A Scorching Day Chapter 30

Ki Joon walked closely beside Gawon with a flushed face. His steps toward the bus stop felt as light as a feather.

How long he had been waiting for this day. Ki Joon, who wasn’t particularly concerned about exam scores, had waited impatiently for exams to end for one single reason—because he wanted to do this with Yoon Gawon.

‘Just watch a movie… and eat. Drink coffee… things like that, how about that?’

When asked what he wanted to do, Gawon had thought for a long while and answered that way. It was an extremely ordinary, everyday itinerary, but it didn’t matter. As long as he could spend time with Yoon Gawon, anything was fine.

He was excited but also secretly nervous. He felt oddly tense, like a greenhorn who’d never been on a date before. And this version of himself felt very unfamiliar to Ki Joon.

Eating, watching a movie, drinking coffee. All things he’d done before with girls he’d briefly seen. Things that hadn’t been special, things that hadn’t stirred any emotion.

But why was he this excited over this? Enough to lose sleep the night before.

‘Ha… fuck.’

Ki Joon rubbed the back of his neck with his palm. The presence of Yoon Gawon walking beside him was driving him insane.

Just catching the scent of shampoo from this kid’s hair made his heart race as if he’d done hundreds of push-ups. He kept doing this lately.

When he’d only thought about wanting to get closer to Gawon, it was easy. Whether he pushed him away or not, he’d persistently put his arm around him, toss out amusing remarks, and try to make Gawon laugh.

He’d just wanted to see this kid smile. That was all. The goal was simple and clear, so there was no room for unnecessary thoughts to intrude.

But now.

First, his body didn’t feel like his own. The body he’d prided as being as solid as iron would glitch and stutter whenever it touched Yoon Gawon.

His heart racing like crazy every time he saw this kid, his senses standing on end whenever he caught his fragrant scent, his ears feeling like they were melting at the sound of his soft, neat voice.

Cold sweat, then a racing heart, then fire boiling in his chest, then tingling electricity in his skin… Ki Joon had never known that his own body could produce such a wide range of reactions.

The one clear goal had faded away. Seeing Yoon Gawon’s smiling face—Ki Joon could no longer be satisfied with just that. The emotions that surged every time he saw that kid stirred up a greed within him, as large as a house, that he hadn’t even known he possessed.

He wanted to see Yoon Gawon smile. And he wanted the reason for that smile to be him. He wanted Yoon Gawon to agonize over and mull over their relationship too. He wanted this kid to feel even a fraction of the confusing emotions he felt. Sometimes feeling frustrated, but still wanting to know more about the person named Ki Joon.

Like him, who found comfort just thinking of Gawon in the empty nights with no one around, he wished Gawon would do the same. Like him, who thought of none other than Yoon Gawon on lonely, sleepless dawns, he wished that kid would toss and turn thinking of none other than him on such nights…

This emotion that had taken a different course in his heart—what name should he give it?

Ki Joon didn’t know what to do. It was like being thrown into a vast ocean without knowing how to swim. He didn’t even know the name of this sea properly. All Ki Joon could do was thrash his limbs with all his might and move forward.

“What are you thinking about?”

Ki Joon involuntarily took a sharp breath. The small, pale face looking up at him took his breath away.

So, it’s that look in your eyes that breaks me down…

“…Nothing. I just hope we have fun today. It’ll be hard to play like this again for a while.”

“What do you mean. It’s not like today’s the last time.”

Pfft, Yoon Gawon’s eyes curved beautifully as he let out a faint laugh.

“We can hang out again next time. After your competition’s over.”

Saying that, the way he casually averted his gaze was unbearably nonchalant. Yet at those words that so naturally promised a next time, Ki Joon’s heart fluttered helplessly again. He would find himself counting down the days to that unknown date, day by day.

“Good. That’s great. So you just asked me out on a date, right?”

“Hey. I told you not to use that word…”

To hide his agitation, Ki Joon deliberately whispered those words into Gawon’s ear. The sight of him blushing instantly and landing a punch on his shoulder was exactly like Sunny throwing a little paw punch… no, Munsik.

He was still associating Yoon Gawon with a cat. Ki Joon chuckled and pictured his cat sleeping peacefully at home.

He didn’t know how many times he’d apologized to Munsik for changing the name he’d used for years. He could have just changed the name temporarily whenever Gawon came over, but after much deliberation, he’d decided to change it completely. Just in case he accidentally said the old name in front of Gawon.

Because he’d seen how much it hurt Gawon. He didn’t want to hurt that kid anymore, who would flinch in pain as if pricked by a nail and well up with tears just at the mention of that name.

‘Sorry, I’m really sorry. But the person I like gets really hurt when he hears that name, so. Munsik, can you understand that for me?’

Muttering that as he stroked Munsik’s fur, Ki Joon suddenly stopped speaking. An unexpected realization approached and struck his head.

I like Yoon Gawon more than I thought I did.

Until now, the only one he could truly call family was Sunny. To the point where he’d changed even Sunny’s name without hesitation.

“Ki Joon, the bus is here.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

The sound of the transit card beeping rang out cheerfully. Luckily, a two-seater was available, so they sat there together. He’d almost habitually called a taxi, but ended up taking the bus because of Gawon’s nagging about wasting money unnecessarily. Come to think of it, this was the first time they’d ridden the bus together.

A few kids on the bus greeted them. Ki Joon acknowledged them appropriately and immediately turned his head toward Gawon. It took about 15 minutes by bus to get to the downtown area packed with movie theaters and restaurants.

His body swayed pleasantly. Warmth radiated through their touching thighs. His own large, angular knees and Yoon Gawon’s round, soft knees. Staring at them, his chest tingled. A novel sense of fullness and a piercing thirst rose simultaneously, feelings he’d never experienced before.

His gaze, fixed on their touching thighs, slowly rose upward. Ki Joon secretly stole glances at Yoon Gawon’s face as he looked out the window. The line falling from his eyes to his nose, and from his lips to his chin, was as neat as a painting. The urge to reach out and touch it welled up inside him.

The noisy chatter of the other kids flowed past his ears like background noise. It felt as if time had stopped for just him and Yoon Gawon inside the bus. Just moments ago, he’d been excited to get off quickly and play with this kid, but now he also felt that staying like this would be just fine.

∞ ∞ ∞

Gawon stopped in front of the family restaurant building with an awkward expression.

Last night, when Ki Joon had asked what food he wanted to eat, he’d vaguely answered, ‘Anything’s fine.’ The problem was that when Ki Joon, in an excited tone, asked if he could decide for himself, he’d said yes.

“Um, Ki Joon. I’m sorry, since you went to all the trouble of choosing this place, but… these kinds of places… are a bit overwhelming for me.”

Gawon said in a shrinking voice and bowed his head. His pride, which had fallen to the ground, was crumpled pathetically, but there was nothing he could do. This wasn’t something that could be solved with bravado.

He had even opened the box where he’d been saving up money little by little in preparation for today’s outing. He’d mustered up his courage and taken out about 40,000 won, but a place like this was beyond his means. He’d never been to one before so he didn’t know for sure, but he knew that each menu item cost over 20,000 or 30,000 won.

But Ki Joon looked rather puzzled instead.

“Ah. Didn’t I tell you? You said you’d come to watch my competition. There’s a custom of treating the person who comes to watch beforehand.”

“Why…?”

Gawon asked in a doubtful, uncertain tone. But Ki Joon just shrugged as if to say, what a silly question.

“What do you mean why. The person who comes cheers for me, wipes my sweat… gives me water, so I treat them in advance to show my gratitude.”

“Ah.”

“It’s not just me. Everyone at the gym does that.”

“Still, it’s too expensive…”

“It’s fine. Being stingy at a place like this brings bad luck. You know how important superstitions are for athletes.”

Was it really true? Wasn’t he just saying that to make him feel at ease? Gawon still looked at Ki Joon with skeptical eyes, but with him saying that much, he had no further argument.

Ki Joon said their reservation time was approaching and smoothly led Gawon into the restaurant. He said “Two people” to the staff member who came to guide them, looking very much at home in such places.

Gawon discreetly looked around as he followed Ki Joon and the staff member. The casually yet exotically decorated interior felt just like a restaurant from a Western movie. True to the restaurant’s name, which involved steak, posters with large steaks were stuck here and there on the walls. When they sat down at the guided table, a menu was placed before them.

“What do you want to eat? Gawon-ah.”

“I’ll just have anything… order whatever you like.”

“Really? Then I’ll order a variety.”

Ki Joon flipped through the menu and placed his order naturally. As befitting his words about ordering a variety, his movements were smooth as he selected one item from each category without missing any.

The staff member stepped away, leaving just the two of them. The restaurant was generally dim, but the lighting at each table made it feel all the more secretive and cozy.

Perplexingly, Ki Joon’s earlier talk about a “date” suddenly came to mind. For some reason, looking at his face felt shy.

His lost gaze naturally moved to the large hand on the table. The thick wrist, the knobby, angular fist, the back of the hand embroidered with small scars. The shape was long and pretty, but it was closer to rough and wild than delicate. An athlete’s hand.

Gawon’s gaze stopped on the rosary bracelet wrapped around his wrist.