SMNTCERR, Chapter 49 <111> #4.

“Do you want more to eat?”

“…Sure.”

Jaeyoung fed the remaining portion into Sangwoo’s mouth with an indifferent expression. Sangwoo chewed on the dumpling stuffed in his mouth. Whether it was because he ate too much or because the dumpling was hot, he felt the surrounding atmosphere becoming warmer.

“Why is it so hot today?”

“That’s just how it is.”

Jaeyoung placed the tray down and took off his hat, placing it on the table. With both hands, he grabbed the collar of his sweatshirt and pulled out in one motion, revealing the white T-shirt underneath that hugged his belly, making Sangwoo forget how to breathe. That belly, there were visible muscles occupying the space.

Jaeyoung tossed his own shirt onto the folding bed and put on the hat again. His bare arms, unseen at first, drew attention, and Sangwoo carefully observed the muscles and veins on Jaeyoung’s arms, some which were hidden beneath the sleeves. Although he didn’t want to think about what he did to those arms on the car that night, he couldn’t stop himself from doing so.

Suddenly, Jaeyoung turned to meet the gaze. Startled, Sangwoo quickly looked back at the computer screen that hadn’t booted up yet and pretended to adjust the mouse that he hadn’t lifted.

“This is the first time you have seen this.”

Jaeyoung lifted his shirt sleeve, revealing a strange tattoo9467.

“I saw it before.”

“When? Oh…”

A brief silence ensued. Sangwoo took out a water bottle from his backpack and poured it down his throat. After drinking it all, he used the back of his hand to wipe away the water dripping from the corners of his mouth. It was at that moment that Jaeyoung spoke up.

“You must have seen it when we were close together in the car.”

Luckily, he had finished drinking water, or else he would have sprayed out for sure. When Jaeyoung mused, “That day was really good.” Sangwoo felt that they should change the topic seriously.

“Why did you get a tattoo?”

“Why? Is it like a gangster?”

“Just a little bit.”

“It’s a signature design from a few years ago. You can think of it as a drawing.”

“Why did you draw on the skin?”

Because I wanted to draw?”

Jaeyoung was busy eating rice. Sangwoo sat on a chair and looked at the signature imprinted on. Jaeyoung’s arm. He used to think that tattoos were only for delinquents, but maybe because it was on the other side, it didn’t look that bad. Upon closer inspection, it looked like a bird, like an unfamiliar country’s letter, like a falling star, and like flickering flames.  Sangwoo felt that the drawing resembled Jaeyoung in a way that he could never know his true identity.

“It’s quite impressive.”

“I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

“If you are surprised by something like that, I’ll draw something on your arm too.”

Sangwoo hesitated at first, feeling resistant, but then his curiosity and desire to see something new surged up. If he had a drawing on his arm, how would it make the other person feel? While Sangwoo was contemplating, Jaeyoung finished dealing with the app and tossed the paper cup aside, then turned on his computer.

“Do you have a preferred shape?”

Sangwoo was lost in his contemplation and absentmindedly looked at the side of Mr.eyoung’s face. Jaeyoung seemed to sense that gaze and spoke confidently.

“Can’t be me, and nothing else. Drawing a tattoo doesn’t make a person beautiful.”

“Are you crazy?”

If he didn’t speak up, horns would sprout his mouth. Sangwoo made a frustrated sound, pondering how to dispel the misunderstanding that tarnished his reputation. He didn’t take long to come up with an idea because there were only a few things he liked so much that wanted to draw them on his arm.

“Draw a backhoe truck, please.”

“Okay.”

Jaeyoung turned on his computer screen and opened a web browser to search for images. Sangwoo moved closer to him to participate.

“I prefer a wheel type. Not a trackball.”

“What is a trackball?”

“I’m looking at this one. It’s a spider wheel. I don’t want the belt-driven type, I want a wheel type. A wheel.”

Jaeyoung only clicked on unrelated pictures. Sangwoo was getting frustrated that the other party didn’t understand what he was saying.

“That one is a small joystick. Wait, I told you it’s a small joystick.”

But I think this one is the most beautiful.”

 

 

 

“It doesn’t have to be 0.8 tons to be able to move something. Damn it…

You don’t know anything.”

“You can stop with the teasing now. You do it yourself.”

As Jaeyoung handed over the mouse, Sangwoo had already found his favorite model and opened it on the screen. Jaeyoung stared at the computer screen for a minute. Then he opened the drawer and took out two or three thick-barreled pens, different from the regular pens sold in the market.

“Where should I draw?”

He spoke while still looking at the screen. Sangwoo thought about the point where he could make a mistake, but it didn’t bother him in his daily life, and he didn’t reveal it to the outside world. Then he extended his left arm.

“Above the elbow.”

Jaeyoung turned the chair and brought a pen close. He grabbed Sangwoo’s wrist, unbuttoned the cuff, folded it up to the shoulder, and brought his left arm close to Sangwoo’s arm, using his palm to gently touch the soft flesh under the forearm.

Maybe because of the hot weather, the other party’s skin was also warm, and he felt a tingling sensation as if there were insects crawling on his skin. Although Sangwoo was uncomfortable, once he allowed it, he could only sit still.

“Let’s start.”

“…Okay.”

Jaeyoung blinked and used his teeth to pull off the pen cap. Although there was nothing, his posture looked provocative. He used his other hand to pick up the capless pen and placed it on the table. Then he moved the chair closer, firmly held Sangwoo’s arm, and started drawing with the thickbarreled pen.

 

The sound of the pen moving smoothly on the skin became louder, straight lines, straight lines, straight lines. Then curves, gripping the pen tip up. Then tilting down, the thickness of the line changed every time the posture changed. Moreover, every time Jaeyoung tilted his head, the perspective of the face he saw was different. Sometimes he saw the bridge of the nose under the brim of the hat, sometimes he saw the eyes focused on the drawing, because Jaeyoung was focused on drawing. Sangwoo could secretly look at him, opportunities like this didn’t come often.

“In the first class of ‘Embedded System’, do you use this pen to write on your hair?”

Mr.eyoung made the line disappear.

…I guess so.”

He said he was tracing the connecting line.

“Suddenly asked why?.”

“I’m thinking it probably won’t erase easily. That day, I erased it until I was tired.”

“I intended to draw this size, so it would be easy to erase. But it didn’t work.”

Then Jaeyoung continued drawing the wheel quietly. Sangwoo thought that the person who was so close and drew the picture he liked the most on his body was none other than Jang Jaeyoung, he couldn’t help but feel that way. Here. Jang Jaeyoung + a backhoe. His heart couldn’t be normal anymore. Luckily, he was in a state of complete consciousness. If he were intoxicated to the point where he lacked inhibitions, he might cling to the other side without caring about the rules.

Sangwoo quietly enjoyed the mixed feelings of joy, excitement, anxiety, and desire. When he felt that way for the first time, he didn’t know what to do, but now that he has experienced that feeling several times, it no longer feels strange to him.

Apart from the sound of the pen, the drawing appeared in the midst of perfect silence. Jaeyoung started drawing from the wheel, up to the body of the car, and ended at the robotic arm. Sangwoo felt excited by the appearance of the large machinery slowly emerging on his arm.

“Hyungnim.”

“Why?”

“You are like a wizard, aren’t you?”

The corner of Jaeyoung’s lips drew a curve. He wanted to look into the other person’s eyes, but the brim of the cap blocked his view. Sangwoo hated baseball caps, even Major League Baseball teams.

“Take off the cap, please.”

“Why?”

“I won’t tell you.”

Huh, Jaeyoung’s shoulder trembled, causing the sketch he was drawing to twist. Sang screamed in his heart, and at that moment, the other person used the wide end of the pen to cover the messed up part and started drawing again underneath it.

After a while, Jaeyoung spoke up.

“No, you also have to suffer.”

‘Say something?’

Sangwoo shut his mouth and looked up.

“If it bothers you, just say directly that it bothers you.”

Jaeyoung just laughed and continued drawing without saying anything.

return 0;

The next day, it had been a long time since Sangwoo lived peacefully like this. Although he and the designer disagreed on the issue of releasing it for free play[1] it wasn’t a heated argument.

At 20:43, Yoona said she would order pizza because she would stay up late tonight and asked for opinions on what type of food they wanted.

Jaeyoung hesitated and said he wouldn’t eat unless it was a specific brand. Despite not being the one paying, Yoona scolded him for being picky but still ordered pizza from the mentioned restaurant.

“Hello… another three minutes? Okay then!… The pizza has arrived. Chu-

Sangwoo, go downstairs and get it.”

Yoona spoke after receiving a phone call from the pizza delivery person.

Sangwoo stared at the card the girl handed him silently.

“Why do I have to?”

“Because you’re the youngest.”

“Where are the younger ones here?”

“Don’t be annoying. In situations like this, it’s the duty of the youngest person.”

“Just because you’re younger doesn’t mean you’re less tired that your time is less valuable.”

“Enough, let’s just finish this!”

The idea that a young person had to take charge of everything was an illogical and unsuccessful way of thinking. He thought of his sister’s anxious face, calling him urgently to help turn on the lights before Sangwoo made a decision to fight Yoona. Jaeyoung walked past them.

“Where are you going?”

“To smoke.”

“Then bring the pizza with you, here’s the card.”

Yo handed over her credit card, but Jaeyoung walked to the door without stopping to take it. He left a final sentence before leaving the room.

“I’ll pay. Don’t order from Sangwoo like that next time.”

“What?”

Yoona asked back in confusion, but Jaeyoung had already left. Yoona sighed and guessed that it wasn’t a big deal after all. She thought about the illusion that Jaeyoung created, which made her appear to be a bad person.

“It seems like he’s pretending to be a good person because of work with the boss, but don’t be fooled, you know.”

I know. I’ve encountered it many times.”

“Sangwoo-ya~. Sangwoo ya~, hey… What is it? Anyone can tell that it’s fake…”

Just as Yoona was about to speak, she closed her mouth, her face turned angry and then changed to sadness. She remained silent for a while.

“I’ll go smoke a cigarette. Be right back.”

Then the young woman left the office. Sangwoo didn’t care, he saved his work and cleared the desk, removing the trash from Jaeyoung’s table. He then went to wash his hands in the bathroom, but when he returned to the room, Jaeyoung and Yoona hadn’t come back yet. It had been thirteen minutes since the pizza was supposed to be delivered. Well, fifteen minutes had passed.

He sat there floating, waiting for another two minutes. The door opened, and Yoona walked in and sat at her own desk. Jaeyoung came in holding a large pizza box along with a cola. He placed it on Sangwoo’s table. As he opened the box, he took out a slice of pizza and handed it over.

AlthoughSangwoo was suspicious of the unnecessary kindness, he accepted the slice of pizza and started biting from the tip. The pizza was still warm.

Jaeyoung picked up another slice and put it in his own mouth, while Yoona pulled a chair to their table.

“Why don’t you give me some?”

“Don’t you have hands or feet?”

“I don’t want to talk…”

The young woman forcefully pulled out a piece of pizza and stuffed it into her mouth, half a piece at once. They ate without saying anything for a while. After they had each eaten two or three pieces, Yoona suddenly spoke to Sangwoo.

“Hey, can I have your number?”

The phone screen that was handed to her had cracked lines like spiderwebs, and it was covered with a shiny orange jelly case that was quite shocking.

“What do you need it for?”

“Just wanted it. Maybe we’ll have something to contact each other about since we work in the same office, right?”

‘Probably not.’

Sangwoo understood the difference in her mind but still unlocked his phone and gave her his number.

Then Yoona made a call for about five seconds and hung up.

________________________________________.

[1] Play for free, or F2P. The term used to refer to games or applications that allow users to play or use the service for free without having to pay money.

 

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