PSY CH 14
by LuluA sudden downpour began.
After the early monsoon season had ended, the stretch of clear skies had disappeared, trapped behind gray clouds for several days now. Thunderstorms had raged through the early morning, and by day, heavy rain poured down hard enough to form puddles all over the roads.
Jooyoung stood quietly by the window. In an attempt to air out the dampness collected in the pawnshop, he had to leave the window open despite the rain. Because of that, raindrops occasionally fell onto the crown of his head. Even so, Jooyoung didn’t move an inch. Only the hand pressed against the wall kept fidgeting, pressing and peeling away the damp wallpaper over and over again.
His gaze was fixed on the desk. The plain desk was littered with an old calculator, a ledger, and rolling pens. But in one corner sat something different from usual.
A black leather wallet.
“…”
Jooyoung slid down along the wall into a crouch. The fan blew gently, scattering his hair in soft wisps. Maybe he’d been biting it too much—his lower lip was slightly swollen, throbbing with a dull pain.
It might sound like a silly excuse, but it felt like someone was playing a dull prank on him. That was what Jooyoung thought.
The wallet had a resident ID card as well as a driver’s license, making it laughably easy to identify the owner. In the photo on the ID, the man’s hair was short, unlike now, where his wavy hair just grazed the nape of his neck. The photo must’ve been taken quite a while ago. Still, it wasn’t unrecognizable.
A handsome face. But eyes shadowed with deep discontent, carrying a sharp, hostile glare. The owner of the wallet was the childhood friend who now looked at Jooyoung with inexplicable animosity.
“…I just have to return it. That’s all I have to do.”
Jooyoung hugged his knees and muttered to no one in particular. He picked up the wallet. He knew who it belonged to. All that’s left is to return it. That’s it. That’s all. Jooyoung repeated that thought to himself, over and over.
Bang!
A loud noise suddenly echoed from above. Jooyoung flinched, his shoulders jerking in surprise. When he looked up, someone was standing beyond the counter window.
The moment the man noticed Jooyoung had seen him, he banged on the window again—bang, bang—as if to demand he open the door. Even without putting much force into it, the sound rang out loudly.
Frozen for a second, Jooyoung suddenly remembered what was on the desk and rushed over. Instinctively, his hand shot out to shove the wallet aside. It was a reflexive motion.
“Mind opening the door?”
The customer behind the window—Dohyun—spoke.
“…”
Click. Jooyoung cautiously slid the window open. Dohyun leaned in, resting his arm on the frame as he bent down. His gaze swept slowly across the pawnshop’s interior. Jooyoung swallowed nervously and pushed the wallet further inward with his fingertips. Then Dohyun straightened and spread his arms to brace against the frame.
“You’ve got something for me, don’t you?”
Jooyoung gulped and responded with a confused, “Huh?”
“You’ve got something to give me.”
When silence followed even his repeated demand, Dohyun let out a disbelieving laugh.
“My wallet. Hand it over.”
“…”
“The wallet I dropped—and you picked up.”
Jooyoung’s shoulders jerked slightly. Just moments ago, he had muttered that he could simply return the wallet, so why was his body stiffening in panic, as if he felt guilty?
There was no need to think too deeply about it. In fact, it was better this way. The owner had come directly to him, so there was no need for Jooyoung to go searching for the person who lost it.
“You took it, didn’t you?”
But Jooyoung made the worst possible choice. The moment he heard those words, his mind went blank, and something else came out of his mouth automatically.
“…What wallet?”
He should have just said that he found it by chance and was planning to return it. Instead, Jooyoung lied. He wanted to bite his tongue for letting it slip, but it was too late.
“What wallet?”
Dohyun’s face showed a look of disbelief. Clearly, he knew that Jooyoung had the wallet, seeing as he had come to demand it so confidently.
“There’s no something like your wallet here.”
Yet, his treacherous mouth continued spitting out nonsense. Jooyoung himself didn’t even know why he was acting this way.
“Are you saying you don’t know?”
A scoff escaped Dohyun’s twisted lips.
“Hah…”
He extended his arm and lowered his gaze. Jooyoung, standing behind the counter, wore an expression of pure fear. His throat visibly bobbed as he repeatedly swallowed, and his eyes darted back and forth. His eyelids blinked rapidly.
The moment Dohyun noticed his wallet was missing this morning, he checked the building’s CCTV. He was used to losing things, so he wasn’t particularly shocked. He simply followed the usual routine, reviewing the footage along the path he had taken.
As expected, the CCTV footage contained all the details. The wallet had fallen to the floor as he tried to put it in his back pocket. It was left on the landing between the second and third floors, then suddenly disappeared when someone came by.
Jooyoung, holding the wallet in his hand, looked back at Dohyun with a nervous expression.
“…”
The fan hummed as it rotated from side to side, creating a rattling sound. The damp wind made Jooyoung’s clothes flutter. His slender frame, hidden beneath the loose clothes, was briefly revealed. If he wore a school uniform, one could believe he was a high school student.
Dohyun’s thoughts drifted back to the person who originally occupied this space: Kim Jungseop, Jooyoung’s grandfather.
He would always talk about Jooyoung. “He’s kind and gentle, but the poor boy is too scaredy cat, I worry about him. Still, Dohyun, the only person who always think about you is Young-i.” He would say this with a gentle smile and his gravelly voice, as if recounting a fond memory.
The Jooyoung Dohyun knew, however, wasn’t like that at all.
“Ah.”
After a moment of silence, Dohyun raised an eyebrow.
“I guess I must have seen it wrong.”
“…”
“So, you don’t know anything about it?”
“……Uh, I don’t know.”
Jooyoung’s gaze wavered. He was anxious about how to handle the lie, but he never expected Dohyun to back off so easily.
“Hm……”
Dohyun’s index finger tapped the window frame twice. How much time had passed? He spoke in a calm tone.
“It’s not that.”
“…”
“I lost my wallet yesterday.”
Jooyoung didn’t react at all. He just carefully observed Dohyun with his eyes.
“Well, I just thought you should know.”
Dohyun took a step back as if he were done with the matter. His gaze swept around the pawn shop, shining with interest. Then, he grinned.
“If you happen to find it, bring it to me.”
Jooyoung wiped his sweaty palms on his waist. He called out to him as Dohyun was about to leave the pawn shop, his voice sounding audacious even to his own ears.
“What does the wallet look like?”
Dohyun looked at Jooyoung with a dumbfounded expression, then burst into laughter, unable to hold it in. He laughed for a long time before shaking his head with a smile.
“Black. Leather.”
“…”
“You’ll know when you see it.”
Dohyun held onto the doorframe and flashed a carefree smile. It was the most mischievous, fitting grin for his age that Jooyoung had seen so far.
Jooyoung didn’t move at all until he heard Dohyun’s footsteps fade completely. Only then did he grab the desk and slump into the chair. His heart was pounding as if it were about to explode.
***
Arin suddenly shoved her face close to Jooyoung while handing him ice cream.
“What’s with those dark circles?”
“Huh? Oh, thanks. I’ll eat it.”
“No, I’m asking about the dark circles.”
Jooyoung slowly rubbed under his eyes with his index finger.
“Maybe because I didn’t sleep well… Do they look that bad?”
“They’re really bad.”
Arin responded seriously, then quickly turned her head, observing Jooyoung from different angles. “Hmm, a gaunt beauty,” she muttered under her breath. She spun around and plopped down onto her designated spot on the couch, chomping down on the ice cream.
Despite her casual actions, Arin was completely dolled up from head to toe today. Her makeup was on point, and she wore a knitted dress, with her hair neatly styled, giving her a more mature appearance.
“Where are you going today?”
“Hmm, my boyfriend’s coming over later.”
Jooyoung nodded and peeled the ice cream wrapper off. The ice cream had been in the freezer for so long that it had frost on it. After thinking for a moment, he decided not to eat it and set it down.
“Is something going on?”
Arin asked, and Jooyoung blinked in surprise before answering, “Out of sudden?”
“No, I mean, you said you didn’t sleep well. There must be a reason for it.”
Arin kept glancing at Jooyoung, who was pretending it was nothing.
The reason he hadn’t slept well was clear. Jooyoung’s gaze subconsciously drifted to the closed drawer. Inside was the wallet he still hadn’t returned.
“Sometimes it just happens.”
Jooyoung dismissed the question casually, trying to make it seem like no big deal. Arin pouted slightly, but didn’t press him further.
At that moment, a sound from outside caught their attention.
“Oh my.”
The door creaked open, and in walked Sooeun, drenched from the rain and holding her umbrella tightly. It was an unexpected visit, as Jooyoung knew her repayment day was still far off.
“Who’s this?”
Sooeun was startled when she saw Arin. Arin, too, looked surprised. She pulled the ice cream stick out of her mouth and shrank back slightly.
“I didn’t expect you to come today. The repayment day isn’t for a while.”
Jooyoung slowly stood up and approached Sooeun. She continued to stare at Arin as she walked to the counter.
“I’ve got something for you, Young.”
“Something for me?”
Sooeun handed Jooyoung a shopping bag hanging from her arm. Inside, there were samples of toothpaste and men’s skin lotion.
“A friend of mine works here. When I got the samples, I thought of you, so I brought some for you.”
“Oh… Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. If you run out, let me know, I’ll secretly bring more next time.”
Sooeun winked playfully, and then Arin quickly made her exit the shop. Her expression wasn’t great.