“Kyaaah! I’m totally your fan!”

As he was bowled over by the charging body that bellowed like a hippopotamus, Dojun thought to himself.

Fortune-telling really can’t be trusted after all.

***

“This is the fortune of a king.”

The fortune-telling master’s eyes snapped open like those of a blind shaman suddenly granted sight. After examining the birth chart repeatedly, he slammed his hand on the desk and exclaimed.

“A fortune like this comes once in a hundred years, so rare that even the rise and fall of nations could depend on it.”

“Is that really true? This child was born with a destiny to control the fate of the nation?”

The old woman, draped in lustrous fur, couldn’t contain her excitement as she shouted. She looked back at the child with a satisfied expression, like an empress dowager gazing at her only grandson. Ambition glinted in her small, round eyes that resembled salted shrimp.

“Then that means he’ll become president…!”

“That much I cannot say. If one’s fortune is a car, then one’s luck is the road that car must travel. Life is a series of choices, and isn’t destiny something we must drive ourselves?”

At her passionate urging, the master stroked his goatee while averting his gaze. The old woman’s eyes sharpened as she watched him slither away like a mudfish.

“If you’re just going to say it’s up to him, then I’m leaving.”

“Ah, come now. Still as impatient as ever, I see.”

The master quickly pressed down on her hand as she abruptly reached for her wallet. The plump woman’s hand, adorned with large gemstone rings on each finger, had an acupressure effect. Lost in the refreshing sensation of pressure points being stimulated, he hurriedly cleared his throat and stepped back when the old woman glared at him.

“People won’t leave him alone, they’ll worship him and beg him to rule over them, but he himself will find it all tiresome.”

The old woman’s face clouded with worry. She seemed to have something on her mind. The boy sitting properly beside her possessed an extraordinary bearing beyond compare, and his spirit was far from ordinary. His eyes sparkled with intelligence and brilliance. Yet there was an air of world-weariness unbefitting a child.

“Isn’t the child’s father the same way? Looking at this, they’re like two peas in a pod.”

When the master examined the year and month pillars and asked, the old woman let out a pained groan with a displeased expression. It seemed he hadn’t said anything untrue.

“It’s frustrating. I gave birth to an exceptional child whom no one could match, and he tells me his dream is to be a fisherman. That boy has been rotting my insides since he was little.”

She heaved a deep sigh and launched into complaints about her son. The master pushed up his glasses and asked curiously.

“Isn’t the shipbuilding industry outlook consistently good?”

“He wants to be a fisherman who catches people.”

The old woman spat out the words with an irritated face. The master closed his mouth with an understanding expression, and the atmosphere quickly became solemn.

“How perceptive indeed. His life is destined to be spent managing people, so catching people would be right.”

“Stop talking about his father and continue interpreting our Dojun’s destiny.”

She turned her head away as if the taste in her mouth was bitter, changing the subject. The master, who had been laughing heartily, circled a part of the birth chart.

“Look here. The Red Flame Star appears in both his youth and old age, which means it lasts his whole life.”

“What’s the Red Flame Star?”

“It’s one of the fortune stars that draws high public interest. Similar to the Peach Blossom Star[1]…”

“Peach Blossom Star?”

At that single word, the old woman’s complexion changed completely. Her face turned red and blue as she fired off words like a machine gun.

“So you’re saying our Dojun is destined to chase after women? Do you want to close down this fortune school and leave the secular world?”

“Don’t get excited. Haven’t I told you time and again to listen to the end when someone speaks Korean? That fiery temperament hasn’t changed since you were tearing bananas away from missionaries.”

The master clicked his tongue audibly to calm her down.

“The Red Flame Star is indeed closely related to the opposite sex. But aren’t men and women all people in the end? To charm people, this means having the magnetism to attract people.”

“Of course, when he’s this handsome and smart.”

The old woman snorted and proudly stroked the back of her grandson’s head. The master quickly continued his explanation, taking advantage of her softened aggression.

“The Peach Blossom Star and Red Flame Star are similar yet different. While the Peach Blossom Star has an active nature, the Red Flame Star is passive and involuntary.”

“Explain it so I can understand.”

“It’s a star that naturally attracts people’s attention whether one wants it or not. So people will crowd around him, but your grandson will find it all very bothersome.”

“What use is being a king if he finds people bothersome?”

“He finds it bothersome because he’s a king. Isn’t it bothersome when there’s nothing to long for?”

“You have a point.”

The old woman glared at him with narrowed eyes, giving him a scolding look. Yet she didn’t seem entirely displeased. The master wore a good-natured smile like a traditional mask.

“Still, he’ll hold tight to the people he’s marked as his own, so don’t worry. He has a broad capacity but clear principles, so he’s practical.”

“Tell me more.”

“There are no obstacles in his fortune. It’s completely smooth sailing. His parental luck is indescribably good, and what he was born with overflows, so there’s nothing he can’t achieve.”

He laid out his words methodically while making eye contact with Dojun. Those jet-black eyes like go stones were gazing at him intently. One couldn’t speak of dignity in a child who had barely entered elementary school, but his calm and polite demeanor had quite an atmosphere. A neat forehead, thick and even eyebrows, bright clear eyes, and handsome lips. Not only his fortune but his physiognomy lacked nothing.

Despite two adults discussing him right in front of his nose, he never once interrupted. His posture remained proper without wavering for the long duration, yet his eyes were quite sharply alive. He looked ready to call out any nonsense, truly extraordinary. Thinking the boy was quite something, the master laughed heartily.

“The sun blazes down to melt frozen talents, which he then dams up to accumulate wealth and become greatly rich.”

Despite the endless stream of praise, the subject didn’t even blink. Well, he must be quite accustomed to compliments. A transcendent quality unbefitting his age could be glimpsed in the boy who maintained his dignified seat. Not only was his mind brilliant, but one could sense mental fortitude, giving the impression he wouldn’t waver even in life’s storms.

“People and wealth will overflow until death, leaving nothing to desire. This is what’s commonly called a golden fortune.”

“To that extent?”

“Indeed. I wonder if I’ll see such a good fortune again in my lifetime.”

“Ha! This snake oil salesman still has his teeth. Makes me want to pay the fortune-telling fee.”

The excited old woman grinned from ear to ear as she opened her wallet. When a wad of cash emerged from the generously opened alligator leather wallet, the master’s eyes bulged as if they would break through his glasses.

“Oh my! Even fifty thousand won would be…”

“I’m doing this because I’m in a good mood. Take it while I’m offering.”

“No, put it away. Put it away!”

His words said no, but his body was honest. Despite his sharp voice, his hands were obedient. After some back and forth, the master accepted the wad of cash with a pretense of reluctance and beamed at Dojun.

“Meeting such a lucky customer, even my fortune is good today. Thank you.”

Dojun silently gazed at the master. Rather than being lucky, he had fantastic skills at catering to Grandmother Jo Jeom-rye’s whims. His ability to control intensity was masterful, not the work of a day or two. The generous payment wasn’t luck that fell from the sky but fair wages he had honestly earned through his labor, though Dojun didn’t bother pointing this out.

“Live doing whatever you want as you please. Your fortune even avoids natural disasters.”

Dojun remembered the fortune-telling master’s gold teeth glinting as he made bold claims with a smile.

It was a lie. The year he turned nineteen, he encountered a natural disaster.

“Where do you think you’re touching! I said where are you touching!”

“Touch what? You crazy bastard!”

As he flung away the guy who was shamelessly shouting like assemblymen grappling during a siege of the National Assembly, Dojun sensed an ominous energy of upheaval. It was like a sushi restaurant owner with thirty years of experience who could tell the fat content just by touching a tuna’s flank.

It was the first tsunami-level disaster to occur in his life.

Until then, Kim Dojun’s life had been tranquility itself.

‘Segang’s Kim Seok-ho and OJ’s Lee Mi-ryeong Wed Today… Marriage of the Century Draws Global Attention’

When the semiconductor conglomerate and food conglomerate joined to bear fruit, a family that dominated all aspects of Korean life was born. Kim Dojun, born with a glittering golden umbilical cord, attracted attention his entire life regardless of his own will. The public showed enormous interest in him even before his birth, gossiped about what objects he grabbed at his first birthday celebration, and covered which kindergarten he entered.

The outrageous attention didn’t cease even after he had grown somewhat.

“Did you see the article? Kim Dojun goes to this school.”

“Who’s that?”

“You don’t know? Segang’s grandson.”

“Oh wow. What grade and class?”

“Let’s go see.”

Whether at school or academy, he was the talk wherever he went, and the groups Dojun belonged to never left him alone.

“Your name is Kim Dojun? Even your name is handsome.”

“Hi Dojun! Remember me? We’re from the same maternity ward.”

“Hey, Kim Dojun! The sixth-grade seniors are calling for you.”

It wasn’t just people who knew him. When he walked through busy districts, entertainment industry personnel, pseudo-religious proselytizers, and election campaign staff would swarm him.

“A face gifted by God with a physique granted by the devil. Look at me for a moment.”

“I’m busy.”

“Believe in the Way… No, I want to believe in you. What is your name?”

“Lee Man-hee. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, don’t talk to me.”

“They say appearance is a politician’s competitive edge too… But is politics really possible with just a face? With you, sir, it’s absolutely possible. Won’t you help properly rebuild this country?”

“You have no shame talking to a growing child like that. Get lost.”

By this point, one might develop an aversion to attention and grow sick of people, but Dojun didn’t particularly show any rejection. It was more bothersome to care about each one. Since he didn’t turn away those who came but none left, people only accumulated around him as days passed.

“Congratulations, President!”

“Congratulations on being elected school president!”

“Ugh… I told you bastards not to vote for me.”

“How could you say something so hurtful? We campaigned so hard.”

“Who else would do it if not you? The kids only listen to you. Just accept your fate already.”

“I said I won’t do it because it’s bothersome, how many times… Are your ears just decorations?”

“We love you Kim Dojun! Chocolate-colored Kim Dojun!”

“Kim Dojun for Congress!”

Everyone loved and followed him. Dojun was naturally free of prejudice and didn’t judge people by what they possessed. While most had less than him making them largely similar, the dominant reason was that he didn’t entrust his judgment criteria to others. His standards were quite absolute and simultaneously very subjective. He wasn’t swept up in peer culture and thought and acted according to his own values. People couldn’t help but be drawn to and follow someone with such a strong sense of self.

“Are you Kim Dojun? You’re the mad dog of this district? Since the weather’s nice, I wanted to see a dog bark.”

“Another one’s here.”

“Write your name on the waiting list and line up behind us.”

“Death is the only punishment for cutting in line.”

“Ah… Got it.”

When people gather, naturally there’s more talk and more trouble. Dojun’s daily life was full of incidents, and his every move became a topic of conversation. With his combative nature, he readily accepted and enjoyed his turbulent youth. His anecdotes decorating online communities and messengers were passed down like folktales, constantly on his juniors’ lips. The attention and admiration toward Dojun only grew, and thanks to that, he had fun through middle school.

Then ennui set in. Dojun’s daily life was more special and sparkling than anyone’s, but it was all the same repetition. There was nothing special anymore, nothing new. No, what was new and special to someone was merely ordinary and monotonous to him.

The turning point was probably around high school entrance. That year, he won the International Mathematics Olympiad, took gold at the Presidential Cup National Swimming Competition, and became a building owner after inheriting real estate from his grandfather. It was the birth of a Young & Rich who had intelligence, wealth, and physique in equal measure.

Naturally, he became an object of admiration and envy, wearing titles that others would struggle to achieve once in a lifetime. He even gained the strangely-sounding nickname “Dormionne,” but as always, Dojun didn’t show much emotion. There’s a saying that you reap what you sow. For platinum born from gold colliding with gold, such things were possible without difficulty.

All there was to do as a high school student was delinquency and exercise. For an athletic ace who had already mastered the high school curriculum, sitting still in a classroom was quite an ordeal. It had been bearable enough in middle school, but the classroom was too small for someone armed with ever-increasing stamina and exploding hormones. Even when he tried reading textbooks and workbooks for fun, it was all content he already knew. Even pleasant flower songs get old after one or two times, and playing life’s second round became endlessly boring.

A life that started on easy mode from the beginning was too simple. He quickly grew bored.

That day too was surely an ordinary, desolate and boring afternoon like any other. While having a smoke break watching clouds drift by carelessly, he turned his head at clicking sounds to find some guy taking pictures. Thanks to his outstanding looks, Dojun was used to being secretly photographed daily, but he’d never seen anyone shoot so brazenly in the middle of the main street.

That was his first encounter with the lunatic.

If he could cross the time axis and return to the past like a sci-fi movie protagonist, Dojun would shout “STAY” to his past self. Unfortunately, it was impossible to fix the past that had already occurred, and the moment he approached the lunatic to speak, his peaceful daily life was shattered.

“Did it come out well?”

Dojun was generally tolerant when female students shyly took secret photos from a step behind for personal collections. Considering the aspect of improving the nation’s facial welfare, it was very positive. However, he showed no mercy to male students.

Most guys who got to know Dojun fervently worshipped and admired him, but there were also many whose testicles caught fire with jealousy. Kim Jonghak from Hwangje High was the most persistent among them.

Kim Jonghak was Dojun’s first challenger after entering high school, a monumental figure. After boldly attacking Dojun and getting beautifully crushed, he evolved into a tick-like stalker. He was truly a bizarre fellow. He challenged Dojun to duels every change of season only to get rolled up like a mat each time, sent Wando abalone sets telling him to take care of his health before dying by his own hand, and left wistful messages at 2 AM asking “You asleep?” Of course, Dojun, who found responding bothersome, quietly screenshotted the messages and executed him on his SNS, with the execution usually carried out by his followers.

Just when he was getting used to the guy who clung like a malignant mutant virus, Kim Jonghak began sending spies. His reconnaissance team observed Dojun’s movements and secretly took photos. His appearances captured from every angle were uploaded to an SNS page called “The Private Life of Jonse High’s Number One,” garnering tens of thousands of likes, and page operator Kim Jonghak earned a tidy side income from advertising fees. Upon hearing this news, Dojun immediately filed charges through Segang’s legal team.

“This young punk sure has guts. I’ll get started right away.”

However, the moment they opened the page to collect evidence, everyone was at a loss for words.

“W-what is this…”

“Beautiful…”

“Ahh…”

The SNS page operated by Kim Jonghak had manifested a photo collection. The composition, color, background, overall balance, and subject placement skills were extraordinary. Moreover, each photo was carved and filled with craftsmanship, grown and reduced, polished into works of art. Kim Jonghak’s editing skills were idol fansite-master level.

Furthermore, it was revealed that Segang Electronics’ stock price had risen slightly after Dojun’s paparazzi page opened. An emergency family meeting was convened, resulting in an assessment that positive ripple effects could be expected. In the end, they decided to withdraw legal proceedings against Kim Jonghak and leave him be. The Segang Group founder, who made efficiency and synergy the family motto, praised his grandson who had become a media celebrity in step with the Fourth Industrial Age.

“What a clever boy. I knew it when he threw punches at me when he was one year old.”

“So you’ve been holding onto that for 18 years…”

“I really like it! Hahaha…”

Though Segang Group’s eldest grandson’s portrait rights went flying, there was nothing lost and only gains stumbled upon. Of course, for someone who commonly had oysters with beaks falling into his lap like sandpipers, it wasn’t particularly surprising. In the end, he decided to settle for occasionally beating up Kim Jonghak’s spies who came around periodically.

“It’s always fresh seeing a dick-bearing bastard take photos.”

He thought another chestnut had rolled in that day too. If he’d known it was a Venus flytrap, he never would have touched it, as Dojun would later reminisce, but that’s a story for later. As always, carelessly assuming all phenomena surrounding him would continue as before, Dojun moved on to his next action without thinking deeply.

“Shall we take a look?”

As always, Dojun affectionately put his arm around the spy’s shoulder and went through the procedure of checking his face. The moment the guy finally raised his head, his milk-white skin sparkled brilliantly in the sunlight, and various colors nestled in his light brown irises. Dojun was at a loss for words.

It was an appearance that clearly reminded him of someone. Skin white and smooth as white porcelain, neat eyebrows giving a tidy impression, almond-shaped eyes with faint double eyelids, an urban nose bridge, moderately sized lips tinged with pale red. The slightly startled face held a clarity like an unworldly scholar. The delicate and refined eyes seemed like they would gently fold if he smiled. The black eyes gazing at the boy drenched in sunshine wavered unusually.

“You…”

Though he knew rationally it wasn’t so, his eyes doubted reality. It was too vivid to be a hallucination, yet lacked reality to be real. His brain, where 0s and 1s resided, began rapidly calculating probabilities. The proposition was ‘possible,’ and the calculation result converged to zero.

It was impossible.

Dojun, who had unconsciously frozen, only managed to come to his senses after being attacked by the guy’s body slam.

“Hyung! You’re really handsome!”

After briefly losing himself in that face, as he was helplessly swept away by the tsunami-like human, Dojun finally realized what was in front of him.

‘I must have been crazy.’

Just as chip packets might look the same but have vastly different nitrogen content, no matter how similar the shell, they couldn’t be the same person. Dojun felt like he had bitten into a nude Pepero stick only to find it completely hollow inside.

“Photos don’t capture even a fraction of you in person. Really. Amazing.”

He was like a cockatoo. Watching a human howl and rampage like a wild crazy bird, Dojun recognized he was a completely different person. That he had mistaken him for someone else even momentarily was discourteous to that person. It was uncharacteristic of someone who normally distinguished between shit and soybean paste from a thousand li away. His judgment had been briefly clouded by having all his nerve cells stolen by his vision.

“Hyung, you’re really handsome and you rap well too. Perfect from head to toe, really. Life’s truth. Amazing.”

Dojun suffered mental burns from the bizarre hymn of praise filled with slang from who knows what era. Feeling like he was facing a frozen human excavated from ruins of a fallen nation, he fell into a state of immobility. Such damage wasn’t limited to humans, as even the sparse grass under the electric pole seemed to wilt.

Originally, it’s academic consensus that humans shouldn’t judge by appearances alone, and it’s an immutable truth that inside and outside differ, but this level was fraud.

“You’re so cool. Even as a guy, I’m falling for you.”

When he winked and made a finger gun gesture, it actually felt like being shot. Dojun felt a threat similar to when a seagull camping in front of the Sydney Opera House had targeted his eyeball. In the skull-shaking impact, he became dazed but caught his mental state with his characteristic willpower.

“You’re one of Kim Jonghak’s guys.”

Dojun grasped the situation and bared his teeth. Savage eyes rippled threateningly with pitch-black anger like the night sea.

Only Kim Jonghak would pull such a cute stunt. It was impressive how he’d found someone with such a similar shell. He could picture the face that would have delighted in plotting to provoke Dojun. He was the only one who would put such effort into pointless things.

Like a beta male hovering around an alpha male, Kim Jonghak, who craved Dojun’s attention, always teetered dangerously on the line but mostly at a level that could be ignored. This time, however, he had gone too far. Dojun, whose mood had turned savage enough to make the back of his neck stiff, intended to capture and interrogate the guy.

“Where do you think you’re touching! I said where are you touching!”

But once again, the crazy bird was no ordinary guy. No matter how pretty, someone with a dick shouldn’t say such things, yet he shouted boldly as if his skin were made of cardboard. Dojun released him with a start like a pedestrian who accidentally caught a pigeon, but the disaster’s mouth didn’t stop.

“Do you think you can have me like this? I told you we can’t be together. If you keep this up, you’ll only hurt yourself!”

“Y-you crazy…”

After inadvertently turning him into a molester, in the blink of an eye he transformed him into a stalker. The guy’s venomous outcry once again dealt massive damage to Dojun’s psyche, and while his brain lagged, the guy quickly fled. Even watching the sulfur-crested cockatoo fly away leisurely, he could do nothing.

‘What the hell was that?’

The fact that he resembled someone had long since evaporated. It was shock and horror by its very existence. Dojun couldn’t escape the aftermath of the disaster that had swept through for quite a while. What pulled him from the aftereffects was none other than news of house arrest.

“Where? The district office?”

The lunatic who had taken photos saying he was handsome had reported Dojun to the district office for illegal cigarette butt disposal and underage smoking. Since he had entered school late, he was an adult not just mentally but physically, so there wouldn’t be major problems. However, Gangnam District Office’s position was that as a current high school student who was photographed in uniform, he couldn’t avoid punishment.

“What an extraordinary kid. I knew it when he touched my cigar at age five.”

“So you’ve been plotting for 14 years…”

“If you’re born a man, you should live doing what you’re told not to! Hahaha…”

This unfortunate news spread widely inside and outside school. After being publicly shamed by his family, paying a fine, and being stuck under house arrest, Dojun sat blankly and calmly reflected on his situation.

‘What is going on?’

The aftermath left by the lunatic was truly tremendous. This was the first time in his life experiencing such misfortune. It was like a crazy bird had crashed through the window causing havoc before leaving, and he, the innocent homeowner, was cleaning up the debris.

Wherever he went, Dojun was always the center of attention and the protagonist. Perhaps because he was fated to attract people as the fortune-teller said, he had seen colorful varieties of lunatics. Bae Jaewon was undoubtedly the best among them.

‘He really was a quack.’

Like how most people feel wronged when lottery winners appear despite never buying tickets themselves, though Dojun had never believed in fortune-telling, now that it was wrong he felt betrayed by the fortune-teller.

Dojun mobilized all his networks to issue a public wanted notice for the crazy bird. After finishing his work and standing up, he took out a cigarette and lit it. Gazing blankly at the cityscape spread like a painting outside the window, he habitually looked back.

The interior was quiet and neat as always. It was a perfect scene where nothing was out of place. Always the same, repeated, unchanging. It would have been the same as yesterday if not for that one bird flying in and breaking everything so refreshingly.

As Dojun took a drag from the filter with an emotionless face, he suddenly realized.

This was the beginning of a completely different day than ever before.

***

Just as pseudosciences like polygenism and lottery number prediction research flourish, there are many misconceptions circulating in society, and psychology hasn’t escaped these misconceptions either. People distortedly accepted the negativity bias that negative information sticks deeper in the mind than positive information, producing derivative content that penetrated deeply into daily life. Representative examples were noise marketing and romance manga clichés, like the situation in “Anne of Green Gables” where Gilbert Blythe falls for Anne Shirley after she breaks a slate over his head. The so-called “everyone’s nice but why aren’t you” effect.

Various techniques branched off like dropping handkerchiefs, spilling food or drinks on clothes, splashing water in faces, and suddenly slapping cheeks, and Dojun got to experience them all like a buffet. Fortunately, he avoided harm with his excellent athletic reflexes, but having to always stay on high alert was truly troublesome.

Dojun, the incarnation of common sense and reason, found this phenomenon curious. Unless one was a masochist, people were attracted to those who gave them one more rice cake, yet they were anxious to slap him instead, which was simply bizarre. Trained by his followers’ twisted expressions of affection, he had perfectly mastered the art of not feeding them, and consistently remained indifferent to most incidents.

However, looking back at human history, even when cures for incurable diseases were developed, new viruses inevitably appeared. Bae Jaewon appeared in Dojun’s tediously stable life and turned his department store lounge-like peaceful daily life into ruins.

After their intense first meeting, the attention-seeking bird who had disappeared wouldn’t leave his mind. Even he, who had immunity to most types, was helpless.

‘What on earth was that?’

Dojun, possessor of a brilliant mind, had a habit of thinking about incomprehensible things until he could understand them. His brain, specialized in subjects with definitive answers like mathematics and physics, was overworked like never before.

While individual personalities varied, groups were uniform, and the masses were largely similar. Especially members of communities formed only by peer groups had patterns in their language and behavior. Dojun refined his response methods through schematization and subdivision, dividing handling methods by age, gender, and physical conditions. He didn’t yield to the strong and didn’t waste unnecessary energy on the weak. He dealt with strange ones appropriately.

With memory and thinking abilities exceptional for his age, Dojun also had abundant experience. Therefore, no matter how bizarre a person was, they fell within the bounds of common sense he could tolerate, and he ignored them without feeling particularly moved each time.

What broke that solid database was Bae Jaewon. He was the first human Dojun’s mind couldn’t understand.

Originally, the end of understanding is ennui. It was natural for Dojun, who knew everything about the world and for whom all things went smoothly, to come to prefer things that were different and unusual from the ordinary. However, it was too spicy for a beginner.

The existence called God always serves malatang to humans who want yukgaejang. Dojun couldn’t come to his senses for a while from the intensely spicy flavor he was experiencing for the first time in his life.

However, just as poisonous mushrooms are fascinating and roses are splendid, things harmful to the human body possess terrible charm. It was established fact that while there were people who had never tried malatang and those who had tried and spat it out, there was no one who had tried it only once. The moment it touched your lips, your face naturally contorted and body and mind ached, but the next day it haunted you like a ghost.

• Kim Sang-yoon: It’s taking forever to find one person Do some work

• No;; I searched even across the river? Nobody knows; Did you see a ghost?

• Why has Sang-yoon become so boring

• You said a pretty-faced crazy bastard? I ransacked all the nearby art schools but there’s no face that would pass even without a brain;

Dojun grilled his informants like a balding person roasting black beans. It was rare for him, who disliked bothersome things and usually let most matters slide. But there were no witnesses of the bird whose whereabouts were mysterious, and ultimately they couldn’t find him until Dojun finished his house arrest and returned to school.

“Dojun, long time no see? Doesn’t it feel like dying coming to school after so long?”

“How does it feel to be released?”

“Oh right. You got a seatmate, didn’t you? Transferred today.”

And when he discovered the lunatic sitting next to him, primal instinct took precedence over joy. It was similar to the anger that arises when meeting a pickpocket who had robbed your wallet again.

“We meet again like this. How have you been?”

“I’m seeing you for the first time today. I think you’ve got the wrong person…”

Surprisingly, the lunatic didn’t remember Dojun. Though the image of him flapping his wings and causing havoc was vivid, there was no pretense in the face that blinked demurely as if to say “when did that happen?” He genuinely seemed not to know.

“Ha.”

For Dojun, who had lived imprinting himself on people’s retinas even in fleeting moments, this was beyond fresh—it was shocking. Though it might have scratched his rock-solid pride, he who possessed great character and a generous heart wasn’t particularly damaged.

“How many hits do you want? Decide.”

“Pardon?”

Rather feeling interested, Dojun grabbed the cute bird’s beak and shook him thoroughly. He had no intention of hitting someone who was obviously a lightweight, but watching his complexion change as he rattled was entertaining. Like a well-fed puma playing with a terrified mouse by rolling it around, Dojun played with Jaewon.

“Fuck, there’s no way I’d forget a face as handsome as yours!!”

‘A sudden public confession?’

However, the cornered little rat suddenly made a confession, and Dojun, whose thought circuits shut down from the sudden attack, hesitated. In an instant, all eyes focused on them, and the crowd that had somehow gathered began chattering excitedly.

“Is Dojun going for guys now too?”

“Amazing.”

“His tastes are really diverse. He doesn’t discriminate.”

“So that’s why he’s so big.”

Listening to new rumors being generated in real time, he felt an unknown sense of distance.

But Dojun was no ordinary person either.

“You said you’re my fan. That I’m so cool even a guy would fall for me.”

“What bullshit?”

He was a walking Code of Hammurabi. The code proclaimed by the ancient Babylonian king had many rational aspects. Dojun faithfully implemented the well-known principle of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”

This law of retaliation is often misunderstood as cruel revenge from a modern perspective, but it was actually legislation to prevent excessive revenge. When blinded by an assailant’s attack, cases of rationally resolving it with “Well, I’m blind now so I’ll blind you too” are extremely rare. Usually people would try to kill rather than politely suggesting mutual blinding by just poking eyes. However, Dojun, with his superior intelligence and physical condition, always showed the mercy of returning only as much as he received.

“You asked if you could have me by doing this.”

“W-wait…”

“So I tried to forget too… but I couldn’t forget, you bastard.”

When he willingly played along with the confession attack, the guy immediately waved a white flag in surrender.

“I was wrong. Let’s forget everything and start fresh.”

Jaewon somehow followed him up to the rooftop where Dojun smoked and ran his mouth. The sight of him clenching both fists and seriously lighting up his eyes looked quite resolute. Dojun removed the cigarette from his mouth and exhaled smoke slowly. Just when he was pondering how to cook this bold bird, it had come asking to be fried on its own. His eyes narrowed as he looked the moderately built body up and down.

“When did you mug someone playing in Jongno and push them into the Han River, and now that we’re both drowning you want to pretend it never happened?”

“If I’d known you were this handsome, I wouldn’t have done it. If you want to blame something, blame the sun. I couldn’t see your face properly because of the backlighting.”

‘Making confessions this shamelessly?’

In a moment of carelessness, he hooked in again with another confession attack. The sight of him spouting embarrassing words nonchalantly with a composed expression caused confusion. Dojun found himself unable to tell if the throbbing sensation in his solar plexus was embarrassment or anger.

“What are you talking about? What does appearance have to do with anything?”

“It matters. There’s nothing more important than that to me.”

“What… ah, I’m going crazy. Why can’t we communicate when you’re speaking Korean?”

It felt like conversing with a fish flopping on a cutting board while wagging its three-inch tongue. Dojun grabbed the bridge of his nose with the hand holding the cigarette. Nothing was as efficient as communicating with people through language, but he had no confidence in winning when words didn’t work.

“The kids are having hot and dirty misunderstandings about you and me. At this rate they’ll say we’re in divorce proceedings.”

The bird with pretty eyes and a red beak appealed desperately. One of Dojun’s eyebrows rose at the display of strong rejection. For someone who had received passionate courtship regardless of gender, it was an unfamiliar reaction.

“How is that my problem?”

“How can you say something so irresponsible?”

While he had only dealt with the opposite sex until now, it wasn’t that there were no same-sex individuals who caught his interest—Dojun simply hadn’t set limits for himself. Having no preconceptions about most matters, he had no specific views on diverse sexual orientations either. If two people liked each other, it wasn’t for others to comment, and it wasn’t like they were going to destroy the world with the power of love, so it wasn’t his business.

“I don’t like it! Absolutely not!”

“What?”

So it was natural for his mood to sour at Bae Jaewon’s disgusted reaction. After chirping about how handsome he was, now he was screaming about not wanting to be associated—even for push and pull tactics, this was card sharp level.

“Don’t like it? That’s an interesting way to put it. Why would you not like it?”

“Well, that’s because we’re both guys…”

“This is ridiculous. Who are you to reject me?”

It didn’t take long for his initial curiosity to transform into irritation at this bastard. This was the first creature to reject him whom the entire universe loved.

“You’re the first bastard to reject me.”

There’s a saying that clichés are classics. There’s a reason why third-generation chaebols in dramas always fall for people who refuse them and run away. Kim Dojun’s parrot killing, caught in the trap of rarity, began like that.

Certainly it started as interest in a variable. Like answers derived from formulas, predictably flowing days had nothing difficult but also nothing new. His daily life, submerged in ennui, deviated from its path when Jaewon intruded. The terribly repetitive routine was finally broken. Watching the bird mess up his life that had been set without an inch of error, his only thought was to capture it alive for now.

“Kim Dojun, I heard you’re dating a sasaeng fan these days? The one who just transferred.”

“What? What are you doing with your life?”

“Did you want to scribble on the white canvas of your life?”

“I heard it’s a very hot relationship.”

“Oh my. What if you have a baby?”

“I heard you’re dating with marriage in mind?”

“Dojun, you…”

Still, he hadn’t intended to get this entangled. But when he came to his senses, they were terribly tangled up. The kudzu vine-like human had a strange magic where once you touched him, he wound around endlessly.

“You know how hard it is to be born like this, right? I look in the mirror every day too, how could I not know? How top-tier my mom’s genetic combination ability is. If being exceptional is a crime, I deserve the death penalty. So I understand you falling for me. But your destined partner is someone else. That’s #[email protected]%*^…”

Watching him ceaselessly run his tiny beak raised various questions.

Why does he talk so much?

Why doesn’t he stop talking?

But why is everything coming out all nonsense?

For the first time, someone who had never been in need of people or curious about them became curious about someone.

Bae Jaewon, true to being the only variable, brought irregular fun to the routine. The unpredictable lunatic had no patterns in behavior and no frame in thinking. Everything he said was nonsense, but if you let your guard down, he’d strike at your weak points.

“You’re really handsome, I mean it.”

The guy who never stopped talking also never stopped flirting. Looking at Dojun contentedly like viewing a sturdy stallion, he’d suddenly flip him the bird out of nowhere. Since the guy who made a fuss about not wanting to be associated was now throwing flirtatious glances with a slack face, he had to consider which rhythm to match.

“Are you talking to me?”

He didn’t do this to just anyone. When a student close to Dojun asked, he turned cold.

“Would it be you?”

“Tch… Still, aren’t I handsome enough?”

The student with high self-esteem protested against that coldness. Jaewon dry-washed his face with an expression full of skepticism.

“What is the cause of this collective madness visible in this land’s males? Is it the Lake Wobegon effect?”

“Wo… what?”

To the puzzled student, Jaewon strongly criticized the error of the majority of males who believed without doubt that they were above average.

“Listen carefully.”

Jaewon grabbed the student’s shoulders. He spoke solemnly like a patriot burning with a mission to save the nation.

“You’re ugly.”

“What are you saying? My mom said I’m handsome.”

“That’s why maternal love is said to be great. Now face the truth. Wrong perceptions must be corrected.”

Jaewon took the student to a mirror, and the student who suffered this unexpected disaster eventually shed tears. True to being a parrot, he was uninhibited in expressing his thoughts. Words came out through his brain but without filters or brakes.

Bae Jaewon had several noticeable characteristics, many of which were unexpected. The most prominent was that despite his craziness, he had weak follow-through.

• • Dojun, starting today I’m going to eat with Ma Chayoon again! It’s definitely not because you’re uncomfortable, I have Ma Chayoon so I feel like I should eat with him, you understand right? Then see you in class later!^^

• Stop being ridiculous and come eat together

• Okay, got it!

It was entertaining to watch how someone who excitedly ran his mouth regardless of time and place would shrivel up just from baring fangs. After squawking about how high-quality personnel like himself could never be a bread shuttle, he diligently bought bread every morning. Acting wild like there was no tomorrow but freezing like a sitting duck at the slightest touch—he liked it all. The way he’d be like a wildcat one moment then turn docile and well-behaved the next stimulated the sadism churning deep within his body.

“Getting another building?”

The indifferent voice touched the bridge of his nose. Dojun looked up from his phone screen. Kim Seung-bin, sitting across from him, had paused while ladling soup from his tray and jerked his chin toward him. Dojun narrowed his brows at the random comment.

“What are you suddenly talking about?”

“No? Then what are you looking at that’s making you smile like that?”

Had he been? Before he could reflect, his portrait wearing a sneer was reflected in the darkened screen. The seemingly mocking face was quite pleased.

“I’ve been playing Tamagotchi lately, it’s fun.”

“Don’t raise just anything. You’ll get bitten.”

When he laughed at the silly comment, Kim Seung-bin shook his head as if to say do whatever. Dojun shrugged once, then clasped his hands behind his head and leaned loosely back in his chair. The cafeteria at lunchtime was bustling with crowds.

“Stop eating.”

“What’s that?”

“Stop eating mine.”

“How do you do that?”

At the next table, Kang Yuchan was plundering Ma Chayoon’s lunch box. After tasting Chayoon’s eight-dish lunch box once, he had fallen head over heels and was now hanging around Chayoon like a keychain every lunchtime. The possibility of Bae Jaewon eating lunch with Ma Chayoon was less than a speck of dust. Like this, the parrot pulled tricks whenever there was a chance, but being so sloppy, he got caught every time.

“Ah, this is a bit greasy. Got any pickles?”

“Pasta isn’t originally eaten with pickles. That’s blasphemy against the chef.”

Chayoon, who had been closing his eyes like a monk enduring asceticism, glared at Yuchan with contempt. Living up to that gaze, Yuchan vigorously slurped the noodles as if absorbing the pasta’s soul.

“What you’re chewing like a barbarian right now is authentic Italian carbonara with pancetta. Tragically, when it came to Korea, the recipe was corrupted with cream, becoming a rootless taste. This is the original. Understand?”

Ma Chayoon pointed at the mother-of-pearl lacquered container holding carbonara with stiffly raised fingers, trembling with rage. Yuchan just chewed dully like a cow chewing cud, only listening. When Chayoon started Lecture 3 of Introduction to Pasta Studies, he stretched his arm toward Gyujin’s tray.

“Don’t eat the kimchi…!”

A tearful cry echoed across the table. Gyujin readily pushed forward his tray saying take as much as you want, and Yuchan, who chose the fresh kimchi, savored the East-West harmony exploding in his mouth. Dojun, who had been watching the vivid plundering mukbang, checked the time and turned his gaze toward the entrance.

A male student with skin white and smooth as white porcelain entered the cafeteria with a sullen expression. Even among the crowded line waiting for food distribution, his appearance stood out remarkably.

“Really, he looks decent but…”

Gyujin muttered in a sighing voice as if finding it curious no matter how many times he looked. The group gazing at Jaewon expressed tacit agreement with solemn expressions.

Jaewon received his food while dragging his heels as if being dragged to a circus. After getting even the dessert yogurt, he turned around, looked around here and there, spotted Dojun, and approached. The corner of Dojun’s mouth slightly rose watching him tag along. He was quite satisfied with the detection ability to find him quickly even in a crowd.

“What are you staring at? Is there seaweed or something on my face?”

“Ah, sister-in-law, don’t tell me…”

“Shut your mouth before I curse, hyung.”

“Handsome.”

However, such satisfaction generally didn’t last long. Contrary to the orchid-like gentle and elegant exterior, the ruffian-like personality caused cognitive dissonance and dulled thinking. When he looked in disbelief at the crazy talk said so casually, he met eyes with light-colored pupils. The irises containing various rays of light like sunlight trapped in glass beads made him unconsciously keep looking.

“Are you under a spell where you turn into a frog if you don’t curse for even one day?”

“Would that human stop cursing even if he became a frog?”

“…!”

At Chayoon’s sharp retort, Gyujin wore an enlightened expression. Jaewon, ignoring the pouring criticism, set down his tray across from Dojun. Dojun, who had been intently watching him busily settle in, finally spoke.

“It’s not that, something else is on your face.”

“Huh? What?”

Jaewon looked at Dojun awkwardly, half-risen from his seat. Slowly standing up toward him as he fumbled at his cheek with a blank expression. Leisurely watching the gradually anxious face, he gently gripped his neck. The feeling of the white, long neck fitting in one hand was quite nice.

The sound of a gasp stimulated his senses. When he increased the pressure of his hand to press the neck muscles, the blinking eyes flew wide open. Their noses brushed, and their gazes met. The eyes clearly showing panic blinked rapidly, then the pupils swiveled to the side. When he turned his head to follow, they squeezed shut. Dojun, quietly gazing at the finely trembling eyelashes, parted his lips and blew a long breath.

“…Eek.”

When the moist breath touched his skin, Jaewon shuddered. It was a convulsion large enough to transmit vibrations through the hand gripping his throat. Beneath his palm, the Adam’s apple gulped and moved while his earlobes gradually reddened. After taking time to appreciate the defenslessly crumbling face, he swept his fingertips along the corner of his eye.

“This.”

A single eyelash was stuck to Dojun’s hand. He showed it to Jaewon, but he didn’t budge, keeping his eyes closed as if lying in a coffin. They say parrots excel at playing dead, and indeed he was outstanding. When Dojun moved his hand to grab the nape of his neck and pull hard, only then did he open his eyes and nod repeatedly. Satisfied with the obedient appearance, he let go.

“Who removes eyelashes so brutally?”

“Thought you were going to eat me.”

When Dojun returned to his seat, the spectators who had been watching with rabbit eyes let out their held breaths. They clicked their tongues and each threw in a comment.

“Look at sister-in-law all deflated.”

“What a sight.”

“Turned white as a sheet. Nice to see.”

“A scene you can only see now.”

Dojun’s lips curved askew at the sight of him quieted like a servant who’d suffered at the hands of a debauched young master. When Bae Jaewon, who was equally crazy to everyone consistently, became flustered or docile because of him, his morale soared.

For someone special from birth, there weren’t many opportunities to feel ‘special.’ Dojun, languidly stretching his body, carefully reflected on the new emotions overflowing in his amygdala.

Jaewon, flinching under Dojun’s blatant gaze, sat as far away from him as possible. Then he began fiddling with something with his hands. He made the sign of the cross in order, put his hands together in prayer, and offered Muslim-style prayers. Chayoon, watching blankly, asked.

“What are you doing?”

“Pre-meal prayer.”

“To exactly whom?”

“Virgin Mary and Jesus… Buddha, Allah.”

“You really were rootless from the core.”

“It’s efficient to pray to many gods at once.”

“It’s nice that you’re consistent as a person.”

Dojun watched with interest as Jaewon nodded with a proud expression. He didn’t seem to realize that behaving like that would get him shunned by all four deities.

“Eat. It’s getting cold.”

“Mmm… This was what I wanted to put off most.”

When Yuchan urged him to eat, Jaewon looked down at his tray with distaste. He hesitantly took a spoonful, then put down his utensils with an expression like he’d lost his country.

“It tastes like my resident registration number has been erased.”

After giving his bold taste review, he added with a wretched expression.

“Even my parents wouldn’t recognize this taste.”

Today’s menu consisted of kidney bean rice, braised tofu, braised semi-dried pollack, fresh kimchi, and dried pollack and bean sprout soup. Jaewon, visibly dejected, muttered mournfully.

“If I could avoid eating this, I feel like I could sell my soul.”

“Your soul for mere school lunch?”

“Trading with a 21-gram inorganic substance, it’s a profitable deal.”

“No, if it’s that bad, just leave it, hyung.”

“It’s not the crops’ fault they met the wrong person and ended up like this.”

He was strangely sensible about odd things. Jaewon responded cynically to Gyujin’s persuasion and scooped up rice with a resigned face. Dojun lifted his back from the chair and raised his slouched upper body. Then he reached out and pulled Jaewon’s tray in front of himself.

“What, why…”

Dojun snatched the utensils from the protesting Jaewon’s hands and began eating the rice and side dishes.

“Huh? Dojun, you’re eating again?”

He had already finished his meal, but with his large build, the school lunch was barely a snack for his liver. Moreover, due to his long athletic career, his basal metabolic rate was high, allowing him to freely adjust his meal portions as desired.

“A black knight?”

“Wow… Kim Dojun was a romantic.”

“True love, really true love. He’s eating that for him.”

Gyujin pushed his tray to the side with an expression like he’d lost his appetite. The group whistled and jeered at Dojun and Jaewon. As the atmosphere turned mischievous, Jaewon, not knowing what to do, suddenly grabbed the tray.

“G-give it back. Why are you eating mine?”

“So you don’t sell your soul.”

At the concise answer, Jaewon looked at a loss for words. Watching Dojun silently empty the tray with restless anxiety, he dropped his head between his arms.

“Ah, why are you eating it and making a fuss…”

The back of the neck of the guy muttering with his forehead planted on the table was flushed red. Laughter leaked between his lips. What a peculiar bastard anyway.

The parrot was weak to food. Originally, beasts submit to humans who provide food, but Bae Jaewon was particularly vulnerable.

“Including the 4,000 won delivery fee, that’s 55,000 won total.”

Dojun, who handed over a bill, waved away the delivery person reaching for change. He returned to the classroom and approached Jaewon, who was crumpled gloomily in his seat. The guy had a habit of wilting when the cafeteria menu didn’t suit his taste. It was both ridiculous and entertaining to watch him fluctuate daily over mere lunch.

Dojun set down a shopping bag in front of Jaewon, who was lying with one cheek pressed to the desk. Focus returned to the hazy eyes, and the cheek squashed like pressed rice cake lifted from the desk. Jaewon raised his head and looked up at Dojun in bewilderment.

“What’s this?”

When he just looked at the dumbfounded face, he stretched his neck and peered into the shopping bag. The cat-like appearance inspecting a delivery box drew a laugh. As well-packaged sushi, miso soup, steamed eggs, and green tea emerged from the bag in order, the eyes that had been sparkling with curiosity grew round. Jaewon alternated between looking at the shopping bag and Dojun, then pointed to himself with a ‘surely not’ expression.

“You didn’t eat.”

When he kindly answered the question, his eyes grew even larger.

“Really for me to eat? This?”

Though he asked again as if in disbelief, his eyes couldn’t leave the sushi box. Saliva had already pooled in his gaping mouth. When his gaze fixed on the glossy lips, Jaewon quickly closed his mouth and swallowed with a gulp.

“Why?”

“You’re hungry.”

“No, I mean why…”

“Don’t like it?”

“No. Of course not.”

The unnecessarily prolonged flow of words broke off as Jaewon readily hugged the shopping bag. He began carefully unwrapping it with an excited face like a raccoon given cotton candy.

“I thought you had no concern for labor welfare… You bastard, you’re a better master than I thought.”

“Master.”

Lips holding a faint smile repeated the word. He seemed to like the sound of it. A gap arose between breaths and the air became subtle. But the bird, absorbed in the food before him, didn’t notice. Jaewon, in good spirits, opened his beak wide and began chattering.

“Even if you work as a servant, do it at a noble’s house, under someone educated, they say… This makes being a shuttle worthwhile. There was a reason the bread slave union coveted this.”

True to being a member of the efficiency-focused Segang family, Dojun had no waste in his words and actions. Despite a background of growing up eating all kinds of delicacies, he readily ate even the notorious Jonse High cafeteria food, reasoning there was no need to create unnecessary discord. Then occasionally, when Park Gyujin got dumped by a girl or the cafeteria didn’t serve meat and Kang Yuchan became violent, he’d order worldly food from near the school to lift their spirits.

It was such a routine matter. There was no need to be so flustered as if receiving something special. Dojun gazed intently at Jaewon with his chin propped.

The excited parrot broke the wooden chopsticks in half and rubbed them together with both hands. His pupils darkened at the sight of smooth hands rubbing the long, round objects. After rubbing the chopsticks until his palms heated up, Jaewon smiled with satisfaction.

“I’ll eat well.”

The face smiling with teeth showing was as clear as the sky visible through the window. When Dojun nodded with a faint smile, he immediately put sushi in his mouth. Perhaps because his head was small like a bird’s, even one piece of sushi made his cheeks bulge. The sight of him eating with puffed cheeks like a hamster with full food pouches made even passersby feel the urge to pull on them.

Looking at that face as white as a deer’s rump made one curious what he’d look like crying.

White fish, red fish, white fish again. Black eyes precisely traced the movement of the utensils like cinema lenses. After cleansing his palate with pickled ginger and searching for the next target, Jaewon suddenly stopped. He hesitated, then took out another pair of chopsticks from the shopping bag and held them out to Dojun.

“You eat too.”

“Why?”

“Huh? Why won’t you eat?”

“I ate earlier.”

“That wasn’t food.”

When Dojun replied nonchalantly, Jaewon said with a quite serious face.

“What if you get sick from eating two bowls of that?”

Rolling his eyes and examining his body here and there, he seemed genuinely concerned. It was like a hummingbird worrying about a crocodile. The corner of Dojun’s mouth slightly lifted. The irises looking down at the small head gradually narrowed.

“Such a precious body.”

His hand grasped the knee and fell away. It was a touch like caressing a solid asset. When his fingertips brushed the thigh, the bulging muscles and tendons stood out above the fabric. The bird was giggling with loose laughter. The slowly opening crocodile’s mouth closed. His tongue slowly scraped against his molars.

Wild animals strictly limit energy consumption except when hunting prey. In the same vein, Dojun didn’t even glance at things that seemed like a waste of time. With a temperament that disliked bothersome things, he maintained an observational stance and efficiently managed most of his time and energy.

However, exceptions always existed. Sometimes spending time didn’t seem bad. Dojun leaned his upper body forward with his hands in his pockets. When he approached closely, Jaewon flinched and backed away.

“Ah.”

When Dojun opened his mouth in a gesture asking to be fed, Jaewon’s face scrunched up. He looked bewildered. Dojun responded to the question by gesturing toward the sushi box with his eyes. Jaewon’s expression went blank, but he didn’t care and pushed his chin forward, urging him. Flustered and hesitating, Jaewon began selecting sushi.

The chopsticks wandering over the box grabbed the largest, most appetizing piece of sushi. It was obviously a piece he’d been saving. His eyebrows furrowed and a laugh escaped his lips.

“Not that one. The one next to it.”

When he designated the sweet shrimp sushi lying toppled in the corner of the box, puzzlement spread in the dejected eyes. As if hearing a voice asking why, Dojun simply rested his chin on his shoulder. Rubbing his flesh against the body that stiffened with a jolt as if marking it, he blew breath into his ear.

“Ah, don’t do that.”

Jaewon, who had flinched and shrunk back, cried out in disgust. His exposed earlobe and nape visibly reddened.

“Why are you doing that? Do I look like dandelion fluff to you?”

“Ah.”

Dojun ignored the protest and opened his mouth. At the snake-like brazen appearance, Jaewon grabbed the back of his neck. He lifted the sushi with a swollen face, and Dojun slowly swallowed it.

His lips held the chopsticks. When his tongue wrapped around the sticks, the two rods crossed from the force. His teeth firmly bit down to fix the hurriedly escaping chopsticks. The black eyes that had stopped blinking were fixed straight ahead. The light brown irises shook aimlessly before avoiding his gaze. Only then did Dojun release the chopsticks and begin chewing what was in his mouth.

Gulp. The uvula wriggled up and down as if alive. The sound of mucous membranes and muscles moving filled the spaces between words. Jaewon remained awkwardly stiff, only looking straight ahead. Dojun, watching him as if appreciating the sight, finally spoke leisurely.

“Delicious.”

At the petty words, Jaewon scratched behind his ear unnecessarily and played dumb. Then he suddenly began eating sushi enthusiastically. Like someone deliberately trying to immerse themselves in an activity, he ate voraciously until he choked and pounded his chest. When Dojun offered him the green tea he’d been drinking, he immediately took it but hesitated for some reason. Jaewon, looking down at the can opening with a blank face, asked.

“What’s your blood type?”

It had been a while since he’d laughed. Through the window opened at an angle over his shoulder, fresh wind was seeping in. It was early spring when pollen drifted particularly softly.

***

In any case, he was entertaining to watch. It was a natural progression to pursue more than just watching.

There was a turning point.

“You seem to think my dropping in front of you is some kind of disaster, but I appeared to make you happy.”

The bird that had only been circling and pestering him finally made advances. The fearless bird chirped and touched the sleeping black panther’s whiskers.

“I have only one wish. For you to live long and happily.”

Watching Jaewon speak reverently with his hand on his chest, Dojun rarely reconfirmed the situation. He’d received countless love confessions before, but this was his first marriage proposal.

“Because you don’t know how to be happy.”

The words that seemed to see through Dojun’s entire life drew a laugh. It was like Zazu the parrot declaring he would make Mufasa the lion king from “The Lion King” happy.

The interesting thing was that he didn’t particularly feel like denying it. A life shipped complete had more things that were natural than unfair. What was equipped needed nothing more to equip, and with nothing new, there was also an absence of yearning. In refined things, only phenomena existed without change. He had no reason to refuse the proposal.

A catalyst is merely one movement and cannot transform the present into the future. However, like the butterfly effect in chaos dynamics where a butterfly’s wing flap in Brazil might influence a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico, all trivial things build upon the present. Without the warp and weft of fate interweaving, connections cannot be completed.

The catalyst was the bird’s wing flap. It awakened him from his long sleep submerged in ennui.

***

Bae Jaewon, unaware he was hanging on a dartboard, was in his element. He showed a tendency to be merciless to the same sex while excessively kind to the opposite sex.

“What are you girls doing?”

He casually spoke to female students. For a male high school student with exploding hormones, his manner of dealing with the opposite sex was a bit too nonchalant. The only one in the entire school who could match him was Park Gyujin.

Female students were initially fooled by Jaewon’s decent shell and acted shy and reserved, but once they met the core inside, they became ball friends. In some ways, it was remarkable affinity.

“Huff, huff… We’re exercising.”

“Why?”

In the back of the classroom, female students were training like they were at Taereung. At Jaewon’s question, one student released her handstand position, stood up, and dusted off her hands.

“We need to burn the calories we ate.”

“You’ve definitely already burned your conscience.”

Behind the female student radiating determination, corpses of chicken, pizza, and pork feet were piled up. After jeering that it was rationalization drawn from the soul, Jaewon soon became their stake.

“Hurry up and bend over. The others are waiting.”

“What? But… can small and cute me really support your weight? Jaewon is scared… Ugh!”

Like that, he naturally mingled with the girls like water seeping into sand. For someone who had boldly declared he’d show what happiness was, it was an eel-like trajectory. Dojun leisurely watched Jaewon like a wildcat settled in front of a mouse hole.

“Oh, it’s raining.”

At one student’s cry, attention focused on the windows. Rain was falling outside. Mist rose thickly and the world’s scenery blurred.

“…It’s really coming down.”

Jaewon, gazing up at the gloomy sky, grumbled. His profile with its refined lines caught the eye. His build was average for a male high school student, but his bearing and lines were delicate, giving an overall elegant impression. So when he kept his mouth shut and stayed still, he was quite handsome.

Faint light flowed down his white face, sparkling like sunlight on water. The wind blowing thinly through the window gap disheveled his hair. Those small movements created an atmosphere as faint as if about to disappear. Dojun’s brow slightly furrowed watching this.

“Ah… I don’t have an umbrella.”

Jaewon gazed anxiously at the cloudy sky and sighed. Usually in such cases, one would buy an umbrella at the school store, ask family or friends for help, or sprint through the rain using their body. But Bae Jaewon was a person far removed from common sense.

“Oh my!”

He hijacked someone else’s umbrella. Scanning passing students at the central entrance, he jumped under a female student’s umbrella for a free ride.

“What are you doing!”

“I don’t have an umbrella so I was waiting for a pretty girl to pass by. Perfect timing.”

“What?”

To the startled Min Yerin, Jaewon fired off a fiery comment. Sweeping up his wet hair under the umbrella, he looked like a protagonist from a youth drama.

“S-so shameless…”

As Yerin stammered with a face red as a beet, Jaewon grinned in response. He grabbed the now-docile Yerin’s shoulder and pulled her toward him.

“Come in a bit. Your shoulder’s getting wet.”

“W-where are you touching!”

“Don’t worry. I washed my hands earlier.”

When Jaewon spoke confidently, Yerin looked at him with her mouth open in disbelief. Regardless, Jaewon continued talking.

“Do you know what the scariest rain in this world is?”

His expression was quite serious as he whispered secretively. Yerin also tensed up and asked.

“What is it?”

“Hospital bills.”

“…”

“So stick closer. More. More.”

Though he could have tilted the umbrella for her, Jaewon scolded Yerin and stuck to her like rice cake. In the pouring rain, the pair bickering under one umbrella looked like a cute couple. Creating a lovey-dovey atmosphere as they walked along amicably, they were caught by the scruff after just a few steps.

“Gack.”

“I wondered where you went.”

Without time to resist the hand grabbing his neck, an ominous voice wrapped around his throat. Jaewon swallowed at the familiar energy felt from behind.

“Found you.”

A striking face appeared under the black umbrella. Though he wore a gentlemanly attitude and smooth smile, only his eyes glowing in the mist were piercing.

“Our Jaewon seems to have mistaken someone.”

“…”

“The umbrellas look similar.”

Though Min Yerin’s floral-patterned compact umbrella and Dojun’s huge black umbrella had no similarities even if you washed your eyes and looked, no one bothered to raise objections. The two trembled like a pair of mice before an eagle. After collecting Jaewon in tacit agreement, Dojun gestured to Yerin, who stood still with wide eyes.

“Go well.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. You too, Dojun.”

Even at the brief farewell, Yerin shyly blushed and waved her fern-like hand. Watching her recede with ladylike quick steps, Jaewon’s face grew dejected.

“Damn, this isn’t the combination I wanted…”

He grumbled with his beak sticking out. And he couldn’t take his eyes off Min Yerin disappearing into a dot. The shadows around Dojun’s eyes deepened at that wistful gaze.

“Jaewon.”

A deliberately affectionate voice burrowed into his shirt collar. But Jaewon, sensing the sinister undertones in the breath, cowered. The force gripping his shoulder was extraordinary. Lips approaching close enough to touch his earlobe murmured quietly.

“Why do you keep dropping things everywhere?”

“What? What did I drop?”

Jaewon asked back in alarm. He stretched his neck like a giraffe, frantically looking around, then spun in place. Even after thoroughly scanning the ground, finding nothing in particular, he glared at Dojun with triangular eyes.

“Damn it, if someone drops something you should tell them or pick it up, how can you just watch?”

Convinced of losing his belongings, Jaewon threw a fit. Dojun, quietly looking down at him getting utterly pissed, bit his lower lip and turned his head. His shoulders, covered by one hand over his face, subtly shook. Only after a while did he sweep the corners of his eyes with his fingertips and sigh.

“I was just about to pick it up.”

The hoarse voice strangely stimulated his nerves. The moment Jaewon unconsciously scratched his earlobe, a large hand embraced his shoulder. Pressed tightly against the rock-hard body without gaps, the moderately open distance instantly closed. His waist automatically straightened and his body stiffened with tension. Looking down at Jaewon becoming stiff as a log, he began walking with a faint smile on his lips.

“Let’s go.”

“W-where?”

“Somewhere.”

“Are we playing twenty questions?”

Though Jaewon scowled and snapped curtly, Dojun responded leisurely.

“I need to know where we’re going to escort you.”

“What? Why would you?”

“You don’t have an umbrella.”

“Then just give me the umbrella.”

“Did you think before speaking?”

“There are at least ten people who would cover me if I stepped outside this umbrella.”

That was true. From earlier, quite a number of students had been circling around them, eagerly looking for a chance to get involved with Dojun. But Dojun didn’t even pretend to hear. When he didn’t budge, Jaewon sighed briefly and pointed toward the main street.

“Just take me to that convenience store.”

“Why?”

“I’m going to buy an umbrella.”

When he revealed his purchase plan, Dojun’s eyebrows arched upward. When he slightly shook the umbrella he was holding with a puzzled look, Jaewon’s face crumpled even more.

“It’s too narrow. Even a parasol wouldn’t be enough for the two of us.”

Dojun’s umbrella was large enough to easily accommodate two people, but with his build exceeding standard specifications, space felt slightly lacking. As Jaewon grumbled with a sulky face, Dojun seemed to think for a moment before pulling the back of his head.

“Oof.”

The small head was buried in a chest as wide as the Pacific Ocean. Jaewon, suddenly finding himself in Dojun’s hot embrace, looked up with an expression like he’d been hit. Dojun’s lips curved askew as he looked down appreciatively at that dazed face.

“It’s not narrow like this.”

“$)(@*)%”

The sulfur-crested cockatoo with a bright red face began squawking in an incomprehensible language, and Dojun didn’t stop laughing while tightly embracing the struggling body. The rain was still falling, and there were only the two of them under the umbrella.

***

The hazy smoke that rose scattered weakly. Dojun gazed at the ash-colored gas spreading like waves through the damp air as he flicked his cigarette ash. The cigarette he’d started unconsciously had become a habit he indulged in even while wearing his uniform. A high school student smoking attracted attention but never particularly caused problems. Due to Dojun’s exceptional build and unique atmosphere, passersby didn’t see him as a student. They just tilted their heads wondering ‘Is some filming going on?’ and went on their way. Bae Jaewon was the only human who had reported him for underage smoking and illegal cigarette butt disposal.

The guy visible through the convenience store window was staring intently at something. Following his concentrated gaze, gum and chocolate displayed below the counter came into view. Jaewon, who had been conflicted while picking up and putting down a bag of jelly, eventually gave up and only paid for the umbrella he’d originally intended to buy. His expression was quite glum as he put down the jelly. Watching this, Dojun pressed firmly below both eyes with his thumb and index finger to fix his twitching facial muscles. Then he turned his head to gaze at the distant sky, resting his eyes.

“Ah, come on!”

Just then, an irritated young voice was heard. Looking toward the source of the sound, an elementary school student was facing off with Jaewon.

“Give it! I came all the way here in this weather to buy that!”

“In a free market economy system, whoever pays first owns it.”

“I grabbed it first!”

“It’s your fault for being weak enough to have it taken. Society is originally cold like that. If you’re frustrated, eat lots of rice cake soup and grow up quickly.”

It seemed he’d gotten into a fight with an elementary schooler in that brief moment. The parrot who couldn’t hold his tongue was bickering with children the moment attention was diverted. They say siblings close in age fight often, and disputes seemed to occur frequently because their mental ages were similar. The two growled at each other like mortal enemies while holding the convenience store door handle.

“I’m going to tell my hyung everything! My hyung is super strong!”

“You think you’re the only one with a hyung? I’ll tell my master. My master is so strong he made me, who was a free man, into a slave.”

“My hyung is in sixth grade!”

“My dad is sixty years old, you little shit.”

Jaewon spewed harsh words at the fuming child and pushed the door closed. The elementary student who tumbled from the recoil displayed colorful cursing skills. Jaewon, looking down with haughty eyes, snorted and turned around ostentatiously. The shameful confrontation between young man and child thus came to an end. Dojun, who had been watching with rapt attention until then, took a drag from his neglected cigarette.

What an increasingly interesting creature the more he watched. There was never a dull moment together.

Jaewon, who had left the convenience store, tore the umbrella vinyl with squeaking sounds and opened it with a pop. He looked around and approached after spotting Dojun. Dojun, who had been leaning against the wall, dropped the still-long cigarette to the ground and crushed it with his foot. Once the fire was out, he picked up the butt, waved it at Jaewon, then threw it in the trash can.

“Ah, I won’t report you. I won’t.”

Seeming to understand his intention, Jaewon scrunched up his face and grumbled. Dojun pulled the tip of his umbrella teasingly and asked.

“What about implementing social justice?”

“Meeting you is enough, so it’s fine.”

The laughter disappeared from his playfully curved lips. His slightly upturned eyes relaxed lazily and the color of his irises deepened. The parrot who had gotten in a good hit as if to show off nagged him to stop smoking, that he didn’t know how to take care of his precious body. Dojun, staring down at the moderately full lips, wrapped around his waist and pulled him close.

“What if you get lung cancer or something… ah.”

Jaewon, who had been chattering ceaselessly, flinched at the sudden contact and stiffened. It was entertaining how he’d chatter away but immediately clam up when their bodies touched.

A fluffy powder-like body scent mixed with the rain smell, stimulating his nose. Dojun grabbed Jaewon’s shoulder and wrapped his hand around the one holding the umbrella. As their bodies pressed together, he stammered in shock.

“W-what. Why are you coming in here? Use your umbrella.”

“Why would I when you’re here?”

“Crazy, why do you think I came all the way here to buy an umbrella?”

Jaewon looked bewildered with his whole face. While he squawked about the rationality of one person one umbrella, Dojun half-listened while looking around. Just then, he saw a young girl coming out of a building looking up at the sky with a tearful face. The child, who looked about seven years old at most, had nothing in her hands. He approached the child, dragging the flapping Jaewon along.

“Don’t have an umbrella?”

“No…”

“Your parents?”

“My mom and dad are busy.”

“Take this.”

When Dojun offered the umbrella, the girl’s eyes grew round. The child who raised her head slightly gaped with a mouth missing baby teeth that let air whistle through.

“What? What about you, oppa?”

“Oppa is fine because he has this one.”

At the innocent question, he smiled and patted Jaewon’s shoulder. Dojun dealing with the child with kind words and expressions seemed like a different person. Jaewon could only gape and blink at the unbelievable sight. As a tickling sensation like a handful of feathers poured into his stomach began, he bit his lips.

“Thank you!”

The child bowed deeply enough for her nose to touch her knees in greeting. It was cuteness that made observers’ hands and feet curl up. Jaewon felt a thrilling pain in his heart and staggered. He stared blankly with a flushed face at the umbrella toddling away. Dojun waved his empty hand at him.

“Gone now.”

The shamelessly speaking face gleamed like porcelain. Jaewon looked at Dojun in disbelief. He responded to the gaze with an expression overflowing with composure. It was utterly hateful how he always drove situations the way he wanted.

“Grrr…”

Jaewon, who had been trembling while glaring at Dojun, soon sighed deeply and gave up. What else could he do? Not only did he lack the energy to protest, but he couldn’t exactly go rob the umbrella back from the lovely girl. Above all, looking at that face kept making him forget what to say.

Jaewon stuck out his lips about five feet and walked with stomping steps like an angry penguin. Dojun naturally snatched the umbrella while matching Jaewon’s pace. When the umbrella rose high up, the view cleared.

The ash-gray sky hung low. The streets darkened by rain were sporadically lit by streetlights. Water droplets on shop windows glowed softly in the cozy interior lighting. Rainwater flowing on the ground ran between dark gray paving blocks, making splashing sounds underfoot.

Inside the umbrella was quiet. Only each other’s breathing could be heard. Jaewon tried to maintain distance by subtly slipping to the side, but it was futile. Rather, he had to give up when the arm around his waist tightened firmly. Jaewon walked silently, concentrating on the sound of raindrops drumming on the umbrella.

“Turning sixty this year.”

Eventually Dojun broke the silence. Jaewon, unable to understand the contextless words, displayed question marks above his head. When Dojun added “Father,” only then did he let out a small “ah.”

“Yeah. If he were alive.”

At the matter-of-fact answer, their steps halted. Dojun, who had stopped abruptly, turned his head to look at Jaewon. His eyes, black as the deep sea, were unreadable as always but carried a strange warmth. Jaewon, looking up at him intently, wore a calm expression as if used to it. And he added indifferently.

“If you’re going to pity me, give it in food.”

“What do you want to eat?”

Though it was a habitual joke to lighten the mood that always sank when deceased parents came up, Dojun readily took the bait. He thought it was just talk, but his expression was quite serious. When he laughed in disbelief, Dojun slightly furrowed his brow.

“Why?”

“No, it’s just…”

Jaewon, scratching his forehead, unnecessarily swept up his hair. Words wouldn’t form in his mind. Strangely his back felt hot and his throat burned, not knowing what to say.

“…You’re the first person to actually offer.”

After hesitating and finally spitting out one sentence, a low laugh returned.

Tell me when you want something to eat. The considerate voice flowed stickily into his ears like melted ice cream. Jaewon waved his hands saying it was fine and strode forward. Following behind, Dojun covered the bird who had been in the rain for a long time with the umbrella.

The bus stop in the rain was deserted. Silence had somehow flowed between them, and the sound of raindrops drumming on the umbrella was particularly loud. Jaewon, anxiously tapping the ground with his toes, brightened seeing a bus approaching from afar.

“My bus is coming.”

When Dojun silently gazed at him, Jaewon asked awkwardly.

“What are you taking?”

“Whatever you’re taking.”

“Huh?”

While he asked back in confusion, the bus arrived, and Dojun folded the umbrella and boarded. Jaewon wiped away raindrops falling on his eyelids and nose bridge as he followed behind.

“You’re taking this bus too? Where do you live?”

Dojun ignored the successive questions and climbed the steps. He glanced at the bus fare chart and took out 10,000 won from his wallet to put in the fare box. The bus driver’s eyes went wide and Jaewon’s jaw dropped.

“For two.”

“No, student. What are you doing paying 10,000 won? The change…”

“You don’t need to give it.”

He cleanly dismissed the driver’s nagging and headed to the back seats. As Dojun walked, the passengers’ eyes and heads turned with him. Jaewon, who had been gaping at him turning the bus into a runway, quickly boarded at the driver’s urging asking if he wasn’t getting on.

“Hey, you…”

Jaewon, unable to continue speaking, hurriedly approached the back seat where Dojun was sitting. Dojun, sitting in a two-person seat, patted the seat next to him. Jaewon showed signs of momentary conflict, and Dojun’s eyebrows twitched catching that instant. As the bus departed, Jaewon’s legs buckled. Dojun caught the staggering body with one arm and sat him on his lap.

“…Huh.”

Soft buttocks rubbed elastically against rock-hard thighs. Jaewon swallowed and stiffened his body. Finding himself suddenly in an embarrassing position, he began struggling while breaking out in cold sweat. However, Dojun held Jaewon even more strongly until veins bulged on his forearms. He only let go when Jaewon was almost in tears. Jaewon, barely freed, pitifully pulled himself together like a married man who had suffered unspeakable things from a thug.

“…Hey.”

Jaewon spoke after catching his breath for a while. When Dojun threw him a glance instead of answering, he asked suspiciously.

“This isn’t your first time riding a bus, is it?”

Even while speaking, his expression said ‘surely not.’ Dojun gladly lived up to expectations.

“Right.”

“What?”

“It’s my first time.”

“…”

When he confessed plainly, Jaewon’s face crumpled beautifully. He stuck both knees outside the seat edge and turned his body away with a whirl.

“Don’t talk to me.”

“Why?”

“Don’t you smell something rotten?”

At the random comment, puzzlement entered Dojun’s eyes. All he could sense at his nose was that peculiar sweet flesh scent. When he just looked with an expression of not understanding, Jaewon added heatedly.

“My sarcasm is rotting.”

His back as he grumbled about absurd social hierarchy looked like a hamster sulking after having sunflower seeds taken away. Feeling dizzy, Dojun covered his eyes with one hand then almost impulsively hugged Jaewon. The guy flapped about saying he couldn’t breathe but soon quieted down. Dojun rubbed his cheek against the warm nape while listening to the thumping heartbeat. A body scent resembling sunshine rose thickly, holding moisture.

Reddish sunset light was entering the bus. Light holding warmth spread as if seeping over the windows and seats. It was a tranquil and warm afternoon.

The rain had stopped before they knew it. The ink-colored clouds covering the sky disappeared and crimson twilight rolled in. The village bus that stopped at the alley entrance let off two male students and left with new passengers. The two left at the empty stop began walking side by side.

“The rain stopped.”

“Yeah.”

“…”

“What. Why?”

“It’s a shame.”

“…”

The sporadic conversation left sticky sweetness in their mouths. Streetlight reflections shimmered faintly on the road at sunset.

His residence where the sky was clearly visible remained the same. The neighborhood showing signs of age everywhere had quite an atmosphere. The quiet alley was silent as a forest, with ivy stretching atmospherically over old building walls.

Dojun, who had been looking at traces of old times, somehow narrowed his stride to match Jaewon’s gradually slowing steps. Peaceful silence flowed between them as they walked slowly as if on a stroll.

A gentle breeze blew, pleasantly sweeping up their hair. Slowly closing and opening his eyes, Dojun slowed his pace. In his widened view, he caught Jaewon’s full figure walking ahead.

It was a nice body to look at. The moderate build, not too thin, was well-balanced and stable. Though he had no particularly set preferences, it was a good element for him who lost interest if something bothered him. His height wasn’t very tall but the proportions were good, giving a slimmer impression than reality.

But today he looked unusually small. His always straight back and shoulders looked small and drooped as if even the backpack was burdensome. Dragging his heels, his steps were much slower and heavier than those of a student returning home from school. The dawdling appearance as if hoping this time wouldn’t end looked quite lonely. It was an impression that didn’t suit Bae Jaewon, but it was so.

Dojun, who had been watching his back, strode forward and stood beside him. When the solid arm touched him, Jaewon flinched and quickly walked away. When he stuck close again pretending not to notice, Jaewon alternated between looking at Dojun’s arm and face, not knowing what to do. And he no longer avoided. Dojun walked leisurely feeling the warm temperature like a chick.

When they finally arrived in front of a building, Jaewon quickly separated and turned toward Dojun.

“Um, well…”

Jaewon, choosing his words, awkwardly scratched his eyebrows and wiped his nose. He kicked pebbles with his feet and drew circles on the ground. He demonstrated all the gestures humans make when embarrassed, and Dojun leisurely waited while appreciating the rare sight.

“Thanks for walking me home.”

He had played dumb all that time just to say those words. A low laugh swirled on his tongue. Jaewon still seemed to have more to say as he fidgeted. Rustling around after opening his bag zipper, he suddenly held something out.

“And this…”

In his jade-like hands was a box of cookies. The photo of cookies with large chocolate chips printed on the box surface caught the eye. The hand that brushed while receiving the box was slightly damp, perhaps from sweat. Dojun examined the box then glanced at Jaewon. He was scratching behind his nose with his head turned. Watching him look like a pubescent teenager, Dojun asked teasingly.

“Are you giving this to thank me for walking you home?”

When he used to put up iron walls saying he couldn’t give even a cup of tea or a drop of ramen broth for walking him home. The small change caused quiet ripples in his heart. A barely visible smile spread on Dojun’s previously indifferent lips.

“They said you should properly thank people you owe.”

“Who did?”

“Mom.”

Jaewon said shyly. It was random for someone who would be speaking beside a congressman in ten years to be talking about his mom.

“Anyway, this is really delicious.”

“…”

“I only ate this when I was young. There was chaos with it being sold out, and it’s the same here.”

When silence settled awkwardly, Jaewon quickly spoke up. He explained diligently as Dojun just watched silently.

“Earlier too, a little elementary schooler persistently stuck to me, so I had some trouble defending it.”

Jaewon spoke with his chest proudly puffed out like a hummingbird successful in hunting. But when no particular reaction came back, he awkwardly scratched the back of his head. He pouted and muttered as if making excuses.

“I don’t usually fight with kids like that.”

This time it was dangerous. Dojun bit his lower lip hard and suppressed laughter that threatened to burst.

“Anyway, I’m going. Be careful going back.”

Jaewon, who had been touching his nape, waved his hands and turned around. Then he scampered into the studio apartment building with a whoosh. Left alone, Dojun stood still in place for a while. Black eyes gazed down at the box intently. The pupils moving at a constant speed like a scanner only stopped after scanning even the ingredient list on the back of the box.

Tearing his gaze stuck to the box and raising his head, he saw something peeking out from afar. He made direct eye contact with Jaewon who had been secretly watching from behind the building’s front door. The guy who had been stealing glances at Dojun flinched as if caught stealing and fled just like that. Normally he would have laughed, but he lowered his eyes with an unchanged face.

The large cookie box had quite a fancy package. It contrasted with the purchaser’s appearance.

Above eyelids that had stopped blinking, a worn uniform like hand-me-downs, a frayed backpack, and sneakers with worn soles came to mind. The image of him gloomily putting down a bag of jelly after debating whether to buy it overlapped on top.

Welcoming a companion is never an easy matter. Since it means taking full responsibility and caring for a life until it ends, one should rightfully deliberate and decide carefully. Dojun’s solid composure delivered a long speech as always. It wanted to maintain the peace enjoyed until now, and hoped Dojun’s life, which had only walked red carpets, would remain peacefully unchanged. It desperately tried to persuade him from stepping onto a strange path. And somewhere, an unidentifiable emotion suddenly popped out shouting ‘fuck off’ and struck a blow to the iron fortress-like composure. It was the first coup in history.

The parrot who brought the most amazing food by his standards while holding back what he wanted to eat struck a strike in Dojun’s orderly life. The compass that had never wavered even once began spinning like a top.

Wind blew. Under the oak tree swaying in the stillness, Dojun slowly nodded his head.

I should raise him.

***

To capture wild animals, luring them with food was standard. It started with bread and milk, and Dojun, successful in the first lure, entered the next stage.

“Oh, young master.”

When he entered the house, an employee organizing the kitchen recognized Dojun. She was a domestic worker dispatched by Segang for him who lived away from the main house. When Dojun made eye contact while putting down his bag, she showed him the open pantry door.

“I procured and stocked the items you mentioned before.”

Inside the pantry, various jellies and snacks were equipped by type. The employee, who knew Dojun’s temperament well, had carefully categorized the snacks and arranged items considering optimal movement when taking things from the pantry. Truly veteran-like.

“If you need anything else, please let me know.”

Even while saying that, the employee seemed a bit puzzled. It was an unfamiliar instruction for her who had been housekeeping according to his tendency not to enjoy snacking. Regardless, Dojun dismissed the employee with a hand gesture and scanned the groceries in the pantry with his eyes. Satisfied, he lightly nodded and closed the pantry.

What remained was capture. With food prepared, he just needed to bring him home.

But his life that had begun entangling with Bae Jaewon couldn’t possibly go according to plan.

Bae Jaewon had dined and dashed a total of three times – first cigarettes, second a kiss, and lastly sex. The ancestors’ big data that three times of patience makes you a pushover wasn’t wrong.

He should have known when he fled after having oral sex calling it a kiss, but his judgment was clouded by possessiveness. He who never missed a target once set exercised patience and followed procedure, ultimately succeeding in hunting the parrot and greedily devouring him all night. It was perfect up to falling asleep in satisfied fullness after meticulously picking apart the responsive body.

The problem was the next day.

When he opened his eyes, a white ceiling poured down above his head. Stagnant like standing water, it had the same color, contrast, and illumination throughout. His eyes that had been submerged in sleep turned fierce at the sight so familiar it was seared into his pupils. The déjà vu that poured down like heavy rain penetrated his body delicately and meticulously.

His eyes that had been glaring at the ceiling turned to the side. The clock on the nightstand recorded a time later than the previous day. A long breath spread into the silence.

Confirming the time in the darkness before dawn had become routine. It was rare to be postponed until midday like today. His eyes that had been tracing the outline of dim light soon withdrew their gaze. When the huge body moved like a wild beast, the entire bed swayed. Dojun raised his upper body and looked at the sunlight pouring through the window.

The vast vertical space was filled with dense silence. Shadows crossing the space diagonally carved geometric patterns on the walls. The scene emphasizing empty space like an Edward Hopper masterpiece paralyzed the sense of reality. The emotionless face cynically gazed at the silent walls. Unlike the painting, he knew there was no ocean outside the door. He withdrew his gaze and stood up.

His body, vigorous from sex after a long time, craved something more intense. Dojun, who had been loosening up by cracking his neck left and right, suddenly felt something off and looked down. The spot where the captured prey should have been was empty. He narrowed his brows looking at the bed with only wrinkled sheets remaining. No particular sounds came from the bathroom either. His eyes that had been examining the dry tiles without signs of use passed by indifferently. At the entrance, only the usual shoes were neatly arranged. Dojun, searching for traces of the guest with coolly sunken eyes, discovered a jacket sprawled on the floor.

The uniform jacket from another school looked somehow familiar. Dojun slowly picked up the messily crumpled clothing. It was quite large compared to Jaewon’s build. A familiar three-character name was attached to the name tag. The image of him preciously hugging just one piece of clothing like a keepsake vividly came to mind.

Blue flames swirled in eyes black as the abyss. Well, it wouldn’t be fun if it were easy. He walked through the space like a painting with a faint smile on his lips.

Protected translation courtesy of Moonflower Verse.