<28>
That night when he had been called to the CEO’s office, heard what he had to hear, and in his surge of irritation had started drinking—when he opened his eyes, he was at Jang Yeonhu’s house. Jang Yeonhu, who had finished preparing for work and was just waiting for Jaekyung to wake up, smiled with his eyes crinkled and asked, “Did you sleep well?”
‘I contacted your company saying you’d come to work this afternoon. I also took the morning off. Now that you’re up, let’s eat first. You’ll ruin your stomach if you stay empty.’
‘…What? Why am I here?’
‘What do you mean why? You came here drunk last night. Don’t you remember?’
There was no way he would remember. He usually tried not to drink until blackout drunk because he tended to have memory gaps…
‘Let’s go out. The cook prepared pine nut porridge that you like. Eat and get ready slowly, then we’ll go to work together.’
As if nothing had happened. As if the incident of making a strange face and being full of sarcasm toward Han Jaekyung, and firmly drawing the line saying there would be no meeting until he apologized to his lover, were all just momentary dreams—seeing Jang Yeonhu smile brightly and reach out his hand, he only felt relieved.
-…Are you listening? Jaekyung.
Jaekyung, who had been lost in thought during the phone call, snapped back to attention at the voice calling his name impatiently.
“Yeah, I’m listening. Go on.”
-Are you free for dinner tonight?
“I’m free. Why?”
-Why? It’s been a while since we ate together. I might forget your face.”
“Cut the crap. Then what we ate the day before yesterday wasn’t a meal but a snack?”
-Hey, you only ate porridge, so strictly speaking, it wasn’t really a meal.
What is this ridiculous bullshit… Han Jaekyung momentarily brought the phone from his ear to in front of his eyes and looked at it suspiciously. The familiar number was no longer saved as ‘My Pushover’ but as ‘Jang Yeonhu.’ Jaekyung frowned and stared intently at the phone screen, then returned to the call. There was a more important point to address.
“Your lover. Is he coming too?”
-Of course. You two need to keep seeing each other’s faces, so you can’t stay uncomfortable like this forever. I’m setting up this meeting for you two to see each other and make up. For my sake, apologize to Eunseong.
Ha, he’s really gone completely crazy. Is he really trying to make me apologize in front of him?
“Fine. Do whatever you want.”
-Really? That’s a relief. I was worried you might not like it because you’d be uncomfortable—
“Instead, I’m bringing my lover too.”
-Huh? Jaekyung, what did you just say…
It seems I hit him good. Hearing Jang Yeonhu’s bewildered voice directly through my ear somewhat unraveled my twisted insides. Though his expression wouldn’t be conveyed through the receiver, Han Jaekyung smiled brightly and opened his mouth.
“You’ll also have to keep seeing my lover’s face, so you can’t stay uncomfortable forever either. While we’re setting up a meeting, you should also resolve your feelings with Yeonu. From last time in front of the officetel… You remember, right?”
Since it was an excuse he had spouted from his own mouth, he wouldn’t be able to refuse. Though it wasn’t as much as what Han Jaekyung had done to Choi Eunseong, Jang Yeonhu similarly hadn’t had a particularly pleasant encounter with Moon Yeonu.
-Ah.
The single exclamation was clearly lowered by a tone. Even if the current Jang Yeonhu really liked Choi Eunseong rather than Han Jaekyung, the knot of emotions that had secretly passed between them probably hadn’t been completely resolved yet. The period of Choi Eunseong and Jang Yeonhu’s relationship was too short to replace all the emotions that had occupied nearly half of their lives.
Because of that, Han Jaekyung had been uncomfortable facing Choi Eunseong from the start, so probably for the same reason, Jang Yeonhu wouldn’t be able to welcome Moon Yeonu wholeheartedly either. Even if only because he didn’t want to offer an apology to Moon Yeonu himself, Jang Yeonhu wouldn’t be able to urge Han Jaekyung to apologize.
“You make the restaurant reservation and let me know where.”
Let’s see, when does Moon Yeonu’s schedule usually end… Han Jaekyung casually calculated in his head and continued in a nonchalant voice.
“Oh, our Yeonu has a seminar today that won’t end until seven-thirty at the earliest. So time-wise, eight o’clock would be good with plenty of buffer.”
-Got it, Jaekyung. I’ll contact you again then.
Jang Yeonhu hurriedly ended the call. With such subtle irritation that anyone who didn’t know him well wouldn’t even notice. Fortunately, Han Jaekyung knew enough about Jang Yeonhu to catch all of his uncomfortable mood.
“Ha. Dream big. Like I’d apologize to your lover when I’m not crazy? And in front of Jang Yeonhu at that?”
Snorting with displeasure, Jaekyung hurriedly called Moon Yeonu. Today was the day to make good use of the title of experienced fake boyfriend.
* * *
“Tsk, Han Jaekyung. Stop being picky again.”
“Yeonu, do I have to be nagged about being picky when I’m over thirty?”
“Yeah. You do. That’s why you’re so scrawny.”
“What? Scrawny? Are you done talking?”
“No. I’m not finished yet.”
Maybe bringing this bastard was actually a very wrong choice. Han Jaekyung felt his head throbbing and sighed deeply, pressing his forehead.
He had planned to display affectionate romantic acts with full spite in front of Jang Yeonhu just like Yeonhu had done last time, but Moon Yeonu, who had confidently beat his chest saying to leave it all to him, had been pulling this crap since earlier.
“Don’t be picky and eat well. That’s how you’ll gain weight. Please, I’m begging you to gain some weight.”
“What can I do about not gaining weight due to my constitution? And what does it matter to you whether I gain weight or not anyway?”
“It hurts when our bones keep bumping into each other.”
“…?”
What kind of nonsense is this again? Just as Jaekyung was about to say something, Moon Yeonu gently pinched his thigh under the table, not hard enough to hurt. Han Jaekyung wisely kept his mouth shut. It was probably the right choice, judging by the way the tendons stood out on Jang Yeonhu’s hand gripping his wine glass.
“You two seem really close… I’m envious.”
Choi Eunseong, who had been obviously uncomfortable with Han Jaekyung, seemed to have relaxed considerably—whether because some time had passed or because Moon Yeonu had been spouting so much nonsense.
Han Jaekyung, who hated losing face in front of Jang Yeonhu’s lover more than death but still had some awareness that he had done wrong to Choi Eunseong, couldn’t answer and just let out an awkward cough. It was Moon Yeonu who answered instead, wrapping his arm around Jaekyung’s shoulders.
“That’s a funny way to put it. We’re lovers, so of course we should be close.”
“Ah! I, I didn’t mean it like that… It’s just, honestly I still get nervous in front of Yeonhu hyung… I just envied how comfortable you two seem with each other…”
“Well, unlike you guys, we’ve been dating for a long time. After some time passes, it won’t be much different. When that time comes, you’ll actually miss how fresh things are now.”
“Do you think so?”
“Of course. I sometimes miss when he used to cry because his mock exam scores dropp…”
“Hey! Why are you bringing that up now!”
Fuck. Now it was clear. Bringing this bastard was an unparalleled mistake.
Han Jaekyung, who had wanted to look like an enviable adult in front of Jang Yeonhu’s young lover, yelled and quickly covered Moon Yeonu’s mouth with his palm.
Moon Yeonu easily removed that hand and spilled out a story no one had asked for.
“Why? It’s not like I made up a story that didn’t happen. Was it the September evaluation institute test? He cried in my arms at the study room because his math percentile dropped by 2%, crying…”
“Shut up right now!”
“I don’t want to.”
“Ah, really. I really hate you, Moon Yeonu.”
“Yeah. I love you too.”
“Are you crazy…?”
He had been a bit prickly but not this cheeky and crazy—just how hard had he studied in America? I was curious how hard he had to study to turn around this much.
Thanks to that, the dinner time for the four people, which seemed like it would only be awkward, became quite harmonious in its own way, but it was definitely not what Han Jaekyung had hoped for.
Feeling like he would only be embarrassed if he stayed longer, Han Jaekyung quickly finished his meal almost by inhaling it and stood up first, grabbing Moon Yeonu’s wrist. Jang Yeonhu, who had created this situation but kept his mouth shut like a clam, maintained his silence until Han Jaekyung and Moon Yeonu said their farewells and disappeared almost in flight.
Usually Han Jaekyung would have closely observed such a reaction from Jang Yeonhu, but today, in his panic and embarrassment, he was only thinking about getting rid of Moon Yeonu first and couldn’t do so.
Moon Yeonu, who said he couldn’t drive because even wine that barely touched his lips was still alcohol, boldly took the passenger seat of Jaekyung’s car.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you starting?”
“I never said I’d give you a ride.”
“Didn’t you see me drinking wine earlier?”
“So?”
“I can’t drive. Take me home.”
Even while not having money to pay taxes, let alone meal costs, constantly mooching meals from Han Jaekyung and even getting allowances while saying “let’s eat this, let’s eat that”—his audacity seemed to remain the same. Looking at the shameless Moon Yeonu, Han Jaekyung frowned deeply.
“Call a driver service, you bastard. After what you did today, do you think I’d want to give you a nice ride?”
“Hey, hey. You don’t know how much hyung performed today.”
“What?”
“Never mind. There’s something like that, man. Come on, let’s go!”
“Ha… I really fucking hate this…”
“Yeah, love you too.”
He really was a crazy bastard who couldn’t be reasoned with.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
