Romantic Gangster

#13

Unable to refuse the offer to deliver since it was heavy, Lee Hyun-joon gave his address and left the supermarket empty-handed.

As he stood at the crosswalk, heading home after roughly folding and stuffing the long receipt into his pocket, he smelled a sweet and savory aroma from somewhere. It was exactly like the pheromone scent coming from Seo Ji-woo.

Turning his head abruptly while recalling that clear face, he noticed a bakery. Through the window, he could see someone moving freshly baked bread around.

Lee Hyun-joon, who had been watching this quietly, entered the bakery as if entranced.

“Welcome!”

Only after receiving the greeting from an employee arranging golden-brown bread did Lee Hyun-joon come to his senses and let out a small sigh. He couldn’t understand why he was doing things he never usually did.

Since he was already inside, he thought he might as well buy a few pieces of bread. Although he didn’t particularly enjoy it usually, he did eat it well when it was around.

“Please take a tray by the door, line it with paper, and choose your bread.”

“Ah, yes.”

Following the employee’s instructions, Lee Hyun-joon picked up a tray, lined it with paper, and moved along the displayed bread with tongs in hand, carefully observing. Although many looked delicious, he couldn’t concentrate on the bread. The sweet and soft smell inside the store was too similar to Seo Ji-woo’s pheromone scent.

Thinking that this might be how it would feel if that kid’s pheromone scent burst out more strongly, the bread faded from view and he found himself taking deep breaths without realizing it.

“…”

Worried the employee might find him strange, Lee Hyun-joon just randomly picked up various pieces of bread. At the checkout counter, he stared blankly at the castella cake.

He didn’t particularly want to buy that too, but he felt like he couldn’t leave the store without it. In the end, Lee Hyun-joon added the castella to his tray. He paid over 30,000 won for the bread and left the store with a rather heavy bag of bread.

He felt self-loathing as the reasons for becoming aware of the bakery, entering it as if entranced, and buying the castella were all too clear, but Lee Hyun-joon pretended not to know and crossed the crosswalk towards home.

Passing through the quiet multi-family housing alley, even during the day, and going further in, he came across a few houses with rooftop rooms. Familiar with the route, Lee Hyun-joon climbed the stairs to his house, briefly glancing at the wooden platform before entering. He placed the bread bag on a low folding table and took off his light outer garment.

Opening the window as it was a bit hot, a cool breeze flowed in from outside. Lee Hyun-joon, flapping his t-shirt to cool off, went into the bathroom to wash his hands and face with cold water. He felt he needed to clear his muddled mind.

“…”

Wiping the moisture from his hands and face with a stiff towel, Lee Hyun-joon came out and glared at the bread bag. Soon after, he sighed and sat on the floor, pulling the folding table towards him.

“It’s not the bread’s fault.”

Let’s eat, eat. Although it hadn’t been long since he had a meal, he felt a bit hungry after going to Friendly Loans, the supermarket, and the bakery. Lee Hyun-joon took out a bread he didn’t know the name of, but looked crispy and delicious, and put it in his mouth. It tasted of butter and was slightly salty, making it quite enjoyable.

After quickly devouring the other bread pieces, Lee Hyun-joon stared blankly at the square castella cake peeking out of the bag.

“…”

Right, what’s the castella’s fault? As he removed the clear plastic packaging, it smelled sweeter than the other bread. Lee Hyun-joon brought the castella close to his nose before taking a bite. He slowly inhaled the castella’s scent.

“Shit.”

How can a pheromone scent be like castella? It’s f*cking identical. Lee Hyun-joon put the castella down on the table and glared at it, concluding that it would be better to just eat it quickly and get rid of it. He picked up the square cake and took a large bite.

The soft texture melted in his mouth. The fluffy cake pressed against his tongue before dissolving, leaving only a sweet and soft taste in his mouth. Lee Hyun-joon’s ear tips turned bright red. Perhaps because the smell reminiscent of Seo Ji-woo persisted throughout eating, it was troubling that he kept having perverted thoughts like…

It felt like he was rolling Seo Ji-woo around in his mouth and swallowing him.

Wanting to escape this situation quickly, Lee Hyun-joon put the last bite in his mouth and swallowed it completely, then looked down at his slightly sticky fingers. The lingering sweetness on the tip of his tongue kept heating up some part of his mind. To forget all this, Lee Hyun-joon abruptly stood up, crumpled the empty castella bag and shoved it into the trash can, then went to the bathroom to wash his sticky hands. He turned on the cold water forcefully and scrubbed his hands vigorously.

“…”

It seemed he probably wouldn’t be able to eat castella anymore.

* * *

When he woke up from his nap, the sun had already set. Since he had eaten bread before sleeping, he wasn’t particularly hungry. Lee Hyun-joon roughly shook out his hair, put on a track top, and left the house. Checking his phone, which he hadn’t looked at while sleeping, he saw a series of messages had arrived.

[Kim Seung-chan: Going to Lucky, you coming?]

[Kim Seung-chan: Kang Si is coming by 8 too]

[Kim Seung-chan: Let’s order something to eat when you come]

[Kim Seung-chan: What are you doing? Working?]

The last message asked if he was working, as there had been no reply for a while. Lee Hyun-joon briefly replied that he was on his way and headed towards the station.

It was just past seven, so Seo Ji-woo would probably have arrived at the billiard hall for his part-time job. Ah, if I go now, won’t I run into him again? He’ll probably nag about school and be annoying. Maybe I should go a bit later.

However, contrary to his thoughts, his feet moved steadily and arrived at the building with the billiard hall. Lee Hyun-joon took the elevator up and opened the door with a tacky large sticker that read “Lucky Billiards.”

“Oh, Hyun-joon. You’re here.”

“Yes.”

After greeting the owner, Lee Hyun-joon quickly scanned the surroundings with his eyes. He could see Kim Seung-chan and a few others who had already arrived and were playing billiards. He briefly raised his hand to greet those who noticed him and waved, and looked behind the counter where the owner sat, but Seo Ji-woo was nowhere to be seen. Lee Hyun-joon casually leaned his arm on the counter and moved closer to the owner.

“Has that flyer part-timer not come yet?”

“Ah, Ji-woo?”

“Yes.”

“Ji-woo finished and left earlier.”

“Already?”

“It’s Saturday, you know. He came in the morning and finished everything in two hours.”

“Ah…”

Lee Hyun-joon let out a short breath, only realizing it was Saturday after hearing it from the owner. If he had done his part-time job in the morning and gone home, he wouldn’t have any reason to come here at night.

That’s good. Don’t have to deal with any annoyance.

Feeling a bit deflated contrary to his thoughts, he was about to head towards his friends when the owner’s words stopped him.

“Didn’t you get in touch with Ji-woo?”

“What kind of contact?”

“Yesterday, Ji-woo was really worried about you. Said he couldn’t see you at school, you weren’t coming to the billiard hall, couldn’t see you anywhere. So I gave him your phone number. Didn’t he call?”

“He didn’t…”

Just as he was about to answer nonchalantly, he remembered getting a call from an unknown number. Lee Hyun-joon quickly took out his phone and looked at the unfamiliar number left in his missed calls.

“The last four digits 2332, is this Seo Ji-woo’s number?”

“Hold on… Let me see.”

The owner took out Ji-woo’s contract from the drawer, checked the phone number, and nodded.

“Yeah, that’s right. That kid is really quirky and cute. He didn’t know your phone number but knew your house address. After seeing only hardened kids coming here every day, seeing a real high school student was nice. Made me think I was once like that too. Well, not that you’re not youthful or anything.”

The owner grinned awkwardly, looking at Lee Hyun-joon. Not feeling like smiling, Lee Hyun-joon tilted his head askew.

“How long is his part-time job?”

“It was supposed to be a week, but the kid did the job so well that he finished distributing everything I had prepared today. So it ended today. I’m planning to call him again for the next event. The kid is really diligent.”

“Then he won’t be coming tomorrow either, right?”

“No, he won’t.”

Lee Hyun-joon felt strangely upset again at the owner’s matter-of-fact response. Not understanding why, he went to his friends with a crumpled mood and sank into the sofa.

‘See you tomorrow, Hyun-joon.’

Was it just a casual greeting, and I alone thought I’d definitely see him today? Is it similar to saying “Let’s have a meal sometime” even to someone you might never see again?

“Aren’t you playing?”

“No.”

“Why, feeling off?”

“You guys play first.”

Lee Hyun-joon answered curtly without even looking at the billiard table and leaned his head back on the sofa.

“…”

It should be nice not seeing him, no annoyance, but why do I feel so crappy? Why am I so irritated that he came in the morning and finished all his work, knowing full well I’d come at night? Is this even something to be irritated about? It doesn’t seem like it. No, but why is it bothering me so much I’m going crazy?

“Hah…”

What am I thinking? It should be good when an annoying person goes away. As if I’d go to school.

Lee Hyun-joon, turning his head while having these childish thoughts, suddenly stood up. He showed his cigarette pack to Kim Seung-chan who asked where he was going, and left the billiard hall.

Standing at the building entrance, Lee Hyun-joon put a cigarette in his mouth and lit the long end. Even after repeatedly taking deep drags and slowly exhaling the smoke, his mood didn’t improve much.

Stop thinking about it, idiot. Don’t even look around wondering if he might come. Lee Hyun-joon exhaled cigarette smoke with a sigh and took in the faces of passing people.

“…”

The bitter taste of cigarettes spread over the sweet taste of castella, still vivid in his memory from before falling asleep.

* * *