Gentle Giant Chapter 11
Chapter 2
Dain was flustered. The Juho who was talking on the phone with him right now, the Juho who said he wanted to see him… was this man right in front of him??
A million question marks were spinning around chaotically in his head. Because of that, even though he knew it was rude, he unconsciously rolled his eyes and looked the man up and down.
He was wearing a white China collar shirt that accentuated his broad shoulders, dark gray slacks that wrapped around his long legs, and neat loafers. Even though he wasn’t particularly dressed up, his whole body shone like a luxury fashion brand pictorial.
His height was so tall that Dain, who was over 180cm, had to lift his head just to barely make eye contact with him. So Dain had to lift his head high to examine his face in detail.
Light brown hair close to blonde, with manly thick eyebrows and a high nose underneath. His red lips stood out on his white face, appearing pretty, but they harmonized amazingly well with his sharp jawline.
And Dain couldn’t find any trace of the photo Juho had sent him anywhere on his face.
Except for one thing. His golden yellow pupils that resembled gold.
While Dain was flustered by the unfamiliar appearance and rolling his eyes, Juho was also observing Dain.
The gray hair that had gotten shorter than when he sent photos but still looked cozy, and his pretty dark bronze-colored pupils. Even his strawberry milk-colored lips that looked sweet.
The ‘Jung Dain’ he had only seen in photos existed right before his eyes.
It was quite a moving moment, but looking at Dain’s face, Juho unconsciously swallowed the saliva that was gathering in his mouth.
It was Dain’s monologue that broke the silence of the two people who had been observing each other wordlessly for a while.
“Ch-cheese…”
Hearing Dain muttering quietly, Juho tilted his head. ‘Cheese?’ Does he want to eat cheese? In this situation? At this moment when they’re seeing each other’s faces for the first time?
Juho felt so frustrated that if there was cheese in front of him right now, he wanted to tear it all up. However, he didn’t feel even 1g of desire to show irritation to Dain, who was still looking at him with wavering eyes.
“Hyung.”
“Uh, uh…? So… Juho?”
“Yes, hyung. I’m Lee Juho.”
Dain stared intensely at Juho’s face once more. After examining his face repeatedly about 8 times, it seemed like he could glimpse a face similar to the photo he had sent. And that kind, good voice was exactly the same as the voice he had heard during their daily phone calls.
Only then could Dain nod and accept that this was indeed his friend Lee Juho.
However, he absolutely couldn’t understand why that cute and pretty friend had become a handsome but scary friend.
“Oh, Juho, it’s so nice to see you. I’m sorry I couldn’t recognize your face well. But Juho. You said… you were fe-feline…”
Didn’t you…? The last words couldn’t become sound and scattered into the air.
However, Juho, who had ghostily understood even Dain’s stammering words, explained simply.
“I am feline.”
“Huh??”
“Tigers are also feline, right?”
Juho’s appearance as he smiled and confirmed that he was a ‘tiger’ was extremely refreshing. If it weren’t for the conversation content, he had the refreshingness of a sports drink commercial model.
However, Dain, who shrunk even more at that sight, tried to smile along with Juho but failed gloriously.
A tiger!
Dain screamed inwardly.
The friend he had been calling cheese cat by himself and found cute was a tiger! What a huge misunderstanding he had been having all by himself.
Cold sweat trickled down Dain’s forehead as he learned his friend’s true identity(?).
“Hyung? Are you okay?”
Juho leaned his head closer toward Dain’s face with a worried expression. Startled by that intimate distance, Dain unconsciously stepped back.
“Uh, I’m fine.”
“Hyung…”
Juho followed the distance Dain had stepped back and this time grabbed Dain’s shoulder. As if blocking Dain’s action of trying to step back.
His grabbed shoulder bothered him too much, but Dain barely lifted his head to look at Juho’s face right in front of him. Stepping back twice to avoid him wouldn’t be polite.
“Yeah. Juho. Um. The photo, your face is a little…? Just a little different from the photo, so I couldn’t recognize you. Sorry.”
“Really? I recognized you right away, hyung. Hmm, I’m disappointed.”
Juho still didn’t let go of Dain’s shoulder as he spoke. His manly eyebrows curved into a frown and his cheeks puffed out slightly, seeming quite disappointed that Dain couldn’t recognize him.
Witnessing that expression up close, Dain didn’t know what to do with the overwhelming guilt.
How hurt would it be if someone you talked to on the phone every day couldn’t recognize you just because you got a bit taller and your face changed a little? Thinking that far, his nose stung from feeling too sorry for Juho.
‘This should be enough.’
Seeing Dain, who looked even more hurt than himself and was scrunching his nose, Juho thought to himself.
As expected, Jung Dain was extremely afraid of hurting others or making them disappointed. Moreover, the guilt of not recognizing the friend who said he only had him would last quite a while. And because of that, he would try to take better care of him.
“Oh no! I’m really sorry! I was just, you became so hand-handsome… handsome, and your height got so much taller and your build got bigger, and you’re so cool that people only look at you…!”
Juho’s prediction was right. Dain was desperately trying to soothe Juho with a face red enough to show how hard he was trying. Seeing that, Juho finally felt satisfied.
“Hyung. You know I almost got really hurt, right? I said I’d be an international lost child without you, so how could you not find me even with me right in front of you? What if I couldn’t recognize you because I didn’t know your face? I might have just gone back to America.”
“R-right. I really did wrong.”
“It’s not that you did terribly wrong, but still, hyung, you feel a bit sorry to me, right?”
“Y-yeah! I’m sorry! Juho, you came trusting only me!”
Even though they could have easily met through a phone call even if they had missed each other and couldn’t recognize one another, Juho deliberately emphasized the fact that he couldn’t recognize him, planting a very small sense of guilt in Dain.
However, Dain, who had been out of his mind since arriving at the airport, could only nod thinking ‘I’m the sinner!’ at Juho’s words.
“That’s right. I can’t do anything without you, hyung.”
“Yeah. Don’t worry! I’ll take better care of you from now on!”
“I really only trust you, hyung.”
Still not removing the hand gripping his shoulder, Juho smiled brightly. Enchanted by that shining smile, Dain kept nodding.
That sight seemed to be quite a curious spectacle to the people around, as even those walking busily slowed their steps and looked at them as they passed by.
A beast-man so dangerously handsome it was jaw-dropping and a beast-man who just looked dangerous. And the mysterious atmosphere flowing between the two. Some people were showing blatant curiosity toward them.
It was Juho who first noticed that unpleasant curiosity. Juho cursed inwardly and turned his body to shield Dain with his own body. He was displeased watching people’s eyes go to Dain’s face.
Dain, suddenly hidden behind the large body, lifted his head to look at Juho. Meeting those bewildered eyes, Juho smiled and said.
“Hyung, shall we go to Seoul now?”
“Ah! Right. You must be tired, let’s go quickly. Is this all your luggage? Juho. Give it here, I’ll carry it.”
Dain reached for the carrier Juho had brought while agreeing with his words. When Dain naturally tried to touch the carrier as if it were obvious, Juho quickly switched it to his other hand and led Dain to the opposite side of the carrier.
Dain felt a strange feeling at Juho’s touch that lightly moved him here and there. Except for when he was very young, there had never been anyone who could move him around so lightly, so it felt unfamiliar. Somehow, being next to Juho made Dain himself feel a bit weak too.
“You’re weak so you shouldn’t carry things like this, hyung. I’ll carry it.”
“Weak… weak? Me?”
“Then who else would it be? Hyung, look at this. Looking at your wrist, it’s so thin it looks like it’ll snap right off.”
Juho grabbed Dain’s right wrist and shook it carefully.
Dain knew that the thickness of his wrist swaying before his eyes was as thick as most women’s forearms.
However, even such a thick wrist seemed to look a bit thin when surrounded by Juho’s large hands. He thought this must be what they call relative.
So Dain unconsciously agreed with Juho’s words, thinking ‘I see.’
“I’m actually really sturdy though. Do you have any other luggage?”
“No. I don’t. I’m going to send everything else as cargo.”
“Ah, that’s how you do it! Juho, but I don’t have a license… we have to take the airport bus or subway. Which is more convenient?”
“Hmm…”
Juho stopped for a moment at Dain’s question, thought about something, then said.
“Hyung, I remembered something, so let me make a phone call first. Can you just hold this carrier for me?”
“Huh? Yeah yeah, got it. Take your time.”
Juho disappeared from view in an instant with his long legs. Dain watched the direction he went, then soon turned his head to look around.
Come to think of it, when he was with Juho, he didn’t mind the surrounding gazes. No, he couldn’t even think to look around. He was so surprised.
The friend he thought was a pretty and kind cat turned out to be a cool and kind tiger. Even thinking about it again, it didn’t feel real.
While Dain was chuckling to himself and remembering when he met Juho, he began to feel people’s gazes that he hadn’t felt at all until just now.
Seeing the expressions of people who made eye contact with him harden, Dain looked down from surveying his surroundings to only stare at the tips of his sneakers.
As Dain gradually moved behind a pillar to avoid people, he saw a tall figure with bright blonde hair walking toward him from a distance.
It was Juho. He was also drawing people’s gazes, but unlike with himself, the eyes of people looking at him were full of admiration.
Just like when coming out of the exit, Juho acted as if he couldn’t see those gazes at all. Perhaps it might be too natural a thing for him, Dain thought.
The closer Juho came looking for him, the more Dain had to bow his head and hide behind the pillar. He didn’t want him to catch on that people were looking at him unfavorably.
However, Dain’s small effort became bubbles in just a few seconds thanks to Juho, who found Dain like a ghost.
Juho, who had pushed through the people near the pillar, stood in front of Dain.
“Hyung! Why are you behind the pillar? I thought you went somewhere else.”
“Oh, I was trying to lean against it…”
He had clearly spotted Juho first and come around behind the pillar, but he had no idea when he had approached. Dain, who had originally planned to avoid for a bit then go to Juho himself, answered with a surprised face.
“You must be very tired coming right after finishing your part-time job too, hyung? Let’s go now.”
“Mmhm. Yeah, let’s go.”
Juho took the carrier from Dain’s hands and naturally wrapped his arm around Dain’s shoulder as he took a step. This time too, feeling the strange sensation of Juho’s strength that lightly embraced and moved him, Dain quickened his pace and began walking to match Juho’s stride.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
