Black & Grey

Taking a photo of Gaang seriously while leaning backward like a pro, Yoochan asked. There was no answer, so Yoochan looked around. Jungeol, who had walked to the end of the hallway, was talking to Taeho in front of a blocked wall.“Jungeol Hyung! Let’s go together!”Yoochan shouted as he ran towards Jungeol. Jungeol glanced at Yoochan and then spoke to Taeho.“Lee Taeho. Lower the music volume. My ears hurt.”Come to think of it, the music seemed louder than before. Taeho, with an embarrassed expression, replied to Jungeol’s words.“Ah, Jaehyuk Hyung just asked me to turn it up because it was too quiet to focus… Shall I lower it again?”“Sigh…”Jungeol, looking tired, gestured Taeho to go ahead. Taeho responded briefly with a “Yes,” and waddled off. Jungeol opened the iron door at the very end and stepped inside. As the door was about to close, Yoochan spoke.“Hyung, what are you doing? Can I watch?”“What’s there to see when someone is sleeping.”“He’s sleeping now?”Yoochan looked at his wristwatch. It was 8:15 in the morning.“Is it okay to sleep now? Didn’t you say you have work in an hour?”“You took ten minutes, so now it’s fifty minutes.”Jungeol’s eyelids blinked slowly as if he hadn’t slept. Yoochan, remembering something, spoke.“By the way, why does a tattooist show sleeping more often than doing tattoos in the shop?”“What?”“The first time we met, you were sleeping under the bed… The second time, you lay down on the sofa to sleep, and now you’re going in to sleep again. Didn’t you do boxing? Is your stamina low?”“If you ran my schedule for a week, you wouldn’t say that.”“If you’re so busy, can’t you go home to sleep whenever you get a chance?”“It’s far. An hour away by car.”Jungeol, looking tired, swept up his bangs as he answered. Yoochan looked at Jungeol’s hollow eyes and pointed to the speaker attached to the wall with his chin.“This is not a good environment for sleeping.”Loud music was coming from speakers installed all over the shop.“You can’t get a good sleep in this.”“If I don’t sleep even for a bit, I won’t be able to work today. If you’re done being curious, you should go now.”Just as Jungeol, looking weary, was about to close the door, pushing Yoochan’s head away, Yoochan squeezed his head through the gap and spoke suddenly.“You know, can I lend you my room?”Jungeol furrowed his eyebrows at the unexpected suggestion.“Why?”“I actually live on the 14th floor here. I moved in yesterday. It’s a two-room duplex, so there’s plenty of space. If you’re sleepy, you can come and sleep there.”“So, why should I sleep in your two-room duplex on the 14th floor?”Jungeol’s snappy response came out more curtly than usual from lack of sleep. Yoochan, with wide eyes and a completely unaffected expression, said in response to the potentially offensive remark.“We agreed to be like brothers, right?”Jungeol sighed in exasperation. The foolishly innocent Yoochan seemed amusing to him, and he softened his expression a bit before pushing Yoochan’s head again.“Thanks for the offer, but I’ll pass.”“Why?”“Because I can clearly see what you’ll ask in return for letting me sleep.”“Oh, come on. You think I’d pester you to give me a tattoo just for letting you sleep a bit?”“…”“I guess that’s a no, right?”“… Go upstairs.”Jungeol, with a knowing expression, pushed Yoochan’s head harder.“Oh, Hyung. I was joking. That was a joke. Don’t get mad.”Just as the heavy force pushed Yoochan’s head out of the door.“Ah.”Suddenly, Jungeol let out a short groan and removed his hand from Yoochan’s head. Yoochan looked at Jungeol’s tightly gripped left wrist and clicked his tongue.“You’ve been like this for two years, and it still hurts? Hyung, if you keep boxing with that wrist, it’s going to be a big problem.”“I quit earlier this year because I didn’t have time.”Jungeol replied nonchalantly, rotating his wrist. His constantly furrowed brows indicated that it was quite painful.Having injured his wrist, ankle, teeth, and more, Yoochan could relate to Jungeol’s condition. Yoochan frowned as if in thought, then glanced behind Jungeol’s shoulder into the room. There was a compression bandage on the shelf right in front.“Step aside for a moment, Hyung.”Yoochan pushed Jungeol’s chest and entered the room. He picked up the bandage and pulled Jungeol’s left wrist.Jungeol reflexively tried to pull his wrist away but eventually stopped due to the throbbing pain and reluctantly let Yoochan handle it. Yoochan smiled and began wrapping the bandage around Jungeol’s wrist.“Don’t be stubborn and stay still. You know you need to do this since you left it in a visible place. But you didn’t do it because it’s a hassle, right?”“…Whatever.”Jungeol’s lips tightened as if he had been caught. Yoochan pulled the bandage tightly around his wrist.“It’s annoying to do it every day and to change it every time you wash your hands, but still, do it. And do wrist exercises often. Your wrist is your asset, Hyung.”In the blink of an eye, Yoochan finished wrapping the compression bandage around Jungeol’s wrist and tied it tightly.“Am I useful?”Yoochan let go of Jungeol’s hand and looked at him with a face asking for praise. Jungeol, looking at the well-fixed bandage with a curious expression, replied with a subtle smile.“Yeah. You’re useful.”Satisfied with the compliment, Yoochan nodded and looked at his watch.“Forty-five minutes left. Sleep well. Take care of your wrist, oh, and one more thing.”As Yoochan was about to leave, he suddenly turned around and said.“What I said earlier about giving me a tattoo in exchange for letting you sleep was just a joke. If you’re tired, come up and sleep anytime, Hyung. There’s no ulterior motive; I just like you.”Jungeol’s eyes narrowed at the last words. Yoochan, noticing the suspicion in his expression, waved his hands as if feeling wronged.“I swear I’m not gay, so don’t misunderstand. Sleep well. I’ll come to visit again.”Yoochan said nonchalantly and closed the door for Jungeol.Jungeol stood still for a few seconds inside the closed door, then glanced at his bandaged left wrist and lay down on the bed with an indifferent face, closing his eyes.Of course, he couldn’t sleep well because of the loud music Jaehyuk had turned up.Jungeol, who had woken up several times in the fifty minutes or so, was finally about to fall into a deep sleep when someone knocked on the door. It was Taeho. Taeho informed him that the reserved guest had arrived, and Jungeol immediately got up, tidied up, and greeted the guest.Today’s guest planned to cover his entire back with black and gray. Jungeol, who could work for nine hours straight without a break when in good condition, found it difficult to do so in recent weeks.After working for over three hours, Jungeol eventually asked the guest for understanding and drank an energy drink due to his waning concentration.The work resumed. After another four hours of continuous work, the guest, who found it hard to stay lying down, suggested a break.The guest hurried to the restroom and then looked for the smoking room. Jungeol, with a tired face, accompanied the guest to the smoking room. Jaehyuk, who had finished his work and was already smoking there, looked at Jungeol’s dark circles and gaped.“Didn’t you sleep again last night?”At Jaehyuk’s words, Jungeol leaned his head against the window and nodded lightly with his eyes closed.Although he usually smoked a lot, he didn’t even think about smoking now. Seeing Jungeol’s face full of the desire to sleep even for five minutes, Jaehyuk asked worriedly.“Is it because of Gaang?”Jaehyuk, who knew well about Gaang’s constant barking, scratching at the door, or jumping on the bed all night, asked with certainty.“Isn’t it better to let him sleep at the shop?”“He’ll cry until he collapses from exhaustion. Taeho is against it too.”Jungeol’s resigned words made Jaehyuk click his tongue. Jungeol, who couldn’t sleep at all because of Gaang, had tried letting Gaang sleep at the shop a few times.However, Gaang, left alone, developed severe separation anxiety, cried all night until he collapsed, and was found by Taeho in that state. Since then, Jungeol and Taeho couldn’t even dream of using a pet hotel.“He walks well with strangers but insists on sleeping with you. You’ll die trying to save one dog. But why is Taeho fine while living together? I’ve never seen him tired.”Too tired to answer, Jungeol nodded and rotated his aching wrist.Once Taeho fell asleep, he slept so deeply that even a vacuum cleaner or alarm wouldn’t wake him. Moreover, Gaang liked Jungeol more than Taeho, so he whined in Jungeol’s room all night.Jungeol, who was about to fall asleep again, was woken up by the guest this time. Jungeol shook his head a few times to clear his mind and headed to the studio.It took almost ten hours to finish the full back tattoo. Jungeol, who was seeing off the guest after the payment, frowned at the crowded counter. The manager spoke.“Jungeol Oppa, are you done now? Come and eat some mango.”“We also have sikhye, Hyung.”Taeho gestured for Jungeol to come over.“What’s this about?”“The guest gave it to us. Eat up.”Taeho handed Jungeol a fork with a piece of mango on it. Jungeol, who received the fork in confusion, pointed with his chin and asked.“When did he get here?”“Me? I’ve been here for an hour.”At Yoochan’s lively words, Jungeol sighed in resignation and ate a mango. The well-ripened mango, seemingly stored in the fridge, filled his mouth, making him feel a bit more awake.“Yoochan bought plenty to share with the guests. Isn’t he thoughtful?”“Oh, Jinwoo Hyung! Come over here and have a mango.”Another tattoo artist, Jinwoo, came running to the counter from his studio. Jungeol looked at Yoochan as if he were a strange creature. Min, who never spoke informally until they got close, was now speaking casually, and it seemed he had already become acquainted with Jinwoo.As Yoochan poured sikhye for Jinwoo, he spoke to Jungeol, who was staring at him.“Why do you keep staring at me? Do you like me, Hyung?”“…”“It was a joke, so don’t make that face. I’ve noticed since last time, Hyung, you’re a reaction black hole.”Min burst into laughter at the relatable comment. Feeling a bit pricked, Jungeol put down his fork and asked.“It’s late, aren’t you going home?”“I live upstairs. Once I enter the officetel building, I’m basically home.”“Oppa, did you hear? This building belongs to Yoochan’s mother.”“Really?”Jungeol, pretending not to care, turned his neck half a circle and grabbed his bag from the counter chair. Yoochan stood up and asked.“Are you leaving?”“Yeah. You should go up too.”“Oppa, do you know that all the rents in the nearby shops have gone up except for this one? Don’t underestimate the landlord’s son. From now on, Yoochan can freely come and go from our shop.”Jungeol held back the words that came to his lips. Everyone at the counter, except him, seemed to like Yoochan.“I’ll come often, Hyung.”“I’m leaving first. Send Taeho when Gaang wakes up.”Turning his gaze away from the nonchalant Yoochan, Jungeol slung his bag over his shoulder and walked out.As he descended the stairs, someone came running. Without looking back, Jungeol was sure it was Yoochan.“Hyung! Hyung!”As expected, it was Yoochan. Yoochan quickly walked beside Jungeol and started talking.“I have something to consult about!”Jungeol stopped as if to say, “Go ahead.” Yoochan took out his phone and showed it to Jungeol.“Like this. How about getting the name of your hometown tattooed on the back of your neck?”“…What?”Thinking he misheard, Jungeol asked again. Yoochan handed his phone to Jungeol again. The model in the photo, who looked like a foreigner, had “Chicago” tattooed in English on his body.“American rappers value their origins. I want to tattoo ‘Seoul, Gangnam’ like this, to always remember my roots.”“Is it a country of origin label? I don’t like it.”Shaking his head, Jungeol quickened his pace. Yoochan ran after him, showing another photo.“Then how about a barcode tattoo? It’s stylish.”“Are you going to a butcher shop? That trend is long gone.”“Oh, I thought this one was really pretty…”Seeing Yoochan’s disappointed face, Jungeol chuckled and entered a convenience store on the first floor. Yoochan stood at the entrance, staring at the barcode tattoo on his phone, then looked at Jungeol coming out of the store. Jungeol was holding a carton of cigarettes.“Wow…”Yoochan made a face as if he were disgusted.“My friends say buying by the carton is what real addicts do.”“I am an addict.”“I like how you admit it so readily.”Ignoring Yoochan’s words, Jungeol stepped out to hail a taxi.“Even though you make a lot of money, why don’t you buy a car?”“I have a car.”“Then why don’t you drive it?”“Do you want me to fall asleep at the wheel?”“…Oh.”Realizing it, Yoochan nodded with a sympathetic expression. Meanwhile, a taxi stopped in front of Jungeol. As Jungeol got into the back seat, Yoochan shouted loudly.“If you’re really tired, come up and sleep sometimes. My friends sleep well, so don’t feel burdened.”“Okay. I’ll think about it.”“See you tomorrow, Hyung!”Just as the door was about to close, Yoochan said brightly. Jungeol, with an indifferent expression, said, “Yeah, see you tomorrow,” and closed the door.“Goodbye!”Yoochan waved and smiled brightly from outside the window, happy that Jungeol had acknowledged his farewell. Jungeol turned his gaze forward, thinking Yoochan was a new kind of human.Even though he had readily said, “See you tomorrow,” to Jungeol, it was just a customary farewell.He admitted that Yoochan had a cute side and a friendly personality, but that was it. Jungeol, who liked a quiet working environment, wasn’t thrilled about having another talkative person in the shop.After asking the taxi driver to wake him up upon arrival, Jungeol covered his face and body with his black jumper and closed his eyes. The only time he could sleep soundly, as if he had passed out, was during his commute.* * *Just before the hand holding the jumper fell to his lap, Jungeol recalled someone’s voice telling him he could always sleep in his room, but he soon turned his head the other way and fell asleep.“I’ll be back after sleeping for two hours nearby.”Jungeol said as he put on a jacket over his black sweatshirt. Min, who was replying to comments on Jungeol’s SNS account, was startled and looked at the clock.It was noon. It had been about six hours since Jungeol had come to work. Min took his eyes off the monitor and asked.“There aren’t any good hotels around here. Where are you going to sleep?”“I’ll just go into any motel I see.”“What about lunch?”Min, worried that Jungeol, who had skipped breakfast due to urgent design revisions and had come to work early, might skip lunch as well, asked. Jungeol shook his head and zipped up his jacket, showing no interest in food.“You know you have an appointment at 2, right? Don’t go too far! I’ll call you at 1:50!”Before Min could finish speaking, Jungeol had already left. His complexion wasn’t great when he left, probably because Gaang had asked him to play last night.“He’s going to collapse at this rate.”Jaehyuk, who was drawing a design on the sofa, added. Min, agreeing with Jaehyuk, rested his chin on his hand with a worried expression.Jungeol went straight to a motel five minutes away. Seeing the damp bedding that didn’t seem freshly washed, Jungeol frowned. But he couldn’t resist the drowsiness that overwhelmed him.He took off his jacket, spread it on the bed, and lay down on it. Surprisingly, he fell asleep immediately due to his fatigue. It was about ten minutes later.Jungeol woke up to what seemed like a woman’s faint voice right next to his ear. His bloodshot eyes were covered by his large hand. As he barely regained his senses, he heard a man’s voice this time.Frowning, Jungeol sat up. The only light in the dark room came from the television. It seemed to have turned on automatically when he swiped his card at the entrance.He heard the whispering voices again. Thinking it was the television, Jungeol found the remote and pressed the volume button. The television was already muted.The whispering voices soon turned into the groans of two people. Half-awake, Jungeol looked around to find the source of the sound. The voices of a man and a woman making love came from a small wooden door that was half-open for ventilation.Thud.The sound disappeared only after the door was closed irritably. No, it had only diminished; the groans of the man and woman could still be heard outside the wooden door. Jungeol couldn’t tell if the sound was coming from above or below.As the sounds became clearer, Jungeol covered his face with a pillow. However, the room he was in was so quiet that the sounds from the other room seemed louder in comparison. Eventually, Jungeol turned up the television volume to drown out the groans.Now, he couldn’t hear their voices. Instead, the laughter of comedians on a TV show disturbed his sleep. He couldn’t get a wink of sleep.Jungeol grabbed his jacket and left. His peaceful nap of barely ten minutes had ended just like that.“Oh, Oppa! You said you were going to sleep, why are you back already?”Min, who was seeing off a customer, widened his eyes at the sight of Jungeol returning. Jungeol lay on the sofa, resting his head on the armrest.“Did you sleep at all?”Min asked as he sat across from Jungeol, holding a tumbler of coffee mix. Jungeol covered his eyes with his arm and replied.“The room wasn’t soundproof.”“What?”“The motel room wasn’t soundproof.”“Oh, my goodness.”Min, who understood immediately, looked at Jungeol with a sympathetic expression. Jungeol, looking defeated, took a sip of the coffee he had bought from the convenience store. He had hoped to catch some sleep at the shop, but the metal music was too loud.It was obviously Jaehyuk’s taste. Jungeol briefly considered negotiating with Jaehyuk about the music allowed in the shop, but he closed his eyes. This was a workplace, not a sleep café. Other employees also preferred lively music over calm music while working, so Jungeol couldn’t insist on his preference.Just as he was about to fall asleep, the loud drum sounds of the metal music woke him up. Seeing Jungeol’s distress, Min hesitated for a moment before suggesting.“Can’t you postpone a few appointments to tomorrow? Or at least take only one appointment a day from now on?”“…I’ll do that when I open the next booking form.”“So you’re going to continue like this for six months? Taking two or three appointments a day, 80% of which are full-back tattoos, Oppa, you’re going to get seriously ill. I should have stopped you when you decided to take two or three appointments a day.”“It’s fine. I’ll just find an officetel nearby.”“I’ve been looking for an officetel since you asked me to, but there are no vacancies in this building. Only a few units are for sale, and you don’t have much money left after studying in the US and investing heavily here…”Min, who knew well about Jungeol’s situation of renting an expensive shop to provide space for fellow tattoo artists, trailed off and then suddenly suggested.“Or, you could ask your father for help just this once…”Jungeol covered his face with his coat as if it wasn’t worth listening to. The person who had opposed Jungeol the most when he decided to become a tattoo artist after studying Oriental painting at a prestigious university was his father, an art professor.Jungeol’s determination to succeed in this field, even at the cost of sleep, was largely influenced by his father. Although his father had gradually opened up as Jungeol made a name for himself as a tattoo artist, Jungeol’s pride wouldn’t allow him to ask his parents for help just a few years into this career.Watching Jungeol’s drooping eyelids, Min suddenly remembered something and said.“Oppa. Yoochan lives in unit 1401.”At the sudden remark, Jungeol lowered his arm slightly and looked at Min. Min put down the tumbler and leaned forward, adding.“He said you can sleep there anytime since he’s usually at school or the gym during the day. I haven’t talked to him much, but he doesn’t seem like the type to make empty promises. If you feel like a burden, you can even pay some rent.”Jungeol didn’t respond, as he had no intention of going to Yoochan’s room. While he didn’t mind Yoochan calling him “Jungeol Hyung” and visiting him, that was all there was to it. To Jungeol, Yoochan was just someone he had met a few times.Min, who had worked with Jungeol for a long time, seemed to know what Jungeol was thinking and tried to persuade him again.“Think about it, Oppa. Even if you find an officetel in another building, you’ll lose a few minutes going down, crossing the street, and going up again. For you, every five or ten minutes of sleep is crucial. It takes less than a minute to get from here to Yoochan’s room, you know?”It was a suggestion to think about what was the better choice. Min took out a blanket from under the table and handed it to Jungeol before returning to the counter with the tumbler.As Jungeol struggled to sleep, the words “two-room duplex officetel” flashed through his mind.It’s not a one-room, but a two-room duplex officetel, so there should be plenty of places to sleep. As Jungeol thought about it for a moment, he cursed inwardly at the music that had become even louder.A few hours later, Jungeol arrived at the 14th floor of the building, almost like a zombie.Having personally experienced how sleep deprivation could break a person, Jungeol stood in front of room 1401 with a troubled expression.Unable to bear seeing Jungeol, who had collapsed on the table where the customer had been lying after the session, Min had bought two café drinks from the first floor and sent Jungeol up.Though he reluctantly accepted and came up, Jungeol had been longing for room 1401 throughout his second session. His only wish was to sleep for just one hour without Gaang and without loud music.The ice in the drink Jungeol was holding melted, and condensation formed on the outside of the plastic cup. He had already wasted several minutes. Though he had come up due to exhaustion, he hesitated to ring the bell.The coffee was a bribe, and Jungeol wasn’t shameless enough to ask a college student he had met a few times if he could sleep in his room for thirty minutes.Just as Jungeol was about to give up and turn around, the door opened from the inside, and a man’s loud voice was heard.“Ah, you idiot! That’s not the bathroom!”As Jungeol took a step back to avoid the door, a familiar voice followed. Jungeol’s expression hardened as he saw the two people who appeared. A muscular man, half-naked and drenched in sweat, was leaning against Yoochan.“It’s not here. Ah, you troublesome guy, don’t pull down your pants! If you do, you’re dead… Oh, Jungeol Hyung! What are you doing here?”Yoochan, who had been desperately pulling up the man’s pants while cursing, finally noticed Jungeol and greeted him with wide eyes.Jungeol, looking back and forth between the sweat-drenched Yoochan and the man, raised an eyebrow and said.“I swear I’m not gay.”“Ah, it’s not like that! I only like women!”Yoochan, who had been protesting vehemently, barely managed to lift his friend who was about to fall forward and shouted.“Get up, you heavy bastard, Park Jinhong…! This is why you insisted on a second round.”However, Yoochan’s friend, seemingly out of it, didn’t respond. Yoochan sighed, properly dressed Jinhong, and slung his limp arm over his shoulder. It seemed he was planning to carry him.Since his friend was similar in build to Yoochan, it didn’t seem easy. As Jungeol was about to put the drinks down to help, Yoochan skillfully lifted his friend and stood up. Bending over to prevent his friend from falling backward, Yoochan spoke to Jungeol.“But Hyung, what brings you here? Do you have something to say to me?”Holding his friend’s legs tightly, Yoochan finally seemed curious about why Jungeol had come. Jungeol responded a bit late.“…Just passing by.”“Why would you pass by from the 2nd floor to the 14th floor?”Yoochan asked with wide eyes. Jungeol, unable to say he wanted to sleep in Yoochan’s room, hesitated for a moment and then diverted the conversation by pointing at Yoochan’s sleeping friend with his chin.“What are you going to do with him?”“This guy? I’ll put him in a taxi and send him home. He lives with a friend, so I’ll contact that friend to come and get him. Or I’ll contact Yeji… Oh, are you off work now, Hyung?”Jungeol had a tattoo appointment for a palm-sized design in an hour and a half, but he answered yes. Yoochan nodded and said he would be on his way. Yoochan, who was bowing politely, turned back as if he had just remembered something.“I have an appointment right after I send this guy off, so I’ll be out until dawn. If you want to sleep, feel free to use my room. The password is 9876. Easy to remember, right? Oh, why are you holding two drinks?”Yoochan, who had been talking non-stop while heading to the elevator, noticed the drinks in Jungeol’s hands and asked.“Oh, this.”As Jungeol hesitated to answer, Yoochan’s mouth stretched into a wide grin.“Did you buy one for me?”Jungeol didn’t answer, but Yoochan’s face visibly brightened. He adjusted his friend and ran over.Yoochan tried to take the drink with one hand. His friend’s body, losing its support, tilted. Yoochan had no choice but to adjust his friend’s legs and lower his head to sip from the straw.The melted ice mixed with the drink was sucked into Yoochan’s mouth through the straw. Jungeol, who had inadvertently ended up feeding Yoochan, frowned awkwardly and then raised his arm to make it easier for Yoochan to drink.After downing the watery drink in one go, Yoochan cheerfully said, “I’ll be off now!” and ran to the elevator. Despite his friend’s similar build, he didn’t seem to find him heavy at all.Jungeol, staring at the empty cup with small ice pieces and lime left, turned his head towards the closed door. Password 9876. Simple, just like Yoochan, Jungeol thought. At that moment, he heard something fall with a thud near the elevator.Jungeol sighed softly. After a moment of hesitation, Jungeol walked towards the elevator instead of Yoochan’s room.“Ah, you idiot! How can you sleep here? Aren’t you getting up? Oh, Hyung?”Yoochan asked as he saw Jungeol reappear. Jungeol crumpled the empty plastic cup Yoochan had finished and stuffed it into his jacket pocket, then grabbed Jinhong’s other arm. Yoochan, watching, smiled instead of saying thank you.After putting the limp Jinhong into a taxi and paying the driver in advance, Yoochan and Jungeol finally straightened their backs.“Hyung, is your back okay?”Yoochan asked worriedly, seeing Jungeol frowning and holding his back. Jungeol, having judged that supporting Jinhong from both sides was not enough, had ended up carrying him from the elevator to here.“I’m fine.”In truth, he wasn’t. Jungeol hadn’t been able to stretch properly for the past few months since quitting the gym. Carrying Jinhong, who looked to be at least 80kg, with a back that had been bent over all day was obviously too much.“Are you going home now?”Yoochan asked, handing Jungeol the drink cup he had been holding. Jungeol wanted to, but he still had a scheduled client.Seeing Jungeol frown at his phone clock, Yoochan seemed to realize something and nudged him towards the officetel entrance.“If you’re tired, go up and rest. You can sleep in the living room or any room. I probably won’t be back until three or four in the morning.”“Are you going out for drinks?”“Yeah. My friends are going crazy, telling me to come.”Yoochan said, glancing at his phone, which was blinking with incoming messages.“But I’ll secretly drink water. I don’t want to lose muscle. I worked hard to build these muscles, it would be a waste.”Yoochan flexed his arm, showing off his firm biceps, then suddenly asked.“Do you drink well, Hyung?”“I don’t really like it.”Jungeol replied, tilting his head back as if his neck was stiff.“Then do you like going to cafes? Want to go to a cafe together next time? I prefer drinking juice at cafes because I don’t like alcohol, but my friends never go with me. They say, ‘Why would guys go to a cafe together?'”“Get a girlfriend and go.”Jungeol replied indifferently, tilting his head. Yoochan responded, looking aggrieved.“Of course, I want to get a girlfriend too. But when I say I’m going to the army soon, they all freak out.”Then Yoochan frowned and rested his chin on his hand, as if he had suddenly changed his mind.“Actually, if I were a girl, I wouldn’t date a guy who’s about to go to the army either. I guess I have to wait until after I get discharged to get a girlfriend.”Jungeol chuckled and straightened his head. Yoochan, seeing Jungeol laugh, smiled and then suddenly asked.“Do you have a girlfriend, Hyung?”Jungeol, who had been rubbing his stiff neck, looked at Yoochan. Seeing the serious look in Yoochan’s eyes, Jungeol waved his hand.“Ah, don’t worry, I’m not gay. I’m just curious.”“No, I don’t.”Jungeol replied, thinking Yoochan’s preemptive denial was funny. Yoochan’s eyes widened in surprise.“Really? Why not? You’re not going to the army like me. I bet a lot of girls like you.”Jungeol blinked slowly, as if sleepy, and kept his words to himself. In truth, he had received countless messages and calls from female clients at the shop, but he had consistently turned them down.He found it uncomfortable to get involved with clients outside of work, and more importantly, he had no time for dating, being stuck at the shop from dawn until late at night.Seeing Jungeol, who didn’t enjoy nightlife at all, his friend Jaehyuk often joked that he was married to his work.“Well, now’s not the time for dating.”“Then you’re just like me, Hyung.”Yoochan smiled, happy to find a commonality, then frowned at his ringing phone.“I really have to go. You should go up and sleep, Hyung. Your dark circles are down to your chin.”Hearing the same thing from everyone he met today, Jungeol rubbed under his eyes, wondering if it was that bad. Meanwhile, Yoochan hailed a taxi and got in.“Ah, I don’t have class tomorrow afternoon. Can I come over?”“Would you listen if I said no?”Jungeol squinted his eyes as if joking. Yoochan shamelessly shook his head.“No? Min Noona said I could come anytime.”Jungeol nodded, putting his hands in his pockets.“Then do that. Min Yesul’s word is law.”“Oh? Really?”“Yeah.”“Then I’ll come tomorrow afternoon. I want to see you tattooing, Hyung. Ah, my phone keeps ringing. I really have to go. Sleep well! Room 1401! Password 9876! Don’t forget!”The taxi left with Yoochan, who had casually shared his personal information. Jungeol watched the taxi disappear for a while, then checked the time.There was still time to catch some sleep. The hotel was far, and the motel was close but uncomfortable in many ways.Jungeol turned and looked up at the building. He had to work again in an hour, and Gaang would surely disturb his sleep when he got home. He desperately needed a place to rest, even for a moment.In the end, Jungeol headed to the officetel entrance on the first floor instead of the stairs leading directly to the shop on the second floor.