The distance was quite far, so he couldn’t hear the reporters’ voices. When he glimpsed them, their expressions didn’t seem very good.
He removed the phone pressed against his ear. He peeked his head out slightly to check if the reporters had left.
“Boo!”
He sharply inhaled at the figure suddenly looming before him. Clutching his chest, he shifted his gaze upward. He could feel his heart pounding. Jae-young caught his breath and grabbed Sa Gong-hyun’s arm.
“Hyun-ssi.”
“Why are you so surprised? Like someone caught doing something wrong.”
“Because you suddenly appeared. Ah, my legs almost gave out.”
He rubbed his chest while whining. Suddenly, he thought he heard a low laugh from above and looked up.
“What’s this? I wanted to surprise you by coming secretly, but I ended up being surprised instead.”
While shifting his gaze, he also checked the entrance area together. The reporters were gradually moving away. Jae-young laughed softly as if it was unbearable.
“Did you know I was here? How?”
“You can see everything from above.”
“Ah…”
Jae-young looked up obliquely at the tall building. He hadn’t expected that he would be just looking out the window instead of working. Jae-young regained his senses around the time Sa Gong-hyun opened his mouth again.
“What brings you here?”
His field of vision beautifully captured the handsome face. Jae-young smiled, curling the corners of his eyes, and held both of his hands.
“I came to see my boyfriend. To have a meal together. Isn’t it almost time to get off work?”
“I would have picked you up if you had waited.”
“That’s why I came to pick you up. I looked up a nice restaurant on the way. It’s a famous place so it might be a bit noisy, but is that okay?”
“It’s fine.”
“Then hurry up and finish your work. We’re on a tight schedule even if we move right away.”
“There’s no way the schedule is tight just for eating a meal.”
Sa Gong-hyun said this casually as he turned around. Just then, Manager Jo was seen running from a distance. Manager Jo handed the car keys to Sa Gong-hyun without even glancing at Jae-young.
“Come on. It seems like we can leave right away.”
Sa Gong-hyun said this while looking at Jae-young, who was standing quietly behind him. Jae-young passed by Manager Jo, who was giving a slight bow, with quick steps and grabbed Sa Gong-hyun’s arm.
“We’re going to date all day. There are many things I’ve wanted to do once I got a boyfriend. Although they’re small, they’ll definitely be fun.”
The black sedan, which hadn’t been there until they moved, was now occupying a space in front of the entrance. Jae-young, with a bright smile, blocked Sa Gong-hyun who was heading for the driver’s seat.
“Hyun-ssi, you take the passenger seat. I’ll escort you today.”
“As I recall, Do Jae-young, you have a closet license.”
“…It was almost a closet license due to speeding. So hurry up and get in. I promise to follow the speed limit and escort you safely today, Executive Director.”
Feeling that arguing about every little thing would only give him a headache, he pushed Sa Gong-hyun’s back. Only after personally opening the passenger door for him was he able to climb into the driver’s seat.
It had been a while since he’d driven. Usually, Seung-kwon did the driving, and when moving alone, he mainly used taxis. In urgent situations, he would pull out the motorcycle parked in the basement.
He thought he’d be nervous since it had been a while since he’d handled the steering wheel, but it was more comfortable than expected. As he chatted continuously and moved the steering wheel, the car body shook.
Sa Gong-hyun caught him when he almost crossed into the next lane because he was concentrating on talking. Jae-young stared at the warmth overlaying his hand, without even having time to open his eyes wide.
“Now I understand why you made up an excuse.”
There wasn’t even a speck of tension or anger mixed in. Even after correcting the steering wheel, he was still holding Jae-young’s hand.
Suddenly, his chest felt tight. Feeling like his mouth was drying, he moistened his lower lip with his tongue. Ambivalent emotions crossed his mind frequently. He wanted the hand to be removed, but the warm touch felt quite nice.
Thanks to that, he closed his constantly chattering lips into a straight line. Even though his driving wasn’t unstable despite not having taken the wheel for a long time, he felt unnecessarily tense.
Only after parking the car, which had swallowed a load of tension, did he exhale a deep sigh. Jae-young glanced furtively at Sa Gong-hyun.
“This doesn’t look like a restaurant at all.”
Sa Gong-hyun narrowed his eyes and scanned outside the window. Even his profile was dazzling. Despite no lights shining on him, it was like watching a video in 8K resolution.
As he tried to open the door to get out, Jae-young grabbed his left hand. An indifferent gaze circled back to Jae-young.
Jae-young extended his upper body and pressed his lips against Sa Gong-hyun’s. He lightly bit the plump lower lip and pulled his head back.
“Is this the delicious restaurant Do Jae-young mentioned?”
Laughter burst out at his rather solemn voice.
“No way. I came here because there was nowhere to park. What I just did was because my boyfriend is so handsome that I couldn’t help myself.”
“I think it would be better to stop with the flattery.”
“Hyun-ssi must not know how handsome he is. That’s why I fell for you.”
“I didn’t realize you had a personality that lives off of looks.”
It would be a lie to say he wasn’t caught off guard. His lips, gracefully stretched to both sides, curled into a slight smile. Sa Gong-hyun gently smiled and tousled Jae-young’s bangs. His heart tightened once again.
“…Don’t misunderstand, it’s not just because of that that I like you.”
He belatedly followed Sa Gong-hyun as he got out of the car. He didn’t respond at all. The warmth in his face as he looked back at Jae-young with his head slightly tilted was moderately comforting.
If asked whether the first button of his first-initiated date was successful, it was quite the opposite. The food was fine, but the restaurant was excessively crowded.
Although he didn’t openly show his displeasure, he barely touched his food. Only when Jae-young personally brought it to his mouth because he wasn’t satisfied with his nibbling did he finally start chewing.
Jae-young, who had sparkled in his eyes after taking one bite, also slowed his movements in response. Even though the atmosphere had been low, his hands continued to move endlessly since the food tasted good.
After the meal, they spent time at a nearby arcade. When it came to games, Jae-young excelled, but Sa Gong-hyun quickly surpassed him after getting the feel in the first round. The saying that experienced people are better at games was now outdated.
Afterward, they drove to a drive-in theater. Thinking he wouldn’t like trivial romance, Jae-young chose an action movie, but the response was lukewarm.
Even in the car filled with gunshots and fighting sounds, Jae-young thoughtlessly responded with admiring reactions. Though he kept checking Sa Gong-hyun’s mood, exclamations like “Wow…” naturally escaped.
The action scenes were incredible. There was no time to look away as the events unfolded one after another. Suddenly, he heard a snort from beside him.
“You’re enjoying this, Do Jae-young.”
With his gaze fixed on the screen, only his head turned to the side. Jae-young was able to turn his gaze completely when he felt a cold sensation on his right wrist.
As something cold but not particularly heavy wrapped around his wrist, his eyes dropped downward. What encircled his slender wrist was a bracelet. The slip metal bracelet had a specific luxury brand logo imprinted on it.
It was an expensive bracelet that didn’t match his inexpensive outfit. It felt like wearing million-won shoes with a cheap formal suit. He tightly closed his slightly parted lips.
He just blinked silently. Rather than one-dimensional emotions like being moved or excited, he felt a bit dazed. So would this be the first and last gift he’d receive?
“I’ve put a leash on you. You need to know where home is even if you wander around recklessly.”
Belatedly raising his gaze, Jae-young half-closed his eyes. Sa Gong-hyun’s fingertips, which had brushed along his jawline, grasped below his ear as if embracing it.
“It seems that handsome face doesn’t work at times like this. When given a gift, the natural next step would be to show gratitude.”
Well, even if it was a plain design, since he liked the bracelet, it wasn’t a bad deal to move according to his wishes.
With a pretty smile, Jae-young grabbed the back of Sa Gong-hyun’s head. Their lips met, and a soft tongue parted between his lips. The body that sharply tilted toward Jae-young was quite heavy.
Before he knew it, the seat slid all the way back. That’s when he realized it. The weight of the gratitude Jae-young had in mind and what Sa Gong-hyun had in mind were different.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
