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Sizzle! The sound of meat cooking on the heated pan was boisterous. The appetizing aroma wafting from the pot of tomato stew was second to none. However, Jaekyung’s furrowed brow, which had been creased all day, showed no signs of relaxing. Just seeing that broad back humming a tune and focusing on cooking—as if there was something so enjoyable about it—made his irritation surge.
“Try this for seasoning? Ah-.”
“Ah.”
“How is it?”
“Wow, it’s really delicious!”
To be precise, what was really aggravating wasn’t Yeonhu with his broad back, but Choi Eunseong who was sticking close beside him. Dressed in his work clothes next to Yeonhu who had changed into a comfortable sweatshirt, Eunseong’s eyes sparkled brightly, and even to Jaekyung, they looked picture-perfect together.
“It’s almost done. Please wait just a little longer.”
They’d completely forgotten there was someone else here. Otherwise, they couldn’t possibly be so deeply immersed in their own little world.
“Hehe. Then I’ll set the table and prepare the utensils first.”
“Thank you, Eunseong. I was going to do it all for you.”
“This is nothing.”
Hah, these guys, really… Although he had been served home-cooked meals by Yeonhu dozens or hundreds of times, Jaekyung, who had never lifted a finger to help, simply clicked the television remote repeatedly, his eyes burning with irritation. He was trying to find a noisy channel to at least make his ears less tired.
After pressing the button a few times, he found a lively channel with familiar celebrities busy laughing boisterously. But how could he concentrate? Though his gaze remained stubbornly fixed on the television, his ears seemed to perk up repeatedly toward the back of his head.
Not long after, Yeonhu’s voice called him to come eat, probably having finished setting the table. Although his pride was too hurt to immediately jump up and scurry over, Jaekyung stood up abruptly like Pavlov’s dog. Eunseong was already sitting at the table. Most predictably, right next to Yeonhu.
“Thank you for the meal, Yeonhu hyung. I was feeling a bit down today… Thank you so much.”
“I’m more grateful if you enjoy it. Jaekyung, you eat well too.”
The more he watched, the more outrageous it became. “Jaekyung too”? Jaekyung, “TOO”?
Glaring at Yeonhu and Eunseong sitting cozily together, Jaekyung sliced the meat with his knife. The meat, which cut smoothly at the touch of the blade, was cooked to perfection. The spicy tomato stew with abundant basil aroma was also a menu that precisely targeted Jaekyung’s taste.
Having barely eaten at the handmade burger place they’d stopped by after shopping, saying they’d eat something simple, his mouth watered even more now. Regardless of his miserable mood.
“Why aren’t you eating much? Don’t you like the food?”
“…No. It’s delicious, of course.”
Unlike himself, who was aggressively wielding his fork, Yeonhu’s gaze toward Eunseong, who had been merely picking at his food, was nothing but gentle and kind. Really now, if it doesn’t taste good, then don’t eat it. Making others lose their appetite. Jaekyung grumbled to himself.
“Eunseong, something’s wrong, isn’t it?”
“…”
“Tell me. I need to know. It’s about you, not someone else.”
“Yeonhu hyung…”
Coincidentally, the moment Jaekyung put down his fork with a thud perfectly aligned with when Eunseong finally opened his mouth with difficulty, saying, “Actually…” Though Yeonhu’s body had been practically fixed toward Eunseong all this time, he didn’t even flinch.
In every narrative where Yeonhu appeared, the protagonist had always been Han Jaekyung, it should have been Han Jaekyung. He gulped down his wine like water, feeling a burning sensation inside.
“I… I got laid off from my internship today. They said I don’t need to come in anymore.”
“What?”
“Sigh, what should I do? I need to prepare for returning to school next semester, and there was no better place to build my career. Starting tomorrow, I’ll have to look for at least a part-time job. They said I’ll get paid for this month, but I’m worried about living expenses from next month.”
Hmph, as expected. I knew it. Jaekyung tried to hide his smirk with his wine glass. Behind the scenes, Chairman Noh, who had contacted him to inquire in detail about his precious grandson’s condition and mood, wouldn’t leave Choi Eunseong, who was essentially the source of the problem, alone. The termination of the internship was just the beginning. If Yeonhu stubbornly refused to give in, it was obvious that not only the internship but essentially all employment paths for Eunseong would be blocked. Even if he was lucky enough to pass the civil service exam, promotion would be out of the question.
“I don’t know how this will sound right now… but don’t worry, Eunseong.”
“What?”
“There’s nothing to worry about. I’ll take care of everything.”
“Hyung, what do you mean…”
Don’t tell me you’re trying to give me money again? Those eyes, which were always expected to be gently relaxed, hardened quite fiercely.
Something about the conversation seems to be taking a strange turn. Jaekyung quietly surveyed the momentum between the two with his eyes. The word “again” implies that Yeonhu had given money to Eunseong before.
“I’m not just giving it to you. I’m lending it, so take it without burden, and pay it back slowly, as you can, okay?”
“No!”
“Why won’t you listen? You know by now, Eunseong. The money I’m lending you isn’t that much to me.”
“Still, still, I don’t want to. Back then, it was an extremely urgent situation, and I really had no choice… That’s why I accepted it.”
His white jaw, clenched tight, began to tremble. As Jaekyung stared blankly at the scene from across the table, as if watching a performance, he felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
Judging from their conversation, it was clear that Yeonhu had lent money to Eunseong. Without the support of the Jang family, Jaekyung himself would have been in a similar situation, so he could clearly understand Eunseong’s circumstance, talking about preparing for the next semester and next month’s living expenses.
Was it when he was finishing his training and preparing to return to Korea? Uncharacteristically, Yeonhu had asked about settling someone else’s debt over the phone. Since he only asked once, Jaekyung thought it wasn’t a big deal and forgot about it. Looking back now, maybe this farce also started from that time.
“I’m sorry. I’ll leave first today.”
“Eunseong!”
“Attorney Han, I’ll see you next time. I’m really sorry.”
Eunseong’s eyes were already reddened when he bowed his head to Jaekyung, who was lazily swirling his wine glass. Jaekyung simply nodded in response without saying a word.
Just talk to me for a moment, no, I have nothing more to say, are you going to keep being stubborn like this? Yes, I can’t yield either, I want to date you, hyung, I don’t want to be like a little kid receiving donations from some Daddy Long Legs, reaching out my hand to you anymore, I’d rather die than…
With a loud thudding of footsteps, Eunseong disappeared through the front door, and Yeonhu, who rushed out after him, their conversation became messier toward the end, like a pen running out of ink.
Rather die than… rather die than. Jaekyung silently mouthed those words from Eunseong that particularly lingered in his ears. For Han Jaekyung, who had lived his entire life receiving Yeonhu’s care and resources like a parasite, it was an incomprehensible statement and attitude.
“Sigh, what should I do? He seems really angry.”
“… Did Eunseong leave?”
“Yeah. I couldn’t catch him in the end. Someone who’s well-off can help a little. What’s so bad about that?”
“… Right.”
But why? He didn’t think Eunseong’s words were foolish. He didn’t feel any antipathy. Just, just simply. Those words, that reaching out to Yeonhu was worse than death.
“You weren’t like that, Jaekyung.”
“That’s right, I wasn’t like that.”
It painfully carved into his heart.
Han Jaekyung didn’t particularly refuse Yeonhu’s help. And Choi Eunseong violently pushed away his help, saying he’d rather die.
Perhaps that was the fundamental difference between them. It was all Jaekyung’s choice to want to be a shining fake rather than a shabby truth.
“The stew has gone cold. I’ll reheat it, just a moment. Should I cook more steak too?”
“No. It’s fine. I’ve eaten a lot. You eat first.”
With this newfound realization, his appetite had long since disappeared. Jaekyung had already refilled his empty wine glass.
“Jaekyung, what’s wrong? Are you sick? Or did something upsetting happen?”
After Eunseong disappeared, Yeonhu turned his full attention to Jaekyung, just like he used to. Even if it was leftover attention being sold as clearance, it was welcome. From the bottom of his heart, he wanted to be petulant and say, “Yeah, damn it, I’ve been upset all day because of you.” He terribly missed the Yeonhu who would unconditionally take his side whether he was wrong or right, who would kneel if told to kneel, who would bow his head and beg if told to beg.
Now he understood. He understood clearly. Jaekyung loved Yeonhu who stood beside Eunseong, that idiotic pushover who only knew Jaekyung… He loved him more than anything.
Seriously thinking about his own feelings or their future relationship would only break his heart, so he tried to take it lightly somehow. It was a calculation worse than the fox who disparaged the sour grapes. Whenever topics like engagement or marriage came up, his heart would sink, but such anxiety would soon subside. It was because of Yeonhu, who somehow managed to reject suitors without even being told to.
“Just. I’m full. By the way, I’m curious about something. Can I ask?”
“That’s not like Han Jaekyung, asking permission. Sure. Ask me anything you’re curious about.”
He believed he would be safe as long as he wrapped himself in the thin facade of friendship.
He thought that Yeonhu and Jaekyung’s relationship would never change, that he could arbitrarily wield the utterly loyal Yeonhu under the mere name of friendship, that he could take for granted everything he provided without any guilt, just as he had always done. He thought nothing would change.
Ridiculously, forever.
What kind of greed was that? Where did such arrogance begin?
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
