Ire couldn’t take his eyes off the spectacle before him. Large clusters of light flickered and moved in the darkness. Kim Ha-yoon had brought him to the top of a tall building, right next to the sea.
According to Kim Ha-yoon, this place used to be a city, but most of the area was submerged due to rising sea levels. He told Ire that the people who moved inland afterward scattered and lived in various places.
In District B, there was an old man who claimed to have lived by the sea as a child. He said his father used to take a boat out every day, and on days when he caught a lot of fish, his mother’s face was always filled with smiles. He said the money from selling those fish paid for his schooling and marriage.
Even at over 100 years old, the old man remembered relatively detailed accounts.
“It feels like I’m in space…”
Ire muttered, even though he had never been to space. Kim Ha-yoon chuckled silently, and Ire regretted not being able to record all of this. He wished he had a camera. He understood why people paid so much money for photographs.
The clusters of light moved quickly from here to there, and from there to here. Kim Ha-yoon said it was bioluminescence, where living organisms emitted light through chemical reactions. Ire listened but didn’t fully understand.
As he concentrated, his upper body leaned over the railing, and Kim Ha-yoon wrapped his arm around his waist.
“Be careful. You could fall if the wind gets too strong.”
Usually, guys just grab each other’s arms, right? Feeling awkward, Ire tried to subtly move away, but Kim Ha-yoon held onto the railing with the arm around his waist. As a result, Ire was trapped in his embrace, and the distance between them narrowed. He was supposed to be looking at the sea, but he felt uncomfortable being so aware of Kim Ha-yoon next to him.
“How is it?”
“How is what?”
“Has your liking for me gone up a bit?”
Ire didn’t know what he was talking about. He laughed in disbelief, and Kim Ha-yoon seriously asked if it still hadn’t. Ire wasn’t sure what fell under the definition of “liking,” but the animosity he felt when they first met had largely disappeared. In fact, while he still felt uncomfortable at times, he also enjoyed being with Kim Ha-yoon.
If he had to put it into exact proportions, enjoyment might be greater…
Kim Ha-yoon had allowed him to experience things he never had before, and that was valuable enough to him.
“I don’t think you’re a bad person,” Ire said.
“Then, do you like me?”
“Not quite to that extent…”
“You’re playing hard to get. Well, you’re worth it.”
Then, he turned and stared intently at Ire’s face. When their eyes met, Ire felt strange and pulled away from his embrace.
“I’ve seen enough. Let’s go down.”
He turned on his flashlight and hurried toward the entrance they had come through. Kim Ha-yoon followed silently without saying anything. As they descended the stairs, shining the light, Ire noticed words scribbled like graffiti on the walls in various places.
-Goodbye, I’m leaving!
-If someone reads this in the future, I hope they remember my name.
-Finally, the end is here lol this shitty Earth
-I wanted to have sex before I died, damn it…
-Holding the college entrance exam even with all this going on. Fuck all the high schools in Korea!
What was the college entrance exam…? The letters were faded and partially erased. There were many unfamiliar words, but Ire felt like he understood the feelings of the people who had lived here at the time to some extent. They exited the building and boarded the helicopter that was waiting.
Ire gripped the seatbelt tightly, worried that Kim Ha-yoon might do something crazy again.
The altitude increased, and the helicopter quickly left the area. The helicopter flew for a long time, and Ire couldn’t take his eyes off the constantly changing scenery outside.
“What are you looking at so intently?”
Ire turned his head toward Kim Ha-yoon’s voice and almost bumped their lips. In that moment, Kim Ha-yoon’s eyes slowly moved down and then up. Ire’s cheeks suddenly flushed at the gaze.
Just as he was about to quickly turn his head to the other side, his chin was grabbed. Before he could resist, Kim Ha-yoon’s lips lightly touched his and then pulled away. Ire’s eyes widened in surprise and confusion, but no sound came out of his mouth.
He just blinked like an idiot as Kim Ha-yoon adjusted his posture and looked straight ahead as if nothing had happened. It had happened so quickly that it felt like a dream. Lieutenant Park and the pilot in the front didn’t seem to notice.
Ire should have demanded an explanation for what he had just done, but his lips felt stuck together. Instead, his heart pounded. He pressed his body as close to the window as possible, worried that Kim Ha-yoon might hear it. Then, he bit his lip slightly.
Ire took off his dirt-covered clothes and went to take a shower, but Kim Ha-yoon had already filled the bathtub with water. And it was full of bubbles. He went closer and touched it with his hand, and the water was warm. A pleasant fragrance wafted through the air.
Had Kim Ha-yoon prepared it for him to get in? After hesitating, Ire put his foot in the tub. His whole body ached from falling out of the helicopter, but the warm water seemed to melt away the pain. He cupped his hands together, scooped up the bubbles, and blew on them. Surprisingly, the shapes stayed intact.
This time, he put them on his short hair. He couldn’t see himself in the mirror, but he could feel the bubbles slowly sliding down as he moved his head. After playing around for a while, he finished up and changed into the clothes Kim Ha-yoon had prepared.
It was the pajamas he had worn before, and they were too big for him, covering his hands and feet. He never thought of himself as short, but his pride was always hurt. It didn’t take long to dry his hair. That was one of the good things about having short hair.
When he came out to the living room, Kim Ha-yoon was sitting on the sofa watching a video.
“Did you finish showering?”
He held a glass of alcohol in one hand, leaned back on the sofa, and pressed the remote control here and there. Then, Kim Ha-yoon’s father’s face appeared on the screen. He made a disgusted expression and turned on a movie. Ire cautiously took a seat at the end of the sofa.
He had been about to go home, but Kim Ha-yoon had stopped him. Now that it was just the two of them, it felt awkward.
“Want a beer?”
“No…”
“Why?”
Why, he asks. Does he really not know? Strange things always happened whenever he drank. Kim Ha-yoon didn’t press him further but instead picked up a piece of fruit that had been neatly sliced with a fork and offered it to him.
“Eat it. It’s fresh.”
“Thank you.” Ire took the fork and popped the fruit into his mouth, and his eyes widened. Sweet juice burst in his mouth. The sweetness was unlike anything he had ever tasted before, and it made his head spin. The other fruits he had eaten before were also delicious, but this was truly fantastic.
“What is this?”
“Peach.”
So this was what a peach tasted like, something he had only seen in pictures. He was too embarrassed to ask for more, so he subtly slid off the sofa and moved toward the table. As he picked up another peach and put it in his mouth, Kim Ha-yoon’s large hand landed on his head. “Cute,” he said, and Ire flinched without realizing it.
“You hate it when I say you’re cute, don’t you?”
“It’s awkward when guys say things like that to each other.”
“Then should I say you’re pretty?”
“Don’t say either. It’s annoying.”
Ire spoke with his mouth full of peach, so his pronunciation was muffled. The cafeteria in the unit also served fruit, but they had never had peaches. When he asked Kim Ha-yoon, he said that peaches were rare even in District A. He resolved to buy some for his family when he made a lot of money in the future.
“How was it earlier?”
Ire swallowed the peach in his mouth and looked at Kim Ha-yoon. He was twirling his glass in his hand.
“In the helicopter, I mean. How was it?”
Ire rolled his eyes with the peach in his mouth.
“I was scared, but once I did it, it wasn’t a big deal.”
“Really?”
“Actually, it was thrilling. I think I could do it again if you asked me to.”
Just as he was about to pick up another peach, Kim Ha-yoon slid off the sofa and placed his glass on the table. Ire frowned as he sat down close beside him. Before he could ask why he was sitting there, Kim Ha-yoon cupped the back of his head and pulled him in. Their lips were crushed together, and the bitter scent of alcohol tickled his nose.
Their lips parted with a “smack,” but Ire was too surprised to move.
“How is it? Is it thrilling now too?”
Belatedly regaining his senses, Ire jumped up and pointed at Kim Ha-yoon with the fork in his hand.
“Are you crazy! Why, why did you kiss me!”
He had naturally assumed he was asking about the high-altitude drop. He was speechless and indignant, but Kim Ha-yoon nonchalantly returned to his original position and sat down in the same posture as before.
“Wasn’t that a kiss?”
“…”
“Sorry. I misunderstood.”
He smiled slyly.
With a face that showed no remorse at all.