Hit by a Pitched Ball Chapter 2

Taebeom’s eyes widened, then curved gently. The embarrassment resting on his face—which seemed to have absorbed all the yellowish lighting by itself—was immensely intriguing. It had been that way since the first time he saw him, but there was definitely something that captured one’s attention. Taebeom looked at the corner of Yunjae’s eyes, where displeasure briefly flickered, and laughed to himself. Should I try talking to him… As he was thinking that, Mingu cut in.

“You’re not going too hard from the start, are you?”

“What do you mean by going hard?”

Taebeom answered nonchalantly, as if accustomed to praise. His eyes followed Yunjae as he nodded half-heartedly. He picked up the cup with its fizzing carbonation.

Yunjae, who had been wetting his lips with beer while constantly feeling the gaze, raised his head again. His eyes met Taebeom’s, who was seated diagonally across from him. Yunjae’s brow furrowed slightly. If he wasn’t mistaken, this was already the third time.

“…”

He wanted to misunderstand, but at this rate, it really seemed as if Taebeom had been looking at him the entire time. Yunjae’s gaze shifted to Mingu, seated beside Taebeom. He had a dangerous feeling that it couldn’t be, but he couldn’t make any gesture.

Everyone attending today knew he was gay. Yunjae knew that his own fussiness was like scratching a non-itch until it became a sore. And what if it was a misunderstanding? That would be the worst. Somewhat hesitant, Yunjae eventually averted his gaze as if he hadn’t noticed.

Then he snapped to attention when his knee touched Ha Taebeom’s. Without even realizing when he’d moved, Ha Taebeom was now seated across from him. Taebeom spoke to him without any reserve. Given the atmosphere, he couldn’t pretend not to notice. Yunjae responded awkwardly a few times and played along appropriately. He only gave bored replies. Usually, people would eventually move away because it wasn’t fun.

“I really hate you, don’t I? Surely not?”

But Ha Taebeom was different. Using the remark about hating him as a pretext, he kept trying to strike up conversation. Yunjae tried to ignore the sidelong glances and pretended to be calm, awkwardly pulling up the corners of his mouth.

“No. I was just saying that. Are you drunk?”

“I haven’t had any alcohol? Oh, I’m hurt—I’m just trying to make a living too.”

What was there to be hurt about between people meeting for the first time? Anyway, aside from him, fans who cheered him on filled Jamsil Stadium and then some. Yunjae wanted to blurt out everything in his head, but he just smiled.

“Then just do moderately well.”

He answered jokingly. At Yunjae’s words, Taebeom laughed with a look of freshness. Even though the words were meant to cut the conversation short, Taebeom seemed to enjoy it and kept talking to him.

The stifling feeling didn’t fade. The constant gaze was uncomfortable. In the end, Yunjae raised the white flag. Making an appropriate excuse, he slipped away. He escaped while Taebeom was briefly away from his seat. Just then, he ran into Hyeongju, who was coming back from the convenience store with ice cream. Hyeongju handed him one, which he gladly accepted and immediately unwrapped.

Yunjae leaned his shoulder against the alley wall and put the ice cream in his mouth. Fatigue settled around his eyes. He wasn’t particularly weak to alcohol, but because he’d drunk hastily in an uncomfortable setting, his cheeks were flushed. The ice cream had a sharp, tangy taste.

He whiled away the time, blankly twirling the ice cream he was holding in the air. As he cleared his mind, today’s baseball game came to mind. The Buffaloes were on a losing streak. Damn it. He hadn’t meant to dwell on it. It wasn’t even a game worth that.

Of all things, why did he have to run into Ha Taebeom? Yunjae recalled yesterday’s disastrous game and cursed first.

It was a game that could only be described as having utterly demolished them—a massacre. He didn’t want to badmouth another team’s precious player, but this was too much even by too much standards. Couldn’t he tone it down just a little?

So you’re doing well and feeling at ease, is that it? Drinking in the middle of the season? Yunjae scoffed in frustration. Then he took a bite of the ice cream he’d been idly twirling. That was when he saw it—a large silhouette peeking its head into the alley entrance.

Yunjae’s body froze. It was none other than Ha Taebeom, looking around before heading this way. He approached with leisurely steps, hands shoved in his pockets.

“Oh, I thought you’d run away.”

At his playful tone, Yunjae’s brow furrowed slightly. What do you know. He almost slipped up. He bit off only the part in his mouth and pulled the ice cream away.

“Cigarette?”

“No.”

“Thank goodness.”

What is? Yunjae straightened up, lifting his shoulder from the wall, but Taebeom stepped forward and blocked his path. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen him in person, but it was the first time seeing him not in uniform. His broad shoulders were strikingly noticeable.

Sensing he couldn’t maintain a poker face, Yunjae quickly turned his head away.

“Ah. I don’t smoke either. I meant it’s fortunate I can start a conversation with something else.”

Taebeom let out a small chuckle and leaned his back against the wall. Yunjae looked up at him with a face tinged with embarrassment, sensing he wouldn’t easily step aside. Taebeom looked at Yunjae’s hand with amused eyes.

“Is that good?”

Yunjae kept his mouth shut, only blinking his wide eyes slowly.

“Is it because I’m just unlucky that you won’t even answer me?”

“No, it’s not… that. It’s good.”

At the playful, slightly hurt tone as he shrugged, Yunjae answered flusteredly. A belated sigh, half a beat off, escaped awkwardly. Right, I did say that earlier. His face suddenly burned hot.

“I… didn’t mean it badly. It was a joke.”

“You said you’re a Buffaloes fan. Even if it wasn’t a joke, I’d understand.”

His face was calm, as if he hadn’t been affected at all by the answer. It was probably a goodwill gesture to lighten the mood, but Yunjae felt a slight surge of emotion. What do you understand. I can’t.

“Huh? It’s melting?”

It was just as the infuriating game details were about to cloud his mind. Out of nowhere, Taebeom grabbed Yunjae’s wrist and abruptly leaned his upper body forward. Yunjae’s shoulder flinched and jerked upward. As he felt the calloused hand against the skin of his inner wrist, the back of his neck tingled. His lips hovered perilously close to his thumb. Taebeom bit off a large chunk from the bottom of the ice cream where the stick protruded and raised his head.

He slowly licked the ice cream from the corner of his mouth with his tongue. Glancing at Yunjae, who stood frozen like a statue, he pushed the wrist he was holding and brought it up to Yunjae’s face. As a result, the ice cream touched his lips.

“At this rate, I’ll eat it all myself?”

It was a mischievous prank. Yunjae unconsciously hardened his expression. Even knowing that, his heart dropped and his hair stood on end. Yunjae, flustered, hurriedly took a large bite of the ice cream to avoid Taebeom, who seemed like he would actually put his mouth to it. I’ll eat fast and go back inside. No, I’d better just go home.

The curious eyes were starting to feel burdensome.

“Since you already seem to hate me anyway, I’ll just say it.”

As if his premonition had been correct, Taebeom suddenly announced an uncomfortable question in a relaxed tone. Yunjae grew anxious and averted his eyes.

“Wanna go out together?”

Suspicion quickly turned into certainty. In an instant, flames surged before his eyes. His grip on the stick tightened with force.

“No, don’t misunderstand… it’s just that, out front—”

“Did Mingu sunbae tell you?”

He thought that since Ha Taebeom was close with Mingu, he might have heard it. The words flew straight from his mouth without passing through his head. But he had no room to consider that.

“…Huh? What?”

“That I mess around with men. Or was it Hyeongju sunbae? Or if not, surely Geonho sunbae?”

Taebeom, who had been leaning lazily against the wall, straightened up abruptly, his eyes widening. At his visibly surprised reaction, Yunjae closed his lips. Had he been too hasty? He was dumbfounded by the attitude that seemed to indicate total ignorance. This damn victim mentality. Yunjae let out a heavy sigh of dismay.

“You mess around with men?”

“…What?”

“No. Wait, never mind. The hyungs didn’t tell me that. Ah, it wasn’t because of that misunderstanding—I just wanted to get close… Whoa. Intense.”

Taebeom, who had been roughly rubbing his face with his hand, covered his mouth with that same hand and made a startled expression. Yunjae was equally flustered. The suggestion to go out together hadn’t meant that at all. Buried under his prejudice about Ha Taebeom’s loose private life and his own victim mentality, he had ended up inadvertently coming out.