By Zephyria He might experience a bit of a battlefield in the future.
‘You have three entangled relationships. And they’re very tenacious. The more you try to cut them off, the more they’ll bind you. So you have to let them unravel naturally. Keep that in mind.’
Ki Jae-eon took the tarot master’s words with a shrug.
‘That’s ridiculous.’
Three? What three? There’s only one.
Then he paused, his expression hardening.
“…Ah.”
One person. He thought again.
I told myself not to think about it.
‘I like you.’
For some reason, that clumsy confession keeps replaying automatically whenever he has a moment.
‘I’m not in my right mind.’
Ki Jae-eon ruffled his hair in frustration. Looking back now, he understood why Ahn Seo-myeong, that sly guy, confessed first and then apologized. Because a confession is like a kind of terrorism that recklessly shatters someone’s daily life. It pops up rudely and interferes even when you’re fine, so if you have any conscience left, you should bow your head.
‘Disappear from my head.’
His hand gestures were gradually becoming rougher when Kim Ju-won, who was late coming out because he was paying, called out to Ki Jae-eon.
“Hey, let’s go together!”
He strode over with his long legs and tapped him on the shoulder. He didn’t reject that intimate contact, even if he frowned. Now, the two of them looked like ‘same-age friends who came out to play together’ to anyone.
“It was kind of fun, right?”
“Not really.”
“Really?”
“She seems like a fraud.”
“Huh? No, she didn’t seem like someone without any Spirituality at all?”
Kim Ju-won said, glancing lightly at the tarot shop. Honestly, he was right. The tarot master they had just seen had a decent amount of Spirituality. She’d get one or two right out of ten precognitive dreams?
But despite that, Ki Jae-eon denied it.
“No, it’s not right at all.”
“How do you know if it’s right or not right now?”
“I know because it’s my business.”
“That’s strange. Why are you so on edge? Is there something particularly bothering you?”
Seeing Ki Jae-eon denying it so vehemently, Kim Ju-won smirked, saying, “No matter how skilled a shaman is, they can’t know their own future.” Look at those upturned lips. He’s determined to tease him somehow.
‘A guy who’d make even Heungbu cry.’
Perhaps his appearance was so annoyingly hateful that Ki Jae-eon’s eyes also turned fierce.
“Nonsense.”
“What is.”
“It’s all nonsense. Kim Ju-won, you listen too. Instead of wasting time on useless romance, go train.”
“….”
“Why.”
“No, just.”
Kim Ju-won, who had been teasing him all along, suddenly cleared his throat and closed his mouth. He was so excited to tease him, but suddenly he’s acting distant. He’s not a kindergartener, is he pouting because I nagged him a little?
“Just, what.”
“….”
“If you have something to say, say it all.”
Ki Jae-eon, who hated ambiguous attitudes the most, was not happy with the situation.
There’s even a proven method called [To piss off a Korean, start talking and then stop].
“Really, just.”
“Can you only say ‘just’?”
As he frowned as if he were about to unleash a torrent of harsh words, Kim Ju-won tilted his head and scratched his jawline. No, it’s not really anything… After hesitating for a long time, he opened his mouth hesitantly.
“Are you going to be like that too?”
“Like what.”
“Well… are you not going to do that, romance. You have three tenacious relationships, right?”
He couldn’t understand why Ahn Seo-myeong’s face flashed in his mind at that stupid question, but what was strange was that the pang of conscience he felt when he lied was hitting his chest in the same way now.
Ki Jae-eon hated the throbbing sensation, so he pretended to be nonchalant and coldly retorted, “I have no intention of wasting time.”
“Really?”
“Why.”
“Hmm… no. If you say so, then that’s how it is.”
More than that, today was fun. Right? Kim Ju-won’s expression regained its usual vitality as if nothing had happened. He’s really a guy you can never figure out.
Ki Jae-eon sighed deeply with a displeased expression.
“Isn’t it a problem if it’s fun? I called you out to train, but we’ve been playing all day.”
“Wow! I feel a little wronged when you say that?”
“What are you wronged about now.”
“I really was going to train. But you were late.”
At his words, Ki Jae-eon’s expression became subtle.
“You… are you aware that you were late?”
“Am I an idiot? I waited in the scorching sun for two hours.”
Then you should have gone back, foolishly.
If it were him, he would have gotten up and left after three minutes.
‘Is it worth waiting that long?’
He couldn’t understand it at all, so he was walking quickly. Suddenly, the dessert shops scattered along the street caught his eye.
‘That’s…’
From the bakery of a familiar brand to the ice cream shop. Things he wouldn’t have glanced at before were bothering him today.
What is it? Am I low on sugar? That’s not it.
Ki Jae-eon stopped walking and stared at the shop signs with a confused look.
Why does it feel familiar?
Have I ever been in there?
Me?
That can’t be.
I don’t really eat sweets.
Uh…?
No…
Yes.
Yeah, there is.
I think I bought it after hearing it was famous.
Because kids, kids, kids…
Kids…
Kids…
………….
……………Who?
“Ugh!”
Suddenly, pain struck. It felt like someone was randomly kneading his brain. Ugh! I feel like I’m going to throw up. Ki Jae-eon hunched over, gagging.
‘Wow! Oppa, are we really going to eat it?’
‘Hyungnim! You’re the best!’
‘Guys~ come out! Jae-eon hyung bought bread!’
‘Wow! This is famous. I saw it on X-Tube!’
……Uh.
………Uh, uh, uh, uh.
“Like…….”
Did I like it?
Did I like it?
Did I like it?
Did I like it?
“……Li, ke…… Li, ked, I…….”
His tall body finally tilted. Ki Jae-eon staggered, holding his forehead. Pain spread as if he had been hit in the head with an iron club.
Hee-euk, hee-euk, hee-euk!
Even if he tried to come to his senses, only a nauseating feeling rose. Ugh, I want to throw up! His condition was getting worse and worse.
Beep- A piercing ringing sounded right next to his ear, like blowing a whistle. He breathed in raggedly and looked around anxiously, and some of the passersby started to turn around, saying, “What is it?”
It was at that moment.
“Shall we stop thinking?”
A large palm covered his vision.
Warm body temperature gently pressed down on his eyelids. He didn’t dislike the moderate pressure.
No, rather, it helped to relieve tension.
It was really ridiculous, but it did.
“Slowly.”
“….”
“Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Can you do it?”
“…Haa, ha.”
“That’s right.”
Ki Jae-eon regulated his breathing, following the voice he heard nearby. Haa- Hoo, surprisingly, his disrupted breathing gradually returned to a normal rhythm.
“You must have been too tired today.”
“….”
“Hyung is letting go now?”
Ki Jae-eon could only nod quietly, as if he didn’t even have the strength to nitpick the title of ‘hyung’.
“Lean on me if you’re dizzy.”
“….”
“You can even get on my back.”
“…I’m okay.”
As soon as the hand that had been covering his eyes disappeared, the complicated world reappeared. But there was no confusion like before. Everything was just normal.
The crowded road, the people walking on the street, the signs of the many shops with distinctive personalities.
It was no different from the daily life he always experienced.
Then what was the pain I just experienced?
Ki Jae-eon stopped moving for a moment, feeling dazed. He felt like he had been tricked by the world.
Haa, he exhaled a cold breath and touched his forehead, which was covered in cold sweat. The damp feeling was quite unpleasant. Just as a bit of annoyance was buried in his gesture.
Kim Ju-won, who had been carefully observing Ki Jae-eon’s condition, suddenly called out, “Jae-eon,” and pulled on his arm.
Kim Ju-won’s hand, which touched his skin in the humid evening air, was still warm.
But it didn’t feel particularly unpleasant.
Just like when he had covered his eyes earlier.
“You stay here for a second. Just a second! Don’t go anywhere.”
Kim Ju-won left Ki Jae-eon in front of a cafe where jazz was playing and ran straight into the alley. His feet were so fast that he was already becoming a dot. His hair, fluttering in the humid breeze, could be seen from afar.
Had about five minutes passed?
Kim Ju-won, looking refreshed as if he had just gone for a light run, appeared with a water bottle in one hand. It’s completely cold. He smiled and brought the water bottle to Ki Jae-eon’s cheek. The moist surface was so cool that he really flinched.
“Should I open the lid for you?”
“….”
“Aren’t you going to drink it?”
“……You, did you buy this just for me?”
“Yeah. There’s no convenience store around here. I can’t just go to the cafe and ask for water.”
“What about yours…….”
“Huh? Ah, I’m okay. I’m not thirsty.”
He laughs heartily, telling him not to worry about him and to drink quickly. He felt strange at the way he was acting as if he were taking care of a young sibling.
That’s because he had always been the one protecting someone, and he had never thought he would be protected.
“Tell me if you need anything else.”
As Kim Ju-won’s voice became more affectionate, the toes in his shoes curled up slightly.
Something, it was difficult to express exactly… it was like sugar had been sprinkled in the air. A lot of it, enough to make his tongue tingle.
“I’ll…… drink it well.”
It was at that moment that he moved his lips as if to say something that could barely be heard.
Breaking the soft, ticklish atmosphere, a strong vibration sound rang out—-!
Ki Jae-eon, with eyes as wide as a startled rabbit, rummaged through his pockets in a hurry.
And on the screen of the phone he picked up, a very shocking name was displayed.
[Father]
It was a call that shouldn’t have come.