Gentle Giant 51

Gentle Giant Chapter 51

“……What?”

“Meow.”

Juho said again with a grin.

When Dain tried to shake his head again, Juho applied slight pressure to the hand holding Dain’s head, preventing him from moving. As if refusing his refusal, despite his smiling expression, Juho’s decisive action made Dain tear up.

“So-something else……?”

“There’s nothing else.”

“You’re really going to make me do it?”

“Yes, please really do it.”

“I-it won’t suit me…….”

“Why wouldn’t it suit you? Hyung is a cat, so there’s no way it wouldn’t suit you.”

Juho moved the hand holding Dain’s head to ruffle his hair as if telling him to hurry up and say it.

At Juho’s urging, Dain only moved his lips slightly. Those kinds of words should be said by beast-men who are cuter and more delicate than me. If I say it, wouldn’t it be disgusting instead?

As Dain hesitated without easily opening his mouth, Juho gently bit Dain’s finger with his lips so it wouldn’t hurt. He licked the finger with his rough tongue while watching Dain with eyes full of anticipation.

Those sparkling pupils were so pretty that Dain, gaining courage from that gaze, wiggled his moistening finger and shouted.

“MEOW!!!”

Dain’s meow echoed in the small room. It was such a powerful meow that both Dain, who had shouted it like a battle cry, and Juho, who was the only one to hear that shout, could only blink for a long while.

“Pfft.”

Breaking the silence, Juho’s laughter burst out. He quickly covered his mouth, but his rounded cheekbones showed no intention of coming down.

Dain tried to salvage the atmosphere by saying “me-meow” quietly in a tearful voice, but it was futile.

Juho finally even removed the hand that had been on Dain’s head and began laughing in earnest. He didn’t roll on the floor, but it was clear he found it just as amusing.

Dain looked at Juho’s face as he laughed “Ahaha!” without any consideration. The louder Juho’s laughter became, the greater Dain’s embarrassment grew.

“I-I told you it wouldn’t suit me.”

“Heh. N-no, hyung. Haa…….”

Dain’s lips jutted out as he watched Juho, who couldn’t even speak properly from laughing.

Seeing Dain like that, Juho barely managed to contain his continuing laughter. Then he suddenly pulled Dain into an embrace. Dain made an “ugh” sound at the sudden pressure of Juho’s strength engulfing his entire body.

Wrapping Dain tightly with his body so he couldn’t move, Juho swayed from side to side, coaxing Dain gently.

“Hyung, you were really cute. That was the best meow I’ve ever heard.”

“You laughed so much though…….”

“How can I help it when laughter comes out? It’s because hyung was so cute. Don’t be angry, okay?”

Juho rubbed his cheek against Dain’s fluffy hair while stroking his back, acting cute.

Every time Juho rubbed his cheek, the fresh scent coming from him tickled Dain’s nose. His protruding lips had returned to their place before he knew it, and instead the corners of his mouth gradually rose.

Juho, who noticed like a ghost that Dain’s mood had improved, subtly pulled away and looked at Dain’s face. Though embarrassment still remained as his earlobes were slightly reddened, he had returned to his usual expression.

Juho said while gently showing the eye-smile that Dain loved.

“Hyung, couldn’t you do it just one more time?”

“Huh?”

“I want to record it as a video. That wouldn’t work……?”

“N-no way!”

“Hmm…….”

Though he looked visibly disappointed, Dain quickly stepped back from Juho.

Juho always wanted to capture Dain’s appearance in photos or videos. While he wouldn’t do it if Dain said he didn’t like it, he still consistently asked.

Ever since they took sticker photos together last time, he had often blatantly held up his phone.

“Ke-keeping something like that as a video would be a dark history……!”

“Dark history? Hyung, cute things should be passed down through generations.”

“It’s not…… cute……!”

That’s the biggest problem! Dain looked at Juho with aggrieved eyes again. However, Juho had a face that showed he completely didn’t understand the reason it wasn’t cute.

Between the two people in standoff, Juho was the first to extend his hand.

“Alright. I won’t do anything hyung doesn’t like.”

“Mm.”

“And it’s currently on repeat playback exactly 283 times in my head. At this rate, I think I’ll never forget it even without a video. Right?”

“Ah! Juho! Wh-what’s with that repeat playback!”

Dain’s body, which had stepped back, rushed toward Juho again.

However, even when charged at with that large frame, Juho very lightly accepted that body and patted Dain’s back. He had tried to tell him not to repeat playback such things in his head, but far from scolding him, he ended up caught by Juho again and struggling.

“I can’t help it. It plays automatically in my head on its own. The way hyung shouted so spiritedly…… was so powerful, so cool, so cute.”

Juho whispered in Dain’s ear. Dain’s face turned red as if it would burst with a “pop!” sound. It was getting redder and redder, almost becoming dark red.

Juho quickly changed the subject, worried that Dain might escape from his arms again.

“So hyung, shall we go out now? We need to go out quickly and get some air to cool down hyung’s face.”

“……L-let’s do that.”

“Yes, hyung.”

Dain stood up holding Juho’s hand with his head lowered to hide his reddened face. Not knowing that above him, Juho was looking down at him while swallowing the saliva that had filled his mouth.

* * *

Dain, who finished preparing first, searched for various restaurants on his phone while Juho got ready to go out.

Since they had said they’d go for a drive today, he wanted to have dinner with Juho somewhere he liked, even if it wasn’t in Seoul.

After looking at other people’s reviews and selecting a few places to compare in detail several times over, considering that it was currently evening, he decided on a place that could be reached by car in about 30 minutes rather than somewhere too far.

“Hehe. This place looks good.”

Dain, who had been talking to himself, held out his phone screen to Juho, who happened to be walking toward him.

“Juho, how about here? It’s a newly opened pasta place, but the steak is also delicious and the atmosphere is good, and compared to the interior space, there aren’t many people, so it’s good for a comfortable meal.”

“Really?”

“Yeah! How is it? Is it okay?”

Dain asked while sliding the screen up and down with his finger so Juho could see easily. Though it was an unconscious action, Juho smiled at the kind consideration toward him and nodded.

“It’s good. Looking at the address here, it doesn’t seem too far either. Right?”

“Yeah yeah, it should take about 30 minutes by car. Since we want to go to a cafe after dinner too, somewhere close is better!”

“That’s true. Hyung, thank you for finding all the good restaurants first…….”

“Ey, this much is nothing…….”

Dain wiggled his fingers at Juho’s praise and scrunched his nose bridge as if in a good mood. Juho tickled that cute nose bridge with his hand, then grabbed the car keys.

As Dain said, the place that was 30 minutes away by car was a neighborhood with many cafes and restaurants. Among them, the two people parked in front of the store Dain found and entered the shop with their shoulders touching amicably.

“Welcome, is it just the two of you?”

“Yes.”

“Yes, please come this way.”

The employee standing at the door welcomed the two and guided them to a seat by the window.

There were more people sitting at tables near the window than inside, and the employee pointed to one of the few remaining empty seats.

“Here’s the menu. Right now you can order individual meals and dinner sets. Please take your time looking, and call us when you’re ready and we’ll come back.”

The employee placed the fairly thick menu on the table and headed back to the door.

Since there was only one menu, when Dain was about to place it in the middle and choose the menu together with Juho, he saw a familiar face.

“Huh?”

Seeing Dain make a puzzled sound while looking at the menu, Juho also raised his head. He too shifted his gaze to where Dain’s eyes were directed.

There sat two men, both tall with neat appearances.

Juho tapped the back of Dain’s hand, who was still glancing at the two men.

“Hm?”

“Do you know someone?”

“Uh…….”

At Juho’s question, Dain hesitated for a moment. Should he say he knows that person, or should he say he doesn’t…… It seems a bit forced to say he knows him, but to say he doesn’t know him when he already has his contact information.

The longer Dain’s contemplation lasted, the stiffer Juho’s expression became.

Seeing that he can’t answer definitively, it doesn’t seem like someone he knows well either. What then? Could it be…… does hyung think he’s handsome? Was he staring because he’s handsome? If so, which one of the two……?

A vein bulged on Juho’s forehead. You came to eat with me, your boyfriend, and you’re looking at another guy’s face for so long?!

Dain had already turned his gaze away from the two men long ago, but Juho was on the verge of his jealousy toward the two men bursting into flames.

“Ah, it’s a student I’m doing group project with…….”

“What?”

“The one on the right with black hair. I think it’s a student I’m doing a group project with.”

Dain rolled his eyes to the side then returned them to their place.

At Dain’s words, the tension in Juho’s stiff shoulders slightly released. However, he immediately frowned. Group project? The harmonious atmosphere of the group chat he saw earlier came to Juho’s mind.

“Are you close?”

“No! Close is……! It’s not like that, I was just surprised to see him here.”

“Why surprised?”

“It’s not even near school but I saw a familiar face, that’s why. Yeah yeah.”

“Are you going to say hello?”

“Hello?”

“Weren’t you looking because you were happy to see him? Are you going to go say hello to that bas…… I mean, that person?”

Juho asked various questions with an expressionless face. Dain tilted his head and spoke as if he was asking strange questions.

“No, I’m not happy to see him…… Why would I need to say hello……? That person probably wouldn’t like it if I said hello anyway…….”

Dain, who was extremely shy and had a timid personality, didn’t have the nerve to greet someone in an unfamiliar place just because they were acquaintances.

In the first place, Kim Sujeong sitting over there wasn’t someone he would greet happily either. He was literally just surprised to see a familiar face. It seemed like only he noticed anyway……

Dain really seemed to have no particular thoughts about it. Relieved by that calm expression and answer, Juho again showed the gentle eye-smile that Dain loved.

Discovering that Dain’s ears had turned red upon seeing Juho’s smile, Juho smiled even deeper and handed the menu to Dain.

“Order whatever hyung wants to eat. I’ll pay this time.”