SHUDDER 19

drrrr… drrrr….

In the quiet darkness, the overturned cellphone vibrated, emitting a faint light. As the tenacious vibration persisted, sounding as if it might stop at any moment, an arm slid out from under the blanket. It fumbled across the floor, which had grown cold overnight, searching for the source of the vibration. Soon, the cellphone, which had been trembling all by itself, was caught in that hand.

He brought the cellphone right in front of his face and stared at the screen for a long while. However, it was not an easy task to even lift his eyelids, which were heavy with sleep. He furrowed his brow as much as he could and rubbed his eyes with his hand, but his vision would not clear up. His hazy eyes, unable to overcome the drowsiness, kept closing.

Gijeong gave up on checking the caller’s identity and roughly put the cellphone to his ear. He somehow managed to press the call button, but his lips, which were stuck together, would not part. He just mumbled and moved his lips, and only when the other person said, “Hello?” was he finally able to squeeze out his voice.

“…Yes, hello. This is Yeom Gijeong.”

— Mr. Gijeong? Were you still sleeping?

It was a familiar voice. Who could it be? Assistant Manager Min suddenly came to mind in his drowsy brain. They were not close enough to exchange personal calls. Therefore, the fact that she was calling on a holiday like today must surely be about work.

He slightly turned his head to check the wall clock. The short hand was approaching eleven o’clock. The sky had been overcast since morning, making it impossible to gauge the time, but it seemed he had slept through breakfast. Still, it was not such a big deal to sleep in on a weekend.

Gijeong turned his body over and lay on his stomach. Then he shook his head to chase away the sleepiness and cleared his throat.

“No. I woke up a little while ago. But what is it about?”

— It is about the service quality report that needs to be submitted by tomorrow morning. I was trying to revise it a little more when it saved improperly and I lost almost all of it. I rushed out here now and I am rewriting it, and I need the promotion performance analysis and the customer evaluation report that you handed over to me. Where are they?

He had wondered how she ended up working on a special assignment when there was nothing particularly urgent at the company, but her circumstances were truly unfortunate. Could there be anything as disheartening and futile as having to redo work that was almost finished? Assistant Manager Min’s voice over the phone sounded so desperate and urgent that he quickly came to his senses.

“Ah, those files, I have gathered them all in the report folder on my computer’s desktop. Could you turn on my computer for me?”

— Okay. Just a moment.

Assistant Manager Min’s voice grew slightly distant. Soon, he heard a sound like a computer powering on. Assistant Manager Min let out a small sigh as she waited for the computer to finish booting up.

— I did not really wake you up, did I? I am sorry. For making you take a work call on your holiday.

“Not at all. This is something I should of course help with. If anything, you are the one going through a hard time, Assistant Manager.”

— Still, I am sorry. Ah, I really do not know why I am always like this. It happens just when I am about to forget, so I have even developed a compulsion for backing things up, but nothing gets better.

“You were trying to be more meticulous, so do not be too upset, Assistant Manager.”

— Sigh… I did not call to be comforted, but thank you. Mr. Gijeong, your account password.

“Yes. The password is….”

He was about to readily give her the account password but shut his mouth. It was because a heavy weight had suddenly been pressed against his back. He slightly moved the cellphone away from his ear and looked behind him. Just as he thought, Hwang Jangyeop, whom he had assumed was dead to the world, had woken up at some point and was climbing on top of Gijeong’s body.

Gijeong pointed to the cellphone a couple of times, signaling to him that he was on an important call. However, Hwang Jangyeop paid him no mind and steadfastly continued to sweep his hands up Gijeong’s calves, thighs, and then his buttocks, clenching them tightly in his grasp.

Gijeong lightly pushed away Hwang Jangyeop, who by now had pressed his chest against Gijeong’s back and was successively sinking his teeth into his shoulder and neck. Then he lowered his voice as much as possible and asked for her patience.

“Just a moment.”

He also gently caressed Hwang Jangyeop’s face as if to soothe him. But he was not one to back off with just that. If he were to be so compliant, he would not have clung to someone who was on the phone in the first place. Hwang Jangyeop, ignoring Gijeong’s attempts to stop him, nibbled on his shoulder while sliding his fingers languidly into the cleft of his buttocks. As a thick middle finger rubbed the hole, which was swollen red from being chafed so much, Gijeong’s entire body tensed up.

Gijeong grabbed Hwang Jangyeop and repeatedly pushed him away, telling him to stop, but it was no use. If anything, Hwang Jangyeop only bit at the nape of his neck with a stubborn expression.

— Mr. Gijeong? Why did you stop talking mid-sentence?

Assistant Manager Min, who had been waiting quietly, prompted Gijeong for a reply.

“Ah, it is nothing. The password is 7… Augh.”

He tried to answer as calmly as possible, but he ended up clenching his teeth again. It was because Hwang Jangyeop, who had been biting at his nape and the base of his shoulder as if gnawing meat from a bone, had suddenly taken a mouthful of his most sensitive side. He struggled, telling him to stop, but it only drained his strength. Hwang Jangye-op even restrained Gijeong’s hands that were trying to shake him off and persistently sank his teeth in.

At the subtle pain and tingling sensation originating from his side, his limp penis twitched. Seeing Gijeong’s flustered reaction, a mischievous smile spread across Hwang Jangyeop’s face.

“Stop, it, wait… ugh.”

Gijeong held the cellphone as far away as he could, afraid his moans might leak through. He did not want to react to Hwang Jangyeop’s wicked prank, but things were not going as he wished. His whole body was already stimulated to the max from their lovemaking the previous night, and it was because Hwang Jangyeop was touching only the most sensitive spots.

The area around his hole was subtly stinging. It had been rubbed and scraped so much that even a slight touch was sore, yet a gentle pleasure lingered. Gijeong twisted his legs together, tightly clenching around Hwang Jangyeop’s finger that was stubbornly caressing his hole. At that seductive movement, the corners of Hwang Jangyeop’s mouth naturally lifted.

— Hello? Mr. Gijeong, are you listening to me? Did the call get disconnected?

“No. No… Ah, ugh.”

It seemed better to end the call quickly. The problem was that Hwang Jangyeop would not even allow that. He clenched his fist as soon as he uttered a word. It was because Hwang Jangyeop had suddenly bitten his buttock hard.

Hwang Jangyeop took a mouthful of the elastic flesh and sucked on it as if he were savoring it. Then he pulled apart the buttocks, on which even teeth marks were left, and buried his head in the cleft. His thick tongue persistently dug into the hole like it was gouging out the insides of a conch or a top shell, making his breath catch and dangle in his throat.

“…Augh, ah, no, ugh!”

He quickly covered his own mouth. The hole, red, swollen, and raw from their arduous lovemaking, became slickly coated in Hwang Jangyeop’s thick saliva. Lick, lick. Slurp, slurp. Hwang Jangyeop, who was making loud noises as he licked and sucked every single crease, began to slowly rub his groin against Gijeong’s leg. His groin, wet with sweat and heat, clung damply to his thigh.

Gijeong stared at Hwang Jangyeop with an ‘it cannot be’ look in his eyes. Just as expected, Hwang Jangyeop’s rigidly erect penis tilted its head up. The thing, flushed red from the simmering heat, flared its nostril-like urethra wide. As soon as Gijeong saw the thing squirming with the force to pierce through anything, he shook his head from side to side.

In Hwang Jangyeop’s eyes, as he panted and stared at Gijeong, the wicked playfulness from before had vanished. Instead, they were bloodshot and glistening with surging carnal desire. His tightly-knit abdominal muscles swelled grandly before subsiding, spurring on his penis. Hwang Jangyeop stuck out his tongue and licked his own dry lips. The impatience he felt was evident in the way he forcefully kneaded Gijeong’s buttocks and thighs.

He shook his head more forcefully, but Hwang Jangyeop showed signs of impatience, planting kisses, smack, smack, on Gijeong’s lower back and upper buttocks. Then he finally straightened his back and firmly pressed his penis against Gijeong’s hole.

“No, no… ugh, ugh….”

His voice of refusal was swallowed by a moan and became garbled. His struggling legs tensed up and froze in place. A deep groove was etched into his back. He was so tense that the muscles all over his body clenched and twitched.

Hwang Jangyeop took in every detail of Gijeong’s reaction as he stubbornly pushed his penis in. He pressed down on Gijeong’s convulsing shoulders and slowly thrust in all the way to the root. With a sudden whooshing sound, the penis, inserted at a right angle, pushed its way in as if it would touch his navel. The softly relaxed hole stretched to its maximum and rather arduously swallowed the thick penis.

“…Augh!”

Gijeong buried his head deep into the pillow and suppressed his moans. Even when he clenched his molars and endured, moans helplessly escaped. He went as far as to cover his own nose and mouth with both hands. The leaking sounds diminished, but his breathing was also cut off, and his face and neck quickly turned bright red.

“You bastard, are you crazy trying to die? Breathe. I said breathe.”

Hwang Jangyeop used his own hands to lift Gijeong’s face, which was buried deep in the pillow. At the presence of the penis squirming and filling his insides, Gijeong’s jaw trembled. He held Gijeong’s jaw to prevent him from blocking his own airway again and began a vigorous pounding. The different masses of flesh slammed into each other violently.

“Ngh, ugh… Augh, ugh… Ple, please, ugh! Nng, ugh!”

“Hah, ugh… What, you bastard, haah, you are biting down like you love it, augh, kkh….”

Every time Hwang Jangyeop’s penis struck his insides hard, Gijeong’s body went limp. Consequently, his grip loosened, and the cellphone slid and fell. Hwang Jangyeop thrust hard into Gijeong, who was trying to pick up the cellphone, and while he faltered, he pressed the end call button. Then he grabbed Gijeong’s hand and bit the back of his hand and his fingers wherever his mouth could reach. He even licked thoroughly under his fingernails. As if by a lie, everything felt sweet.

“Augh, a little, slow… ah! Ngh, ugh, huuu… aht!”

“Haah, when I thrust like this, ugh, you are dying of pleasure….”

Hwang Jangyeop languidly licked up the back of the groaning Gijeong’s ear, and as he repeatedly took Gijeong’s earlobe into his mouth, he pounded hard from below. Pinned helplessly beneath him, Gijeong repeatedly flinched at the pleasure washing over him, but he did not push Hwang Jangyeop away. Instead, he just groaned faithfully, tightly gripping Hwang Jangyeop’s arms and his thighs that looked ready to burst.

Hwang Jangyeop buried his head in Gijeong’s jet-black hair. Inhaling his scent to his heart’s content, he changed his fast thrusts to a slow, deep scooping motion. A more languid moan erupted from Gijeong. The dense mucous membrane also wrapped around the penis more sweetly and seemed to draw it in distantly, toward a more intimate place. They panted in a bright red excitement, completely forgetting what they had been doing.

drrrr… drrrr….

Just as he was picking up the pace with his pounding, the cellphone, which had gone quiet, rang again. Gijeong, pinned down by Hwang Jangyeop, snapped back to his senses. He hurriedly reached for the cellphone. In that moment, Hwang Jangyeop abruptly grabbed his shoulder and turned him. In the process, his hole, which was interlocked with Hwang Jangyeop’s penis, was scraped tightly. Gijeong let out a shriek without fail and moaned as if he were dying.

Hwang Jangyeop pressed his thick body tightly against the upper body of Gijeong, who was flusteredly trying to get away from him. Then, he thrust his penis, which had slipped out a little, hard to the root and crushed the slowly squirming mucous membrane. The hole, scraped by the surface of the penis, convulsed yet nibbled and swallowed the huge piece of flesh.

Hwang Jangyeop savored the inner walls that were squeezing his penis tightly as if wringing it out and rubbed his member wildly in a place where it could not go any deeper. His plump scrotum was squashed against the chafed area around the hole, and as it was repeatedly rubbed hard, Gijeong’s groans reached their peak. The innocent blanket was clenched in his grasp.

“Uuuh… ugh….”

Hwang Jangyeop met the eyes of Gijeong, who was looking at him precariously with his cheeks flushed, and answered his phone for him.

“Who is this?”

— Oh? Is this perhaps Mr. Yeom Gijeong’s phone?

“It is.”

His voice was low and subdued as he tried to suppress his ragged breathing. With his eyes, he gazed down distantly at Gijeong, who could not even breathe properly.

— Ah, this is the company. It is about an urgent matter, so if Mr. Gijeong is next to you, could you please put him on?

“That should not be a problem.”

A fleeting, mischievous smile spread across Hwang Jangyeop’s lips. He then held the cellphone to the ear of Gijeong, who was pinned beneath him. Gijeong shook his head with a precarious expression, but Hwang Jangyeop did not take the phone away from him.

Soon, as if resigned, Gijeong steadied his rough and unstable breathing. Then he replied in the calmest tone possible.

“I am sorry, Assistant Manager. I am down in my hometown right now, and it is so rural here that the calls keep dropping. You asked for my account password earlier, right? You can log in with 7YKJ24. As for the files you requested, if you look on the desktop….”

He was just about to wrap up the call by rattling his words off as quickly as possible. Hwang Jangyeop grabbed Gijeong’s knees and spread them apart, then slowly pulled out his penis, which had been completely buried in the hole. Just the sensation of the prominent veins on the penis brushing against it made the hole squirm on its own and his knees flinch.

He thought the wicked prank might end there, but he soon realized he was mistaken. It was because Hwang Jangyeop, who had been pulling out his penis, gazed intently at Gijeong’s hole, which was now disappointingly gripping only the head, before thrusting the entire shaft back in, all the way to the root.

It split his insides in one go and directly hit the weakest spot. Because of that, Gijeong’s lower body shot up.

“…Hic!”

His eyes, unable to withstand the shock, flew wide open. His widely opened eyelids could not close easily and trembled. The two hands that were sharply clutching the blanket also turned deathly pale, devoid of any color.

As if that sight looked quite pitiful even to his own eyes, Hwang Jangyeop leaned his upper body down and pressed his lips against Gijeong’s tightly shut mouth, smack, smack. He stuck out his tongue and wetly licked all over Gijeong’s lips. Then, his hips, which had been still as he savored the afterglow, began to pound down with a deep, plunging motion.

Under the sensation of being steadily hit and crushed inside, Gijeong, who had been holding on and holding on, finally crumbled. Hwang Jangyeop, who had been licking only his lips all this time, took that opportunity to shove a chunk of his tongue into his mouth. Then he stirred Gijeong’s sweetly reduced saliva and limp tongue into a mess and sucked on them sweetly.

Gijeong, his tongue aching and his breath running short, tried pushing Hwang Jangyeop’s shoulder and even tried pinching him with all his might. It was useless. The more he did so, the more violent the movements ramming his hole and the motions hitting and pounding the intimate place inside his stomach became. He was being pounded so relentlessly from below that even his hip joints and pelvis, spread wide to receive Hwang Jangyeop, ached.

“Ugh, th, nngh, augh! Ngh, haugh, ah… ngh!”

“Hah, ugh, haah, kkh, ugh, eugh….”

Hwang Jangyeop’s thick, firm balls twitched continuously, trying to enter the cramped hole as well. The coarse pubic hair that grew from below Hwang Jangyeop’s navel also kept pricking and stimulating the swollen skin around the hole. His mind was a complete blank, as if his brain had melted. His vision swam with yellow, and he even felt dizzy.

All Gijeong could do was clutch the cellphone tightly in his hand and groan helplessly. Even then, he had to clench his teeth to swallow his moans. The brief phone call felt as long as an eternity.

— 7YKJ24… that is it! You said to look in the report folder on the desktop, right?

“…Ugh, yes. Haah, if you look there, the file names are saved by date.”

With his eyes completely unfocused, he continued his explanation with difficulty, drool and thick, syrupy saliva dribbling down. Seeing him struggle so much was a little pitiful, but at the same time, a nasty urge to push him even harder arose. Hwang Jangyeop, who had let out a small laugh, covered Gijeong’s trembling lips with his own and swallowed them. He held Gijeong’s jaw to keep him from turning his head and pushed his tongue deep inside.

As Hwang Jangyeop’s tongue pressed against his throat all at once and tangled, Gijeong’s face flushed red again. He began to thrust from below, slowly yet deeply, after a brief pause. Hot, thick exhales flowed out repeatedly. Hwang Jangyeop sweetly swallowed that breath and even the pained coughs that burst out, devouring every inch of Gijeong.

— Report… huh? There are too many files with similar names. You said I can check by date? Do you happen to remember what date you saved it as?

“……”

— Mr. Gijeong? Hello. Hello? Huh? Did it get cut off again?

A sigh escaped from Assistant Manager Min. It was a relief that she had not noticed anything strange. His tongue was being sucked so hard it felt like it would be pulled out. Swept away without being able to even make a loud noise, he barely managed to turn his head and break their locked lips. His chest heaved nonstop from the lack of breath.

“…Mmph, haah, haah, please. Please. I will do whatever you say, so just wait a moment.”

Gijeong barely managed to stop Hwang Jangyeop, who was about to lunge at him again. He was almost in tears, so afraid of whatever it was. Hwang Jangyeop clicked his tongue with a sour taste in his mouth but nodded his head as if to say he understood. If he just waited a moment, Gijeong would do whatever he was told, so it was not a losing deal.

“Ah, I am sorry, Assistant Manager. In the report folder, you should be able to find it if you check the documents that were last saved the day before yesterday. I marked the files I gave you with ‘submission’.”

— Ahh. Here it is! Thank you, Mr. Gijeong. You saved me.

“Not at all. Please feel free to contact me again anytime if you need anything.”

— Even if you are just saying that, thank you, really. Have a good weekend and see you tomorrow!

The call ended right after he exchanged goodbyes with Assistant Manager Min. However, Gijeong could not immediately put the phone down. It was because Hwang Jangyeop had taunted, “Anytime?” When he looked at Hwang Jangyeop nervously, he was smiling with only one corner of his mouth twisted up.

“Your voice is dripping with honey just because you are talking to a woman.”

“Th, that is not… augh!”

Before he could even make an excuse, an incredibly rough coupling was inflicted upon him. The moans he had been holding back with all his might burst out without fail. The cells that had been shrunken in tension relaxed at once, sucking in and swallowing the intensifying pleasure. Sweat erupted from all over his body. It was to the point where even his two thighs wrapped around Hwang Jangye-op’s waist became slick and wet.

“Ngh, ugh… slow, ah! Augh, ugh, haugh, aht!”

“I have to make it so you cannot even, ugh, make a peep, hah, so you do not get distracted by other things. Huh?”

Hwang Jangyeop’s sturdy thighs stuck to the back of Gijeong’s thighs with a slapping sound. For a while, only the sounds of panting breaths and the sticky sound of pounding flesh echoed loudly in the room. Hwang Jangyeop growled like a beast and crushed Gijeong’s body with all his might. He pinned him down completely so he could not move an inch and steadily thrust from below.

It would not have been surprising if a large hole had been bored through his stomach. Just when he was about to get used to the sensation of the boiling flesh stirring his insides, Hwang Jangyeop would change direction again and attack an unfamiliar spot. A searing heat like an electric current spread from inside his pelvis, making his limbs tingle. Gijeong’s fingernails sharpened and scratched and tore at Hwang Jangyeop’s back.

That stinging stimulation spurred Hwang Jangyeop on even more. His penis explosively rammed and entered the hole, hitting his insides as its temper dictated. As the chunk of pent-up desire that had been building and building passed its threshold, it burst out at once.

“Huuugh, ah-ah-ah-ah-ah!”

“Augh… uuuugh!”

Gijeong’s limbs trembled violently as he spurted his semen. In the intense afterglow, he even thrust his hips into the air a few times. Even after ejaculating, Hwang Jangyeop buried his head in Gijeong’s neck and pounded from below a few more times. It was a persistent motion, as if trying to thoroughly coat the inside of Gijeong’s body with his semen.

When Hwang Jangyeop finally pulled his penis out, a thick, concentrated semen stretched out stickily. The faint reddish tinge in the urethra, which was pulsing as it held some of the semen, must have been because there was blood from somewhere. It seemed Gijeong’s delicate skin had torn again from the somewhat rough insertion.

Hwang Jangyeop looked over Gijeong, who was completely exhausted and sprawled out, and clicked his tongue bitterly. He was so frail, then and now, that he wondered if he would have been able to properly sow his seed and live if it had not been for Hwang Jangyeop himself.

Hwang Jangyeop raised his upper body halfway and opened a nearby drawer. What he pulled out from inside was a dark red medicine bottle. It was a red disinfectant, which was considered a cure-all in the countryside. Gijeong waved his hands in refusal at Hwang Jangyeop, who had suddenly grabbed his ankle and was unhesitatingly spreading his legs wide.

“What are you doing! It is okay!”

“What do you mean, it is okay, you bastard. Hold still. I cannot see your hole properly.”

“I told you, it is fine without putting that on.”

“You little whiner, what do you mean it is fine again. There is no better medicine for cuts and scrapes. Do not worry about your dignity and present your butt, you prude.”

“Then I will do it. Give it to me.”

Gijeong, who had been stubbornly resisting by rubbing his butt against the floor, held out his hand, saying he would rather do it himself. Just because he saw a little blood, he was not too keen on applying that red medicine. Hwang Jangyeop frowned, as if displeased with the defiant Gijeong.

“This bastard is really getting on my nerves.”

He easily pulled on the ankle of Gijeong, who was repeatedly declining, saying it was fine. On the blanket, which had no friction to speak of, Gijeong’s body was dragged without resistance and placed right in front of Hwang Jangyeop’s nose. Hwang Jangyeop turned Gijeong’s body over to lie him down and then all but sat on his thighs, which were still squirming. Then he gently pressed on his buttocks, which were sticky with all sorts of bodily fluids, and spread them apart.

The wound was so small it was not properly visible. He could only guess at the bleeding from the faint red mixed in with the semen that was slowly leaking from the hole. He scowled automatically. Clicking his tongue bitterly again, he twisted open the disinfectant he was holding. The characteristic sour and musty smell wafted out strongly.

Hwang Jangyeop tore off some tissue paper that was rolling around at his feet and roughly wiped the cleft of Gijeong’s buttocks, then slathered the red disinfectant on the area around the hole, which was not just swollen but seemed raw. Gijeong let out a small groan at the stinging pain that rose from the sensitive area. Hwang Jangyeop even blew on it with his breath, hoo, hoo, until the medicine was dry enough not to run. Even when told not to, he did not listen at all. Gijeong was so bewildered he was past the point of being flustered, and a laugh burst out.

Hwang Jangyeop thought recklessly, acted recklessly, was selfishly stubborn, and yet selfishly affectionate. Gijeong was deeply dissatisfied with that aspect, yet strangely, he found it endearing. He was being mindlessly consumed day by day by the crude and rough affection he poured out. He could not understand himself, just how soft he was becoming.

It was past two in the afternoon when Gijeong came out of the room. In the meantime, the gloomy sky had cleared up brightly, as if it had never been that way. He peeked through the crack in the door to look at the yard and the main gate, but Hwang Jangyeop was nowhere to be seen inside the house. Seeing that his sneakers were gone from under the door, it seemed he had gone out for a while.

Giyeong was lying on his stomach on the wooden bench, engrossed in something. Gijeong slowly walked over to him and casually sat down. Then he stroked Giyeong’s head and checked to see what the boy was doing. Giyeong lifted his head and stared at his hyung.

“Hyung, are you sick?”

“Huh? No. Why?”

“Your face looks strange.”

Giyeong frowned with a worried expression. Gijeong unconsciously stroked his own cheek. Indeed, the skin that touched the back of his hand felt parched, showing that he had been up all night. His complexion must have turned pale as well. Suddenly, the events of the previous night came back to him vividly.

“…I just did not sleep well.”

He vaguely explained and changed the subject by asking, “Did you eat?” Giyeong nodded his head emphatically and then focused back on what he was doing. Wondering what he was working on so diligently, Gijeong kept peeking over the boy’s shoulder.

“What are you doing?”

“Homework.”

“Is writing in your diary your homework?”

“Yeah, vacation homework.”

“Vacation homework? You have not started your vacation yet, have you?”

“I am trying to get it done in advance.”

“Writing in your diary?”

“Yeah. That way, I can play all vacation long.”

Giyeong stretched his lips into a wide smile. There were at least ten days left until vacation, and he was writing in his diary for another ten days into the future. It was a good thing to get things done in advance, but he was not sure if writing in a diary should be included in that.

Gijeong ruffled Giyeong’s hair, saying, “You little rascal.” At the same time, his eyes scanned the contents of the diary that the boy had written in his crooked handwriting. Since it was a diary written in advance, each entry was a series of events born from the boy’s imagination, making every day a tumultuous one.

On one day, he would go to the sea and swim all day, then carefully save the forearm-sized fish he caught to make a stew for his hyung, Gijeong, when he came down. On another day, he would climb the mountain behind the village and catch a stag beetle the size of his palm. The next day, he would go to his friend’s house in the town to play games to his heart’s content. And on another day, the entry said he had gone to visit his hyung’s house in Seoul. It was a schedule that would be difficult to digest during the vacation period even if he had ten bodies.

Giyeong occasionally put down his pencil and shook his aching arm. Then he would grip the pencil tightly again and spread his wings of imagination about his vacation life. Gijeong silently watched the back of Giyeong’s head, then stroked his hair and asked casually.

“Giyeong, do you want to come visit hyung’s house?”

Giyeong whipped his head around.

“Huh? To hyung’s house?”

Even though he had written it down in his diary, he must not have expected it at all, as his eyes grew wide. His clear pupils sparkled, full of anticipation. Gije-ong nodded his head, as if to say he had not misheard.

“Yeah. You have not been there even once.”

“Can I really go?”

His eyes were filled with disbelief. He had not shown it at all until now, but it seemed he had wanted to go deep down. The boy’s face, which kept asking for confirmation, repeatedly beamed.

Just then, the main gate burst open and Hwang Jangyeop stepped inside. He was holding a dirt-covered farm tool in his hand, as if he had just come back from tending to the fields. His sun-tanned, copper-colored skin, wet with sweat, shone slickly. His well-stimulated muscles were also vigorously twitching.

Hwang Jangyeop flung off his shirt and walked to the water tap, saying, “Go where, you bastard.” It seemed he had overheard a part of the conversation between Gijeong and Giyeong as he came in.

“Mister! Hyung said I can come visit his house. I can go there, right?”

“Do you even know where that is?”

Hwang Jangyeop asked back nonchalantly as he splashed cold water on his body. It looked as if white steam might rise from his skin, which had been heated by the scorching sun.

“I cannot?”

Giyeong looked back at Gijeong with a sullen face. Gijeong smiled faintly and shook his head slightly. Then he put on his shoes again and approached the water tap. He then gently took the gourd dipper from Hwang Jangyeop. Hwang Jangyeop turned around with a wet face.

“Let me help you wash your back.”

Hwang Jangyeop seemed a little reluctant but silently bent over. He scooped up a full dipper of water and coolly splashed it all over his back. He also scrubbed his skin here and there with his hands until it was squeaky clean.

“Next month, I can get about nine days of vacation, including the weekends before and after. Giyeong will be on vacation around then too, so if you just come up in time, I think I can hang out with you.”

“That bastard has never even ridden a bus by himself. How is a kid like that supposed to get to Seoul?”

Hwang Jangyeop, having finished his refreshing back wash, stood up and expressed his pessimism that it would not work. Then, as if by habit, he tried to wipe the water off with the shirt tucked into his pants. But when Gijeong held out a towel, he reluctantly took it. He scrubbed his face and neck so hard that the irritated skin quickly turned red.

Gijeong waited for Hwang Jangyeop, as if he had more to say. Under that direct gaze, Hwang Jangyeop lifted his face from the towel and twitched his thick eyebrows.

“What, you bastard.”

“Come with him.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You can bring Giyeong and come to my house with him, Jangyeop-ssi.”

At Gijeong’s sudden suggestion, Hwang Jangyeop was momentarily at a loss for words. It was because it was such an appropriate solution that he could not refute it. If he was reluctant to send young Giyeong to Seoul alone, then he, who was free now that the fishing season was over, could just go with him.

“Yes! I am going to Seoul!”

Before he could even answer, Giyeong jumped up from his seat and started hopping around. Hwang Jangyeop complained that he was being a nuisance, but in the end, he did not reject the alternative Gijeong had proposed.

*

Hwang Jangyeop stopped packing and stood in front of the wardrobe. He yanked open the door and looked over the clothes that had just been hanging inside.

But no matter how he looked, there was nothing suitable. He grumbled and slammed the door shut. The old door shrieked as if it would fall off the wardrobe at any moment.

He sat back down on the floor and packed his bags. Even so, it was nothing more than stuffing underwear, shirts, pants, and socks into his bag as they came to hand. As he was pressing down on the bag, which was so swollen it could not close its mouth, and struggling to zip it up, he paused for a moment.

Hwang Jangyeop, who was deep in thought about something, jumped up again. Then he opened the wardrobe door, which he had opened and closed several times since morning.

He had pushed his upper body inside and was looking for something for a while when the door to the room burst open. Giyeong, who had been sitting on the porch waiting for Hwang Jangye-op, could not bear the impatience and boredom any longer and urged him on.

“Mister, are you not done yet? The train is about to leave.”

He had been so excited that he had been bouncing in his seat, not even knowing if he was putting rice in his mouth or his nose, but it seemed he was tired of it now. The person who had said he would pack had been silent for an hour, so how frustrating must it have been?

“I know, you bastard. You are really nagging.”

“You have been saying ‘in a bit, in a bit’ since a while ago. Ah, how long do I have to wait?”

Hwang Jangyeop waved his hand as if to say he understood and to stop rushing him. If he stuck around and said anything more unpleasant, it was obvious he would get a good scolding first thing in the morning. Giyeong openly pouted and closed the door with displeasure.

Right after that, Hwang Jangyeop grabbed the back of his shirt with one hand and threw it off in one go. Then he put on the clothes he had just taken out from the depths of the wardrobe. It was the first time he had worn them in a long time, so they felt as awkward as if they were not his. Unlike the clothes he usually wore, he fiddled with the collar that brushed against his neck uncomfortably several times. Then, for the first time in a while, he stood in front of the mirror and slowly combed his hair back.

By the time Hwang Jangyeop finished getting ready and left the room, Giyeong was taking in the laundry. He had also covered the crock stand with plastic for kimchi-making and had even diligently placed a heavy stone on top. He was taking care of the house that would be empty for a few days on his own, without anyone telling him to. As Giyeong turned around with the dry laundry in his arms, his eyes widened when he saw Hwang Jangyeop busy looking for something under the wooden porch floor.

“Uh… mister?”

“What, you bastard.”

Hwang Jangyeop responded bluntly to the surprised-looking Giyeong and took out the shoes that had been shoved into the corner of the porch floor. He blew on them and dusted off the stuck-on cobwebs and dust, and when that did not work, he grabbed a rag and scrubbed them hard. Giyeong just stood there blankly, watching as Hwang Jangyeop put on the smoothly polished dress shoes, picked up his bag, and stood up.

“You bastard, you get surprised by so many things. Your jaw is going to drop, it is going to drop. You said the train was about to leave.”

At Hwang Jangyeop’s scolding and urging, Giyeong snapped back to his senses. He threw the laundry he had collected into the room and hurriedly followed Hwang Jangyeop. He held his hand and walked side by side with him, looking up at him repeatedly as if he found it amazing.

It was the day they were to go to Gijeong’s house in Seoul. Giyeong, who had eagerly called his hyung to set a date as soon as the vacation started, had been waiting for this day for the past few days, cramming his homework. His anticipation and excitement were so great that he had practically stayed up all night with his eyes wide open.

In fact, Hwang Jangyeop’s situation was not much different. It was the first time for both him and Giyeong to set foot in Seoul. It was just that, unlike the boy, Hwang Jangyeop felt more tension and wariness than pure excitement.

“Jangyeop, where are you going dressed up so fancy? Is there a relative’s wedding or something?”

On this day of all days, he was planning to take the ferry he did not usually use, when Mr. Bong, who happened to be passing by the port, struck up a conversation. Mr. Bong joked that he had not recognized him from a distance.

“What part of me is fancy.”

“You are just being shy. Seeing you dressed up like this, it must be somewhere nice you are going. What, did you get set up with a fine young lady somewhere? Is that it?”

Mr. Bong slyly tried to sound Hwang Jangyeop out, his eyes glinting slyly. Hwang Jangyeop repeatedly pretended not to hear. Then Giyeong suddenly stepped forward and chattered away.

“Mister! We are going to visit hyung’s house today. Hyung said to come to Seoul.”

“Huh? You dressed up like that just to go sightseeing in Seoul?”

“Why is this bastard saying unnecessary things.”

Hwang Jangyeop belatedly growled, but the water was already spilled. If anything, Giyeong was eager to brag even more.

Mr. Bong smiled, not because of anything else, but because of the fact that he had even worn clothes he did not usually wear just to go to Seoul. Then he showered him with praises, spitting saliva everywhere, until his mouth was dry.

“Is that so? No wonder. Jangyeop, you should have dressed like this more often. It really brings out your features, how great is that? You are not inferior to any of those dandies. Since you are going to Seoul anyway, go and crush the spirits of those prim and proper guys. Got it?”

“What is there to crush.”

Hwang Jangyeop laughed as if it were absurd, but he did not seem to dislike being praised so highly. For some reason, his shoulders seemed to have a little more strength, and his face had a new air of composure.

While that was happening, the ferry they were waiting for arrived. Giyeong, in his impatience, ran ahead and boarded the boat. Hwang Jangyeop also followed behind with a heavy bag and gave Mr. Bong a simple farewell.

“Well then, hyung-nim, I will be back.”

“Yeah, have a good trip.”

Mr. Bong waved his hand, telling him to go quickly. On the ferry, Giyeong was making a fuss, telling him to hurry up and get on. At the boy’s urging, he boarded early.

Before long, the ferry sounded a loud horn. The boat carrying the two people slowly headed out to sea and began to move away from Sojak Island.

As soon as he finished work, Gijeong rushed to the train station. He had set the appointment for a later time, expecting traffic congestion around rush hour, but he felt anxious for no reason. He parked his car in the station parking lot. As he went up to the waiting room, he checked his watch and saw that he was already twenty minutes later than the train’s arrival time.

He skipped the escalator and ran up the stairs. He was soon out of breath. Even though it was a weekday afternoon, there were many people getting on and off the trains, perhaps because it was the peak vacation season. It was like a can of sardines. The chronic murmur was mixed with the anticipation of a trip and the fatigue from travel.

He caught his breath and looked around. He could not immediately spot Hwang Jangyeop and Giyeong. If the train was not delayed, and if the two had not missed the train, they should have arrived by now.

He took out his cellphone to call Hwang Jangyeop as he headed toward the waiting room. Even there, which was packed without a single empty seat, the two of them were nowhere to be seen. He turned around in a hurry and bumped shoulders with a passerby. He bowed several times, saying, “I am sorry,” and then stopped dead in his tracks. It was because he had spotted a familiar back of a head at a table in front of an ice cream shop.

It was Giyeong. The boy seemed thrilled to have gotten ice cream. With a flushed face, he watched the people passing by and chattered away, then took a bite of ice cream and was busy flapping his lips again.

Hwang Jangyeop was sitting in front of him with his arms crossed. He was wearing an outdated suit that looked like it was from ten years ago, with a reddish tie. His hair, which always flew about freely, seemed to have been slicked back with pomade.

It was a look that showed he had dressed up to the nines, whether it was because he did not want to be intimidated in Seoul or because he wanted to look good for Gijeong himself. He could clearly picture him deliberating whether or not to pull out the old suit that must have been shoved deep inside the wardrobe. The thought of Hwang Jangyeop, who usually did not even look in a mirror, fixing his hair and polishing his dress shoes, which he probably did not even remember when he last wore, made him feel strangely pathetic and cute.

He had never expected to feel such a greenhorn-like quality from Hwang Jangyeop. He could not stand how truly lovely the man, who was twice his size, was.

Gijeong smiled brightly and approached the two of them in a flash.

“You are here? I am a little late, am I not? The traffic was bad.”

As soon as he heard Gijeong’s voice, Hwang Jangyeop reflexively whipped his head around. His face was full of irritation, as if he had been planning to question Gijeong about why he was only showing up now. But when he was actually faced with a smiling face, it seemed he could not bring himself to let out any harsh words.

“Giyeong, you must have had a hard time coming here too, right?”

“Yeah. Hyung, I am hungry.”

Giyeong quickly stood up and clung to Gijeong’s arm. Gijeong stroked the boy’s head and suggested to Hwang Jangyeop.

“The roads will be congested if we leave now anyway, so let us just eat out before we go home.”

“Let us do that.”

Hwang Jangyeop abruptly picked up his luggage and stood up. His presence was hard to ignore even when he was sitting still, but when he stood up, all eyes in the vicinity were drawn to him. As they moved to the parking lot together, some people even shied away, afraid to touch him. It was a movement closer to instinct, even before they realized whether Hwang Jangyeop was a country person or not, or whether his attire was old-fashioned or not. They probably thought that if they got into an unnecessary fight, they would not even be able to pick up their bones.

In reality, no one would have been able to rashly laugh at Hwang Jangyeop for being old-fashioned. The feeling of looking down on someone usually comes out when the target is somewhat easy to handle. It was childish, but that was the nature of beasts.

“Get in.”

Gijeong took the bag from Hwang Jangyeop and put it in the trunk of his car. Hwang Jangyeop headed for the passenger seat without any fuss, then stealthily grabbed the head of Giyeong, who was trying to open the passenger seat door and get in. He then pushed the boy into the back seat and unabashedly took the passenger seat himself. Giyeong’s face, reflected in the rearview mirror, became as sullen as a pufferfish.

After closing the trunk, Gijeong got into the driver’s seat and suddenly leaned his upper body toward Hwang Jangyeop. At the sudden approach, Hwang Jangyeop was startled and stiffened his shoulders. Gijeong looked at Hwang Jangyeop and grinned, then said, “Wear your seatbelt,” and fastened the seatbelt for him.

“You look really wonderful today.”

As he pulled back, he whispered so softly that Giyeong could not hear. In reality, he must have been hoping for that one compliment. To have spent the morning opening and closing the wardrobe door several times, worrying about his attire so uncharacteristically, and to have endured wearing a stuffy suit and dress shoes that felt like they were constricting his whole body for hours.

And yet, Hwang Jangyeop deliberately pretended not to hear and turned his head to look out the passenger-side window. His ears, which he could not hide, were flushed.

The three of them soon arrived at a family restaurant. When he asked Giyeong what he wanted to eat, he just answered “something delicious,” so this was the place he found. It was a place that kids Giyeong’s age liked, and since it served food that was not easily accessible on the island, he thought it would not be a bad idea to let him try it at least once.

The three were guided to a spacious table by the window. Hwang Jangyeop and Giyeong sat side by side, facing Gijeong. The server in charge revealed his nickname and handed them each a menu. Hwang Jangyeop, who immediately opened it and scanned the menu items, suddenly put the booklet down. Giyeong just rolled his large eyes and looked at the pictures of the delicious-looking food.

In the end, Gijeong took it upon himself to order a variety of dishes. The server confirmed the order once more and then collected the menus and left. A complaint burst out of Hwang Jangyeop.

“Fuck. I cannot understand a single thing they have scribbled down.”

He openly expressed his dissatisfaction, which most people would not bother to bring up, even if they were not pleased, for the sake of appearances. In fact, it was a restaurant operating in Korea, but Hwang Jangyeop was surely not the only one who felt uncomfortable with the menu and ordering process, which unnecessarily used a lot of foreign words. Gijeong himself still got lost with unfamiliar menu names when he went to some restaurants or cafes.

“We will bring out the bread and ade first.”

The server came back to the table and placed bread, butter, and ade. Gijeong cut the warm bread into uniform sizes and pushed it in front of the two of them. Then, he ceaselessly threw questions at Giyeong, who was diligently tearing at the bread, asking if he had a hard time coming, how much of his vacation homework he had done, and what he planned to do for the rest of his vacation. Giyeong, holding bread and a drink tightly in both hands, diligently filled his stomach while chattering away in response to Gijeong’s questions.

Hwang Jangyeop took out the straw stuck in the cup and gulped down the ade straight from the glass. He must have been quite thirsty, as his prominent Adam’s apple bobbed coolly. Gijeong silently watched him, who looked a little tired, and then asked casually.

“You must be very tired, right? Coming all the way here is quite far and hectic.”

“It made me realize again how incredible you are. How you travel that long distance every weekend.”

“Because that is the only way I can see you two.”

“…You are a persistent bastard, anyway.”

Hwang Jangyeop shook his head as if the mere thought of retracing the journey was nauseating. Yet, he could not bring himself to say what he really wanted to say and just stewed in his own thoughts. He thought it would be nice if they could just live together instead of him going through all that trouble every week.

However, bringing up such a topic might feel like the same kind of restraint as before to Gijeong. His own greed and stubbornness could ruin the relationship they had painstakingly mended. So he suppressed those futile thoughts. To cool down the heart that was trying to light a fire on its own, he even crunched on the ice.

“Your food has arrived.”

Before long, the server appeared with a large tray. Dishes like steak, pasta, pizza, and french fries were laid out on the table. Giyeong’s eyes widened, and his mouth hung open as he looked at the delicious-looking food. The only restaurant meals the boy had probably ever had were black bean noodles and hamburgers.

Gijeong personally cut the steak and put it on Giyeong’s plate.

“Giyeong, chew well and eat a lot.”

“Okay. I will eat well.”

Giyeong said his thanks as if he were singing a song, then picked up his fork and began to eat like a warrior. He was so focused on eating that he did not even notice the sauce getting on his lips and even his cheeks. He was still a child who needed a lot of looking after.

Gijeong wiped Giyeong’s face with a tissue and then cut the meat again and put it on Hwang Jangyeop’s plate as well. Hwang Jangyeop awkwardly held the fork and pushed the meat and salad into his mouth at the same time. Gijeong looked at the two men, who were focused only on their meal without saying a word, with a contented smile. He himself had not put anything in his mouth. He felt full without eating.

Hwang Jangyeop, feeling the obvious gaze, flinched and stared at Gijeong.

“What, you bastard.”

“Just because.”

Gijeong said it was nothing and kept grinning foolishly, as if he was in a great mood. After that, his hands were busy filling Giyeong’s and Hwang Jangyeop’s plates. Even when Hwang Jangyeop told him to stop and eat himself, he only took care of the two of them, saying, “Just this one.”

The server, who had been stopping by frequently enough to be bothersome, approached again and lowered his body to sit below the table.

“Excuse me for a moment. Have all the dishes you ordered been served?”

“Yes.”

“And are the dishes to your liking?”

“Yes.”

“Are they not too salty or bland?”

“They are fine.”

“Is there anything else you need?”

“Ah, could you bring us some more napkins? And a refill on the drinks, please.”

“Yes. We can help you with a refill of carbonated drinks. We have cola, cider, and Fanta. Which would you like?”

“All cola, please.”

“Yes. Please wait a moment.”

The server quickly stood up and went somewhere for a moment, then brought a whole bunch of the requested napkins. Then he added in an overly friendly tone.

“Here are the napkins you mentioned, I will prepare them for you first. If you wait just a moment for the drinks, I will bring them right away.”

“Yes, thank you.”

He stood up from his seat again, collected the empty ade glasses, and disappeared toward the kitchen. Hwang Jangyeop, who had been watching the series of events with an incredulous look, finally clicked his tongue.

“Why do they keep coming and going so distractingly? I cannot tell if the food is going into my nose or my mouth.”

“It is a kind of service. These days, restaurants need good service as much as good taste to attract a lot of customers. The interior design and atmosphere also play a part.”

“What a load of bullshit. A restaurant should just sell food, why is there a need for service and whatever? The old lady who sells noodles at the market swears every time she opens her mouth, but everyone is busy lining up to eat.”

He was not wrong. The spirit of service, of welcoming customers and treating them with courtesy, was not a bad thing. However, depending on the person, it could feel burdensome. Although in the city, more people took that extreme politeness for granted.

“It is getting cold. Please eat. Does it not taste good?”

“You eat some, you bastard.”

Hwang Jangyeop put some food on the plate of Gijeong, who was only taking care of others. Then he roughly scooped up some pasta and slurped it down like noodles. Even if it went against dining etiquette, it was not unpleasant to watch. It was because he thought that even that aspect was a part of Hwang Jangyeop. If anything, it would have been unlike him to be mindful of his surroundings and put on a half-baked pretense just because he was in Seoul.

“Huu, I am full.”

Giyeong clutched his bulging belly and pulled away. He even waved his hands at his hyung, who was trying to give him more food, saying he could not eat anymore. Because he had deliberately ordered a variety of dishes to feed them plentifully, more than half of the food was left. Hwang Jangyeop scraped all of it up and chewed on it, saying.

“From now on, do not waste your hard-earned money in places like this. I did not come here to be treated to something fancy by you. Would I complain if you served me soggy instant noodles?”

It was not that Hwang Jangyeop did not know Gijeong’s heart. Hwang Jangyeop himself felt the same way, wanting to give Gijeong only the best and feed him only the most delicious things. It was just that, more than the affluent side of the city that Gijeong was trying to show him, he was more curious about how Gijeong had lived there, and how he was living now.