Sweet Shot

#43

A subtle crack appeared in Tae-rim’s smiling face as he saw Ha-min trying hard to draw a line with an uncomfortable expression.

“Ha-min.”

Tae-rim stopped the car from starting and called out in a somewhat subdued voice. Ha-min quietly looked at him.

“Did hyung do something wrong?”

Tae-rim asked gently, as if caressing, seeing Ha-min’s uncomfortable expression and repeated rejections. Ha-min’s brown eyes widened. He quickly shook his head. Seeing him deny it while waving his hands, Tae-rim added.

“Then, why do you think?”

Ha-min had always followed along as if he couldn’t resist. Tae-rim asked worriedly, thinking he might have pushed too hard. His hand stroked Ha-min’s head. It was a gesture as if encouraging Ha-min to speak, who was having difficulty talking, his mouth twitching.

Ha-min chewed on his lower lip, thinking deeply, and then struggled to squeeze out his voice.

“…Too…”

“…”

“It feels like you’re being too nice…”

Tae-rim’s eyebrows raised slightly at the unexpected statement.

Ha-min swallowed dryly and slowly opened his mouth again.

“The gifts and all… and always driving me home like this…”

“…”

“You don’t have to be this nice… You don’t have to take care of me like this… That…”

“…”

“Hy-hyung, if you want to… you can just do it.”

Even as he spoke with difficulty, his eyes were detached. As if he really didn’t care.

Tae-rim’s hands gripped the steering wheel tightly.

“Just don’t worry about me, and when you want to… you can just do it.”

Ha-min’s head was bowed low as he spoke, seemingly embarrassed. His reddened nape and ear tips were visible above.

Although he stumbled over his words, his message was clear.

Tae-rim, having processed Ha-min’s words, gripped the steering wheel tightly and let out a faint laugh. There was a somewhat fishy smell in the air.

“So.”

“…”

“Without worrying about anything else, let’s just have sex when needed.”

“…”

“Is that what you mean?”

Ha-min let out a short “Ah” breath at the blunt interpretation, looking flustered. But seeing that he didn’t deny it, Tae-rim’s smile grew even more sardonic.

“Is that what you want?”

When Tae-rim asked as if to confirm, Ha-min rolled his eyes earnestly with a face breaking out in a cold sweat. He didn’t expect it to be interpreted that far, but it wasn’t wrong. That was easier for him too. If Tae-rim kept being this nice while they were physically intimate, he didn’t know how far these shameless feelings would go. He was different from Tae-rim. He wasn’t someone who found anything easy like Tae-rim did. Dating women, forming and ending relationships with people – everything was ten, a hundred times harder for him than for others.

Ha-min quietly nodded. He couldn’t lift his head due to embarrassment. Tae-rim let out a hollow laugh as if Ha-min’s answer was quite funny. He burst into a deflated laugh as if it was really absurd and looked down at Ha-min with an incredulous face.

“…Ha-min.”

“…”

“You always overturn hyung’s expectations.”

At the low words, Ha-min kept his mouth tightly shut. Tae-rim’s face, which had been staring blankly at Ha-min who no longer said anything, gradually hardened. Tae-rim, who had no idea that such thoughts were going through that small head, erased his smile and spoke calmly.

“Alright, then.”

Along with the words of assent, there was a click sound of the car unlocking.

“Get out.”

It came with a gentle yet cold voice.

**

“You’re working until dawn on your birthday, are you sure you’re okay?”

The convenience store owner spoke up unnecessarily as Ha-min came out of the employee room after putting away his personal belongings. He was an owner who liked Ha-min’s shift. When Ha-min left, the delayed item organization was neatly done, and even the dirty counters and floors were clean. Not only that, but the cash count was always accurate. There had never been a time when money was over or short. He was the part-time employee the owner favored the most in his own way. It seemed to bother him that such an employee was working until dawn on his birthday.

“Yes, I’m fine. Thank you.”

Ha-min bowed his head in greeting to the casual concerned question.

“No need to thank me. When it’s not busy, call your friends and have a beer at the table in front of the store.”

He pointed to the table in front of the convenience store made for customers to sit, speaking generously.

“As long as you don’t make a fuss.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Alright, happy birthday. Good work.”

The owner ruffled Ha-min’s hair, laughed cheerfully, and left the convenience store. Ha-min watched the owner’s retreating back and started work. He began by wiping the counter where there were ramen broth stains, and organized the stacked cigarettes into the drawer. Perhaps because it was a public holiday, Daehakro was quiet. Ha-min, whose birthday was on Children’s Day, was called a filial son by his mother. Saying that she could celebrate Children’s Day and his birthday together. So when he was young, she would give him an armful of snack sets for his birthday cum Children’s Day. Ha-min smiled faintly at the sudden old memory. At that moment, Ha-min’s phone in his uniform pocket rang. It was his mom.

“Yes, Mom.”

-Son~ Happy birthday~.

Ha-min smiled faintly at the sweet voice. She had called first thing in the morning to congratulate him, and now she was calling again to say congratulations. Although they didn’t celebrate his birthday lavishly every year, they never forgot it.

“You called in the morning too.”

-Your dad told me to call again.

Along with his mom’s words, he could hear his dad’s voice shouting “Congratulations, son!” from the side. Ha-min smiled brightly.

-It’s your birthday, shouldn’t you eat something delicious and have fun with your friends?

“No… It’s burdensome to make a big deal out of birthdays.”

Ha-min said quietly with an embarrassed face.

-Still. You said you made a lot of friends.

“Yeah. I received gifts as congratulations. …And got a lot of messages too.”

Ha-min kicked the innocent floor with his foot for no reason. His body twisted automatically out of embarrassment. He didn’t know how many years it had been since he received congratulations from friends. Somehow they all knew, and congratulatory messages had been pouring in since morning.

Tae-in, of course, and Eun-soo, Chae-rin, and Woo-kyung also sent messages congratulating him along with gifts like gift certificates. Since it was connected to a public holiday and weekend, Eun-soo and Chae-rin, whose hometowns weren’t in Seoul, said they had to go home and apologized for not being able to hang out together. Instead, Woo-kyung and Tae-in insisted on skipping work and hanging out, but Ha-min diligently refused and came out to work.

-Bring your friends over next time. I’ll cook something delicious.

“Okay, later.”

These were things he couldn’t even dream of just a few months ago. Receiving messages from friends on his birthday. So it was just amazing. That’s probably why he felt choked up in the morning.

-Oh right, son. Are you in touch with Tae-rim?

Ha-min’s eyes flashed at the thought he was having. He opened his mouth with a surprised face at the sudden mention of the name.

“Um… why?”

-Why? Because we’re grateful. After he left that time, the next day so many packages arrived. Meat, supplements, fruits. Last time when we ran out of ginseng wine, he even sent ginseng wine. Your dad was so happy-. It turns out it’s a rare- thing that’s hard to get domestically.

“Ah…”

Unexpected words were pouring out of his mother’s mouth. Ha-min’s face sank rapidly.

-I want to contact him to say we received it well, but I need his contact information. Can you pass on the message for me, son? Tell him we’re very grateful.

“Ah… okay.”

Suddenly, he remembered something that happened recently. He recalled Tae-rim’s cold profile as he left after agreeing to Ha-min’s words not to be so nice anymore. There had been no contact since then. Of course, there were no congratulatory words either. That fact didn’t make him feel disappointed. He was the one who refused the gift in the first place, so he had nothing to complain about.

On top of that, hearing that he had sent so many gifts home made him feel concerned and his heart ached. What about me is so lovable that he takes care of me like that, when I haven’t done anything good? He wanted to call him right away and say thank you, but Tae-rim’s expression that day wasn’t normal, so even that wasn’t easy. It was naturally difficult to contact him first when he was the one who drew the line.

He fiddled with the counter with a blank stare. While his insides were churning with complex emotions, his mother’s sudden words were heard.

-But it must be nice for you, son?

Ha-min opened his eyes curiously at the words spoken with a laughing voice.

“What suddenly?”

-What do you mean what? I’m talking about Tae-rim.

“Huh?”

-You cried day and night when Tae-rim went to America. Isn’t it nice to meet him again?

“Ah…”

-You still have the letter you wrote then, right?

“…Yeah.”

-Why don’t you show it to him? If Tae-rim knew how heartfelt it was then….

“Ah, Mom… stop it.”

Ha-min mumbled with an embarrassed face at the teasing words. Then his mother’s comfortable laughter was heard.

-Still, it’s fate that you met again like this.

“…”

His mother was right. He didn’t know that fate would bring them together again like this. When Tae-rim left Korea, Ha-min, who never cried, cried for days. He wrote dozens of letters without even knowing the address and dreamed of hyung every night. Back then, he didn’t even know Tae-rim was his first love, but he was so passionate. Just meeting him again like this was like a dream. He had even kissed and touched him. There was nothing more to wish for. That’s how it should be.