However, the man walking ahead suddenly stopped.
Seok-ho turned around and stared intently at Kang-woo, who had been trailing behind him like a puppy following its owner.
“…What?”
Kang-woo couldn’t help but tense up. Since he had no idea what the two of them had talked about in the room, he couldn’t feel at ease. It felt like Seok-ho might issue an eviction notice at any moment.
“Don’t save that number.”
But what came out of Seok-ho’s mouth was something entirely different.
Kang-woo blinked blankly at him.
A number?
“I’m saying it because you might end up getting annoyed.”
After adding that with his brows drawn together, Seok-ho went into his room. Then the door closed.
Kang-woo stared at the shut door for a moment, blinking, before walking over to Seok-ho’s room and knocking.
At the same time, the door flew open. As if he had been waiting. Startled, Kang-woo looked up, and Seok-ho raised an eyebrow.
“What?”
Only after receiving that look urging him to speak did Kang-woo finally manage to open his mouth.
“Did you get into trouble because of me?”
Seok-ho narrowed his eyes as if wondering what he was talking about, then leaned against the doorway.
“It’s not like that. Don’t worry.”
His tone had softened compared to earlier as he reassured Kang-woo.
If that wasn’t the case, then that was a relief. A breath of relief slipped out on its own. Since Seok-ho said it wasn’t like that, Kang-woo decided he wouldn’t worry about it anymore.
He would trust Seok-ho’s words.
“Are you done talking?”
“No.”
In truth, there was something else he really wanted to say.
“Hyung, it’s your birthday today, right?”
Seok-ho’s eyes looked down at Kang-woo without emotion. His face turned dry and expressionless as he asked back,
“So?”
“Aren’t you having a birthday party?”
“No.”
“Why not? When it’s your birthday, you’re supposed to have a party.”
“What’s so great about the day you were born that it needs to be celebrated every single year? I don’t need it.”
“Then hyung, let’s at least eat something good.”
Unfazed by the cold response, Kang-woo stood his ground firmly in front of him.
Seok-ho frowned. The eyes staring back at him shone with pure light, calmly watching him.
“What do you want to eat?”
In the end, Seok-ho was the one who gave in first. His voice had softened noticeably as he asked.
Kang-woo thought about it for a moment. Since it was a special day, he didn’t want to just settle for delivery food or eating out.
“Should I cook something delicious for you?”
It was already too late to prepare a birthday gift, but celebrating Seok-ho in his own way would be enough.
And the thing Kang-woo was most confident in right now was cooking.
He wanted to properly treat Seok-ho for once.
***
Kang-woo slipped a small folded pocket shopping bag into his pocket and headed toward the supermarket.
Honestly, he hadn’t expected there to be a reusable bag at the house, so he had been looking for a paper bag to substitute when he happened to find one shoved into a corner. It seemed like a promotional item handed out by the supermarket for advertising purposes—the store’s logo was printed right in the middle of the bag.
Of course, when Seok-ho saw it in Kang-woo’s hands, he looked like he was thinking, Was something like that in my house?
Today Kang-woo went out wearing a loose fleece jacket with a cap pulled low over his head. He had debated for a while about whether to wear a scarf but ultimately left it behind after considering the outside temperature of five degrees Celsius.
It had been a wise decision. If he had greedily wrapped a scarf around himself too, it probably would have been too warm.
Feeling satisfied with his own judgment, Kang-woo walked briskly before suddenly turning around.
“I really could’ve gone by myself.”
He complained lightly to Seok-ho, who was trailing behind him at a lazy pace. He had insisted until the end that he could go alone to the supermarket near the officetel, but Seok-ho had stubbornly come along anyway.
“Now that we’re already out here, it’d be weird for me to turn back alone.”
Well… that was true, but…
While Kang-woo hesitated, Seok-ho passed him and walked ahead.
With nothing left to argue about, Kang-woo had no choice but to keep walking.
Did he really seem that unreliable?
A faint dissatisfaction poked its head up in his mind, but since it was Seok-ho’s birthday, he didn’t want to say anything unpleasant.
They arrived at the crowded supermarket and headed down to the food section on the basement floor.
As soon as they rode the escalator down, a delicious smell immediately hit their noses.
Right in front of them was a stall selling glutinous rice donuts. The savory scent of oil wafted through the air. Kang-woo’s mouth watered, but he barely managed to resist the temptation and first looked for the place where the carts were gathered.
After selecting a clean cart and pulling it out, a hand suddenly reached from behind and snatched it.
“Oh.”
Kang-woo quickly caught up to Seok-ho, who was already walking ahead, and grabbed the handle.
“I’ll push it.”
“It’s fine.”
“I want to push it.”
Seok-ho didn’t even pretend to listen.
Kang-woo hurried after him and blocked the cart from the front.
“Hyung.”
“What?”
When Kang-woo called him firmly, Seok-ho answered indifferently.
Kang-woo felt uneasy. He hadn’t come with Seok-ho just to make him carry things like a pack mule.
“It’s your birthday today. I don’t want to make you do things like this.”
“What’s so special about a birthday?”
“Still, I should be the one pushing—”
“Let’s go.”
When Kang-woo reached for the cart again, Seok-ho cut him off and walked ahead.
Even the sight of his back as he pushed the cart seemed completely unyielding. No matter how much he said, Seok-ho probably wouldn’t listen anyway.
With no other choice, Kang-woo followed behind him. Arguing here would just waste energy and time. If they wanted to make it in time for dinner, they had to finish shopping quickly and go home so he could start cooking. Instead of continuing the argument, Kang-woo focused on finding the ingredients.
What were the things he needed to buy again?
He took out his phone and checked the shopping list he had written in his notes as he walked.
“New tteokgalbi just released in the frozen section! It’s easy to cook and delicious! Come try a sample!”
As they approached the frozen foods section, voices inviting customers to taste samples could be heard from all around.
“Oh my, young man! Try this! It’s delicious, and today it’s a promotion—buy one and get two!”
One particularly enthusiastic middle-aged woman waved at them.
Buy one and get two?
Kang-woo’s steps unconsciously stopped.
“That’s right, that’s right. Come on over. Here, here—try this. It’s sweet and savory, perfect to eat with rice.”
As if enchanted by her, Kang-woo approached, and the woman cheerfully handed him a toothpick with a piece of tteokgalbi on it.
Kang-woo didn’t refuse and popped it straight into his mouth.
It was actually pretty good.
“Hyung.”
He called out to Seok-ho, who was standing some distance behind.
With a reluctant expression, Seok-ho walked over.
Kang-woo stabbed another piece of tteokgalbi with a toothpick and held it out toward him. Just as Seok-ho reached out to take it, a mischievous thought suddenly struck him.
Kang-woo pulled his hand back.
“Ah.”
He made a small sound—signaling him to open his mouth.
Seok-ho looked down at Kang-woo with a what are you doing now expression. Kang-woo forced down the corners of his lips that were trying to curl upward.
“Hurry.”
When Kang-woo urged him, Seok-ho surprisingly opened his mouth without resistance.
But Kang-woo didn’t stop there. He hovered the piece of meat in front of Seok-ho’s mouth as if he would feed it to him—then pulled it away again.
Annoyed, Seok-ho’s eyebrows twitched. Then suddenly he grabbed Kang-woo’s hand and quickly took the meat into his mouth.
It happened in an instant. Seok-ho curled the corner of his mouth into a grin. The smile right in front of Kang-woo’s face seemed to say he had won.
Kang-woo had to admit it.
The spot Seok-ho had grabbed tingled as if an electric current had passed through it. His hot fingers wrapped around Kang-woo’s wrist and the back of his hand without letting go.
Feeling awkward for no reason, Kang-woo cleared his throat and pulled his hand away.
“How is it? It’s good, right? Should we buy this too?”
“Not bad. If you want it, buy it.”
“Oh my! You young men are getting a great deal today. Since you two are so handsome, I’ll throw in one extra freebie.”
The moment Seok-ho gave permission, the woman moved quickly.
Saying it was a newly released product, she firmly taped the promotional freebie to the side of the main package and even placed it into the cart herself.
“Thank you. We’ll enjoy it.”
“Alright! Enjoy your meal—”
“Yes, thank you for your hard work. Hyung, let’s go buy the meat now.”
Leaving the laughing woman behind, Kang-woo focused on his shopping list again.
First they went to the meat section and chose sirloin beef for steak. Then at the vegetable section he picked up asparagus, rosemary, and other necessary ingredients, placing them into the cart one by one.
Following Seok-ho around the store as they moved from section to section, they eventually gathered everything they needed.
Since it was an awkward time on a weekday, the checkout counters were quiet. After paying, they left the supermarket and stopped by a bakery nearby to buy a cake.
“I told you I don’t eat cake.”
Of course, Seok-ho complained beside him that they didn’t need something like that, but this time Kang-woo didn’t back down.
“If we buy it, I’ll eat it. One slice a day.”
After some bickering, the winner this time was Kang-woo.
“Looks delicious.”
Kang-woo peered into the heavy box with satisfaction.
Considering Seok-ho’s taste, he had chosen a whipped cream cake that looked like it had the least sweetness. Kang-woo’s lips curved happily as he looked at the cake piled with strawberries.
Just then, a familiar smell drifted from somewhere.
This savory smell…
Kang-woo turned his head around, looking for the source.
Soon his gaze landed on one spot.
Reading the sparkle in Kang-woo’s eyes, Seok-ho also turned his head.
A man was selling bungeoppang (fish-shaped pastries) from a truck.
Since it was something rarely seen in the neighborhood where Kang-woo lived, it felt even more exciting.
“Do you want some?”
Kang-woo turned to Seok-ho and nodded vigorously.
“I really like bungeoppang.”
He had managed to resist the glutinous rice donuts earlier, but he absolutely couldn’t resist bungeoppang.
Seok-ho immediately walked toward the truck. A step behind, Kang-woo hurried after him.
“Please give us 10,000 won worth of bungeoppang.”
“Sure. Just a moment.”
Smiling kindly, the vendor took out a paper bag and filled it with bungeoppang. Some were pre-made while others had just been freshly cooked.
Kang-woo’s gaze fixed on the bungeoppang machine. It looked just as rough and old-fashioned as the ones he remembered seeing when he was young.
“Here.”
After paying with cash from his pocket, Seok-ho immediately handed the bag of bungeoppang to Kang-woo.
A fairly heavy weight dropped into his arms. At the same time, the weight of the cake box disappeared.
Kang-woo quickly reached out with a startled expression.
