Sweet Shot

#32

“Yes.”

Tae-rim briefly responded to Eun-soo’s words and slowly turned his head to survey the surroundings. Ha-min, who hadn’t expected him to come, nervously adjusted his clothes. He hesitated, feeling embarrassed about his attire in front of his hyung.

“Ha-min oppa!” Eun-soo immediately spotted him and called out loudly. Everyone’s attention, including Tae-rim and his companions, turned to him. The tips of Ha-min’s ears turned red. He approached more awkwardly than ever. He tried to smile casually, but it wasn’t easy given his personality.

Tae-rim’s gaze immediately fell on him. His smiling eyes slightly hardened as he slowly looked Ha-min up and down. When his gaze reached Ha-min’s feet, his brow furrowed slightly. Under this scrutinizing look, Ha-min felt so embarrassed that his fingertips tingled.

“I didn’t know you’d come…” Ha-min awkwardly greeted him first. A whistle sound was heard. Kim Sa-hyun looked Ha-min up and down with an approving expression.

“I almost didn’t recognize you. Hello? Remember me?” His friend showed a gentlemanly smile. Ha-min nodded slightly.

“Ah, hello.”

“Remember me too?” Next was his girlfriend. Ha-min had heard from Tae-in that her name was Son Hee-jae.

“Y-yes. Hello.” Ha-min greeted her without even looking at her. He lowered his head, feeling guilty about why they had come together.

“Isn’t Ha-min oppa pretty?” However, Tae-rim himself didn’t say anything. Before Ha-min could wonder about this, Eun-soo grabbed his shoulder and boasted. Tae-rim’s gaze fell on the shoulder. His intense stare was fixed on the grabbed shoulder.

“Don’t, Eun-soo…” 

“Have some confidence, oppa. Half the people here came after seeing your SNS photos.”

Ha-min tried to stop her out of embarrassment, but Eun-soo went even further. Ha-min touched his nape with an awkward expression. He couldn’t help but feel conscious of Tae-rim, who hadn’t said a word since arriving.

“How did you know to come…?” Ha-min bravely asked Tae-rim first. The lack of even a simple greeting made it even more difficult to speak to him. The answer that came was different from the trivial question he had managed to ask.

“What photos?”

“Huh?”

“What SNS photos are you talking about?”

Tae-rim asked gently. He was smiling as usual, but his eyes weren’t.

“You haven’t seen them? They’re causing a stir with likes today. These photos.”

Ha-min sincerely wanted to stop Eun-soo from showing her phone, but it was too late. Tae-rim snatched the phone from Eun-soo’s hand.

“……”

For some reason, his profile as he silently looked down at the photos seemed oddly static. Ha-min bit his lip and then struggled to speak, trying to change the subject.

“What… what would you like to drink…?”

Although there was nothing that suited people who enjoyed wine or whiskey in a high-end lounge, it was a pub after all, so it couldn’t be helped. Ha-min asked Tae-rim’s girlfriend and friend, turning away from Tae-rim who was looking at the photos.

“Do you have vodka?”

“What vodka. Just give me soju.”

The former was Son Hee-jae, his girlfriend, and the latter was his friend, Kim Sa-hyun.

“For snacks…”

“The most expensive ones. After all, Tae-rim came to promote his brother today, right?”

Sa-hyun grinned as he answered.

“They turned out really well, didn’t they?”

Eun-soo proudly said as she got her phone back. Tae-rim just raised one corner of his mouth in a smile. He just nodded without answering.

“They turned out well.”

“Right? The number of likes is no joke. I knew this would happen.”

“Could you delete them?”

A firm voice cut off Eun-soo’s excited words. Ha-min unconsciously looked at Tae-rim upon hearing the somewhat rigid voice.

“Pardon?”

As Eun-soo asked again with a confused face, Tae-rim smiled gently and replied kindly.

“Delete them.”

“…What?”

Eun-soo’s voice faltered in surprise at the sudden request. Tae-rim was still smiling.

“If you delete them, I’ll buy all the drinks here.”

Instead of explaining why, Tae-rim made an offer. Eun-soo’s eyes widened.

“What? Really?”

“Yes.”

“But why… But if we give all the drinks to you, senior, we won’t have enough for other customers…”

“Tell everyone I’m buying, so they can drink as they please. How’s that?”

“Th-that would be amazing, but…”

“I’ll buy the snacks too.”

Tae-rim casually made this shocking proposal with a gentle smile. Eun-soo was beyond surprised, her mouth agape in amazement. Crazy flex. She quickly ran to the student council president. She had to quickly share this amazing news. On the contrary, Ha-min looked at him with a surprised face.

“Why are you overreacting?”

Before Ha-min could speak, Hee-jae spoke first. Sa-hyun, who was putting peanuts in his mouth as a dry snack, chuckled and replied instead.

“He must be worried about his precious brother’s portrait rights.”

Tae-rim himself said nothing. Soon, Eun-soo brought the drinks and quickly set them up. Not just Eun-soo, but the student council president also came to serve drinks.

“I heard you’re close with our Ha-min?”

The student council president showed his characteristic friendliness and put his arm around Ha-min’s shoulder. Judging by how naturally he spoke to Tae-rim, they seemed to be acquainted. Given that he was several years older, he appeared to be around Tae-rim’s age.

“Yes.”

Tae-rim answered indifferently.

“But why are you spending money here instead of going to your own department? Are you really buying everything here? All the drinks too?”

“Yes.”

His intense gaze was directed at Ha-min’s shoulder again. The student council president exclaimed in disbelief. Then he removed his arm from Ha-min’s shoulder and this time patted his head as if proud.

“Wow, Ha-min hit the jackpot, huh? As expected of our department’s future and face.”

He seemed extremely excited thanks to Tae-rim’s flex. That’s why he was busy praising Ha-min. It seemed like Ha-min was the only one uncomfortable with this situation. Everyone seemed off – his hyung, who was smiling but subtly different from usual, the people around who were busy praising him, and even Tae-rim’s acquaintances – it was all uncomfortable and difficult.

“Stop working now and have fun with us.”

The senior student council president grabbed Ha-min’s shoulder and shook it friendly. Ha-min actually felt like he wanted to work. The first reason was that he couldn’t properly look at Tae-rim’s girlfriend’s face, and the second was Tae-rim’s subtly rigid atmosphere.

“No, I should also…”

As Ha-min was about to stand up with the student council president, a low murmur was heard.

“Ha-min’s shoulder will get hurt.”

Huh?

As Ha-min turned around with a confused face, this time rolled eggs giving off a savory smell were brought as a snack.

“We’ll serve you generously!”

“Thank you so much. Enjoy the food and drinks. Order as much as you want!”

Eun-soo and the student council president spoke cheerfully like a well-matched combo and excitedly headed towards the kitchen. Ha-min watched their retreating figures with a somewhat envious look.

He was really grateful and happy that Tae-rim had come to see him, but given the situation, he couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable. Ha-min forced a smile and spoke first.

“It seems like you’re spending too much money…”

“…”

“You could have just asked them to delete the photo without…”

“Then you should have deleted it earlier.”

He smiled faintly.

It had been like this the whole time. Smiling, but not really smiling… When Ha-min was once again at a loss for words due to the strange atmosphere, it happened.

“Ah!”

Hee-jae, who had been looking at the rough rolled eggs with curious eyes, dropped what she was holding with her chopsticks. When the food stained with ketchup fell on her expensive clothes, she jumped up from her chair in shock. Ha-min also stood up, greatly surprised.

“H-here…”

When Ha-min handed her a napkin with a flustered face, she snatched it irritably and wiped her clothes.

“Ah, shit… How annoying.”

However, it was unlikely to come off. She frowned with all her might. She didn’t seem to like being here from the start, and now that her clothes were dirty too, she seemed quite heated. While Ha-min was at a loss for what to do, the two men sitting remained calm, and his girlfriend just glared at Tae-rim, who was sitting nonchalantly.

“I’ll go wash up.”

After glaring, Hee-jae abruptly left her seat. The one who stood up to follow her was Kim Sa-hyun. He followed her, letting out a small sigh. Ha-min looked alternately at where the two had left and at Tae-rim, who was sitting still, with a blank face. It was strange that his friend had followed her instead of Tae-rim, but Tae-rim didn’t seem particularly interested.

“…”

He didn’t seem interested in Ha-min either. Even though his clothes were more revealing than usual, Ha-min thought Tae-rim might say something nice, like everyone else had said it was fine. But his expectation was completely off. Not that he felt disappointed. In fact, he thought it was strange too. There was no way such flashy clothes would suit him.

Ha-min glanced at him cautiously while cleaning up the messy table. He picked up the fallen food with a napkin and carefully wiped the spilled alcohol. As he bent slightly to wipe, his knit top slid down his shoulder again, revealing his neckline and shoulder line, and the leather strap around his neck and abdomen jingled, making a chain sound. An indifferent gaze fell on the unintentionally exposed skin.