Page 156 of Scarbound

Duri wanted to sit beside him, to spend the evening with him and somehow pull him out of whatever darkness had swallowed him, but the bar was unusually busy.

“Hyung, please. You’re scaring me. Say something. What happened?”

Noeul remained silent, his mind looping through the events again and again.

Duri stepped closer to the counter and reached out to touch his arm, hoping to draw his attention. “I can help you.”

But the words barely seemed to reach him.

Noeul’s usual two beers became four, then five. His speech began to slur, his movements growing increasingly unsteady. Duri watched him with mounting concern.

“Hyung, please. Let me help you.”

“No one can help me,” Noeul replied for the first time. Then, after a moment, he looked down at the bottle between his hands. “No one except me,” he muttered, more to himself than to Duri.

When Duri finished with his orders, Noeul was slumped over his stool, a half-finished beer forgotten in front of him. Duri leaned toward him with worry etched across his face.

“Hyung, are you okay?”

Noeul blinked slowly. Then a foolish smile spread across his lips.

“I’ve never been better! I made my decision, Duri. Isn’t that something worth celebrating?”

Even drunk, he meant it. His deeply wounded heart refused to break again. He couldn’t take it anymore. Whatever happened next, he couldn’t continue living like this.

Duri studied him, unconvinced. “Listen, hyung, you’ve had too much to drink. Maybe it’s time to call it a night.”

Noeul straightened, only to sway slightly on the stool.

“No way! Today is a happy day!”

His words clashed painfully with the sadness in his eyes.

Duri rested a hand on his shoulder, his voice steady. “No arguments. Let me take you home.”

Noeul tried to pull away. “I don’t want to go home.”

“It’s already two, hyung. The bar’s closing,” Duri lied. He wasn’t going to let Noeul wander around Seoul in this state.

With a resigned sigh, Noeul finally allowed Duri to help him up. He leaned heavily against him as they stepped outside, the cold night air biting at their skin. For a few seconds, Noeul simply stood there, breathing in the winter air.

Then his expression suddenly brightened.

“I know where I want to go!”

Duri looked at him suspiciously.

Noeul turned toward him, his excitement almost mischievous now. “Duri, why have you never invited me to your apartment?”

“Because you were in America when I moved,” Duri replied hesitantly.

Something in Noeul’s expression made Duri’s pulse quicken. He was drunk, very drunk, and Duri was suddenly aware of what being alone with him might mean.

“But now I’m here,” Noeul said, his voice dropping into something almost seductive.

“And you couldn’t drive, so I had to come visit you instead,” Duri added, trying to keep the conversation light.

“But now I can.”