Unrequited Love Thresher-Chapter 55: What’s Approaching

When Ha Dohoon suddenly said he’d have bread like Ha Giyeon, both their mother and father stopped eating and turned to look at him.

Ha Giyeon wasn’t particularly surprised. Ha Dohoon was always temperamental and sensitive, so there was never much point in being puzzled by anything he did. It was just a little odd that he chose to say it right after Ha Giyeon got scolded by their father. On top of that, he didn’t usually eat bread for breakfast. He’d said it upset his stomach...

“You already ate half your rice, though.”

Why suddenly switch to bread after eating half a bowl of rice? But that was as far as Giyeon’s curiosity went. He tuned out. His father, however, did not.

His father was watching him. Giyeon could tell just from the way he looked at him, even without a word. That expression meant one thing: he didn’t like that Ha Dohoon was paying attention to him.

His father had always believed that Ha Giyeon clinging to Dohoon would get in the way of his eldest son's future. When Dohoon graduated and went overseas, it was their father who had changed Giyeon’s phone number. And when he still managed to contact Dohoon through the new number, their father confiscated the phone entirely.

To his father, Giyeon was nothing but a burden. That’s why he’d ripped him away from the successful Dohoon. Now, even without needing to intervene, Giyeon was the one distancing himself.

“Thank you.”

Ha Giyeon picked up the toast the housekeeper had placed on his plate and took a bite. The rich, buttery flavor and sweet blueberry jam filled his mouth. Toast was definitely better.

As he focused on eating, their mother—unable to bear the sight—finally spoke up in annoyance.

“Don’t eat with your hands. It’s unsanitary.”

“Ah... okay.”

He’d gotten used to eating bread with his hands at construction sites or during part-time jobs. Before he knew it, the habit had stuck. Wiping his fingers with a napkin, Ha Giyeon registered the subtle disgust in her voice.

“Toast is basically a sandwich. What’s wrong with eating it by hand?”

The discomfort welled up again. Once more, he felt just how ill-fitting he was in this house. Their parents, who usually couldn’t care less, seemed desperate to find some flaw to criticize. It was obvious they hated seeing him near Dohoon.

Well, what parent would like seeing their perfect child associating with someone pathetic and beneath them?

To people like them, who exuded nobility and refinement, he must have looked like some worthless scrap.

In the end, he failed to excuse himself early from the table. Only once he finished the toast, matching their pace, could he stand up.

As his father rose from the table, he spoke.

“Don’t come home for dinner today. Go to the restaurant instead. Secretary Kim will be waiting for you in front of the school.”

Knowing that today was their regular dining-out day, Ha Dohoon nodded and replied that he understood. Their parents were always busy with work, but once a month, they made time to eat out as a family.

Seeing that image of them dining together, Dohoon had come to believe their family was harmonious. That he and Giyeon were the kind of brothers who got along.

That was, of course, a delusion all his own.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

His father turned his eyes toward Ha Giyeon. He was still slinging his bag over his shoulder but paused, blinking. Caught off guard, he didn’t know what his father wanted him to say—until he realized this was a continuation of the previous conversation with Dohoon.

What returned to him was a question.

“I’m going too?”

Up through elementary school, he had always gone along for those outings. But from middle school on, barely two or three times a year. Because the dinners were always just his father, mother, and brother.

Maybe it was because of his seafood allergy—but at the time, he hadn’t shown it, though he’d been deeply hurt.

Now though, it didn’t bother him anymore.

Just being near them was uncomfortable. Eating with them made it worse. Even the earlier breakfast had been miserable. The only thing ever talked about at those dinners was his brother anyway. He might as well not have been there.

He didn’t even ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) want to eat fancy restaurant food. Just sitting in a convenience store with cup ramen and a triangle gimbap was perfect.

Dohoon looked startled by Giyeon’s reaction and glanced nervously at their father.

His father’s brow twitched. Sure, he’d excluded Giyeon from family dinners plenty of times—but seeing him now act like a complete outsider left a sour taste in his mouth.

“If you don’t want to come, don’t.”

“Okay. Then I hope you all enjoy your dinner.”

With a deep bow, Ha Giyeon turned and left the house.

His father stared after him, stunned. The way Giyeon had answered, like he’d been waiting for that very excuse, rubbed him the wrong way. Normally, he would’ve smiled and promised not to be late.

But now this?

Maybe, as Imihyun had said, he really was starting to rebel after hanging around with low-class friends. It was clear—he needed a warning.

About what happens when you disobey your parents.

***

What comes after midterms?

May—the month of family—and the school’s sports festival was fast approaching. With just about two weeks left, the class was buzzing with excitement, picking class t-shirts and assigning spots in various events.

“Who wants to sign up for soccer?”

“Me! Me, me!”

“Siuuuu!”

The most heated competition, of course, was soccer. Volleyball had been newly added this year, but it still couldn’t draw the same level of interest.

“Come to think of it... soccer, huh...”

Back in his first year, Ha Giyeon had participated once during the sports festival. He’d had zero athletic talent, but someone had roped him in anyway. It had been awful.

He’d failed to keep up with the ball and got yelled at. Missed passes and ended up getting hit by some angry kid. On top of that, he’d taken a ball straight to the face and left bleeding for the nurse’s office. If memory served... it had been Nam Taekyung who kicked it.

Taekyung had been on the opposing team back then. He tackled hard and played rough. It had been miserable. But at least this time, they were in the same class, so that was a bit of a relief.

Giyeon was considering joining tug-of-war or group jump rope. Beyond that, he planned to stay out of the way.

“Giyeon, aren’t you signing up for soccer?”

“Ah, I’m not really good at it...”

Everyone accepted that without question. During P.E., he always sat out when it was free play. No one had even seen him kick a ball, so it was natural to assume he couldn’t.

“Still, come play. Honestly, I suck too—I’m just signing up so we have enough people.”

“Eh? Come on, Taekyung. You’re insanely good.”

“Haha, really? Even so, I want to play with Giyeon.”

“Well, we’ve got P.E. fourth period, so let’s do a test match then.”

Before he could even refuse, he’d been dragged into a soccer game. Ha Giyeon sighed. If it were anyone else, fine—but why was Nam Taekyung of all people so eager to play with him? It was unsettling.

Still, maybe this would be a good chance to show just how hopeless he was at it.

And then it was P.E. time.

“Alright, then—let’s split into teams. Giyeon, you go with me.”

He wanted to play soccer with him, yet now they were on opposite teams? Ha Giyeon couldn’t figure out what Nam Taekyung was thinking. But there was no backing out now.

All he could do was try.

***

“Okay, so that’s how we’ll do soccer...”

As the class chattered excitedly about team rosters and events for the sports festival, Son Suhyeon quietly turned his head away, clearly uninterested. The relief of finishing exams or the thrill of the upcoming event didn’t affect him one bit.

May had a lot of public holidays, which meant there were plenty of openings for part-time work. And with the café currently under renovation, finding something wouldn’t be a problem.

Yes—there was no problem right now.

There shouldn’t have been.

“Sunbae... you don’t know anything about me.”

If not for Ha Giyeon’s face that kept coming to mind.

Recalling the way he’d spoken in the locker room—that hollow expression—Suhyeon let out a breath. He hadn’t seen Giyeon since that day. With the café closed, it made sense they wouldn’t run into each other. But even at school?

They were in different grades, sure. Missing him in the hallways was expected. But not even once in the cafeteria? That had to mean... he wasn’t eating.

Just in case, Suhyeon had gone late. He’d gone early. But Giyeon never showed.

He couldn’t understand what he was doing—why he was even looking for him.

Was it to apologize? But why?

Wasn’t he the one who wanted distance in the first place? If he just let things go, this could’ve been the perfect chance to create that space. So why did it feel so wrong?

“This isn’t right.”

“...?”

Glancing toward the field, Son Suhyeon suddenly froze at the sight of a familiar face. He couldn’t take his eyes off it.

There, playing soccer, was Ha Giyeon.

Was it because of his pale skin? Or was it that only he could see him that clearly? Whatever it was, Suhyeon spotted him right away. In his gym clothes, white legs moving, chasing after the ball.

Seeing him stirred an avalanche of questions. What was it he wanted to do with that person? What was this feeling...

And then it happened.

Someone sprinted up behind Giyeon—and swept his leg out in a hard, almost kick-like tackle.

“...!!” freewebnøvel.com

Caught off guard, Ha Giyeon went flying and rolled across the dirt.

Son Suhyeon shot up from his seat so fast he knocked over his chair.