Well, I felt bad for Hee Jun to be out of the picture for so long, he was completely forgotten through no fault of his own. He deserved some attention. This is the last "funny" chapter before Goryeo. Enjoy, have fun and comment.
I won't be posting for at least a few weeks. Looking forward to your reviews.
Let me know what you think might happen when they go back. Will CY change the future? Will things go smoothly? Is Mr Kim coming along? How will ES adjust? Will they ever return? Give me your ideas, I'm taking them all under consideration.
The general stopped in front of the inconspicuous building and looked around carefully. A number of single men and some larger groups came out of the parked cars and looking quite relaxed walked toward the entrance. Most of them were exchanging quiet words and smiled in anticipation of some private time away from nagging wives and burdens of their families. He found himself apprehensive and swallowing hard, steeled his nerves. How bad can this be? He could never show Hee Jun his nervousness, if he did, he would have to kill him for witnessing such shame.
"Dude! You are here." Hee Jun's wide grin was cracking his face open, and grabbing Choi Young's sleeve, he dragged the hesitant general inside. His guide purchased the entrance tickets and handed Choi Young a key in the form of the wristwatch. When the general stared at it, questioning, Hee Jun laughed. "You were not kidding when you said you never went. I wonder what weird family you come from."
"Don't bring up my family," barked with a murderous look Choi Young, but surprisingly, he was not upset at his companion. He was a jimjilbang virgin and it showed.
He managed to keep a neutral face, but could not help averting his eyes in the lockers where butt naked men walked around, casually pushing each other out of the way. A couple of elders sat on a small bench, talking. Choi Young undressed, leaving his underwear on and looked over to where Hee Jun was. The guy was naked and humming something while retrieving a small care pack from the locker, including a scrubber, a comb and a couple of towels.
"Come on, dude, just take them off," he motioned to the last piece of clothing still covering Choi Young's body. "Don't be such a baby."
"Shut up," hissed at him Choi Young, raising his hand for a smack, but was stopped by the voice of one of the elders, saving Hee Jun who already instinctively ducked and lifted his hands to protect his head - "Listen to your friend."
"Excuse me?" the general glared, but tamed his anger, since they were indeed elders.
"Son, just take them off, we are all naked here," chuckled one of the elders, pointing at his privates. Choi Young's eyes widened and he looked away, growing a thick blush.
"He is one of those," mentioned the elder to his friend.
"Yep, those modern ones, who think that they are better than us."
"The old ways are dying. If they don't like it, why come?"
Hee Jun giggled at Choi Young's discomfort and scolding. "Dude, just do it," and stepped away in advance to avoid the beating, hiding behind the bench with the two elders.
The general tied a towel around his waste and pulled his underwear off, still covered. "I'm done," He reported to noone in particular, but Hee Jun and the elders should have heard him.
"Show us your family jewels," he heard an old croaking voice and his towel was pulled off, as the other elder laughed hoarsely.
Choi Young covered his crotch hastily with his large palms and froze. How embarrassing. Not that he was ashamed of his body or anything, he just was not used to have prying eyes all over him. Then he realized his butt was level with their faces. That was the rudest thing he could do, so forcing himself to turn and face the elders, he slowly twisted his body half way. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, quickly grabbing the towel with one hand from a man who was still holding it. "Hee Jun-ah, come on," he said in unusually low voice and slung the towel back around the hips, finally able to breathe fully. He slid past them sideways, neither with his back nor his front, while the two men grudgingly continued to discuss his weirdness.
The shower room was more comfortable. People moved about in a hazy air, humid and warmed by the steams of running water. Hee Jun pointed to the two shower stalls next to each other, and Choi Young turned on the water, finding the environment more familiar since he had taken many showers before. Standing to the wall, he let the water encapsulate him and closing his eyes, the sounds of the men talking in the background fainted. Somebody's voice sounded near and he lazily opened his eyes, startled as Hee Jun's smiling face was staring at him. "Here," he handed a washrag. "Shampoo and soap," he pointed to two large bottles attached to the wall next to the faucets.
"You scared me," mumbled Choi Young. "You lucky I did not crack your head open against the wall or twisted your arm out of the socket. Don't you know by now not to start me?"
"Sorry, dude," grinned Hee Jun. "Wash up quickly, let's go to the baths."
After the initial cultural shock of being in tight place with so many strange men of all shapes and ages, most of them naked all the way and some keeping a towel around the middle only to come off when they submerged into the steaming baths, Choi Young convinced himself that this experience was something he had to endure for the sake of Hee Jun and also as a kind of test of his will power and resolve.
And the dreaded part arrived next. "Hyung, do you mind scrubbing my back?'
Choi Young made sure to appear casual and replied, "Whatever, give it to me." He roughly grabbed the scrubber and dragged it along the man's back, grimacing from self - reproach.
Babbling, happy Hee Jun leaned into the strong hands, "My father and my hyung used to do that for me. I miss home. We went every month ever since I remember myself. Afterwards, Dad would take us to eat grilled meat and secretly from Mom buy us beer, once we turned 15."
Choi Young softened inside. The kid always got him with his exposed sincerity. So he really regarded him as an older brother, that was something unexpected, but also comforting. He thought of the soldiers under his command. Were they taken care of well?
His companion did not allow for quiet contemplation and was constantly moving, offering different sides and ordering where and how he liked to be washed. "Here, over here," wiggled his backside Hee Jun, twisting his arm backwards and pointing to a particular itchy spot around his right scapula. "Aha, like that," his voice mellowed with satisfaction, sounding awfully similar to the kind of noises Choi Young heard him make during one of the many loud love making sessions behind the thin wall separating the rooms of the two women in the house. "Oh... So good!" Moaned with a sweet zing Hee Jun, driving Choi Young to hurry and gag the young man with a wet rag, quickly checking around if anybody noticed. "Keep it quiet, or I will drown you," he whispered menacingly in Hee Jun's ear, who nodded vigorously, while gagging and spitting out the rag. "Hyung!" He tried to yell, only to have his head dunked into the pool for a few seconds, as Choi Young was not joking in making his point. This little interlude put a smile on the general's face and pulling the man up by his hair, he smirked and winked at Hee Jun, "Am I clear?"
A frown pulled the man's mouth down and his eyes red from the water and possibly some tears of humiliation glared at Choi Young. "You almost killed me," he said low and turned away. He slumped in the water, with his back to Choi Young and proceeded to wash himself without any further sound.
"Was I too harsh?" Wondered the general aloud. "Hey, Hee Jun-ah, don't be mad. I was just playing."
"Not talking to you."
"Fine." Choi Young turned around, resting his back against the water jet pipe, the swirl pleasantly massaging his muscles. This place was not that bad at all, once he got used to it. "I like this. Try it," he said to his companion, but nobody responded. Hee Jun apparently upset had left him in the tub alone. Choi Young scanned the large room, but the guy was gone. Groaning he got up, grabbing his towel to wrap around his hips and moved around the room, checking the shower stalls and the small water pools of various temperature, then stuck his head into an impossibly hot and blinding with thick curtain of vapor wet steam room, and then dry steam room. Hee Jun had disappeared. He continued his search through the jade, quartz and salt room, finally ending in the ice room, where the temperature dropped and the air was frosty. He found Hee Jun crouching in the corner and mumbling something to himself with a hurt expression.
"Sorry. I am sorry. My jokes are a bit... You know how I am." Choi Young sincerely tried to apologize, touching his friend's shoulder, who recoiled and purposefully turned away.
"Go away. You treat me like plague and you are obviously embarrassed by me. Not everybody is so reserved and manly as you are. What is wrong with me enjoying myself? Why are you so uptight and annoying?"
"Come, you are turning blue," Choi Young tenderly pulled the guy up and tried not to look at his exposed genitals, shriveled in the cold. Laughing would only make things worse. He wrapped a dry towel around his friend. "I'll buy you a drink."
"Really?" Hee Jun perked up, rapidly recovering. Choi Young laughed, narrowing his eyes. One thing he could bet on was Hee Jun's predictability and his good natured heart. The man did not hold grudges, and the general have come to appreciate that.
. . .
There was one good thing about this experience – no one gave a damn about him. He was just one of many silly looking wearing the same blue set people, with towels tied on their heads, they all were nameless, anonymous and completely indifferent to each other.
In a blue t-shirt and shorts uniform with a huge drink in his hand, Choi Young was sitting on a mat, cross-legged, slurping a sweet concoction out of the cup through a wide straw. His skin was slightly flushed and eyes glowed after he spend some time going from one room to another, getting himself properly steamed and heated. Hee Jun was tucked beside him, making swooshing sounds as he inhaled the liquid he was drinking. They both appeared content.
"Do you want to call the girls to meet here?" Hee Jun broke the relaxed silence.
"Ne.." Choi Young closed his eyes. "I don't want to bother Imja and," he could not believe he was saying this, "it's just our time together, you don't want the women to spoil it for us."
Hee Jun's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree, he flushed, as if Choi Young confessed his undying love and devotion to him, and replied, "Yes, dude. It's cool, just us men. We should do this more often."
"We should," trailed off Choi Young, his face taking on a hint of sadness. "Hee Jun-ah, if by any chance, I can't come back soon, make sure to take care of the apartment with Ha Na and also," he stopped midsentence. His eyes traveled to the far end of the open hall. He stared at the distance, pensive. "If Imja were to return before me, be a friend to her."
"Sure, dude. Anything for you," Responded Hee Jun, his mouthful with an egg he was chewing, "but why would she come back before you?"
"Just you never know."