Kang Hyeon tensed his brow, struggling to keep his expression neutral as his mind ran away with certain… vivid imaginings. Noticing this, Yoon Do-yeong cautiously tested the waters.
“I’m genuinely curious—forget your usual habits. Isn’t it uncomfortable sleeping with clothes on?”
“Even if it is, I’ll still wear them.”
“…You would, even if it’s uncomfortable?”
“I will.”
He swallowed the words “At least when I’m with you.” before stepping out into the living room and sliding the door shut behind him. His face was burning, and his lower body kept reacting on its own. He chugged a glass of cold water from the dispenser to cool himself down, then headed to the entrance and put on his shoes, kneeling to retie the laces just to kill time while waiting for Do-yeong to come out.
Do-yeong emerged with a bounce in his step, tossing on his coat with a dramatic flair. Holding out his scarf, he leaned forward and said,
“You do it.”
“It doesn’t cover your face right when you do it yourself.”
At that, Hyeon took the scarf and gently wrapped it around his neck. Do-yeong’s eyes fluttered open slowly, then shut again as he let Hyeon work. His fingertips brushed his cheek, grazed his neck. That subtle, contented smile Do-yeong wore made Hyeon’s hands start to tremble. After a few failed attempts, he finally managed to wrap the scarf properly so it covered the lower half of his face. Even then, Do-yeong kept his eyes closed, and Hyeon found himself staring, just for a moment, before stepping back.
“Done.”
“Let’s go.”
With Do-yeong’s cheerful voice in his ears, they stepped outside. Since it was a weekday, the route to the seafood market and the parking lot were both quiet. Hardly any people were around, so they parked near the entrance without worry.
“Wait here. I’ll be quick.”
“Hey, they’ve got a dried goods shop over there.”
“You want something?”
“Let’s pick it together.”
Do-yeong suddenly hopped out of the car and bolted straight into the market.
“Yoon Do-yeong, you—!”
‘Knew it,’ Hyeon muttered and hurried after him. Once Do-yeong latched onto something, there was no stopping him. He wasn’t always this extreme, but when he locked onto an idea, he could be completely unreasonable. Hyeon had learned that back in college.
They were filming a short horror project for a class, set in an abandoned building. The last scene involved setting fire to a shack and running away—but they were stuck trying to figure out how to film it.
“Let’s move it.”
“Move what?”
“The shack.”
Since they couldn’t actually burn the original shed, everyone was ready to scrap the idea. But Do-yeong, convinced it was the climax of the film, suggested moving the whole shack to an abandoned school building. His eyes sparkled with determination, and everyone else dismissed it as nonsense. Ji-gyeong had laughed, calling him insane.
Only Hyeon agreed. Fueled by that support, Do-yeong made calls all day, chasing down permits. The shed owner agreed easily when Do-yeong promised to rebuild it, but moving it was a nightmare. They couldn’t get help, so they tried to do it themselves.
Young, dumb, and full of energy, they underestimated the task. The moment they tried to dismantle the door, the frame twisted. A crumbling wall collapsed when they tried to lift it. The rest of the group gave up—except Do-yeong. He packed up the broken bricks by hand, carted them over, and rebuilt the wall himself, slathering on cement until it vaguely resembled a building again. The door was more ‘resting’ than attached—one nudge and the whole thing would collapse.
Their muscles ached, their bodies broke down, and they shot the final scene while running fevers, popping painkillers. Honestly, the firetruck showing up in the final cut looked way cooler than the fire itself.
That was the memory that stood out the most when Do-yeong got that glint in his eyes. There were smaller moments too, but they all proved one thing: once he made up his mind, he did it. Just like taking a flight in the middle of the night to come here. Just like now, insisting on seeing the seafood market.
“I’m leaving you behind if a crowd forms.”
“…Take me with you…”
Do-yeong mumbled, looking deflated. Hyeon gave him a look, then turned his attention to the dried goods stand. The old man there welcomed them warmly. Apparently, he didn’t recognize Do-yeong, which let them shop comfortably. Hyeon sampled some dried fish and casually picked out what he wanted. As usual, Do-yeong reached for the sweet-and-salty ones Hyeon liked.
“Dried monkfish, filefish jerky… butter-grilled squid.”
“Pollack strips.”
“There’s eel jerky too.”
“Dried squid.”
“Your taste changed? You never pick that.”
“I’m getting some for Ga-yeong noona.”
At that, the light in Do-yeong’s eyes dimmed.
“…Right.”
They kept picking items until their arms were full. By the time they left the stall, a massive bag of dried snacks dangled from Hyeon’s hand. He munched on a sample as they walked.
“This is way too much.”
“Keep it at home. Goes great with beer. We’ll finish it fast.”
Nodding at Do-yeong’s casual response, Hyeon continued into the seafood market. As he walked past the tanks of live seafood, his foot caught on something. He looked down—his shoelace had come undone and was sticking to the damp floor.
“Oh my, Jang Ho-jun?!”
He looked up at the sound of someone calling out Do-yeong’s drama character name. A woman recognized him, and Hyeon quickly moved between them to keep Do-yeong from drawing too much attention. But the moment he stepped forward, he caught his own loose shoelace and stumbled—just as a strong arm wrapped around his waist and lifted him slightly off the ground.
“Careful.”
Do-yeong held him securely, flashing a smile at the woman.
“Do you have yellowtail?”
“Of course we do!”
Beaming, the woman led them deeper into the tanks. Do-yeong reluctantly let go of Hyeon’s waist as they followed. He placed an order as they browsed the fish.
“One assorted sashimi platter, and let’s add sea pineapple, sea cucumber, conch… is that a spoon worm?”
“Aigoo~ I’ll throw that in on the house!”
Do-yeong gave her a brilliant smile. Just then, another vendor spotted him, gasped, and called over more people. Alarmed, Hyeon whispered urgently,
“Go wait in the car.”
“Tie your damn shoelaces first.”
While Hyeon crouched to tie them, Do-yeong greeted the approaching vendors cheerfully. Someone raised their phone to snap a photo, and Do-yeong gave them his best charming smile.
“Oh wow, he’s got such a nice personality~”
“And what a face—so handsome!”
The neighboring stall lady asked for a selfie, and Do-yeong happily obliged. Hyeon watched nervously, scanning the surroundings.
“Where can we get grilled clams?”
“Grilled? You’ll need to go outside. Steamed ones are over that way.”
As Do-yeong made to go in that direction, Hyeon blocked him.
“Don’t.”
“Look over there—there’s no one. It’s fine.”
“I’m not.”
Hyeon half-hugged him, trying to steer him toward the exit, but Do-yeong stood his ground and asked the lady sweetly,
“Ma’am, where can we buy those octopus-shaped breads?”
“Oh, the octopus bread! They’re down that way, at the very end!”
He immediately took off in that direction. Hyeon had no choice but to follow. People were starting to murmur as they passed—”Isn’t that—?” But they all but ran, reached the bread stall, and each grabbed one.
The moment he bit into the cheese-filled bread, Do-yeong’s eyes sparkled.
“Good, right?”
“I’m still chewing.”
Mumbling through a mouthful of gooey cheese, Hyeon gestured.
“Buy one more.”
“Told you it was good. I looked it up earlier—this place is famous for it. You can microwave it later too.”
“Make it three.”
When Hyeon increased the order, Do-yeong broke into a silent laugh. They even took a selfie with the stall owner and got two extras as freebies. Lastly, they grabbed a packed spicy cold raw fish soup and left the market.
Both of them were carrying armfuls of food, smiling and waving to the people who recognized them, ignoring anyone who tried to follow. Do-yeong smiled like a child, and Hyeon couldn’t help but chuckle.
He was just… laughing. No reason, really.
The sun was bright, the air was crisp. It was past lunchtime and still chilly, but the light warmed them through. It felt like this—this was the kind of quiet joy Do-yeong had been craving.
They grabbed some soju from a nearby convenience store and headed back to the car. It felt like they’d been out forever, but it had only been about twenty minutes. Then they returned to the hotel, arms full of food.
They laid everything out on the table in front of the sofa and started eating. While they ate, Hyeon’s phone buzzed with a message.
[Did you go to the seafood market?]
“Who is it?”
“Ji-gyeong.”
At that name, a flicker crossed Do-yeong’s brow—but he didn’t let it show. He picked up some sashimi and asked casually,
“What’d he say?”
“Looks like someone already posted about us on social media.”
Do-yeong leaned over to check Hyeon’s phone. Sure enough, someone had uploaded a video of the moment Hyeon stumbled and Do-yeong caught him.
In truth, Do-yeong had noticed Hyeon’s untied shoelace when they left the dried goods shop.
He’d wanted to tie it for him… but the timing had slipped. Still, he didn’t regret it—he’d gotten to wrap his arm around Hyeon’s waist. The memory of that light body collapsing into his arms kept replaying in his head. His eyes kept drifting toward Hyeon’s waist. It had surprised him how light he was.
He pushed more sashimi toward Hyeon, then poured soju into a water cup, filling it halfway.
“Eat a lot. Take two pieces at a time. And here—have some of the cold raw fish soup too.”
