Sweet Shot

#6

“But they’re just worried about you…”

“I’m really fine now. Of course, hyung is taller, but I’m pretty close. Besides, I exercise more diligently than him.”

Tae-in proudly flexed his arm. His sturdy muscles bulged out. Though the muscles were firm, it was childish, making Ha-min chuckle.

“Are you a kid?”

“When I’m with hyung, I always get compared, so I worked hard.”

“See?” As Tae-in flexed harder and extended his arm to Ha-min, Ha-min pushed it away, telling him to stop.

“But you’re also quite…”

“Ah, don’t touch.”

“More toned than I expected?”

Tae-in touched his own arm with a surprised look.

“It’s from all the digging in the military.”

“Wow, our chubby one is a fitness buff now?”

“Ah, stop touching-“

Ha-min had always been consistent with exercise. He’d jog every dawn, or if he couldn’t, he’d do 2000 jump ropes before bed. But genetically, his body didn’t build muscle easily, so he couldn’t dream of the six-pack others sang about. It was only after digging day and night in the military that he finally gained some lean muscle.

Brushing off Tae-in’s hand, Ha-min changed the subject.

“By the way, don’t you have a car?”

Seeing a foreign car pass by outside reminded him. He remembered Tae-rim disappearing in a foreign car yesterday and Tae-in riding the bus with him.

“I have a license.”

“Your hyung had a car.”

“Hyung has been driving in America since he was eighteen.”

“Oh…”

“They offered to buy me a car too, but only with a chauffeur. I refused. It pissed me off.”

“Why?”

“How can I go around with a chauffeur? It’s gross. They’d follow me to school too, what would my friends say?”

They’d just say you’re a rich young master…. But understanding that feeling, Ha-min quietly nodded.

Meanwhile, Tae-in suddenly asked, turning his head towards Ha-min with a look of realization:

“By the way, did you meet hyung?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, it didn’t seem like you two were meeting for the first time today.”

Ah.

“We ran into each other at school yesterday.”

“Really? Did he recognize you right away?”

“Yeah… It was kind of surprising. At first, he passed by without recognizing me, but then he did.”

“Well, he really adored you. See, I told you, right? That guy usually doesn’t remember people’s faces or names. Or rather, he doesn’t bother to remember?”

Suddenly remembering how Tae-rim had called Woo-kyung “Jae-kyung”, Ha-min chuckled.

“We also briefly met at the freshman welcome party yesterday.”

“In Daehakro?”

“Yeah.”

“Really?”

“…He even gave me some pocket money.”

Ha-min fumbled in his coat pocket and took out his wallet. The money Tae-rim had given him yesterday was still there. Woo-kyung had said to use that money for the second round, but Ha-min couldn’t do that, so even in his drunken state, he had stubbornly handed over his own card. Though he couldn’t remember because he had blacked out.

“Pocket money?? Crazy. Hey, that’s great. Let’s milk him from now on.”

Tae-in’s eyes immediately sparkled like a hyena’s. Ha-min hid his wallet in his chest and shook his head.

“No.”

“What do you mean no? Our hyung has tons of money. Spend it freely. And ask for more.”

“No.”

Ha-min firmly shook his head. It was money he absolutely couldn’t spend carelessly. He couldn’t waste anything he received from him.

Tae-in looked at Ha-min incredulously as he hid his wallet and shook his head. What’s so special about that money that he’s hiding it like honey? After letting out an absurd laugh, he stroked his chin with a somewhat serious face.

“I guess hyung really does think of you like a real younger brother.”

“…”

“He even gives you pocket money. He doesn’t even give that to his own brother.”

Tae-in let out a deflated laugh, seemingly quite surprised. Hearing this, Ha-min felt bitter, but he carefully put the wallet back in his chest. Then, without answering, he turned his gaze to the window and smiled bitterly. He found himself as ridiculous as Tae-in did. Others would surely find it funny to see him preciously keeping money that was meant to be spent. But he couldn’t help it.

Even if it wasn’t money, anything given by that person would be precious, even if it was just an inedible bean. Anything touched by his hand would be dear to him.

This was his one-sided love.

**

Ha-min decided he needed to get a part-time job after being discharged from the military.

Ha-min’s family was ordinary. Their house, family, and finances were all average. Being so ordinary, Ha-min had never worried about money when he was young.

He started thinking about earning money when convenience stores and supermarkets began popping up near his mother’s grocery store. As food delivery apps developed and competition intensified, the grocery store’s sales noticeably decreased. Ha-min’s mother insisted loudly that they shouldn’t worry about money, but he couldn’t help but notice the sounds of his parents arguing every night. It was because his father, who had been laid off, had lost his severance pay in the stock market. What’s worse, he had even emptied the savings account set aside for Ha-min’s tuition, which made his mother furious. Hearing them fight every night, Ha-min quietly started looking for part-time work. He had thought about covering at least his living expenses even before being discharged, if not his tuition.

But Ha-min’s mother was extremely worried. After graduating high school, Ha-min had locked himself in his room for a month. He didn’t want to come out and found it extremely difficult to go outside. Even walking around the neighborhood once was hard and left him breathless. It was social anxiety and panic disorder. It was the darkest period of Ha-min’s life.

Of course, once he decided to diet, he worked hard at it. Dieting wasn’t easy, so he even enlisted in the military, but it was still tough there. He couldn’t get along with people and sometimes would go to the bathroom alone to retch when things got hard. There were times when senior soldiers bullied him, but compared to high school, it was bearable. He had to do something to become a new person. That determination was the only breakthrough that could help him endure his dark period. As he endured that time, he occasionally wondered about hyung, whom he thought he’d never see again – how he was doing, what kind of person he had become.

The history of his one-sided love was long.

“Hyung, that watch doesn’t suit you.”

It was when they were all eating together in the school cafeteria.

At Woo-kyung’s sudden voice, Ha-min stopped his wandering thoughts and looked up.

Eun-soo was absent due to student council duties, so only Ha-min, Woo-kyung, and Chae-rin were sitting together. Woo-kyung, pausing from eating his pork cutlet, looked at the watch on Ha-min’s wrist. Ha-min quietly lowered his left hand that had been resting on the table.

“Really? …My mom gave it to me.”

During the darkest period of Ha-min’s life. The leather watch his mom had put on his wrist.

Ha-min smiled slightly. Woo-kyung’s face immediately stiffened.

“Oh, is that so? Sorry, hyung. I didn’t mean it looked weird, I just thought the leather was too worn out.”

“It’s tarullo,” Woo-kyung added, mumbling.

“Hey, stop chattering and just eat your food.”

Chae-rin glared at Woo-kyung, who seemed to have made a mistake, and spoke bluntly.

“It’s okay. It is quite old.”

It had been several years already. It was the watch his mom had put on him with a heavy heart. To cover the scars on his wrist. Since then, it was a watch he wore anywhere and everywhere. No one knew this secret. Except his parents.

“When’s your birthday, hyung? I’ll buy you a new watchband.”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

Ha-min reassured Woo-kyung, who was trying to make amends apologetically. Chae-rin, who had been quietly eating beside them, chimed in.

“Don’t indulge this bastard, oppa. He sometimes gets too full of himself.”

“Shit, what did I do? Hyung said it’s fine-“

“Don’t you remember making oppa pass out by forcing him to drink last time?”

“…Yes. I’m sorry.”

“Oppa, you should give him hell if he acts up again. This guy needs to be reined in once in a while.”

Chae-rin said with a completely expressionless face. At her sharp advice, Ha-min quietly responded with a small “Mm.” Chae-rin was extremely blunt, but she was the most considerate among the three. Her words were always rough, but not unkind. Even Woo-kyung, who bickered the most, didn’t take offense at her tone. Literally, Chae-rin was like the trainer holding the reins, and Woo-kyung was like a frisky colt. Maybe because they had been best friends since high school, their chemistry was good. They said they had been in the band together even before entering university. Ha-min remembered Woo-kyung ranting about their long history, saying they had formed the band with Tae-in even before entering university and creating the college club.

“Hyung, what are you doing after class? Want to go to the club room together?”

“No, I have a part-time job.”

“Huh? You have a part-time job?”

When Ha-min applied to return to the university he had taken a break from and said he was going to work part-time, his mother worried endlessly. But she didn’t show it in front of him. Though she didn’t show it, Ha-min vaguely knew.

“Yeah. I’ve been doing it on and off since before coming to school.”

“Wow. You’re living so diligently, hyung.”

“What kind of job is it?”

Chae-rin, who was usually uninterested in everything, asked. Woo-kyung also seemed curious and was ready to listen.

“It’s nothing special… Just a convenience store job.”

“Where?”

“In Daehakro. Until the night shift.”

“That must be tough. Why don’t you just do tutoring or something?”

“I’m not good at teaching others.”