The two of them chose the sea urchin set meal. The seafood was extremely fresh, and overall every dish was neat and refined, with a distinctly luxurious feel. Since Kang-woo had struggled so much to pick the place, it felt worthwhile, and he couldn’t help but feel pleased.
On their way home, they picked up the Christmas cake he had reserved. The heavy weight in his hand filled Kang-woo with excitement. He had already prepared excuses in case Seok-ho scolded him again for buying a cake, but Seok-ho didn’t say anything. Instead, he asked another question.
“When did you reserve the cake?”
“A few days ago. I searched online and called to make the reservation.”
The excuse slipped out quickly. Since going out alone had been a secret, Kang-woo brushed it off vaguely. If he told the truth, Seok-ho might ask where he had gone.
And in the worst-case scenario, Seok-ho might discover the Christmas gift he had secretly prepared.
Fortunately, the quick-witted lie seemed to work. Seok-ho simply nodded without much suspicion. Because of that, Kang-woo quietly let out a sigh of relief.
When they got home, the two of them changed into comfortable clothes and soon sat facing each other at the dining table. As he took the cake out of the bright red box with the words Merry Christmas written on it, Kang-woo cautiously asked,
“Can I blow out the candle?”
Seok-ho, who had brought plates and forks, met his eyes. You’re even lighting candles for this? His gaze seemed to ask for a moment, but the answer that came out of his mouth was completely different.
“Sure.”
It seemed he couldn’t bring himself to ignore the hopeful sparkle in Kang-woo’s eyes. Agreeing readily, Seok-ho took a lighter out of his pocket and lit the candle.
This time, the candle was a special one. It was shaped like a snowman wearing a red scarf and a black fedora. The cute candle caught fire. Kang-woo quickly picked up his phone.
Click. With the sound of the shutter, a photo of the cake was added to the album. On the small screen appeared a sweet potato cake, coated in bright yellow crumbs on the outside, with a ring of whipped cream piped around it and chunks of candied sweet potato placed between them.
While he was checking the photo, Seok-ho suddenly reached out.
“Let me see your phone.”
Kang-woo handed it over with a puzzled expression. What is he doing? As he watched curiously, Seok-ho tapped the screen a few times, then pointed the camera lens toward Kang-woo.
And suddenly the camera shutter sounded.
Startled, Kang-woo looked at Seok-ho, who then ordered,
“Smile.”
Seok-ho was copying exactly what he had done on Kang-woo’s birthday. Kang-woo awkwardly lifted the corners of his mouth. The shutter clicked several more times.
Seok-ho didn’t immediately return the phone. He moved his fingers around for a while, doing something else, then finally seemed finished and handed it back.
“What did you do?”
Kang-woo asked as he took the phone. Seok-ho replied casually,
“Sent the photo to myself.”
When Kang-woo opened the chat window, the photo had indeed been sent to Seok-ho.
“Why are you sending it to yourself, hyung?”
“Payment for the photographer.”
When he put it that way, there wasn’t really anything to argue about. It wasn’t worth making a fuss over a single photo.
Still… it felt a little embarrassing.
Kang-woo tapped the photo and zoomed in. The picture filled the screen—himself and the cake together. The somewhat stiff smile on his face made him laugh, and he stared at it for a while.
“Make a wish.”
The candle wax had begun to drip onto the cake, so Seok-ho urged him. Kang-woo quickly set his phone down and clasped his hands together.
He made a wish with all his heart. A brief silence passed.
Then—puff—he blew out the candle.
Smiling with satisfaction, Kang-woo carefully pulled the candle out. It felt like a waste to throw it away. Maybe he should clean it and place it on his desk. While he was thinking about it, Seok-ho, who was slicing the cake with a knife, casually asked,
“What did you wish for?”
“It’s a secret.”
Seok-ho’s eyes narrowed.
“A secret?”
His tone and gaze both carried clear dissatisfaction. But even if he looked at him like that, Kang-woo couldn’t tell him.
Because this wish wasn’t for Seok-ho—it was only for himself.
Of course, it wasn’t anything grand. He had simply wished… that he could live in this house with Seok-ho for as long as possible.
He knew it was selfish. And he knew very well that he couldn’t rely on Seok-ho forever. But still… couldn’t he be a little greedy? Just a little longer?
The time he spent with him was just that happy.
While Kang-woo carefully transferred slices of cake onto plates, Seok-ho took out a bottle of wine from the display cabinet. As he opened the cork with a wine opener, he suggested,
“Want to try some wine?”
Wine?
Kang-woo was curious, but after thinking for a moment, he shook his head.
“No. I’ll drink when I become an adult.”
In just one more week, this year would end and a new one would begin. Which meant Kang-woo would officially become an adult.
Today, he decided to hold back and look forward to the day when he could proudly drink alcohol.
“True. Not long now.”
Seok-ho shrugged, remembering that the end of the year was close, and stood in front of the refrigerator.
“Then milk?”
“Yes, please.”
Seok-ho poured milk into the mug Kang-woo had been using a lot lately and returned to the table.
“Thank you.”
Kang-woo pulled the cup of white milk toward himself. Seok-ho poured red wine into a round glass. His thick fingers gripped the stem of the wine glass and gently swirled it. Then he tilted the glass back, and the prominent Adam’s apple in his masculine throat bobbed clearly as he drank.
“Is it good?”
Kang-woo asked without thinking.
Instead of answering, Seok-ho held out the glass he had been drinking from. The meaning was obvious—try a sip.
The look he gave Kang-woo carried a subtle teasing edge.
“I’ll stick with this.”
Curiosity stirred, but Kang-woo decided to stay firm. Choosing milk instead of wine, he deliberately took a sip.
Watching him, Seok-ho let out a short laugh and absentmindedly fiddled with the base of the wine glass with his fingertips.
His dark eyes soon fixed on something. Feeling his gaze focused on a spot on his face, Kang-woo tilted his head.
“What?”
“You’ve got milk on you.”
Seok-ho tapped near his mouth with his fingertip.
“Ah.”
An embarrassed sigh escaped Kang-woo. How careless. Feeling his cheeks heat up, he wiped his lips roughly with a tissue and turned his gaze toward the living room.
In the dim living room, where no extra lights had been turned on, the Christmas tree stood tall. The sparkling lights looked radiant.
Thanks to Jung-yeon’s gift, Seok-ho’s house felt filled with the Christmas atmosphere.
Kang-woo stared at the tree quietly for a long while. Then, after steadying his resolve, he stood up.
“Where are you going?”
“Just a moment.”
After saying that to Seok-ho, who looked at him curiously, Kang-woo went to his room and brought back the gift he had prepared.
During that time, Seok-ho’s gaze followed him the entire way.
“Here.”
Sitting back down, Kang-woo held out the shopping bag.
“What’s this?”
“A Christmas gift. Try opening it.”
When he handed the bag to Seok-ho, he took out the box inside. He untied the ribbon and opened the lid.
I hope hyung likes it.
Nervous, Kang-woo fidgeted with his hands. When the wrapping paper was unfolded, a neatly folded gray scarf appeared.
Kang-woo studied his quiet expression. Seok-ho simply stared at it without saying anything or showing any reaction.
Did he not like it?
After hesitating for a moment, Kang-woo moved himself.
“Let me see.”
He took the scarf out of the box and stepped closer to Seok-ho.
At the suddenly shortened distance, Seok-ho lifted his gaze and looked up at him. Meeting those eyes—where the pupil and iris were hard to distinguish—made Kang-woo’s fingertips tingle for no reason.
To calm his nerves, Kang-woo took a breath in, then out, and carefully wrapped the scarf around Seok-ho’s neck himself.
Fortunately, Seok-ho stayed still and let him.
Kang-woo tied a simple knot, then stepped back to check the result. As expected—his judgment hadn’t been wrong. The gray scarf suited Seok-ho perfectly.
“How is it?”
“It’s warm.”
Seok-ho adjusted the scarf. Looking closely at his expression, it seemed the gift wasn’t bad at all. The eyelashes resting on his lowered eyelids fluttered softly each time he blinked while looking down at the scarf.
“Hyung.”
Hearing his name, Seok-ho lifted his head.
“Merry Christmas.”
Kang-woo whispered with a smile.
Seok-ho stared at him for a long time.
Then he replied in a low voice,
“Merry Christmas.”
***
December 31.
Kang-woo picked up the remote and turned on the TV. The news was playing. The announcer was talking about the bell-ringing ceremony that would take place at midnight. Letting the clear voice of the female anchor pass through one ear and out the other, Kang-woo fell into thought.
Once today passed, a new year would begin.
Which meant Kang-woo would finally become an adult.
Throughout all three years of high school, he had waited for this day.
He had believed that once he became an adult and became independent, even if he couldn’t escape every burden completely, at least he would finally be able to breathe a little easier.
But reality was far too different.
Right now, he was a runaway. Since he hadn’t taken the college entrance exam, it was impossible for him to enter university.
Is it really okay to keep living like this?
Anxiety briefly brushed past him—but that was all.
After all, today was the last day of the year.
Rather than worrying about the uncertain future, he wanted to focus fully on the present moment—and enjoy it.
He picked up his phone and opened his contacts. The list was very short. Including Seok-ho, only three numbers were saved.
In truth, the phone he had left at home wasn’t much different. From the beginning, Kang-woo had rarely contacted anyone besides his father, the housekeeper, and Baek Kyung-wook.
On a day like today, people his age were probably gathering in groups, eagerly looking forward to entering bars with their IDs in hand.
Yet he didn’t even have a single friend to contact.
Up until middle school, he definitely had close friends.
But gradually his social circle had shrunk, and eventually there was no one left around Kang-woo.
Still, Seok-ho usually got off work around 11:30, so they could probably watch the live broadcast of the bell-ringing ceremony together.
With that thought, Kang-woo tried to lift his sinking mood.
After flipping through channels for about an hour, he eventually turned off the TV, which had begun to feel like nothing more than background noise.
Sitting on the sofa with his eyes tightly closed, boredom crept in.
Maybe I should read a book.
Thinking that, he stood up.
