OCB Special Story 5

[I’m back in Korea. Call me when you’re off work.]

Since he’d returned earlier than expected, Jaeyoon figured Hyerin would be surprised. After texting her, he also informed Hyungwon with a brief message: [Just landed in Korea.] The reply came instantly—[Let’s get food]—and just like that, they met up.

As a teacher, Hyungwon had a more relaxed schedule during winter break. So before even unpacking his luggage, Jaeyoon got pulled out of the house, wearing a neat coat, while Hyungwon, who had been lazing around at home, showed up in sweats.

After looking Jaeyoon up and down, Hyungwon snickered, “Lookin’ like a chaebol” and Jaeyoon clicked his tongue, saying Hyungwon looked like an unemployed bum with his hoodie up.

Despite being complete opposites, the two walked side by side.

Since Jaeyoon had just come from abroad, Hyungwon insisted on Korean food and brought him to a kimchi stew place. Normally, Jaeyoon might’ve been bothered by the garlicky smell clinging to clothes, but oddly, it felt refreshing. Maybe the Korean blood in him was real after all.

Spicy, salty, and sour kimchi stew—he scarfed down a full bowl of rice in no time and set his spoon down with satisfaction. Only after stuffing himself did Hyungwon finally ask how things had been.

“How was the UK?”

“It was good. Nice to see my mom after a while. Her husband’s a good guy, and my little sister’s grown so much. She was shy at first, but didn’t want to let go when we parted. Super cute.”

Hyungwon’s chewing mouth curved upward at that. After swallowing, he asked again,

“If it was good, why’d you come back early? You could’ve stayed longer. Didn’t your mom try to stop you?”

“Don’t even get me started—she asked if I couldn’t just bring Hyerin over to live in the UK. Told me to stay longer and all, but I missed her too much. Being apart was harder than I thought.”

Jaeyoon buried his face in his phone, looking at a picture of Hyerin. Hyungwon stared blankly out the window and muttered a curse.

“Fucking kill me already…”

Looking sick of it all, he shoved his face into his rice bowl. Only after polishing off the pot clean did he lift his head again. Jaeyoon, now massaging his forehead, was silently counting the number of empty bowls in front of Hyungwon. His appetite was always insane. His mother’s generous servings were likely because of him.

“You got a headache or something? Why do you keep rubbing your forehead…?”

Then Hyungwon spotted a shiny ring on Jaeyoon’s hand and asked casually,

“What’s the ring?”

Jaeyoon, almost as if he’d been waiting for the question, wiggled his long fingers. The small gem on the ring caught the light and hit Hyungwon’s eyes dead on. Squinting hard, Hyungwon closed his eyes while Jaeyoon proudly replied,

“Hyerin gave it to me.”

“Don’t tell me you’ve been rubbing your forehead all day just to show that off—”

“She has such great taste. Is there anyone on Earth cooler than Joo Hyerin?”

Hyungwon shuddered at the image of Hyerin with her fingers covered in rings. At this point, the two could open a jewelry store.

“Jesus Christ… I can’t with you two.”

Fed up with their sickening sweetness, Hyungwon stood up first to leave.

“Thanks for the meal, boss.”

He paid and ran for it, but Jaeyoon easily caught up and walked beside him. It was a weekday afternoon, and the downtown streets were relatively quiet. Lively music from surrounding shops clashed noisily in the air.

“You still haven’t heard from Hyerin?”

“Yeah, probably busy with work.”

“Wanna hit a PC bang*? Haven’t gamed together in ages.”

[*T/N: an internet cafe where people can rent computers to use]

“Yeah, sure, why not.”

Jaeyoon kept answering half-heartedly, his nose practically glued to photos of Hyerin. Clicking his tongue at the sight, Hyungwon suddenly stopped in front of a store and tugged at Jaeyoon’s sleeve.

“Let’s stop by here for a second.”

Jaeyoon raised an eyebrow when he saw it was a hair accessory shop playing some peppy song. The pink sign and blinding accessories couldn’t have clashed more with Hyungwon’s vibe.

“You seeing someone?”

“…No.”

Hyungwon hesitated at the question, then quickly walked away like he was fleeing. Jaeyoon, now intrigued, followed him into the store. As the two broad-shouldered men stepped into the frilly little shop, the women inside glanced at them, whispering among themselves.

“You are seeing someone. Who? How old? Is she pretty?”

“…It’s not like that. I just… promised I’d buy it again.”

Jaeyoon let out a low whistle. Though generally easygoing, Hyungwon had always been extremely cautious when it came to women. So despite his popularity since they were kids—regardless of gender—he’d never had any dating rumors. Given that his view of relationships leaned toward “first love = marriage,” this was actually a pretty big deal.

“Who could you even meet in your daily routine? A fellow teacher?”

“Hey, don’t pry—”

“Don’t tell me she’s a student.”

“….”

The joke hit a nerve. Hyungwon’s silence made a chill run down Jaeyoon’s back. To prove his “I promised I’d buy it again” line, Hyungwon walked straight to a section with stretched-out hair ties. No hesitation, no browsing.

Jaeyoon frowned at the childish hair ties with little bells on them.

“If you want to come to your senses, I can punch you right now.”

“What the hell are you thinking? She’s an adult. Stop asking.”

“But a student, right?”

“Hey, enough.”

“…Wow.”

“I’ll tell you later. Later.”

Sighing endlessly, Hyungwon meticulously inspected each hair tie. His large hands looked absurdly mismatched with the tiny accessories, the contrast so stark it was almost creepy.

Noticing Jaeyoon’s gaze, Hyungwon cleared his throat loudly and changed the subject.

“So… you’re still not thinking about having kids?”

“Nice deflection.”

“Just answer the question. So? Not at all?”

“Nope.”

Jaeyoon responded without a moment’s hesitation. Surprised, Hyungwon clicked his tongue in his mouth.

“Really? Even though you’re marrying Hyerin?”

“Pregnancy’s hard on a woman’s body.”

Hyungwon turned his head sharply to stare at Jaeyoon.

“…Hey, did you actually have surgery?”

“Hyerin’s the most important thing in my life. I even translated a book about it. Want to read it?”

Hyungwon just stared blankly, shaking his head in disbelief. He looked at Jaeyoon like he was an alien species.

“What are you, trying to make me and all the dads in the world look like jerks?”

Jaeyoon simply shrugged as if to say, Not my problem.

“What did Hyerin say?”

“She said just the two of us living together would feel like a honeymoon every day.”

“Geez, you two are like peas in a pod.”

Letting out a series of dry laughs, Hyungwon scoured the display of bell-adorned hair ties from top to bottom. Then he approached the middle-aged store owner in the back.

“Boss, do you have any Pikachu hair ties? I bought one here last time.”

“Ah, those sold out— we’ve only got Paras, Weedle, and oh! We’ve got Raichu!”

“Sigh… that won’t do… I need Pikachu.”

Jaeyoon watched his friend slump his shoulders and shook his head. Apparently that girl’s defenses weren’t just high—they were carpet-bomb level. Seeing his 21-year friendship reduced to despair over the absence of a Pikachu hair tie was almost surreal.

His dejected friend returned clutching a Raichu hair tie and muttered under his breath.

“Why’d he have to evolve, seriously…”

“They didn’t have it?”

“No. Should I just buy the Raichu one? I mean, besides getting fatter and learning Flamethrower, I don’t really see the difference. A rat’s a rat, right?”

“Fuck… Why are you asking me that?”

Ignoring his friend seriously contemplating the Raichu hair tie, Jaeyoon picked up a fluffy cat-ear headband. Hyungwon glanced at it and asked,

“You… you’re actually buying that?”

“Yeah. Wouldn’t Haerin look cute wearing it?”

“She’s not a kid, why would she—wait. Ah.”

When Jaeyoon silently grinned, Hyungwon let out a heavy sigh, as if realizing something, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“God, you’re such a goddamn perv.”

“Whatever. She’s mine now.”

Jaeyoon flashed a smile and casually flipped his middle finger at him. The ring on it caught the light again, stabbing Hyungwon’s eyes like a flashbang. Jaeyoon strolled past his suffering friend and placed the headband on the counter.

“For your little sister? What a nice oppa,” the cheerful shop owner smiled warmly.

Jaeyoon neither confirmed nor denied it, just returned a good-natured smile. As he finished paying and received the small paper bag, his phone vibrated softly in his pocket.

It was the call he’d been waiting for.

He slapped Hyungwon on the back on his way out.

“Hey, I’m heading out first. Just buy whatever—Raichu, Snorlax, or whatever.”

“What? What about the PC bang?”

Jaeyoon held out his phone, the screen showing an incoming call from My Prince. No name, but the expression on Hyungwon’s face twisted with disgust, waving his hand like swatting a fly—just go already. Jaeyoon didn’t hesitate to turn and leave.

“Hello—”

—“Oppa! You’re in Korea? What the—why, why, why! You said you’d be here tomorrow! Ugh, if I’d known, I would’ve taken the day off!”

Her bright, excited voice rushed out like a waterfall. Jaeyoon inhaled deeply and let out a soft chuckle.

“I missed you. I missed you so much, I came early.”

—“Ugh… welcome home. I’ve been waiting like crazy for you!”

In that short time apart, Jaeyoon became certain of one thing—

The place he wanted to be, now and always, was by Joo Haerin’s side.

—“Did you eat? I’ll take half the day off and head over. Are you home?”

“Wait there. I’ll come pick you up. Be right there.”

If life was a film, then in the movie called Jung Jaeyoon, the lead role would be Joo Haerin.

She lit up the dullest scenes just by stepping in. She shone so brightly that everything else disappeared. At some point, scenes without her started to feel like wasted frames—just filler to be cut later.

He wanted to hand over the lead role to her and become the director. To make her the most brilliant star. To make sure their story ended happily.

He wished to live just one day longer than her—

So that after she died, he could spend that final day editing all the scenes they’d shared.

Then, on the next day, he would bring her the finished movie and show her—

Just how radiant she was as the main character of his life.

How unbearably, maddeningly, endlessly he had loved her—

Even as his flesh rotted and his bones returned to dust, he’d keep telling her that.

—“Oppa, I can’t wait. Hurry.”

Her sweet rush made Jaeyoon break into a run.

The paper bag in his hand bounced with each light step.

“Yeah, I’ll fly to you.”

 

If the rest of his life was filled with her, then this movie would definitely have a happy ending.

---

That was the end of this angsty ride, everyone! I hope you enjoyed the novel like I did. While I’m lowkey disappointed they won’t have cute babies, I think the reasoning behind it is very sweet (and very in character) so I’ll give Jaeyoon a pass lol. Well then, until the next novel!