By Zephyria Two more days had passed since his visit to the hospital. Seo Jeong-won was a little surprised that it was already Friday. He had no excuse since he was the fool who misunderstood the date, but… still, couldn’t someone have told him?
He stood blankly in front of the fish tank, dropping a few sinking pellets and watching the lively fish.
“I’ll be a little late again today.”
He murmured, tapping the fish tank. After following the colorful fish with his eyes, he started cleaning up the flower shop. As it began to get colder, customers stopped coming. Well, even if they did come, there weren’t many plants worth buying. The flower shop had become so shabby that he wondered if it would be better to just close it down. The time to organize was approaching.
Stubbornly holding on wouldn’t change anything, but he didn’t know why it was so hard to let go. He couldn’t help but sigh.
“……I was going to ask about the bag, too.”
He hadn’t contacted Song Hae-seop since that day. He didn’t want his contact to make him uncomfortable, so he deleted Song Hae-seop’s number as Kwon Tae-hee had instructed. It was just a simple sequence of numbers, so it was easy to memorize and remained in his head, but he tried not to think about it anymore.
He had even prepared excuses for asking about the suppressants and birth control pills, but it was all useless.
“Haa…….”
He wandered around the flower shop, watering the plants, and stopped blankly from time to time. Whenever he felt bored, he wanted to disappear. He sat down to untangle the hose that had become tangled because he hadn’t considered his movements, and then he heard the door open. He only moved his head to check, and Kang Da-hyun was standing there with a disgruntled expression.
“Looks like you’re open today?”
His voice was full of sarcasm.
“I was open yesterday too.”
Kang Da-hyun snorted and strode over, as if he had heard his quiet murmur. He was angry that he hadn’t been able to contact him for days, and that the flower shop hadn’t been open, asking where he had been.
“I was busy.”
“What are you busy with? What could you possibly be busy with? If you’re busy, you should be busy here.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Do we need a reason to meet? I just drop by when I see you, right? Check if you’re doing well, huh? Uh… What. Did someone say something to you? I don’t smell anything? Did you spray pheromone deodorant or something?”
Seo Jeong-won sighed as he watched Kang Da-hyun, who had suddenly appeared and was rambling and sniffing, and finished untangling the hose. He had been squatting for so long that he groaned as soon as he stood up.
“No, what…… You’re getting thinner and thinner. Are you really not sick?”
Kang Da-hyun, who had been frowning irritably, suddenly changed his attitude and began to worry. He noticed that he was thinner overall and that his cheekbones were more prominent. It wasn’t like he would look bad just because he lost some weight, but he had become strangely forlorn for his age.
“I don’t know. Anyway, what’s really wrong? Aren’t you busy?”
“I am busy. I’m busy, but I just…… came. It’s kind of like a habit. Do you know what I mean?”
“No.”
“Well, how would you know? There is such a thing.”
Kang Da-hyun said bitterly. He hadn’t even told him to sit down, but he took a seat at the table and ordered him to bring coffee. Seo Jeong-won stood there with an unwilling expression, but then decided that it would be better to be with Kang Da-hyun than to be alone with strange thoughts, and moved.
Seo Jeong-won placed two cups of instant coffee on the table and sat down as well. But that was it; he had nothing to say, so he quietly stayed in his seat. Kang Da-hyun sat next to him and sighed deeply. It seemed like he wanted him to ask what was wrong, so he desperately avoided it.
“You’re really cold-hearted when you look at it.”
“……I don’t have the luxury of worrying about others.”
“Are you crazy? Taking it so seriously.”
“Anyway, what. What’s your problem?Seo Jeong-won shook his head to clear his distractions. Kang Da-hyun turned his head sharply at the tone that implied he would listen to his worries. He seemed to have lost his will to talk. Seo Jeong-won didn’t think he would open his stubbornly closed mouth even if he waited, so he suddenly brought up his own story.
“I heard something back then……?”
“Heard what from who, you?”
“There is, someone I know.”
“Where do you know someone? Your relationships are so narrow that they don’t even exist.”
Seo Jeong-won closed his mouth at the accurate remark. He had heard somewhere that sharing your worries would cut them in half, but he didn’t think it would be reduced that much even if he told Kang Da-hyun.
“Never mind.”
“I know, so tell me. What is it? What did you hear?”
“……Well, that, that, the story is a bit complicated? You don’t have to come up with an answer, just listen and tell me if it’s normal or not…… No, never mind.”
Seo Jeong-won shook his head. He changed his mind again, deciding that it would be better not to talk about it.
“No, hey. You really! Do you know how frustrating it is to start talking and then stop? Huh?”
“It’s not even my story…….”
“Ah, tell me. I’ll listen and tell you if it’s normal or not.”
Seo Jeong-won pursed his lips as he watched Kang Da-hyun jump up and down, and then quietly continued.
“It’s a story I heard too…… I don’t know if it’s okay to tell you.”
“What, is it a secret?”
“I guess it is a secret.”
“Can’t I just not tell anyone? I won’t, absolutely.”
Kang Da-hyun added that he swore. Seo Jeong-won hesitated, and only after receiving several promises that he would never tell anyone, did he finally start to tell the story.
“So, someone I know…… someone I know’s acquaintance.”
“Uh-huh.”
“That person…… is a guy, right? But he’s meeting someone that Hyung used to meet. He’s worried about what will happen if Hyung finds out, and that… I guess that’s the concern he told me.”
“Did the person Hyung dated only date Hyung?”
“Huh? Uh…… I guess they were dating with marriage in mind.”
“He’s completely out of his mind. He’s crazy to do something like that. Is he in his right mind? The younger sibling is a complete piece of trash. I can’t even say anything, man.Seeing him jump up and down, it seemed like it wasn’t common sense.
“……He said he had his reasons.”
“No matter what the reasons are. I don’t know how great the reasons are, but is it reasonable for a younger brother to meet someone his older brother used to meet? I don’t know about animals, but would a sane person do that? Huh?”
“Ah, well. I guess. If he was in his right mind…… he wouldn’t. I guess so.”
“But is that the guy who looks like that Gyu-won Hyung? Does that older brother have a younger sibling too?”
“No? No, it’s not? No, it’s really not.”
Kang Da-hyun looked at Seo Jeong-won, who was strongly denying it, with suspicious eyes. Isn’t a strong denial a confirmation? He poured the cold coffee into his mouth and licked the inside of his cheek with his tongue. After calming down to some extent, he asked again.
“So what happened? Are they going to get married or something? Hey, is she pregnant or something? Then it’s really a hopeless mess.”
“……No, no. I don’t know about that. I don’t know what happened after that…….”
“Reality is stranger than fiction. Even the morning dramas my mom watches don’t have content like that. I think I read a novel where someone mistakes their own child for another man’s child, but it’s almost on par with that. Hey, what are they going to do if they suddenly have a kid? They’re hopeless. Are they young?”
Kang Da-hyun continued to mutter, getting serious and then disgusted. Seo Jeong-won occasionally replied with, “That’s right, that’s right.”
“It’s a headache even though it’s someone else’s story. Beer call?”
“No, not today. I’m going to see Hyung tonight.”
“Ah, you’re going at night too? How’s Hyung doing? Is he doing okay? Well, I don’t know if there’s anything to be okay about…….”
“Just, uh. He’s better. He’s much…… better.”
Seo Jeong-won replied quietly. It wasn’t a lie that he was better. Kang Da-hyun stretched and got up from his seat. Then, he rattled on about how he was busy and tired, how he was short-handed these days, and asked him to help out when he had time.
“Ugh, I should get going.”Let’s drink later, alcohol.””
“Yeah. Hey, you…… are you doing well with that manager?”
Seo Jeong-won nodded vaguely at the sudden question. He wondered if Kang Da-hyun would ask more, but he made a face as if he had bitten something and turned around.
“Go, I’m not going out.”
“Okay, don’t come out. I’m going.”
“Yeah, drive safe.”
The moment Seo Jeong-won turned around, crumpling the paper cup, he heard Kang Da-hyun greeting someone.
“Oh…… Hello.”
He naturally thought a customer had arrived and turned around with a smile, but what came into view was Kwon Tae-hee.
Kang Da-hyun, pushed aside by Kwon Tae-hee, raised his hand and waved a few times, mouthing that he didn’t seem like a gentleman.
“That friend seems to come here whenever he has a chance. He can’t just pass by.”
“……It’s not that.While Seo Jeong-won was contemplating how to answer the question that wasn’t really a question, Kwon Tae-hee came closer.
“I was busy for a few days.”
“I was…… free. It’s not a busy time of year.”
Was he telling him how he spent the two days? Or did he want to hear that he had worked hard? Seo Jeong-won carefully raised his eyes, guessing his intentions.
“Executive Director looks…… tired. Your eyes are red.”
The words he managed to utter were just about his concern. Kwon Tae-hee smiled satisfactorily at the admirable sight, and pondered about how to explain the Rut that had come earlier than expected.