PSY CH 54
by Lulu“Hwangdo? Really?”
“Yeah. He used to be a lackey.”
“Wow, that’s gotta be the most unbelievable thing I’ve ever heard.”
Hangyeol scanned Dohyun from top to bottom. With his sturdy build and unusually striking face, even back when they first met in middle school, Dohyun had already secured his place among their peers. Partly due to his personality, but mostly because he had a naturally intimidating presence.
To hear that same Dohyun had been someone’s lackey—it was so absurd that Hangyeol assumed Jooyoung was joking and laughed. That’s when Dohyun, who had been quietly listening, suddenly cut in. He dropped his crossed arms onto the table and leaned forward slightly.
“What? Didn’t you have more to say about that?”
“More? Like what?”
Hangyeol’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. But the one who answered wasn’t Jooyoung—it was Dohyun.
“Sidekick.”
“…”
“Twin popsicle.”
Nicknames similar to ‘lackey,’ but with a slightly different nuance. Hangyeol tilted his head.
“Twin popsicle? What does that even mean?”
He pleaded with them to let him in on the joke instead of keeping it to themselves, but Jooyoung and Dohyun just stared at each other in silence. Despite Hangyeol’s attempt to lighten the mood, the strange tension between them lingered.
After a moment of heavy silence, Jooyoung let out a sigh. He rubbed his forehead tiredly and pushed back his chair to stand up.
“You guys are staying, right?”
“Huh?”
“I think I’m a little drunk. I’ll head out first.”
“What? Are you leaving?”
Hangyeol, startled, jumped up when he saw Jooyoung grab his phone and wallet.
“Sit down.”
“I’ll walk you to the front, at least.”
Jooyoung was about to say it’s fine, but gave up when he saw Hangyeol already by his side. He didn’t have the energy to argue. Jooyoung was halfway out of the room when he stopped at Dohyun’s unexpected words.
“I’ll call you tomorrow.”
With a slight jerk of his chin, Dohyun added, “You know what I mean.” Just enough to get under Jooyoung’s skin.
“…”
Jooyoung shot him a glare before turning sharply on his heel. The door slammed behind him with surprising force. Hangyeol glanced at Dohyun with questioning eyes before hurrying after Jooyoung.
Left alone, Dohyun twirled his glass as he listened to their distant voices bickering over who would pay. The liquor inside sloshed around.
He didn’t understand why the hell was he in such a shitty mood? Jooyoung, who barely moved the corners of his mouth when talking to him, had been laughing easily while chatting with Hangyeol. Just earlier, even. When Dohyun came back from a smoke, he’d clearly heard Jooyoung’s laughter through the closed door.
“…Fuck.”
He cursed under his breath and gripped his glass tightly. The liquor spilled, chilling his fingers.
“I put hyung in a cab.”
Before long, Hangyeol returned after seeing Jooyoung off. He sat down, looking serious.
“Hey, Hwangdo, what the hell was that earlier? You scared the crap outta me.”
He clutched his chest dramatically, saying he thought his heart was gonna drop.
“Why don’t you just talk to him? Just be honest.”
“…”
“Whatever happened… maybe it’s a misunderstanding, you know?”
Hangyeol cautiously poured them both a drink. It seemed he really believed it might all be a big misunderstanding between the two.
“Hyung seems like a good guy. If you just brought it up first, I think he’d hear you out.”
He was someone who drew clear lines around people, but once someone crossed those lines, Hangyeol rarely thought badly of them. And unusually, Jooyoung had crossed that line very quickly. There had to be a reason—something that built a bond between the two of them, something Dohyun didn’t know about.
Ugh. It pissed him off.
How Hangyeol acted like he knew Jooyoung better than he did. How Jooyoung was more at ease with Hangyeol than with him.
Dohyun stood abruptly, his hand crushing the cigarette pack in his fist. Even though he’d been acting like a dick all evening, Hangyeol followed him out without hesitation. The hall had quieted down, and most people were already gone.
“By the way, Hwangdo…”
Hangyeol scratched his lips, lowering his voice.
“I don’t know if it’s just a Seoul thing or what, but hyung kinda gives off this vibe.”
His eyes darted around.
“He’s kinda… cold, you know?”
A wave of warm wind rushed in as they stepped out through the glass door. That distinct salty scent of the seaside hit their noses, familiar to Dohyun above all else.
“You know I’m always careful around him. But yeah… it’s weird—”
“Don’t trust him.”
Hangyeol, who had been kicking at the sidewalk under the streetlight, looked up wide-eyed. Dohyun didn’t seem to care. He raised his hand to block the wind as he lit a cigarette, focusing entirely on the flame. After a deep drag, the tightness in his chest loosened, if only a little.
“Seriously, what the hell going on between you two?”
“…”
“Ah, just tell me.”
“He told you, didn’t he?”
Dohyun replied indifferently, tapping off the ash.
“I was his lackey.”
Even as he said it, Hangyeol still looked like he couldn’t understand. Ignoring him, Dohyun inhaled so deeply that his cheeks hollowed out. No matter how strong the cigarette was, the salty air cut right through it. It clung to his nose.
He hated it. Hated it more than anything.
***
It had been gloomy since morning. The sky, heavy with dark clouds, occasionally released a few drops of rain. The rain, arriving at the tail end of summer, would soon cool the earth.
Days like these also brought in fewer customers than usual. Feeling exhausted, Jooyoung was slumped uncomfortably over his desk. In the silence, the ticking of the clock echoed softly. Whether it was the weather or the meds from the night before, his body felt like it was sinking.
“Ahem, ahem.”
At the sound of a cough, Jooyoung lifted his head. A familiar man stood there.
“Hello.”
When Jooyoung greeted him, the man chuckled and replied, “Ah, hello there.” It was the same man who had gotten drunk and caused a scene at the pawnshop before—also the one Jooyoung had run into at the convenience store.
Jooyoung waited for him to pull something out. But the man just stood there. No bag, no shopping sack, he was empty-handed. Even his pockets looked flat.
“Are you here to pawn something?”
Jooyoung finally asked. The man scratched his head and said, “Not exactly…” before finally explaining why he came. Without alcohol in his system, his tone was surprisingly polite.
“My wife left something here.”
“…”
“It’s a family heirloom—been in the Choi family for generations. It seems like she was in a rush for money, didn’t know what she was doing, and pawned it. I came to get it back.”
Jooyoung had a bad feeling.
“What exactly did she pawn?”
“A bracelet!”
“…”
“A gold bracelet, twisty-looking like this.”
At his description, Jooyoung immediately remembered the gold bracelet the woman had pawned last week. He stared at the man in silence as the latter continued, now watching Jooyoung’s reaction carefully.
“She definitely left it here…”
“…”
“My mother found out and lost it. Says she’s gonna wring her neck. I gotta clean this up before it blows up, right?”
Jooyoung opened the ledger and found the document the woman had filled out. It listed the amount and detailed information about the item.
“Did you bring the money?”
“Money?”
The man blinked, then let out a sheepish laugh.
“My wife’s bringing it. I just need the item first.”
Absolutely ridiculous. Asking for the pawned item back without paying? Even if he had the money, the shop owner had clearly said never to return pawned items in uncertain cases like this as things could get messy.
“Sorry, but that’s not—”
“C’mon now! She just went to get cash. She’ll be right back!”
“I’m sorry. Your wife needs to come herself.”
“Ahem!”
When Jooyoung didn’t budge, the man coughed repeatedly, clearly annoyed.
“Let’s not cause trouble, huh? Small town like this. You gotta know how to bend the rules.”
“I’m sorry, but even if you’re family, if you’re not the one who pawned it, I can’t give it to you.”
“Even if I bring a family certificate or whatever?”
“Yes.”
“Ahem!”
The man wandered the pawnshop, muttering, “Geez, you people really don’t know how to be flexible, do ya…” before returning to the counter and speaking again.
“So what you’re saying is, no matter what, I can’t get it until she comes back?”
“Yes.”
He rested his elbow on the counter and bounced his leg. Seeing him leaning there, deep in thought for quite a while, Jooyoung assumed he’d gotten caught up in something exhausting again.
“Well, if those are the rules, not much I can do.”
Surprisingly, the man who seemed to be insistent until the end gave up quickly. He stood upright and waved at Jooyoung.
“Alright then, I’ll be back with my wife. You take care.”
Jooyoung felt a bit dazed watching him leave the pawnshop without a second thought. He had expected to deal with him for quite a while, so he couldn’t quite believe how anticlimactically the situation had resolved.
Maybe it was because the man was sober; he was completely different from the last time, when he had kicked over a flowerpot and thrown a fit. It was hard to believe it was the same person.
How could someone act normal like that out here, then go home and beat his wife after a drink?
The image of the woman awkwardly smiling as she wrote her name on the form flashed through his mind, souring his mood.
Jooyoung furrowed his brow and stared at the metal door the man had just walked through, lingering on it for a long moment.