Ja-kyung squinted his eyes as he examined Il-hyun’s palm. He had learned how to read palm lines from a Korean neighbor back in the day, and he wanted to read Il-hyun’s palm, but his lifeline was incredibly long, even ridiculously long. On the other hand, Ja-kyung’s lifeline was abruptly cut in the middle.
Meanwhile, Il-hyun was not focused on his own palm but rather observed Ja-kyung’s expression with an intrigued look on his face.
“How is it?”
“You’re smart. And your lifeline is so long, you’ll live a long life.”
In response, Ja-kyung showed his own lifeline. “Look at mine. It’s quite short. It says I won’t live for long.”
“Anything else?”
“Your temperament is very bad. You’re so mean.”
“Don’t add your thoughts.”
“…”
“What about a spouse?”
“You have one. Just one.”
“Then what about you?”
Ja-kyung proudly spread his palms.
“I have two.”
Kang Il-hyun’s eyes darkened. The moment his lips parted, the phone rang. It was a video call from Wang Han. Shh. Ja-kyung signaled him to be quiet and turned on the video. Wang Han’s face appeared on the screen against the blue sky.
“Did you arrive safely?”
“Yeah. I just finished unpacking. Where are you, it’s so dark?”
A woman appeared unexpectedly next to his curious face. Ja-kyung’s eyes widened. It was Rita who lived next door when he was staying in Kuala Lumpur. He can’t believe she’s in Thailand. Rita waves without a second’s hesitation.
[Wei, long time no see. I heard you had a lover. You don’t know how upset Sasha was when she heard the news.]
When Sasha’s name was mentioned, Ja-kyung glanced at Il-hyun, spoke more quietly, and stood up from the porch, proceeding to move away in a different direction. Il-hyun, who had been watching while drinking his beer, stood up and went toward the back of the house. It was a relief. Because soon Sasha appeared between Rita and Wang Han.
[Wei. I’ll always be waiting for you. If you break up with that girl, come back to me!]
The shout caused the three of them to laugh and make a fuss. Ja-kyung smiled with a troubled expression. He had previously explained it thoroughly to Sasha, and she appeared to have made up her mind. He quickly ended the call after saying goodbye to Wang Han.
However, Il-hyun was nowhere to be seen. Ja-kyung looked around and sat down on the bench, but then he heard the sound of footsteps. When Ja-kyung turned to face him, he almost screamed in surprise. Il-hyun was approaching with a sickle in his hand and a cigarette dangling from his lips.
“What, what’s that?”
Il-hyun snapped his finger.
“Come here. I can change your palm lines as much as you want.”
Ja-kyung stepped back. He asked if he had gone crazy, but Il-hyun grabbed his wrist tightly and twisted it. Ja-kyung quickly pulled away and kicked Il-hyun’s knee.
Kang Il-hyun didn’t care, grabbed Ja-kyung’s hand, pressed it to the ground, and swung his scythe. The sharp point of the scythe slammed down between his index and middle finger. Argh! Ja-kyung screamed, then breathed a sigh of relief when he realized his finger was still attached. You, shit! Ja-kyung shoved his shoulder and took a step back.
“You’re crazy!”
“I told you to come.”
“Why are you doing this again?”
“I made a mistake. I should’ve carved my name on your face, not your waist.”
“Stop talking nonsense and put that down.”
“Then say it here.”
“What.”
“That you only like me and only have sex with me for the rest of your life.”
As Ja-kyung looked disgusted, Il-hyun pointed the end of the sickle toward Ja-kyung as if challenging him. Ja-kyung reluctantly nodded. That seemed to satisfy him momentarily. But his damn obsession had resurfaced. It would be better to get it over with quickly.
“I will only like and have sex only with Kang Il-hyun for the rest of my life.”
He raised his eyes and spoke in a soulless tone like a robot.
“Honey. You don’t mean it.”
Ja-kyung gritted his teeth.
“I will only like and have sex only with Kang Il-hyun for the rest of my life.”
Finally satisfied, Il-hyun threw the sickle aside. Ja-kyung sighed and cursed all kinds of curses inwardly. He gestured for Ja-kyung to come, and Il-hyun took out his cell phone. No way, Ja-kyung quickly took his phone away. He was afraid that Il-hyun would record it again and play it on repeat. But what he showed him was a photo, not a recorded file. It was an island with moderately flat land and enough necessities for people to live on.
“How about it? It’s not too far because it was within the country. You can go hunting or fishing as you wish. Isn’t it great?”
Ja-kyung, who was flipping through several photos, nodded.
“We don’t need a house. We can just pitch a tent.”
“Do as you please.”
“I will hunt all the food.”
“I thought it was our honeymoon, not military training.”
Teasingly, Il-hyun lightly tapped his arm and chuckled. Yet, despite Il-hyun’s earlier display of wielding the sickle, he surprisingly acquiesced without much resistance.
“But remember.”
“What?”
“I haven’t revised my will yet.”
Haa, good riddance. Ja-kyung nodded with a defeated expression on his face. Yeah, let’s bury ourselves together.
Ja-kyung stood up and walked towards the flower field while looking at the pictures of the island. He could see the city at a glance as he crossed his arms on the wall and looked down. Soon after, Il-hyun came to the side. He lit a cigarette and laughed softly.
“It’s really beautiful.”
“I’ve been thinking…”
Il-hyun turned his head and looked at Ja-kyung.
“I think it would be nice to live here instead of your house.”
Il-hyun’s expression froze for a moment at the unexpected words. Ja-kyung waited for his response. Now, this place seemed perfect. The yard where he was beaten while lying around, and the warehouse where he’d been locked up without being able to breathe, it was all good.
The house didn’t feel like hell anymore since Kang Il-hyun had picked the flowers and handed them to him. Il-hyun took out a cigarette and let out a long puff of smoke. As there was no response for a long time, Ja-kyung thought it meant rejection, but then Il-hyun slowly nodded his head.
“Sure, let’s do that.”
Ja-kyung looked back in surprise.
“Really?”
“Yeah, as long as I can come and hang out like today.”
“Why are you like this? It’s scary because you always comply with everything.”
“They say the one who loves more is usually the weaker one. What can I do? I have to accommodate you.”
Il-hyun ruffled his hair with his large hand and leaned his arms against Ja-kyung’s shoulder. Soon, his head rested on Ja-kyung’s shoulder. Ja-kyung didn’t mind having a man a foot taller than him lean on him now and then. Ja-kyung touched the other side of Il-hyun’s face as he rubbed his cheek against his shoulder like a puppy. Il-hyun laughed so hard that his cheeks hurt.
After standing side by side and watching the night view for a while, they went back to their seat and drank more beer. When Ja-kyung got drunk, he acted cute, and Il-hyun liked it, so he gave him more drink, but he later passed out. He stared at Ja-kyung’s face as he slept, staring until his eyes were tired, and only fell asleep as dawn approached.
Ja-kyung barely opened his eyes as he heard birds chirping. He thought he’d fallen asleep for a while, but the sun had already come up and his entire body felt sore. He realized Il-hyun’s jacket was covering him as he lay on the floor.
He took it off and looked around. Outside the gate, he heard Kang Il-hyun talking to someone on the phone. It was time to wash up and go to work, so he needed to return home. As Ja-kyung rubbed his face to wake up, his attention was suddenly drawn to his palm.
When he spread his hand, someone had drawn his lifeline with a pen all the way to his wrist. He chuckled as he tried to rub it off with his hand.
It was obvious even if he didn’t see who did it. Just then, the gate opened and Kang Il-hyun walked in. He smiled brightly, despite his messy hair and clothes. “Did you sleep well?” Ja-kyung burst out laughing at his out-of-character appearance. He stretched out his arms and Il-hyun came forward to embrace him without hesitation.
***
The autumn sky was incredibly clear. There was a long line of people waiting to eat at the free cafeteria. Reporter Yoon, who was filming from one side of the cafeteria, was focused on capturing Kang Il-hyun wearing a black apron and handing out meals.
“It’s strange.”
Reporter Kwak extinguished his cigarette at the sound of reporter Yoon muttering and looked over.
“Why?”
“CEO Kang. I think he has changed.”
“Having gone through something like that and losing his father, it’s understandable to be deeply affected.”
Reporter Yoon shook his head. That expression wasn’t the look of someone who had lost their parents, but rather someone who had gained a nation.
“But who is the new face next to him?”
Reporter Kwak pointed to another man next to Kang Il-hyun. He didn’t think it was a family member or even an employee. The man he saw for the first time smiled as he handed the meals. In the middle of it, Kang Il-hyun spoke to the man, but his expression was noticeably different from when he spoke to others.
“The more I look at him, the more handsome he is. Maybe he learned it from his agency.”
“Should we dig into his background a bit?”
“And what will that accomplish?”
“Who knows? Maybe that man has some weaknesses that could be exploited against Kang Il-hyun.”
“Forget it. Let’s focus on our work.”
Reporter Yoon looked at the man next to Kang Il-hyun through his camera. As he zoomed in, the handsome face appeared on the screen. Wow. He exclaimed in admiration and clicked. He pressed the shutter button. Kang Il-hyun, who was serving meals at the time, looked in his direction. Startled, he lowered his camera and nervously greeted him.
For some reason, Kang Il-hyun took off his apron and walked toward reporters Yoon and Kwak. Reporter Kwak’s tense face hardened. He must have known in advance that they were writing a promotional article, so why would Kang Il-hyun personally come to them, and not the secretary?
He has two bottles of drink in his hand as he approached.
“You two have worked hard.”
After they accepted them, Il-hyun glanced at the camera.
“Can I check the picture you just took?”
There was no reason to refuse. Reporter Yoon hesitated for a moment, then handed the camera to Kang Il-hyun. The corners of his mouth rose slightly, and Reporter Kwak looked at Il-hyun nervously with a drink in his hand.
Kang Il-hyun handed over the camera and smiled charmingly.
“I’d like to have this picture personally. May I ask you a favor?”
“Ah, that…”
Reporter Kwak quickly interjected.
“Of course. I will send it right away.”
Kang Il-hyun said thank you and went back to his place. As they watched him move away, both of them breathed a sigh of relief and finally checked the photo in the camera. It captured a scene of Kang Il-hyun facing the man next to him and smiling brightly.
“Why is this…”
“I know, right?”
The two looked at Kang Il-hyun with suspicious eyes. When Il-hyun returned to his position, the man beside him tied the back strap of his apron and smiled. The atmosphere seemed suspicious as the two of them exchanged words. As if that wasn’t enough, Kang Il-hyun leaned in and whispered something into the man’s ear.
“No matter how you look at it…”
“They look like a couple, don’t they?”
“That’s what I’m saying…”
“No way…”
Reporter Yoon shook his head as if he was dumbfounded and raised the camera again. The lens captured the image of the two smiling men like a painting. They might not be a couple, but they did seem to suit each other quite well.
– END.
Ja-kyung squinted his eyes as he examined Il-hyun’s palm. He had learned how to read palm lines from a Korean neighbor back in the day, and he wanted to read Il-hyun’s palm, but his lifeline was incredibly long, even ridiculously long. On the other hand, Ja-kyung’s lifeline was abruptly cut in the middle.
Meanwhile, Il-hyun was not focused on his own palm but rather observed Ja-kyung’s expression with an intrigued look on his face.
“How is it?”
“You’re smart. And your lifeline is so long, you’ll live a long life.”
In response, Ja-kyung showed his own lifeline. “Look at mine. It’s quite short. It says I won’t live for long.”
“Anything else?”
“Your temperament is very bad. You’re so mean.”
“Don’t add your thoughts.”
“…”
“What about a spouse?”
“You have one. Just one.”
“Then what about you?”
Ja-kyung proudly spread his palms.
“I have two.”
Kang Il-hyun’s eyes darkened. The moment his lips parted, the phone rang. It was a video call from Wang Han. Shh. Ja-kyung signaled him to be quiet and turned on the video. Wang Han’s face appeared on the screen against the blue sky.
“Did you arrive safely?”
“Yeah. I just finished unpacking. Where are you, it’s so dark?”
A woman appeared unexpectedly next to his curious face. Ja-kyung’s eyes widened. It was Rita who lived next door when he was staying in Kuala Lumpur. He can’t believe she’s in Thailand. Rita waves without a second’s hesitation.
[Wei, long time no see. I heard you had a lover. You don’t know how upset Sasha was when she heard the news.]
When Sasha’s name was mentioned, Ja-kyung glanced at Il-hyun, spoke more quietly, and stood up from the porch, proceeding to move away in a different direction. Il-hyun, who had been watching while drinking his beer, stood up and went toward the back of the house. It was a relief. Because soon Sasha appeared between Rita and Wang Han.
[Wei. I’ll always be waiting for you. If you break up with that girl, come back to me!]
The shout caused the three of them to laugh and make a fuss. Ja-kyung smiled with a troubled expression. He had previously explained it thoroughly to Sasha, and she appeared to have made up her mind. He quickly ended the call after saying goodbye to Wang Han.
However, Il-hyun was nowhere to be seen. Ja-kyung looked around and sat down on the bench, but then he heard the sound of footsteps. When Ja-kyung turned to face him, he almost screamed in surprise. Il-hyun was approaching with a sickle in his hand and a cigarette dangling from his lips.
“What, what’s that?”
Il-hyun snapped his finger.
“Come here. I can change your palm lines as much as you want.”
Ja-kyung stepped back. He asked if he had gone crazy, but Il-hyun grabbed his wrist tightly and twisted it. Ja-kyung quickly pulled away and kicked Il-hyun’s knee.
Kang Il-hyun didn’t care, grabbed Ja-kyung’s hand, pressed it to the ground, and swung his scythe. The sharp point of the scythe slammed down between his index and middle finger. Argh! Ja-kyung screamed, then breathed a sigh of relief when he realized his finger was still attached. You, shit! Ja-kyung shoved his shoulder and took a step back.
“You’re crazy!”
“I told you to come.”
“Why are you doing this again?”
“I made a mistake. I should’ve carved my name on your face, not your waist.”
“Stop talking nonsense and put that down.”
“Then say it here.”
“What.”
“That you only like me and only have sex with me for the rest of your life.”
As Ja-kyung looked disgusted, Il-hyun pointed the end of the sickle toward Ja-kyung as if challenging him. Ja-kyung reluctantly nodded. That seemed to satisfy him momentarily. But his damn obsession had resurfaced. It would be better to get it over with quickly.
“I will only like and have sex only with Kang Il-hyun for the rest of my life.”
He raised his eyes and spoke in a soulless tone like a robot.
“Honey. You don’t mean it.”
Ja-kyung gritted his teeth.
“I will only like and have sex only with Kang Il-hyun for the rest of my life.”
Finally satisfied, Il-hyun threw the sickle aside. Ja-kyung sighed and cursed all kinds of curses inwardly. He gestured for Ja-kyung to come, and Il-hyun took out his cell phone. No way, Ja-kyung quickly took his phone away. He was afraid that Il-hyun would record it again and play it on repeat. But what he showed him was a photo, not a recorded file. It was an island with moderately flat land and enough necessities for people to live on.
“How about it? It’s not too far because it was within the country. You can go hunting or fishing as you wish. Isn’t it great?”
Ja-kyung, who was flipping through several photos, nodded.
“We don’t need a house. We can just pitch a tent.”
“Do as you please.”
“I will hunt all the food.”
“I thought it was our honeymoon, not military training.”
Teasingly, Il-hyun lightly tapped his arm and chuckled. Yet, despite Il-hyun’s earlier display of wielding the sickle, he surprisingly acquiesced without much resistance.
“But remember.”
“What?”
“I haven’t revised my will yet.”
Haa, good riddance. Ja-kyung nodded with a defeated expression on his face. Yeah, let’s bury ourselves together.
Ja-kyung stood up and walked towards the flower field while looking at the pictures of the island. He could see the city at a glance as he crossed his arms on the wall and looked down. Soon after, Il-hyun came to the side. He lit a cigarette and laughed softly.
“It’s really beautiful.”
“I’ve been thinking…”
Il-hyun turned his head and looked at Ja-kyung.
“I think it would be nice to live here instead of your house.”
Il-hyun’s expression froze for a moment at the unexpected words. Ja-kyung waited for his response. Now, this place seemed perfect. The yard where he was beaten while lying around, and the warehouse where he’d been locked up without being able to breathe, it was all good.
The house didn’t feel like hell anymore since Kang Il-hyun had picked the flowers and handed them to him. Il-hyun took out a cigarette and let out a long puff of smoke. As there was no response for a long time, Ja-kyung thought it meant rejection, but then Il-hyun slowly nodded his head.
“Sure, let’s do that.”
Ja-kyung looked back in surprise.
“Really?”
“Yeah, as long as I can come and hang out like today.”
“Why are you like this? It’s scary because you always comply with everything.”
“They say the one who loves more is usually the weaker one. What can I do? I have to accommodate you.”
Il-hyun ruffled his hair with his large hand and leaned his arms against Ja-kyung’s shoulder. Soon, his head rested on Ja-kyung’s shoulder. Ja-kyung didn’t mind having a man a foot taller than him lean on him now and then. Ja-kyung touched the other side of Il-hyun’s face as he rubbed his cheek against his shoulder like a puppy. Il-hyun laughed so hard that his cheeks hurt.
After standing side by side and watching the night view for a while, they went back to their seat and drank more beer. When Ja-kyung got drunk, he acted cute, and Il-hyun liked it, so he gave him more drink, but he later passed out. He stared at Ja-kyung’s face as he slept, staring until his eyes were tired, and only fell asleep as dawn approached.
Ja-kyung barely opened his eyes as he heard birds chirping. He thought he’d fallen asleep for a while, but the sun had already come up and his entire body felt sore. He realized Il-hyun’s jacket was covering him as he lay on the floor.
He took it off and looked around. Outside the gate, he heard Kang Il-hyun talking to someone on the phone. It was time to wash up and go to work, so he needed to return home. As Ja-kyung rubbed his face to wake up, his attention was suddenly drawn to his palm.
When he spread his hand, someone had drawn his lifeline with a pen all the way to his wrist. He chuckled as he tried to rub it off with his hand.
It was obvious even if he didn’t see who did it. Just then, the gate opened and Kang Il-hyun walked in. He smiled brightly, despite his messy hair and clothes. “Did you sleep well?” Ja-kyung burst out laughing at his out-of-character appearance. He stretched out his arms and Il-hyun came forward to embrace him without hesitation.
***
The autumn sky was incredibly clear. There was a long line of people waiting to eat at the free cafeteria. Reporter Yoon, who was filming from one side of the cafeteria, was focused on capturing Kang Il-hyun wearing a black apron and handing out meals.
“It’s strange.”
Reporter Kwak extinguished his cigarette at the sound of reporter Yoon muttering and looked over.
“Why?”
“CEO Kang. I think he has changed.”
“Having gone through something like that and losing his father, it’s understandable to be deeply affected.”
Reporter Yoon shook his head. That expression wasn’t the look of someone who had lost their parents, but rather someone who had gained a nation.
“But who is the new face next to him?”
Reporter Kwak pointed to another man next to Kang Il-hyun. He didn’t think it was a family member or even an employee. The man he saw for the first time smiled as he handed the meals. In the middle of it, Kang Il-hyun spoke to the man, but his expression was noticeably different from when he spoke to others.
“The more I look at him, the more handsome he is. Maybe he learned it from his agency.”
“Should we dig into his background a bit?”
“And what will that accomplish?”
“Who knows? Maybe that man has some weaknesses that could be exploited against Kang Il-hyun.”
“Forget it. Let’s focus on our work.”
Reporter Yoon looked at the man next to Kang Il-hyun through his camera. As he zoomed in, the handsome face appeared on the screen. Wow. He exclaimed in admiration and clicked. He pressed the shutter button. Kang Il-hyun, who was serving meals at the time, looked in his direction. Startled, he lowered his camera and nervously greeted him.
For some reason, Kang Il-hyun took off his apron and walked toward reporters Yoon and Kwak. Reporter Kwak’s tense face hardened. He must have known in advance that they were writing a promotional article, so why would Kang Il-hyun personally come to them, and not the secretary?
He has two bottles of drink in his hand as he approached.
“You two have worked hard.”
After they accepted them, Il-hyun glanced at the camera.
“Can I check the picture you just took?”
There was no reason to refuse. Reporter Yoon hesitated for a moment, then handed the camera to Kang Il-hyun. The corners of his mouth rose slightly, and Reporter Kwak looked at Il-hyun nervously with a drink in his hand.
Kang Il-hyun handed over the camera and smiled charmingly.
“I’d like to have this picture personally. May I ask you a favor?”
“Ah, that…”
Reporter Kwak quickly interjected.
“Of course. I will send it right away.”
Kang Il-hyun said thank you and went back to his place. As they watched him move away, both of them breathed a sigh of relief and finally checked the photo in the camera. It captured a scene of Kang Il-hyun facing the man next to him and smiling brightly.
“Why is this…”
“I know, right?”
The two looked at Kang Il-hyun with suspicious eyes. When Il-hyun returned to his position, the man beside him tied the back strap of his apron and smiled. The atmosphere seemed suspicious as the two of them exchanged words. As if that wasn’t enough, Kang Il-hyun leaned in and whispered something into the man’s ear.
“No matter how you look at it…”
“They look like a couple, don’t they?”
“That’s what I’m saying…”
“No way…”
Reporter Yoon shook his head as if he was dumbfounded and raised the camera again. The lens captured the image of the two smiling men like a painting. They might not be a couple, but they did seem to suit each other quite well.
– END.
