#069
‘Why do you keep taking care of Hanjin-ssi?’
He’s jealous. How cute. Is it possessiveness?
These new sides he hadn’t known about always made his heart flutter.
Lee Yeonwoo tried to suppress the corners of his mouth that wanted to rise as he called out to Hanjin.
“Hanjin…”
“Yeonwoo-ya, eat this too.”
“Hehe.”
A foolish laugh slipped out at Kang Dojun’s interrupting words. Kang Dojun found such a Yeonwoo annoying and pinched his cheek.
“Ow.”
“Then don’t do it.”
“Okay.”
Yeonwoo nodded his head while his cheek was still being held. After getting a definite answer, Kang Dojun let go of Yeonwoo’s cheek. When he rubbed his reddened cheek, it was adorable how he rubbed his cheek against his own hand as if it felt good.
To think he knew he was jealous and even used Hanjin to provoke it – he was quite the schemer.
“Hyung, aren’t you going to drink?”
He’d been going on about alcohol since earlier. What was he plotting now?
“I’m not going to drink.”
Yeonwoo’s lips jutted out as if he didn’t like the answer. He grabbed and stretched them. His philtrum lengthened, making duck lips.
‘I want to kiss him.’
He wanted to devour him bit by bit.
Why did he suggest a company dinner? He’d agreed because Yeonwoo seemed to be looking forward to it and even brought people to the house, but regret welled up as he wanted to be alone together peacefully.
‘Only taking care of Hanjin-ssi.’
He didn’t like it. Just then, Yeonwoo suddenly stood up.
“Oh right! My lettuce!”
“Lettuce?”
The gazes of those eating pork belly turned to Yeonwoo.
Without explaining, Yeonwoo rushed out to the terrace in a hurry.
Kang Dojun also saw this as an opportunity and followed him out.
“Lettuce? There’s plenty here…”
Jaihan and Hanjin looked at the vegetables they’d bought on the way, not knowing what to do.
“…Isn’t it fresh? It looks fine.”
“Uh… shouldn’t we go too?”
Hanjin put down his utensils and lifted his butt from the chair. He was unsure whether they should continue eating.
“Just sit down.”
The voice came from a different direction. Shin Gihyeon next to them stopped them and made them sit back down. He put pork belly on the grill with the tongs Kang Dojun had left behind.
“They’ll come back if we keep eating.”
“…Still.”
They seemed concerned about eating by themselves while leaving their senior behind.
‘Following them out would draw more stares.’
In this situation, the best strategy was to sit quietly and eat. Shin Gihyeon made them sit back down and put meat on their plates.
“Please eat.”
“It’s not fully grown yet though?”
Rather than not fully grown, it was barely at the sprout level.
Just when it seemed like this time he might successfully grow lettuce under Kang Dojun’s guidance, his impatient heart had acted up again.
“I’m just going to pick a few leaves. Organic lettuce tastes better, you know.”
Still, it’s not a sprout.
Yeonwoo wanted to show off the lettuce he’d worked hard to grow to others. If that was the case, why not call everyone to the terrace instead of picking it and bringing it? Where did that idea come from?
“Yeonwoo-ya.”
“Yes? …Mmph.”
He could taste the meat he’d just eaten on his tongue tip. He felt Yeonwoo wrap his arms around his neck. Pressed tightly against him, he swallowed every breath before separating their lips.
Yeonwoo looked up at Kang Dojun with slightly reddened eyes.
There were no worried words like ‘what if the kids come in?’ It had been the same in the room earlier.
“Stick out your tongue.”
“How?”
“Just like this. Like you’re making a face.”
Yeonwoo stuck out his tongue without hesitation.
‘Does he think everything I do is good?’
The trust Yeonwoo gave him was very sweet.
Kang Dojun bit and swallowed the tip of his tongue gently.
Yeonwoo’s tongue, dried by the air, disappeared into Kang Dojun’s mouth. Sometimes he bit hard, sometimes he poked the tongue with his canines. He entangled and pulled the tongue so it couldn’t escape.
‘It hurts.’
The root of his tongue that had been stuck out gradually began to ache. He couldn’t breathe either. Yeonwoo endured and watched what Kang Dojun was doing before finally retreating his tongue to its home and pulling his head back.
Kang Dojun smacked his lips regretfully. He grabbed Yeonwoo’s waist and boldly demanded.
“Tongue.”
“It hurts.”
“It hurts? Let me see.”
When he slightly opened his mouth at those words, Kang Dojun suddenly kissed him. No matter how much he did, it wasn’t enough.
“Tongue.”
With their breaths close together, Yeonwoo whined. His aegyo had increased a lot.
“Mm.”
He finished the kiss by licking Yeonwoo’s lips that were glistening with saliva.
He’d called Yeonwoo a puppy, a puppy, but the one who’d become a dog was actually Kang Dojun. No, from Yeonwoo’s perspective, maybe a bee.
Like a bee faced with honey, he bit, sucked, licked, and couldn’t let go.
“I should retire from acting. I can’t live without you now.”
“I can’t live without hyung either.”
Yeonwoo turned his back to Kang Dojun and spoke casually while picking lettuce. Kang Dojun grumbled, half-joking, half-serious.
“You have lots of friends. Like now too.”
He thought of Shin Gihyeon, Jaihan, and Hanjin eating in the kitchen. Besides them, Kim Haseon, other Grace members, people he contacted – many came to mind.
“Those guys are fine to see briefly. But I need to see hyung every day. Not even one day can be skipped.”
Black eyes turned to look at Kang Dojun. His pupils were endlessly dark and looked serious.
“I can’t live without hyung.” Wasn’t it that he spoke casually not because he was indifferent, but because it was such an obvious fact and premise that it didn’t matter?
How lovely.
“Me too.”
***
“My manager hyung is coming to pick us up in a bit.”
Hanjin said while receiving a text from his manager. Being still a minor, he had many things to be careful about. Jaihan, being the same member and living in the same dorm as Hanjin, decided to go back together.
“I’ll go in with Hanjin too.”
At Jaihan’s words, Shin Gihyeon’s body flinched.
‘Is it time for everyone to part ways?’
For something called a company dinner, all they’d done was buy groceries and grill meat. According to Yeonwoo’s claims, they should be drinking by now, but it would be funny to drink with these members who were just awkward with each other.
“Then I should… head out soon too.”
“Gihyeon sunbae-nim, are you taking a taxi?”
Shin Gihyeon had a car, but he mainly traveled in company cars, and since it was currently parked at his agency’s parking lot, he’d taken a taxi when coming to DH Entertainment. It would be the same when going home.
“Yes.”
“Then how about taking our car?”
“Yes! Even if it’s the opposite direction, we’ll take you there! Definitely!”
Hanjin clenched his fist with an excited face. A car ride with his favorite star!
For Hanjin, Shin Gihyeon was the same as how Shin Gihyeon admired Kang Dojun.
‘Am I in the sunbae role for this kid?’
It was a new feeling. Hanjin still opened his eyes wide and waited for Shin Gihyeon’s answer.
At first it was just nice, but as the situation continued, it became a bit burdensome.
‘Did sunbae-nim feel this way too?’
Experiencing the reverse situation made him reflect on his past wrongdoings.
Yeonwoo, who appeared from the terrace, asked those who were discussing transportation to go home.
“What, getting ready to leave? I brought lettuce.”
“…Who are you going to stick that on?”
Shin Gihyeon looked at the tiny leaves clutched in Yeonwoo’s hand. Please stop tormenting the lettuce.
The first attempt failed, and for the second one, he took photos and texted them to show off, so just when it seemed the sprouts were growing, they got pulled out.
“I grew this myself.”
“Hyung-nim did?!”
“But the lettuce is kind of small.”
“Homegrown ones are naturally small. Bugs nibble on them.”
‘It’s just not fully grown.’
Shin Gihyeon gave up on making sarcastic comments.
Yeonwoo went to the sink with a proud expression and washed the lettuce.
“Yeonwoo grew it himself.”
Kang Dojun, who came out from the terrace next, sat down and spoke proudly like praising his own child who got into a major corporation.
“That’s really cool. Hyung, should we try growing some in our dorm too?”
“Don’t even think about it.”
Jaihan compressed his refusal into one word.
‘I hate bugs.’
He was living with cockroaches in the dorm he’d received as a trainee. Since they’d achieved good results with this album, they were planning to move to a suitable dorm soon. He didn’t want to live with bugs there too.
“Next time I’m thinking of planting green onions too. Here, take this.”
Yeonwoo held out four nicely washed lettuce leaves. He’d picked one per person to match the count just for tasting.
“Is it delicious?”
Yeonwoo watched Shin Gihyeon, who immediately made a wrap and ate it, with expectant eyes. He seemed to want a review.
“Lettuce is lettuce. Just wipe your hands.”
Shin Gihyeon scolded Yeonwoo, who had sat down without properly drying his hands after washing the lettuce. Yeonwoo was about to carelessly wipe his hands on his shirt but stopped.
‘This is something hyung bought for me.’
His hands headed toward Shin Gihyeon’s shirt without hesitation.
“…There are tissues right next to you, what are you doing?”
“When I was on the deep-sea fishing boat, we used to get seawater on each other too.”
The deep-sea fishing boat story was almost like a cheat code.
“You want to try this?”
Shin Gihyeon frowned and swept down Yeonwoo’s face from top to bottom like a wildcat. The lettuce’s moisture remained on his hand.
Yeonwoo fluttered his eyelashes and blinked.
“What, why.”
When talking with Yeonwoo, he found himself becoming childish.
Kang Dojun, who had been watching the situation, suddenly reached out and grabbed Yeonwoo’s face from behind. Yeonwoo, who helplessly collapsed into Kang Dojun’s embrace, closed his eyes tight at the fabric touching his face.
“Mmph.”
Kang Dojun rubbed Yeonwoo’s face with his thin, long sleeves. Though there wasn’t even any moisture, his touch was more thorough and careful than expected.
‘Damn couple. When will they break up? Please at least fight.’
“Is the lettuce delicious?”
Yeonwoo changed targets and asked Jaihan and Hanjin. His eyes said the answer was already decided and you just need to say it.
“The lettuce is sweet.”
“Do you grow stuff like this in the countryside too?”
Jaihan asked with curiosity.
“Yeah. Come visit the countryside again later. Next time I’ll show you the field too. There’s corn too.”
“Corn?”
“Yeah, Grandma Suni planted it for me to eat. When you come visit, I’ll steam corn for you.”
“Why didn’t you steam any for me?”
Shin Gihyeon, who had recently visited the countryside following Yeonwoo, suddenly butted into the conversation. He was making a sad face as if feeling wronged.
“Uh… I forgot. Sorry. Come visit again later.”
Shin Gihyeon’s mouth immediately shut. If he visits… the first visit was a pillow fight, the second was gaming all night, the third was…
“No, I can just buy corn in Seoul.”
Shin Gihyeon sent a pitying look to Grace, who would fall into the trap called Yeonwoo, lured by the temptation of corn.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
