Yoon Do-yeong flashed a quick smile and winked with one eye.
Kang Hyeon couldn’t quite pin down what that expression meant. It didn’t feel like Do-yeong was just annoyed that he didn’t go along with his choice of restaurant. But the word perilla powder kept echoing in his mind, and before he realized it, his gaze had wandered to Do-yeong’s lively, full lips. When their eyes met—Do-yeong calmly watching him with one hand resting on the steering wheel—he reflexively tugged on his seatbelt. He even turned his head slightly, trying to hide his subtly reddened cheeks.
“If you don’t like perilla powder, I just won’t add it.”
“…Okay.”
Do-yeong gave a resigned answer, sensing how badly Kang Hyeon wanted gukbap. His lips lifted faintly in a smile as he pulled into the gukbap restaurant parking lot.
“My boyfriend’s hungry, so tonight’s dinner is gukbap.”
The moment Do-yeong playfully called him boyfriend again, Kang Hyeon tensed up, taking a deep breath. He wasn’t sure whether to tell him to stop or just let it slide. But the sweet weight of that title, even in its discomfort, was nice to hear—so instead, he changed the subject.
“I filmed that chase scene twenty-two times today. Ugh… I ran so much.”
His voice gradually faded, sounding drained. Do-yeong gave a small nod, then pulled out a wet wipe and gently dabbed at the bloodstains near Kang Hyeon’s earlobe.
Do-yeong stared at Kang Hyeon’s tightly sealed lips as he accepted the gesture without protest. His skin, reddened from roughly scrubbing off the fake blood earlier, looked glossy and moist under the lingering dampness of the wipe. With a soft motion, Do-yeong lightly stroked his cheek with his fingertips.
“Your skin’s irritated.”
“….”
At the gentle tone, Kang Hyeon shifted uncomfortably and turned his head ever so slightly. Do-yeong’s gaze lingered along his jawline and up to his ear. Noticing the plump earlobe, he reached out almost instinctively and carefully touched it. Kang Hyeon asked awkwardly, tossing out the words like they were too hot to hold.
“Is there some there too?”
“A little.”
“I’ll wash up when I get home.”
“What if someone in the restaurant sees and thinks it’s real blood? They’ll freak out.”
Using that as an excuse, Do-yeong slid his palm along Kang Hyeon’s jaw and nape. Kang Hyeon’s pupils trembled and turned away.
“Let’s go.”
The ticklish touch became too much. Kang Hyeon quickly opened the door and got out.
Do-yeong stared at him for a moment, then let out a quiet sigh before stepping out of the car.
They entered the restaurant. Dinner rush had already passed, and the only customers were an elderly couple.
“Oh my…”
When they sat at the quietest, innermost table, the woman taking orders lit up at the sight of Yoon Do-yeong. But he didn’t even glance her way.
Worried that things might get awkward, Kang Hyeon quickly ordered two bowls of gukbap.
Once the woman left, the two chatted about the shoot until their meals arrived.
As Kang Hyeon began eating the hot soup, his eyes wandered to the TV mounted behind Do-yeong. The news was covering a story about a sitting congressman being investigated by prosecutors for stock manipulation.
Remembering what Do-yeong had told him about a freshman lawmaker, he asked:
“That the one?”
“Yeah. They’ll probably try to bury it with some celebrity scandal.”
Do-yeong’s voice was calm. Kang Hyeon sipped his soup for a moment, then cautiously asked:
“So… that means it’s Director Choi, right?”
“Who knows.”
Do-yeong took a spoonful of soup and reached for a piece of kkakdugi.
“We’ll find out soon enough.”
His indifferent tone made Kang Hyeon’s gaze drift from the TV.
Do-yeong shrugged off his jacket with a murmur.
“Doesn’t feel like spring.”
“Huh?”
“Feels like we’re jumping straight from winter to summer. I’ve only been on a few flights, but now it’s hot enough for short sleeves during the day.”
“Ah…”
The sudden shift in topic made Kang Hyeon glance over more carefully.
Unlike the usual casual shirt-and-jeans combo, today Do-yeong wore a semi-formal outfit. After taking off his jacket, he slowly rolled up the sleeves of his white dress shirt. The simple motion revealed the defined muscles of his forearms, honed from regular training. A leather bracelet sat conspicuously on his wrist.
And then there was that shirt, pulled taut across his broad shoulders and firm chest, the folds emphasizing his shape—it drew the eye.
He looked like he hadn’t even tried to dress up, and yet everything about him seemed intentional. The realization sent a tickle through Kang Hyeon’s chest.
Caught staring, he asked offhandedly:
“Where were you before this?”
“The salon.”
“…Why?”
“To go on a date with you.”
Do-yeong grinned, and his bangs swayed gently over his eyes. Come to think of it, his hair looked glossier than usual, swept neatly over his ear.
Now that he was really looking, the subtly styled and perfectly composed look hit all at once.
Kang Hyeon blushed, his gaze darting aimlessly into the air.
“I’ve been waiting for three hours, and my boyfriend wanted gukbap. And he finds the news more interesting than my face.”
“…You were already here when you messaged me?”
“Nope. I sent the message, drove around this area seven times, got stopped by the cops for being a suspicious vehicle, explained myself, then circled twelve more times, stopped at a gas station, and only came when you replied. And the reason I didn’t park somewhere or use a paid lot? You know why. The tint on my front windshield is too light—you can see my face right through it. So I kept circling, planning to scoop you up the moment your shoot wrapped.”
“….”
“So, can you focus on me now?”
Even while laying it on thick with disappointment, Do-yeong still smiled softly, the corners of his eyes folding gently.
His warm expression made Kang Hyeon glance toward the distant staff, then reply in a low voice:
“Then do something cute.”
Do-yeong blinked, caught off guard by the shy challenge.
“Whoa… That’s quite the reaction.”
He trailed off, then tilted his head slightly, looking genuinely affronted as he fired back:
“How am I not being cute already?”
“Just shut up and eat.”
“Don’t you feel anything when you look at me?”
“….”
“Nothing at all?”
“Ah, stop throwing yourself at me.”
As Do-yeong pushed harder with each line, Kang Hyeon’s responses grew more defensive. He glanced around nervously. Fortunately, the staff member was busy helping a newly arrived customer and didn’t seem to have heard.
Even while sitting, Kang Hyeon’s heels rose off the ground in tension before settling back down.
“But you do know I’m throwing myself at you, right?”
“Enough already.”
“You always just tell me to stop. Then what should I do?”
“Eat your damn food.”
“And then what?”
“…Go home.”
“Your place? Or mine?”
Do-yeong added with a sparkle in his eye: “By the way, I’m home alone tonight.”
Kang Hyeon covered his blushing face with one hand.
“No more jokes.”
“Then what do you want me to do? By the time we finish eating, it’ll be past nine. Bedtime’s coming up fast, you know.”
As Do-yeong whined half-playfully, Kang Hyeon stirred his soup with his spoon and hesitated.
“Wanna watch a movie?”
“Sure. Since it’s a full house at the theater, there are only front-row seats left. I’ll just sneak in after the movie starts and leave before the ending, I guess.”
Only now did Kang Hyeon realize how genuinely upset Do-yeong was.
He glanced at him, trying to gauge his mood, then finally tried to make up for it.
“Thanks for waiting. Was it boring?”
“A bit.”
“I should’ve checked my phone during the shoot. You waited without even eating. Were you upset I didn’t notice?”
Do-yeong finally looked him in the eye again.
Kang Hyeon stared back, then said gently:
“You look amazing.”
“….”
“I mean it. You’re stunning.”
Kang Hyeon wasn’t the type to dish out compliments lightly, and repeating it made Do-yeong’s lips curve into a soft smile.
At that moment, from the TV behind Do-yeong came a familiar voice: Lee Ji-gyeong.
Their eyes naturally turned to the screen, which was now filled with Lee Ji-gyeong’s face in a bright, cheerful vitamin drink commercial.
Do-yeong stared intently at her beaming smile and asked:
“Hyeon-ah, do you talk to Ji-gyeong often?”
“No.”
“Is he busy with drama filming?”
“Probably.”
“So… you don’t reach out to him?”
“It just kind of ended up that way.”
“And he hasn’t contacted you either?”
“Yeah.”
Do-yeong recalled the night he came back early, sitting in Chief Choi’s car outside the officetel, watching Ji-gyeong cry in Kang Hyeon’s arms.
He nodded to himself, paused briefly, then asked:
“Have you seen Ga-yeong noona lately?”
“I stopped by the café a few days ago.”
“Why?”
“One of the staff took a day off. I was filling in.”
“She probably called you because she missed you.”
Do-yeong smiled and took a bite. His eyes, lost in thought, shifted ever so slightly.
Chewing slowly, he set aside Ji-gyeong’s situation for now and moved to the next topic.
“Did you give her candy?”
“Candy?”
“White Day was last week.”
“Oh… she gave me a lollipop.”
“…I see.”
Do-yeong’s smile was faintly puzzled. From the many lines he’d prepared, he chose one.
“Want me to set her up on a blind date?”
“Sure.”
The casual response caught Do-yeong off guard.
All the questions he’d prepared suddenly seemed pointless.
So Baek Ga-yeong wasn’t the lover Kang Hyeon had mentioned. Then who was?
Trying to calm the uneasy flutter in his chest, he inhaled slowly and reached for his phone—then turned it off.
“Oh, my phone’s out of battery. Hyeon-ah, can I borrow yours real quick? Need to look something up.”
Kang Hyeon pulled his phone from his pocket and handed it over.
“What’s the pattern?”
He drew a ㄷ-shape on the screen to unlock it, then returned to eating, eyes drifting to the news on the TV.
Do-yeong leaned back in his seat, subtly angling the screen so Kang Hyeon couldn’t see it, then tapped the gallery app.
He quickly flicked through the photos, skimmed through the call logs, then opened the message app and checked the conversations. Lastly, he scanned the chats with Baek Ga-yeong.
Nothing stood out.
A cold, sour feeling settled in his gut as he recalled something Ji-gyeong had once said:
“I say I have a boyfriend too when someone keeps coming on to me. It’s less annoying that way.”
“Hyeon-ah, am I a nuisance to you?”
Do-yeong’s voice made Kang Hyeon pause mid-spoonful and look up.
“No.”
Even after answering, he couldn’t bring himself to take the bite. He just stared at Do-yeong, spoon still in hand.
Do-yeong stared right back, meeting his gaze with a soft, meaningful smile.
“Liar.”
