KDL 2

TL cheev4 • ED pomegranad

Reed at bigbutadorabIe . bl0gsp0t . c0m

The day I graduated from high school, my sweet high school romance ended.

"I’m sorry, Yeol-ah. I like Suho."

My first ever girlfriend told me.

Her slender face lowered, the mist of her winter breath forming a halo around her. Her long eyelashes, her bright eyes, and every single facial feature of the girl I liked gradually faded, spreading and merging with the cloudy fog.

Lee Yujin looked pale, it was probably the guilt and pity getting to her.

"Ah, I get it."

I lowered my head and rubbed my eyes. They still stung from a blow from yesterday's sparring. The sun's rays reflected on the piled snow making it worse. It burnt my eyes.

"Be careful on your way home. And congratulations on your graduation."

I could hear her calling my name but I did not raise my head. I turned around instead. I filled my mind with thoughts about the match I had to play the next week. “It snowed a lot this year”. The cold was harsh and I want to be buried in it.

“Yeol-ah.”

A voice called me from the front but it wasn't Yujin.

It was a voice I recognized so well I didn’t even have to lift my head. I had spent way too much time with the basterd owner of this voice.

“Choi Suho.”

I finally looked up and stared straight at Choi Suho. The snowflakes swirling in the air appeared as if they were fused to his figure. His fair face shone from their midst.

I thought this guy would feel guilty. Or at least show an embarrassed face.

Choi Suho looked okay. Even after he overheard my girlfriend confessing her feelings for him.

I shouldn't be so mad over this. Everything was beyond my will.

I couldn't help it if Yujin liked someone else. But out of all the guys in the world, that someone just had to be Choi Suho. My first ever girlfriend fell in love with my best friend of 13 years.

Enduring the tingling cold on my cheeks, I sped up my steps.

"Treat Yujin well."

I managed out as I passed Suho, the cold air making my throat sting

I did not want to see Suho's face right now.

"Why should I treat her well?" His words stilled my steps. "I'm not interested in her. I don't even have a relationship with her. I have no intention of treating her nicely."

"What..."

"If it wasn't that she was dating you, I wouldn’t have even looked at her in the first place."

I turned around, and there, I saw Lee Yujin crouched down in the snow, crying. My head went blank for a moment.

The next thing I knew, my fist had suddenly become airborne. Choi Suho did not avoid it. A loud thump and then I was sitting on top of the fallen Choi Suho. Bloodstains splattered the white snow and stained the corner of his mouth.

His eyes were still staring at me from his position on the ground.

Choi Suho's eyes remained on me until I got up and left.

* * *

Each time I stretched out my hand, a powerful force struck back against my knuckles.

The sandbag shook violently and came back to me. I punched it again relentlessly.

"Wow, calm down, man. You look like a total psycho. The break bell rang, aren't you gonna rest?"

Jiwon-noona, who was jumping rope next to me, asked. It's a weekday morning, so it's only the two of us at the gym. Even my brother, the owner, was away. The gym was empty.

"I'm relieving my stress."

"You'll get hurt if you keep doing that."

That was the point. When I hit someone, I have to be prepared to get hurt. I punched the sandbag harder.

I'm okay getting beaten up because all I want is to punch someone who can punch me back equally, a fair match. I wanted to vent my anger without feeling guilty.

"You’re going to lose your hand. Come on, stop and watch TV with me. It's so scary seeing you throwing those punches with that face."

"Thank you for your concern, but just watch it alone."

"I don't know what's going on, but relieving stress like that will only leave you with muscle pain―Oh, it's Choi Suho."

A familiar face appeared on the TV screen. It only fueled my rage.

I looked away. However, Choi Suho's face overlapped with the sandbag in front of me. Frustrated, I let the sandbag swing back without even hitting it.

"What's wrong with his face?" Jiwon-noona commented.

I shouldn't look back, but Jiwon-noona's comment tormented me. I had an ominous feeling.

My hunch hit the mark. Choi Suho on the screen was a sight to behold. His lips were cracked and scabbing with a thin bruise sitting on the corner of his cheek.

“Well, isn’t that a bit strange?”

Well, it's because I beat him up. Naturally, I couldn't say that, of course, so I just wiped off my trickling sweat.

I stopped the returning sandbag. Seeing him all bruised made my enthusiasm to punch suddenly vanish.

"Shouldn't an actor cover wounds like that up? Or maybe they’re more serious than they seem? Ai, those look too bad."

"......"

"He seems to have been injured while filming a drama. I think he's doing a spy one this time? With wire action and whatnot. It must be hard. I'm learning stunt acting these days. Unlike working out, it's no joke."

That's ridiculous. Who gets hurt filming a drama? Jiwon-noona liked saying whatever she wanted. Knowing that guy, he wouldn’t show it off if he really got hurt while filming a drama. He was always serious and passionate about his work.

“Haah, acting is not an easy thing ah. But Yeol-ah, it looks like it’s your phone.”

The sound of a cell phone ringtone came from the locker room. Yeah, that was my phone.

“I’ll be back.”

If it's Choi Suho, I'm not going to take it. That was what came to my mind first. However, when I opened my locker up and pulled out my phone, the screen shone with an unavoidable number.

- Hey, Yeol-ah. Mom made some special food today. Take Suho some, will ya?

Even before I could say Hello, words poured out from the receiver, words asking an errand to be run too. But why did Mom even call me at this hour in the first place?

“I’m working out.”

- Mom knows that.

Is this what people who knew do?

"Tell me honestly, where did you pick me up from? Who's your real son? Choi Suho?"

- Hey, take a good look at your Daddy's face. No way a face as handsome as Choi Suho's could be passed down by that face.

"I'm gonna tell Dad."

- Like it or not, you know I'm telling the truth.

Indeed, it was hard to find any fault in Mrs. Park's words.

"Anyway, I’m busy today. Can I not do it?"

- Did you fight with Suho?

“What fight?”

- You two ain't kids anymore, why are you fighting? What did you have to fight about with such a nice boy?

“Choi Suho is a good boy?”

- He is. There's no nicer boy than Suho.

Well, of course. Choi Suho had always been very sweet and polite. But only in front of my family. Especially since my Mom spoiled him like her own child from a young age. I'm sure she would believe him if Choi Suho boasted that he made wine from water.

- Anyway, I've prepared the food at home. You have to bring it to Suho. No complaining. It's close to home too. I'll call your brother later to check if you're still at the gym and ignoring your errand. I'm going to a salon now. Bye bye~

“Wait, Mom. Mom! Mrs. Park!”

The call cut off abruptly. Oh, for fack's sake. At this point, I’m starting to think that I'm adopted and Suho is her real biological son.

I seriously didn't want to see that guy.

"You're still watching TV?" I asked Jiwon-noona after changing clothes. Her hands were still holding a jump rope, but her eyes were too focused on the TV.

"Yeah? Oh, I'm a fan of Choi Suho."

"Really? Choi Suho?"

"He's handsome and seems like a good-natured boy. It would be nice to have a younger brother like him."

Being amazed was understandable, but wanting him as a younger brother? I cringed.

"He has a bad personality."

"Yes?"

"Choi Suho. He has a bad personality."

"No way. He doesn't look like that at all. Anyway, Yeol-ah, Don't you need to meet the manager?"

"Yes. Please tell Hyung I'm out for a while cuz of mother’s errand."

"An errand again?"

"Yeah, turns out I was picked up from the streets."

"Woah, a family secret? Good luck, man!"

I said bye to Jiwon-noona and left the gym. The cold wind blowing on the street made the trickling sweat on my skin dry quickly.

"I couldn’t even shower."

There are, naturally, some advantages to being related to the owner of the gym you go to. But the bad thing is that you will never be allowed to go pro before you finally die. You’ll definitely be forced to run an errand mid-workout too. And even worse, you’ll have your darling older brother to act as a handy dandy to act sentry, so you’ll absolutely have no chance to play hooky.

It didn't take long to reach Suho's apartment. It was a 10-minute walk from the gym to my house, and another 5 minutes from my house to Suho's.

For a brief moment, I stopped in front of his door to reflect on the biggest mistake I’d made in my life. Why the h*ll did I have to meet this basterd, and become friends?

The moment the door opened to reveal Choi Suho's face, I found the answer. Yes, it was all because of that face.

I used to protect Choi Suho from bullies because he looked so pretty and weak. Oh, how clouded childrens’ judgement is. Who would’ve thought naive misjudgment in your childhood would lead to such a result?

"Mom told me to give this to you."

Choi Suho smiled brightly.

“Yeol-ah.”

Without any hesitation, he pulled my hand to him. That's how he always is, always behaving as if nothing happened whenever something went wrong. But it's also my fault for always letting him crawl back to me, welcoming him with open arms despite being tired of him. The importance of making good friends is not just a crappy moral to be taken from a cheesy saying. If you befriend the wrong person, you will suffer for the rest of your life.

This time, I really should cut him off.

“I knew you would come.”

“I didn’t come here because I wanted to.”

Paying no attention to my grumbling, Choi Suho just hugged me tightly.

"But it’s because Yeol is sweet."

I really hate this guy.

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