GGAS 37

Seo Taerim was flustered, and in the meantime Kim Abang held the ring high.

“Th-this is actually yours, Taerim-ssi…. I-I just made it so badly! I was embarrassed! I was going to make a new one and give it to you again!”

Kim Abang turned completely red from embarrassment but still shouted. Seo Taerim looked at the ring and Kim Abang with surprised eyes. Kim Abang thought Seo Taerim did not believe him and he became flustered.

“It’s, it’s real. This is really yours, Taerim-ssi. It’s true. There’s even an initial inside….”

When Kim Abang tried to come closer to show the ring, Seo Taerim raised his palm.

“Wait, just wait a moment.”

Seo Taerim quickly covered his mouth with the other hand as he spoke. His neck was slowly turning red.

“So, right now… what Kim Abang-ssi is saying is, Kim Abang-ssi is sa….”

Seo Taerim swallowed and then took a deep breath before speaking again.

“So, Kim Abang-ssi, what you’re saying is, you don’t just like me, but you are sa, sa, sa, sa….”

Seo Taerim stuttered at “sa” and could not move on to the next word. At that moment, the restaurant door opened.

“Gwanggong-ssi, don’t you hear some vibration sound?”

“Well, it’s not my phone. My battery is dead so it couldn’t be ringing….”

Eun Sanho and Kim Gwanggong stopped at the entrance, frozen in confusion. The restaurant was a mess, Seo Taerim was stammering in the middle of it, and Kim Abang was holding up a ring. Eun Sanho and Kim Gwanggong furrowed their brows, each trying their best to make sense of what they were seeing.

But then Seo Taerim’s face suddenly turned bright red from his chin to his forehead, and he rushed out of the restaurant, making the situation even harder to grasp. Only the words Kim Abang shouted as he ran out after Seo Taerim remained behind: “Happy birthday!” That was the only clue that this place was indeed supposed to be Eun Sanho’s birthday party.

“…What in the world just happened?”

Eun Sanho asked Kim Gwanggong.

“…I don’t know either.”

Kim Gwanggong answered.

Seo Taerim ran to the small grassy hill beside the restaurant. On his way he tripped on a stone and fell.

“Ugh….”

“Taerim-ssi!”

Kim Abang ran over in shock.

“Let me see, are you hurt?”

Kim Abang checked Seo Taerim’s knee, palm, and elbow in a panic.

“Your face, your face is okay? Your teeth aren’t broken?”

Kim Abang tried to look at Seo Taerim’s face, but Seo Taerim covered it with one arm and did not show him.

“Wait. I, right now, am too”

“You’re hurt?!”

Kim Abang shouted in alarm and pulled Seo Taerim’s arm away. What came out was a very handsome face that had turned ridiculously, extremely red. He didn’t look hurt.

“…Ah, you’re not injured.”

Kim Abang let go of his arm, a little embarrassed.

“…Yes.”

Seo Taerim answered awkwardly. Kim Abang fidgeted, then turned his back.

“J-just in case, do you want me to carry you on my back…?”

“…My feet would probably drag.”

“Ah….”

Kim Abang realized too late that he hadn’t thought of that.

“T-then. Uh. I’ll just, I’ll go and get the car.”

Kim Abang jumped up and pointed toward the parking lot, fumbling as he tried to come up with a plan. Seo Taerim followed his clumsy hand movements with his eyes, then slowly spoke.

“…Kim Abang-ssi.”

“Ah, you don’t like the car? Then should I hold you? If I hold you like this your feet won’t drag….”

“Kim Abang-ssi.”

Seo Taerim gently grabbed Kim Abang’s restless hand. Kim Abang’s round eyes met Seo Taerim’s pale eyes.

“Is that ring really… mine?”

Seo Taerim asked. His face was calm, but his tone carried a slight trace of nervousness.

“O-of course!”

Kim Abang stared blankly at Seo Taerim’s face as if he was dazed, then flinched and started digging through his pockets. In his hurry he couldn’t find the ring right away, fumbling four times before he finally pulled it out. He placed the ring on Seo Taerim’s palm and folded Seo Taerim’s large four fingers over it with his own small fingers so that Seo Taerim could hold it tightly. Feeling the ring pressing firmly into his palm, Seo Taerim flinched at the sensation, his tear-reddened eyes twitching.

“It’s yours, Taerim-ssi. Really.”

Kim Abang spoke clearly. Seo Taerim looked at Kim Abang’s hand wrapped over his and then lifted his head to meet Kim Abang’s eyes. The big black eyes looked slightly nervous, just like Seo Taerim’s had been earlier.

“…Really?”

Seo Taerim asked. Kim Abang nodded quickly.

“Really. It’s true that I have someone I like, but that person isn’t someone else, it’s you, Taerim-ssi. You’re the only person in the world I want to give a ring to.”

Seo Taerim slowly opened his hand and looked down at the ring.

“Look inside, I even carved your initials, Taerim-ssi. It’s real.”

Kim Abang said. Seo Taerim looked at the inside of the ring.

SRT

“…Might as well donate it to the railway company.”

“Eh…?”

“SRT is a train, and STR is me.”

Seo Taerim spoke bluntly, unable to hide his disappointment.

‘Kim Abang-ssi, this quack. Is my name five letters, or eight letters? It’s only three.’

Seo Taerim held the ring out as if telling him to take a good look. Kim Abang looked at it and gasped in shock.

“Ah, wh-what do I do..!”

When Kim Abang panicked, Seo Taerim’s heart quickly softened.

“…Show me yours too, Kim Abang-ssi. Didn’t you mess that one up as well?”

Seo Taerim pulled Kim Abang’s hand closer as he spoke. Kim Abang hurried to take off his ring. Since the ring was very small, the two of them pressed their heads together to look inside.

ABC

With his face still crusted with dried tears, Seo Taerim glanced at Kim Abang, but not in a hateful way.

“This one’s wrong too. Who in the world do these rings belong to? Did you pick them up off the street? By now some couple must be crying because they lost their rings.”

“N-no they’re not! What do you mean I picked them up! I made them myself!”

“Come on. Since when were your initials ABC, Kim Abang-ssi? This is absurd.”

“A,-absurd…, that’s my line! It’s not Kim Abang, it’s Abang-ssi, isn’t it? Abang-ssi, ABC! You always call me Abang-ssi, don’t you, Taerim-ssi? I liked the way it sounded, so I carved it that way, okay? Really, if you don’t even know… Se….?”

Kim Abang trailed off, only realizing what he was saying after seeing Seo Taerim’s widening eyes.

“S-so….”

Kim Abang grew flustered, unable to continue, and looked at Seo Taerim.

“……..”

“……”

While the two of them could not say anything, the night breeze blew, making their hair flutter.

“Ah….”

Seo Taerim brushed the strands of hair from his eyes with the back of his hand, and Kim Abang suddenly opened his eyes wide and grabbed Seo Taerim’s face.

“A-a wound!”

There was a scratch on Seo Taerim’s forehead. It was not big, and even Seo Taerim himself had not known it was there.

“Huh?”

“There’s a wound here!”

“Ugh… It stings when you press it. Don’t press….”

“Ah, it hurts? How did I not notice this?!”

“It’s dark because it’s night. So, ugh, let’s not press it.”

“What do we do? I don’t have a bandage right now…!”

“It’s fine. It’s just a scratch, isn’t it? By the time I wake up tomorrow there won’t even be a trace.”

When Seo Taerim downplayed it, Kim Abang’s round face scrunched up.

“How can there not be? If you sleep without putting medicine on it, it’ll scar. I don’t understand why you’re so careless, Taerim-ssi. Even when you run, you should pay attention to the situation. How can you just run recklessly in the dark like this….?”

Kim Abang’s small mouth moved nonstop as he nagged, then he blinked. At some point, the corners of Seo Taerim’s mouth had started twitching, and now he completely burst out laughing.

“Hahaha, hahahahaha….”

“…? Wh-why are you laughing?”

“To think I’d hear I’m careless from you, Kim Abang-ssi… Ah, what do I do. I’m really in trouble now.”

Seo Taerim leaned on Kim Abang’s shoulder and laughed for a long time. Only after Kim Abang said, worriedly, Taerim-ssi, you really must be hurt somewhere, did he finally stop laughing. He wiped away the tears that had come from laughing and matched Kim Abang’s gaze.

“No, it’s just… it’s just because my lungs filled with air.”

Seo Taerim spouted nonsense smoothly.

“Your lungs filled with air?”

“Yes. But, could you not get angry and just hug me instead? I’m cold.”

Seo Taerim deliberately furrowed his eyes as he spoke. Then Kim Abang wrapped his short arms tightly around Seo Taerim’s back and continued the nagging he had stopped.

“That’s what happens when you go around dressed so thin. Didn’t I tell you earlier when we left, you’d freeze to death trying to look cool?”

“Mm… you did.”

“Right, so start wearing proper clothes. And about me liking someone else, why did you get such a weird misunderstanding? Friendship rings are everywhere these days. It could’ve been a friendship ring.”

Kim Abang scolded him softly. Seo Taerim was realizing for the first time that being nagged while hugged felt just as good as being hugged itself.

“Taerim-ssi? Are you listening to me?”

“I am. Well, friendship rings… since I don’t have many friends, it didn’t occur to me.”

“Why do you say things like that again?”

Kim Abang spoke, upset. Seo Taerim chuckled and buried his face into Kim Abang’s shoulder.

“I’m joking. If it came down to the number of friends, I could bet with you and win, Kim Abang-ssi.”

Seo Taerim told a white lie.

“Then that’s a relief.”

Fooled by the harmless lie, Kim Abang let out a sigh of relief and nestled against Seo Taerim’s chest. Then he tilted his head.

“But seriously, from the start, who did you think I’d like instead of you, Taerim-ssi?”

“Mm… that friend of yours we saw at the Chinese restaurant?”

“Dohyeon?”

“I think that was the name.”

When Seo Taerim said it, Kim Abang jumped up.

“Me and Dohyeon, what kind of nonsense is that… He’s already married.”

“…If he wasn’t married? Would you still like me?”

“Of course. There’s no one as kind, warm, and fun as you, Taerim-ssi. I like you the most. I’ll eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner only with you.”

Kim Abang spoke firmly. Seo Taerim’s heart pounded pleasantly. His pale eyes, looking down at Kim Abang, were filled with happiness.

“Really? You like me?”

“Of course. Taerim-ssi, you can’t even run, you can’t climb a wall, you have no sense, but you always insist on helping me….”

Kim Abang folded down his fingers one by one, clearly listing Seo Taerim’s good points. Seo Taerim smiled.

“Are you insulting me?”

“W-what are you saying…. I just want you to be a bit more careful. Even now, if I think about when we first met and you broke your forehead, I cry in my sleep.”

When Kim Abang mumbled while biting his lip, Seo Taerim pulled away, brushed aside his hair, and showed his forehead.

“Don’t cry. I’m fine now. There’s no scar.”

“…Then I’ll only cry a little from now on.”

Kim Abang offered a compromise, holding out his finger as if to make a promise. But instead of hooking fingers, Seo Taerim wrapped Kim Abang’s hand in his and shook his head.

“Don’t cry. I don’t want you to cry. I…”

Seo Taerim trailed off at the sudden thought. Then he took a small box from inside his jacket.

“I want… Kim Abang-ssi to smile every single day.”

Seo Taerim opened the box and took out a ring. He took Kim Abang’s right hand, whose eyes had gone wide staring at the ring, and slipped it onto his fourth finger. It fit perfectly. Seo Taerim lifted his head with a faint smile.

“Kim Abang-ssi, I want to make you smile every single day. Will you go out with me?”

Seo Taerim asked. Kim Abang, caught off guard, looked at the ring in surprise, then looked at Seo Taerim. As he slowly understood, his face flushed red, and without realizing it he crinkled his eyes and smiled beautifully.

“Yes!”

Kim Abang shouted as he threw himself into Seo Taerim’s arms. Threw, though in truth it was so strong from joy that Seo Taerim fell backward flat on the ground.

“I’ll go out with you, Taerim-ssi!”

Kim Abang said excitedly. And those were the words Seo Taerim had wanted to hear more than anything in the world. Seo Taerim smiled brightly, his eyes crinkling the same way as Kim Abang’s. Above the two of them, the starlight that was said to be hard to see from the city sparkled beautifully.

***

“The stars are bright tonight~.”

Eun Sanho dragged a chair to the outdoor table and sat down. Inside the party hall was too chaotic to stay in.

“There’ve been plenty of men who cheated on me… but Gwanggong-ssi, you’re the first who used another man’s face to wish me happy birthday like that.”

Eun Sanho spoke as if he was amazed. Kim Gwanggong, who had been switching Eun Sanho’s high-proof wine with a non-alcoholic cocktail, faltered, his hand shaking slightly.

“This… wasn’t me.”

“I know. I know it wasn’t you, Gwanggong-ssi.”

Eun Sanho chuckled and pointed inside.

“But I think it’s pretty nice. Look, everyone there is, um… cheering for Taerim-hyung, aren’t they? Doesn’t it feel like a really positive mood?”

“…Well.”

When Kim Gwanggong furrowed his brows in irritation as he looked at the video message, Eun Sanho’s playful side sparked. These days he had taken to observing Kim Gwanggong’s reactions for fun. Of course, he had been able to distinguish the slight differences between Kim Gwanggong’s blank expressions for a long time, but the more he watched, the clearer Kim Gwanggong’s insides became, almost transparent, making it even more entertaining.

“Hmm, I think… today might be the perfect time for you to say what you were going to tell me, Gwanggong-ssi?”

Eun Sanho spoke casually. Kim Gwanggong stiffened. His face looked indifferent, but it was clear as day he was sweating cold inside.

“…You knew?”

Kim Gwanggong asked. He had originally planned to confess to Eun Sanho today.

“Since you were going to do it anyway, can’t you just do it now?”

Eun Sanho asked, his eyes shining.

“……..”

Kim Gwanggong glanced at the ruined party hall and narrowed his brow slightly.

“…Here, right now?”

Kim Gwanggong said. Eun Sanho bit down on his lip to hold back his laughter. At this point, Kim Gwanggong might as well have written a big “Absolutely Not” across his forehead. With Kim Gwanggong’s overly meticulous personality, confessing in this kind of situation was clearly unacceptable. Eun Sanho smiled and gently pressed his brow flat.

“I’m joking. You don’t have to do it now. Just do it whenever you want, Gwanggong-ssi.”

Eun Sanho said. Kim Gwanggong looked at him, a little puzzled. Under the table, Eun Sanho took his hand and smiled brightly.

“Not just this, but anything.”

Kim Gwanggong looked down at the hand being held and slowly opened his mouth.

“…Even though today was the perfect day for what I planned?”

Eun Sanho tilted his head slightly, falling into thought.

“A perfect day for what you planned…. Hmm….”

He scrunched his nose slightly with suspicion and broke into laughter.

“Have you ever had a successful day? Don’t unexpected things always come up in life? Especially if you lived with Boss Abang….”

When Eun Sanho dragged out his words playfully, Kim Gwanggong laughed.

“Almost never. Almost.”

“Right?”

“Yes. Every day was like a picnic day ruined by a thunderstorm. The chaos was beyond words.”

“Hmm… Then should we run away together right into the middle of the storm? They say the eye of the storm is quiet. We might not be able to escape completely, but we could rest there for a while. What do you think?”

At Eun Sanho’s words about fleeing to peace in the middle of chaos, Kim Gwanggong realized he was already doing exactly that. This moment, holding Eun Sanho’s hand in a restaurant decorated with Seo Taerim’s ID photos, was a complete mess and yet peaceful.

“Perfect.”

Kim Gwanggong smiled brightly and nodded. It felt like this absurd kind of peace would come again tomorrow and the day after.

How Could Gwanggong’s Older Brother Be an Abang-Su?

END