TGMND 71

It had been just over two weeks since Yeo-woon started noticing something strange. The envelopes in his mailbox, which he usually didn’t bother to take out even when he saw them, would be arranged differently in the evenings. Or sometimes they would all be neatly tucked inside the mailbox instead of sticking out. Yeo-woon was convinced this was the work of that thief from before.

‘The burglar.’

It meant that despite being caught last time, he still came secretly. …Should he really ask the security office to check the CCTV footage? Though they might refuse, saying nothing has actually happened yet.

Yeo-woon entered the swimming pool area with a serious expression, muttering to himself. The damp, cool tiles splashed under his feet. He noticed Yoon Ji-gu was already in the water, having arrived earlier than him.

Yoon Ji-gu was occupying an entire lane to himself, cutting through the water at a rapid pace. Soon after, Ji-gu raised his head, wiping his wet face with his large hand. Seeing Yeo-woon crouched right in front of him, looking down at him, he gasped and startled, nearly choking.

“…”

“…”

As Yeo-woon just stared at him without saying anything, his distinctly outlined, pitch-black eyes trembled slightly. Yoon Ji-gu’s moist lips quivered as he timidly mumbled:

“W-what is it?”

There wasn’t a particular reason. Yeo-woon just suddenly thought Yoon Ji-gu swam really well. He had also sat down to greet him. With his legs dipped in the water, Yeo-woon thought to himself.

Every time Yeo-woon caught a glimpse of him swimming in the next lane, he couldn’t see clearly and only saw a black form moving back and forth very quickly. So he had thought to himself, ‘He’s like an incredibly fast fish.’ But it seemed that was because he hadn’t had a proper chance to observe until now.

Unlike Yeo-woon’s freestyle which was still close to dog paddling, Yoon Ji-gu’s form was solidly structured from the start. Moreover, his tall stature and broad shoulders, which stood out even among other members, drew his attention unconsciously. The most impressive moment was when Yoon Ji-gu reached the end of the lane and lifted his face out of the water. …Maybe it’s his face that stands out… He’s really unnecessarily handsome.

“W-why are you saying such things to my face! It’s so embarrassing…!”

Did I blurt that out again? I should be more careful. As Yeo-woon was absentmindedly reflecting, Ji-gu’s ears turned bright red again. Looking embarrassed, he raised his hand to fiddle with his earlobe, taking a long pause. He kept starting to speak then stopping, glancing at Yeo-woon, then quickly turning his head away. After repeating this a couple of times, he finally opened his mouth.

“I-I appreciate the compliment, but I find this kind of thing burdensome…”

“…?”

Burdensome?

“I told you before, let’s, uh, just be friends.”

“Huh? I know. Can’t friends tell each other they look good?”

“…”

“It was just a thought I accidentally said out loud, so don’t worry about it.”

At that, Yoon Ji-gu’s eyes narrowed slowly. It was clear he was processing this. His suspicious gaze turned somewhat confused, then eventually softened as if thinking, ‘Is that so?’

“But why are you speaking formally…”

Oh, right. We agreed to drop the formalities. Yeo-woon thought about how Yoon Ji-gu could be unexpectedly strict in certain ways as he started speaking.

“When did you start swimming?”

“…You’re really natural about this.”

“About what?”

“…I can’t tell if you really don’t know or are just pretending. You’re so curious about me… I started in middle school.”

“You started early. Were you aiming to be a professional?”

“No. It was because of my older brother….”

At those words, Yeo-woon naturally recalled Yoon Ji-hyuk in his mind. The man with slightly long hair tied in a short ponytail. He remembered him giving off a much gentler impression than the cold and sharp Yoon Ji-gu, but his arms were clearly no joke even at a glance. Perhaps because he ran some kind of gym, his whole body was so muscular that he seemed like someone you shouldn’t mess with.

“I think it was right after I was born? There’s a memory of my brothers almost drowning in a valley. Since then, neither of them would ever go near water. So swimming was the one exercise I could do without their interference….”

“Ah…”

It seemed he chose swimming as a sport to exercise while avoiding his brothers who were afraid of water. It seemed like he didn’t get along well with his brothers. But when he saw them last time, it didn’t seem like their relationship was that bad.

‘But we’re not close enough yet for me to ask about family matters.’

He should keep his mouth shut and not pry unnecessarily. Yeo-woon buried his sudden curiosity and smiled.

“I see. You’re good at swimming.”

“…Of course, I’ve been doing it for years.”

Yoon Ji-gu muttered something in a grumbling tone, but his shoulders subtly rose in pride.

“But why aren’t you wearing the bathrobe I gave you?”

“H-How am I going to wear that… to the pool!”

“…Don’t you like it?”

Yeo-woon bought it for him, and he doesn’t even wear it… This guy is disregarding his sincerity…

“No, I hate it! I would never wear it! Don’t look at me like that! Geez…”

“…”

What did he do? He just looked at him. He wore a full-body swimsuit but won’t wear a bathrobe. It doesn’t make much sense. Yeo-woon stared at Yoon Ji-gu for a moment and then asked,

“Want to leave together when we’re done?”

“…!”

Even though they swam at the same time, they had never left together. If they happened to run into each other, Yoon Ji-gu would usually run off first, or Yeo-woon would wait a while before leaving. So Yeo-woon’s suggestion must have been quite a big deal for Yoon Ji-gu. After hesitating for a while, he gave a faint nod.

“Young man, are you close with that tall guy? What’s up with him?”

“Hmph. He ignores us older ladies but seems to get along with young men his age, huh?”

Yeo-woon looked at the figure walking away and replied,

“We’ve become friends.”

“You’re quite skilled. We’ve been coming to this pool for a year, but no one has ever spoken to that guy.”

The question of why they were still in the beginner’s class after a year lingered at the tip of his tongue. But Yeo-woon, ingrained with respect for elders, managed not to say it out loud.

“Then could you put in a good word for me to introduce my daughter later?”

“Didn’t you only have two sons?”

“But how do you know I won’t have a daughter tomorrow, Jae-hyuk’s mom?”

“Oh my!”

The middle-aged women chuckled and exchanged jokes. Yeo-woon tilted his head, recalling what Yoon Ji-gu had just said in response to the suggestion.

‘If you go out first and wait, I’ll come with you.’

“…?”

Although his tone sounded as if he was doing Yeo-woon a favor, considering his initial attitude…

…They have become friends, right?

***

After waiting for about five minutes outside the swimming pool, Yoon Ji-gu came rushing out, hastily toweling off his dripping wet hair. He almost bumped into a female member who was just about to enter the women’s locker room. Ignoring the woman who stood stunned, Yoon Ji-gu hurriedly ran towards Yeo-woon.

“Did you… wait long?”

“…”

Why did he go out so soon?

Yeo-woon didn’t expect him to be out so quickly; he hadn’t even finished a single puzzle game yet. Yeo-woon grabbed the slipping towel from his shoulder and plopped it over Yoon Ji-gu’s head.

“Your clothes are getting wet. You should dry your hair properly before coming out…”

“It’ll dry on the way home anyway.”

Yoon Ji-gu deliberately draped the towel around his neck and strode out of the swimming pool. Yeo-woon caught up and walked beside him, making small talk. He talked about how nice the weather was today, and how the new instructor was the same age as Yoon Ji-gu.

“The instructor memorized all the ladies’ names and mine after seeing us just once.”

“…”

“He’s very talkative too. Seems like he has a great personality, don’t you think?”

“…Then what about me?”

“Huh?”

“If I don’t talk much. Do you dislike that?”

Yeo-woon couldn’t understand why the conversation suddenly shifted in that direction while he was talking about the new instructor. Yoon Ji-gu looked at Yeo-woon with a curious expression and then turned his head, mumbling.

“…It feels like you’re subtly insulting me, and I don’t like it.”

Upon reflection, Yeo-woon realized it could be taken that way. There are all kinds of people with different personalities in this world. Moreover, Yoon Ji-gu was the type to suddenly become defensive and say two or three things for every one thing Yeo-woon said. It was his fault for overlooking this fact. Yeo-woon thought he should be more careful with his words around the sensitive Yoon Ji-gu and tried to comfort him.

“Don’t worry, you talk a lot too. You might think you’re the quiet type, but that’s not the case at all.”

“What? No, I’m not!”

“Yes, you are.”

“…”

Yoon Ji-gu’s eyebrows twitched again. He seemed to think that it wasn’t true at all. But even in this situation, Yoon Ji-gu was prone to speaking fast and blurting out strange words like a rapid-fire cannon whenever he was wronged, a fact Yeo-woon had only recently come to know.

“It’s fine if you don’t talk much.”

“…What?”

“I don’t mind.”

At Yeo-woon’s words, Yoon Ji-gu glanced at him silently and then broke into a small smile. Ah, it’s really obvious. Yoon Ji-gu’s voice was tinged with a sigh, but the sound of a passing motorcycle quickly drowned out his muttered words.