PO 33

“Oh. Woojeong-ssi, you bought a phone? Oh, the latest model.”

“If you got a phone, you should tell me the number.”

An employee in the front seat noticed when Woojeong absentmindedly took out his phone. Woojeong hesitated for a moment, then gave his number to him as he prepared to save it.

Woojeong had never made a call with the phone Han Jaegang gave him. He had no one in particular to call, but it felt like he shouldn’t use it carelessly. He always set the sound to silent, and before going into the house he always hid it deep in his bag.

It was just a phone, but every time he looked at it, every time he felt its weight in his pocket, Han Jaegang always came to mind.

“Now, to mark our Lee Woojeong joining us, let’s all have a drink together.” The employees of the workshop went to a restaurant near the gallery after work. This was the first dinner gathering since Woojeong moved from going to work at the gallery to being stationed at the workshop.

“Parachute. Can you drink?”

“I will just take one glass.”

At the question of Manager Jang, the head of the workshop, who held a soju bottle, Woojeong held out his glass.

“Good. Just take one glass.”

When Woojeong first started coming out to the gallery, people’s gazes were not kind. No one could have been glad about a young employee the director suddenly brought in without any notice.

Manager Jang called Woojeong, who was alone, and took him to a restaurant nearby. After having lunch together and talking about this and that, he gave Woojeong the nickname “Parachute.”

Since he started looking after Woojeong, people’s looks gradually softened. Thanks to that, Woojeong was adapting smoothly to workshop life.

One employee moved plenty of well-grilled meat in front of him and urged him to eat.

“When I heard the director was bringing someone, honestly I imagined a really annoying type. But when I actually saw Woojeong-ssi, it was so different from what I thought that I was kind of thrown off.”

“That is right. He looked so young and nice that I just lost all strength.”

“Woojeong-ssi, eat a lot. If we want to work, stamina is important.”

Woojeong put a piece of meat in his mouth as the employee across from him recommended, then quietly looked around at the people gathered at the table. They were eating and drinking and laughing happily. The way they talked to Woojeong and offered him drinks all looked comfortable.

There was no one who disliked his presence at this gathering. On the contrary, they were busy trying to look after Woojeong. He gradually relaxed in the warm and comfortable atmosphere.

It was thanks to Han Jaegang that Woojeong could be in this place now. The situation was complicated, but after meeting him, Woojeong’s life was slowly changing.

If he had not remembered his interests and asked Yoon Hyunjun separately, then there would not have been the chance to touch what he wanted to do and get along with good people like this.

He also would not have known that his heart could tremble like this when thinking of someone, if not for him.

“Ah, stop drinking so much.”

“I said I am fine.”

“Forget you, Woojeong-ssi, have a drink.”

Woojeong, who watched with a smile as the two people known as an in-company couple bickered, quietly turned on his phone screen. The phone Han Jaegang handed to him was silent again today without a single contact.

The welcome party and dinner wrapped up not too late. Manager Jang pressed several ten-thousand-won bills into Woojeong’s hand and told him to take a taxi.

After people scattered their own ways, Woojeong stood alone by the roadside. He had to hurry home before it got too late, but somehow he could not make his feet move.

Woojeong took the phone he was fiddling with out of his pocket. Han Jaegang had shoved the phone on him without reason, and he never contacted him once.

<I won’t force you as I please. Think about it. And if you ever want to contact me, call me. Whenever that may be, don’t hesitate.>

Would the day really come when he contacted him as those words said? Woojeong sighed as he looked down at the only number saved in the contacts. To Woojeong, Han Jaegang was like a problem with no solution.

When Woojeong was about to put the phone away and finally go home, he sucked in a startled breath.

“Ah…”

Because he pressed wrong, a call went through just like that. Startled, Woojeong pressed the end-call button repeatedly.

For a moment he hoped that because he ended it quickly, it might not have reached the other side, but soon the phone screen lit up as a call came in.

Woojeong only stared at the phone screen without answering or rejecting it. The call rang for a while, then stopped, but soon it came again.

His heart grew restless at the flashing light. The ringtone seemed ready to keep ringing until Woojeong picked up. After long hesitation, Woojeong reluctantly answered.

“…Hello.”

-If you made the call, you should wait until it is answered.

“I pressed wrong, so it called. Just…you don’t need to care.”

-It is my choice to care or not. Where are you. Outside?

“I had a company dinner with the workshop people. I am about to go home now.” Woojeong answered, but Han Jaegang’s voice did not come. Woojeong, who waited quietly, opened his mouth first thinking maybe the call had ended.

“Hello?”

-…A car will arrive soon, so take that and go.

Woojeong lifted his head and looked around. How did he know where this place was and say he sent a car?

“You don’t even know where I am.”

“If I track the phone location, I can know right away.”

Was it really okay to track location like this? He felt like he should protest, but when he recalled the fact that he was the one who gave this phone, Woojeong kept his mouth closed.

“I can go alone.”

“I know.”

From beyond the phone came the sound of Han Jaegang exhaling. After a brief rustling sound like he was moving from his spot, he spoke again.

“My head was tangled with work, but thanks to your call I feel better. This is repayment, so go.”

Was this really something that deserved even repayment? While Woojeong hesitated about what to say, Han Jaegang called his name.

“Lee Woojeong.”

“…Yes.”

“Go in safely. Rest well.”

With the final farewell, the call ended. Woojeong soon placed the screen-darkened phone carefully into his pocket.

He should have asked if his body was any better. He should have at least thanked him for helping with the workshop work. The words that came to mind belatedly lingered inside his mouth and then disappeared without sound.

‎

‎

When Woojeong finished getting ready for work and was going down the stairs, he stopped. Around the time Woojeong left for work, the living room had always been empty, but now Kang Eonju and Lee Doyoung were sitting there. As if she had been waiting only for him to come down, Kang Eonju spoke to him.

“Are you leaving for work now? Come, sit.”

Woojeong approached the sofa while worrying if he had done something wrong. Whenever she called him like this, his heart always grew restless.

“How is the gallery work?”

Kang Eonju sat Woojeong beside her as he came near and asked. Today, for some reason, she didn’t seem drunk.

“You are buying trouble you do not need to do, so Mother’s heart does not feel good. But it is better in any case to experience a little of society before marriage.”

“…What?”

“Why are you so surprised. Now Woojeong, you must meet a good person.”

Lee Doyoung, who sat with his legs crossed, moved them lightly as he watched the two.

“You cannot live with Mom and Dad forever. After Doyoung marries, the next turn is yours, Woojeong. These days Mother is looking into good matches, so you have nothing to worry about.”

Once before too, Kang Eonju had brought up this talk and introduced some man. Said to be of good character and diligent, who built a business from scratch, he was almost the same age as Woojeong’s father.

When it was said that he even had a history of divorce, Lee Iljun became angry and opposed it, and in the end the matter disappeared.

But now, as she again brought up marriage, Kang Eonju’s face looked as if she had made a decision. She seemed to have completely forgotten the fact that Woojeong was still young.

“Mother, why are you talking like this from the morning? Ah, right. I should give you this.” Lee Doyoung, who had been sitting silently, suddenly interrupted the conversation and picked up the pill bottle placed on the table.

“That day I picked up your medicine from the pheromone center, but I forgot.”

“Thanks, hyung.”

Woojeong received the white pill bottle and opened it. Between the white tablets a few faint sky-blue tablets were mixed in.

“They said to take the sky-blue pills first. On the first day take two. Since there can be side effects when you first change medicine, be careful.”

“Mm.”

“Go to work. You will be late.”

Woojeong picked up the pill bottle and got up from his seat. For some reason, Lee Doyoung followed him all the way to the front door and waved as he saw him off.

“Go well. Take your medicine properly.”

Woojeong, who was worried that the two might change their minds and stop him from going to the gallery, hurried out of the house.

Lee Doyoung stood at the door and watched Woojeong leaving for a long time, then crooked his lips into a smile.

“If he takes two tablets, there should be news right away today.” Kang Eonju, who saw him return to the living room and sprawl on the sofa, asked.

“But if he takes that medicine and something happens with the gallery director, what will you do? If their eyes even meet it will be a complete mess.”

“Don’t worry. Director Yoon is not at the gallery today.” Lee Doyoung gulped down cold water with irritation. These days nothing was working out.

Not long ago, he heard the news that Han Jaegang’s grandmother was admitted to the hospital. With the intent to at least make an appearance, he secretly went there, but he got caught by Han Jaegang without even being able to set foot in the VIP ward.

“We are not in a relationship where you, Lee Doyoung-ssi, can do something like this. Are you mistaken about something?” Han Jaegang revealed his displeasure at the fact that Lee Doyoung visited his grandmother without a word, and he drove him harshly into a corner. Lee Doyoung made excuses in a rush, but he did not listen.

At the sight of Han Jaegang, so angry that it made him afraid, Lee Doyoung couldn’t help but admit the reality he had been trying to avoid.

The current relationship was at a level that was embarrassing to even call lovers. It started from a blind date, but afterwards there was no feeling that anything was progressing.

Contacting each other personally, eating together, mingling with people, those were actions anyone could easily do with friends or acquaintances. At first, Lee Doyoung liked his kindness and courteous attitude, but now that was making him feel more distance.

The current relationship continued precariously only through Lee Doyoung’s one-sided effort, without any exchange of emotions or physical contact.

“How did things end up this tangled? Because of him nothing works out. I feel uneasy that he keeps running into Jaegang-ssi or Yoon Hyunjun while he is at the gallery.”

“That is true.”

“Anyway, Mother. Do not answer calls that come to the house from the afternoon. Mother, don’t also let Woojeong answer calls.”

They should not have allowed Woojeong to roam outside from the beginning. As Woojeong moved around uselessly, unexpected things kept happening, and even matters that should have gone well felt like they were starting to creak.

So the plan was to make Woojeong live quietly again. Woojeong would end up shut in all day once more, in the cramped room at the end of the second-floor hall.

That was the place most fitting for him.