Free Web NovelJaegyeom got home around sunset.
“My lord! You’re back?”
The instant he opened the front door, Mesan came scurrying over and bowed low enough to fold in half. Everywhere his little feet touched, the floor gleamed damply. Jaegyeom twitched a brow as he slipped off his shoes.
He could tell at a glance. Mesan had gone running around barefoot again, then apparently washed his dirty feet in a hurry just before Jaegyeom got back. It seemed he had developed his own little strategy for avoiding a scolding.
The effort was almost admirable, so Jaegyeom decided to be generous. Pretending not to notice Mesan’s wet feet, he set down the small shopping bag he had been carrying. Mesan’s eyes went round as he peered into the opening.
“My lord, what is this?”
“Oh, that... a tie.”
He had stopped by the uniform shop near the school and bought one. After all, that one missing tie had somehow led to him organizing books for once in his miserable life. Holding the shopping bag, Mesan stared up at him. Something about Jaegyeom felt a little different from this morning. He looked tired, maybe, or oddly weighed down.
Jaegyeom went into the kitchen, grabbed a pair of scissors, and headed straight for the bathroom. Mesan watched him with a bewildered expression.
Some time later, the bathroom door opened, and Mesan—who had been sitting quietly in the living room—jumped to his feet. Jaegyeom had showered and changed into comfortable clothes. He rubbed his wet hair dry with a towel, and at a glance it was obvious how much shorter it had become. He had chopped it off in rough, careless snips, leaving the ends uneven and jagged.
Mesan, who had been staring at him the whole time, finally approached hesitantly.
“M-my lord.”
“Yeah?”
“...Are you angry?”
Jaegyeom draped the damp towel over his shoulders.
“Why?”
“It’s just... you don’t look like you’re in a very good mood.”
Mesan added it in a voice that nearly disappeared into itself.
“Did... did something happen?”
A lot had happened.
He had started the morning with a missing tie and a headache. Then he had argued with the dean of discipline and gotten demerits for it. Then he had taken a soccer ball to the face and bled all over the place. And on top of that, he had ended up trapped in the library, helping sort books because of that tie.
The day had been much, much too long.
“...”
Jaegyeom looked down at Mesan without saying anything. The way he twisted himself up while trying to read the room was ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) both ridiculous and cute. The reason Jaegyeom had to go to a school he had never wanted any part of in the first place was this little child standing in front of him.
There had once been a night, very late, when Jaegyeom heard whispering through the window. Mesan and Jeongju had been talking in the backyard. The reason they had come all the way outside was obvious enough: they were worried that if they spoke inside the house, Jaegyeom might hear them in his sleep.
Unfortunately for them, their conversation—and Mesan’s voice especially—had come through the wide-open window with perfect clarity.
“Mesan, everything’s been all right? I said I’d come last week and couldn’t. I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right. Please don’t worry, Lord Jeongju. I’m always by my lord’s side.”
“I’ve been busy lately... Even when I’m not here, make sure you look after Jaegyeom for me, all right?”
Sometimes Jaegyeom had wondered why Mesan never went back to his hometown, and why Jeongju—living on his own up in Seoul—always apologized for not being able to come down more often.
Not once had he imagined the reason might be him.
They had only wound up living together by circumstance. He had never once wanted anyone to stay with him. He did not want that.
What Jaegyeom wanted was not that.
Lying there in silence, the boy had thought, for the first time, that maybe he ought to go outside.
Meet someone. Do anything.
Even if it was only an imitation...
If only for the sake of those pitiful creatures who felt sorry for him.
“No. Nothing happened.”
Jaegyeom gave a short laugh and shook his head. At last, he looked more like himself again. Relieved, Mesan broke into a bright smile.
Jaegyeom went into his room, got his wallet, and came back out. Mesan trailed after him in little steps. At the front door, Jaegyeom shoved his feet into his slippers, absently touching the ends of his still-damp hair. freewebnøvel.coɱ
“My lord, it’s already dark. Wh-where are you going?”
“The shop up ahead.”
The only shop nearby was the shabby little corner store by the bus stop. He had lived here for years, but not once had Jaegyeom ever gone inside.
Mesan’s eyes widened in shock.
The very same man who hated going outside enough to treat it like a mortal burden was taking his wallet and heading out on his own. Could it be that after attending school, he had finally grown attached to being out in the world?
Joy flooded Mesan’s eyes.
“Wh-what... what do you need there?”
“I’m so fed up I need something cold.”
“What?”
“Why? Want to come?”
Jaegyeom asked it teasingly, and Mesan only tilted his head, not quite understanding.
“I’m asking if you want to come to the store with me.”
“Wh-what... really?!”
“If you want to.”
Mesan’s whole face lit up at once. He was terrified of every human being alive except Jaegyeom, yet he had always loved the idea of seeing the outside world. Until now, Jaegyeom had always stayed shut up at home, and Jeongju lived far away in another city. Mesan had never once had the courage to leave the yard by himself.
His tiny head bobbed up and down so hard it stirred a little breeze.
Hurriedly, Mesan slipped on his tiny shoes. Jaegyeom opened the front door and flicked his eyes toward the yard, meaning for him to go first. Flushed with excitement, Mesan stepped outside.
It was fully dark by then. The two of them crossed the yard, pushed open the creaking gate, and went out. By evening, the wind had turned a little chilly.
They walked down the narrow, uneven mountain path until they reached the paved road. In the distance, they could see the old corner store with its lights on.
Walking beside Jaegyeom, Mesan glanced at him and timidly raised a hand. Without a word, Jaegyeom took the small warmth that reached for his own. The closer they got to the store, the tighter Mesan’s grip became with nervous little flinches.
There was an old wooden platform out front. When Jaegyeom had gotten off the bus earlier, it had been empty, but now two or three bent-backed old men were sitting there.
“You’re here?”
It seemed the greeting came from the store owner. Though they had never been introduced, he spoke as casually as if they had crossed paths several times already. The other old men had set out a dish of kimchi in the middle of the platform and were drinking rice wine together.
Jaegyeom only dipped his head slightly without saying anything. At some point Mesan had let go of his hand and hidden behind him, clutching a fistful of his T-shirt. The store owner smiled at them with a deeply lined, kindly face.
“Your little brother?”
“Huh?”
“That little one your younger brother?”
The others, halfway through lifting their cups, glanced over at Jaegyeom and Mesan. Flustered, Mesan shrank even farther behind Jaegyeom until only his nose was peeking out. After a brief silence, Jaegyeom moved his lips.
“No. He’s not my brother.”
“Not brothers? Then who is he?”
“He’s not my brother... just a kid I know.”
“I see.”
The owner nodded slowly and asked no more.
In a voice so low Mesan could barely hear it, Jaegyeom whispered, “It’s fine.”
Mesan only swallowed dryly in answer.
Just as Jaegyeom was about to slide open the door and go inside, something caught his eye.
There was an old freezer sitting outside.
Instead of entering the store, Jaegyeom headed for it.
The freezer was about as tall as Mesan. Thinking of the tube pop he had eaten at lunch, Jaegyeom opened the lid. He bent over and looked inside as cold air crept out in pale waves. Mesan, being so short, rose up on his toes to peek in too.
But unlike what Jaegyeom had hoped, there were no tube pops anywhere inside.
In the end, he had no choice but to pick out an ice cream bar on a stick. It must have been sitting in there for a long time, because the wrapper was thick with frost. After taking out his wallet and paying for it, he peeled the wrapper away. The long rectangular bar inside was pale green.
Jaegyeom placed the stick into Mesan’s hand.
“My lord, what is this?”
Glancing nervously at the old men on the platform, Mesan asked in a tiny voice.
“It said Merona on the wrapper.”
“D-does eating this put out the fire?”
Mesan asked with a grave expression, and Jaegyeom burst out laughing.
“Yeah, brat.”
Mesan hesitated for a second, then, apparently having made up his mind, bit into the ice cream. The sweet coldness hit him at once, and his eyes went so wide they looked ready to pop out of his head.
“Is it good?”
Mesan nodded frantically.
Jaegyeom watched him for a moment, then spoke in a low voice.
“Later, when you go back to your hometown...”
“Yes?”
“Brag to your friends.”
“About what?”
“Tell them you’ve eaten something like this.”
Mesan looked up at him in confusion.
“Hey. It’s melting. Eat first.”
Jaegyeom caught hold of the hand hanging idly at Mesan’s side.
On the day he completed the month, just as he had promised Jeongju, Jaegyeom meant to name his wish without the slightest hesitation.
Leave me, and go find lives of your own.
Hand in hand, Jaegyeom and Mesan turned back the way they had come, their joined hands swinging between them.
