Chapter 38

"Hey, take it easy. Anyway, there'll be more next week, and you won't be able to eat all of it."

"Vice Guild Leader, don't you know your own kids? Gangsan could probably wipe out this entire convenience store by himself?"

"Are we the only ones in Nam-dong?"

"Cha Seo-won, I really hate that about you. Why should I have to take care of kids I don't even know?"

"Just take it easy."

"Do you know what 'survival of the fittest' means?"

"We can use the Gate, so we're not the lower class. Do you want to starve everyone to death?"

"Why, are you scared they'll rise up like in Korea?"

"Both you and I are reawakened, right?"

"So what?"

Han Don-hee shook out the frozen dumplings and put them in.

"What if the strongest reawakened comes from the lower class? How will you take responsibility for that?"

"Yes, I heard your very caring words. You can't make soy sauce because you're afraid of maggots."

"Han Don-hee, I really want to beat you up."

He tapped the guy's side with a splinted arm.

"Alright, go."

Han Don-hee didn't seem to want to push it further and took out a few more triangle rice rolls.

The motorcycle outside the convenience store waited for them obediently. Seo-won looked at the lower class people waiting in the alley for them to leave.

Nam-dong has poor security, but because Han Don-hee is worse, the locals here don't dare touch his stuff. Seo-won sat behind Han Don-hee and wrapped his good arm around his waist. His right arm, splinted and folded, pressed firmly against Han Don-hee's back.

"Does it hurt?"

"Not at all. My muscles are defensive."

"What?"

He started the engine and left, and the lower class people, who looked like homeless, rushed into the convenience store. Seo-won deliberately didn't look at the chaos. He just held Han Don-hee's waist firmly as they drove at a moderate speed.

"Aren't you going to tell me why you fought?"

Han Don-hee raised his voice to be heard over the wind and engine noise.

"…I said I didn't like him because he's a beggar."

"What?!"

"I said I didn't like him because he's a beggar!"

"You fought over that?"

Han Don-hee looked like he couldn't understand. Since Cha Haya used the term 'beggar' jokingly, being poor wasn't a sore spot for him.

"That guy isn't really a show-off, is he?"

"Still, it must have felt bad."

"Does that mean you broke the Vice Guild Leader's arm?"

"It's just cracked!"

"I think there's another reason. If he was so upset about being called a beggar, he would have already turned the world upside down."

Seo-won had thought the same, so he had nothing more to say.

He should have told him not to say he liked being rich. If it weren't just a dream, he wouldn't have to bring it up again, but he remembered the time when he didn't even have money for a school trip. Seo-won was taken aback when the guy, who initially took it as a joke, suddenly got angry.

'I'll show you if I can or can't. Or, how about you give me all your money? If you want to show me that talking about money doesn't bother you, that's how you do it.'

He confessed that he pretended to be close while feeling uncomfortable inside, and maybe he felt betrayed.

There were times when his poverty was uncomfortable, but he didn't avoid him because of money...

Cha Haya, I once had a bit of an odd feeling for you. That's why I kept my distance, and now I'm trying to get along, so don't worry.

What would be his reaction if he said that?

Would he look at him with disgust, or comfort him? He couldn't even imagine how it would go. He wanted to clear up the misunderstanding, but to do that, he had to be honest about his feelings, so he just let the misunderstanding stand.

Just like he couldn't forget the sweetness after tasting marshmallows, he couldn't bring himself to keep his distance again. If he did, Cha Haya would suffer from withdrawal. It took a long time to keep his distance before, didn't it? Since he spent most of his high school life with Cha Haya, separating him from his life was accompanied by a great loneliness.

What is this feeling I have for him?

Even though he was touching Han Don-hee, he just thought, 'He's just full of muscles.' The sun was getting hotter after noon, so the heat from another person was unpleasant. But if the person in front was Cha Haya instead of Han Don-hee, he wouldn't have noticed the heat, being too aware of the contact.

"You crazy mermaid, what are you doing?"

Han Don-hee's reaction was one of disgust when Seo-won rubbed his cheek against his shoulder. Seo-won pressed his cheek firmly.

"Get your head away, it's giving me goosebumps!"

"The more you tell me not to, the more I want to do it."

He could do such things without hesitation with this guy. Han Don-hee sped up, probably wanting to get rid of him quickly. Seo-won had to hold on tighter to keep from falling off the motorcycle. The three market bags hanging on the handlebars swung wildly, and his arm around Han Don-hee's waist cramped from the effort to keep them from flying away.

It seemed Han Don-hee had forgotten his purpose of getting rid of him and drove the motorcycle like a speed demon. It was only 60 km/h, but the open road made it feel much faster. He only braked hard in front of the hideout. "Ugh!" Seo-won's upper body was pushed hard against Han Don-hee and then bounced back, and the banana was half out of the market bag.

"Han Don-hee, you're really going to kill me. Don't think about driving again."

Seo-won roughly adjusted the bag with the banana and slung it over his shoulder.

"Cha Seo-won, you're a leech, not a mermaid. Wow, you really don't think about falling."

"Hey, I might die."

Han Don-hee picked up the remaining bags and put them on Seo-won's shoulders.

"Heavy!"

"Revenge."

His shoulders felt as if they were being crushed by the weight of the bags. Who was the real leech? Talking would only make him weaker, so he walked slowly into the hideout. With Han Don-hee's weight added, he felt like he had shrunk by three centimeters. He felt his strength drain away as soon as he saw the stairs he had to climb.

He was about to curse Han Don-hee when someone came down the stairs. Cha Haya snatched the market bags from Han Don-hee's wrist and then took the one on Seo-won's left shoulder.

"Han Don-hee, do you have no legs?"

Cha Haya, holding three colorful fluorescent bags, didn't hide his annoyance.

"Why are you picking a fight with me after fighting with Cha Seo-won?"

Cha Haya was about to say something but closed his lips. He went up to Abdulraziz's place, banging on the door and putting the bags down.

Seo-won didn't tell Han Don-hee to take his arm off his shoulder, but he did.

"Why is that guy acting like that?"

Han Don-hee whispered. Seo-won shook his head and followed Cha Haya up the stairs.

"Cha Haya."

He didn't call out loudly, but Cha Haya stopped. Seo-won quickly found two soft cones in the market bag.

"Seo-won, you're here?"

Abdulraziz opened the door and greeted Seo-won. Seo-won held the two soft cones between his fingers and smiled.

"Bro, I'll just take these two ice creams."

"Right, Seo-won, you're so thin."

Abdulraziz, who did most of the cooking, also handled the food distribution.

"Right, I'll leave out that kid's frozen pizza."

Han Don-hee mimicked Abdulraziz's tone and picked up the bag. He went into Abdulraziz's place as if to say, 'You two figure it out.'

Seo-won was worried he might not come, but he was standing in the same spot. Seo-won approached Cha Haya and handed him a soft cone. When Cha Haya only took one, Seo-won pushed the other one at him.

"Take the lid off mine too."

This time, Seo-won went up the stairs first. He didn't look back as he climbed to the roof without stopping at the third floor. If he didn't follow, he wouldn't ask for reconciliation again. The open iron gate led to the scorching sun.

Is he really not coming...

There was no sound, but he didn't turn his head out of pride. He pretended to look at the broken building opposite, and suddenly, a soft cone blocked his view.

Seo-won took the cone with the lid off without saying thanks. Cha Haya's was already melting.

Seo-won turned around, hopped onto the railing, and took a bite of the ice cream.

"Why aren't you eating?"

"Jung Gyeong-min is in hell."

He didn't put a splint because it hurt. Fixing it this way meant he couldn't use his arm, but his bones would heal faster. It wasn't his intention, but it felt like he was boasting, 'This is because of you.'

"I feel sorry for Woo Gwang-seok."

"I'll pay for it."

"Is it a settlement fee?"

He pushed the bottom of Cha Haya's ice cream with his pinky.

"Just eat it."

Cha Haya remained expressionless. He seemed both deflated and defiant. Either way, it was his fault, so he could apologize again.

"…Last time, I was a bit insensitive."

He scratched his cheek awkwardly.

"I didn't mean it, so don't take it to heart."

"You?"

"Me?"

His head tilted involuntarily.

"Aren't you mad at me?"

"I made the mistake, so why would I be mad?"

He took another bite of the melting ice cream. The cheap vanilla produced a sweet taste.

"Cha Haya, you'll melt all the ice cream."

He had been facing him from the start, so it was awkward to change his position. He glanced at Cha Haya, thinking he might still be uncomfortable. There was a scratch on the side of his face with a mole. He must have fought a strong mutant, but Nam-dong was quiet last night.

He should have asked where he got hurt, but his mouth was closed. It felt like he was about to suggest they go together to offer Woo Gwang-seok to Jung Gyeong-min.

He's so strong, but it's ridiculous that I'm worried about a little injury.

Cha Seo-won, let's just stop. The fight happened because of my dishonesty. I thought my feelings for him as a high school student were different from now. But I overlooked that he's a marshmallow, the more you eat, the more you can't stop. As soon as we got close again, I felt heat from Cha Haya's breath, and the greenhouse effect was intense.

Why did you like me?

Or, do you like me?

"Cha Haya, you're so handsome."

"Out of the blue?"

"Out of the blue."

He replied the same way Cha Haya did before.

Even if I say I won't waver from now on, my heart won't be settled, but at least if I keep my balance, the 'friend' title will last a lifetime. Anything more is just greed. There are countless couples who marry and then break up, so what can I do if I like you?

<Sex.>

"Ah, damn..."

"Cha Seo-won is really pissed. Don't suck your thumb today, just curse until you feel better."

"It's because it's hot."

Seo-won chewed the ice cream in quick succession. Cha Haya finally started eating his ice cream, and half of the cone disappeared in one bite. Unlike me, who was facing the sun, his eyes didn't seem bothered by the light, absorbing it well.

'Cha Haya? Is that your real name?'

'Yes, but it's not Korean.'

I probably guessed his name was Indonesian that day.

Just like I would accept a foreigner's name as Jack, I accepted it without question. Until I went home, that is. Then, out of curiosity, I looked up an Indonesian dictionary on the way home after parting with Cha Haya.

And when I found out the meaning, it felt like I had been hit hard on the back of the head with a flash of lightning.

[cahaya, light]

His name was, in itself, a word that described him.