Sweet Shot

#36

**

When Tae-rim re-entered the building, he saw a familiar back. Ha-min, who had been at the front of the stage, was now pushed to the very back. The audience was swaying to the loud music. Among them, Ha-min’s back, trapped and unsure what to do, looked like a trembling herbivore.

Tae-rim stood askew at the entrance with his arms crossed. For a moment, he watched as if appreciating the scene. Unable to squeeze into the crowd of people, Ha-min hesitated, seemingly lacking the courage to push through, and stood on his tiptoes. Despite not being particularly short, he was struggling to see properly. He stretched his neck and moved around, trying to get a better view.

Tae-rim couldn’t help but chuckle at the desperate sight. What’s the big deal… But if he wants to see it that badly, I should help him. Just as Tae-rim was about to move to take Ha-min to the front, something happened.

“Oof.”

A large figure hurriedly approached Ha-min, who was on his tiptoes trying to see the stage. The bulky man, pushing through people to get out of the crowd, ruthlessly bumped into Ha-min’s shoulder as he passed. He must have been in quite a hurry for the sound of the collision to reach Tae-rim’s ears in this noisy space.

“…Shit, watch where you’re going.”

The man cursed, removing the phone he was holding from his ear, presumably in the middle of a call. Despite Ha-min being the one who fell and hit his backside from the force, the brute was the one getting angry. Ha-min, startled by the man’s cursing, lowered his head while still on the ground.

“I’m, I’m sorry.”

At Ha-min’s apology, the brute clicked his tongue once and brushed off his shoulder. Tae-rim, who had been watching, immediately frowned.

“……”

Ha-min could have gotten upset, but he just got up without saying anything. He quietly stood up and dusted off his pants. Throughout this action, his face remained incredibly calm and composed. The way he acted as if nothing had happened, seemingly used to such incidents, looked unfamiliar to Tae-rim.

“Yeah, I’m coming now. No, shit, I bumped into someone, I’m in a hurry.”

Meanwhile, the brute who was still trying to leave was walking towards the entrance. More precisely, he was approaching where Tae-rim was standing. Tae-rim calmly watched the man approaching, stomping and spewing rough language without hesitation. He was exasperated… If you bump into someone, you should apologize…

“Yeah, I got it, that way– Aaack!!”

Tae-rim swiftly stuck out his foot towards the quickly approaching bulky man. Tae-rim calmly watched as the man tripped over his foot and fell with a loud thud.

Perhaps due to his size, the man lost his balance and practically headbutted the ground.

“You bastard!! Are you crazy??!”

He yelled furiously at Tae-rim, who had indiscriminately tripped him. Fortunately, due to the loud music, no one was paying attention. The same went for Ha-min. Despite suddenly falling and being cursed at, he was still struggling to see the stage as if nothing had happened.

Shit, how pitiful…

“No, you suddenly came while I was passing…”

“Hey.”

Tae-rim coldly cut off the agitated voice.

“‘Hey’??”

The man’s already harsh expression twisted further at the rude address. Regardless, Tae-rim spoke again with an expressionless face.

“You should be more careful.”

As Tae-rim approached the man step by step, the man slightly backed away, sensing a chilling atmosphere. Realizing that he had just said the same thing to someone he had bumped into, his face showed feigned surprise. But even as the man backed away, Tae-rim approached again and firmly stepped on the man’s phone that had fallen to the ground. With a crunch, the device lost its light. As the man’s face turned pale at the sight, a calm voice spoke again.

“What are you doing–!”

“Indeed.”

The man, intimidated by the ominous voice, averted his gaze. He instinctively sensed that this wasn’t a fight he could win.

As the man tried to move away, thinking he should escape quickly, he saw a pair of dress shoes with long toe caps. Just as he flinched, that foot firmly stepped on the man’s leg. The man’s face grotesquely contorted at the gradually increasing pressure. You crazy bastard…! Just as the man was about to shout again, a coldly twisted voice intercepted.

“When you bump into someone, you should apologize.”

The voice reciting basic human decency was chilling.

**

Tae-rim gripped the steering wheel, silently watching the moving lips.

“Woo-kyung really sang well… It was amazing… right.”

When had he ever talked this much…

“Chae-rin played the guitar without any trembling… and then she did a solo… it was really… cool, did you see it, hyung…?”

On the way home, Ha-min excitedly recounted his impressions of the performance he had just seen. Even after the show ended, he couldn’t hide his excitement, his eyes sparkling. It was the most lively face Tae-rim had seen recently. It was the first time he had seen this side of Ha-min since he used to chatter as a child. It was fascinating to see him talking so enthusiastically while seated in the passenger seat. What was so great about it? Tae-rim wondered, but didn’t try to show it.

When Ha-min, embarrassed after talking alone, cautiously asked, Tae-rim finally smiled.

“Yeah. They were good.”

He hated loud noises, so there was no way he could have heard anything. He didn’t even know who Chae-rin or Woo-kyung were. All he had seen was Tae-in briefly playing the keyboard in a corner.

Ha-min’s face brightened at Tae-rim’s response. He smiled brightly, looking shy. He seemed pleased that Tae-rim had agreed with him.

“Tomorrow, I should buy them a meal…”

Ha-min mumbled quietly to himself, smiling. Tae-rim’s brow furrowed slightly.

“A meal?”

“Yeah. They must have been tired from performing.”

“Ah…”

“And they were really good and cool, so it feels wrong to watch such a performance for free.”

He must have really enjoyed it. He rambled on with explanations to a single question. Tae-rim’s brow furrowed slightly at Ha-min’s words. Why buy a meal for that shabby performance? Especially when you’re working hard at part-time jobs until late at night. Hiding his incomprehension, Tae-rim spoke calmly.

“I should be the one to buy.”

“Huh?”

“Tae-in worked hard, after all.”

Tae-rim said words he didn’t really mean. At his casual words, Ha-min nodded slightly, saying “Ah…”

“Tae-in really did well too… He even wrote the songs.”

“Right. I didn’t know Tae-in was that good.”

“I didn’t know he had such talent…”

Talent? Is it really that level? Tae-rim had a bored expression before quickly softening into a smile.

“I should treat the kids to a meal sometime. You’ll come too, right Ha-min?”

That was the main point. When Tae-rim asked kindly, Ha-min looked troubled.

“Me too…?”

As Ha-min cautiously pointed to himself while asking, Tae-rim nodded nonchalantly.

“You worked hard today too, Ha-min.”

Wearing those awful clothes, doing that promotional work must have been tough.

In Tae-rim’s eyes, Song Ha-min had worked harder than anyone else.

“I didn’t do much though…”

Ha-min smiled naively at Tae-rim’s kind words that hid his true thoughts. His cheeks flushed, seemingly embarrassed.

“You worked hard at your job.”

“…”

“It must have been difficult given your personality.”

Tae-rim extended one hand towards the passenger seat. His long arm reached Ha-min’s nape. Feeling Ha-min flinch as soon as he touched his skin, Tae-rim smiled faintly and rubbed the dry jawline with his thumb. Ha-min’s heart seemed to melt at Tae-rim’s tone, which seemed to be soothing his mind, and he nodded carefully. He was so careful that it was almost imperceptible.

“I’ve been wanting to treat Ha-min to a proper meal anyway.”

“Huh? Why…?”

Tae-rim chuckled at the question asked with puzzled eyes. And the car slowly came to a stop at its destination. A narrow alley in a one-room apartment area. A rundown neighborhood where even the streetlights don’t work properly at dawn.

“Why? Because I owe you for this and that.”

Tae-rim smiled faintly and slowly moved his hand to brush Ha-min’s lips. As he persistently stroked the plump pink lips, Ha-min’s clear face flushed bright red, seemingly understanding the hidden meaning.

“Making you do this and that without even treating you to a proper meal.”

“Ah, no… it’s, it’s okay…”

“Still, there’s such a thing as proper etiquette.”

Ha-min awkwardly rubbed his own nape, having no particular response to Tae-rim’s words about basic courtesy. It was one of his habits when he felt uncomfortable or didn’t know what to do.

Ha-min eventually nodded. Finding each of his reactions simply amusing, Tae-rim couldn’t help but keep smiling.

“Go in now.”

Satisfied after teasing him once, Tae-rim said with a grin. Leaning his upper body on the steering wheel, he looked at Ha-min with kind eyes. Ha-min, seemingly just realizing they had arrived at his goshiwon room, startled and hurriedly unbuckled his seatbelt. Then, as he rushed to open the door and get out, he hesitated. Tae-rim raised an eyebrow quizzically at the hesitation.

“Um… thank you for coming today.”

He turned his body with difficulty and spoke in a small voice. With his head bowed low as he spoke, all Tae-rim could see was Ha-min’s nape. The slender neckline where the ear line and jawline met and extended down. That neckline was tinged red.

“Thank you for watching the performance together…”

“…”

“And for giving me a ride…”

Ha-min expressed his gratitude, mentioning each thing one by one. He spoke shyly with a genuinely grateful face. It was then. Ha-min’s eyes, which had been looking down, widened. He looked at Tae-rim with surprised eyes, as if he had discovered something.