Pink Flavor Omega

#11

The corners of his mouth curled up softly, forming a perfect arc. Watching those lips, slightly reddened and wet with alcohol, Eunhong lost track of the conversation in a fluster. He kept forgetting what he was about to say, stumbling over his words.

“…So, what I mean is…”

“Yeah?”

“He shouldn’t do that to me.”

“Bunhong, I mean, Eunhong.”

Jaeha, who had been just listening, suddenly called Eunhong with his eyes wide open. Eunhong blinked slowly.

Jaeha’s hand gently covered Eunhong’s fingertips.

“You don’t need to be considerate of 2-star trait holders. You don’t have to do that.”

“……”

“The guy you’re living with… he is a disadvantaged person, that’s true. But that’s the burden assigned to his life. It’s his life, even if it sucks. You don’t need to sacrifice more than necessary.”

Eunhong’s eyes welled up with tears as he listened to Jaeha’s words. A wet sound came as he wiped his nose. Hehe, he grinned… and suddenly caressed Jaeha’s cheek. His drunken touch slowly brushed the cheek and then fell to the nape of the neck. Jaeha closed his eyes tightly as the warmth from Eunhong’s fingertips spread where they had touched.

“You brat. Your language is rough. Are you drunk?”

Come to think of it, Lee Jaeha’s face was flushed red.

Eunhong leaned forward and examined Jaeha’s face. He tapped his cheeks lightly and tilted his head this way and that, scrutinizing Jaeha’s complexion. His reddened face seemed both flustered and somewhat confused.

“Lee Jaeha, are you okay?”

There was a glass in front of Jaeha that wasn’t even half empty, but Eunhong had long since lost his judgment. Jaeha exhaled softly, then,

“No, I’m a bit dizzy.”

He placed his cheek on Eunhong’s palm.

“Why are you so warm?”

“Mmm…”

Jaeha mumbled, trailing off. The word that faded away on Eunhong’s palm in a whisper was… ‘dangerous’. Jaeha simply lowered his head and buried his face completely in Eunhong’s palm. The breath on his palm tickled, making Eunhong try to pull away, but Jaeha held on tightly with no intention of letting go. Eunhong leaned in and asked near the ear of the person holding his hand.

“What? Hm? What is it?”

“……”

“Jaeha?”

Even as Eunhong, suddenly worried, urged him to answer, Jaeha just exhaled deeply and kept his face buried. After staying like that for a while, just as concern was starting to show in Eunhong’s eyes, Jaeha raised his head. His two cheeks, with long eyelash shadows cast over them, were clearly flushed even in the dark interior.

“I think I’m drunk.”

Jaeha closed his eyes languidly and leaned on Eunhong. Although his pronunciation was fine, his flushed face was different from usual. Eunhong raised his hand and felt Jaeha’s forehead.

“I think you have a fever.”

“Does it look that way?”

Jaeha asked, slowly lifting his eyelids. His shiny black eyes seemed moist, reflecting Eunhong hazily. Among his generally flushed face, his bright red lips particularly caught Eunhong’s attention.

“……”

“……”

“Should I call Professor Choi? If you’re feeling unwell…”

The bartender suddenly interjected. It sounded like a harmless comment at first, so Eunhong reacted after three seconds. Professor Choi? Eunhong turned towards the bartender with round eyes. This caused the two bodies that had been pressed together to separate.

“Isn’t Professor Choi that person from your family home?”

“That’s right.”

Lee Jaeha, who had somehow become sulky, answered while downing the remaining whiskey in his glass in one go. The way he licked his lips and smacked them seemed full of dissatisfaction.

“Ah, then… Is this place perhaps…?”

Eunhong looked around the empty bar once again. No wonder there wasn’t a single person here. As Eunhong gaped at this late realization, Jaeha chuckled and said,

“Bunhong, you’re always the same even after ten, twenty years.”

“What is?”

“Being oblivious and slow on the uptake.”

“What did you say, you jerk?”

Despite the bartender’s concern, Jaeha stood up and walked steadily. As if his drunkenness had completely evaporated in that short moment, his gaze towards the bartender handing him his coat was ice-cold. Eunhong stood awkwardly between them, receiving his coat.

While Eunhong was in the bathroom, a substitute driver had already gotten into the car. Jaeha pushed Eunhong into the back seat and gently closed the door.

Jaeha only got in next to Eunhong after finishing a cigarette down to the filter. The substitute driver skillfully found Eunhong’s home address on the navigation and started the car.

The large sedan with excellent ride quality was so quiet that it was dead silent inside. Perhaps because a stranger was driving, there was an awkward atmosphere in the car. Eunhong, who had been looking at the dark scenery outside, glanced at Jaeha.

Jaeha was staring blankly at Eunhong’s left hand resting on the leather seat. Jaeha’s fingertips were almost, but not quite, touching it.

“What?”

“…Nothing.”

Jaeha’s response was strangely slow, and he moved as if time had stopped. He took a long breath and slowly closed his eyes tightly.

“Are you sure you’re not really sick?”

Instead of answering Eunhong, who turned his head to ask, Jaeha just smiled. He leaned back deeply in his seat as if planning to sleep, and didn’t move even when Eunhong repeatedly asked, “Hey, are you okay?”

“……”

After watching Jaeha’s calm face for a moment, Eunhong also leaned his head on the seat. The quickly consumed alcohol was rapidly taking effect. Just as his heavy eyelids were about to close, Eunhong felt that Jaeha had opened his eyes and was looking at him, but Eunhong just relaxed and fell asleep.

***

Overtime work continued throughout the week. The cold war with Woohyun also continued. Woohyun kept staying out overnight as if to prove a point. Eunhong couldn’t tell if Woohyun was avoiding conversation because he knew he had done wrong or if he was avoiding Eunhong because he didn’t want to see him.

To Eunhong, every situation felt stressful. He even considered clearing out of the studio apartment and living with Jaeha, as Jaeha had suggested. Eunhong shook his head vigorously.

He wasn’t unaware of Woohyun’s situation, so he couldn’t just cut off their relationship as if running away. Moreover, he had developed enough affection, even if it was love-hate, to overflow. Whenever Woohyun exhausted him, Eunhong reflexively recalled their high school days. It was good back then…

“Part Ban! It’s Friday, you’re not just going home like this, right?”

Eunhong, who was packing up his bag and coat, turned around hesitantly at the voice calling him. That’s right. I was just going to go straight home. I was going to work on my contest drawing at home. Seeing Eunhong rolling his eyes, Yu Junseok approached quickly and put his arm around Eunhong’s shoulders.

“After being stuck in a chair all week, I feel like my body’s rotting. You can’t abandon us and leave.”

“Come on, it’s Friday. Is it human to just go home?”

Seo Heeseung on the opposite side raised her body and opened her rabbit-like eyes.

“Please, please. Come with us, Eunhong.”

“Is there a reason I have to go with you?”

“We have eyes too, you know. We need some eye candy.”

Junseok booed at Heeseung’s words, saying “Ooh, discriminating against people.” But he didn’t seem entirely displeased. Heeseung and Kim Jieun laughed, saying it was just stating the obvious. Eunhong made a troubled expression as he removed Junseok’s arm from his shoulder. Knowing it was harmless teasing, he smiled slightly.

It was while Eunhong was repeatedly waving his hands saying no that his phone in his pocket started ringing. After asking for understanding from his team members who were pestering him, he moved a few steps away to answer the phone.

“Oh, I thought you’d be busy?”

The caller was Jaeha. Happy about the unexpected call, Eunhong continued to answer in a bright voice, forgetting that his team members were listening.

“Mmm, no. I’m going to leave work right away today without overtime. It’s Friday, you know. …What about you? Have you eaten? You haven’t eaten yet? Don’t eat carelessly because you’re busy, sit down and eat properly now. Right now. Yeah. Mm-hmm.”

After briefly agreeing with Jaeha, who was whining that he missed him, saying yeah, I miss you too, Eunhong turned around to find his team members’ eyes sharply fixed on him.

“Ah, couple hell!”

“So that’s why you couldn’t come, because you have a lover.”

“They say all the good men have girlfriends, all the great men are married, and all the perfect men are gay!”

Heeseung slammed on the desk and collapsed. Only I don’t have a lover. I’m the only one without a lover. She mumbled like someone who had lost her country. Feeling a chill down his spine, Eunhong hurriedly explained. Though he didn’t know why he needed to explain this…

“It’s not a lover. Not a lover, just a friend, he’s just joking around…”

As Eunhong stumbled over his words in a fluster, everyone said in unison,

“If that’s a friend, then I have no friends.”

Junseok rested his chin on Eunhong’s shoulder as Eunhong wrinkled his nose.

“If you have any conscience, go stand in front of a mirror and look at your own eyes.”

Leaving behind the condemning crowd, Eunhong’s steps were light as he ran down the subway stairs. In his mind, he had already planned out everything until Sunday.

He thought of buying some simple dinner ingredients to take home and finish, then draw without even breathing until tomorrow. I should buy lots of snacks too! If the work went well and he had some time in between, he even planned to watch a documentary he had bookmarked, which made him dance with joy.

That was until his phone buzzed, holding Eunhong back. After checking the message, Eunhong let out a deep sigh. His light, tapping footsteps gradually slowed down and then stuck to the ground.

“They say there’s always another mountain to climb.”

Eunhong rubbed the phone screen displaying the message with his thumb.

[Eunhong, we’re at that mountain house. Where we ate pajeon before. We’re all gathered here, so you come too.]

[You need to make up with Woohyun.]