ATGRA 26

The aftermath of Riritang, which I had thought was no big deal, exploded a few days later. Baek Wonhee, while expanding his own business, decided to screw me over. Anyway, a man with no class…….

Baek Wonhee appeared on the broadcast I had previously been on, for the purpose of promoting Riritang. It was the same show hosted by that PD bastard whom I had blocked because he kept contacting me.

Well, that much is fine. He must have thought he needed to strike while the iron was hot. Since television advertising regulations for pharmaceuticals are legally strict, he would have had to find another breakthrough.

But, what he said on screen was a spectacle.

—It is actually difficult to change one’s secondary gender with herbal medicine.

Instead of using the limited time for his own PR, he was grinding his teeth to ruin someone else’s business.

Baek Wonhee continued speaking with a slick face.

—Something like, secondary gender transformation, is different from a simple metabolism problem where you lose weight when you don’t eat and gain it when you do, so I can’t give you a clear answer, but I don’t know what long-term side effects might appear…….

I must control my anger. If I have a lot of anger, the angers will stick together and become inflammation. Anger builds up in the body and becomes toxins. I must maintain my composure…… no, but that bastard started it!

Since I was staying quiet, that guy personally stepped up to stir up trouble. How pathetic, Baek Wonhee! How white, pathetic Wonhee!

I stopped watching the program rerun and shot up from my seat. I was so furious that my head spun. What the hell is his problem, why does he hate me so much?

“I should have broken his front teeth, not his molars.”

Nam Jungyoon ground his teeth behind me in my stead. At this rate, Nam Jungyoon was going to get implants before Baek Wonhee.

“You’re going to get a red line on your family register if you can’t reach a settlement.”

“My family register will be fancy, that’s nice.”

“There’s nothing you won’t say, really.”

Is our clinic full of only combative oriental medicine doctors? I calmly collected myself. In fact, I was not calm at all, but what could I do about it now?

I just have to work harder. Then one day, the world will recognize me. The fact that he is wrong and I am right.

*

Jung Pureum, who was already acting recklessly, started visiting the clinic every other day after the Riritang ad came out.

However, I simply did not have the time to pay him any attention. To be precise, I had the time, but not the extra emotional capacity or leisure.

My enthusiasm to work hard was good, but life does not always go as planned. It is not like I could block people’s ad viewership or online reactions one by one.

Since he frequented the clinic like it was his own home, Jung Pureum also quickly noticed that the atmosphere of the clinic had changed in a few days. The lobby, which had always been bustling with waiting patients, had become noticeably quiet.

Even before, there were many who were jealous and envious of our clinic and spread all sorts of slander. As is usually the case with keyboard warriors, it was all just a few words written on the internet without any evidence, and then they would go quiet.

However, Baek Wonhee was more effective and influential than a keyboard warrior. Even though the persuasive power of television had decreased compared to the past, the effect of the broadcast could not be completely ignored.

“……Hyung, you’re out here again today.”

“Yeah. Because there are no more scheduled patients.”

There is nothing to hide. The fact that the patients have disappeared is not something that can be hidden. Still, it was not like it was completely deserted like in the early days of opening. It just stopped at a point where the expansion construction felt like a waste.

“Why are you so wary of me?”

The kid who had not been wary of me at all even after we slept together was now gauging my mood like a guilty dog. It was true that I was in a bad mood because of Baek Wonhee, but I thought I had not shown it that much.

“I was wondering if it’s okay to be a nuisance.”

“You’ve already been a complete nuisance.”

“……Am I, a nuisance?”

“No.”

Before the Riritang incident, you were almost a little bit of a nuisance. It was to the point where I could not focus on my work because of Jung Pureum. But now that a bigger problem called Riritang had emerged, Jung Pureum felt okay.

Since such unexpected incidents and accidents occur so frequently in life, I guess you can have an accident with the dongsaeng from next door as you live. I think I have been taking it too seriously all this time.

“Then…… if you have time today, would you like to go for a change of pace with me?”

But still, it was a little awkward to be alone with Jung Pureum. It was not like it had been years since he and I had slept in the same bed and woken up; it had only been a few weeks.

Jung Pureum seemed to be fine with it, like kids these days, but I was not. To act as if nothing happened after getting it on like animals with the dongsaeng from next door was absurd by my ethical standards.

Still, seeing him trying so hard to cheer me up while checking on my condition, I could not bring myself to say a firm no.

“A change of pace?”

“Yes.”

“Where are you thinking of going?”

“I’ll take you to a good place.”

As soon as it seemed like I would give a positive answer, the kid who had been timidly gauging my reaction strode closer to me. Where is this good place? He also has a tendency to be vague with his words.

“What do you mean, take me, you don’t even have a car.”

“I got my license, though.”

“Forget it, I’ll drive, so just tell me the destination.”

“Let’s, let’s go to Incheon.”

“Incheon?”

“There’s a place there with a beautiful night sea.”

His whispering voice, saying let’s go for a change of pace, sounded like the devil’s temptation. He just got into college and he’s already thinking about going out to play. He has gotten so spoiled.

I thought about scolding him, asking what kind of sea he was talking about at night during a time when he should be busy with training, but seeing the eyes looking at me full of expectation, the word ‘no’ would not come out.

I reluctantly nodded my head.

“Since I’m the one driving, think of it as a week’s worth of dates all at once.”

“Should I buy a car too?”

“What is a twenty-year-old going to do with a car?”

When I tapped his forehead with the pen I was holding, Jung Pureum laughed without a care in the world.

Seeing that smiling face strangely lifted my mood. I’m in trouble, I have a weak spot for handsome faces.

There were numerous twists and turns on the way to Incheon. Because it had only been a few months since I had my driving lessons.

I had gotten my license a long time ago, but the university parking lot was small, so I usually rode a bicycle or took the shuttle. My house and school were not far, and my workplace was also close to home, so I had not had a reason to drive until now.

In that sense, I took a ‘slight’ wrong turn and almost ended up in Busan instead of Incheon. My heart pounded every time the navigation system screamed that I had deviated from the route. I know I’m off the route, so be quiet!

Jung Pureum, as if he was not worried at all about me being behind the wheel, sat in the passenger seat and spouted nonsense about Busan being nice too. He said he was fine even if it was a one-night, two-day trip instead of a day trip. Of course he would be fine. If tomorrow were not a weekday, that is.

Unfortunately, neither Jung Pureum nor I had free schedules. Jung Pureum had to go to training, and I had to go to the clinic. Although I would have some more leeway than before since the number of patients had decreased a little.

Thinking about the clinic made my mood sink a little. It was not that I was depressed, but that I was pissed off. People, to believe the words of Baek Wonhee, who has no credibility whatsoever. Modern people who are deceived by yellow journalism must wake up.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Huh?”

“Because you were frowning again.”

Jung Pureum caught my expression like a ghost. It must have been hard to see since it was getting dark, but he noticed it with amazing accuracy. It was clear that good eyesight was also part of a swimmer’s physical condition.

“Just, thinking about the clinic.”

Saying I was not thinking about anything seemed too much like a lie even to myself, so I just answered honestly.

It is not like Jung Pureum could solve anything by me telling him this, but he was a pretty good listener. He had also quietly listened to my troubles sometimes when I was a college student.

“When I was in high school, I thought all I had to do was get into college, and when I was in college, I thought it would all be over once I graduated. Before opening the clinic, I thought it would be a smooth road once I opened it.”

“……”

“No matter how hard I work at something, I guess I hate the feeling of being blocked by a wall.”

It would be hard for any human to like this feeling. Unless you are a complete psycho, you would not be able to joyfully accept the fact that there is no reward for your efforts.

Only after I had blurted it all out did I feel a bit embarrassed. I had been insanely embarrassed before after saying all sorts of things to this kid. Humans really do repeat the same mistakes endlessly.

As I pretended not to know and just stared ahead, Jung Pureum was also quiet for a long time.

“I wish I were older than you, hyung.”

The words that followed that silence were so out of the blue that I almost had a fender bender with the car in front of me. Phew, thank goodness. The brakes worked properly. I almost hit the accelerator for a moment.

“So that whenever you feel that way, hyung, I could be someone who could help you very easily and simply.”

My heart trembled a little too much because I had almost caused a fender bender. I felt a cold sweat run down my back. Since a car insurance premium hike was just around the corner, it was no surprise that my body tensed up.

I was not surprised because Jung Pureum suddenly said something like a confession, but because I was startled from almost causing an accident.

I calmed myself down. It’s okay, for someone who got their driving lessons a few months ago, that was an excellent driving sense.

“I like you being young.”

I glanced at Jung Pureum’s expression out of the corner of my eye. Because I was focused on looking straight ahead, I could not see what kind of face he was making when he said those words.

Our eyes met for a very brief moment. I swallowed dryly for no reason. Is it because I slept with him once? Even in this traffic situation on the road with no sexual tension whatsoever, I felt a strange sense of tension.

I’m annoyed that I seem to be the only one who cares so much. Jung Pureum looks so peaceful. He’s the one who said he wanted to touch me, so why do I have to feel this way? The world is indeed wrong.

“I prefer hearing you call me hyung, rather than me calling someone else hyung.”

At my words, Jung Pureum smiled brightly again. Perhaps because I had only seen his dejected face all this time, his smile felt welcome.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah.”

“I really like you.”

“Ye-eah, I got it.”

I probably would have liked it too if I had a hyung who would personally drive me to Incheon. Well, compared to Jung Pureum, whose presence makes my worries disappear, I probably would have liked him less.