#081
“No….”
Lee Yeonwoo blurted out the word “no” first thing, feeling absurd.
Just from entering the room once, Kang Dojun acted like someone who had experienced every parting in the world.
He had even grabbed so hard that faint red handprints remained on his ankle. Yeonwoo crouched down with his legs pulled in and vigorously rubbed his ankle.
Kang Dojun, as if giving both the disease and the cure, pulled his leg over and massaged it. Then a small gift box caught his eye. It was the box that had been stealing Yeonwoo’s attention away from him since earlier.
Kang Dojun asked with a sulky expression. Thanks to being drunk, his facial expressions were varied.
“What’s this?”
“I’ll open it for you.”
There would be the fun of opening the gift box himself, but the current Kang Dojun didn’t seem like he could properly unwrap even a piece of wrapping paper.
When Yeonwoo fumbled and opened the box, a luxury tie pin revealed itself. It was a gift bought with the large sum of money he had in hand.
“You have a movie premiere soon, right? Wear this when you go.”
He handed it over to Kang Dojun carefully with a pounding heart.
Since Kang Dojun remained motionless like he was dead even after receiving the gift, Yeonwoo directly pinned the silver tie pin to his collar. The small crystal sparkled and showed off its presence.
But even that sparkle lost its light on Kang Dojun’s face.
“Ah, don’t you also have year-end award ceremonies coming up? Since you filmed a variety show this year, you’ll probably go to the Entertainment Awards too. Wear this then too.”
Yeonwoo seemed embarrassed about giving the gift, talking to himself while pretending to be nonchalant.
“What would people say if a celebrity wore the same thing twice? Then I’ll buy you a new one for that time….”
Kang Dojun immediately grabbed Yeonwoo’s arm and dragged him to the living room. Then he stood Yeonwoo there and started rummaging through the house. But finding nothing, he soon rushed into his room.
“Hyung?”
After a moment, Kang Dojun emerged with scripts bundled thickly in both hands. They were scripts from the dramas and movies he had filmed so far.
The scripts showed traces of time. They looked like Kang Dojun had surely been devoted to them earnestly. That made these scripts all the more precious, yet he suddenly thrust them at Yeonwoo.
“You take them.”
“I don’t act.”
At Yeonwoo’s answer, Kang Dojun’s movements wandered aimlessly for a moment as if broken. Then, as if something suddenly occurred to him, he straightened his staggering steps caused by intoxication and headed back to his room.
“Hyung?”
“You take it.”
Yeonwoo looked down at the black plain card held out in front of him.
After the scripts, now a card?
And he looked at Kang Dojun.
“I don’t need money.”
“What should I… give you.”
Kang Dojun’s face crumbled to a pitiful degree. He was heartbroken about receiving such a precious gift but having nothing to give in return. He pressed his head against the top of Yeonwoo’s head.
Yeonwoo ignored the pressure weighing down on his head and tilted his head up. Kang Dojun’s nose touched his nose. They were close enough that their lips would bump with just a little movement.
“Kiss me. That’s enough.”
The shadows of the two people overlapped on the white wallpaper as words faintly disappeared. Only the sound of rough breathing between them filled the spacious room.
***
When the dazzling sun settled by his bedside, Yeonwoo rubbed his face frantically before even opening his eyes. The edges of his cheeks stung.
When he got up from the bed, traces of their lovemaking filled both his eyes.
Since it was too bothersome to go to his own room, he pulled out clothes from Kang Dojun’s closet, put them on, and started tidying up the surroundings. It was a sight unimaginable from the videos of “Rural Conquest.”
Yeonwoo made loud noises to clean up the messy house. Despite the unusual commotion, Kang Dojun, who usually had sharp hearing, didn’t open his eyes. It seemed he was still wandering through his hangover.
Yeonwoo came out to the living room with an armful of clothes that the two had carelessly taken off last night and started sorting the laundry.
‘White clothes with white clothes.’
In the process, he discovered that the tie pin he had given Kang Dojun was still pinned to the shirt he had taken off.
That was close. He almost would have ruined the gift less than a day after giving it.
‘Yeonwoo, before running the wash, you must check if there’s anything in the pockets.’
It would have been a disaster if he hadn’t taken Kang Dojun’s words to heart.
‘As expected, hyung knows everything.’
Yeonwoo praised Kang Dojun for stating something anyone would know.
While adding detergent and running the laundry, his sleeves kept sliding down. He rolled up his sleeves and clipped them with the tie pin. At least for the right side that he used frequently…
‘A pin’s purpose is the same wherever you use it.’
But on the other hand, he wondered if he was using the gift too carelessly.
Eventually, wanting to get Kang Dojun’s permission, before going to the room where he would be sleeping, he stopped by the bathroom to check his appearance in the mirror.
He had been wondering why his cheek kept stinging, and there was a reason for it all. Red bruising remained on his cheek.
‘Hyung must have been in a good mood yesterday.’
It was something Kang Dojun occasionally did when his mood reached its peak.
Yeonwoo washed his face and brushed his teeth, then headed to the room and shook Kang Dojun awake, showing him his right arm with the tie pin attached.
“Hyung, hyung. Can I wear this?”
“Mmm.”
Kang Dojun let out a small moan with a cracked voice at Yeonwoo’s call. Then he drowsily opened his eyes to check Yeonwoo’s position and pulled him onto the bed.
“I’m going to use the tie pin.”
“…Yeah.”
But perhaps because of the belated hangover, he couldn’t exert much strength, so Yeonwoo wasn’t pulled very far.
Having gotten permission somewhat unexpectedly, Yeonwoo gently patted Kang Dojun’s chest rhythmically, just as Kang Dojun had done for him whenever he slept.
The touch he had learned by watching was from Kang Dojun.
“I’ll prepare breakfast, so sleep a little more.”
Whether he was really tired, Kang Dojun closed his eyes and fell asleep again.
Yeonwoo moved busily in the kitchen. He planned to make kimchi stew for Kang Dojun’s hangover cure. It was a dish one level more difficult than dishes made with eggs.
Naturally, the necessary ingredient was kimchi and… also…
His hand stopped while taking ingredients from the refrigerator. He immediately looked for his phone and called someone.
With his whole body covered in red and purple marks, a video call would be too much. After a few rings from the receiver he held to his ear, a welcome voice came through.
– Hey there.
“Grandma Kyeong-i. Are you awake? I’m trying to make kimchi stew right now, what ingredients do I need?”
Since they talked every morning, he skipped the greeting of being glad to hear from her.
– What? You left that snail next to you and you’re going to cook?
“Hyung is sick and sleeping.”
– What, is he ill? A cold?
“Well… something like that.”
A hangover is also an illness.
Yeonwoo vaguely agreed and asked again about how to make kimchi stew. Grandma Kyeong-i shouted loudly through the speaker as if scolding Yeonwoo.
– If he’s sick, he should eat porridge! Put rice in a pot, with water and perilla oil, and salt…
Grandma Kyeong-i, who was firmly convinced that Kang Dojun had caught a cold, gave detailed instructions for making white porridge. Yeonwoo didn’t particularly correct the facts and listened obediently. If he said they had been drinking, she would surely give him an earful.
“Yes, thank you. I’ll make it like that.”
I should save the recipe I just heard for when hyung really catches a cold.
– Don’t bother cooking and make that snail suffer, just go out and buy food. What’s Seoul like, don’t they have delivery?
“Yes. I’ll buy food. Please tell the other elders that I’ll call them later.”
After exchanging greetings, he hung up. He had tried to get a kimchi stew recipe but ended up getting instructions for making white porridge instead. Yeonwoo looked through his phone book and thought of a friend who lived alone.
‘Hmm, should I try Gihyeon?’
– …Hello.
“It’s me, Yeonwoo. How do you make kimchi stew?”
Shin Gihyeon must have been sleeping as his voice was groggy. He paused at the sudden question, then spoke in a voice that had come to its senses.
– Hah, you can find it on the internet.
There was a bit of irritation mixed in his tone.
“This is how you ask about each other’s well-being. What time did you go to sleep yesterday?”
– Don’t even get me started…
“So how do you do it?”
– Cut kimchi, stir-fry it, add kimchi juice, pour water and boil. That’s it.
“It’s really simple?”
Yeonwoo felt a bit absurd when he recalled that he had never tried this simple thing once while living in the countryside.
“Is this really all there is to it?”
– Add some vegetables too.
“Got it. Thanks.”
– But you’d be better off just buying…
“Yeah. I’ll hang up. See you later.”
He cut off Shin Gihyeon’s trailing words.
“I can do well too.”
He couldn’t understand why everyone kept telling him to just buy food.
He carefully took out ingredients to make a successful kimchi stew.
‘The more vegetables, the better.’
Cutting was simple too. As long as it fit in one bite, right? Even if his knife skills were a bit awkward, he put his heart into it. Cooking turned out to be surprisingly fun when he tried it.
‘I should do this often from now on.’
“Stir-fry the kimchi…”
Come to think of it, Shin Gihyeon hadn’t told him the order for adding vegetables.
Yeonwoo held the bowl of cut vegetables and pondered, then soon poured it all into the pot.
Regardless of the process, as long as the result turns out well, he thought, and stir-fried it several times, but in the end, Kang Dojun’s face, who would eat it deliciously, kept flickering in his mind, so he searched the internet.
Since he was someone who would eat anything he made deliciously, he wanted to get even a little closer to the conclusion of ‘delicious.’
“Cheongyang pepper, kelp broth, red pepper powder…”
There was a whole bunch of recipes that Shin Gihyeon hadn’t explained. Still, rather than thinking he was deceived, he decided to think of it positively as Shin Gihyeon-style kimchi stew.
Referring to the internet and Shin Gihyeon-style recipe, he completed the kimchi stew after some trial and error. A plausible smell wafted up.
Now he just had to wake up Kang Dojun.
When he pulled the door handle to his room, it opened easily. Huh? When he looked up, he saw Kang Dojun already awake and standing in front of him.
‘Was I a bit noisy while cooking?’
Yeonwoo grabbed Kang Dojun’s waist and said proudly.
“You’re awake? I made kimchi stew while you were sleeping. Hurry and cure your hangover.”
Kang Dojun stroked Yeonwoo’s head affectionately, thinking he was precious. Yesterday and today, he had worked hard to cook for him even though he wasn’t good at it.
Kang Dojun pulled Yeonwoo’s soft cheek to make eye contact with him.
Yeonwoo was wearing an oversized shirt with a tie pin attached to his sleeve. Taking in each detail, he finally confirmed the red bruising that had bloomed on the edge of his cheek.
Kang Dojun’s sharp eyes curved gently like crescents. His hangover had long since disappeared.
“You’re all mine.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
