NUTMEG 21

His face looked that bad. Cheon Minje’s small face was soaked. The corners of his eyes and the tip of his nose were red from trying his best to hold back tears. Wonoh stared blankly at that face. I’m the one who got hurt, and I’m the one who’s in pain, so why is this hyung crying? He hated it when people bawled, but strangely, it didn’t feel bad.

“…You’re bleeding again.”

A voice, wet with tears, muttered lowly. At those words, he looked down and saw a vivid red color spreading once more over the tattered dressing bandage.

“When did they say the doctor is coming?”

His reddened eyes could not look away from the wound. “Soon,” Wonoh answered, placing his right hand on the back of the sofa. He sat there with a face so composed that people were more worried about Cheon Minje beside him, but Choi Wonoh was in pain too. The wound was a mess, gaping and throbbing, and on top of that, a headache and fever were starting to spread. Of course, his dominant body would recover from a wound like this in no time, but still.

“Hyung, it hurts.”

Even so, he wanted to say it. He wasn’t very used to complaining or acting childishly to someone, so that one sentence was all he could manage. Wonoh didn’t know why he said it either. It just… felt like it was okay to do so with the man in front of him.

At his words, Cheon Minje didn’t know what to do, and finally, the tears he had been holding back burst out. Wonoh watched his face vacantly. His gaze remained fixed on a single stream of water running down the small face.

This is weird. To think I want to see him cry because of me even more. I’m not some pervert.

Choi Wonoh decided that he had simply taken a liking to the man who was worrying about him.

Minje was confused.

He didn’t know what this feeling was.

Lee Jingi, who was sent tumbling onto the dirty floor by Wonoh’s fist, no longer looked like a reflection of himself just because he was an Omega.

‘If only that bastard disappeared…!’

It was a sentiment not much different from what he’d heard in his past life. The words from his memories, starting with ‘If it weren’t for you,’ tangled chaotically in his ears. He had thought he just had to endure the man’s childish antics and let it pass. He only had to put up with it for a few more months. That naive thought had horribly torn up the back of Wonoh’s hand. It was all his fault. But Wonoh had said it wasn’t.

‘From now on, don’t blame yourself just anywhere. The more you do, the more people will see you as a pushover. You’re not that kind of person.’

Watching the man who threw a punch without batting an eye, he wasn’t scared; on the contrary, he was worried that his wound would open up even more. It was as if a reliable ally who took his side had defeated the enemy for him.

Lee Jingi, crumpled on the floor, overlapped with the many men from his arduous past life. He was Junjun, he was the other Beta members, he was the cafe manager, and he was the leader or Manager Kim. The figures of certain people, their names and faces blurry, overlapped one after another.

His heart kept trembling.

His startled heart was beating fast after pushing Lee Jingi away, but that surely wasn’t the only reason.

The existence of a ‘friend,’ something he had for the first time, made Minje’s heart swell.

“Hyung. It hurts.”

Wonoh, who had been sitting with an indifferent expression, was telling only him that he was in pain. Minje was flustered, not knowing what to do. He wanted to do anything for him. He wanted to help him not be in pain, he wished he could be a comfort, and he wanted to be a source of strength for him just by existing.

But, being clumsy at everything, he couldn’t even offer a single word of support properly. How foolish. He felt like a complete idiot. I wish I could be of some help, too. He wanted to be that kind of friend to him as well.

Holding Wonoh’s right hand, where blood had soaked through the dressing bandage, Minje’s vision blurred.

🍊

“Oh, damn! That was seriously scary! The entertainment industry is seriously no joke, it’s brutal!”

Gwak Pilseung, who had the most brutal-looking face among those seated, shuddered with a flushed face. At his words, the others laughed bitterly. Director Im poured the clear, bitter liquid into his empty soju glass with a gurgling sound and said.

“You came all the way to Paju, Gym Director, only to go back with nothing. I’ll contact you when we set a new filming date next time…”

“Let’s do it tomorrow. I’m fine now.”

Minje’s head whipped around toward the unexpected voice. “Oh, Wonoh!” Pilseung called out to him and quickly scooted his butt further inward to make space.

The faces of those huddled together showed their concern for him, asking things like, “What did the doctor say?” and “Are you okay?” Minje also opened and closed his mouth to say something, but Wonoh was faster, raising his cleanly taped right hand instead of answering. The treatment was sleek and clean, unlike Minje’s clumsy attempt.

“I got stitches, a tetanus shot, and I took anti-inflammatories and painkillers. I asked the Gym Director earlier, and he said it’s a similar spot to where athletes get taped anyway. I think I can keep it on during filming.”

Wonoh, with a completely recovered-looking face, squeezed his upper body into the spot Pilseung had made. Minje thought to himself that it was a relief, and his eyes continued to follow Wonoh’s form.

They were at an outdoor table set up under a makeshift tent at a corner store near the training camp. A cool rain was pouring down behind the tent. The downpour seemed especially fierce, as if the news of an approaching typhoon was true.

Coke was poured into Wonoh’s glass. The coke glass and soju glasses clinked together with a sharp sound.

Clink.

“Agh. Fuck. That bastard, Lee Jingi, I shouldn’t have just given him whatever because I was tired of the investment company whining. Don’t you ever think of the bad feelings you had right before something blows up? Thinking back on it now, it was weird from the moment the investment company became obsessed with him.”

Director Im, who had downed his soju in one go, lamented while chewing on some dried pollack. The assistant director, already tipsy, also let out a sigh.

“Sigh. What’s the point of talking about it now? We’re truly lucky it ended here. The fact that it was Minje’s glove gives me the creeps, too. That crazy bastard.”

“Argh. Let’s talk about something else! Assistant Director, you got any interesting stories?”

“Ghost stories?”

“Not that!”

“But, um. In that case, will some of the actresses be coming to the shoot tomorrow?”

Pilseung, who was fiddling with his soju glass with a flushed face, asked in a shy tone. For a moment, everyone’s attention was on him. He had been excited all morning, saying it was his first time on a film set, and it seemed he had been secretly looking forward to seeing famous actresses. Pilseung’s cheeks turned a pinkish hue. He looked nothing like the person who had turned deathly pale and was even breathing heavily after seeing Wonoh’s blood earlier.

“What to do… If we continue filming the boxing gym scenes tomorrow, it’ll be nothing but a bunch of guys.”

Tsk, Director Im clicked his tongue and scratched the back of his head apologetically. “Oh, it’s alright~.” Pilseung said, waving his hands dismissively, but his face looked quite disappointed. Then, he glanced over at Wonoh beside him and spoke with envy.

“Wonoh, you must be happy you get to see actresses often. Or do you see more girl group members?”

“Well. I do see them often.”

Wonoh just shrugged his shoulders slightly in response. “I’m so jealous~,” Pilseung continued, dragging out his words, seeming quite drunk. The conversation at the table, where only five men sat, quickly jumped to another topic.

“Wonoh, do you know any actresses? Who?”

“No, more importantly, Choi Wonoh, what’s your type? I’m suddenly curious.”

“Yeah, yeah. He’s the type you can’t really picture with anyone.”

Wonoh, blinking his long eyelashes, just smiled, seemingly with no intention of answering the question. But the three men, who were already flushed with drink, wouldn’t let him get away with it. Minje listened quietly. He was pretending not to, but he was secretly curious about the answer.

“Who’s your favorite actress?”

“Ms. Lee Yeonja.”

“Ugh, not like that! Something more interesting!” Director Im said, shaking his shoulders. As the large man shook, the plastic table connected to the chair rattled with him, and Minje had to grip the table tightly. To Director Im’s commotion of “Limited to actresses your age!!,” Wonoh, who had been laughing and saying, “You guys are real drunks…,” generously gave them the answer they wanted.

“Hmm. Ms. Jung Danbi? I enjoyed a movie she was in before.”

“Oh! The nation’s first love!” The atmosphere erupted with a roar. Minje fixed his gaze on Wonoh’s smiling face as he said, “This question is banned from now on,” then lowered his eyes again. It was the name of the female lead from the movie he had watched with Wonoh at the training camp. As he fiddled with his soju glass, the assistant director next to him nudged him in the side.

“Minje, what about Minje??”

“Jung Danbi… is pretty.”

“Oh. Minje likes Jung Danbi too? Well, I guess there aren’t many guys these days who don’t like Jung Danbi. I prefer the charming type over that classic beauty type, though.”

“Assistant Director. Nobody asked you.”

“I was talking to myself.”

Just as they were exchanging idle chatter, a sudden, fierce wind blew rain into the tent. A puddle of water that had collected on the ceiling poured down, and Pilseung and Director Im, who were sitting on the outside, were drenched and screamed. Hearing the cackles of laughter at the sight, Minje belatedly laughed along.

Jung Danbi was also the female lead in the youth drama Wonoh was starring in for his next project. The so-called ‘Mint Choco Kiss Scene’ video, where they kissed while eating ice cream, had surpassed a million views. He could clearly recall what the scene looked like. It was Wonoh’s first kiss scene, quite erotic, where a kiss that started playfully as he held her on his lap gradually deepened.

Jung Danbi, with her face of someone in love, was indeed very pretty. And Choi Wonoh, looking up at her as if she were the most lovable thing. He also remembered that when the drama was at the height of its popularity, dating rumors about the two of them had made it to the main page of portal sites quite a few times.

If she was already an actress he liked, he must have been happy filming that drama. …Did they really date?

Strangely, his mouth felt dry. Minje poured liquor into his empty soju glass and tossed it back. Pilseung, with his flushed face, saw this and was startled.

“Minje! You trying to make me stay single for three years?! You can’t pour your own drink in front of people, man!”

“Ah… really? I didn’t know. Then… would you like to pour your own, Gym Director? I’m fine with being single.”

A small burst of laughter spread across the table at Minje’s off-kilter reply. Pilseung, with his red face, grabbed the green bottle and poured soju into Minje’s glass with a gurgling sound.

“This kid’s a real character. I’m not that bad of a guy, let’s just have a toast.”

Clink, the sound of glass cups colliding was heard, and several more glasses disappeared one after another like water. The energy at the table intensified along with it.

At some point, the conversation had shifted to their pets. A picture of the white puppy Pilseung was raising with much affection and a picture of the lizard the assistant director was raising had made their way around the table. It was then that Wonoh, as if he had just remembered, took out his phone and started showing a picture of a snake. They were the pictures he had sent to Minje.

“This snake kept trying to get inside my clothes.”

“Ooh. I bet that felt weird.”

“I feel sorry for you, Director, for not knowing the beauty of reptiles.”

The regular variety show Wonoh had recently filmed was an exotic pet special, he said. Wonoh, who hadn’t had a single drop of alcohol, blended in with the tipsy people without any sense of disharmony. Minje stared silently at his phone screen.

I thought he had only sent those pictures to me. Of course, that couldn’t be true. There was no way I was the only friend Choi Wonoh had. A few photos and a funny anecdote weren’t my exclusive property, and the fact that he suddenly felt a pang of disappointment was utterly absurd.

Why do I keep getting so petty? He hated this side of himself so much.

“There was this one leopard cat that a guest brought.”

At that moment, Minje’s hand that was on the table was suddenly grabbed. Surprised, he raised his head to see a delighted-looking Wonoh holding his hand.

“It was bigger than a cat and looked scary, but it turned out to be a total lap cat. You know what was really cute…?”

Wonoh enveloped Minje’s hand, formed it into a fist, and squeezed it tight. Literally, tight. Then, he pressed down firmly on the fleshy part below the palm with his thumb. Minje was so surprised he even held his breath.

“Like this. If you press down on its toe beans, it would have its claws hidden, but then they’d pop out. I’d never seen anything like that, so it was really fascinating.”

His eyes met Wonoh’s for a moment as Wonoh kneaded his hand like dough with a smile on his face. The words—That must have been so cute. I want to raise one, too—scattered with a buzz. Like a spark catching on dry straw, the flame instantly spread and turned Minje’s face beet red. Not wanting to get caught, he just ducked his head low and glared at his captured hand. Then, he heard a small laugh from above his head.

“Sometimes, I think Minje hyung is like a pet.”

“What kind of creepy remark is that? You mean you want to put a leash on Minje?”

“No. I just mean hyung is cute.”

“Just say that next time. Don’t startle Minje. The kid’s so surprised he can’t even speak.”

“Sorry, hyung. Were you offended?”

Minje twisted his wrist to quickly pull his hand away. Wonoh, with a smile on his face, kept his eyes fixed on Minje and slowly let go of his hand. Then, he mouthed, ‘Are you offended?’ Minje felt like he wanted to jump up from his seat and run away. Or maybe he just wanted to cry. When he pretended not to see and didn’t answer, Choi Wonoh nudged Minje’s hand with his bandaged right hand, as if tapping it.