GGAS 35

Four months later

“What happened after that? What happened next?”

Ha Bomi leaned forward and asked. She had stopped by Abang-garde at Kim Gwanggong’s request, but ended up captivated by Kim Abang’s chatter. For thirty minutes already, she had been listening to Kim Abang’s love story, even though he himself did not seem to realize it was about romance.

“Ah, just a moment! Let me move this first!”

Kim Abang’s lively voice came from the storage room. Soon, with a clattering noise, he came out covered in dust.

“Achoo!”

Kim Abang sneezed and wiped the dust off his nose.

“Oh my, there must be a lot of dust.”

Ha Bomi pulled out a wet tissue and handed it to him.

“Ah, thank you. I set off something in here a while ago… But where did I stop?”

“You, you asked CEO Seo if he could eat lemons well!”

“Ah, did I get that far? Hmm… After that…”

Kim Abang unconsciously looked toward the table where Seo Taerim had been sitting back then.

“Taerim-ssi said, if I look into his eyes…”

Kim Abang mumbled blankly.

“Look into his eyes…?”

Ha Bomi carefully repeated the end of his words.

“If I look…”

Kim Abang unknowingly fiddled with his lips. But soon, under Ha Bomi’s eager gaze, he came back to his senses and quickly hid his hand behind his back.

“He said he would hiccup, but he didn’t.”

“…That’s it?”

Ha Bomi asked as if she was a little disappointed.

“Of course. That’s the end.”

Kim Abang busied himself tidying the counter as he made excuses. He thought there was no need to talk about how Seo Taerim had covered his eyes and tried to kiss him, or how he peeked at Seo Taerim’s eyes in the middle of the kiss and got caught. There was also no need to talk about how afterwards he stayed up all night chatting with Seo Taerim, or how they locked the store door together at sunrise and walked home hand in hand.

‘This is… hmm… a secret between the sun, the moon, Taerim-ssi, and me.’

As Kim Abang thought this, his cheeks turned peach-colored. Then he suddenly flinched and opened his eyes wide.

‘Wait… If the moon knows, does that mean the stars know too?!’

With a shocked face, Kim Abang quickly spread his ten fingers and started folding them one by one. They were not enough. Even after folding them all, he was short, so he wiggled his toes as well, but he was still far short.

‘This is… too many, isn’t it? It’s not a secret anymore?’

Panicking, Kim Abang turned to Ha Bomi.

“Secretary Ha, can you see stars well in the night sky these days?”

“From here? Oh please, in the city you can’t see any stars. It’s too bright. Unless you go to a place with no building lights over there somewhere.”

Ha Bomi spoke bitterly, then brightened up, snapping her fingers.

“Oh, but you can see them well over there, right?”

“…….?”

“At the place where you and CEO Seo went camping. Where is that? Even just in the video, the stars showed up so well, it was amazing.”

“Oh, you saw that?”

“Of course I watched it as soon as it came out. I was one of the original vlog project members, wasn’t I?”

Ha Bomi winked as she spoke. Then she clicked her tongue regretfully.

“Well, now I’m too busy to help though…”

She rested her chin on her hand with dissatisfaction. If only company work had not suddenly gotten so busy, Ha Bomi would certainly have joined Seo Taerim and Kim Abang in making their vlog. She was jealous of Eun Sanho, who was helping with the video editing. Because every one of Kim Abang’s vlogs was exactly her taste.

One typical example was the vlog titled “Watching a Movie at Taerim-ssi’s House!?” If its content was summarized, it went as follows.

Seo Taerim was watching a sci-fi movie that had aliens with lots of tentacles, when Kim Abang, who was bringing snacks, tripped and spilled a whole bunch of live octopuses on top of Seo Taerim’s head. Horrified, Seo Taerim screamed with all his might and ran outside the house. Just then, Lee Jaein was returning home carrying groceries, and Seo Taerim clung to him, he almost cried and insisted that an alien had appeared. Lee Jaein was bewildered by his crying son’s boyfriend who had suddenly appeared from somewhere with live octopuses squirming all over his head, but he still did his best to console him with words of comfort.

And at that moment, Kim Abang came running out in a hurry, with a hair roller stuck in his bangs and only one slipper on his foot, shouting, “Taerim-ssi, you forgot the chojang! Octopus needs chojang!” He shook a famous-brand bottle of chojang with its lid open. Because of that, Kim Abang, Seo Taerim, and Lee Jaein all ended up covered in chojang together. And watching that scene live from his second-floor room, Kim Gwanggong muttered, “The water veins in this neighborhood are the problem,” and tried to run away from home a second time, dragging a suitcase with him.

“Ha….”

Ha Bomi sighed, regretting that she had missed such a funny sight. But Kim Abang misunderstood it as a sigh of fatigue and quickly jumped up.

“Oh, look at me. Secretary Ha, you came here for something else and I’ve been holding up a busy person for too long.”

“Eh? Not at all. It was nice to hear a fun story. It really felt like a fan meeting.”

When Ha Bomi made a heart shape over her head, Kim Abang burst into laughter.

“Hahaha, Secretary Ha, you’re too much… Ah, anyway, this is what you came for, right?”

Kim Abang searched through a drawer and pulled out a blue USB.

“Ah, yes. That’s it.”

Ha Bomi answered, recalling what Kim Gwanggong had explained.

“A USB that is blue with a black border around it. Secretary Ha, deliver that to the restaurant.”

When Ha Bomi asked if it was to prepare for Eun Sanho’s birthday party tomorrow, Kim Gwanggong said yes.

“I normally wouldn’t ask you for this kind of thing, and I feel even more sorry since you said you can’t come tomorrow… But please, I really don’t have time right now.”

His desperate face made it difficult to refuse, and Ha Bomi knew well that something had come up that only Kim Gwanggong himself could handle.

“Bit who would have thought I’d live to see this day. The man who used to shudder at the idea of birthday parties is now preparing one.”

Ha Bomi smiled faintly, packed the USB, said goodbye to Kim Abang, and left Abang-garde.

“The Director also has his perfectionism holding him back… Sigh, maybe this time there’ll be some progress?”

She rubbed her hands together against the cold as she thought. Over the past four months, she had watched Eun Sanho and Kim Gwanggong struggle in circles. Every time they saw each other their faces turned red, every time they spoke they laughed like teenagers, yet they never went on a single date. At last, it seemed Kim Gwanggong had prepared something for Eun Sanho’s birthday.

“I hope it goes well~.”

Ha Bomi wished her boss and her friend good luck, then set off in the direction of the restaurant. And the fact that there were two identical blue USBs inside the Abang-garde counter drawer was something neither the busy organizing Kim Abang nor the departing Ms. Ha Bomi had noticed.

***

Kim Gwanggong reviewed his checklist. First, clothes. The suit that suited him best was already hanging in his closet in a full set, spotless and neat.

“Gonggong-ah….”

He thought he heard a pitiful voice beside him, but it did not matter. Kim Gwanggong shifted his eyes to the next item. Second, bouquet. He would pick it up before meeting Eun Sanho tomorrow. The flowers were hydrangeas, Eun Sanho’s favorite, and the florist had staked his career on making the most beautiful hydrangea bouquet in the world.

“Gonggong-ah….”

Kim Gwanggong checked off the bouquet and looked at the next item. Third, dinner. He had reserved a table at Eun Sanho’s favorite restaurant. Since Eun Sanho had a rather small appetite, it was best not to take risks with food. However, to create a special mood unlike ordinary days, he had arranged for a few special desserts not on the regular menu to be added to the course.

“Gonggong-ah….”

Fourth, gift. He had prepared a top-quality wrist support for Eun Sanho, who often used his wrist while drawing. It was a custom-made product that combined both functionality and aesthetics, made to fit perfectly to Eun Sanho’s wrist.

“Gonggong-ah….”

Fifth, invitations. To also celebrate the success of the vlog, Eun Sanho had suggested inviting Kim Abang, Seo Taerim, and Ha Bomi, so he had contacted the three of them. Ha Bomi said she could not come due to another engagement, but the other two had agreed to come….

“Gonggong-ahhh….”

“This is driving me crazy.”

Kim Gwanggong closed his checklist shut. Whether the voice called pitifully or cried out in desperation, this time he was confident he could ignore it. But Kim Abang’s posture was really irritating. Unlike Kim Gwanggong, who was sitting properly on the sofa checking his list, Kim Abang was sitting upside down on the sofa. His head hung down almost touching the floor, and his feet stuck straight up in the air. Kim Gwanggong could not concentrate on the next item, because right beside his head two feet were bouncing around restlessly.

“Kim Abang, put your feet on the floor, your butt on the sofa, and your head on the headrest. Is that such a difficult request? Or does gravity only work in reverse for you?”

Kim Gwanggong spoke as he yanked off his glasses.

“Buttttt….”

Kim Abang had a face full of worry. He did not even notice that the blood had rushed to his head and his face had turned red. Seeing him languishing, Kim Gwanggong let out a sigh. He lifted Kim Abang up and set him down properly. Startled at being suddenly lifted and sat down, Kim Abang let out an “Uh, uh,” and Kim Gwanggong cut him off.

“Blood is rushing to your head.”

“Oh, really?”

Kim Abang hurriedly patted his face as if he had not realized.

“It’s already red.”

“Ah….”

“Enough. Now, what’s the problem? I’ll listen for exactly fifteen minutes, but cut out the ‘but’ and ‘Gonggong-ah’ and say proper words.”

Kim Gwanggong pointed at the clock as he spoke. Only then did Kim Abang quickly sit cross-legged.

“About Taerim-ssi.”

Kim Abang finally brought up the main point.

“Why about Seo Taerim.”

As soon as Kim Gwanggong asked, Kim Abang visibly drooped.

“Taerim-ssi… said he’s working late.”

“……? Do you hate that Seo Taerim works? Do you wish he was unemployed?”

“Ai, no, that’s not it… We were supposed to watch a midnight movie together today….”

With a gloomy face, Kim Abang began pouring out all the details. Which movie he and Seo Taerim had planned to watch today, how many crying-face emoticons Seo Taerim had put into his apologetic text, how much Seo Taerim had liked the trailer for that movie, how sad Seo Taerim must be right now thinking he could not watch it, whether Seo Taerim had eaten a late-night meal properly since it was already late….

“He must have eaten.”

Kim Gwanggong said. Then Kim Abang suddenly brightened and said, “Right? He must have, right?” After that, he went on about what Seo Taerim might have eaten for his late-night meal, whether he had bought a drink so he wouldn’t choke, what menu item Seo Taerim liked most at the cafe in front of the hotel, how many stamps Seo Taerim had collected on the cafe coupon. By this point, Kim Gwanggong wanted to escape, but since he had promised to listen for fifteen minutes, he did not leave his seat. It was truly superhuman patience.

“At this rate you’ll even reveal CEO Seo’s underwear color.”

Kim Gwanggong gave an objective evaluation.

“Ah, I know that!”

Kim Abang shot his hand up as if he had just hit the golden bell.

“I don’t want to know. Eat this.”

Kim Gwanggong really wanted to escape now, he shoved a green grape into Kim Abang’s mouth as a stopgap. But Kim Abang barely chewed it and swallowed it whole, then grinned brightly.

“I know that exactly! At the traditional liquor festival, drinks spilled all over, so Taerim-ssi’s clothes got completely soaked, right? So I bought him everything from outerwear to underwear~.”

As Kim Abang chattered about how funny Seo Taerim had been at the traditional liquor festival, Kim Gwanggong frowned. Starting with the underwear color, there were too many irritating points, but the biggest of all was Kim Abang’s grape-chewing speed. Kim Abang was the kind of person who said swallowing food without chewing properly would give him stomach trouble, and he would take an hour just to finish one bowl of rice. Yet whenever it was about Seo Taerim, he was so busy talking that for the past four months he had been chewing food sloppily like that.

At first, Kim Gwanggong had thought that once that so-called contract dating ended, Kim Abang’s interest in Seo Taerim would fade and things would return to normal…. But anyone could see what Kim Abang’s sparkling eyes meant whenever he talked about Seo Taerim. What’s more, since Kim Gwanggong had separately heard things from Seo Taerim, he knew better than anyone that the end of their so-called relationship was already hopeless.

‘Tsk….’

He clicked his tongue inwardly and flicked his fingers in annoyance. It looked like a phone call was necessary. If it was doomed anyway, it was better to settle it cleanly.

Kim Gwanggong shoved five grapes into Kim Abang’s mouth, then went up the stairs to his room. To block Kim Abang from chasing him with the grape bowl, he locked the door the moment he entered, grabbed his phone from his desk, then went into the bathroom and locked the door again.

He opened the recent call list and dialed Seo Taerim. After the ring tone went five or six times, Seo Taerim answered.

[Hello.]

“Are you planning to confess only after you’ve gone to every local festival in the country?”

Kim Gwanggong said out of nowhere. Seo Taerim was a little flustered at this sudden late-night call pressuring him to confess.

[Eh, what?]

“You told me you’d confess to Kim Abang soon, so what is this? Are you planning to do it at a senior citizens’ center?”

Two months ago, Seo Taerim had been drunk and mistaken Kim Gwanggong for Kim Abang, whining, “Kim Abang-ssi, I like you… Can’t you hold me?” Because of that, he had a bucket of salt dumped over his head, then got dragged off somewhere and interrogated down to how many grains of rice were left in his house. Naturally, his confession plan had been exposed.

[…I still haven’t found the perfect timing.]

Seo Taerim said.

“Found? That’s really passive. You create an opportunity. You don’t just wait for it to come.”

[But….]

Seo Taerim felt a little wronged. Was it really his fault that on the day he had planned to confess, he ended up with live octopuses dumped on him, and on another day, ended up covered in makgeolli? But Kim Gwanggong did not care about such circumstances. He spoke faster, sounding irritated.

“Ha… We’ll see if I’m right or not. Keep putting it off like this and by next July you’ll run out of festivals, and then you’ll confess at the mud festival, covered in mud, pulling out a ring, and only then realize, ‘Ah, Kim Gwanggong was right. I should have done it earlier.’ Let’s see then if Kim Abang still thinks you’re wonderful enough to split open his piggy bank named Tosooni and spend every last coin to buy you underwear. I’ll be watching. I’m hanging up.”

Kim Gwanggong hung up, furious at his own words. Just imagining that scatterbrained Kim Abang grinning and accepting a mud-soaked confession just because it was Seo Taerim made his insides turn.

At that moment, Seo Taerim took a small box out of his drawer and opened it. Inside was a small, pretty, shining ring. He had spent an entire day about four months ago carefully choosing and buying it.

“…Kim Abang-ssi’s piggy bank isn’t called Tosooni. It’s Bangbang-i’s storehouse.”

Seo Taerim murmured as he fiddled with the ring. He really could not figure out when the right time to give it would be.