Healer

t/n: the MC (Yaba/Sejin) has a theme song btw! u can check it out on youtube, i highly reccommend giving it a listen, it’s a really nice strings + piano piece.

That day, Hyungwook and Sejin were on their way home from playing in the abandoned house until sunset. Although Hyungwook lived in a large apartment in the lower neighbourhood, he often visited the upper neighbourhood to play. Hyungwook had been popular since elementary school, but he and Sejin became close since they were in the same class in middle school. It was Hyungwook’s recommendation to go to church.

As he walked side by side along the alley where the smell of cooking diffused, Sejin glanced at Hyungwook’s side profile. The nape of the neck between the jawline and the shirt of Hyunwook who was still preadolescent caught his eyes. Every time the boy inhaled and exhaled his breath, the smell of perspiration wafted through his nose. Sejin’s eyes softly widened. Sejin liked boys. Just like a man likes a woman, and a woman likes a man, he made his heart tremble and he wanted to hold his hand. If possible, he preferred those with strong build and sharp disposition like Hyungwook’s to pretty boys…

Once, when the neighbourhood grandmother asked if he had someone he liked as a joke, he casually replied that it was Hyungwook. The grandmother waved her hand and said, ‘No, no. A girl you want to hold hands with and kiss.’ When Sejin gave the same answer over and over again, the grandmother sympathised that it was all because of his brother. It was the moment when he realised that the priority of choosing someone to like is not a matter of like or dislike, but whether they lack a wiener or not. Sejin decided to tell the fake truth depending on the situation, because telling the truth would make him have to hear unnecessarily depressing things.

Hyungwook’s shoulder lightly collided with Sejin’s shoulder and moved away. The two hands brushed against each other. But Sejin was the only one whose heart ached.

At that moment, a small shadow flittered at the end of the alley. It was Chaewoo. The one who was the same age, had a troublesome older brother, and a nasty mother. Perhaps because of those similarities, Sejin was interested in Chaewoo from the beginning. Chaewoo often left school early and seldom left the house. He was the center of attention wherever he went, with a pretty face, and a strange aura.

Chaewoo stood under the sky as the night passed without his shoes on. His dark brown hair fluttered in the wind like sad music. If Sejin approached him now and hit Chaewoo’s shoulder, it seemed like he would disappear into fine powder. When he suddenly looked away, Hyungwook was staring at Chaewoo.

“I’m thinking of grabbing that kid and looking at his hand sometime, but if you’re thinking about it, join in.”

When Hyungwook placed his arm on Sejin’s shoulder, an electric current flowed through the place he touched. Sejin could barely ignore the body temperature that was on his shoulder, and asked.

“What are you trying to do with that kid who’s minding his business? Did you learn palmistry?”

Hyungwook smirked at the silly joke.

“There is something like that. That guy is strangely unpleasant in my eyes. I still have my eyes on him.”

At school, there were a lot of people who thought Chaewoo was a thorn in the eye, but it was especially bad for Hyungwook. However, Hyungwook’s antipathy was strangely unsettling. Sejin said bluntly with his voice trembling a little at the end.

“Are you a kid? Don’t do anything childish.”

Don’t stare and pay attention to him. Don’t talk about him even while speaking ill of him. Don’t use looking at his hands as an excuse to touch him.

Sejin hid his own confession deep in his throat.

In the end, what he feared happened. Hyungwook, who had been determined to trample on Chaewoo, completely changed his attitude within a few days. And he excitedly talked about the reason despite Sejin not asking.

“You know that my dad and I are having a quarrel over my mom’s herniated disc, right? But who knows from where my mom heard rumours from but apparently sick people feel better whenever they come back from Chaewoo’s. My mom was also skeptical, but since the day she came back from that house, her waist has really gotten better! It was no use spending so much money to fix her back… Anyway, when I asked how he did it anyway, he didn’t say anything, so I just thought his mother was giving unlicensed acupuncture. My dad told me not to go to that house…”

Hyungwook looked around and lowered his voice.

“I’m only talking about this to you, so don’t speak to anyone about this, alright? Dad was making a fuss and I heard my mom talk about it, but it was apparently Chaewoo who fixed mom’s back!”

Sejin coldly looked at Hyungwook, who was excited.

“How would Chaewoo heal your mother? Say something that makes sense.”

“I don’t know the details either, but I swear it’s true? From that day onwards, it’s troublesome that I have to put a stamp when I go to Chaewoo’s house to find my mother. Ah~ it’s annoying.”

Contrary to his words, Hyungwook grinned continuously. It was a face that didn’t care about who fixed his mother’s waist.

“I happened to talk to Chaewoo for a while, but he wasn’t as annoying as I thought.”

Chaewoo, Chaewoo… That name, Sejin was sick of the voice calling that name.

“Shut your mouth! My head hurts from you talking non-stop next to me!”

Hyungwook widened his eyes in surprise.

“Why are you screaming and fussing? Why are you like this now? Getting annoyed over nothing… Is Sejun hyung annoying you?”

Slow-witted bastard! You’re worse than Jang Sejun!

Sejin twisted his lips and made a sarcastic remark.

“Why did you change your mind all of a sudden after not being able to stand Chaewoo until recently? What’s so good about that punk?”

Hyungwook answered with an embarrassed face.

“When did I say we get along?”

“Don’t be troublesome, I didn’t say that you two got along!”

“Are you going to be sensitive?! Then would it be normal to gang up on the person who healed his mother?!”

“Don’t talk nonsense. How would he be able to heal her back, when a doctor couldn’t? Just tell me you needed an excuse to befriend that bastard!”

“Ah, really, this bastard! Hey! Jang Sejin! Where are you going!”

Sejin immediately turned his back and ran home. After that, the two never went to an abandoned house together.