KTSR | Chapter 37

Ijin suddenly shouted. The sound was so abrupt and loud that even Kim Jaeman, who was coming in with a bag of fish-shaped bread, complaining about the cold, stopped in surprise.

Kwon Hyeongdo looked at Ijin with startled eyes, then turned his head and took a deep drag from his cigarette. The office was so quiet that you could hear the sound of the cigarette burning. The only sound was Ijin furiously typing on the keyboard. Kwon Hyeongdo carefully placed the half-burned cigarette on the desk and turned around leisurely.

And then, everything happened in the blink of an eye.

“Ah, hyung! Hyung! Hyungnim!”

With a bang, Kwon Hyeongdo grabbed Ijin’s head and slammed it onto the keyboard.

“Ah, hyung! Hyungnim! Why are you doing this again? You shouldn’t do this to a civilian!”

“Let go.”

Kwon Hyeongdo shook off Kim Jaeman, who was trying to stop him, with a sharp glare. Just a swing of Kwon Hyeongdo’s arm made Kim Jaeman stagger back four steps.

“Ugh… Huuu…”

Ijin, whose head was ringing and body already aching, had his face buried in the keyboard, tears streaming down. Even that felt humiliating. The tears that flowed against his will were shameful.

Kwon Hyeongdo pressed Ijin’s head down firmly and leaned in close. He lowered his head so much that his cheek almost touched the desk, meeting Ijin’s eyes. Seeing Ijin’s tear-streaked, flushed face, he asked.

“Why are you acting up like this? Just because we had a little fun, do you think we’re like a couple now?”

“Huuu…”

“When I call you ‘honey,’ do you really feel like my honey?”

Kwon Hyeongdo asked slowly. His voice was no different from usual. His tone was light, and his voice was calm, just like any other time. It seemed like this wasn’t even a threat to him. It was obvious that this was an easy and playful task for him, like plucking the wings off a dragonfly. That made Ijin unbearably angry.

“Yeah. If you’re pretty, I can pamper you a bit. But if you suddenly overstep, what should I do? Shouldn’t I break your leg so you can’t act cocky again?”

As Ijin expected, Kwon Hyeongdo didn’t take the situation seriously.

He just thought of scaring Ijin a little, so he wouldn’t act cocky. The kid was getting a bit out of hand, so if he pruned him before he crossed the line, he’d grow well.

He even thought to himself that he must really care for Seon Ijin to think like this.

“Ijin-ah. Honey. I don’t want to treat the person who keeps me warm all winter badly, you know? Let’s get along, okay?”

Ijin scratched the desk with his hand, creating a sharp squeaking sound as he glared at Kwon Hyeongdo.

His eyes, red and filled with malice, burned with fury.

Kwon Hyeongdo found it amusing and let out a short laugh.

Reaching back for his cigarette, he took a drag from what little remained and blew the smoke directly into Ijin’s face.

Then, without hesitation, he shoved the still-burning cigarette into Ijin’s coughing mouth.

As if doing him a favor, he finally let go of the hand gripping Ijin’s head.

When Ijin lifted his head in a fit, the imprint of the keyboard was clearly stamped on his cheek.

“Sigh. I don’t feel good about scaring the kid.”

Kwon Hyeongdo’s mood lightened instantly as he grinned.

Relieved, Kim Jaeman laughed and picked up the bag of fish-shaped bread he had dropped.

Kwon Hyeongdo told him not to bother with the ones that had fallen on the floor and casually kicked them out the door.

Then, he picked the warmest one from the bottom of the bag and handed it to Ijin, who sat staring blankly at the monitor, the cigarette butt still in his mouth.

“Here. Eat.”

“……”

When Ijin didn’t respond, Kwon Hyeongdo took the cigarette butt from his mouth and threw it out the door. The cold wind rushed in, making Ijin’s body tingle.

Kwon Hyeongdo roughly brushed Ijin’s flushed cheek with the back of his hand and stuffed the fish-shaped bread into his mouth.

“Should I shove it down your throat like this, or do you want to hold it and eat it?”

“……”

After a long while, Ijin grabbed the tail of the bread with both hands.

Ijin was the type to eat from the tail. Or at least, he seemed to be that type.

It was the first fish-shaped bread in two years. No, it would be three years now. Ijin stuffed it into his mouth, not realizing that the red bean paste was mildly burning his palate and tongue.

With almost half of it in his mouth, Ijin’s cheeks puffed up, and he suddenly burst into tears. He couldn’t taste the red bean paste at all, and his mouth was hot. Tears streamed down, the wind was cold, and no one bothered to close the door, leaving the tail of the bread flapping in the wind.

Kwon Hyeongdo watched Ijin, who was hiccuping and crying with puffed-up cheeks, with a steady gaze.

***

As soon as Ijin finished eating the fish-shaped bread, Kwon Hyeongdo dragged him out without a second thought.

Ijin, lacking energy, could only be dragged along. Although he was wearing a padded jacket, it was so thin it might as well have been a raincoat. Ijin was cold and in pain, his teeth chattering.

“Just wait a bit.”

Kwon Hyeongdo placed Ijin in the passenger seat and crossed his arms as he started the car.

As the engine rumbled to life, Ijin’s chills worsened.

He turned on the heater, but since the engine hadn’t fully warmed up yet, there was no way warm air would come out immediately.

For now, only the faint smell of gasoline wafted through the car.

“Now it’s finally blowing warm air.”

Kwon Hyeongdo clicked his tongue as he repeatedly touched and removed his hand from the heater.

Ijin slowly turned to look at Kwon Hyeongdo with a swollen face. Today, he was wearing an aloha shirt with a corduroy jacket. The soft and rough fur around the collar added a touch of wildness rather than elegance.

“…If you keep dressing like that, your mouth will freeze.”

“I’m fine because I have a lot of body heat. You know from asking me before, I’m warmer than most people’s insides.”

It was a classic case of giving a penny and getting a pound in return.

Ijin leaned back against the still-frozen car seat. His body shivered from the cold.

Kwon Hyeongdo started the car. The Colosseum faded into the distance. Ijin blankly watched the side mirror, feeling uncertain if he would ever completely leave this place.

They arrived at ‘Jeong Internal Medicine,’ where an elderly doctor with graying hair was seeing patients. The cold seeped up from the gray terrazzo tiles, making the waiting room chilly. Kwon Hyeongdo, now holding the shivering Ijin by his side, slammed his hand on the reception desk.

“Cold.”

The receptionist was momentarily startled by his large fist but then nodded at his light tone.

After giving his resident registration number and waiting, each minute felt like a month to Ijin. As soon as he entered the hospital, his fever spiked rapidly. His eyes hurt as if they were about to pop out, and he kept sniffling from a runny nose. His eyes itched constantly.

Kwon Hyeongdo, leaving Ijin who was swaying like a roly-poly toy, was reading a Sunday magazine. There was a big advertisement for a newly released car. Kwon Hyeongdo kept glancing at it and frowning repeatedly.

“Huuu. Huuu. Huuu.”

Ijin couldn’t hold back his chills and groaned. The pain was so intense that moans kept escaping. Kwon Hyeongdo casually flipped through the magazine, crumpling it slightly, and spoke nonchalantly.

“You’re not going to make it for this race.”

“…I’ll go even if it kills me.”

“This time, you’ll really die. I’ll have to clean up your corpse.”

Kwon Hyeongdo growled and threatened, but Ijin didn’t pay attention.

It was like a cat worrying about a mouse.

When a gangster worries about a debtor, it’s only because they’re afraid of losing their money—so it’s worse than not listening at all.

Thinking that, he curled up even more. But no matter how much he leaned toward the heater, the cold rising from within wouldn’t go away.

Inside, whatever conversation was happening, once the elderly entered the consultation room, they never seemed to come out.

There weren’t many patients waiting, yet Ijin had to wait endlessly.

Even worse, the patients who had arrived earlier had taken all the seats near the heater, leaving Ijin pressed against the wall, shivering from the cold seeping up through it.

It was only natural—almost instinctual—that Ijin, just for a moment, envied Kwon Hyeongdo, who claimed to be warmer than most people’s insides.

Ijin glanced at Kwon Hyeongdo.

This crazy guy really didn’t seem cold at all, sitting there with his shirt unbuttoned.

“If you keep peeking like that, your eyes will tear to the side.”

Having read the last page of the magazine, Kwon Hyeongdo flipped back to the adult comic pages and chuckled.

“They say horses can’t look to the side when they run, right? Should I get you glasses like that?”

None of Kwon Hyeongdo’s words reached Ijin. With unfocused eyes, Ijin looked at Kwon Hyeongdo’s chest. It looked warm. Maybe it was because of his sun-kissed skin that seemed to smell like the sun. Losing his mind due to the sharp breathing sounds, Ijin lost his reason.

“What the hell, damn it.”

Kwon Hyeongdo muttered in disbelief as the magazine was suddenly snatched from his hands.

Ijin tossed the magazine aside and threw his arms around Kwon Hyeongdo, hugging him tightly. He slipped his hands inside the corduroy jacket and nestled his arms between the open armpits, feeling an incredible warmth.

“It’s true. It’s really true. It’s really warm.”

Ijin mumbled feverishly.

“It’s really warm….”