By Zephyria 
“Anyway, don’t get too close while I’m gone. That combination of you two brings me zero benefit.”
Gyu-oh pointed at Min-ho and Hong-ju as he put on his jacket. Perhaps because Hyung had worn it briefly earlier, it felt strangely warm. As he checked the motorcycle keys in his pocket, Min-ho, clutching his side, approached him hesitantly.
“What. Giving me something?”
“Where are you going?”
Two different questions overlapped simultaneously.
“I told you they caught Son Pro. That piece of shit.”
It’s not easy to be promoted from a lowlife to a ‘piece of shit,’ but Son Pro had managed to achieve that difficult feat. As Gyu-oh spoke while grinding his teeth, Min-ho furrowed his brows.
“I understood that. But why are you the one moving?”
“Then who else would move?”
“Didn’t you put people on it?”
Min-ho threw the question to Mu-gyeong, who was standing crookedly by the bed with his arms crossed. After confirming a short nod, Min-ho turned his gaze back to Gyu-oh.
“Then wait. They’ll drag him back somehow.”
“….”
“Don’t act recklessly. Who knows what he’s plotted this time.”
But Gyu-oh had already decided to clean up Son Pro with his own hands. No matter if they had his tail, the man was such a rat that Gyu-oh wouldn’t feel at peace unless he moved personally.
“I’ll just grab him and bring him back.”
As he stubbornly gripped the motorcycle keys, showing no intention of changing his mind, the crease between Min-ho’s brows deepened.
“Just leave him. That loose cannon doesn’t listen.”
Despite Mu-gyeong’s comment suggesting they just let him run wild, Min-ho’s expression didn’t soften. As Gyu-oh took a step to leave, Min-ho hurriedly followed, clutching his side. That sight made Gyu-oh feel anxious yet filled him with an unknown sense of fulfillment.
“If you go, is Seong Mu-gyeong really going to look after me? He’ll be too busy being lovey-dovey to even notice me.”
“Have you not experienced that for a day or two?”
“I’m a patient, so I don’t think I can even kick him out.”
Min-ho grabbed the hem of Gyu-oh’s clothes. Despite the slight strength of the grip, all of Gyu-oh’s movements came to a natural halt.
Why is Hyung stopping me? Because it’s dangerous? Or because he wants me to stay by his side? Whatever the reason, the fact that it was because of him didn’t change. That’s why he had to catch him and finish it with his own hands. To lighten Cha Min-ho’s guilt, and to earn the right to stay by the side of the ‘too good’ Cha Min-ho.
“Mr. Min-ho. Humans can’t live doing only good things.”
“….”
“Huh? Everyone lives by enduring and bearing it. You can do it too, Mr. Min-ho.”
He spoke as if he were a senior in life, yet he couldn’t bring himself to coldly shake off the hand clutching his clothes. Still, his determination seemed to be conveyed through the pat on the shoulder.
“You want me to be tormented by you and then tormented by that lovey-dovey couple? Is it okay to abuse a patient like this?”
Seeing that Gyu-oh had no intention of folding his decision, Min-ho changed his tactic.
“Ah, why are you doing this, making my heart go soft.”
“Just endure it for the sake of poor me, okay? Just stay put.”
He even gripped the sleeve, pretending to be pitiful. Normally, Gyu-oh would have backed down by now, but it seemed Son Pro had been an eyesore for far too long. He felt that if he didn’t settle this right now, he wouldn’t be able to sleep soundly for the next year.
Min-ho didn’t even respond to Mu-gyeong’s sarcasm about whether they were some kind of infectious disease; he just stared intently at Gyu-oh. He knew well that telling him to endure it by looking at his face would work, even though he wouldn’t actually accept him like this.
“Everyone, you have to monitor this patient well.”
“….”
“If he disappears, he’s gone to the roof to smoke. Please apprehend him immediately, okay?”
Gyu-oh conspicuously turned his head away and continued his preparations. When the medicine would arrive, when the nutritional supplements should be taken. As he listed and handed over the tasks he had been doing while guarding the room, Min-ho tapped his shoulder.
“Hey, aren’t you going to answer me?”
Staring unnaturally into the air, Gyu-oh replied, “This is the answer.” As he openly avoided eye contact and refused to face him, an irritated voice returned.
“I’m talking to you.”
“You told me to endure it for your sake. So I’m not looking at your face, and I’m not enduring it.”
“Hah.”
While Min-ho let out a hollow laugh at the absurd logic, Gyu-oh quickly turned and walked away. Perhaps because he timed the gap perfectly, the grip on his clothes easily fell away.
“Anyway, I’m counting on you. I’ll return in glory!”
He escaped the hospital room like that. No matter how much he claimed not to be in pain, Min-ho wouldn’t be able to run or shout loudly because of his sutured wounds. Leaving him behind like this made his heart a bit uncomfortable, but he’d be back soon.
Striding toward the elevator, he glanced back to confirm the closed hospital room door.
“….”
Things had become more complicated than expected, leading the situation to this point. But today, he would be able to put a period to that tedious ill fate. No, he had to make it so.
No matter how he thought about it, the sight of Cha Min-ho sitting in a hospital room wearing a patient gown was completely awkward. A bleak office desk was much safer and suited him better.
Chewing on the resolve to put him back in that seat soon, he strode forward.
* * *
As he neared his destination, cars and people poured out, coinciding exactly with quitting time. Since Son Pro might be mixed in there, he moved while scanning the front and checking the crowds from time to time. If he had come by car, he would have been stuck on the congested roads for a long time. Thanks to the motorcycle, he was able to reach his destination quite quickly.
The place he arrived at was slightly away from the industrial complex. There was only a lone building that showed signs of previous use, and the surrounding grass had grown waist-high.
Stopping at a suitable spot, Gyu-oh turned off the engine and took off his helmet. A freezing wind sharply clawed past his ears and cheeks. He shifted his gaze, hidden by his disheveled hair, and scanned the surroundings. It was a withered field of grass without a hint of life, but he thought it would be perfect for hiding if one lay flat.
“Ugh, I’m screwed if I miss him.”
He let out a single whistle and shook out his messy hair with his hand. Turning his gaze toward the abandoned building, which was four or five stories high, he saw a man in a suit waving his hand from a distance. The moment he felt their eyes meet despite the distance, the baldie who had been waving bowed his head.
After roughly confirming the location, he was about to move when the phone in his jacket pocket vibrated again. The contact had been continuous until he arrived. It was obvious even without looking… Gyu-oh stopped for a moment and pulled the phone from his pocket.
“…Would it be better if you contacted me like this normally?”
Including the vibration that had just stopped, most of the dozens of missed calls were from Min-ho. He usually ignored him, but now he was calling as if they were in a passionate relationship. Just as he was about to put the phone back, the screen lit up again. This time it wasn’t Min-ho, but Mu-gyeong.
They were obviously together anyway, but he thought Mu-gyeong might be contacting him to give a separate hint. Gyu-oh, quietly watching the withered grass leaves fluttering in the wind, pressed the call button.
―Hey, why aren’t you picking up?
The agitated voice was, as expected, Cha Min-ho’s. He shouldn’t have answered. Gyu-oh squinted one eye and replied nonchalantly.
“How am I supposed to answer the phone while driving?”
―Then how are you answering now? Did you arrive?
As soon as he answered yes, a torrent of nagging poured out. That he knew how many people were stationed there, so he should just confirm if it was Son Pro’s face and come back without lifting a finger, not to do anything foolish, that he’d kill him if he acted impulsively, and that they would handle it well so he shouldn’t dirty his hands for nothing. The list of precautions continued until his ears rang.
This was the original Cha Min-ho. It was a bit excessive compared to usual, but still, Cha Min-ho was probably the only person on Earth who worried about him this much. Because he secretly welcomed this nagging, the corners of his mouth kept curling up.
“Yeah, yeah, I got it. Stop nagging. It’s not like you’re going to date me.”
―Hey! Listen seriously for once.
He thought he heard the sound of wind over the phone, but since Min-ho was with Mu-gyeong, he figured there was nothing to worry about.
“I’m listening seriously with both hands folded neatly.”
Though he was in a delinquent posture with one hand shoved in his back pocket. It wasn’t as if Min-ho was in front of him anyway.
―Just catch him. Don’t do anything else. Got it?
“Ung-ung, I got it, okay?”
Usually, Min-ho would have hung up in annoyance at such an answer, but he continued his warnings as if he were incredibly anxious.
―Anyway, when you come back, I’m going to strip him naked in front of the guys to verify.
“Can’t you strip him when it’s just the two of you?”
―One hit for every wound. You got that?
Even though they were saying different things, the conversation somehow rolled along. This was close to how Won Gyu-oh and Cha Min-ho usually were.
“Wow, the experience of shaking people down for money doesn’t go away.”
While responding slyly, he kept feeling excited. Was it because Son Pro, cornered, was right in front of him? He slowly scanned the tall abandoned building with a cool gaze.
―…I didn’t spend my life shaking people down.
“Yes, let’s go with that.”
―Don’t do anything to get hurt. I’m seriously warning you.
Entering the building entrance, Gyu-oh quickly checked the interior. Although only the framework remained, there were large machines scattered about, so there seemed to be many places to hide.
“I know. I have to go in now. If this bastard slips away, I won’t be able to sleep soundly.”
―Even if you can’t sleep, I’m the one who can’t… why are you…
“What about couples? What are they? One body and soul.”
He thought Min-ho would get angry at being grouped as a couple, but unexpectedly, nothing followed. After a moment of silence where only noise lingered, Min-ho’s voice was heard. It was a small whisper, as if he were muttering with his hand over his mouth.
―You loose cannon. Don’t you have to date first before you talk about being a couple? Why so suddenly.
Having ended the sentence like that, Min-ho hung up first. Simultaneously, a strange light flickered in Gyu-oh’s eyes. It was only a matter of time before the anger that had filled him to the brim turned into a thrill. Gyu-oh, staring blankly down at the phone where the call had ended, muttered in a daze.
“Isn’t this a confession?”
It sounds like he’s saying let’s date quickly and become a couple? This is a positive signal, right? This time it’s not just wishful thinking, but for real. When he goes back, he should sit him down and have a serious conversation. It seems he’s finally showing signs of facing his own feelings.
“As expected of the determined Won Gyu-oh, after over two hundred attempts, you finally won over Cha Min-ho, huh?”
It was the hardest thing in his life, seriously. He burst into laughter, feeling proud as if he had already obtained a confirmation to date. His anger seemed to subside a bit too. He moved his steps, which felt much lighter than before.