Clack. Having placed the coffee on the table, Yieum stood with his arms crossed, looking down at Choi Wonjoon with a displeased expression. He had brought the man here because he’d said he would leave without a fuss if Yieum just bought him a cup of coffee, and now regret was flooding in. Choi Wonjoon had taken off his suit jacket and placed it to one side, and was sitting with his legs crossed, savoring the coffee’s aroma.
“The aroma is nice.”
“Hurry up and drink it so you can go. I’m tired, too.”
Choi Wonjoon put the cup back down, and Yieum, his face scrunched up, checked the cup. It looked like he had put his mouth to it, but the coffee level was the same as before.
“Why aren’t you drinking it?”
“Slowly. I was raised delicately, so I can’t drink hot things well.”
If only he could, he wanted to forcibly grab the man’s jaw, pry his mouth open, and pour the coffee in, glug glug glug. Whenever he looked at Choi Wonjoon, Yieum would suspect that he might have a hidden sadistic side. He was barely managing to calm himself by carving the character for ‘patience’ into his heart when his phone rang just in time. He saw it was his older brother.
Could he have seen something earlier?
Yieum turned away, answering the phone with a tense expression.
“Oh, hyung.”
Yieum glanced at Choi Wonjoon out of the corner of his eye and then went straight into the bedroom.
[Are you home?]
“Yeah… why?”
[Father just called and threw a huge fit before hanging up. I had galbi for dinner, and I think I have indigestion now. What are you going to do? Huh?]
Yieum frowned and walked out onto the veranda. He had expected to some extent that his father’s temper would flare up at his brother. His older sister must have received the same call, but given her personality, it was obvious she would have snapped at him to stop his useless meddling. Their father, who had a hard time dealing with his daughter, wouldn’t have been able to argue back and must have latched onto his easygoing son to complain. But then, his brother brought something up out of the blue.
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[Oh, and by the way, I saw a couple of young guys getting it on next to the flowerbed earlier.]
“…”
[Sucking and kissing, they were making a real goddamn scene.]
Yieum held the phone to his ear with a dumbfounded expression. This guy is making things up. They were just hugging, when did they ever suck and kiss? He wanted to argue, but doing so would be admitting it was him, so he had no choice but to force his mouth shut.
[If you see them later, give them a warning. A lot of kids pass by there, don’t you think that’s a bit much?]
“Wh-why are you telling me that? If you didn’t like the look of it, you should have said something yourself, hyung.”
[The world is a scary place these days. You could get stabbed if you start a fight for no reason.]
Ha. Yieum let out a disbelieving laugh. So you’re saying it’s okay if I get stabbed? Unlike his older sister, who doted on him, his brother had always been like this since they were young. When Yieum commented on how he hadn’t matured at all even after getting older, his brother just chuckled, keuk keuk.
Yieum, concerned about Choi Wonjoon in the living room, quickly wrapped up the call and came out. Choi Wonjoon was gone. On the spot where he had been sitting, only the unfinished cup of coffee remained.
Did he go home? Feeling a sliver of hope, he went to the entryway to look for the man’s shoes, but he heard a presence from the bedroom, and then the door opened. Yieum’s face crumpled into a scowl. As if he had washed up on his own accord, Choi Wonjoon came out with only a towel wrapped precariously around his waist.
“What do you think you’re doing? Without permission.”
“I spilled coffee on my clothes. I took a shower and saw there was no robe in the bathroom.”
Wonjoon, who had been drying his hair, draped the towel around his neck and naturally went to the refrigerator, opened the door, and took out a beer. Psssh. He flipped the tab and gulped the beer down, glug glug glug. Then he wiped his lips and coolly returned to the living room.
Yieum was so dumbfounded by how the man acted as if it were his own home that he was at a loss for words. He picked up the remote control, and Yieum immediately went to the bathroom. In front of him were Choi Wonjoon’s clothes, neatly folded, and just as he’d said, the shirt was covered in coffee.
He couldn’t tell if the man had actually spilled it or had done it on purpose, but the fact that he had showered without the owner’s permission was astounding. He got a fresh set of underwear and clothes from the closet and came out to find Choi Wonjoon sitting on the sofa, changing channels with the remote.
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Yieum tossed the clothes he’d brought onto the sofa next to him.
“Change and then go.”
Choi Wonjoon unfolded the clothes and smiled faintly. It was the teddy bear T-shirt he used to wear when he was Youngsik.
“You don’t have to return the clothes. Throw them away or whatever, do as you please,”
Before he could even finish his sentence, Choi Wonjoon stood up and unwrapped the towel. The moment the towel fell to the floor, Yieum grimaced and averted his gaze. Aish. Hey, you. Say something before you take it off.
He heard the soft rustle of clothes being put on behind him, and then Choi Wonjoon picked up the towel and went to the bathroom. Yieum yelled at the back of his head.
“Take your clothes from in front of the bathroom with you, too!”
After that, he picked up the beer can Choi Wonjoon had been drinking. He drank it all already. He crushed it, threw it in the trash can, and turned around, but Choi Wonjoon, who had gone into the bedroom, didn’t reappear. It was the same even after waiting longer, so he couldn’t stand it anymore and opened the door to go in, and was shocked to find the man lying in bed, even covered with the blanket.
Yieum clenched his jaw tightly once, then released it and called to Choi Wonjoon.
“Hey, Mr. Choi.”
“…”
“Mr. Choi Wonjoon.”
“…”
“Hey.”
“…”
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That son of a bitch, really… On the verge of exploding, he yanked the blanket back, but Wonjoon turned onto his side and curled up like a fetus. With his eyes half-open, he mumbled as if talking in his sleep.
“I’m sleepy…”
At his whining tone, Yieum let out a disbelieving scoff. He shook the man’s shoulder, telling him to stop the act and get up, but he only opened his eyes halfway before closing them again. Yieum repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fists.
“Are you really going to be like this?”
Yieum tried to forcibly drag Choi Wonjoon out. But perhaps because of his build, he wouldn’t budge. Swallowing his anger, Yieum yanked the blanket all the way over the man’s head.
“Fine, sleep all you want. Sleep!”
After that, he turned to leave, but a voice came from behind him.
“Did you know that among human desires, the desire for sleep is the strongest?”
The sleep-drunk voice was not just languid, but so drenched it was chilling. He was about to tell him to stop spouting nonsense and go home if he was up, but Choi Wonjoon pulled the blanket down, revealing his face.
“I was kidnapped once when I was young. I couldn’t sleep for three days and nights. I was afraid I’d die if I fell asleep.”
“…”
“I’m not trying to pull a fast one. I came to you to be saved. If you’re a detective, you shouldn’t turn away someone who came to you to be saved.”
He wanted to snap at him to go to a sleep clinic or get some medication if his insomnia was that bad, but perhaps because he’d heard about the kidnapping, the words wouldn’t come out of his mouth. While Yieum was conflicted, Choi Wonjoon closed his eyes, and as if he had already fallen asleep, his chest rose and fell at a steady rhythm.
Yieum let out a sigh and tilted his head back wearily. He went outside and saw Choi Wonjoon’s cell phone lying on the table. What could be on that thing? Could Choi Wonjoon’s secrets be hidden inside? After some deliberation, Yieum picked up his cell phone.
When he touched the screen, it was locked, as expected. He pressed his fingerprint, but of course it wouldn’t work. In the end, he gave up, went to the refrigerator, took out a beer, and drained it in one go before going into the small room to try and sleep. However, all sorts of thoughts came flooding in like the tide, and sleep did not come easily.
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He lay down and got up repeatedly until the time was well past midnight, and when he finally fell asleep and opened his eyes, the sun was already streaming through the window. Yieum got up from his spot and came out without even tidying his disheveled hair.
He yawned, still groggy with sleep, and then glanced at the bedroom. Is that guy still sleeping? Worried he might run into his brother, he hurried over to send him on his way, but the bedroom was empty. Upon closer look, the bedroom, which had been somewhat messy, was now neatly organized, starting with the bedding.
Did he go home? He came out into the living room and looked around the house, and saw something on the dining table. He walked over slowly and saw it was a meticulously packaged lunch box.
[Thanks to you, I slept soundly and am now leaving. There was nothing to eat in the fridge but beer, so I asked Section Chief Lee to prepare breakfast. See you again.]
He stared blankly at the neatly written note before placing it on the table. When he opened the lid, a delicious smell wafted out. Yieum left the lunch box and headed straight for the bathroom. Unlike usual, he turned on the cold water and slowly wet his hair from the top down, feeling his relaxed mind snap to attention.