Only then did Won-hyeok realize that this conversation had no choice but to keep going in circles. The two of them were living in the same situation while dreaming completely different dreams—of course they weren’t going to understand each other.
“You said the condition was that we don’t interfere in each other’s lives.”
“And?”
Won-hyeok first relaxed his expression. It seemed like he needed to listen carefully to what Han-gyeom had to say.
“I wasn’t really sure what exactly that meant, but I still thought that if we weren’t going to interfere in each other’s lives, then the people around us shouldn’t know either.”
But as for Han-gyeom, when it came to people around him, there were really only Hyun-ah and Woo-jin from the same club, and Han-ul, the one other person, had already found out.
Unlike him, Won-hyeok was well-known at school to begin with. He clearly had a lot of acquaintances, a lot of friends, and plenty of sunbaes and hoobaes he was connected to.
“I thought you didn’t want other people to know that you were dating me, sunbae.”
Like a student explaining himself while being checked on homework, Han-gyeom spoke in a stiff, tense posture. In contrast, Won-hyeok let out a deep sigh as though all the strength had drained from his body and pressed a hand to his forehead.
Then had that also been an extension of the same misunderstanding—when Han-gyeom had said it was a relief after hearing Won-hyeok claim he didn’t have a boyfriend when they’d come to the English Department dinner following Kim Sun-woo? Back then, Won-hyeok had naturally misunderstood and thought Han-gyeom wanted to keep things hidden.
Still, who would’ve thought he’d twist those words that far? Thinking about it that way, even Han-gyeom avoiding him all through last week made a certain amount of sense.
Of course, from Won-hyeok’s perspective too, it wasn’t like he wanted to loudly announce to everyone that they were dating, but when he said they shouldn’t interfere in each other’s lives, he hadn’t meant it with a secret relationship in mind. He’d just wanted that, when the time eventually came to end this relationship, neither of them would be left with lingering attachment or resentment.
And things like control or obsession—those were just annoying byproducts of dating as far as Won-hyeok was concerned. That was what he’d wanted to prevent when he said it.
“Haa….”
As Won-hyeok rubbed at the tired corners of his eyes and sighed, Han-gyeom flinched.
“I know very well that someone like me d-doesn’t suit someone like you, sunbae. So I tried hard to keep that condition. Because if I broke it and you got tired of me….”
Won-hyeok’s hand, which had been rubbing his face dry, froze in place. Now that the conversation had reached this point, there was one thing he wanted to ask.
“Han-gyeom. Let’s say, just for the sake of argument, that you’re right. Then that’s basically no different from me being embarrassed to keep you by my side and wanting to hide you. Doesn’t that upset you?”
“Hmm, am I supposed to be upset?”
After staring blankly into the air for a moment, Han-gyeom answered carefully. That unhesitating reply struck a considerable blow to Won-hyeok’s nerves.
“What?”
“I… really like you, sunbae.”
“…….”
“I respect you, and I like you too. If I can date someone like that, then nothing is more important than that.”
Shaking his head, Han-gyeom smiled with complete fullness. The yellow light from the countless tiny bulbs hanging around the bench cast a glow over his face.
Han-gyeom’s eyes were sparkling. The upturned corners of his lips were lovely. Won-hyeok kept taking in every bit of him without missing a thing.
“Of course, I know it might not be the normal way of thinking, but t-to me, you matter more, sunbae. Aren’t there all kinds of different ways a relationship can be?”
That wasn’t self-sacrifice. It wasn’t one of those situations where one side was hurt and quietly endured it to keep the relationship going. It wasn’t that kind of picture at all. Han-gyeom hadn’t been hurt from the start. After beginning a relationship with Won-hyeok, the only thing he’d thought about in that relationship was pure love.
“…Come here.”
“Huh?”
When Han-gyeom hesitated, not quite understanding, Won-hyeok grabbed his arm and pulled him over as if he couldn’t bear even that. As he hugged Han-gyeom, who fit snugly into his arms, he thought to himself: Kang Han-gyeom really was like some completely new species of human he’d never seen before.
“S-sunbae… why are you doing this all of a sudden?”
Held tightly in both arms without the slightest gap, Han-gyeom floundered in surprise. Won-hyeok looked down at the cute crown of his head, then buried his face in Han-gyeom’s soft hair.
“We’re dating. Isn’t it fine to hug you?”
“T-that’s true, but….”
“Just stay like this for a minute. Right now, I feel like this is the only way I’ll be okay.”
“But what do I do if my heart really feels like it’s going to burst like this?”
When that trembling voice slipped out, Won-hyeok finally burst into laughter. After Han-gyeom stayed in Won-hyeok’s arms like that for a while, a rustling sound came from his pocket.
“Ah, right.”
As if he had only just remembered something, Han-gyeom fumbled around in his pocket. Then he suddenly held out a small paper-wrapped package to Won-hyeok.
“What is this?”
Han-gyeom only looked at him as if telling him to open it. A couple rustling sounds came from Won-hyeok’s hands. Once he unwrapped it, what appeared was none other than a cute otter character keychain. It was something sold at the aquarium souvenir shop they’d seen earlier.
“I bought it for you, sunbae!”
Han-gyeom said proudly.
“For me?”
“Yes. You always buy me lunch, and you bring me to nice restaurants like this, and today you came to the aquarium with me too. I wanted to give you something, so I bought it.”
So this was the identity of the thing he’d said he was going to pay for by himself earlier, then refused to reveal when Won-hyeok asked what it was.
The plush keychain was very cute. But Han-gyeom didn’t know. Won-hyeok had never really cared for things that cutesy to begin with. He was the kind of person who thought buying stuff like that was no different from scattering money on the ground.
And yet right now, Won-hyeok couldn’t take his eyes off that tiny keychain.
“Sunbae? Do you maybe not like it?”
“You really picked out something that looks just like you.”
Won-hyeok muttered lowly as he held the keychain by its length and lifted it beside Han-gyeom’s face. Big-eyed and cute—it was exactly like Kang Han-gyeom.
“I like it.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Thank you.”
When was the last time he’d even received something like this? More than that, had he ever? Won-hyeok carefully tucked the keychain into his pocket.
After finishing their conversation, the two of them slowly walked side by side, hand in hand, toward the restaurant parking lot. Just then, off to one side of the parking lot, one of the employees could be seen jamming a hand into his apron pocket and aggressively talking on the phone with someone.
“I’m telling you, he was definitely holding a fucking rock in his hand?!”
Looking closely, it was the same man who had shown interest in Han-gyeom earlier and asked for his number. Maybe it was his break time now, because instead of going inside, he looked very busy getting heated at whoever was on the other end of the call.
“How would I know? I don’t know what kind of relationship they have….”
Then his eyes met the two men walking side by side, and he froze on the spot. He quickly ended the call and looked warily at Won-hyeok. Then, apparently deciding the right move was to get out of here fast, he hurried toward the restaurant door.
“Sunbae, wait a second.”
“What? Hey, Kang Han-gyeom!”
And that was when Han-gyeom let go of Won-hyeok’s hand. As Han-gyeom scampered over toward the man, Won-hyeok reflexively started looking for another rock he could pick up.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes…?”
The employee, who had been on his way inside, was just as flustered.
“Thank you for taking an interest in me earlier.”
When Han-gyeom spoke in an extremely polite tone, the man’s face filled with even more confusion. After all, “thank you” wasn’t exactly what one expected to hear in response to asking for someone’s number.
“I think I said the wrong thing back then.”
“W-what do you mean….”
At that moment, Won-hyeok strode up behind Han-gyeom, gripping a suitably sized rock in his hand.
“The person I came with really is my b-boyfriend.”
At Han-gyeom’s answer, spoken while scratching the back of his head, Won-hyeok’s feet stopped dead.
“Since I already have someone I’m dating, I don’t think I can give you my number after all. I’m sorry.”
Han-gyeom bowed his head. To an outside observer, it might have looked like he was mocking the man, rubbing salt in the wound, or making some sarcastic point—but Han-gyeom was more sincere than anyone. Even if the person who had expressed interest in him was just someone passing through his life, he believed basic courtesy still mattered.
Something in Han-gyeom’s way of speaking conveyed his character, and the man’s eyes wavered. Moved by Han-gyeom’s clean, innocent sincerity, he swallowed hard.
“No. It’s okay….”
The man cautiously raised his head. Won-hyeok was looking down at him with a triumphant smile. For a moment, it almost felt as though there were a speech bubble above his head that read, He’s mine. Jealous?
Having said everything he wanted to say, Han-gyeom scampered right back over to where Won-hyeok was.
“Sunbae, why are you holding a rock?”
“Huh? I just thought it had a pretty shape.”
Won-hyeok casually dropped the rock as if it were nothing, but then suddenly the man came rushing back up from behind them.
“E-excuse me!”
He abruptly grabbed Han-gyeom’s hand and shoved his business card into it.
“It’s okay even later, so if you break up, contact me!”
“What? You crazy motherfucker… hey!”
Sensing a threat to his life because he never knew when the spark might fly his way, the man completed his mission of delivering the business card and immediately bolted back into the restaurant.
“That fucking bastard wants to die!”
When Han-gyeom curiously tried to check the business card he’d been given, Won-hyeok snatched it away at once and crushed it hard in his hand. Apparently deciding that still wasn’t enough, he tore it to shreds, threw it on the ground, and even stepped on it.
“Did you memorize it?”
“Huh?”
“That pervert bastard’s number. His name.”
“Ah, no.”
“Erase it from your memory. Got it?”
Won-hyeok stared at the spot where the employee had just been and muttered curses like a madman, but once he registered that Han-gyeom was standing beside him, all he could do was let out one heavy sigh after another.
And until the moment he dropped Han-gyeom off at home, he asked him over and over—more than dozens of times—whether he was really sure he’d forgotten all the information on that business card from earlier.
