Winter Season Chapter 5

Pressing the back of his head against the wall and stroking his mouth, he felt his fingertips were stone cold. He tried clenching his fists as if grasping at the air, but only a somewhat surreal sensation followed.

Gu Seunghyeok.

He was a face Yihyeon had never encountered, not even by chance, since his third year of high school when he had been practically chased out to a different school. Encountering him after nine years, he was a different person from the image in his memory.

His lips, which used to be burst open more often than they were intact, were now firmly shut in a shade of deep red, and the lines of his face, which could have at least been called soft in some corners, had turned sharp.

That was not all. The uniform shirt that had always been rumpled was replaced by a silk shirt with an intense floral pattern, and the long bangs that used to cover his eyebrows were styled without a single strand out of place.

Despite a transformation that made him difficult to recognize at first glance, Yihyeon was able to recall his name the moment their eyes met. No, it sprang forth like a coiled spring from a box buried deep beneath his consciousness.

What had he looked like the last time he saw him? Was it a chillingly cold sneer? Or was it the unnervingly reddened eyes, tangled with anxiety and loathing?

Even tracing back through his memory, it was a past so long ago that it had been buried in time, making it difficult to remember clearly.

He let out a sigh and stroked his face once more, but the frigid and sharp gaze that had been piercing through him felt as if it were still lingering persistently.

The look in those eyes kept flickering before him, bothering him continuously as if he had discovered a scar he had long forgotten.

“It’s cold outside, isn’t it.”

Just then, Subin, who had spotted Yihyeon, approached and slung an arm around his shoulders. Only when the warm body heat touched his nape did a sense of reality begin to set in. Yihyeon clenched and unclenched his fists. The tingling sensation that started in his palms spread throughout his entire body.

“It won’t matter since there’s no reason for us to meet again…”

A murmur, barely audible, flowed from between Yihyeon’s downcast lips.

“What was that?”

“…Nothing.”

Subin tilted his head as if he didn’t understand Yihyeon’s words. However, he soon gave a thin smile and gently cupped Yihyeon’s auricle with his palm.

“Why did you take so long?”

Yihyeon considered grabbing Subin’s wrist to pull it away but instead just shook his head wordlessly. Fortunately, most of the tired staff members were not paying attention to them, and the touch of a warm hand on his skin provided at least some stability. Yihyeon spoke in a small, low murmur.

“Something came up.”

Since the scale of the club was not small, the number was quite significant even when only the official staff, excluding the part-timers, were gathered. Subin’s influence played a big part in Yihyeon being able to stand among these people.

It was in his early twenties when he decided to enlist in the military to escape the tuition bills that arrived every semester like collection notices, the living expenses, and the endless part-time jobs. It was based on the judgment that there was a limit to continuing university life without parental support.

Contrary to the worry that he would not fit in with the authoritative and overbearing military, Yihyeon adapted quickly to military life. The fact that he didn’t have to worry about money played a major role.

He let the time flow aimlessly for a year and a half, and as a result, all that ended up in the hands of the discharged Yihyeon was a sum of money not even amounting to a few thousand dollars and an age increased by two years.

To gather tuition by working part-time day and night as he had before enlisting made the remaining semesters seem bleak. He had thought he should at least graduate from university, but all the passion and tenacity of that time had vanished, leaving him in a position where he could do neither this nor that.

It was around that time that he received a call from Subin. Since it was a light and shallow connection formed at a club where he had worked briefly in his early twenties, he was puzzled at first, but Subin made a fairly plausible proposal. The establishment where he worked was undergoing a renewal and replacing the entire staff, and he asked if Yihyeon was interested in working there.

He had no good memories left because he was sick of the drinks offered by customers and the smell of cigarettes that seeped even into his hair, but he did not have the luxury to refuse a job that paid twice the minimum wage.

During his early twenties when he was practically disowned by his family and driven by spite and obsession, and even after his discharge when he was still alone, Subin was one of the few people Yihyeon could call a friend. This was also the reason why he overlooked the occasional discomfort and subtle behaviors that crossed the line.

Yihyeon scanned the soft flesh inside his lip with his tongue and cast his eyes down. Subin was rhythmically tapping his fingers on Yihyeon’s shoulder to the background music echoing softly in the hall. Yihyeon glanced up at him and then lifted his wrist to check the time once more.

Seven-ten.

Normally, it would have been the time he had just caught the bus. Just as a faint irritation was about to rise toward the owner who gathered people but hadn’t shown his face, several footsteps appeared from the top of the large staircase located in the center of the hall. The employees who had been chatting fell silent instantly.

“What are all these people?”

A low voice echoed through the space where only the discordant music hummed softly. It was a tone more dry and indifferent than the one that had brushed past Yihyeon’s ear earlier.

The back of someone he had seen in the parking lot and the face he encountered under the bright lights of the elevator hall. And the silhouette standing with his back to the light, looking slightly dark, finally overlapped as one.

“…Ah.”

Yihyeon bit his inner lip, reproaching his own thoughtlessness for not connecting the existence of Seunghyeok with the new owner who was said to be arriving soon.

It was far too specific a time and place to dismiss a reunion after several years as a staggering coincidence.

He wouldn’t be able to easily escape the man’s field of vision as he looked down from a floor above, but he took a step back, trying to hide himself as much as possible. However, Subin, unaware of such efforts, stuck close to Yihyeon and whispered in his ear.

“Wow, fuck… What is this vibe?”

It was closer to an exclamation uttered to himself rather than a question. Even without hearing an explanation, he could understand the meaning Subin intended to convey. Because what Yihyeon felt when he first met Gu Seunghyeok must have been similar.

Subin’s gaze, mixed with wariness and admiration, quickly scanned Seunghyeok from head to toe. Yihyeon stood a step closer to Subin with his head bowed, fearing that if he lifted it, he would meet those cold eyes again.

During that time, Seunghyeok was looking down at Yihyeon’s entire figure. Among the many people filling the hall, those two were the only ones standing so close together, which made them stand out even more.

“I gathered them in case you had any special instructions. They are all official staff who have worked for more than a year.”

It was laughable that a guy who used to sit quietly and read books while wearing a loose-fitting uniform shirt was working here, and not even a small club in Hongdae or Itaewon, but here for over a year. Furthermore, as if his personality remained the same, the way he stood alone staring persistently at the floor while everyone’s gaze was directed this way had not changed at all from the past.

An unpleasant sensation that started somewhere in his stomach began to spread throughout his entire body. He felt a twisting sensation in his gut at the sight of him being exactly the same as nine years ago.

“…Haha.”

When Seunghyeok let out a cynical laugh, the gang members in the back tensed up.

“Section Chief… is there perhaps a problem…”

“President Kim.”

“Yes, please speak.”

President Kim’s shoulders hunched at the heavy voice that dropped as if weighing a person down.

“If you want to stay attached here even a little longer, let’s just do what we’re told quietly and well.”

“Ah…”

“Did I say I wanted to see the faces of the kids who haul liquor and run sales, or did I say to have the goods I sell in the basement ready?”

President Kim, who was tensed up and reading the mood, let out a sharp intake of breath at the arm draped over his shoulder as if pressing down on it.

“Chairman Gu might have liked this kind of thing, but I absolutely detest it.”

Seunghyeok, who had leaned in to put his arm around him like he would with a close person, rolled his stiff neck once while in that position.

“Having the kids spread out below, well. Should I recite a line about how it feels?”

“I-I’m sor—”

“I don’t need it, so clear them out.”

The playfully mocking tone turned blood-chilling in an instant. President Kim bowed his head repeatedly with a pale face. Watching the retreating back as the man hurried away, Seunghyeok pressed his throbbing temple with his fingertip.