PUCKD Ch 66

“Isn’t it pretty, CEO-nim?!”

“It is pretty. It looks like a nice house.”

“Right? It’s Hojae Hojae. You should also give me the answer I want, shouldn’t you?”

“Huh? Uh.”

“Look at you answering vaguely. Did you even see the light come on? I’ve been looking at the CEO-nim’s face since earlier, haven’t I?”

At those words, I flinched as if burned and lowered my gaze. His gaze followed my cheek. At the right time, Ji Minchul held out a paper cup.

“Mr. Hojae won’t drink, but CEO-nim drinks alcohol, right?”

He had said he bought soju by the case for today, but the type of alcohol had just been changed to whiskey thanks to me. Junghyun smiled and took the paper cup.

I was slightly worried that his condition hadn’t improved, but seeing him accept the alcohol, he seemed to be fine. Seeing that, Hojae poured water into his own cup.

“Congratulations to everyone invited to the opening ceremony of Doomin’s second chapter of life.”

Doomin stood up and began a toast using a spoon as a microphone. The face that referred to himself in the third person was utterly shameless.

“I heard that only very special and carefully selected guests were invited to today’s opening ceremony? They are all people who sincerely cheer for and love Doomin. Thanks to all of you, Doomin was able to throw open the door to the second chapter of his life.”

Doomin, who had been speaking with his hand on his chest, finished his speech and sniffled. Minchul, who was next to him, quickly tore off some toilet paper and handed it over.

“Everyone is so moved right now that their eyes are teary, but I’m having a clueless runny nose, aren’t I? I have rhinitis, you see. Ah! My nose is going to get all raw with this tissue!”

We all laughed at Doomin throwing away the tissue with an irritable tone.

“Anyway. Everyone should feel proud that without you, Doomin’s second chapter of life wouldn’t exist. I said it like a joke, but you know it’s sincere, right? CEO-nim, I was truly grateful back then. I am genuinely happy that I can treat you like this.”

“Doomin-ssi. Sorry to interrupt, but our precious meat is burning right now.”

“Oh my! Alright, cheers~!”

“Cheers~!”

The paper cups clinked in the air, making a weak sound.

After the game ended, I hadn’t put anything in my mouth, so I was extremely hungry. For today, Hojae also planned to eat as much as he wanted without worrying about his diet.

Junghyun often laughed out loud watching Doomin and Minchul bicker like a comedy duo. He looked much more relaxed than when he was alone with me or at the club.

Not only his slightly loose posture and easy laughter, but his facial muscles themselves looked somewhat relaxed. Does he laugh this comfortably in front of close friends?

I couldn’t help but realize anew how fragmentary the image of Junghyun I knew was. I felt a little ashamed of myself for thinking I knew everything about him just from seeing those snippets. Hadn’t there been plenty of things I didn’t know even about the affairs of his decade-long friend, Doomin?

My negative view of him was only because I myself wanted to see only that side of Kwon Junghyun. I was busy always trying to win the battle of wills and being sarcastic towards him.

“Ah.”

While Doomin and Minchul were briefly absent because they ran out of food, a very small exclamation was heard next to me.

I looked next to me and saw him wiping his own hand with his hand. It seemed like oil had splattered. Only then did I notice that his seat was close to the frying pan.

And what about the clothes he was wearing? Unlike the other three who were dressed so oil splattering wouldn’t matter, he alone was wearing a suit jacket.

“CEO-nim.”

Shin Hojae immediately took off the thick hooded zip-up he was wearing. Although it was an old, well-worn garment, it had thick fleece lining inside, making it quite warm.

“Take off your jacket and wear this.”

At those words, Junghyun’s gaze followed. Hojae quickly provided a suitable reason.

“I’m worried about oil splattering on your expensive clothes.”

“And Mr. Hojae’s clothes are fine?”

“I can just wash this, but suits are hard to wash.”

As I reached out my hand, looking as if I would take his jacket off myself if he didn’t, Junghyun took off his jacket himself. The neatly tied necktie stood out.

“Untie your tie too. It’s stuffy, isn’t it?”

Junghyun stared at Hojae’s face and then slowly untied his tie, neatly folded it, and put it in his jacket pocket. Then, he obediently put on the hooded zip-up that Hojae gave him.

Stopping Junghyun, who was about to sit down, Hojae grabbed the zipper and pulled it up for him.

Even if it was fully zipped, the neckline of the clothing was large so it wouldn’t be very stuffy, but just in case, I didn’t zip it all the way up, leaving about 5cm of space at the top. I straightened the hood that was flipped back and then took a step back.

Only then did his appearance come into view. Due to the large size, the sleeve length slightly covered his hands. He suits this hooded look better than expected. If he also lowered his hair, he would look no older than a college student.

“I think Mr. Hojae might be cold.”

“I don’t really get cold.”

“…Then I’ll wear it well. This is the third time Mr. Hojae has given me his outer layer.”

At those words, Hojae stopped in the act of sitting down and looked back at Junghyun.

Three times? Ah.

I had completely forgotten about taking off my outer layer for him during the training camp. I had forgotten because I hadn’t given it with the same feeling as now back then. But even counting that, it shouldn’t be three times.

“Isn’t it the second time?”

“Ah, right. It was the second time. I was confused.”

“……?”

Could someone be confused about such a thing? Hojae, tilting his head, suddenly frowned.

He must have mistaken me for someone else. There was no other reason to be confused. Who could it be? Coach Peter?

Well, even thinking normally, Peter was the most likely candidate. They were close enough to touch noses, after all. My mouth tightened as I became unnecessarily displeased.

Just then, Doomin and Minchul arrived noisily, carrying a large frying pan.

“Everyone. You’ve been waiting long, haven’t you! Sausage assortment platter is served!”

Doomin, who was setting down the nicely browned, appetizing sausages, shivered.

“Wow. It’s really cold outside after being inside. Aren’t you two cold?”

“Shall we go inside and eat? We’d have to sit on the floor, though. Is that okay, CEO-nim?”

“Of course.”

I was just about to turn off the portable burner because it was cold. The four of us moved to the inside area.

In the space that was a kitchen, living room, and bedroom combined, we unfolded a single-person folding table, transferred the sausages onto plates, and made space.

It was warm inside, so an outer layer didn’t seem necessary anymore. However, Junghyun unexpectedly sat there without taking off the hood.

Was he very cold? I should have paid attention sooner. I didn’t think that far because I don’t really feel the cold.

I was full, so I didn’t reach much for the sausages. Junghyun was the same, only sipping the alcohol in the paper cup. Perhaps the warmth after being in the cold made him feel a little tipsy, as his eyes were slightly unfocused.

He inserted his finger inside the collar of his shirt and stroked it. The slightly reddish skin was briefly exposed and then disappeared. The problem was that the indoor lighting was bright unlike the outside, so it was too clearly visible.

Hojae’s eyes hurriedly darted elsewhere, like someone who had seen something they shouldn’t. However, what had been seen was not going to be erased from memory.

It was an irresistible force that an unwholesome scene flashed through my mind.

Myself pressing Junghyun against the wall, pulling open his shirt collar, and sucking on that seemingly soft skin. It was an incident from the Tohoku away game that I vaguely remember.

“Mr. Hojae, are you hot? Your face is red.”

“Oh, it is hot.”

Hojae, jolted back to his senses by Minchul’s words, took off the sweatshirt he was wearing. The white t-shirt underneath rode up with it, revealing and then hiding his abs.

At the same time, he subtly bent one knee while sitting so that they wouldn’t notice. It was because his lower body was starting to react slightly.

Doomin, who had made a voice of admiration or teasing, saying ‘Oh, abs,’ suddenly asked Junghyun.

“CEO-nim, did you know? When Hojae Hojae blushes, it’s not his cheeks, but the corners of his mouth that turn red?”

“Other people don’t know it well, but if you look closely, he blushes quite often.”

“Really?”

Junghyun tilted his head to check his face. Hojae quickly turned his head away to avoid him.

“But CEO-nim, should I give you some hand cream? The back of your hands are red.”

“Did I stay outside for too long earlier?”

“Ah, it’s okay. It’s not chapped, it’s because I have a habit of biting the back of my hands.”

“The back of your hands?”

Junghyun replied to Doomin, who asked with wide eyes, as if it was no big deal.

“I had a habit of biting my nails when I was little, and I got scolded a lot by my mom. I used a trick to avoid being scolded and developed a strange habit.”

“Huh? Even someone like CEO-nim gets scolded by his mom? That’s unbelievable. His mother must not have raised a kid like me. She’d see me cleaning out the dresser in a skirt and think, ‘My son is a fairy, isn’t he?’”

Junghyun smiled without replying as Doomin burst into laughter. His mother, whom I had only seen once, naturally came to mind.

Hojae glanced down at his hands. I had noticed they were unusually red every time I saw them, but hadn’t paid much attention.

Got scolded, huh. I felt that such a mother wouldn’t stop at just scolding him verbally. Would she have severely pressured him or used corporal punishment?

I felt sorry for his childhood self, whom I had never seen. Hojae almost casually brought his hand close to the hand he was letting hang loosely.

His pinky finger and my pinky finger touched. I felt Junghyun’s hand flinch, only noticeable to me, but that was all. He didn’t pull his hand away and maintained his posture.

The area of contact was less than 1cm in diameter, but warmth slowly traveled through it. I couldn’t tell if my hand was hot or his hand was hot, but the area of contact was particularly warm.

Shin Hojae suddenly felt an impulse to just grab this hand. Along with the desire to hug him back, just like he had hugged me at the funeral.

I swallowed a dry lump in my throat. But Hojae couldn’t do it in the end.

The thought that he might not want my hasty consolation flashed through my mind like an excuse, and also because his decade-long friends were right in front of us.

Even under the table, holding hands would be noticeable. The table was small, so it would be visible if one looked down. In fact, I could see the two people sitting side-by-side across from us holding hands intertwined.

Shortly after his father’s funeral, Minchul briefly reported to Hojae, who was in rehab, that there had been progress between him and Doomin. That was that they had officially decided to date.

It wasn’t very surprising, as I had suspected it around the time of the Tohoku away game. If anything, I thought it was a little late. Even today, Minchul’s belongings were noticeable here and there in the room, so I figured they were semi-cohabiting.

“But our announcer-nim. Don’t you think he’s interested in Hojae Hojae?”

Doomin opened his mouth, dipping a chicken breast sausage deep into mustard sauce.