A Scorching Day Chapter 41

“…Huh?”

This time, Ki Joon’s eyes went wide. He had taken Gawon home many times before, but he had never once opened the door wide, for fear that the shabby interior of the house might be seen. He had always rushed to send Ki Joon off in front of the house as if shooing him away, so it was hardly surprising.

“I’ll tell you in advance… my house is really old and a mess. But right now, there’s nowhere else to go.”

“I don’t care about that kind of thing.”

Ki Joon was all smiles, as if he were being taken somewhere wonderful. Judging by his expression alone, he looked like a child going on a picnic.

“By the way, Ki Joon. Weren’t you supposed to come yesterday evening? What happened?”

While waiting for a taxi, Gawon asked what he had been wondering all along.

“Ah. The training ended earlier than scheduled.”

“…I see.”

“The hyungs suggested we grab lunch together before heading back, but I missed you so much I couldn’t stand it. So I came running over, and if I hadn’t, it would’ve been a disaster, wouldn’t it?”

Gawon dropped his head with a heavy expression. If you had just stayed there and had lunch with the hyungs, you wouldn’t have gotten caught up in this ugly mess. You came back to school early because of me, for nothing…

A taxi arrived shortly. Gawon opened the back door and climbed in first, then froze.

“Ki Joon. You…”

Something was wrong with the way Ki Joon was sitting. He couldn’t keep his upper body straight, nor could he rest his hips comfortably against the seat. Watching Ki Joon fidget and change positions awkwardly, sweating profusely, Gawon was at a loss for words.

“…Just how much… how much did you get hit?”

“Just a little— ha, shit. This is so uncool, really.”

Even as he smelled the blood scent coming through clearly from earlier, Gawon had hoped he was mistaken. But Ki Joon smoothed the back of his head and gave an awkward smile.

Something seemed to surge and overflow inside his chest. Gawon bit his lower lip hard and grabbed Ki Joon’s arm.

“If it’s hard to sit, lie down on your stomach for the ride. Take off your shoes… like this.”

It was practically impossible to stretch his tall frame across the entire back seat. Gawon pulled Ki Joon’s wrist and made him lay his upper body across his knees. Ki Joon blinked but awkwardly lay down as Gawon told him to.

“Ah… this is nice.”

Lying face down on Gawon’s lap, Ki Joon murmured. The low voice resonated through Gawon’s body where they touched. The heart pressed against his thigh was pounding hard and fast, like a drum.

“…Stay still.”

Gawon chided him, tapping Ki Joon’s head. Every time his sharp nose brushed against his thigh and warm breath reached it, his leg twitched with ticklishness. Whether oblivious to his feelings or aware and playing along, Ki Joon took a deep breath against his thigh and slowly rubbed his face against it.

“It’s so good, what can I do?”

Ki Joon turned his face, which had been buried in his knee, to meet Gawon’s eyes, and grinned.

“What’s so good about being in this state…”

Even as Gawon scolded him, Ki Joon pretended not to hear and turned his head back. Then he kept rubbing his face like a puppy.

Beneath the neatly swept-up hair, the thick line of his neck was fully exposed. Through the thin T-shirt, his strong, broad shoulder blades moved slowly.

With nowhere to put his hands, Gawon’s arms ached from the awkward posture. After a moment’s hesitation, he placed his hand on Ki Joon’s back. Instantly, Ki Joon’s playful movements stopped.

“…”

The silence that boy created was filled with sincerity. Just from Gawon’s fingertip touching him, Ki Joon’s heart raced this fast. So much so that he forgot to breathe.

“Breathe, you idiot.”

Gawon murmured softly, patting his back. At the gentle, soothing touch, his chest, which had swelled so greatly, finally let out the air and flattened. And yet, Ki Joon’s heart, still pounding against Gawon’s thigh like a pair of drumsticks, showed no sign of calming down.

His palm grew warm. Feeling the astonishingly powerful pulse clearly, Gawon quietly closed his eyes.

Right now, Ki Joon was beside him. Holding such warm body heat. That fact soothed Gawon’s heart, which felt as if it might burst at any moment.

“We’ve arrived.”

The taxi stopped in front of a familiar alley. The darkness that had covered the alley had receded, and dawn was breaking pale and gray.

Gawon helped Ki Joon out of the car. He smiled bravely, saying he was fine, but he couldn’t hide his limping gait.

Stopping in front of the door, Gawon hung his head. He had brought Ki Joon here with bravado, but now that it came to showing the inside of the house, he hesitated. He pursed his lips several times before finally speaking.

“Ki Joon. Our house really is a mess… so you might be uncomfortable. But…”

“Again, again. I told you I don’t care about that stuff, didn’t I?”

A cheerful voice cut Gawon off. Ki Joon suddenly reached out and cupped Gawon’s cheeks with both hands.

“I just need to be with you, Gawon.”

“…”

“That alone is enough.”

The corners of his mouth were stretched wide, but Ki Joon’s eyes were serious. Each word of sincerity, conveyed clearly and steadily, pierced deep into Gawon’s heart.

After bowing his head for a moment, Gawon nodded. He inserted the key and turned it; the old hinges let out a loud creak. As he opened the door, a musty smell of mildew rushed out.

“…Come in.”

He led Ki Joon inside. In the shoe cabinet were a few of his mother’s flashy high heels and one pair of Gawon’s worn-out sneakers. Ki Joon neatly placed his own shoes beside them. Gawon pointed to the bedding spread out on the floor of the room.

“Over there… just lie down on your stomach for now. I’ll get the first-aid kit.”

“Okay, okay.”

Because there were many occasions to treat his mother, most emergency supplies were stocked. After washing his hands first, Gawon plopped down beside Ki Joon, who was lying stretched out on his stomach.

“Take off your pants.”

He gave the order casually and bowed his head, carefully applying ointment to the tip of a cotton swab. But when he looked up, what he saw was not Ki Joon’s wound, but a flustered face.

“What are you doing? I said take them off.”

“Wait. Just wait.”

Huff, huff… Ki Joon suddenly took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Then he began muttering something to himself. It sounded vaguely like the lyrics of the national anthem, but the way he recited it, not as a song but as if it were some sort of sutra, was absurd.

“What are you doing? All of a sudden? Hurry up and pull your pants down!”

…But, the national anthem? Something felt off. Surely this bastard isn’t…. Gawon deliberately glared at Ki Joon with a cold expression.

“I’m not treating you if you don’t.”

“Ah, no. I was wrong. I’m sorry, Gawon.”

Despite his groveling apology—for what exactly, Gawon had no idea—a snort of laughter escaped him this time. Even as Gawon urged him to just take the clothes off already, Ki Joon hesitated and couldn’t easily lower his pants. There seemed to be some other reason.

Gawon folded his arms and tilted his head crookedly.

“What is it this time?”

“Well, you know, Gawon. It’s just… just let me do it at home, and…”

“Then do you want to go home right now?”

“No…”

When Gawon asked with a blank expression, Ki Joon hurriedly shook his head. Even as he gripped the waistband of his training pants, he moved sluggishly, clearly reluctant. His vein-lined hands slowly pulled the pants down. And then.

“…”

Gawon’s gaze wavered terribly.

The cotton swab with ointment dropped limply to the floor.

In truth, from the moment Ki Joon limped, and from the moment he smelled the thick scent of blood, Gawon had mentally prepared himself to some degree. Even so, his heart sank all the way down.

The thighs exposed beneath the briefs were covered in scars without a single intact spot. Wounds barely held together by scabs looked like the traces of black snakes crawling across his skin.

The parts that weren’t even split open were covered in bluish or purple bruises. Just looking at them made his brow furrow and his knees grow weak; Ki Joon’s injuries were extremely serious.

His fingers trembled, and his chest ached with despair. Unable to bear looking at the scars any longer, Gawon bowed his head.

He couldn’t understand why everyone treated Ki Joon so brutally. Those bastards back then, and this boy’s father, too. If left alone, he was such a kind and gentle kid. Why was everyone so desperate to tear him apart? How could they do this to a person, and no matter what, he was still his own son…

“Gawon.”

“…”

A cautious voice called him. Gawon didn’t answer, instead biting his lip.

“…Yoon Gawon. Are you crying?”

At the sound of a wet breath, Ki Joon, who had been lying down, sprang up. Then he hurriedly grabbed Gawon’s hand.

“Let go.”

“Gawon. I’m fine, really.”

Quickly pulling his clothes back on, Ki Joon hurriedly soothed and coaxed Gawon, looking flustered. He leaned in close to Gawon, who stubbornly kept his head down, and tried hard to appease him. Seeing Ki Joon like that only made Gawon angrier. Fine? What exactly was fine?

“I’m really fine, Gawon. Don’t cry, okay?”

“…”

“I’m tough. And these kinds of wounds heal fast. It’s not like any bones are broken.”

“You’re really…!”

The anger that had been tightly compressed inside him burst out violently. He was so furious he couldn’t stand it.

At Heo Yeonggyu, that piece of human trash. At the senior bastards who ganged up on him and beat him. At Ki Joon’s father, who beat him like this. And at Ki Joon himself, that stupid idiot who, even after being beaten so badly, only told him he was fine.

“So why. Why did you get involved in my business? Why did you get involved and end up like this…!”

No, the real problem wasn’t actually them. The person he was most angry at was himself. Because of him, this kid had ended up in this state. Because of him, who didn’t even have the strength to properly resist a human scumbag like Heo Yeonggyu. Because he had dragged Ki Joon into this kind of shitty situation.

“Why… why did you let things get this bad? Why…”

He should have kept his distance from Ki Joon before it came to this. No, from the very beginning, he shouldn’t have gotten close to him. If Ki Joon hadn’t been with him, he never would have ended up in this state….

Tears streamed down his face. Even though it wasn’t Ki Joon’s fault to blame, he hated himself for lashing out at Ki Joon with sharp, thorny words. Would Ki Joon still like him after seeing this selfish, pathetic side of him? After hearing words like these, he surely wouldn’t be able to say, like earlier, that just having him was enough…

“Gawon.”

A low voice filled the room.

“Gawon, look at me. Okay?”

A large hand reached out, but Gawon pushed it away. He stubbornly kept his head down. He didn’t want to show a crying face like this.

“Do you remember what you asked me last time?”

“…”

“You asked me why I work out.”

Ki Joon didn’t suddenly ask why he was crying, nor did he argue that this whole situation wasn’t Gawon’s fault. Instead, he abruptly brought up something completely unrelated.