PSY CH 97

Creak—the sound of the metal door opening pulled Jooyoung’s gaze away from his phone. The metal door had stayed firmly shut since the weather turned colder.

“Young-i, you still here?”

It was Sooeun who stepped through the door. She beamed as soon as she made eye contact with Jooyoung through the counter window. In both hands, she carried shopping bags that looked quite heavy. Seeing that, Jooyoung got up from his seat and stepped outside the counter.

“No, no. It’s fine. You stay there.” 

“You really don’t have to keep doing this for me.”

“Aww, it’s nothing.”

Sooeun would show up at the pawnshop now and then to hand him things. Sometimes it was samples of men’s skincare products, other times it was everyday items like wet wipes or tissue boxes. Whenever she came by, she’d chatter endlessly and leave Jooyoung a bit drained, but knowing she meant well, he usually accepted whatever she brought.

“This is something my son uses, so it’s good stuff.” 

The shopping bags were full of baby wipes. There were so many that Jooyoung thought it might be nice to share some with Dohyun.

After handing over the heavy bag, Sooeun made herself comfortable and really settled in. By the time her endless chatter had reached the details of someone else’s living room, she suddenly clapped her hands. 

“Oh right! I heard these days you are always going around with Dohyu-i and Hangyeol?”

Sooeun burst into laughter like it was the most interesting thing.

“Dohyu-i may be young, but he’s so mature and sweet, really.”

“Yeah, Dohyun takes good care of me.”

“Right?”

Naturally, the conversation drifted from Dohyun to Hangyeol.

“But seriously, I don’t know when Hangyeol will come to his senses. Always out and about, giving his parents grief. Tsk.”

Jooyoung had heard that Hangyeol’s parents wanted him to take over their sashimi restaurant. And that Hangyeol didn’t want that at all.

But to adults, it must have looked like he was being immature and selfish. Sooeun made no effort to hide her displeasure, saying that while other people were struggling to find jobs, Hangyeol was throwing away his luck. 

“He’s still young. Maybe he just wants to try something else.”

“Young? He’s old enough to take care of himself now.” 

When Jooyoung laughed, Sooeun clicked her tongue. Then she gave him a playful side-eye. 

“Look at you, defending your friend, huh?”

“It’s not like that.”

“Yeah, right. Young-i, you don’t understand. In Seoul, sure, there are jobs everywhere, but not here.”

She shook her head, saying that, unlike in the city, in a place like Maeyang, Jooyoung has no idea how lucky it is to have a family business to inherit.

“Anyway, it seems like you’re doing well lately. You look much brighter now.”

After going on about local gossip for a good while longer, Sooeun finally left.

Jooyoung sat back down and checked his phone first. He had just spoken with Dohyun, so there shouldn’t have been any new messages, but almost instinctively, he checked to see if Dohyun had texted.

He slowly scrolled up through their chat log. It had been a long time since he exchanged such casual, meaningless texts with someone all day.

He stared at the frosted glass window tinted with a reddish glow, then stood up. It was earlier than the time he had said he’d meet Dohyun, but he decided to close up anyway.

After locking the metal door with a padlock, he headed straight to the adult arcade. As he opened the door covered with a tacky sheet printed with fluffy clouds, a hazy, stale air greeted him first. Scattered throughout the arcade were people who looked like they had been there for a long time. Even though it was dinnertime, their faces—hunched over and smoking—showed no sign of appetite.

He passed them and headed to the counter. But Dohyun wasn’t there.

“…”

Glancing around, Jooyoung’s eyes landed on a curtain hanging over the doorway behind the counter. He remembered Dohyun occasionally coming out from there and moved toward it. Just as he reached to pull back the curtain and open the door— Bang! The door burst open. 

“Huh? He’s not here?”

It was Hangyeol who came out. 

Startled by the figure standing right outside, he let out a short yelp—“Whoa, shit”—then clamped his mouth shut once he realized it was Jooyoung, unlike his usual self, who would rush over with a cheerful “Hyung!” whenever they met.

“Do you know where Dohyun is?”

Hangyeol wore an openly awkward expression, opening and closing his mouth without saying anything. He didn’t even meet Jooyoung’s eyes.

“Bae Jooyoung?”

A voice came from behind. Both Hangyeol and Jooyoung turned toward it at the same time. Dohyun stood there wearing work gloves and holding a toolbox.

At that moment, something briskly passed in front of Jooyoung.

“Hwangdo, I’ll get going.”

Hangyeol was walking quickly, almost as if he were fleeing.

“Jung Hangyeol.”

Dohyun called out. Hangyeol reluctantly stopped but didn’t turn around. He simply stretched one arm behind him and pointed somewhere. 

“The anchor bolts aren’t there. Try looking somewhere else.”

“…”

“I, uh—anyway, I’ve got to watch the store. See ya.”

And with that, Hangyeol disappeared from the arcade in a flash. His behavior was completely out of character, suspicious, even to an outsider.

“…”

Dohyun seemed to sense it too. His face turned slightly stiff as he looked back at Jooyoung. Jooyoung also thought Hangyeol’s behavior was strange. The guy who used to wag his tail like a puppy whenever he saw Jooyoung didn’t just avoid eye contact—he hadn’t even said a word.

But Jooyoung didn’t dwell on it.

“When will you be done?”

Dohyun stepped behind the counter and reached out his hand. Jooyoung stayed still, thinking he was trying to check his temperature, but his hand stopped awkwardly in midair.

Dohyun suddenly lowered his head toward his shoulder. As Jooyoung approached, puzzled, Dohyun stepped back. It was a clear attempt to avoid him.

“Why are you avoiding me?”

Dohyun averted his gaze, embarrassed.

“…I smell like sweat.”

Jooyoung let out a soft laugh at the honest answer.

“I like your sweat smell.”

“…”

“I mean it.”

As he said that, he pulled Dohyun closer. After glancing around, he tugged Dohyun into the room that Hangyeol had just come out of and hadn’t closed the door to. It seemed to be a storage room, with one large metal shelf taking up an entire wall. Various items were messily scattered about. There were no windows, only a small ventilation fan on the ceiling that didn’t seem to be doing much— the air was stuffy and thick.

As soon as Jooyoung shut the door, he stood on his toes and brought his nose to the back of Dohyun’s neck, as if he’d been waiting for the chance.

“Don’t.”

Startled, Dohyun shoved him away. Jooyoung blinked.

“It’s really fine.”

“…I’m not fine.”

Avoiding his gaze, Dohyun zipped up his anorak to the top of his neck, as if wary that Jooyoung might pull the same stunt again if he let his guard down.

“Do you still have work left?”

Unlike internet cafes, where there were usually staff on hand, Dohyun mostly handled the arcade counter by himself. When he wasn’t around, Mr. Kim from the hardware store took over. 

“Just need to tidy up.”

Jooyoung stepped back and watched as Dohyun set down the toolbox and removed his work gloves. Every time he moved, his broad back and shoulders shifted. Perhaps sensing Jooyoung’s eyes, Dohyun slightly turned his body toward him. When their eyes met, Dohyun furrowed his brow just a bit. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Can’t I?”

“Ah, come on…”

Dohyun shook his head in exasperation. Jooyoung probably didn’t mean anything by it, but Dohyun still couldn’t get used to it. He could feel his face heating up.

“…I’m not used to it.”

It seemed he wasn’t the only one who had gone through a change of heart—Jooyoung’s attitude had noticeably shifted, too. Unlike before, when he clung to Dohyun like someone being chased by something, there was now a sense of calm around him. Most of all, the way he looked at Dohyun had completely changed.

So when Jooyoung stared at him like this, Dohyun didn’t know what to do. The words “I want to love you” kept playing over and over in his head, making him dizzy.

“Get used to it quickly.”

“…”

“Because I’m going to keep being like this.”

Leaning casually against the wall, Jooyoung spoke with composure. That calmness was in stark contrast to Dohyun, and while it was a little annoying, it wasn’t unpleasant.

I want to love you.

It felt like he was really trying to keep that promise.

“…Ha.”

Dohyun let out a scoff, feeling ridiculous for assigning such weight to these small, trivial actions. As he moved to toss his gloves onto the shelf with a bitter smile, Hangyeol’s strange behavior earlier suddenly came to mind.

“Earlier.”

“Hm?”

“Did something happen with Jung Hangyeol?”

He fiddled with the gloves as he asked.

“Nothing happened.”

Jooyoung tilted his head slightly. Dohyun stared at him without realizing it, trying to see if he was lying.

“Why?”

“…He just seemed off.”

Dohyun fell silent, lost in thought. Hangyeol’s attitude had definitely left him with a strange feeling. 

“Let’s go eat already. I’m hungry.”

Pressed by Jooyoung, Dohyun decided to ask Hangyeol about it another time and tried to clear his mind. As he adjusted the hem of his white t-shirt beneath the anorak, he followed Jooyoung.

But when Jooyoung opened the door, he didn’t walk out. Instead, he turned to look straight at Dohyun.

“By the way, what was that pill you took this morning?”

It felt like his heart dropped from a great height.

Dohyun stared at the dust floating in the air and licked his lower lip.

“…Just vitamins.”

He hesitated and barely managed to give that weak excuse. His heart was pounding so loudly he was afraid Jooyoung could hear it.

“These days, vitamins come like that, huh.”

Jooyoung stopped at that, thankfully not pressing further. He nodded slightly, like he was convinced, and opened the door first to step out.

“…”

Dohyun swallowed hard. He had no idea Jooyoung had seen him taking the pill.

“You’re not coming?”

When he didn’t follow, Jooyoung peeked his head back into the storage room. Only then did Dohyun slowly start walking. His fingers had turned ice-cold.