Episode 130
“What did I do?”
“No, you suddenly appeared there and surprised people…”
“What does this say?”
Mitchell ignored my words and pointed at the screen. I was still stuck on that suspicious Korean account, and he happened to ask about a comment below it.
“The two… official… couple. Account? Should we… sell one? There…”
While I was debating whether to say this out loud, Mitchell, an honor student in Korean, managed to read half of the sentence. Since he just read what he saw, the interpretation seemed difficult.
“What does this mean?”
I sighed, glaring at the sentence Mitchell had chosen.
[Should we sell an official couple account for the two of them? Let them love each other there.]
Why did he have to choose this comment of all things?
After much hesitation, I couldn’t let him misunderstand, so I read it and even interpreted it for him. Then, as I glanced at Mitchell, he was looking at me too. His curved eyes, full of mischief, sparkled particularly brightly.
“They’re saying they’ll make a couple account for us? So we can love each other?”
“…That’s just what it says. There are a lot of mischievous people on the internet. This is what I was worried about. Geez, why do you look at me with those strange eyes and make people say these things? You should only use that for acting.”
“I’ve always been the same. It wasn’t just special that day, was it?”
Come to think of it, he’s right. Mitchell always looked at me with these eyes. It just looked markedly different when I saw Mitchell’s gaze from a third-person perspective.
I had become so naturally accustomed to Mitchell’s gaze that I hadn’t been conscious of him sending such ticklish looks until now. To think his eyes held the fresh excitement you’d only feel in a romantic movie.
It was awkward to ask him to change his gaze now. I couldn’t very well tell him to look at me like a mortal enemy, could I?
I just thought people might misunderstand a bit. No, they’ve already misunderstood.
“I’m just worried about you.”
“Why? Are there people saying bad things about me here?”
“…”
“Do Koreans see me negatively? Check again. Read it to me yourself.”
Hesitating, I touched the screen. While I didn’t feel the need to find negative comments for him, I also wanted to find a reason to scold Mitchell.
So I went to the SNS search bar. When I searched for Mitchell’s and my name in Korean, surprisingly, there were an enormous number of related posts. Even though some time had passed since the commotion, it was still trending in real-time.
I clicked on one of the popular posts at the top. There was an enlarged photo of Mitchell smiling at me, and the number of comments and hearts below it was astonishing.
Swallowing hard, I read the comments aloud one by one.
“Mitchell and Bae Geon-woo are the couple of the century… Mitchell is famous for being a romantic, and now he’s decided to do it with Bae Geon-woo… Looking for anyone who can share other photos of the two. If you give me more gossip, I’ll do three naked cartwheels in Gwanghwamun… Gays of America, rise up…”
Oh my.
It felt like I had encountered a different kind of ‘reading hate comments’ that celebrities do. I bit my trembling lips and quickly scrolled up the screen. But it was all similar stories. Even looking at other posts, it was no different.
Unconsciously, I covered my face and avoided Mitchell’s eyes. My ears burned with belated regret for reading everything so straightforwardly without filtering.
Gays, rise up?
I sneakily lowered my head to peek at Mitchell’s protruding front.
America’s hot gay Mitchell is up every day…
I could only move my lips without actually saying it.
“This is the reaction from just one photo of us together?”
Mitchell kept laughing, seemingly pleased, even though his sexual identity was about to be exposed. He was busy constantly touching me with his mouth wide open. I could feel Mitchell’s excited mood.
“Koreans are more perceptive than I thought. I misunderstood for a moment because the Korean I know has absolutely no sense.”
“Is the Korean you know me? Or… Alex Kim?”
Mitchell laughed again.
No, he sneered.
Hmm, it seemed the person with absolutely no sense was probably me.
Curious if there was anything else, I closed the SNS window and searched for Mitchell and me on a Korean portal site. I intended to satisfy all the curiosity I had been holding back until now.
Fortunately, most of the article titles were normal, and the majority of comments viewed our friendship positively. The problem was that there were also people joking around here, like on SNS.
For a while, I skimmed through the public opinion about me. The more I looked, the more I realized there were no people cursing at me. Contrary to my expectations, there were no movements to dig up my past mistakes.
Of course, Mitchell was involved, but what mattered was that they weren’t viewing me negatively.
Would people not curse at me anymore?
I had distanced myself from Korea so much that I couldn’t even remember the last time I used a Korean site. I wasn’t sure if time was the remedy or if Mitchell and my relationship was so interesting that it buried all past events. Not that it mattered.
Just then, Mitchell embraced me. His heavy arm pressing down on my shoulder strangely gave me a sense of stability. I was suddenly reminded of the saying that heavy blankets are good for insomnia. My worries disappeared.
I took a deep breath in and out, collecting my thoughts for a moment. Then I searched for my name alone this time. It could be said that this courage came from Mitchell.
“Whew.”
Exhaling deeply, I leaned more deeply into Mitchell and checked the search results. Meanwhile, Mitchell’s hand found its way into my pants. I didn’t react much as he wasn’t touching excessively, just resting his hand as if feeling my body temperature. I was also busy focusing on my phone screen.
[Is Bae Geon-woo not going to film movies at all anymore?]
[To be honest, the Korean film industry died after Bae Geon-woo went to America.]
[I hope Bae Geon-woo returns to the screen, even if it’s in America.]
[As long as Geon-woo is happy wherever he is, that’s what matters.]
“…Mitchell.”
I called him with a crumpled sigh.
“Yeah.”
Mitchell, hugging me tightly, touched various parts of my body. He wouldn’t leave me alone for a moment.
“It seems people don’t hate me anymore.”
I spoke in a voice full of emotion, completely entrusting my body to Mitchell. My face heated up and my eyes stung.
“They’re all good words.”
My voice trembled, making it sound ridiculous. But what did it matter? The characters that met my eyes formed beautiful words like blooming flowers, welcoming me like spring greetings.
I wanted to read more, but my vision became blurry. As I lowered my phone and relaxed my body, Mitchell supported me from behind. I leaned against Mitchell’s chest, taking the most stable posture ever. Mitchell also brought his face close, rubbing his cheek against mine.
“Why are you crying?”
Even amidst various thoughts crossing my mind, I felt a bit unseemly showing my emotions while in Mitchell’s arms.
“Because I’m happy.”
I wiped my tears on Mitchell’s clothes. As I grinned widely with crescent eyes, Mitchell smiled along with me.
I liked the gentle touch wiping away the remaining moisture around my eyes. When I closed my eyes and waited quietly, soft lips soon landed on my eyelids. My heart would always pound loudly at times like this.
Mitchell held me tightly as he always did. Being bound by his entire body actually made me feel cozy. It was a sensation that made my heart flutter.
This time our lips met. Mitchell, who had been sucking on me like candy, quickly moved to my ear and whispered quietly. As if telling a secret.
“From now on, only happy things will happen to you.”
It sounded like a divine revelation.
Strangely enough, it really felt like it would be that way.
