“Sports and arts really are about talent.”
Junghyun looked at the pile of bones and empty bowls in front of him, saying that effort meant nothing in the face of talent.
In front of the remains of a breakfast that had taken about an hour, Jaehyuk quickly agreed with Junghyun’s opinion.
“Human life is determined by the DNA expressed at the moment of conception anyway.”
“That’s why there’s no need to live diligently.”
“You should overcome innate weaknesses through effort.”
“That’s capitalist logic. You should work just enough to make a decent living and spend the rest of your time doing what you want. Life should be lived casually to avoid regrets. Living too hard only leaves you with cirrhosis and gastritis.”
Jaehyuk laughed at this quintessentially Junghyun-like answer.
As if he’d expected nothing less.
“Clean up.”
As Jaehyuk rose from his seat first and started clearing the dishes, Junghyun suddenly began massaging his shoulder.
“Oh, I’m suddenly feeling under the weather… And a bit cold too…”
Jaehyuk smiled at this obviously fake response that anyone could see through even from a passing jet.
“Stop the nonsense and get up. I did the cooking, so you should at least do the dishes and clean up. If you have any conscience.”
“We have a dishwasher.”
“Do you think everything will fit in there?”
Jaehyuk gestured to the large steamer right beside them, challenging Junghyun to try fitting everything in if he could.
Today, since it was just the two of them and they were very hungry, they had eaten at the kitchen island rather than in the dining room. As a result, all the dirty dishes were plainly visible.
The spacious kitchen was filled with an unusually large steamer, a big cutting board, various seasoning containers, and trays for marinating meat.
Now that he looked at it, this person seemed good at cooking but not so good at cleaning and washing dishes.
“Sigh…”
Whether because the house was large or because its owner was large, everything in this house was big.
The ceiling was higher than in typical apartments, and not only the furniture and appliances but even the dishes and pots were large.
Everything was big except for that poor dishwasher.
So the main problem now was that those huge dishes were full of grease.
“Ah… this is so damn annoying.”
“No matter how annoying, you have to do your part.”
“Yes, well… I’m the dishwashing person anyway.”
Junghyun rose heavily, saying he would do his part since he had eaten not only king-sized braised ribs but also spring cabbage salad. Seeing him roll up the sleeves of his unusually large t-shirt, Jaehyuk looked surprised as he organized the dishes.
“A guy who never cooks at home claims to be the dishwashing person?”
“I’ve done quite a few part-time jobs.”
Junghyun got up, immediately took the large steamer to the sink, roughly rinsed it out, and started filling it with hot water. Then he began wiping off the oil and residue from the dishes with paper towels.
After stacking the dishes neatly and filling the steamer with water, he next filled the sink and added plenty of detergent. Then he dumped all the dishes into it.
Small plates and utensils in the steamer, large trays and bowls in the sink.
“What are you doing?”
“If you soak them like this, the grease comes off on its own. Later, you just need to rub them lightly and rinse with hot water.”
“…You know this well?”
“When I worked part-time at a rib restaurant, I started as a server, but I got into so many fights with customers that the owner banished me to the kitchen. So I just washed dishes for two months, and it surprisingly suited me. The ribs at that place were good, and the side dishes were delicious too, but I quit when the place went bankrupt.”
“Why?”
“The owner was good at cooking but had no business experience, so he couldn’t gauge portions and gave out too much. The more business he did, the more losses he took, and eventually, he had to close shop.”
“Is that why you suggested partnering on a rib restaurant earlier?”
“Yes. Those were the best ribs I’d ever had, but yours were even better.”
“Of course. The ingredients are different to begin with.”
“Exactly. I’ve cleared the table, so let’s have some tea while we wait.”
“Coffee… I won’t drink, how about ginger tea?”
“Yes.”
“But does that actually work?”
Though Junghyun had quit coffee to fix his sleep disorder, from Jaehyuk’s perspective, his sleeping habits hadn’t improved at all.
If anything, his sleeping time seemed to have increased. Although it had become a bit easier to wake him up in the morning.
“Still, I’ve been living quite regularly recently.”
It was a radical pattern of going to bed at 9 PM and waking up at 7 AM, but at least the routine had become clear. Jaehyuk didn’t know that Junghyun still slept about three hours during the day at work.
“That seems more like you just don’t have much to do?”
“That’s partly true… but anyway, I’m establishing a routine. We’ll have to see.”
While they conversed, Jaehyuk took out the preserved ginger, poured it into two mugs, and added hot water from the water purifier.
“Sleeping too long isn’t normal either.”
“Yes, that’s what they say. But I’m not going to the hospital.”
Jaehyuk was about to comment on how stubborn Junghyun was, but closed his mouth.
Somehow the clothes caught his attention.
“That outfit seems very familiar…”
“…The clothes?”
“It looks like mine?”
At those words, Junghyun looked down at the t-shirt he was wearing while taking the cup, and nodded.
“I guess so.”
Junghyun calmly drank his tea, saying he had just grabbed something large from the dressing room.
Seeing Junghyun’s nonchalant attitude, Jaehyuk soon accepted it.
“…Well, it doesn’t matter.”
Since they shared the same bedroom and dressing room, they could share clothes, Jaehyuk reasoned to himself. Though he disliked others touching his belongings and wouldn’t entrust cleaning and laundry to anyone except specific employees, this wasn’t a big deal.
The clothes were excessively large, but they suited Junghyun well, so it was fine.
And he actually liked seeing Junghyun in his clothes.
As they were drinking tea in this unexpectedly languid and strangely warm atmosphere, Junghyun’s phone, placed on the table, rang.
“I thought you had turned it off?”
He had assumed the phone would be turned off since Junghyun hadn’t even looked at it since leaving work yesterday.
Surprised that a message had arrived, he asked, and Junghyun picked up his phone and answered indifferently.
“I just turned it on.”
“It’s been a while since you turned it off.”
“It was getting a bit noisy since yesterday.”
Saying this, Junghyun quickly moved his fingers.
Since it was rare for Junghyun to send such a long message, Jaehyuk asked curiously.
“What’s going on?”
“Yongwoo wants to go snowboarding. He says it’s going to snow tonight. From next week, it’ll be spring weather.”
“Then, are you going? I’ll come too.”
“You’d better not. That bastard looks ready to bite your throat if he sees you right now.”
“Why?”
“Because you sold his starting catcher.”
Jaehyuk made an incredulous expression.
“…I didn’t sell him.”
“But it was Hanju anyway.”
“…I’ll order them to buy a new catcher.”
“I heard Seo Minsu from Juhyun Dragons is on the market. He’s a veteran, so it would be good to buy Seo Minsu. And I’ll pass on snowboarding. Too bothersome.”
Having finished sending the message, Junghyun put his phone back on the table, approached the sink, and put on rubber gloves. Then he took a sponge in his hand and quickly began washing the soaked dishes.
Seeing how proficient he was, Jaehyuk approached as he drank his tea, and Junghyun looked over. Then he naturally handed over the plate he was holding.
“Rinse this.”
“…Not even going to ask nicely?”
“Why should I? Idle hands should be put to work.”
Seeing Junghyun’s hands moving quickly even during their conversation, Jaehyuk hurriedly rolled up his sleeves, turned on the warm water, and rinsed the plate.
“Since we can’t go surfing domestically for a while, we could spend weekends like this? Except for next week. Next week, we’re going camping.”
Jaehyuk had already determined all the schedules in his mind.
Tired of refusing, Junghyun sincerely asked.
“Why do you like camping so much?”
“Because I can spend time completely on my own. Even my family doesn’t contact me for about two days when I say I’m going camping. Everyone needs time alone.”
“True. So go alone.”
“You’re coming too, now.”
“I told you I hate camping. The only good things about camping are meat and ramen.”
“What if I add beer to the meat and ramen?”
For a moment, Junghyun’s hands, which hadn’t been moving, flinched.
Seeing this clearly interested reaction, Jaehyuk threw out an even more enticing bait.
“It’s nice to drink beer buried in snow. Highballs are delicious too. And sake at night is good, warmed in melted snow water.”
“…”
“Since they’re forecasting heavy snow starting tonight, it should be wonderful by dawn.”
“Beer… I’m quitting alcohol, so no thanks. I want fish cake soup and barbecue. Grilled corn and sweet potatoes too.”
Jaehyuk had clearly thought Junghyun would fall for the alcohol, so this was an unexpected response.
Honestly, Jaehyuk was impressed by this.
“So you’re really planning to quit alcohol?”
“If I was going to give up after a half-hearted attempt, I wouldn’t have started at all.”
After quickly washing the tongs and cooking utensils, Junghyun handed them to Jaehyuk, who rinsed them in water and placed them on the drying rack. As he did this, he casually asked.
“Alright. Then, shall we go?”
“…What?”
“Camping.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
