By Zephyria “Someone will come to help us check out from the room, so let’s wait until then.””
Returning into the room, Lee Hae-sung bent down and rummaged through the small refrigerator.
“It’s a hotel on the outskirts with a casino, so it’s all alcohol.”
He took out two bottles of water and gestured to the sofa by the window. Sitting side-by-side on the two-seater sofa, which ran lengthwise with the window behind it, he handed Choi Hong-seo an opened bottle of water.
“Are you tired?”
“I slept well yesterday, so I’m fine.”
“Then, on the way to Malibu, shall we go buy some things you need?”
Lee Hae-sung, with his arm resting on the back of the sofa, examined Choi Hong-seo’s complexion and brushed his hair away from his forehead with his fingertips.
“You’ll be staying a few more days, but you don’t have any clothes to change into, or a swimsuit…”
“……”
“I could have someone do it, but since it’s a vacation, wouldn’t it be nice to enjoy shopping leisurely?”
This time, his gaze shifted downwards.
“Actually, I’ve been concerned about it. Your clothes… they’re not your style at all.”
Choi Hong-seo followed his gaze and looked down at the clothes he was wearing. He had chosen the least flashy clothes from Yoon Hye-an’s wardrobe, but even so, they were clothes that had gone out of fashion, making them look quite dated now. And as he said, they weren’t Choi Hong-seo’s style either.
“You should wear clothes according to your taste, not Yoon Hye-an’s.”
Before Choi Hong-seo could reply, he stood up and took out his phone. He paced in the empty space between the sofa and the bed, waiting for the call to connect.
“I’m planning to do some shopping before we head to Malibu… No, it’s not for me. Find me a multi-brand store that carries clothes and accessories that men in their 20s would like. I need several sets of everyday wear, resort wear, swimsuits, pajamas… Hmm, just assume you need everything.”
Lee Hae-sung looked alternately at Choi Hong-seo, who was sitting, and the modest backpack placed beside him, and spoke quickly, bringing the bottle of water to his lips.
“In any case, I need all the basic items, so please prepare them. And.”
After taking a sip of water, he immediately added.
“So that we can shop quietly… Yes, with a minimum of two or three staff members. For two hours? Three hours? Please arrange that.”
As Lee Hae-sung finished the call and was about to return to the sofa, the doorbell rang. Lee Hae-sung stopped Choi Hong-seo, who was getting up to answer it, and opened the door himself. It was the doorman, carrying a full ice bucket.
Choi Hong-seo now understood why he had insisted on bringing it himself, instead of sending someone else. He didn’t want to give up the opportunity to receive a generous tip to someone else.
While the doorman placed the ice bucket on the table in front of the sofa, Lee Hae-sung returned from the bathroom with a towel.
“The room manager will be here shortly to assist with the checkout process. Is there anything else you need?”
Lee Hae-sung, seated on the sofa, focused on wrapping a few ice cubes in a towel without looking towards the doorman. He asked, as if in passing,
“I don’t need anything else.”
“……”
“What was that you were talking about earlier? You mentioned Uber in the elevator.”
Then, he gently turned Choi Hong-seo’s upper body to face him and carefully applied the ice pack, starting from a spot far from his eyes.
When Uber was mentioned, the doorman licked his lips repeatedly and glanced at Choi Hong-seo.
“Ah, that… as Mr. Yoon understood, it’s the hotel’s policy, so there was no choice…”
“Mr. Yoon?”
Lee Hae-sung’s voice, which had been unremarkable until then, suddenly sharpened. The hand moving the ice pack back and forth over Choi Hong-seo’s swollen eye socket also stopped.
The doorman, who hadn’t known Choi Hong-seo’s room number or name, must have checked the guest list in the meantime. It was to show his concern for Choi Hong-seo. He stepped forward and spoke, referring to himself.
“Yes, Mr. Yoon graciously understood…”
Lee Hae-sung removed the ice pack from Choi Hong-seo’s eye, raised one hand, and cut off the doorman’s words. It was the exact same gesture the doorman had made to Choi Hong-seo just yesterday. Choi Hong-seo hadn’t even told Lee Hae-sung about it.
“I think you’ve mistaken something. It should be Mr. Choi.”
“…What?”
Looking at the bewildered doorman, Lee Hae-sung placed a hand on Choi Hong-seo’s shoulder and gently massaged it as he spoke.
“Mr. Choi. I said Choi Hong-seo.”
“Ah… the guest card and passport copy clearly stated…”
“Are you refusing to correct it?”
The doorman still looked confused, but he quickly waved his hands and denied it. It didn’t matter to the doorman what the guest’s name was.
“No, no. I’m sorry. There must have been some mistake at the desk. Mr. Choi, as Mr. Choi also graciously understands…”
“So, what is it that I’m supposed to understand?”
“Ah… well…”
Seeing that Lee Hae-sung had no intention of letting it go, the doorman instinctively sent a pleading look towards Choi Hong-seo, who seemed easier to deal with. However, Choi Hong-seo couldn’t even understand a third of the conversation they were having.
He could guess from the atmosphere and tone that Lee Hae-sung was quite angry. At first, he thought it was because of the Uber, but after hearing his own name mentioned a few times, he became uncertain.
But one thing was clear. Lee Hae-sung was trying to correct him, referring to him as Choi Hong-seo, not Yoon Hye-an.
Sensing the doorman’s gaze, which seemed to be asking for help, Lee Hae-sung clicked his tongue and frowned.
“It would be best not to make my partner speak for himself. If you intended to hear from him, you would have asked when we were alone.”
“I’m sorry. It’s customary that Uber cars cannot enter the hotel premises… Hah, but I did call you another taxi!”
The doorman launched into an active defense, but Lee Hae-sung wasn’t fooled by the mention of calling another taxi. He wasn’t that ignorant of how the world worked. Rather, that statement allowed him to roughly guess how things had transpired. Revealing his displeasure, Lee Hae-sung’s lips twisted sharply.
“Ah, so you made the Uber the guest had already called leave. To pocket a few dollars in commission by calling a taxi. To a foreigner who has come to this distant land alone, unfamiliar with the language and struggling.”
Even if he didn’t understand every word, he could tell from the voice, which seemed to chew and spit out each syllable, that his anger had reached its peak.
“The hotel’s policy…”
“Hotel policy, hotel policy… Not like a machine.”
Lee Hae-sung let out a rough snort and pressed down on the ice pack with his hand. Behind the clinking sound of ice colliding, he asked in a cold voice,
“If that’s the hotel’s policy, would you have acted the same way even if I had been staying with you?”
“……”
“Wouldn’t you have?”
At that point, the doorman could no longer offer any excuses. Finally, he lowered his gaze and apologized as if surrendering.
“I am deeply sorry.”
Lee Hae-sung shook off the water dripping from his hand, which had been holding the ice pack, and gently stroked Choi Hong-seo’s swollen eye with it, saying,
“Shouldn’t you be apologizing to my partner?”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Choi. I apologize for the inconvenience.”
Choi Hong-seo awkwardly bowed his head in response. Lee Hae-sung, observing Choi Hong-seo’s uncomfortable expression, clicked his tongue in displeasure and sent the doorman away.
The ice pack was once again pressed gently against Choi Hong-seo’s swollen eye.
“I should have found another way besides making you come to the gallery.”
Looking at Lee Hae-sung’s face with one eye, Choi Hong-seo saw guilt. Making him come all the way to LA, making him stay at a rundown motel, and having him treated unfairly by the doorman… He was clearly blaming himself for it all.
Continuing to look at him with only one eye, Choi Hong-seo gently grasped his arm.
“I liked
Lee Hae-sung’s eyes, which had been focused on the swollen eye being iced, shifted to Choi Hong-seo’s other eye. The hand holding the ice pack slowly withdrew.
With conviction, Choi Hong-seo tightened his grip on his arm and put more strength into his voice as he called out to him.
“That was the only place we could start again. You know that too, Darling.”
The large palm, cold from the ice, reached out and enveloped his cheek and ear. His hands were neatly shaped but so large that when they cupped his cheek, they always covered his ears sufficiently. As if blocking out all the noise of the world. It was no different now. It was a relief.