Swallow Hunting - Chapter 34.2
“Drink up.”
Lee Kang-ju gave a slight nod and put the drink to his lips. His prominent Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. Hae-jun pointlessly felt his own throat. They both had the same anatomy, yet he wondered why Lee Kang-ju’s looked so much more sensual.
Maybe his eyes were malfunctioning because he hadn’t slept properly and was exhausted. Hae-jun rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and moistened his dry throat.
“…”
He had come out because he wanted to be with Lee Kang-ju, but now that they were alone, the air felt awkward. Hae-jun stared blankly at the washing machine while carefully choosing what to say. Beyond the glass door, the tumbling blanket was slowly becoming soaked.
Exchanging conversation with customers in the private rooms had been easy. But in front of Lee Kang-ju, even uttering a single word was difficult. He found himself picking and weighing his words in his head.
“What do you usually do during your time off, CEO? Like watching movies or exercising. Or maybe watching OTT streaming services?”
Hae-jun brought up a safe topic. Lee Kang-ju was leaning his back against the wall, looking at the washing machine just like Hae-jun. His face, reflected in the transparent window, turned toward Hae-jun.
“Well. I’m not really sure.”
“Oh, come on, don’t be like that.”
“I don’t particularly have any hobbies.”
Hae-jun’s eyes went round, and only then did he look directly at Lee Kang-ju. There were so many things to do in the world; he couldn’t believe the man had no hobbies. Since Hae-jun had no money, he considered playing free mobile games a hobby, but didn’t this man have more than enough resources?
“Then what do you do on weekends or days off?”
“I work.”
“No, I mean during your actual break time, not work hours.”
Lee Kang-ju shrugged. It was ambiguous whether he meant he had no time to rest or that he simply didn’t do anything specific. Hae-jun turned his body completely toward Lee Kang-ju and rested his chin on his interlaced hands atop the table, entering a full-scale interrogation.
“Do you happen to exercise?”
“I usually do it in the morning. It isn’t a hobby.”
“What kind?”
“This and that.”
Lee Kang-ju fiddled with his earlobe. It seemed like a subconscious habit. It wasn’t a cauliflower ear, but looking closely, there was a scar darker than the rest of the skin.
It wasn’t just his ear. Hae-jun shifted his gaze to the hands he had been secretly watching all this time.
His palms were large enough to grip Hae-jun’s entire head in one hand. They looked like a tightly woven net with no gaps. His palm lines were deep and bold, and his fingers were long with thick knuckles, making them look like a lethal weapon. It stood in stark contrast to his flawless appearance.
But what caught the eye more than anything were the scars crossing messily over the back of his hands. Lines darker than his skin tone were etched large and deep on the side of his hand, over the knuckles, and between his thumb and index finger. Besides those, faint traces could be seen all over the back of his hands.
He wanted to ask how those scars had happened. But he was afraid that the moment the words left his mouth, this calm tranquility would break. So, Hae-jun thought of a different question.
“You seem to watch movies well… What genre do you usually like?”
Even if it was just a TV show playing aimlessly, Lee Kang-ju tended to watch it without complaint. Whether it was a drama or the news, he didn’t seem to have a preference. However, when a movie was on, his gaze lingered a bit longer. Because Hae-jun liked stealing glances at that profile bathed in the screen’s light, he would intentionally leave a movie channel on whenever Lee Kang-ju came over.
Even if it was quiet without conversation, it was peaceful. Hae-jun liked those moments. It was a time when the bone-chilling loneliness retreated for a while and a sense of relief—that he wasn’t alone—found him.
“I’m not picky. Ah, I don’t really like romance.”
Hae-jun nodded. He didn’t like romance either. Yohan had mastered romance movies and dramas, saying he needed to use the lines on customers, but Hae-jun had given up because he got goosebumps no matter how hard he tried.
Still, he felt a bit of regret now. He felt a hint of remorse for not watching them when Yohan told him to watch with a studious mind. If he had worked hard at it, conversation with Lee Kang-ju might have been much easier by now.
“If it’s okay with you, would you like to go to the cinema together next time? Just, you know, in the sense of trying to discover a hobby.”
Hae-jun emphasized the word “hobby” to stress that this was definitely not an invitation for a date. As if the desperate explanation was amusing, the corners of Lee Kang-ju’s lips lifted slightly. Even that small gesture made Hae-jun’s heart leap like a child receiving praise. Hae-jun hid his curved lips by drinking his beverage.
“I think one might have developed recently.”
“What is it?”
Hae-jun’s eyes sparkled. Following his lips, Lee Kang-ju’s eyes crinkled into a soft curve this time.
“Meeting with Cha Hae-jun.”
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