Even Barren Ground Can Bloom

He was handsome enough to take the lead role in any romance novel without looking out of place.

No—more accurately.

‘He looked like that legendary beauty who makes readers lose their minds in those web novels where two guys cling to each other with suspiciously intense affection…’

It was a weirdly specific aesthetic description, but honestly, not my type.

It was just the result of my younger sister—who used to follow me around—trying to convert me by aggressively curating content for me.

And I didn’t really care, as long as it helped kill time, whether it was men dating men or women dating women.

“You…!”

He was so worked up his eyes were glossy with tears.

His skin was pale enough to look almost translucent, and his delicate, well-shaped features came together in a way that could trigger anyone’s protective instincts, regardless of age or gender.

That didn’t change my answer, though.

“Who are you?”

“…….”

He had looked like he was about to rush over and grab me by the collar while I was eating breakfast, but in the end, that beauty hesitated.

“…So it’s real. I thought Gamja hyung was just making up some weird excuse and swore at him.”

I recalled the conversation I had with Gamja on the rooftop garden and cautiously asked,

“Are you Mo-young hyung, by any chance?”

“What? You remember me?”

His round eyes grew huge, and in an instant, he came right up to me.

He moved so fast it almost felt like he had teleported.

“This is a prank, right? You’re just embarrassed because you went off the grid for months, so you’re pretending, aren’t you? So you don’t get scolded by me again, huh?”

Gamja, who showed up a moment later, spoke indifferently while holding a large ice pack.

“Don’t bully the kid. If hyung-nim finds out, you’re dead. Here, put this on your eye.”

“They said it’s amnesia, but he just asked if I’m Mo-young.”

“Really?”

I looked down at the bland bowl of radish soup and answered quietly.

“…No. I just remembered what Gamja hyung said before.”

Back then, he told me I was Mo-young’s junior.

And since Woo Jaeyoung didn’t seem like the type to let strangers into a place like this, I figured if someone around my age showed up looking for me out of nowhere, it had to be him.

On top of that, I vaguely remembered what Woo Jaeyoung said last night.

‘You just need a friend, right? Someone around your age.’

He was a bit loud, but still better than being alone.

“Do you want to sit? I’ll finish eating quickly.”

I gestured toward the chair I had pulled close to the bed, and Mo-young smiled.

It was bright, but somehow… in a completely different way from Woo Jaeyoung, it felt terrifying.

“Don’t rush. Eat properly.”

“…….”

“Properly.”

In the end, I forced myself to finish the breakfast I had been planning to leave half-eaten, and I ended up feeling uncomfortably full.

I felt like the food was sitting all the way up in my throat, but Mo-young and Gamja still clicked their tongues like it wasn’t enough.

“That’s barely a handful. No wonder you’re not gaining any weight.”

“I think you eat less than me. Is that okay? They said you can eat regular food now, right? Should I bring you some snacks?”

“…Are you guys trying to raise me or something?”

Both of them still looked serious, so I added softly, trying to ease them,

“…If I think of something I want to eat, I’ll tell Jaeyoung hyung.”

Gamja blinked and replied dumbly,

“Huh? Hyung-nim ain’t coming back. Probably won’t be back till dawn.”

Mo-young, who had been pressing the ice pack against his eye, asked,

“Where did he go?”

“Went to sweep the southeast. Said he’d deal with the tail and come back.”

“They said Yoo Sowon was found there, right? Did they catch those bastards?”

Mo-young shot to his feet, his eyes lighting up.

Even though he had just cooled his face with the ice pack, his cheeks quickly flushed red again.

The ice pack fell to the floor with a dull smack.

Gamja shrugged casually, looking like he was debating whether to say more, but a phone call came in at that moment, and he just stepped out.

“Hyung, sorry to ask this, but…”

Mo-young, who had been sitting with his arms crossed, answered bluntly,

“If you’re sorry, don’t ask.”

That wasn’t enough to make me back down.

I crossed my legs and arms the same way, though it didn’t carry even half the intimidation Woo Jaeyoung had.

“Then I’m not sorry, so I’ll just ask.”

“You losing your memory is all bullshit, right?”

“It’s real—ow, ow! Don’t pull my cheek. It hurts. It really hurts! I’m telling hyung!”

“What do you want to know?”

I pointed at his face with my index finger.

“What happened to your face?”

A vein popped slightly on Mo-young’s forehead.

“Your hyung punched me. Why else?”

“You fought?”

“I got beaten. One-sided.”

“What did you even do to deserve that…?”

“Hey. Who do you think that was because of?”

Mo-young uncrossed his arms and let out a deep sigh.

“Seeing you ask like this, I guess you really don’t remember anything. You don’t even know what kind of relationship we had, or what we talked about.”

“I know you were my senior in high school and college. Gamja hyung told me.”

“Yeah. And…”

After a brief hesitation, he continued,

“I was the last person you contacted before you went missing… yeah, before you ran away.”

“…What?”

“I knew you were going to run from him.”

A faint smile appeared on Mo-young’s face, then slowly faded.

Even though he smiled, it somehow looked sad.

When Yoo Sowon first disappeared, Mo-young thought he wouldn’t last even three days before getting caught.

The reason was simple.

Woo Jaeyoung’s persistence was far more vicious than Yoo Sowon could ever imagine.

Yoo Sowon would always underestimate it, saying, “Hyung probably doesn’t love me that much.”

But obsession isn’t a feeling that comes only from love.

Woo Jaeyoung wasn’t the kind of man who would love Yoo Sowon the way he wanted, or as much as he hoped.

He was kind, but fickle, and as passionate as he was, he was also violent.

Having lived his entire life taking, gaining, dumping, or extorting things from others, that was the only kind of love he knew how to give.

But one thing was certain.

He never let go of what he held in his grasp.

He might throw it away out of boredom, but he would never stand by and watch something he thought was his slip away like a loach.

And yet, the reason Mo-young not only overlooked Yoo Sowon’s escape but even encouraged it was simple.

Would Woo Jaeyoung want a child?

No.

To him, a child wasn’t a blessing.

It was a weakness, an unwelcome change, a problem to be dealt with.

It was enough for Yoo Sowon alone to carry something young and pitiful.

Even now, Woo Jaeyoung was on edge, making sure no one else latched onto Yoo Sowon.

‘Get rid of it yourself.’

Mo-young hadn’t stayed silent either.

‘Like I said, if hyung sends people, it’s only a matter of time before you get caught.

Even with a miracle, maybe a month? Instead of getting dragged back like a dog and having the child taken from you, it’s better to choose it yourself.’

‘…….’

‘Don’t look at me like that. You know I’ve always been an asshole.

Ever since the Seoul branch split in half, those Gong bastards have been looking for any excuse to stir shit.

If they grab someone easy like you and things go south…’

‘…Hyung.’

‘Hey. I can’t watch that happen. I want you to live a normal life, for once.’

At that time, Yoo Sowon simply stroked his still-flat stomach and answered calmly,

‘If I give up this child, won’t I be next?’

‘Hey.’

‘If I get abandoned then, I’ll be alone again. I don’t want that. If that’s how it’s going to be, I’d rather live my whole life holding onto at least the proof that I lived like this.’

Yoo Sowon wasn’t a fool.

There was no way he didn’t know Woo Jaeyoung didn’t want their child.

Maybe he realized it instinctively the moment he found out he was pregnant.

And yet, Yoo Sowon smiled.

In his clear, shining brown eyes, there wasn’t even a trace of resentment toward Woo Jaeyoung.

In that moment, Mo-young was left speechless.

Why did he like him so much?

What was so good about a man who didn’t even fully love him, who only knew how to give twisted, clumsy love?

They say nothing grows in barren land—then why was Yoo Sowon’s love, which had never been watered, shining so brightly?

‘Contact me.’

Mo-young said through clenched teeth.

‘Once you settle somewhere, promise you’ll tell me where you are, what you’re doing, whether you’re even alive.

You’re good at keeping promises, aren’t you? You never forget even the most pointless things. So promise me too… then I’ll help you.’

‘I promise.’

And so, Mo-young helped him.

Maybe it was because he couldn’t bring himself to turn his thorns toward Yoo Sowon, who was like a younger brother he had always cared about.

Or maybe he just wanted to see Woo Jaeyoung regret it—someone who had always taken things for granted.

Even when he withdrew all the money he had and put it in Yoo Sowon’s hands, even when he created an excuse to send him away, he thought it would be fine.

He had no idea two months would pass like that.

‘I found Yoo Sowon. He’s in the hospital right now. Go see him tomorrow.’

‘What? He’s in the hospital and didn’t contact me? No—wait, hospital… why?’

Hearing that they had dragged him straight to the hospital the moment they found him, Mo-young flared up without realizing it.

‘You actually took him to the hospital? He would’ve refused. There’s no way he didn’t… Why do you always have to go that far?!’

‘…What the hell are you talking about? Then what, I should’ve left a guy with wrecked memories and body lying around somewhere else—wait.’

‘…….’

‘You knew Yoo Sowon was pregnant, didn’t you.’

Silence was confirmation.

‘f*ck. And you still helped him run?’

‘…You think you would’ve let it happen if you knew? Did you really think you could be a proper father?’

‘…….’

‘No, right? You would’ve told him to get rid of it. So why the hell would he tell you?’

He got hit once, but he didn’t regret it.

If anything, he thought he got off easier than expected—and even asked why he hit him so lightly.

The answer was ridiculous.

‘If I mess up your face, that kid will worry for no reason.’

Hearing that, Mo-young was so shocked he forgot the pain.

‘Hyung… do you love Sowon?’

The expression Woo Jaeyoung showed as he shoved him into the car felt completely unfamiliar.

‘Why.’

‘…….’

‘Even a thug like me can try to turn over a new leaf.’

Mo-young shoved his hands deep into his pockets.

He fiddled with his worn cigarette pack before tilting his head back.

Worry lingered on his refined face.

“Turn over a new leaf…”

“Huh?”

“Sowon. Do you think people can change?”

He hoped the answer would be no.

If Sowon said he didn’t want to give Woo Jaeyoung a second chance, Mo-young would’ve helped him escape again.

Once he recovered, he would’ve found a way to get him out no matter what.

Even if Woo Jaeyoung crushed him without mercy afterward, he wouldn’t have been afraid.

Because Woo Jaeyoung wasn’t the only one who was alone with nowhere to go.

Mo-young and Yoo Sowon had also been born with nothing, clawing their way through life from the bottom.

So if he just said he expected nothing…

“If he truly wants to change.”

Ah.

Mo-young let out a genuine sigh.

A stubborn bastard who would make flowers bloom even in barren land.

A simple bastard.

A foolish, pitiful bastard.

Stubborn, simple, foolish, pitiful.

And endlessly kind.

That evening.

“Hey. Do you think there’s only one kind of dumpling in the world?

Why the hell didn’t you pick up your phone… You should’ve at least told me if you wanted Chinese dumplings, flat dumplings, or gyoza.”

Grumbling, Woo Jaeyoung walked in, his hands full of every kind of dumpling sold nearby, each packed in single portions.

He had forgotten to ask what kind of dumplings Sowon wanted.

Since he didn’t know his preferences, he just bought everything, planning to leave what he liked and dump the rest on the bottomless pits around him.

At least one of these had to suit his taste.

Thinking that, he opened the hospital room door—

“What’s this?”

Yoo Sowon, sitting on the bed, suddenly spread his arms wide with a serious expression.

Judging by the look of it, he was trying to shield the visitor sitting behind him.

“Jaeyoung hyung.”

Yoo Sowon called him in a grave tone.

“Apologize.”

“…What?”

He spoke clearly, word by word.

“Apologize for hitting my Young hyung!”