooyoung cut him down with brutal honesty. And yet…
When he realized that this larger-than-life figure inside him was finally falling, it was exhilarating.
That was why he kept provoking Jooyoung. That was why he kept seeking him out. That was the only reason.
Really, there wasn’t any other reason…
— Dohyun-ah?
He clenched his teeth desperately.
“I’ll call you tomorrow.”
His throat felt like it was going to close up completely, so he just hung up.
***
Even though it was a Monday, the sashimi restaurant was crowded. It occupied the entire two-story building, and judging by the spacious hall, it seemed to be one of the larger establishments in the area. However, unlike the noisy outside, the private room with two four-person tables was as quiet as a secluded mountain.
Creak—the door opened, and Hangyeol walked in. He had a bottle of soju and beer in his hands.
“Hyung, here’s the alcohol.”
Behind him, the hall was packed with people. He must have been really busy—his usually wavy hair was even more disheveled than usual.
“I’m really, really sorry, hyung. All of a sudden…”
Hangyeol’s eyebrows drooped as he made a regretful face. He clearly hadn’t expected things to turn out this way. They had originally planned to eat together here, but a last-minute group reservation had forced him to get pulled away.
Jooyoung had said it was fine—he didn’t mind eating alone—but that couldn’t quite soothe Hangyeol’s downcast mood. Perhaps because his expectations had been dashed, he had looked upset for a while now.
“I’ll finish up as fast as I can and come back.”
“It’s okay.”
“I’m the one who’s not okay.”
“Yeah, but I’m really fine.”
Hangyeol blinked, then let out a half-hearted smile. He realized Jooyoung truly was fine, not just saying it to put him at ease. Taking the bottle opener from his apron and placing it down, he added, “Still, I’ll be back soon.”
“If you run out of anything, just let me know.”
“Okay.”
After Hangyeol left, still looking reluctant, Jooyoung picked up his chopsticks. Whether this was the usual spread or something Hangyeol had brought out specially, Jooyoung didn’t know—but even though the sashimi hadn’t arrived yet, the table was already full of side dishes.
He poured himself a glass of beer and took a sip. Maybe it was because he hadn’t drunk in a while, but even just beer tasted terribly bitter.
“Did I ever say you could say no?”
Anyone would’ve heard the irritation in that voice.
Jooyoung had come here today despite knowing there was nothing good to be gained from upsetting Dohyun, because of the call he’d received from his older brother. Alongside the news that he’d found a new hospital, it was the first time in a long while that his brother had reached out. And that was precisely the subject Jooyoung had been avoiding all along.
“Don’t you know the whole family’s worried about you? What are you even doing right now?”
“Who asked them to worry? I’ll take care of it myself.”
“Bae Jooyoung, you’re not a kid.”
No matter how sensitively Jooyoung reacted, Joosung always remained cold and firm. It was a fight he could never win. And even knowing that, Jooyoung had stubbornly said no, and of course, Joosung hadn’t accepted it.
The new hospital was about an hour away by car from Maeyang. Joosung said he’d come down soon to hand over the car, then hung up. Now, going back to Seoul felt even more unlikely.
It felt like stepping into a swamp; his mood kept sinking lower. There was no way he could meet Dohyun like this. It was just by chance that he thought of Hangyeol. Or rather, remembered the promise he made with him.
Truthfully, Jooyoung had planned to cancel that day’s plans, but changed his mind. He figured that if he had to deal with Hangyeol’s nonstop chatter, he wouldn’t have time for stray thoughts. Of course, things hadn’t gone as expected, and he ended up dining alone—but sipping beer slowly, he started to think maybe that was for the best.
“…”
Staring out at the dark blue sea through the window, he suddenly realized the outside was getting noisy. There were group customers, so it hadn’t been quiet to begin with, but now the sound of conversation felt like it was drawing closer.
Just as he turned his head, the door opened. Hangyeol, who had left just a moment ago, appeared again.
“Hyung!”
Before Jooyoung could even ask what was going on, his expression stiffened. Someone else came into view beside Hangyeol, who had stepped aside.
“You should eat with Hwangdo!”
It was Dohyun.
TL’s Note:
Hi, Lulu’s here. Sorry, I have to repeat this announcement since I’m being stupid and set the time to release free ch 50 before my usual schedule.
In case you missed the previous announcement, the Daily Update has ended. From now on, the schedule will be three times a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Thank you for taking an interest in this story and reading this far. I hope you enjoy the story so far.
I must say, I have finished reading the whole story, and I enjoyed the character growth of Jooyoung and Dohyun. Right now, it might seem like they do so many hurtful things towards each other, but trust me, all is part of their growth.
Another thing that I want to address:
* As long as the site is still on, I will keep unlocking every chapter for free as scheduled.
* For people who have unlocked at least 80% of the advanced chapter and left a comment at the end of the novel (Side Story Part 10), I will send you the formatted PDF of this story to the email you used to comment for free. But it’s not just any comment. I want to keep improving my translation and bring you an interesting story.
So, here are the rules:
1. Please comment on whether you enjoyed the story and what was the most memorable part for you.
2. How do you rate my translation out of 10? Is there any problem you want to address with my translation?
3. What type of genre/story do you usually enjoy?
4. This benefit will only be available until we reach Free Unlock to Chapter 75 (03/09/2025).
PS: It’s totally okay if you want to keep reading for free until the end. But if you enjoy the story, you want to support me so I can keep translating interesting BL for you, and you want to collect the story for your collection, I will provide the PDF version on my Ko-Fi store. The bundle price will be more or less the same as unlocking the advanced premium chapter, and it will only be available after I have unlocked all the chapters for free. (Link will be provided at the end of the novel)