Romantic Gangster

#61

After finishing all the meat they’d bought and emptying the frying pan with fried rice, it had become completely dark.

When Ji-woo insisted on at least doing the dishes, feeling bad about not helping with dinner preparation and only eating, Hyun-joon handed him a comic book and claimed the sink for himself.

Still not giving up, Ji-woo expressed several times that he wanted to do it, but Hyun-joon wouldn’t budge. He had no intention of letting him do it from the start.

“Then I’ll at least clean the rooftop floor.”

“Where are you going when I’m right here? Stay here.”

“I feel uncomfortable letting you do all the work.”

“We’re not strangers or just friends, we’re dating – why should that make you uncomfortable? You think I’m the type who likes making you do all the housework while I lie around?”

“It’s not that, I just feel sorry. You prepared dinner alone while I was sleeping, and you’re cleaning everything… taking out the trash alone too. Ah, you won’t even let me help carry heavy things. Oh right, you paid for everything too…”

Watching Ji-woo count off his contributions on his fingers, Hyun-joon grinned and tilted his head.

“Hey, so should I tell you to take out the trash and carry all the heavy stuff? Would I want to make someone I like do things like that? Don’t you know how I feel, really?”

Ji-woo quietly looked up at Hyun-joon’s face before shaking his head and coming closer to rest his head against Hyun-joon’s arm as he did the dishes.

“…I know. Because I feel the same way.”

“…”

“My feelings are exactly the same as yours.”

Hyun-joon gripped the plate tightly, moved by how cute Ji-woo was being – gently rubbing his head against his arm and speaking in a slightly dejected voice. He could have snapped the plate in half with the force. Hyun-joon barely managed to relax his trembling hands and quickly rinsed the soap-covered plate.

Though there was still one frying pan left, it seemed better to clean that tomorrow. It’s not like they needed it right away anyway. He couldn’t keep washing dishes while Ji-woo was being adorable without even realizing he was being adorable.

After quickly rinsing all the dishes and setting them aside, Hyun-joon quickly washed his hands, roughly dried them, and turned toward Ji-woo. Surely Ji-woo was the only person in the world who could look sad about not being allowed to do dishes.

Hyun-joon grabbed Ji-woo’s waist with both hands and lifted him up to rest against his shoulder. Though he could feel Ji-woo patting his back in surprise, he had no intention of putting him down.

Roughly slipping his feet into slippers and heading out to the rooftop, he saw the night had grown much darker. He laid Ji-woo down on the clean deck, gently pressing down his shoulders when he tried to get up, and lay down beside him.

Only then did Ji-woo relax, letting the tension leave his body that had been half-raised. He felt Hyun-joon’s arm slide under his head. Though he knew Hyun-joon was actually tender-hearted despite his outward appearance, whenever he suddenly showed that tenderness through actions like this, it made his heart flutter wildly. It made him feel both excited and happy.

“Ji-woo.”

It was the same when he called his name. Though it didn’t matter how he was addressed, whenever Hyun-joon called just his given name without his surname like that, it made his heart tingle all over.

“…Yeah.”

The arm under Ji-woo’s head lifted and curled around him. Ji-woo’s body rolled halfway, pressing against Hyun-joon. Hyun-joon wrapped his arms around Ji-woo’s small frame like he was capturing him, even lifting his legs to completely bind Ji-woo’s body.

“I’m going to keep doing this from now on. I’ll do the dishes, carry all the heavy things. Trash? Of course I’ll handle that, and I’ll clean the house too. I don’t want to make you do any of that.”

“I don’t like you doing everything alone…”

Hyun-joon laughed at the cute voice muffled against his chest, kissed Ji-woo’s ear with a ‘chu’ sound, and played with his nape.

“I know. But look at our wrists. Whose is thicker? You or me?”

“…You.”

“Right, me. Who’s taller?”

“You…”

“Who weighs more?”

“Youu…”

“Who’s stronger?”

“…That’s you too.”

“Right. So I should do it.”

Though he thought he’d made a perfectly logical argument, he heard more mumbling from within his embrace. Hyun-joon slightly pulled away to meet Ji-woo’s eyes as he looked up with his chin resting on Hyun-joon’s chest. His face in the lantern light was… beautiful beyond what should be possible.

“Still…”

“Pretty people aren’t supposed to do that kind of work.”

“Don’t joke around.”

“Hey, who’s joking? Is your prettiness a joke? Who told you to be so pretty?”

The indignant expression was too cute to just look at. Hyun-joon lowered his head and pressed his lips all over Ji-woo’s face. After kissing his forehead, cheeks, and nose bridge with little ‘chu’ sounds, when he reached his lips, the soft, warm lips that had been closed parted gently.

Every time he felt Ji-woo accepting him, he really… felt like he would go crazy. Thinking that Ji-woo’s heart might be melting and overflowing just like his own made his head spin.

Rubbing his tongue, which tasted like the mint toothpaste from his home, against Ji-woo’s, Hyun-joon sucked softly on Ji-woo’s lower lip. He wanted to express how much he liked him but felt frustrated, never having learned how or knowing how to express it.

“I like you so much but I don’t know how to make you understand it all.”

“…”

“So at least let me do these things.”

“…I know without you doing those things.”

“How can you know if I don’t express it?”

“I still know everything.”

“Pretty and smart too.”

How could I not know? When you hold me so warmly and tightly like this. When you won’t let go as if you don’t want to be apart, and when you turn your head and move your gaze to find me whenever I move even slightly. I know everything. This kind of warmth isn’t something you can have just because you want it.

“I lived with my grandmother until third year of middle school. Every day when I came home from school and part-time jobs, she would hug me like this. She’d hug me before school, before bed… It was so natural, every single day…”

The story from somewhere deep in Ji-woo’s heart flowed gently. Hyun-joon listened carefully while slowly rubbing Ji-woo’s back.

“After grandmother passed away, I realized. That it wasn’t something to take for granted. I learned then that having grandmother with me wasn’t natural, and I also learned that I couldn’t do anything alone.”

“…”

“Whenever I felt scared and struggling alone, I would think how nice it would be if grandmother could come and hug me just once. I felt so sorry thinking she probably couldn’t rest in peace because of me…”

As Ji-woo’s voice sounded like he was holding back tears, Hyun-joon took a small breath and playfully imprisoned Ji-woo completely with both arms and legs, hugging him tighter.

“Now that you have such an awesome grandson-in-law, grandmother must be completely at peace.”

“…Grandson-in-law?”

“Yeah, me.”

Surprised by the sudden bold statement, Ji-woo squirmed trying to escape from his embrace. But he couldn’t overcome Hyun-joon’s strength.

“Stay still. You like it. From now on, even if scary and hard times come – though they probably won’t – I’ll make sure you’re not scared or struggling at all, so don’t worry. And now I’ll hug you every day. I’ll hug you whenever I can, sleep while hugging you, so grandmother really won’t worry anymore.”

“…Okay.”

The tears that he’d managed to hold back even while talking about his grandmother burst forth at Hyun-joon’s gentle voice. Knowing that he was deliberately acting playful for his sake made him feel even more grateful and reassured.

“Now you have to marry me too. We can’t confuse grandmother by changing her grandson-in-law.”

“Hmm… Marriage should be approached carefully.”

“Hey, Seo Ji-woo. Where did all the emotion go? You think you could be satisfied looking at another face after seeing this face? Quickly say you’ll do it with me. Quickly.”

When he playfully poked Ji-woo’s waist with his fingertip, Ji-woo twisted and burst out laughing. Hyun-joon grinned mischievously at Ji-woo, who was laughing clearly despite tears spreading around his eyes, and poked his waist again firmly.

“Ahaha,” the happy laughter echoed up to the pitch-black sky covering the rooftop.

* * *

Though the weekend that had been so wonderful it felt wasteful to let time pass ended, it wasn’t too disappointing since being together with Ji-woo hadn’t changed. He knew that as long as he could be with Ji-woo, he could spend every day pleasantly and warmly.

But he also knew there was something he had to finish first. As soon as school ended, Hyun-joon went home to change clothes, pulled a black cap low over his face, and headed to a place he didn’t really want to go.

This would be the last visit to this place that never gave him good feelings. That thought alone was enough reason to take steps forward. Hyun-joon entered the old building without hesitation and climbed the stairs. The words “Friendly Loans” and the smiley sticker on the door felt out of place no matter how many times he saw them.

Adjusting his cap and turning the doorknob, a strange sight met his eyes through the open door. Several of the thugs who usually collected money for Friendly Loans were kneeling on the floor, covered in blood. Some were so badly hurt their eyes were swollen shut, and blood dripped from their mouths with each breath.

Baek Ju-seung was standing at his desk, trying to contain his anger while breathing heavily. When the door opened, his face, which had been glaring as if to say ‘what now,’ spread into an artificial smile.

“Oh, Hyun-joon’s here? Come in, come in. The office is a bit messy, isn’t it? Couldn’t clean up since I didn’t know you were coming.”

Hyun-joon entered and nodded slightly in greeting. Baek Ju-seung approached and patted his back, then turned back to the thugs kneeling on the floor with a sharp gaze and shouted.