PSY CH 7
by Lulu“Here, wipe your sweat.”
Dohyun, frowning and flapping his clothes, took the towel and roughly wiped his face and neck. After shaking out his wet hair, he drank from a bottle of water, gulping it down. Crunch, then he crumpled the empty bottle.
“I’ve replaced all the pipes, so there shouldn’t be any issues. If something feels off, contact me right away.”
The man, wiping his sweat with the towel hanging around his neck, spoke. His face was bright red from the heat.
“Alright, I’ll contact you.”
Dohyun threw a water bottle into the truck bed and took cash from his wallet. He then placed it in an envelope he prepared and handed it to the man.
“Only you, Dohyun, always takes care of things right away. I don’t know if it’s because everyone’s struggling with money or what, tsk.”
“…”
“Still, if you’re hiring someone, you should pay them properly, huh?”
The man opened the envelope. His face turned into a surprise when he checked the amount.
“Hwang Dohyun, you… again!”
He quickly grabbed Dohyun, who was about to turn away, and took out four 50,000-won bills from the envelope, pushing them back toward him.
“You need to calculate the money properly.”
“Ah, it’s fine. Just take it.”
“No way!”
He stubbornly refused to take the money. Even though Dohyun let out an annoyed sigh, the man stood firm.
“It’s not even that much.”
“Even so, money should only be earned for what you work for.”
“Hah…”
Dohyun placed his hand on his waist and rubbed his eyebrow with his index finger.
“Isn’t Jungwon going to the academy now?”
“…”
“Then, use it for that or whatever.”
The man, who had been quietly watching Dohyun, smiled.
“Where did you hear that? Did you hear it from my wife?”
“Who knows.”
Dohyun took a cigarette pack from his back pocket. Despite his grumbling attitude, the man didn’t stop smiling. He looked at Dohyun with even more affection.
“Then just give it to Jungwon directly.”
“…”
“That’s the right thing to do, Dohyun.”
“…”
“Got it?”
As Dohyun brought the cigarette to his mouth, he realized that the man would never take the money. He let out a heavy sigh, then put the cigarette back in the pack and accepted the money the man had offered.
“Do you understand?”
“I don’t.”
The man chuckled and playfully slapped Dohyun on the chest. Not just once, but several more times, as if joking.
“Ah, stop.”
Dohyun turned to dodge, and only then did the man pull his hand back. After exchanging a few more words, the man got into the truck. He rolled down the passenger side window and waved at Dohyun. The truck, now loaded with cargo, rumbled to life, and the exhaust fumes trailing from its rear grew distant.
Dohyun, who had lost the urge to smoke, put the cigarette back into the package. As he turned to head back to the arcade, he came face to face with Jooyoung. His face, which had been relaxed, immediately hardened.
“What ‘re you looking at?”
He muttered curtly and walked past Jooyoung.
“…”
Jooyoung didn’t go out of his way to stop him, but he didn’t take his eyes off Dohyun until the latter disappeared into the arcade. That strange feeling he’d had when he saw the sloppily written thank-you note returned once again.
“Aigo, he sent something like this again. That kid, Dohyun, really doesn’t listen.”
Last night, his aunt had clicked her tongue when she saw the Onnuri gift certificate that had come back along with the side dishes. It seemed this wasn’t the first time he’d sent a certificate in return for the food.
“It’s not a big deal to make a little extra while I’m already cooking. Right, Young-ah?”
Smiling faintly at the note, his aunt clapped her hands.
“Oh, right, this won’t do. Young-ah, next time you see Dohyun, could you ask if there’s anything he wants to eat?”
Since it was summer, she said she’d make whole chicken soup or something to send over, chattering with a bright smile that never left her face.
Come to think of it, Dohyun had been quite kind before he knew Jooyoung was Jooyoung. He bluntly asked if he was a mixed-race, but still fixed Jooyoung’s broken umbrella before he left—even though no one asked him to.
Had Dohyun really changed?
Or was he simply holding a personal grudge?
Jooyoung suddenly found himself curious about Dohyun.
***
Dohyun’s daily routine was fairly simple. He seemed to spend most of his time at the adult arcade or PC room, and sometimes walked around the building carrying something like a toolbox.
So observing him wasn’t hard. There was no need to seek him out deliberately. Like Jooyoung, who only moved between the house and the pawnshop, Dohyun’s range of activity also didn’t extend far beyond the building. Since they saw each other almost every day, it was easy for Jooyoung to watch him.
Recently, he’d noticed that Dohyun was generally kind to adults. While he played rough and acted crude around his friends, he was gentle, especially toward the elderly. Even when he complained nonstop, his actions often contradicted his words—like the other day, grumbling at a middle-aged man while still giving him extra money.
In other words, Dohyun was cold only to Jooyoung.
More than cold—he seemed to harbor something close to hostility. Not knowing the reason, Jooyoung only grew more puzzled the more he observed him.
“Are you heading home now?”
As Jooyoung descended the stairs, he nearly bumped into the janitor coming up with her cleaning tools. He’d been lost in thought and only noticed her presence at the last moment.
“Aigoo, you’re leaving late today.”
“Yes.”
He just closed the pawnshop around 8 p.m.—later than usual.
“But…”
Jooyoung had replied curtly and was about to pass her when her next words made him pause and turn his head.
“You’re that person the boss always talks about, right?”
“Sorry?”
“You know, the one he always says was his childhood friend. He said you were the grandson of that old pawnshop man.”
The woman slipped a hand into her apron pocket, her eyes sparkling. In her other hand, she held a bucket filled with miscellaneous cleaning tools.
“Yes, I am his grandson.”
“Aigoo, then I was right! I thought so.”
“…”
“You must be so glad to see each other again, huh?”
“Yeah… I guess…”
Jooyoung responded half-heartedly, then quickly added, “Sorry, I’ve got to run—I’ve got a bus to catch,” hinting he was in a hurry to leave. “Oh, of course, go on ahead then,” the woman said, stepping back to let him pass.
Once he reached the bottom of the stairs, Jooyoung glanced back. The janitor was already climbing again, organizing her tools as she went.
By “boss,” she must have meant Hwang Dohyun. Had Dohyun told her about him?
“He probably got all shy. That kid, you wouldn’t believe how much he used to talk about you.”
His grandfather had said the exact same thing.
Dohyun talked about Jooyoung all over the place, yet acted cold and aloof whenever they met. Jooyoung couldn’t make sense of him.
As he stepped outside, the damp night air pressed gently against his skin. He walked toward the bus stop on the left side of the building, and there, in front of the arcade, stood Dohyun.
The friend smoking with him, Hangyeol, saw Jooyoung and let out an “Oh.” Then he raised his hand high and waved vigorously.
“Hello!”
“…Oh, hello.”
“Are you going home now?”
“Yes.”
Unlike Hangyeol, who spoke to him warmly despite not being close, Dohyun ignored Jooyoung, fiddling with his phone, as if he weren’t even there. And that guy had been smiling brightly just a moment ago.
At that moment, a strong impulse surged in Jooyoung’s heart.
He wanted to rip the mask off Dohyun’s face and see what was really underneath. So he did something he normally wouldn’t—he walked straight up to Dohyun and spoke to him.
“Hi.”
“…”
“Oh, is this me pretending we’re close too?”
At the innocently delivered remark, Dohyun’s lips crooked to one side.
“‘Pretending we’re close’? What are you talking about?”
Hangyeol, who didn’t understand the context, tilted his head back and forth with a curious look. But unfortunately, there was no one here to satisfy his curiosity.
Dohyun’s face, now devoid of a smile, was cold as ice. The colder he looked, the more shamelessly Jooyoung stared back at him. However, the strange standoff didn’t last long.
“I’m leaving.”
Dohyun tossed his half-smoked cigarette to the ground. The still-lit end was lazily ground out with his foot.
“Oh, uh. Go ahead.”
Hangyeol scratched his cheek while glancing at Jooyoung. He thought Jooyoung must be feeling offended. Even to someone who didn’t know much, Dohyun’s attitude toward Jooyoung seemed extremely hostile. It even looked like he blatantly ignored him because he didn’t think Jooyoung was worth dealing with.
But Jooyoung didn’t seem particularly upset. He simply stared silently as Dohyun disappeared into the arcade. Maybe because of his sharp eyes, his expression looked a bit cold.
“Want one?”
Hangyeol pulled out his pack of cigarettes and shook it. Jooyoung slowly turned to look at him. Hangyeol slightly flinched at the sight of those bright yellow eyes.
“I’m good.”
Jooyoung slowly shook his head. Just then, a breeze blew by, and his hair fluttered lightly.
“…”
Hangyeol unconsciously rubbed the back of his neck. He felt goosebumps pricking up on his skin. He stared down at his palm in confusion, then brushed it off, thinking maybe the wind had cooled off his sweat.