By Zephyria 
Waking up the day after drinking enough to get wasted was never a pleasant experience. It was a relief that the hangover wasn’t too severe since it had been an executive dinner with expensive liquor, but his body, soaked in alcohol, still felt heavier than usual.
Min-gyu got out of bed, opened the curtains and windows of the bedroom to air out the room, and headed into the bathroom. Despite the evidence that he had washed up before going to sleep the previous night, he felt grimey, perhaps because he had been half-asleep during that shower. Water, set hotter than usual, poured down over his body.
He had definitely overdone it. His memories of the end of the dinner were blurry. He remembered the gathering breaking up and receiving a cigarette while seeing people off. Even though he wasn’t in a situation where it was difficult to refuse, as it had been when he was a new employee, he had put one to his lips for the first time in a long while, feeling stifled in that moment. Recalling this made him feel as though the characteristic stale smell of cigarettes lingered in his mouth, and Min-gyu brushed his teeth with a bit more intensity. The problem was that a large portion of his memory after that had vanished, as if it had been scraped away.
It wasn’t hard to deduce that Yi-ho, who had barely drunk anything, had taken care of him and brought him home. He thought he could vaguely recall a scene of them sitting together in a taxi… and finally, he believed they had parted ways between Room 1801 and 1802. As they always did.
“…….”
In his memory, Yi-ho’s eyes, set against the backdrop of the hallway, were wide, as if they were about to overflow. What had they talked about? He hoped he hadn’t said anything strange to a kid who already seemed down lately.
“…I can just call him and ask.”
Given how many years they had spent together, he felt confident that he could be forgiven for a single drunken mistake through a bit of his friend’s aegyo.
After a long shower and reaching a satisfactory physical state, Min-gyu washed the water glass he had left on the table the previous day and opened the refrigerator. Since he tended to refill missing ingredients immediately, he quickly finished planning the breakfast menu. It took less than 30 minutes for the rice cooker to hiss with steam and the soup to boil in the pot.
Min-gyu placed the thickly rolled omelets on the cutting board and picked up his phone before finishing the meal preparations.
The neighbor who had attended the dinner with him the previous day answered the phone slowly.
-Yeah.
“Song-i, are you up?”
-…Yeah.
“I drank a lot yesterday, didn’t I? I have gaps in my memory. Did I make any mistakes?”
-You… don’t remember?
Hmm? It was an unexpected question.
“Did I actually make a mistake?”
-…No. No, it’s nothing. You’re fine even when you’re drunk. You were just… like your usual self.
The voice continuing the sentence was husky. It felt slightly different from someone who had just woken up. Was he feeling unwell again?
Unlike Min-gyu’s stiff expression, the voice transmitted through the phone feigned composure.
“Ah, thank goodness. You startled me. Then come over for some hangover food. I made soup.”
-Huh?…….
The corners of Min-gyu’s smiling mouth stiffened slightly. Song Yi-ho was clumsy at hiding his emotions. His face was far too transparent, and joy, sadness, or discomfort were often easily detected in his voice.
-Um….
For some unknown reason, Song Yi-ho was currently hesitating to accept Min-gyu’s request.
-No…, I’m okay. Let’s just eat separately.
In the end, the refusal came. Min-gyu leaned against the island table and stared into space for a moment before curving his lips upward again.
“Oh, you can’t. I already cooked enough for two. Song-i Song-i, is there something else you want to eat?”
-…It’s not that….
“I’ll make whatever you want for dinner. Don’t be picky with the side dishes and just try some of Cha Min-gyu’s home cooking for now.”
-…….
While Yi-ho stopped answering, Min-gyu also stopped moving and waited. Only the cabbage soybean paste soup boiled in the pot, popping large bubbles.
Normally, Song Yi-ho would have reluctantly agreed by this point.
-…It’s really just that I have no appetite.
“Are you sick?”
-I got a whole year’s worth of sickness out of the way last time. I won’t be sick anymore.
“Then I’ll wait until you get hungry. I only woke up a little while ago anyway.”
-Can’t you… just eat by yourself?
“No. I can’t.”
He had sufficiently conveyed that he had no intention of backing down. He blocked every excuse Yi-ho could possibly offer. It was a petty thing to do, knowing the other’s personality so well—so much so that he hated himself for using such methods.
Thus, he secured a cowardly surrender.
-…Alright. I’ll wash up and come over.
“Yeah, take your time.”
The call ended. Min-gyu stared intently at his phone for a moment.
It probably wasn’t a misunderstanding.
Song Yi-ho had been avoiding Cha Min-gyu lately. Or, to be precise, he felt uncomfortable.
The rejection, which had started with avoiding eye contact, had grown into this.
Song Yi-ho was generally the type to be uncomfortable with physical contact between people. His personality was shy. To the point where he would startle even when Min-gyu, who had known him for over ten years, approached him. There were times when Min-gyu felt hurt by that, but it turned out that because it was Min-gyu, it only ended with a startle. When other people approached, he would be shocked and then slide away like an exorcised ghost, leaving the area entirely. Witnessing that had more than made up for his feelings.
However, his current behavior was entirely different from back then.
Even though Song Yi-ho had many vague areas in his heart, his dislikes were clear. Once someone fell out of his favor, he would never look at them again, as if they had been deleted from a computer and the recycle bin emptied.
He didn’t think Song Yi-ho would do that to him so easily, but still.
“…….”
For now, it seemed necessary to gently coax him and listen to his story today.
Just then, the sound of the door lock being pressed was heard, and Yi-ho entered. His bangs were damp, as if he had just washed his face. Seeing his hesitant attitude, Min-gyu curved his lips deeply.
“It’s almost ready, Song-i Song-i. Have a seat.”
“…I’ll set the utensils.”
Yi-ho familiarly found the cutlery holder in the kitchen and brought two sets of utensils. Min-gyu, who quickly sliced the omelets and scooped the rice and soup, returned to the table and sat across from Yi-ho.
“Cha Min-gyu, is your hangover okay?”
Now, what would be a good answer? After a brief calculation, he replied.
“I thought I was going to die this morning. My head still hurts….”
Yi-ho’s face became worried, but he clumsily erased the emotion beneath his lowered head.
“…You did drink a lot.”
“Well, it was a company dinner.”
“It wasn’t a gathering that required that much.”
“People just have days where they get into the mood.”
“…I’ll enjoy the meal.”
With their eyes meeting, the utensils began to move. The conversation between them was silence.
Since topics couldn’t always flow endlessly, there were always moments of silence between them. However, it was usually a natural silence; he had never felt a tension as rigid as this.
Min-gyu was quite dissatisfied with this situation.
Was he annoyed by the sight of him drinking without control? No. He hadn’t caused any serious scenes yesterday. If he had, the company messenger would have been in chaos when he woke up. Even if not, he had that much confidence in his own self-control.
“…….”
“…….”
Yi-ho’s spoon stopped inside the bowl of cabbage soup. His meal had barely decreased.
Ah, it would be better if he were just throwing a fit for no reason. This was a more unpleasant feeling than he had expected.
That said, it didn’t seem like the right atmosphere to demand, ‘Why on earth are you acting like this?’
“Song-i, do you want to go for some hangover exercise after eating?”
“What exercise?”
“Today is the day the boxing gym is empty. Let’s take the car and go for a bit. It’s been quite a while since we’ve sparred because we’ve both been busy taking turns.”
“A moment ago… you said you were struggling because of the hangover.”
“That was the ‘me’ from this morning; the ‘me’ of now is different.”
“…….”
He wondered what he would do if Yi-ho rejected this as well, but Yi-ho nodded obediently.
As soon as they arrived at the old gym, Yi-ho immediately began warming up. After rotating his wrists and ankles and bending and straightening his slender legs a few times, he wrapped his hand wraps and put on his gloves. Then, he looked back at Min-gyu as if telling him to get in the ring immediately.
‘As I thought, did he just want to beat me up after a long time?’
…Well, I guess I’ll just let him hit me a bit. Min-gyu also jumped in place a few times before putting on hand wraps and shared gloves. The two faced each other in the ring. A greeting of bumping fists. Using that as a signal, Yi-ho, who stepped forward and closed the distance in a stride, threw the first punch.
Thwack!
The punch landed on Min-gyu’s glove, which was covering his face.
“Ha….”
Again, he’s not protecting himself. He was fearlessly exposing his face to someone with a much longer reach. Min-gyu’s counterattack landed squarely on Yi-ho’s shoulder with a thud.
Ah, damn.
Min-gyu’s brow furrowed more than Yi-ho’s, who had been hit. On the other hand, far from retreating after the impact, Yi-ho used the slight twist of his upper body as an opportunity to hit Min-gyu with the recoil.
Pushed by the offensive, Min-gyu’s leg stepped back. He stumbled back again, following the body that lunged right in front of him.
Min-gyu let out a quiet laugh behind the glove covering the area below his nose. He wondered what kind of grudge was held; the punches were not just spicy, but stinging. His body, still lingering with a hangover, felt like it was creaking. A few of his attacks had landed quite hard on Yi-ho, but there was no sign of him raising his guard or retreating.