Formless Chapter 56

Mmm. Gangwoo, chin propped on his hand, tilted his head slightly. His bangs covered his eyes, so only the tip of Heewoon’s nose was visible.

“I can’t understand you if you keep cutting off your words like that.”

“Ah…”

Heewoon, who hesitantly raised his head, had a pale face. Biting his lip hard, Heewoon said in a small voice.

“Being scolded for drinking. I thought it was all over…”

Gangwoo nodded as if he was listening. Heewoon took a breath once and spat out the words.

“Why did you do that to the group leader?”

“…Mmm.”

Gangwoo, who made a rumbling sound in his throat, sat up straight. I thought he’d keep pretending not to know, but this is unexpected. He muttered, then leaned back loosely against the backrest and looked at Heewoon. Looking at the face that was about to cry, Gangwoo smiled brightly.

“Sunbae, you know too.”

Heewoon froze like a stone, staring at Gangwoo. Then it really was to warn him…

“Sunbae keeps trying to crawl back up whenever there’s a chance, and I keep letting you off.”

“…”

“So I figured I couldn’t just end it like that.”

It was a light tone.

“If it happens again next time, it’ll be trouble for both sunbae and me.”

Gangwoo stared into space, lost in thought. His fingers tapped lightly on the table. He had had various thoughts that day while watching what Heewoon was doing. The one thing that was certain was that Heewoon should never drink anywhere else again. Because it’s difficult to handle three or four ordinary people at once.

After much thought, Gangwoo chose the most effective method.

“And as it happens, the bastard who bullied sunbae was right there, wasn’t he?”

Gangwoo laughed as if surprised by the coincidence. When Heewoon was speechless and couldn’t say anything, Gangwoo said gently.

“You don’t have to thank me.”

Looking at Gangwoo’s smiling face, Heewoon scratched his thigh hard. The stinging pain brought him to his senses.

Seo Gangwoo had intended to cause a car accident for one of the people who had been drinking with him at the time, and it just so happened that Heewoon mentioned the group leader, so it ended up being the group leader. So, this was all because Seo Gangwoo wasn’t in his right mind.

“Shall we go?”

“…Okay.”

Heewoon’s face was filled with fear as he followed behind Gangwoo with his head down. This time it ended with a minor car accident, but he didn’t know what would happen next time. Suddenly, Heewoon felt a sense of disgust for himself for being relieved that it was a minor car accident.

And then he felt anger toward Gangwoo for arousing these feelings, and then he became very afraid. What if someone very close to him experienced the kind of accident the group leader had, or the one Lee Hyukjin had. His mom… ah, he had said he wouldn’t touch his mom.

“Stop racking your brain and just get in.”

Gangwoo, who had already opened the passenger side door, pressed down on the back of Heewoon’s head and pushed him inside. Heewoon’s eyes widened in surprise, and when the door closed with a click, he continued his thoughts.

Gangwoo, who got in the car, stared at Heewoon’s face and then pulled him into a tight hug. A large hand calmly patted his back. Heewoon blinked, flustered.

“Why…”

“Because you seemed scared.”

Gangwoo whispered, gently cradling Heewoon’s head and letting him rest his face on his shoulder. His hand began to gently pat his back again. It was a familiar warmth. His body, which had frozen in an instant, slowly thawed.

“Sunbae, you don’t need to think. Just do as I say.”

The low voice echoed in his ear. He should feel frustrated or angry, but Heewoon thought Gangwoo was right. Since he had to do as Gangwoo told him anyway, thinking on his own would only make things harder for himself.

Also, doing as he was told didn’t feel so difficult these days.

“Have I ever gotten angry when you listened to me well?”

“…”

He seemed to recall a time, so he hesitated, and Gangwoo playfully bit his ear. When Heewoon yelped, “Ah!” a series of pecking kisses landed on the shell of his ear.

“Even if you don’t act cute, if you listen to me well, I’ll keep treating you well.”

Gangwoo said in a voice tinged with laughter. Heewoon replied, “Okay.” Remembering his drunken tantrum, his face flushed. Gangwoo kissed his heated cheek and then pulled away.

“Shall we go for a short drive?”

Gangwoo, who was pulling the car out, glanced at Heewoon and added mischievously.

“I brought you here to see the night view, but you only looked at my face.”

“…Okay.”

Gangwoo drove along the riverside and then stopped at a café. Heewoon was just going to have coffee with Gangwoo, but Gangwoo ordered a sandwich for him.

He had pecked at his food earlier so much that he couldn’t even remember what he had eaten, so he was hungry. So Heewoon quickly devoured the sandwich.

“Want to eat more?”

“No. I’m okay.”

Heewoon shook his head. But Gangwoo was already scanning the menu on the counter. Heewoon stored in his mind the sight of his eyes, slightly squinted to see the distant letters, and his low voice muttering, ‘There’s nothing worth eating.’

Late that night, Heewoon sent a message to Jihwan. He asked where and how badly the group leader was injured. Jihwan grumbled that his reply was fast, but he gave him the details. He had a broken arm, but it was covered by insurance anyway, and he was getting money from the other party, so that’s why he was hospitalized.

Jihwan’s nuance was also more like he was going to hang out rather than a hospital visit. Seeing the message saying that the group leader hyung was ordering chicken and pizza tomorrow and asking him to go together in the afternoon, Heewoon took a deep breath.

He felt a little more at ease. Even though he shouldn’t have felt at ease, he did.

‘Sunbae, you don’t need to think. Just do as I say.’

Those words circled in his head like a malicious spell.

🧸

One weekend morning, a call came from Gangwoo. When he asked what he was doing today, Heewoon told him he was going to listen to an online lecture, and at the suggestion to come over and listen to it there, Heewoon packed his bag.

“Mom. I’m going to the library to study and I’ll be back.”

“My son is so diligent even during vacation.”

His mom smiled as if she was proud.

“It would be perfect if only Heehyun came. How lonely must it have been to spend the holidays in a foreign land.”

Watching his muttering mom, Heewoon said, “I’ll be back,” and went outside. Why does mom never get angry at hyung and only feel sorry for him. He couldn’t understand.

It was cold again today. It felt like it had gotten colder since February began. Heewoon exhaled a white puff of breath and headed for the main street. Heewoon stared intently at the sedan parked across the street, then hailed a taxi. Looking around had become almost a habit, and once something looked suspicious, everything tended to look suspicious.

It was a short ride to Seo Gangwoo’s place by taxi, so the cold was only for a moment. After paying with his card and getting out, when he rang the doorbell at the main gate, Heewoon felt like he had forgotten something.

He thought hard about it while entering the front door and then realized he hadn’t brought his laptop. He greeted the lady he recognized and was about to turn back to leave when his bag was pulled from behind.

“Where are you going.”

Gangwoo was standing behind him, having come at some point.

“I didn’t bring my laptop, so I was going to get it.”

At Heewoon’s words, Gangwoo frowned, looking dumbfounded.

“So you’re going back?”

“…”

“Where do you think you’re going without even saying hello.”

“I was going to come right back…”

Gangwoo let out a dry laugh. Heewoon blinked slowly, trying to figure out if he had done something wrong.

“How many days has it been since we’ve seen each other.”

“Yeah.”

When Heewoon answered nonchalantly, Gangwoo frowned. And as he turned around, he said to himself.

“Ah. This is annoying, maybe I should just make Woo Heewoon cry.”

No matter how you looked at it, the words were meant to be heard. Heewoon followed Gangwoo, not knowing what to do.

“I won’t go, home.”

“Do whatever.”

Gangwoo’s reaction was very indifferent. Watching Gangwoo stride forward, looking only ahead, Heewoon became anxious. So, mindful of the employees, he grabbed the tip of Gangwoo’s finger. Worried about being caught, he gently wrapped his pinky finger around his, then immediately pulled away.

“I was really going to be right back.”

Heewoon lifted his head slightly and looked up at Gangwoo. Gangwoo also looked at Heewoon. A moment passed with their eyes locked. Soon, a laugh like the sound of the wind escaped from between Gangwoo’s lips.

“I can’t tell if you’re clueless or not.”

“…Why?”

Never mind. Gangwoo shook his head. His gaze fell on Heewoon’s hand hanging at his side.

“But why did you stop holding my hand?”

“If someone sees…”

They were walking close together, so the backs of their hands brushed, and Gangwoo took Heewoon’s hand, glancing at the housekeeper who had just passed by.

“Uh, uh…”

“Who here doesn’t know we fuck.”

His voice wasn’t quiet, so it seemed likely that the person who had just passed by heard him. It would be stranger if they didn’t know he had that kind of relationship with Seo Gangwoo, but hearing it put so bluntly was a bit uncomfortable.

But, ‘that kind of relationship?’

That kind of relationship… Heewoon mulled it over in his mind. So, it must be a relationship where they have sex.

Gangwoo watched the blankly lost-in-thought Heewoon for a moment, then pulled his hand.

“Huh?”

“You said you were going to study.”

Before he knew it, they were in the study.

Seeing the tablet PC and some documents spread out on the desk, it seemed Seo Gangwoo had been working as well.

“Sit here.”

Gangwoo sat Heewoon down in the seat next to him and brought him a laptop. Although they were a little apart, it was burdensome because you could see what the other was doing by just tilting your head slightly. All his attention was focused on the left side where Gangwoo was sitting.

A peek. Heewoon rolled his eyes. The tablet PC screen was just barely out of view. He could see that there was a graph, though.

Just then, Gangwoo pushed the tablet PC towards Heewoon. Heewoon, thinking he had been caught peeking, looked at Gangwoo in a fluster.

“Did you want to see?”

Heewoon nodded his head in a daze, then was startled and waved his hands in denial. Gangwoo pretended not to see the gesture and said.

“I missed you too.”

A smile gradually spread across Gangwoo’s previously expressionless face.

Heewoon stared blankly at Gangwoo’s smiling face. He was lost in a daze for a moment, then Heewoon came to his senses. Once he came to his senses, he became extremely flustered, and his mouth moved on its own.

“Until when are you busy?”

“I agreed to do both for at least six months, so there are about four months left now.”

“So you won’t be busy after that?”

“If I can focus a little more on this side…”