I stayed silent as I looked at Min Yugeon, clearly upset. This was something I needed to own up to. If our roles had been reversed and he hadn’t answered all day, I would’ve been worried too. We weren’t the kind of people who ignored each other’s messages in the first place.
“Sorry.”
“……”
“It was a plan I’d already made—I just remembered late. Since you were on duty, I didn’t think I needed to say anything.”
At my explanation, Min Yugeon pressed his lips together and looked up at me.
“We were talking until dawn. I didn’t even notice the messages.”
I raised my wrist slightly to show him the watch and sat down beside him. His gaze followed the motion and settled on my face.
“You look tired.”
“A little.”
“……You drank, didn’t you? Are you feeling okay?”
His face softened as he checked in on me, and I let out a quiet laugh. Frowning, Min Yugeon grumbled, asking what was so funny.
“I seriously went through every worst-case scenario in my head, you know?”
“Yeah.”
I nodded, glancing at the shadows beneath his eyes. He looked more drained than I did, probably because he’d come straight from his shift. Sensitive to noise and easily disturbed in his sleep, he might’ve even had trouble resting because of me.
Min Yugeon slouched deeper into the backrest, draping an arm casually over it.
“You said you stayed at the Vice Captain’s place?”
“Yeah. I was supposed to meet the Captain too, but he couldn’t make it.”
“I see.”
Min Yugeon mumbled softly and leaned his face onto my shoulder. I turned to glance at him as he rested his cheek against me. Sitting side by side, sunk into the soft couch with his body pressed close, I could finally feel the tension easing from mine. My exhaustion was slowly starting to lift.
“I’ve met the Vice Captain too.”
He spoke offhandedly.
“He visited the center once to boost morale. Though it seemed like he had other business as well.”
“Yeah?”
“Mm. He was good-looking and very thoughtful.”
“……”
Maybe it was just that a handsome guy was praising another handsome guy, but it rubbed me the wrong way.
“Did you two know each other before?”
“We met at the demonstration. This was only the second time.”
“Really? And he still invited you to stay over at his place? He’s definitely a kind guy.”
Lifting his head to meet my eyes, Min Yugeon gave me a slight smile.
“His place was just closer… he was just being nice.”
I answered vaguely, brushing it off. I didn’t feel great bringing up anything related to Yeo Wonjin in front of Min Yugeon. Even if they’d completely cut ties, Min Sanghan was still his father. I didn’t want to talk about someone who had openly criticized him.
The smile on Min Yugeon’s face faded slightly as he looked at me.
“Suho.”
“Yeah?”
“You said once that because I’m around, you never even think about seeing anyone else.”
“……And?”
The arm behind me slid forward and wrapped around me. Resting his forehead against my shoulder, Min Yugeon spoke again.
“Still… what if someone you really like suddenly comes along?”
“Huh?”
I asked reflexively, caught off guard by how out-of-nowhere it sounded.
“What are you even talking about?”
“You never know with people. Things can change just like that.”
Unless I was imagining it, there was a faint anxiety in his tone.
I tried to shift to see his expression, but his arm tightened around me, making it impossible. Feeling the tension in his muscles, I gave up trying to move.
His sudden question was confusing, but maybe it was because I’d brought up the topic of dating the other day. It was the kind of conversation that naturally led us to imagine the possibility of someday drifting apart because we’d found someone else.
Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything at all.
“Min Yugeon.”
“……”
He stayed quiet, still pressed against me. His body had grown too big to handle easily, but his actions were no different from when he’d been a chubby little kid. I briefly considered pushing him off, thinking he was being too much—but in the end, I let it slide. It was kind of funny, and honestly, a little cute. The area near my shoulder warmed with the soft brush of his breath.
His attachment to me still felt strange sometimes. Min Yugeon always treated me like I was the most important person in his life. Sure, he had a slightly sly side, but he was naturally warm and open. His social circle was wide, yet once work was done, he always came straight home—as if he were someone with a family waiting—just to spend time with me.
Just like Min Yugeon said, no one really knows what the future holds. Even though we’d come this far together, the person we each spent the rest of our lives with might end up being someone entirely different.
“……Hard to say.”
I quietly looked down at the top of Min Yugeon’s head.
“It could just as easily be you, not me.”
I tried to imagine a future where Min Yugeon met someone and left my side. It was a scenario I’d never once pictured before.
I’m old enough now that I wouldn’t fall apart just because I was left alone—but even so, I’d be lonely. There’d be no one left to share small laughs with, no one to wake me from a nightmare.
And Min Yugeon… he would give everything he had to the person he chose, and he’d find happiness in his own way. Depending on their plans—or their gender—they might or might not have kids…
If a child were born who resembled Min Yugeon, I think it would stir up a complicated feeling in me.
“What the hell, Seo Suho.”
Min Yugeon laughed, his shoulders shaking like he’d heard something absurd.
“Now you’re the one overthinking.”
This little bastard…
Whether he realized I was giving him a cold look or not, he kept going.
“I told you, I plan to stay by your side for the rest of my life.”
“Didn’t you just say no one knows what’ll happen?”
“……Mm.”
He fell silent for a moment, then pulled me into him for no particular reason.
“But this—this I’m sure of.”
I blinked as his hair brushed against my cheek with a soft rustle. I was just about to scold him for his inconsistent logic—
Then I noticed. The palm wrapped around my forearm was unusually warm. And the tip of his ear, visible through his white hair, was flushed bright red.
“……”
Without realizing it, my lips clamped shut.
***
Between Min Yugeon and me, things had long stopped being awkward. We were far too close for that. Maybe once, back in the past—we’d felt something like it. Just once, during our school days, when we’d had a falling-out and made up afterward, and things had gotten a little stiff between us.
Unlike most kids our age who fought easily, we were always calm. The reason we’d fought wasn’t even a big deal. A senior who was openly interested in Min Yugeon had taken to bothering me in petty ways.
I think he believed the rumor that Min Yugeon and I were dating, and acted out of some childish jealousy. I’d never even spoken to the guy, and the whole situation was so absurd it didn’t feel real. Since it wasn’t enough to seriously disrupt my day-to-day, I just ignored it. Reacting would’ve made it obvious, and then Min Yugeon would notice. And once he did, he’d think it was his fault. That was inevitable.
But in the end, he did find out someone had been bothering me. Looking back, it was bound to happen—we were practically inseparable back then.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
It was the first time Min Yugeon had ever truly blown up at me. Way more than I’d expected. He was livid.
I was too stunned to respond at first, but I wasn’t upset. It was obvious that the anger he was throwing at me came from guilt.
I told him it was nothing. But even so, Min Yugeon stormed off and went straight to that senior. The tension in the air was so thick that even kids passing by had stopped and stared with nervous faces.
He came back not long after, standing in front of me, hesitating. Head bowed, eyes full of regret and guilt, he said softly that he shouldn’t have yelled at me. That he was sorry for dragging me into it.
I’d never blamed him in the first place, so of course I accepted the apology.
After that, I promised I wouldn’t keep secrets from him for reasons like that again. And once things were settled, I remember a quiet awkwardness lingering between us for a while. A shy, lingering discomfort.
……But what I’m feeling now—it’s not that kind of embarrassment.
This unfamiliar behavior Min Yugeon’s been showing lately—
The way his cheeks flush. His vague, ambiguous expressions. This strange, tingling feeling I can’t quite describe.
What used to be playful shyness now feels genuine. I can see it in his face. I can feel it in the heat of his skin. There’s no way I’m imagining it.
And then, out of nowhere, a ridiculous thought crossed my mind.
A kind of thought you’re not even supposed to have between friends who’ve known each other this long.
“……”
Just realizing I’d even thought something like that left me shaken.
