#70
The next day arrived. Yeoul left the hotel with Eun Sajun’s escort and moved to the sedan parked in the parking lot.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Yeoul unconsciously touched his waist, which was aching terribly from the sex that had continued until dawn. The inside of his buttocks felt the same way. Honestly, he wondered if his insides had been completely worn out.
Eun Sajun, gripping the steering wheel, looked at Yeoul with concern.
“Does it hurt a lot?”
“N-no… It’s fine.”
In truth, right after waking up in the morning, even moving his lower body had been overwhelming. It felt like becoming a rusty tin robot. Eun Sajun had given Yeoul a massage. Thanks to his expert-like hand movements, his body had loosened up considerably, yet it still hurt. Eun Sajun looked at Yeoul pitifully.
“I’ll moderate the pheromones from now on.”
“Ah…”
“And you need to eat more. As I mentioned before, you have too little flesh on your body.”
Yeoul had been trying to eat heartily all this time, so he didn’t understand why Eun Sajun kept saying this.
“If there’s anything you want to eat, tell me anytime.”
“Yes… But I already had breakfast…”
They had already eaten the brunch served as the hotel’s breakfast. But why was this happening? He wanted to eat something again. Licking his small tongue, he felt hunger and simultaneously had a flash of what food he wanted. But he hesitated to say it because it seemed too gluttonous.
“What is it? Is there something you want to eat?”
He seemed to read Yeoul’s mind as if he were possessed by him. This attention was nice, but also embarrassing, making Yeoul fidget with his fingers.
“Ah… well…”
“Yes. Tell me.”
Eun Sajun encouraged an answer with the kindest face in the world. Melting at his gentleness, Yeoul opened his mouth.
“Actually, I… I want to eat jokbal.”
But once he said it, he felt even more embarrassed. Feeling like a real pig, his cheeks flushed. At the same time, Eun Sajun smiled brightly.
“Okay. Let’s go eat jokbal now.”
“I already ate breakfast, so I don’t know why I’m like this. I’m sorry.”
“What are you sorry for?”
Eun Sajun was bewildered by Yeoul’s apology.
“From now on, tell me whenever you want to eat something. The baby is precious.”
“Ah… yes…”
Yeoul’s heart pounded again at his gentle voice.
“But I’ve never eaten jokbal before, so I don’t know any restaurants. Does baby know a place?”
“What? You’ve never eaten jokbal before?”
Yeoul’s eyes widened. He could understand not having tried tteokbokki, but wouldn’t there be occasions to eat jokbal? Or was their world so different?
“Yes. Somehow it turned out that way. Do you know any places?”
“Hmm…”
All the restaurants Yeoul knew were in market areas. But they couldn’t go to the market again. Rolling his large eyes around, he suddenly thought of a place.
“Then… let’s go there.”
“Where?”
* * *
The place they arrived at was a restaurant with a sign that read “Gajang Jokbal.” It was a place he occasionally visited with his uncle, a franchise that could be seen all over the country. Most jokbal restaurants started business in the afternoon, but this place accepted customers from lunch.
They entered the interior decorated with logs. It was a two-story space and quite crowded with many people.
Luckily, the innermost table was empty, so they took seats there. Like when they ate street food last time, Eun Sajun first arranged the water glasses and utensils. Then he gently handed the menu on the table to Yeoul.
“So what will you order? Choose.”
Yeoul always ordered half-and-half jokbal consisting of regular jokbal and spicy jokbal, but he recalled how Eun Sajun couldn’t handle spicy food last time. If he struggled with tteokbokki that even elementary school students could easily eat, he might end up in the emergency room if he ate spicy jokbal.
“I’ll have king jokbal and bibim noodles.”
“This looks delicious too, doesn’t it?”
Eun Sajun’s finger pointed at the spicy jokbal. Why was the representative spice-phobic acting like this? Yeoul was dumbfounded.
“This is extremely spicy. Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
Yeoul was very worried. Eun Sajun’s expression showed his pride was somewhat hurt.
“What? I can handle spicy food well.”
“What? You couldn’t eat tteokbokki last time.”
“I wasn’t feeling well that day. That’s why.”
“What?”
It was clearly a lie to anyone who saw it.
“It seems like baby wants to eat it too.”
Could he be choosing spicy jokbal because of me? Yeoul was touched by his consideration but also felt sorry. However, he didn’t want to see him suffering from the spiciness. Above all, the regular jokbal here was delicious enough.
“No. Let’s go with regular jokbal. I want to avoid stimulating foods now.”
“Really? Then I can’t help it. Alright.”
Eun Sajun looked disappointed, as if he had really been going to try the spicy jokbal. But Yeoul couldn’t accept his challenge out of guilt. And wanting to order before Eun Sajun changed his mind, he pressed the order bell. At the same time, an employee approached with quick steps.
“Yes, what would you like to… Oh? Aren’t you from the emergency room that time?”
“Huh?”
At the familiar voice, Yeoul raised his head to look at the employee’s face. Gray hair and black eyes blinked. It was Lee Jaehyeon, who had taken him to the emergency room when he collapsed after running away from Eun Sajun last time. At the same time, Yeoul’s eyes widened like a surprised rabbit.
“Oh? Hello.”
How could they meet like this here? A bright smile bloomed on Lee Jaehyeon’s face.
“Meeting like this is really amazing. I work part-time here.”
“Yes. That’s right.”
Yeoul also thought it was a strange connection.
“After parting like that that day, I kept thinking about how regrettable it was.”
“About me?”
“Yes.”
Lee Jaehyeon nodded. Yeoul was embarrassed. Of course, he was grateful to the person who had saved him, but he also felt burdened. Above all, he was concerned because the expression of Eun Sajun sitting across from him was not good at all.
“Can you tell me your name now?”
Last time, he had hesitated to give his real name because the situation was ambiguous, but now there was no need for that. Also, he couldn’t ignore the direct question.
“Ah… yes… My name is Geum Yeoul.”
“I see. Pretty name.”
“N-no, it’s not.”
Yeoul couldn’t continue the conversation. It seemed Eun Sajun was uncomfortable with him talking more with Jaehyeon.
“Let’s order first.”
“Yes.”
Just as Jaehyeon was about to take Yeoul’s order.
“King jokbal, buckwheat noodles, and apple juice, please.”
Eun Sajun quickly intercepted. Moreover, apple juice…? Yeoul hastily looked at the refrigerator in the corner of the restaurant. It only had beer, soju, and various carbonated drinks. Jaehyeon also looked troubled.
“I’m sorry, but we don’t have apple juice.”
“Is that so?”
Eun Sajun’s eyes grew colder. Feeling like something bad might happen, Yeoul hurriedly spoke up.
“I’ll just have pineapple Fanta! I think that would be delicious too!”
“Is that what our baby wants?”
Eun Sajun touched Yeoul’s cheek. It was as if he was showing off his intimacy in front of Jaehyeon. Yeoul’s face turned red from embarrassment. Jaehyeon showed signs of discomfort at Eun Sajun’s presence and went to the kitchen. At the same time, Eun Sajun’s gaze became as sharp as a coroner’s.
“Is that boy your friend?”
“Ah… yes.”
It wasn’t quite an intimate relationship to call him a friend, but it seemed unnecessary to add all the details, so he barely answered.
“You seem too formal with each other to be friends…”
Eun Sajun’s expression darkened.
“Actually, last time…”
Yeoul explained his meeting with Jaehyeon, thinking it would be better than creating unnecessary misunderstandings.
“As it turns out, we’re the same age.”
“Same age.”
Eun Sajun repeated the words heavily. Yeoul felt intimidated, wondering if he had made a mistake. The restaurant was clearly well-heated and warm, but the perceived temperature felt below zero.
“Does Yeoul like people of the same age?”
“What do you mean?”
He was even bewildered by the sudden question. Eun Sajun took a sip of water, and his complexion darkened further.
“Do you prefer dating people of the same age?”
“What? Why are you suddenly asking this?”
He couldn’t understand how the conversation had gone in this direction. It was too absurd.
“No… I was just wondering if you like same-age people.”
“Not particularly…”
For Yeoul, age wasn’t important in a relationship. The attraction of the heart came first. So…
Yeoul looked at Eun Sajun. Every time he captured him in his eyes, his heart ached, burned, and was stirred by indescribable emotions. Was it because he had said he liked him and asked to date? He was immersed in emotions he had never felt before.
“Then…”
“Excuse me.”
Just as Eun Sajun was about to say more, various side dishes and jokbal were placed on the table.
“…”
It seemed awkward to continue the conversation. He thought they should eat first. Despite the jokbal being very delicious, it wasn’t going down his throat well, perhaps because of Eun Sajun’s earlier remarks. Moreover, Eun Sajun seemed to find even the buckwheat noodles spicy, as he took one bite and then frantically drank Fanta.
How could such a person claim he could eat spicy jokbal?
Just as he was rolling up jokbal and buckwheat noodles to put in his mouth, a 1.5L box of apple juice was placed on the table. Surprised, Yeoul looked up. It was Jaehyeon.
“Please have this.”
“Why is this suddenly…”
“Since you mentioned apple juice earlier, I bought it from a nearby convenience store.”
“Ah… th-thank you.”
Why is he going this far? Yeoul awkwardly touched the apple juice box. And Eun Sajun’s expression worsened. It felt like drinking this apple juice would cause trouble, but he couldn’t just throw it away. With an uneasy heart, he opened the juice and poured it into an empty glass.
“CEO, please have some too.”
“Yes…”
Eventually, Eun Sajun drank the apple juice. Then they started eating jokbal again. When they had almost finished, he stood up from his seat.
“I’ll be away for a moment.”
“What? Yes, yes…”
Although Yeoul didn’t understand why he was suddenly leaving, he continued eating the jokbal. But Jaehyeon, who had been serving until just now, was also nowhere to be seen. Where did he go? He was briefly puzzled but then thought he must have something to do and continued stuffing the remaining jokbal into his mouth.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
