Foot Worship Chapter 15

Goo Jihoon, fully drunk, climbed onto the table to dance, only to get a harsh earful from Kwon Haeyi and climb back down. I watched hazily as Kwon Haeyi poured a drink into Goo Jihoon’s glass and stroked his cheek, offering a faint smile. Even while making an extremely dissatisfied face, Goo Jihoon quietly pulled the glass containing the drink and placed it in front of him.

Kwon Raewon, sitting beside me, sighed repeatedly, looking as if he had a splitting headache. Goo Jihoon didn’t miss the chance to talk to him.

“Hey, Director Kwon, what’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing.”

“‘Nothing’? Your face looks all yellow.”

“Just… I’ve got a headache because of an employee who’s being an eyesore.”

“Oh, office romance?”

Kwon Raewon furrowed his brows and raised his middle finger at Goo Jihoon.

I was spending quite a fun time with people I felt comfortable with, but my head felt as heavy as if a boulder were resting on it. I couldn’t focus on the drinking party at all because of Jerome, who was hovering in my thoughts. I was smiling on the outside, but inside, Jerome’s words, which I hadn’t been able to digest, were stuck in my throat like sharp thorns.

I gulped down drink after drink and slumped onto the table. As the alcohol took hold, his face flickered before my eyes. Both his bright, crescent-eyed smile and the way he looked after me felt as distant as a dream.

“Hey, Raewon. Post something on Foot Worship.”

“What kind of post?”

“Tell them we’re looking for a fancy Dom to eat up our soft tofu bastard tonight.”

“Isn’t this guy doing well with that new operator guy?”

‘Doing well,’ my foot, I muttered to myself, pulling the bottle over to fill my glass. As I brought the glass to my lips, Kwon Raewon grabbed my arm to stop me.

“You’re drunk. Stop drinking.”

“Damn it, let go.”

“Why are you taking your anger out on someone else after getting slapped elsewhere?”

I shook off Kwon Raewon’s arm and downed the drink. The moment I set the glass on the table, a familiar ringtone began to blare loudly. I took my phone out of my back pocket and pressed the reject button without even checking the caller.

“It’s obvious without looking—that bastard is sexually frustrated.”

“If that’s the case, post the recruitment ad.”

“Don’t. There’s someone I’m interested in.”

In an instant, the atmosphere cooled. Kwon Raewon and Goo Jihoon were left with their mouths open, saying nothing, while Kwon Haeyi brought his glass to his lips with a nonchalant face, as if he had expected this.

“Isn’t this the first time Beomjin oppa has said he’s interested in someone else?”

“…”

“You’ve been properly bewitched by that ‘halo’ or whatever, haven’t you?”

I smiled bitterly and downed drink after drink. I’d had a few straight shots without diluting them, and for some reason, my stomach felt like it was burning. Kwon Raewon, who had been watching me in silence, offered me a cigarette. I put it in my mouth and lit it. With the alcohol in my system combined with the cigarette, my head started spinning.

“I promised to meet that person three times. I already met him once, so there are two left. But I told him yesterday that I wanted to meet him, and he said he didn’t want to.”

“Why?”

“Because we only promised to meet three times.”

“No, you dense idiot. You said there are two times left. Can’t you just ask to use one of those times to see him?”

“Huh?”

Come to think of it, he was right. I let out a deflating laugh. Jerome had suggested we play during the second meeting, so I had been focusing only on that. As Goo Jihoon said, it was a very simple problem that could be solved by just changing the order. But it was hard for me to ask him to meet up. I was afraid of being rejected. I shook my head, smiling bitterly.

“What if I get rejected again?”

“Don’t think like that. Do you die if you get rejected?”

“…Still, I don’t have the confidence.”

The reason I wasn’t good at refusing others was because I knew how it felt to be rejected. Today, I especially hated this timid and frustrating personality of mine.

“I’m leaving.”

“Where are you going!”

“Home.”

I asked the server to call a designated driver and exited the bar, checking my phone. Jerome’s name was on the missed calls list. Maybe because I’d had so much to drink, my legs were wobbling. I stood in place and called Jerome. The dial tone continued for a long time. Finally, the boring dial tone stopped, and he answered. But I heard nothing.

“…Jerome?”

―Why didn’t you answer the phone?

His voice was low, sounding ominous. I scratched the back of my head with a troubled look and bit my lip. I didn’t think I should tell him I ignored it on purpose, so I used Goo Jihoon as a convenient excuse.

“I don’t know if you’ll remember, but that friend who greeted you back then hung up on me as a joke.”

―…

“I’m sorry. I didn’t ignore it on purpose.”

―Are you still at the bar?

“No. I’m outside.”

The weather was bitter, enough for my white breath to billow out. I pulled my collar tight and bit my tongue until it hurt to help sober up. Because I’d drunk so much, my head was spinning. Hearing his voice made me miss him even more. Should I try to ask him, even if I get rejected? I bit my lip, let go, and cautiously spoke.

“Um… Jerome? You see, what about us right now,”

―I’m going to send you an address, so come there.

“Excuse me?”

My heavy head struggled to process the information. At the unexpected words, my heart began to beat wildly, making my breathing shallow. Soon, a message arrived with a short vibration. I swallowed hard and checked the message. It wasn’t far from where I was.

“You said you didn’t want to yesterday.”

―So, are you going to refuse?

“…It’s not like that, but.”

The designated driver arrived just in time. And at the same time, Jerome’s voice flowed into my ear.

―I regretted refusing yesterday.

“…”

―I miss you.

I typed the address Jerome sent into the navigation and asked the designated driver to take me there. The car began to move slowly.

I asked the driver for his understanding, opened the car window, took out a cigarette, and put it in my mouth. I wondered if I was really doing the right thing by going to see Jerome. I couldn’t shake the thought that I was being too emotional because I was drunk.

However, as the cigarette burned down and my thoughts deepened, the urge to see Jerome grew stronger. I’d wanted to see him ever since I checked my missed calls and rang him back. So, there was no reason for me to refuse this offer. Perhaps this line of thinking was just giving legitimacy and rationalization to my current actions. Since the result would be the same whether I took a step back or a step forward, I decided to find some courage.

I calmed my heart while keeping my eyes on the scenery flashing past the window. I rubbed my face, which was flushed from the alcohol, and moistened my throat with some bottled water kept in the car.

It didn’t take long to reach the destination. The place I arrived at was a detached house located in a quiet residential area. I took money out of my wallet, paid the driver, and hurried to get ready to get off.

Knock, knock.

I turned my head at the sound of someone tapping on the window to see Jerome, dressed in comfortable loungewear without even a jacket over it. I licked my dry lips and opened the car door. Jerome immediately wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me into an embrace. Surprised by the sudden contact, I reflexively tried to push him away, but then I relaxed and leaned my face against his shoulder. Jerome’s skin scent drifted into my nose. Only then did the melancholy that had weighed on me all day begin to soften.

Suddenly, I worried that Jerome might be cold in his loungewear. I slowly lifted my head and nudged him away slightly. Jerome gave an awkward smile and stepped aside so I could get out. I quickly got out of the car, took the jumper I had left in the backseat, and wrapped it around Jerome’s body.

“Are you worrying about me?”

“…You looked cold.”

“Let’s go inside.”

Jerome grabbed my wrist and crossed the yard. He didn’t let go of my wrist until he sat me down on the sofa. My heart fluttered at the warmth rising steadily from his touch on my wrist. After sitting me on the sofa, he went into the kitchen and brought out steaming tea and cold water. Yellow citron chunks floated in the transparent teacup. I gulped down the cold water first.

“Did you drink a lot?”

“…A little.”

“Drink some tea first.”