#084
The fortunate thing was that Yeonwoo also knew he was the youngest among them.
Yeonwoo served food onto his plate last. Shin Gihyeon savored the meat melting softly in his mouth and asked:
“Was your grandmother very strict?”
“Mm… in a different sense?”
‘Uncle, please eat first.’
‘Grandma, please eat… please go ahead and eat first.’
Sitting at the dining table, the two would engage in a battle of wills like that, and Yeonwoo would always pick up his utensils first. After all, they had to eat somehow.
When he was young, he didn’t even use honorifics well, but he became more proper in his manners as he grew up.
“Right. I’m thinking of going down to the countryside next week… Hyung, would you like to come with me?”
“Next week?”
“Yes. I need to check on the bees’ condition, and there are various things I need to prepare.”
Even if Kang Dojun wouldn’t really live in the countryside together, he’d be coming and going frequently now, so he needed to prepare a place for him to stay.
He himself didn’t mind, but he couldn’t let him sleep on the hard floor. During “Rural Conquest” he had made him sleep there without knowing better, but… if he told him to do that now, he’d desperately refuse.
‘How could I make hyung sleep on the floor.’
He planned to check the room size with a measuring tape and then buy a bed.
He had given Yeonwoo so much, both materially and emotionally.
Although it would cost a lot of money, thinking of everything Kang Dojun had done for him so far, he thought it was nowhere near enough.
Then he suddenly discovered a flaw in his plan. If he went to the countryside with Kang Dojun now, he’d definitely have to sleep on the bare floor. Wouldn’t it be better to call him after buying the bed instead?
“If hyung doesn’t have time, then with Gihyeon…”
“I do. I have time. Daeho, I don’t have any schedule next week, right?”
It was a fierce look that said to say no even if there was something. Park Daeho put down his utensils and hurriedly checked his calendar to confirm the schedule.
“Uh… No. You just have the VIP premiere the day after tomorrow and that’s it. Are you going down together?”
“Of course we have to go together.”
Yeonwoo was worried that if he went with Kang Dojun, he’d have to do all the driving alone for a long time again.
“Hyung, about the driving…”
“Want to try it?”
“What?”
Everyone listening was startled by Kang Dojun’s words and looked at him.
“Sunbae-nim, what driving could Yeonwoo do…”
“You’ll get in an accident.”
Despite Shin Gihyeon and Park Daeho’s dissuasion, Kang Dojun stubbornly looked at Yeonwoo and asked:
“You’re interested in cars, aren’t you? I’ll watch over you, so try it once.”
Even Yeonwoo blinked his round eyes, pondering the meaning of his words.
He was confident he could drive well, but considering the “what if,” Kang Dojun’s car was too expensive for him to repair with the money he had.
It seemed much better to practice driving with a different car.
“Hyung’s car is too expensive, so I’m scared.”
“That’s exactly why it’s safer. Use my car.”
Kang Dojun showed no sign of backing down either. First driving practice with someone else’s car? If that were the case, he’d rather have his own car scratched up in several places.
He had plenty of money, so there was no need to worry.
“Um, then I’ll get insurance.”
Yeonwoo rolled his eyes and eventually agreed. He still had a bewildered expression.
Only then did Kang Dojun show a pretty smile, pleased with the answer, and poured water into Yeonwoo’s empty glass.
‘It’s the end times. The end times.’
Park Daeho frowned at the sight of the two and naturally held out his empty glass to Kang Dojun. However, the water that would normally have been poured into his glass was nowhere to be found today.
He just placed the water bottle near him, but Kang Dojun rarely poured for him.
‘He won’t do it anymore.’
It was a wordless gesture containing such refusal.
The Kang Dojun who used to maintain appropriate boundaries and show kindness to others was gone. Using one person as his standard, he fairly distributed clear discrimination.
“Ha.”
Park Daeho unconsciously let out a chuckle at the absurdity. Sure, he could pour and drink water himself, but couldn’t his friend do even that much for him?
Kang Dojun paid no attention to Park Daeho’s attitude and was busy constantly taking care of Yeonwoo.
“Yeonwoo, eat this too.”
“Hyung, you eat too.”
“I am eating.”
Contrary to his words, Kang Dojun’s gaze was fixed on Yeonwoo’s cheeks as he chewed food. The way they puffed up and deflated was adorable.
He didn’t make any chewing sounds and ate with his mouth tightly closed. Because of that, his cheeks seemed to move even more prominently.
“Then bring some corn when you come.”
At Shin Gihyeon’s request, Yeonwoo chewed and swallowed the contents of his mouth thoroughly before speaking:
“I wonder if there’s any left. I’ll bring some if there is.”
“Is it sweet corn?”
“Regular. But it’s sweet.”
Shin Gihyeon made an expectant expression, saying anything was fine.
After finishing the meal, Kang Dojun stood in front of the counter to pay.
Shin Gihyeon had gone out first so the entrance wouldn’t be crowded, and Yeonwoo stood next to Kang Dojun, waiting for payment together.
Park Daeho tapped Yeonwoo’s back. When Yeonwoo looked back at him, he gestured silently for them to go outside first. Yeonwoo glanced at Kang Dojun, shook his head, and stood right next to him again.
Park Daeho’s brow furrowed slightly. Before the two really went to the countryside to set up house together, he wanted to persuade Yeonwoo to stay in Seoul.
Even if not right now, he wanted to make an appointment to secretly meet and talk while Kang Dojun was paying, but he was immovable as if glued to Kang Dojun.
So he tapped Yeonwoo’s back once more.
Yeonwoo was getting a bit annoyed. He wanted to move together with Kang Dojun, and was about to turn around with a sullen expression toward the other person who kept telling him to go out first without understanding his feelings.
“Thank you.”
At that moment, Kang Dojun, who had finished paying, pulled Yeonwoo’s shoulder toward himself to prevent him from turning around.
Though there was a staff member in front, to others it looked like casual arm-around-shoulder behavior common among friends.
Kang Dojun glanced at Park Daeho and briefly added, “Let’s go.”
Park Daeho blinked. What he’d just seen was a sharp look he’d only seen back in elementary school. He sighed belatedly and resolved to make a separate appointment by phone or text later.
“Thank you, sunbae-nim. The food was delicious!”
“Yes, get home safely.”
Yeonwoo waved lightly.
“Take care.”
“Yeah, make sure to bring corn.”
As if he was obsessed with corn, it was corn, corn at the end of every sentence. It seemed like he should change his contact name from ‘Shin Gihyeon’ to ‘Corn Gihyeon.’
Shin Gihyeon finished greeting everyone and got in his car.
Kang Dojun, Yeonwoo, and Park Daeho also got in their car. Having just finished their schedule, they were planning to travel in the SUV provided by the company.
Park Daeho sat in the driver’s seat and looked at the back seat through the rearview mirror. The guy who usually rode in the passenger seat just fine would move to the back seat whenever Yeonwoo came.
“Hot?”
“I’m fine.”
Watching Kang Dojun personally adjust the air conditioning direction toward Yeonwoo and stroke his black hair, he wondered what kind of behavior this was.
Since they said they were going to the countryside next week, he had to meet Yeonwoo once before then.
You never know. If it’s Kang Dojun, he might do that. Since he was the type to strike while the iron was hot, he might go down once and settle there completely without coming back up.
Today it looked like he’d definitely stick close to him. Park Daeho thought he should call Yeonwoo in the near future and stepped on the accelerator.
***
After finishing the VIP premiere and everyone was taking comfortable rest, Park Daeho called someone.
Ring ring- Ring ring-
– Hello.
After a few rings, a voice came through.
“Ah, Yeonwoo-ssi! This is Park Daeho.”
– …….
There was no answer. Park Daeho checked his screen wondering if the call had been disconnected, but it hadn’t.
“Hello?”
– …Ah, yes. Hello.
Had he been checking the phone number? Along with crunching sounds as if he was eating fruit, a greeting came through.
– Sorry. I don’t have the manager’s number.
“That’s fine. More importantly, you’re going to the countryside next Friday, right?”
– Yes.
“Could we possibly meet briefly before then?”
– …….
The conversation stopped again. Could this be…
“Is Dojun next to you by any chance?”
– No. But what’s this about?
“Just… to chat about Dojun and such. Is the timing okay for you?”
– About hyung?
Yeonwoo’s tone of voice changed markedly. It was irresistible bait, and Park Daeho’s plan was easily accomplished.
– I think I’ll have time tomorrow morning.
“Yes, then let’s meet at ○○ Cafe at 11 o’clock!”
– Yes, I’ll be there.
The call ended along with Yeonwoo’s somewhat muffled pronunciation. Park Daeho was in such a happy mood that he didn’t notice this point and clenched his fist.
“Right. How much experience have I built up…”
Since the two hadn’t known each other that long, and thinking it was too hasty a decision for Kang Dojun to go down to the countryside recklessly, he wrote down reasons why he shouldn’t go to the countryside.
***
“It’s just about hyung.”
Yeonwoo grabbed Kang Dojun’s wrists that were firmly gripping both his cheeks and made his excuse with fish lips.
“At this rate you’ll readily follow any stranger.”
Kang Dojun kneaded Yeonwoo’s soft cheeks, thinking he’d readily nod if someone suggested talking about Kang Dojun.
“Then I would have followed everyone in the world.”
That was to say there were few people who didn’t know Kang Dojun.
“…You can’t even talk.”
Kang Dojun deleted Park Daeho’s phone number from Yeonwoo’s phone.
‘When did he get Yeonwoo’s number…’
He’d previously told him to contact him through himself if he had anything to say to Yeonwoo, but when had he gotten his number again?
When the incoming number first appeared, Kang Dojun recognized it as Park Daeho’s number at a glance and stayed quietly beside him, intending to hear what he was going to say.
“Hyung, you’re going to the cafe tomorrow too, right?”
“Should I not go?”
“Of course we have to go together.”
Yeonwoo didn’t care at all that Kang Dojun was fiddling with his phone as if it were his own. Whether Kang Dojun deleted or entered numbers, he just said it was all good and hugged him as if climbing onto his back.
Kang Dojun, who was sitting on the floor of the sofa, lowered his body so Yeonwoo climbing up on him wouldn’t slip and diligently fiddled with the phone.
His fingerprint was also registered, and the 4-digit password was also his birthday, 0908.
There was nothing Kang Dojun couldn’t check on Yeonwoo’s phone.
「Tomorrow at 11 AM at ○○ Cafe~ I’ll bring some photos of Dojun when he was little, so you must come out secretly without him knowing!! You must!」
Ha. A hollow laugh escaped.
Yeonwoo, who hadn’t seen the text content, only noticed that Kang Dojun’s mood had suddenly become uncomfortable. Eventually he lowered his head and gave a light kiss to his cheek.
“What’s wrong? Are you in a bad mood? Should we not go tomorrow?”
He was like a puppy wagging its tail and acting cute to improve its owner’s mood. Because he’d been eating an apple, a sweet apple fragrance emanated from him.
Kang Dojun quickly deleted the text content before Yeonwoo could see it.
“No. I have things to say to Daeho too… Let’s go together.”
“Okay.”
Since anything was good as long as it was with him, Yeonwoo acted cute saying it was all good, unaware of the schemes between Kang Dojun and Park Daeho.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
