PSY CH 27

The stifling air rushed in through the window left open for ventilation. Jooyoung, whose clothes fluttered in the breeze, switched his phone to the other hand. In a short time, sweat had gathered on his palm. The call had lasted longer than he expected.

“I told you I don’t want to.”

― How can you just say you don’t want to? It makes me upset to hear it, you know.

Jooyoung could only bite his lower lip in frustration. 

“It’s just that the place I was going to feels more comfortable.” 

―We’re just worried it’ll be too much trouble for you.

His family had suggested moving the hospital closer to Maeyang, so there wouldn’t be a need to travel so far, but going to Seoul once a month wasn’t much of a hassle for Jooyoung.

― Joosung said he’s looking into hospitals in Busan.

“…”

― If you go to Busan, I’ll give you the car your hyung uses, so you can drive around in that. Think about how convenient that is.

Jooyoung remembered the prescription bag left alone on the desk in his lodging room. He had gone to the hospital during his last trip to Seoul. The prescription was for exactly one month’s worth of medication. 

― Your hyung will contact you again, so just know that for now.

“…”

― Alright? Jooyoung ah~.

“…Alright.”

Only after he reluctantly gave in did his mother finally feel relieved and end the call.

However, Jooyoung couldn’t take his eyes off the phone for a while. Since his older brother Joosung was looking into hospitals, Jooyoung would inevitably have to move to another hospital. If he kept refusing, his mother might give in out of pity, but Joosung wouldn’t. He would definitely scold him with a stern face, asking if now was really the time to be stubborn.

He didn’t have to use the hospital as an excuse to go to Seoul, but it was the most convenient excuse. Saying he wanted to meet a friend or go to his family home would only seem like whining to his family. Even if they didn’t think that way, Jooyoung himself didn’t feel justified, so he had no way out.

“Sigh…”

Jooyoung rubbed his forehead, where sweat had started to form, and exhaled deeply. With so much stress already weighing him down, the thought of moving the hospital suddenly felt like a heavy burden, making his chest tight.

The doctor had told him to be particularly careful with stress during his last visit. But this was something Jooyoung couldn’t control. And Dohyun’s strange attitude, too…

“Is the call finished?”

A sudden voice interrupted his thoughts. Since it was the voice of the person he’d just been thinking about, Jooyoung couldn’t help but jump in surprise.

Dohyun slowly stood up from where he’d been leaning against the metal door. His steps toward Jooyoung were slow but carried a certain weight.

Jooyoung instinctively looked him over. He wasn’t sure if Dohyun had overheard the call, which made him feel uneasy. 

Instead of approaching the counter as expected, Dohyun came toward the door separating the inside from the outside of the counter. Without any warning, he turned the handle. Fortunately, the door just clicked but didn’t open.

“Oh, it’s locked.”

Dohyun, still holding the doorknob, pulled his head back slightly. 

“Can you open the door?” 

Dohyun tapped the door with the knuckles of his finger. The sound, thunk, thunk, made Jooyoung’s shoulders flinch with a start. He didn’t want to open the door, but he knew that not doing so would make him seem even more suspicious to Dohyun, so he reluctantly unlocked it.

Dohyun entered the counter area and slowly looked around, as if he were searching for something. 

Why had Dohyun come to the pawn shop?

Jooyoung now found himself unconsciously searching for reasons behind even the smallest and most insignificant actions of Dohyun. 

“I haven’t seen this before.”

Dohyun raised an eyebrow as he looked at the rotating fan.

“…The old fan seems to be broken, so I replaced it.”

“…”

“The air conditioner doesn’t work here either.”

Dohyun looked up at the wall-mounted air conditioner. Its yellowed surface had become so discolored that its original color was unrecognizable, a clear sign of time passing. Dohyun chuckled lightly and said. 

“Your Grandpa told me not to replace it. He doesn’t like cold air.” 

At that moment, Jooyoung understood why Dohyun, who was usually diligent about building maintenance, had left the pawn shop’s air conditioner in its current state.

“Should I replace it?”

Dohyun gestured toward the air conditioner with a tilt of his chin. Jooyoung was caught off guard by the unexpected question and couldn’t answer right away. It seemed too simple to think he had come all the way here just to offer to change the air conditioner, especially considering everything that had happened between them. He felt like he had to be cautious with his response.

“…It’s fine. I’m not going to be here for long anyway.” 

As soon as Jooyoung finished speaking, Dohyun let out a twisted smile.

“Oh, you’re not going to be here for long?”

He nodded to himself in a mockingly sarcastic way before continuing, 

“But you seem to be making friends and living comfortably here.”

Was he talking about Hangyeol? Dohyun must have seen him the other day when he helped carry the luggage, so it made sense to think so. 

“I just ran into him on the way here.”

“I thought…”

“…”

“Seems like you have a knack for finding easy targets.”

Jooyoung shot a look at Dohyun, asking what he meant, but Dohyun just shrugged his eyebrows in a playful manner. He started idly tapping the objects around the pawn shop as he looked around, before sitting on the drawer. 

“Well, it’s not that I’m here for anything else.”

He spoke as though he was just stopping by for a quick chat. His hands were folded comfortably between his thighs, and his legs were naturally crossed.

“Jung Hangyeol.”

“…”

“That bastard’s been acting weird these days.” 

Jooyoung furrowed his brows without realizing it. As he listened, something started to feel off. Never mind Hangyeol acting strangely—why had Dohyun come to him just to talk about this?

“What does that have to do with me?”

He seemed to think Jooyoung was pretending not to know, sneering as he spoke.

“It’s not that it doesn’t have something to do with you, is it?”

“…I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

“That bastard’s been following you around lately.” 

Jooyoung’s eyes widened.

“What do you mean by suddenly…? He’s following me?” 

“Yeah.”

Jooyoung was at a loss for words. He had bumped into Hangyeol a few times, but he had never gotten the impression that Hangyeol was following him. The time he saw him at the terminal yesterday had been purely by chance.

“You didn’t know?”

“…”

“He’s been trailing you like a dog whenever he sees you. I wonder why.”

He was angry, wondering if Dohyun was now making up excuses just to torment him. As much as he didn’t want to provoke Dohyun, this time he couldn’t just sit there and take it. It felt unfair.

“…I don’t know what misunderstanding you’re having.”

Jooyoung gripped the armrest of the chair tightly and shot back.

“It has nothing to do with me. If you want an explanation, go ask him—”

“He treats you like a woman.” 

The words that followed cut him off completely.

“Yes, you.”

Dohyun leaned slightly forward, staring directly at Jooyoung. His gaze was intense, as if he were ready to catch even the smallest lie. For a moment, Jooyoung felt like he couldn’t breathe, as if he were being strangled.

Hangyeol treated him like a woman?

“…”

Jooyoung felt confused. He had always thought Hangyeol was just a friendly person, but he had never once felt like Hangyeol was treating him like a woman.

“He never… did anything like that.”

Jooyoung shook his head firmly to deny it. However, Dohyun’s stance remained unwavering.

“That’s just what you think.”

The tension in the air grew taut, making it hard to breathe. Saliva pooled bitterly under Jooyoung’s tongue. He struggled to stay calm. There was no way Dohyun actually knew anything—he was just being paranoid. No need to get flustered and act like a fool.

“If you’re so curious about why Hangyeol did such things, then ask him yourself. It has nothing to do with me. And that whole ‘treating me like a woman’ thing? That’s your misunderstanding.”

Maybe Dohyun was just upset about how friendly Hangyeol was with him. That was the only explanation Jooyoung could think of. 

“Misunderstanding, huh?”

“…”

“You’re the reason he’s acting like that.”

Dohyun stood up from where he’d been sitting.

“You like it, don’t you?”

“…”

“Being looked after like that. Like a woman.”

Jooyoung went pale, too shocked to reply, as if Dohyun had hit the nail on the head.

“Must be nice, having someone to carry your stuff.”

He happened to see Hangyeol and Jooyoung walking outside through the window yesterday. Hangyeol, who usually didn’t carry anything but his phone, was holding some luggage in his hands. As he overheard their conversation in front of the lodging house, he realized that the luggage was Jooyoung’s.

“Well, I guess it wouldn’t be that hard for you to get Jung Hangyeol to do something like that for you, would it?”

Jooyoung had been like that even when he was young. He always thought it was natural to make others do the hard and inconvenient tasks. Dohyun knew this better than anyone, as they were the closest.

“Ha…”

After listening to it all, Jooyoung suddenly exhaled a sigh, almost like a scoff.

“‘Likes being looked after like a woman,’ huh…”

“…”

“Dohyun-ah, get your facts straight.” 

Jooyoung’s upturned eyes were as fierce as a cat’s.

“You were the one who treated me that way.” 

Jooyoung began piecing the puzzle back together—reordering cause and effect. For the first time, a crack appeared on Dohyun’s previously indifferent face.

“The hell are you talking about—” 

“You liked me, right?”

Dohyun froze just as he was about to retort. His face, which had been rigid, finally shattered like glass just before breaking.

It was the moment when everything flipped.