Chapter 54
At most, he could be around twenty-one or twenty-two years old?
Although his solid build might make him appear mature at first glance, his expressions and eyes that directly revealed his inner thoughts were still close to those of an immature boy.
“Did you come to Paeli for travel purposes?”
The acquaintance tried to initiate a more friendly conversation. He nodded solemnly and answered.
“I arrived here on… Sunday.”
Sunday meant three days ago.
“Where did you come from?”
“I’m Korean, but… I go to school in America…”
“Ah, it’s gradually becoming vacation season over there, right?”
He tightened his lips and nodded appropriately. His handsome lips were drawn straight like a line, with a hint of stubbornness. His unusually red lip color created a mysterious clash with the other strong lines that composed his face, creating his unique impression.
“Traveling alone, how cool. I’ve only traveled alone for about one night in nearby areas…”
At the compliment about being cool, he bit his lower lip and once again reddened his neck and earlobes.
Dressed in a well-fitted pique t-shirt that suited his well-trained body, clean jeans, and sneakers, he was appropriately following the restaurant’s ‘smart casual’ dress code. Based on the eye for observation developed from years of watching customers who frequented ‘Mio palazzo,’ he didn’t give off the feeling of a backpacker who had undertaken a European trip with part-time wages diligently saved during a semester.
He had good color and healthy skin. His hair was neatly trimmed, and rather than the rough cuts commonly seen on men his age, it was styled quite maturely. Moreover, he was wearing an expensive wristwatch that would be difficult to own at that age unless his parents were tremendous wealthy people. He gave off an atmosphere similar to teenage boys who stayed at ‘Mio palazzo’ with their parents.
If that were the case, he would probably be familiar with luxury hotels and restaurants like this in resort areas. Yet it was puzzling that he showed obvious signs of nervousness.
“If it’s alright with you, shall I give you a Paeli travel booklet? It’s a guidebook made directly by local teenagers in this area, so it contains quite useful information that’s hard to get from general travel books or the internet.”
“Yes, then… I would appreciate it.”
He raised his fist to cover his mouth and cleared his throat as if coughing. Then he picked up the water glass prepared with the menu book and moistened his lips. His gaze couldn’t meet the acquaintance’s and was directed somewhere on the table.
Yet whenever he had a chance, he glanced at the acquaintance with curious eyes. Once at his face, once at his shoulders, once at his waist, once at his hands. He examined the acquaintance’s body by dividing it into various pieces like that.
Unlike at first, the acquaintance, who had become slightly interested, suddenly tried using Korean.
“Actually, I’m Korean too.”
“……”
As the distance suddenly narrowed, he forgot that he had been cleverly avoiding eye contact all along and looked up at the acquaintance’s face. Then he immediately frowned as if the sunlight was too bright for his eyes. In the meantime, the sunlight had expanded its territory and approached right up to the acquaintance’s heels.
“Yes…”
A voice muttering barely audibly. On the table, he tightly clasped his attractive long fingers.
The acquaintance felt a bit deflated by the more bland reaction than expected. He thought he would be more pleased or show a surprised expression… but that wasn’t the case.
“Since this isn’t such a famous tourist destination, you might lack information, so please ask me anything you’re curious about. I’ll tell you as much as I know.”
“……”
“Ah, the hotel where you’re staying will also take care of you. I’m getting too ahead of myself, aren’t I?”
“No.”
Unlike his passive attitude until then, he answered firmly and immediately. The reaction was so distinctly different that it surprised the acquaintance a little. And this time he looked straight up at the acquaintance. Although he was frowning in the strong sunlight, and seemed to find it burdensome to look at each other directly, he still didn’t avoid eye contact and added:
“Really, that’s not it… Thank you for being considerate.”
He, who said he had finished breakfast late, ordered salad, bread, and a glass of wine produced in the Paeli region as the acquaintance recommended.
After that, the acquaintance was caught by Silvio again. After receiving a car rental reservation for a drive to Pompeii the next day and delivering it to the concierge, he worked with other staff to arrange the settings of each table. Meanwhile, he continued to give glances to the acquaintance.
Among the male guests of ‘Mio palazzo,’ there had been quite a few who had tried to seduce the acquaintance. There were times when he received blatant looks from travelers while at the beach or walking around town. Of course, sometimes those people were women.
Among them were also ambiguous gazes. But when revealed directly without any intention to hide, the meaning could be clearly conveyed even without words. No matter how much it was between people of the same sex, that point wasn’t much different from issues between opposite sexes.
He couldn’t be certain what meaning his gaze, which he was clumsily trying to hide, held when looking at him, but it wasn’t an unpleasant feeling. When their eyes occasionally met, the acquaintance would smile, and he would be troubled at being caught staring.
How cute. While placing crystal holders with candles on each table, the acquaintance chuckled.
Instead of calling staff to his seat to pay for his meal, he stopped by the counter directly on his way out. The acquaintance prepared the promised booklet and handed it to him over the counter.
“This is the booklet I mentioned earlier. The design is cute too, right? It has many interesting themes, and it introduces delicious restaurants that tourists don’t usually know about and scenic spots with good views.”
“Thank you. If I could donate for the book…”
“Ah, this was made for regional promotion purposes, so you can just take it.”
Even after finishing payment, he stood there and flipped through the pages of the book. He didn’t seem to be particularly examining the content. His appearance of continuously moistening his lower lip while looking around seemed like he had something to say, so the acquaintance waited without rushing him.
The sun had just passed its strongest time.
Even the young couple and Silvio had returned to their rooms, so the surroundings were quiet. Only the sounds of the kitchen finishing lunch time could be heard languidly like white noise. Inside the restaurant with all windows on both sides wide open, cool shadows fell, while the outdoor area beyond the windows was unrealistically bright and dazzling, creating a strange contrast.
“Um… if it really wouldn’t be rude… tomorrow evening, I’m planning to go to one of the restaurants listed here. Could you… come with me?”
“……”
He hadn’t expected such a proposal.
He was rolling the booklet round and twisting it in his hands repeatedly, looking at the acquaintance with an almost painful expression.
“Thank you for giving me the booklet. And also… meeting a Korean person here… made me happy…”
It was immediately apparent that this was a proposal that took tremendous courage. His neck, earlobes, cheeks, and even forehead were all burning red. He wasn’t cruel enough to reject such a proposal.
And most of all, his heart was moved by how he didn’t avoid eye contact during moments like this, even while being unbearably embarrassed.
“Shall we do that?”
“……”
As if he hadn’t expected at all to hear a positive answer despite making the request himself, he was startled and froze.
Looking closely, his eyes were very pretty. The space between his eyebrows and eyes was close, and his deep-set eyes created atmosphere. Even so, he was a man far from the acquaintance’s taste at the time. A man? No, he didn’t even look like a man. Younger people were outside his interest.
“Instead, let’s each pay for our own meals. Is that okay?”
“Since I made the invitation, I should…”
“I wouldn’t feel comfortable having a younger traveler buy me food. It would be burdensome if we don’t each pay our own way.”
“……”
Perhaps worried that he might cancel accepting the invitation, he showed a reluctant expression but didn’t insist further.
“But I probably won’t have time until around 10 o’clock. Dinner would be difficult, so, um, shall we have a simple glass of wine?”
“If it’s not bothersome at such a late hour… I’m fine with it.”
“Then, find a place you want to go from that booklet.”
He had quite often mingled with travelers as someone of a similar age rather than as a hotel employee.
Even if he had ‘that kind’ of romantic interest in him, he didn’t seem like the type of man who would try to get him drunk on wine and then try something. He seemed like someone who couldn’t even bring up the topic of having romantic feelings.
At most, feeling some excitement or nervousness… that Korean hyung he met while traveling, he would remain as that much of a memory.
It seemed fine to accommodate that level of sentiment.
Because he was a traveler. Because he was someone who would completely leave this region, this country in a few days anyway. Responding lightly to light favor and creating one or two cute memories would be the end of it.
■
Around the square after sunset, quite a few people had gathered to enjoy the early summer night. Most tourists would have flocked to the sophisticated restaurants and cafes by the beach, and those who filled the seats of the old restaurants surrounding the square were mostly locals.
It wasn’t too difficult to find him wandering around the fountain in the center of the square. It wasn’t just because he was the only Asian.
The place he had chosen from the booklet was the oldest pizzeria¹⁾ in Paeli, located at the edge of the square.
The two people seated at an outdoor table ordered Margherita con Bufala pizza baked in a 100-year-old stone oven and wine.
As the acquaintance expected, he barely touched the pizza and kept emptying only the wine. Since the acquaintance hadn’t come out to fill his stomach either, the pizza that each had taken a few bites of was cooling on their respective plates.
After briefly talking about what he had done and where he had been since arriving in Paeli, the acquaintance propped his arms on the table and leaned his upper body forward.
“Paeli isn’t a region popular with Koreans. It’s not an essential course for Italian travel either. How did you come to Paeli?”
Conversely, he subtly leaned his upper body back.
When I get closer, you back away? Are we like poles of the same magnet? The acquaintance smiled slightly so he wouldn’t notice and brought his wine glass to his lips.
¹⁾ Pizzeria: A pizza specialty restaurant.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
