By Zephyria “Right? The person you helped. He doesn’t have a face that’s easily forgotten, but changing his clothes made him look like a different person.”
“Who?”
“Believe it, Yi-eum, you saw him too. The man Yi-eum brought in with amnesia. I think he said he was a herbalist?”
“That weirdo? Didn’t they say he disappeared without a word? Were you in contact with him all along? Don’t tell me the friend who drank and slept at your place a few days ago was him?”
“You brought him home again? When?”
Lee-eum couldn’t come to his senses with his Noona and Hyung pouring out questions from both sides. He ran out with the luxury bag he received as a gift, but Choi Won-joon had already disappeared, and his family was in an uproar. His Hyung and Noona had differing opinions about Young-shik’s identity, but his mother, who had been silent, grabbed Lee-eum’s hand and gave him a proud look.
“You did well. You should help people in need. That’s your job. But I’d like you to return this. It’s too much. I’ll gratefully accept the flowers instead. They smell nice and are pretty. Tell your friend thank you.”
His mother hugged the bouquet and genuinely liked it. He thought she hated flowers, but apparently not. Well, our brothers aren’t very attentive. He felt sorry. In the meantime, his Noona can’t take her eyes off the shopping bag. Lee-eum quickly put it away as she looked at it with eyes like she was hunting prey.
“Mom, I’ll buy you something else. Something prettier.”
“You got a lot of allowance. Make sure you return the bag. Don’t accept gifts recklessly, even if it’s a thank you. You’re a police officer.”
Lee-eum knew what his mother was worried about, so he smiled and nodded. In the warm atmosphere, his father, who had been silently watching the situation, suddenly chimed in.
“What’s his job?”
“Pardon?”
“That guy who gave it to you. What does he do?”
Lee-eum flinched and avoided his gaze. He’s the son of a gangster that Father hates. Father arrested him himself during his active duty, and now he’s the Chairman of a large corporation. If he told the truth, he would flip the table here.
Moreover, his Hyung had an issue with Sehwa Group last year, and their feelings weren’t good because of it. In short, no one here would welcome Choi Won-joon. Lee-eum licked his lips and lied.
“He’s an ordinary office worker. We won’t be seeing each other again.”
❖ ❖ ❖
As he entered the bar, Jeong Dae-han and Roh Seon-gyu were sitting face to face, raising their glasses. He was going to meet only Jeong Dae-han, but he contacted Seon-gyu just in case, and he replied that he would come right away. He was relieved that he seemed okay, but when he saw him, his face had become gaunt in the past few days.
Lee-eum patted Seon-gyu’s back with a pitiful heart.
“Are you okay?”
“Oh, you’re here? Sit here.”
When he looked at Jeong Dae-han, he smiled, waving his hand at shoulder height.
“Sorry I’m late.”
“No, we just got here too.”
“Hey, Lee-eum. After we eat this, should we go to a hunting pub? I want to forget the pain of heartbreak with a new relationship.”
Lee-eum stared intently at Seon-gyu’s face and frowned. Did you cry? Then Seon-gyu panicked and checked his face with the back of a spoon. Contrary to what he said about just arriving, there were several empty bottles on the table. Lee-eum wiped his hands with a wet wipe and called out to Jeong Dae-han.
“Do you have your car?”
“Oh. I came by subway.”
“Drink moderately. You can’t handle it if you drink with this guy.”
At that, Seon-gyu hit Lee-eum on the back. Leave me alone! He’ll drink as he pleases. Don’t meddle in everything like he’s a child, he grumbled, then raised his glass. It’s nice to see you after a long time! Let’s drink till we die! Lee-eum thought that someone was really going to die today.
“Hey, it’s been a really long time. I thought he was someone else when I saw him walking over here.”
Roh Seon-gyu and Jeong Dae-han had no contact in middle school. Roh Seon-gyu was in the sports club at the time, so he didn’t have many opportunities to hang out with the other kids, and he wasn’t the type to actively make friends. Moreover, he received a lot of misunderstandings and rumors because of his intimidating appearance.
Dae-han, who was listening to Seon-gyu’s story, asked cautiously.
“You guys have been friends since elementary school, right?”
“What’s there to say? I know all of Kim Yi-eum’s embarrassing past.”
Lee-eum scoffed at Seon-gyu’s boast.
“I don’t have an embarrassing past.”
“Don’t lie, you bastard. Have you forgotten that you cried while riding the amusement park ride on the picnic? Not only that. The ride flipped upside down, and you threw up there, ugh, shit, I suddenly don’t want to eat green onion pancakes. Let’s get rid of this.”
Dae-han laughed as Seon-gyu pushed away the plate of green onion pancakes.
“Lee-eum can’t ride amusement park rides?”
“He has a fear of heights. But he didn’t even know he had a fear of heights. There were a lot of kids in our class who were screaming that they liked Kim Yi-eum. They all fell off after that incident.”
It was a story he brought up every time he drank, so Lee-eum wasn’t affected at all. At the time, he was more embarrassed than feeling like he was going to die from being sick, but looking back, it was all a memory.
“Not all of them. I was still the most popular until graduation.”
Lee-eum tore off a piece of the green onion pancake and ate it deliciously, as if to show off, and Roh Seon-gyu shook his head. When you look at him, Kim Yi-eum had a Prince complex. Well, he did have a Prince-like feel when he was young. Dae-han, do you remember? When he was in middle school….
As they laughed and talked about the past, time passed quickly. In addition, the number of bottles piled up, and Roh Seon-gyu, who had been drinking bombs from the beginning, eventually lost it in the second round and cried, talking about his ex-girlfriend.
If Kim Yi-eum’s embarrassing past ended in elementary school, Roh Seon-gyu’s embarrassing past was just beginning. He thought about filming it and leaving it as a video, but he stopped and pulled out a tissue from next to him and handed it to Roh Seon-gyu.
“Wipe your tears, you bastard.”
Jeong Dae-han laughed when he saw that, and Lee-eum asked, puzzled.
“Why are you laughing?”
“You guys seem to have a good relationship, I’m jealous.”
“Jealous? You can say that even after seeing this? We’re like enemies.”
Jeong Dae-han laughed again. Did he laugh a lot when he was young too? He doesn’t remember clearly. He wouldn’t be smiling like that when interrogating a suspect, would he? While having such useless thoughts, Lee-eum thought he should wrap things up here.
“Let’s go. I have to send this guy home.”
“Okay.”
He took Roh Seon-gyu, who was completely sprawled out from being drunk, outside, but he was struggling because of the guy’s size. After catching a taxi, putting him in, and paying the fare, Lee-eum wrote down the taxi’s number.
It would have looked strange to others. Roh Seon-gyu was a giant close to 190 cm with an intimidating impression, so he was a burden for anyone to kidnap. But you never know what will happen. If he’s unconscious, even the great Roh Seon-gyu wouldn’t be able to handle it.
“You should go in too.”
At Lee-eum’s words, Dae-han hesitated.
“Want to have another drink…?”
“Are you okay? Your face is red.”
“No. I’m fine. I’m not drunk.”
Hmm, Lee-eum pondered for a moment. If they went for a third round, he was too full to eat any more snacks. Maybe it’s because he’s getting older, but he prefers quiet places to noisy ones. He also wanted to eat and rest right away….
“Want to come to my place and eat?”
Huh? Dae-han stuttered, as if flustered.
“I, is that okay…?”
“There’s no breakfast. Let’s go out to eat.”
“I’m good at cooking. You don’t have to worry.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I’m good at making side dishes too. I’ve been living on my own for a long time.”
He was telling him things he didn’t even ask about. Come to think of it, Lee-eum had been living alone for quite a while, but he only knew how to cook a few dishes. In the beginning, his Noona and Hyung lived nearby and packed him side dishes, but since he didn’t spend much time at home, he often couldn’t eat them and ended up throwing them away. So he told them not to bring them at all, and now he often buys food outside.
The two stopped by a convenience store to buy beer and snacks and entered the apartment complex. It had been a few days since he had been home, so Lee-eum looked around like a meerkat guarding the house. He heard a noise from the playground, and when he looked, a couple was sitting and giggling.
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh… it’s nothing. Nothing at all.”
Has he developed a neurosis because of that guy? It felt like he would pop out from somewhere and throw a mischievous joke. Lee-eum hurried home. As soon as he entered, he took off his coat, spread out the beer and snacks on the table, and sat on the floor to turn on the news.
Jeong Dae-han, who came out after washing his hands, sat across from him, looking uncomfortable in his suit. Lee-eum told him to wait and went inside, bringing out a T-shirt and pants that were folded on the bedside table. It was the clothes Choi Won-joon had been wearing.
“Change into these and eat comfortably.”
Oh, thank you. Dae-han got up and went into the bedroom, and Lee-eum opened a beer and fixed his gaze on the news. The news reported that the investigation into the kidnapping case that had occurred a few days ago was progressing slowly, and that citizens were feeling uneasy because the escaped perpetrator had not been found.
Anyway, the main office would take all the data on Monday. The Team leader seemed relieved to be off the troublesome case. In the meantime, Dae-han comes out after changing his clothes. A slight smile appeared on his face as he looked at the bear T-shirt.
“Cute. I like bears.”
Lee-eum burst into laughter without resistance. The two sat down and drank beer, chatting about various things. As they did, time passed, and Jeong Dae-han was nodding off with his eyes closed.
Lee-eum emptied the last remaining beer and tapped him on the shoulder.
“Dae-han. Go in and sleep. You can go over there.”
As he stood up to spread out the blanket, Jeong Dae-han grabbed his wrist. He smiled with a very relaxed face.
“It’s Lee-eum….”
Lee-eum laughed in disbelief. He becomes cute when he’s drunk. He propped up his arm to get him to stand up, but he staggered and leaned on him. Hey, hey, you’re heavy. Walk straight. He barely managed to take him to the bed and covered him with a blanket, and he fell fast asleep, oblivious to the world.
Leaving the sleeping Dae-han behind, Lee-eum roughly cleaned up the messy living room and went into the bathroom to take a shower. Then he lay down on the bed, turned on his cell phone, and pondered for a long time.
He had to contact Choi Won-joon to return the bag, but where should he send it? Meeting him in person wasn’t a good idea. Should he send it by quick service? What if it gets lost? As he worried, he gradually fell asleep, perhaps because of the alcohol.