TGMND 84

The more Yeo-woon thought about it, the more he didn’t understand. There had to be a reason for the sudden change in his demeanor after getting off the elevator when he seemed to be fine on the ride home with him.

…That was the first time I saw that expression.’

Yeo-woon went over his words, wondering if he had misspoken somehow, but there was nothing of the sort.

“Lee Yeo-woon.”

“Huh?”

“Why didn’t you answer earlier, are you sick?”

“I’m not sick.”

“Then why do you keep zoning out today? We’re out of booze. Let’s go to the convenience store.”

Yeo-woon was about to tell Seon-young to go alone because he didn’t feel like it, but thinking he’d just overthink things if left alone, he suddenly stood up.

“Okay, let’s go.”

“Huh?”

“I said let’s go.”

“You’re agreeing so quickly?”

Seon-young, who had brought it up expecting Yeo-woon to refuse, was startled. Yeo-woon forcibly dragged out Seon-young, who was suggesting they wait five minutes.

On their way to the nearby convenience store, they saw Yoon Ji-gu sitting alone on a swing in the nearby park playground, swaying slightly.

“…”

What’s he doing there when there are still so many mosquitoes?

“Isn’t that the guy from next door?”

Yeo-woon nodded. As he reflexively opened his mouth to greet him, Yoon Ji-gu’s cold face suddenly came to mind. It made him wonder if it was okay to greet him in this situation.

“…”

Yeo-woon lowered his raised hand and clenched his fist. Just then, Yoon Ji-gu, who had been looking at his phone while sitting on the swing, looked up. Their eyes met from a distance.

“…”

“…”

They stared at each other for a while, with a dim streetlight between them. Yoon Ji-gu, who had been staring at Yeo-woon with an expressionless face, was the first to turn away abruptly. Yeo-woon didn’t like that. Even though it wasn’t unusual for him to avoid eye contact, it bothered him because the situation was different from before.

He was clearly angry. But why?

“…”

What did he even do, seriously? He wanted to run over right then and there, grab him, and ask why he was acting like this. No, if Seon-young hadn’t come over today, he might have done just that. Ha Seon-young glanced at Yeo-woon, who had suddenly stopped in his tracks and fallen into a state of panic, and asked casually:

“Something’s going on between you and the guy next door.”

“No?”

Ha Seon-young ignored Yeo-woon’s denial.

“Don’t lie. You two were saying something outside the front door earlier…. His expression was no joke, honestly, I was a bit scared too. You came all the way home but didn’t come in. What were you two talking about?”

“Ah, nothing much…”

Yeo-woon tried to brush it off, but he couldn’t even finish his sentence. It wasn’t nothing. As the situation came back to him, Yeo-woon laughed dryly and said:

“He suddenly said it was fvcking annoying…”

“You?”

“I don’t know.”

“Did he say anything else?”

“He did, but I don’t remember well.”

The cold expression had shocked him so much that he couldn’t remember exactly what was said. He was too distracted by Ji-gu’s expression…. So all he remembered was the phrase “This is fucking annoying.” Even when Seon-young told him to think harder, Yeo-woon felt wronged because he really hadn’t done anything. His steps gradually became heavier.

“You remember Chae-min hyung, right?”

“…Why suddenly?”

Yeo-woon tilted his head at the name Seon-young abruptly brought up.

“Why Chae-min hyung?”

Kim Chae-min was the name of a senior in college. They had lived in the dorms together during Yeo-woon’s freshman year and had many classes together, so they were almost inseparable. Kim Chae-min had taken a leave of absence and enlisted in the military when Yeo-woon was finally starting to settle in as a freshman. And until graduation, there was barely any chance to see him at school.

“I know him. But why bring him up?”

“Do you remember sending him to the military?”

“I told you it wasn’t me.”

This bastard is always like this. When twenty-year-old Yeo-woon complained about the sudden disappearance of a senior who had been freely sharing everything from family histories to department information, Seon-young condemned Yeo-woon as the cause before even hearing the whole story. It was just that they spent a lot of time together due to living in the dorm and being in the same department…

“You kept confusing him and then suddenly got a girlfriend, how could his mental state have survived that? He was already timid, and he ran away after seeing Jeong Se-hyung come to the festival.”

“But how is that my fault? Do you have proof he said it was because of me?”

“You’re pretending you don’t know… You’ve got plenty more incidents like that. Want me to start from high school?”

Yeo-woon was momentarily speechless at Seon-young’s amused tone. A friend who knows too much is dangerous. He knew almost everything about Yeo-woon. In high school, Yeo-woon had often been secretly called out to receive confessions, but Seon-young always managed to catch him in the act. That’s why at one point Yeo-woon thought, ‘Could I like men too?’ but after experimenting later, that really wasn’t the case.

“…I’ll admit to other things, but it wasn’t like that with Chae-min hyung.”

Kim Chae-min showed up unexpectedly at Yeo-woon’s university graduation day and gave him flowers, saying it had been a long time, and even taking pictures together. He had added that he was still at school because his return from military service was delayed, and Yeo-woon remembered feeling really sorry for him.

“He said he was busy.”

“Busy… Right, let’s say that’s true. I’m sure Chae-min hyung ignored all your messages and even changed his number because nothing happened.”

“I’m telling you, it’s not like that.”

“But Lee Yeo-woon.”

As they entered the convenience store, Ha Seon-young suddenly met his gaze and called his name seriously. Yeo-woon also became unnecessarily serious, waiting with a solemn face for him to continue.

The sudden mention of Yoon Ji-gu sobered him up instantly.

“Why bring him up suddenly?”

“What do you mean suddenly? We’ve been talking about this from the start. Think about it, you idiot. He’s the best-looking among all the people you’ve been messing around with so far.”

“You think so too?”

Yeo-woon agreed without grasping the situation. Seon-young looked at Yeo-woon as if he wanted to hit him but couldn’t, then shook his head.

“This time too, you probably think you didn’t do anything. I know. But it might not be that way for him.”

But he really didn’t do anything. They were not even going to the same school, or working part-time together.

They just occasionally ran into each other. Could Yoon Ji-gu have misunderstood this much? That doesn’t make sense.

If that were really the case, Yoon Ji-gu would be someone with severe self-consciousness issues.

“What are you talking about? Don’t act like you know.”

Despite Yeo-woon’s scoff, Seon-young stubbornly held onto his opinion.

“I probably know better than you.”

“Bullshit.”

“In a few months, you’ll be calling me. If I’m right then, buy me some beef.”

“Buy it with your own money.”

The two turned back towards Yeo-woon’s house, arms full of canned beer.

“Ah, Lee Yeo-woon. Stop it. It hurts!”

As they were playfully bickering, a shadow fell behind them. Ha Seon-young was the first to turn around. A large hand covered Yeo-woon’s hand that had been hitting Seon-young’s body.

“Ah, cold!”

Yeo-woon turned around in surprise. He wondered why the hand was so cold when it wasn’t even winter, but Yoon Ji-gu, who had suddenly appeared, was already holding a pear-flavored ice pop in one hand.

Yoon Ji-gu casually let go of Yeo-woon’s hand and squeezed himself between Seon-young and him. Seon-young was the first to step back with a small cry. But Yoon Ji-gu didn’t even glance his way, only staring intently at Yeo-woon.

“…He told you to stop.”

What’s going on? Confused by the quiet voice and Yoon Ji-gu’s sudden intrusion, Yeo-woon could only blink.

“He told you to stop, so why do you keep doing it?”

“No, I was just joking…”

Yeo-woon tried to signal Seon-young with his eyes to say something, but Yoon Ji-gu standing between them blocked his line of sight.

‘Seon-young, you crazy bastard!’

Yeo-woon screamed internally. He couldn’t understand why Seon-young was just standing there silently.

‘Wait a minute.’

But thinking about it calmly, it seemed a bit ridiculous. It’s not like he had beaten the kid to a pulp; it was just the kind of playful scuffle common between friends. He couldn’t understand what right Yoon Ji-gu had to interfere.

“Don’t butt in. Did I hit you or him?”

“What? Are you going to hit me now too?”

“Who said anything about hitting? Your reaction is a bit much for just some playful scuffle.”

Usually, treating him like a child and coaxing him would suffice, but today Yeo-woon didn’t feel like doing that. As Yeo-woon unusually didn’t placate him and instead responded sarcastically, a hint of unease began to show on Yoon Ji-gu’s cool face.

“…Playful scuffle? How am I supposed to know that? I was just going home when I heard that person saying to stop… So I just intervened.”

“What?”

Listening to this, Yeo-woon started to get annoyed. The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed. Yeo-woon let out a dry laugh and snapped:

“Hey.”

“What.”

Yoon Ji-gu didn’t back down either.

“Why are you taking his side?”

“…What?”

“Who are you friends with?”

“You, Hyung.”

“Then whose side should you be on?”

“…Wait, why is that even relevant here? When did I take sides? From what I saw, you were hitting him, so I stopped you. Should I have stopped the person being hit instead?”

“I told you I wasn’t hitting him.”

Seriously. Whether he hit him or not, why was Ji-gu even getting involved? It was infuriating. Since when were Seon-young and Ji-gu so close? They were the ones who are friends, so why was he siding with Seon-young and getting mad at him?

“Let’s talk for a moment. Why are you suddenly so angry?”

Yoon Ji-gu frowned at Yeo-woon’s words, which were accompanied by a sigh. He tilted his head slightly as if he really didn’t understand.

“…Angry? Me?”

“Yes, you. No matter how I think about it, I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“…”

“But that’s just from my perspective, and I think you might have felt differently. So if there’s something bothering you, tell me. Because I don’t see why you’d want to argue with a passerby over something that doesn’t matter.”

“…”

“Do I look easy to you because I’ve been treating you nicely?”

Yoon Ji-gu didn’t answer for a long time. He just bit his lip hard, his eyes reddening. If he’s not going to properly explain the reason, why does he suddenly get angry?

…And more importantly, why did he side with Ha Seon-young, whom he barely knew? Until Ji-gu explained that, Yeo-woon wouldn’t speak first.

Yeo-woon stood still for a while, glaring at Yoon Ji-gu in a staring contest. Although Yoon Ji-gu’s eyes wavered slightly under his gaze, he folded his arms and stared back at Yeo-woon silently.

“Crazy… This is going to end badly.”

Watching this scene from a step behind, Seon-young muttered as if the outcome was obvious and headed back into the building.