Rows of trees swiftly passed by in his taxi ride.
Seo Kangwoo handed several 50,000 won bills to Heewoon, instructing him to take a taxi. Heewoon was inclined to save money and take the bus like his usual routine, but he didn’t do so this time. He had learned that Seo Kangwoo had someone to keep tabs on him.
And he knew all too well what could happen if he didn’t heed his words.
Heewoon stared at the numbers displayed on his phone. Seo Kangwoo had said he would send this amount of money every month. The intoxication from the alcohol had vanished for a while now. It seemed like he only stared at his phone for just a brief moment, but the taxi had already arrived home. The journey was a fraction of time compared to when he took the bus.
“I’m home.”
Heewoon opened the door and peered inside.
“Yeah… you’re back?”
His mother, who had been lying down, stirred up. Heewoon fiddled with his phone for a bit before tucking it into his pocket.
“You’re back a little early today?”
“Yeah, uh… That, Mom.”
Hmm? His mother, who was about to lie back down again facing the TV, turned her gaze to Heewoon. Heewoon pursed his lips and said.
“…I deposited the living expenses. I also sent money to the neighbor next door.”
“Weren’t you supposed to get your tutoring fee tomorrow?”
Heewoon pursed his lips again and added
“…The student mother gave it to me today.”
And without looking at his mom’s face, he headed straight for the bathroom.
***
As expected, he didn’t get any sleep at night. He stared blankly into space until the early light of dawn, recalling himself kneeling down and begging, checking his bank balance, and doing the math with the money.
When his breathing felt uncomfortable, as if something was caught in his throat, he would his body turn over soundlessly. After gazing at his mother’s face faintly visible in the light coming through the window, he managed to swallow down the lump in his throat.
The next day, Heewoon was in a daze and left early without much thought, but when he passed the bus stop, he realized something and stopped in his tracks.
The time was tight, so he left his house without having breakfast. He should just go back and eat something.
“….”
His steps, which were about to turn around, abruptly halted.
Since he’s already out, maybe he should buy something to eat for breakfast and head to school early.
Heewoon confirmed that the bus was arriving in 7 minutes and walked into the convenience store right by the bus stop. His heart raced.
Ding-
“Welcome.”
“Yes…”
Heewoon nodded politely and looked around. A chocolate bar caught his eye. It was 800 won.
Placing the chocolate on the counter, he took out his wallet from the back pocket. He smoothly took out the card and handed it over.
“Yes. That’ll be 800 won.”
Hee-woon held his breath as the part-time cashier swiped the card. His heart pounded. If the card declined again, he could just pay with cash this time. After all, the money Seo Kangwoo gave him for the taxi fare yesterday was almost equivalent to his monthly allowance.
Then, a faint beep sounded, and the receipt printed out. The cashier handed him the card back. Heewoon stared at it blankly, and the cashier asked curiously.
“…Do you need the receipt?”
“Ah, no. Have a good day.”
Heewoon picked up the chocolate, nodded politely, and left the convenience store. As the door closed with a ding, he took a long exhale.
Sitting on a bench at the bus stop, he put his wallet back into his bag. He was scared of losing Kangwoo’s card, so he decided to always keep his wallet inside his bag from now on.
Then, his phone vibrated.
[Seo Kangwoo]
Seeing the name, his heart sank. Heewoon took a deep breath and answered the call.
–Where are you?
“At the bus stop.”
–Your class is at 1 pm today, why are you already out?
“I got confused…”
–I’ll come over there. Let’s have lunch together.
“Yeah.”
Heewoon hung up the phone and let out a sigh. He didn’t want to have lunch together with Kangwoo. After reflecting on his actions from yesterday, he disliked the idea even more. He was definitely a little drunk yesterday, talking back and arguing with Seo Kangwoo. It was astonishing that he didn’t get beaten up.
Heewoon opened the chocolate wrapper with a gloomy expression.
Seo Kangwoo arrived very quickly. Heewoon had just finished taking a few bites of chocolate in his mouth and threw the wrapper in the convenience store trash when he saw a car on the road.
As he entered the passenger seat, his arm was pulled, and their lips met. This time, Heewoon didn’t push Kangwoo away. Kissing on a busy street like this made his shoulders twitch, as his heart raced.
A big hand lightly cupped the back of his neck, as if to ease the tension. When their lips parted for a moment, a languid breath replaced it.
“And I was wondering what you bought with 800 won.”
Their upper lips were barely touching, and Kangwoo’s voice flowed in a low tone.
Heewoon paused for a moment and guessed that Kangwoo was referring to the credit card notification being sent to him via text. Kangwoo wiped Heewoon’s lips with his thumb and gently caressed his cheek.
“You bought chocolate?”
He asked, a hint of a smile in his eyes. Heewoon stared blankly for a moment, then nodded with a soft ‘yeah.’ Kangwoo suddenly leaned back, putting some distance between them.
With his hands holding the steering wheel loosely, Kangwoo looked ahead and suddenly smiled. Heewoon glanced at Kangwoo, who was smiling to himself, and fastened his seatbelt.
Seo Kangwoo parked his car at a large 3-story ox bone soup restaurant. They were directed to the quietest third floor. Even though it wasn’t yet noon, the first and second floors were bustling.
Soon, bowls of ox bone soup and a few side dishes came neatly placed on the tray.
Heewoon had been hungry just earlier, but after the chocolate, or perhaps because Kangwoo was sitting in front of him, his appetite was gone. He chewed his meal slowly, being on his toes around Kangwoo
Seo Kangwoo, who didn’t seem to be paying much attention to him, suddenly said.
“You’re munching again.”
“Huh? No, I’m not…”
“Hmm…”
Kangwoo rested his chin on his hand, gazing at Heewoon’s face, his voice vibrating in his throat. He had been lost in thought, observing Heewoon. Anxious, Heewoon tightened his grip on the spoon and glanced at Kangwoo.
“Ah, let’s eat.”
Kangwoo said it as if apologizing to Heewoon for making him unable to eat. Then, he smiled playfully and added as if it was nothing.
“Just for a moment, I thought about pouring some alcohol into your mouth, Sunbae.”
Heewoon’s face turned pale.
He lowered his head and tried his best to eat in a way that looked appetizing. Seo Kangwoo’s gaze stuck to his face and he only looked away after Heewoon took a few more spoonfuls.
***
Kangwoo dropped Heewoon off at the Business School and headed back. Instead of going in right away, Heewoon stopped by the convenience store across the street. His stomach felt a bit uneasy, so he thought about buying some indigestion medicine.
Heewoon grabbed a glass bottle from the refrigerator and headed for the cash register, and then he froze.
If he used the card, a notification message would be sent to Seo Kangwoo.
If he received multiple messages, Seo Kangwoo might get annoyed. Thus, it might be better to buy everything he needed at once to avoid that. Heewoon wondered if Seo Kangwoo would be annoyed if he spent a lot of money at once, but he concluded that any amount of money would be nothing to him.
Heewoon turned around and picked up a few drinks, several snacks, and a ballpoint pen. He pondered if he had something else he needed to buy. After a moment of hesitation, he grabbed a few more snacks until his arms were full and put them all on the counter
“That will be 23,500 won.”
His heart raced a bit less than before as he handed his card over for payment. The transaction was completed without any issues.
He took the fairly hefty plastic bag and went back to the Business School. He went up to the second floor and put everything in his locker except for the indigestion medicine and a drink.
Heewoon didn’t hear from Kangwoo during his lecture until 6 pm, so he went home feeling relieved.
Today was originally a day without tutoring, so it was fine, but pretending to have tutoring every evening was a bit perplexing.
He spent the whole way home thinking about what he could say to his mom.
As he was taking off his shoes and entering the house, he heard his mom’s voice from the room.
“It’s not much. After looking into it, it’s about…”
She seemed to be on a call. Heewoon quietly opened the door. However, the sound made his mom turn around, so Heewoon greeted her silently.
“Yeah, Unnie. I’ll call you back later.”
His mom ended the call. Looking at her slightly surprised expression, Heewoon asked curiously.
“Was it from Aunt?”
“Uh, yeah…”
“Is Aunt doing well?”
“She’s the same as always. Ahem, food. Have you eaten yet?”
His mom’s attitude was a bit strange, but Heewoon didn’t notice anything because he was preoccupied with thinking about how to naturally bring up his tutoring.
“Yeah. But Mom, I…”
His mom, who was about to go to the kitchen, turned around. Her face looked as tired and gloomy as always. She used to be someone who would laugh at the most little things.
Since when did she become like this?
When she was diagnosed with liver cancer, at Dad’s funeral, when those people ransacked their house full of their family memories… There were many other moments that came to mind.
To Heewoon, his mom felt pitiful.
And sometimes, he really pitied his mom.
“A really wealthy student has joined my tutoring, and he offered so much money that I decided to quit other tutoring jobs.”
Heewoon said with a bright expression.
“Really?”
“Um… It’s a group tutoring, so I’m earning even more than before.”
Seeing his mom’s eyes widen, Heewoon clenched his fist in nervousness. No matter how he thought about it, it was a terribly feeble lie. Heewoon swallowed dryly as he watched his mom’s lips part.
“Oh my, that’s great news!”
His mom beamed, followed by a slightly strained voice after.
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