Chapter 42
Time flew by quickly, and Thursday arrived—the day Yuwon was supposed to meet Sohyeon. Unlike Yuwon, who greeted the morning no different from usual, Jeonghyeok was in a very foul mood.
“Tell me exactly where you’ll be.”
“Yes.”
“And keep in contact regularly.”
“Yes.”
Yuwon deliberately answered in a compliant voice. He was already sensitive enough that if Yuwon provoked him and he decided to revoke his permission, it would be terrible. He’d already set a meeting time with Sohyeon, and he didn’t want to cancel their plans on the same day.
After finishing his preparations to leave, Yuwon followed closely behind Jeonghyeok and stood in front of the entrance. He waited until Jeonghyeok had finished putting on his shoes, then politely clasped his hands together and bowed.
“Have a good day, ajeossi.”
Though his words said “have a good day,” his face clearly read “please leave quickly.” Jeonghyeok’s eyebrows immediately twisted crooked. Jeonghyeok stuck both hands in his pockets and spoke arrogantly.
“Kiss.”
“Huh?”
“What do you mean ‘huh’? Give me a kiss.”
At the sudden demand, Yuwon’s eyes widened as he froze. And for good reason—it was always Jeonghyeok who initiated their lip contact, never him. Moreover, a “kiss”—between two people who usually went all the way once they started kissing, this kind of embarrassing skinship was incredibly awkward.
Regardless, Jeonghyeok was tilting his chin up, pushing one of his cheeks toward Yuwon. His eyes added the message: what are you waiting for, hurry up.
Though they hadn’t lived together for very long, Yuwon knew how stubborn Jeonghyeok could be. If he didn’t do what he wanted, he probably wouldn’t leave. His mood might sour and he might even tell him to cancel today’s plans. He was definitely the type to do that.
Hesitant, Yuwon had no choice but to stand on his tiptoes. Then, as if taking aim, he pressed his lips against Jeonghyeok’s cheek with a small “peck” and came back down.
That should be enough now. Yuwon stood rigidly in place like a soldier who had completed his mission. He thought that since he’d done as told, all that remained was for Jeonghyeok to quietly go to work. However, Jeonghyeok was still standing there stubbornly in the same position as before.
“You call that a kiss?”
At his obviously dissatisfied reaction, Yuwon protested in a small voice.
“I-I did it.”
“You didn’t do it properly. Do it again so it makes a sound.”
“It did make a sound!”
“I didn’t hear it.”
It was pure stubbornness. Of course it was small, but there had definitely been a sound when their skin touched. Yuwon bit his lower lip in frustration.
“If you don’t do it properly, you can’t go out today.”
At the thunderous warning, Yuwon’s face crumpled. This was exactly why he’d wanted to send Jeonghyeok out quickly. He’d barely gotten permission, and now he was worried that some ridiculous excuse would be used to nitpick and prevent him from going out after all.
His previously fine mood plummeted to rock bottom. He couldn’t think of any excuse to give Sohyeon, and most of all, the thought of being alone at home all day drained his energy.
Yuwon weakly lifted his head. That damn kiss—no matter how hard he tried, it was obvious he’d say it wasn’t good enough, so why bother? He might as well go into the bedroom and lock the door. With such thoughts, he looked at Jeonghyeok.
But unexpectedly, Jeonghyeok was smiling. More precisely, he looked like someone enjoying this situation.
It was a joke. Realizing this, Yuwon swallowed his escaping sigh and said, “Is it fun to tease me?”
“A little.”
Jeonghyeok shrugged his shoulders. Rolling his eyes in annoyance, Yuwon waved his hand as if giving up.
“Hurry up and go. They’re waiting for you outside.”
He knew that someone was waiting in the basement every day. He’d accidentally overheard phone calls that came in nagging when Jeonghyeok was running late. Yuwon roughly guessed it might be that person with the dragon tattoo he’d seen before.
“I said hurry up and go?”
He tried urging once more, but Jeonghyeok didn’t budge.
“Ajeossi?”
Jeonghyeok, who had been standing there blankly, suddenly smiled and unexpectedly grabbed Yuwon’s cheek. When he pressed his lips against Yuwon’s protruding lips, their lips made contact and separated with a loud “smack.” It was embarrassingly loud.
“This is how it should be done.”
“…”
As he looked at that face still full of mischief, strangely his heart was pounding. Despite having done much more than this, why was he trembling over just one kiss? Yuwon unconsciously clenched his fists, worried that the sound of his frantically beating heart might be heard. As he just swallowed dry saliva, Jeonghyeok smiled and spoke.
“It’s no fun when you don’t react.”
Jeonghyeok lightly flicked his finger against Yuwon’s forehead. Then, leaving only a brief “I’m going,” he turned around and left. It was Yuwon’s job, left alone, to calm the tumultuous waves inside him.
***
When Yuwon arrived at the soup restaurant at the appointed time, Sohyeon, who had arrived first, was greeting the ajumma. The ajumma, wearing an apron with the soup restaurant’s logo prominently displayed, looked much better than when she worked at Cheolpan-jip. She said both the salary and work environment were much better here. At her comment that life was bearable now that she was away from Boss Park, all three of them laughed heartily together.
After finishing their brief greetings, Yuwon and Sohyeon sat at a table. Shortly after placing their order, steaming blood sausage soup was served along with boiled pork that the ajumma had thoughtfully provided as a service.
“Looks delicious.”
Unlike Sohyeon, who was smacking her lips, Yuwon first took a photo of the blood sausage soup. It was to send a message to Jeonghyeok, who had repeatedly insisted on knowing his exact location.
“Huh? What’s that? Yuwon, do you use Instagram?”
“No, it’s not that, it’s…”
“But why are you taking photos? Don’t tell me you’re sending it to your girlfriend? You’re really sweet?”
Sohyeon giggled as she picked up a piece of boiled pork. Then, as if remembering something, she opened her mouth slightly.
“Oh, right. Yuwon, are you free the day after tomorrow? I’m buying a birthday present for my younger sibling, and if you have time, I thought we could go to the department store together. I want to borrow your eye for style too. I’ll treat you to a meal instead.”
“Uh…”
He wanted to give an enthusiastic yes, of course. Time spent with Sohyeon was enjoyable. Moreover, if it was about choosing someone’s birthday present, he’d like it even more.
But the day after tomorrow was Saturday. If it were a day when Jeonghyeok went to work it would be one thing, but he couldn’t go out knowing full well that he’d be home.
Looking at Yuwon, who was clearly troubled, Sohyeon casually added, “If you don’t have time, another day is fine too. Their birthday is next Wednesday.”
Yuwon looked even more troubled. He’d barely gotten permission to meet today, so he couldn’t make another appointment.
Let’s just be honest about it. Noona will understand. Having decided, Yuwon spoke with difficulty.
“Um, I… noona. I think it might be difficult to meet for a while.”
Even as he spoke, he worried about how to explain the reason. He was concerned that Sohyeon might be offended. Would it be better to lie and say he’d started a new part-time job? But then if she asked where he was working, how far would he have to lie?
Just as his worries were deepening, Sohyeon asked, “Why? Because of your girlfriend?”
“What?”
“Your girlfriend doesn’t like it, right?”
It was a direct hit. Yuwon asked with a surprised face, “How did you know?”
“Well, I just had a feeling. There are many people who don’t like male friends, female friends, that kind of thing.”
As if it were a familiar situation, Sohyeon continued matter-of-factly.
“I got the feeling when I saw you taking a photo of the blood sausage soup. That’s not your usual style.”
Our Yuwon is completely under his girlfriend’s thumb. Sohyeon thought this as she dipped blood sausage in salted shrimp. Then she heard Yuwon’s dejected voice.
“I’m sorry, noona.”
“Huh? For what?”
“Noona is looking out for me with such pure intentions, but I feel like my partner is making you out to be a bad person.”
“What’s there to be sorry about? If your partner doesn’t like it, of course you shouldn’t meet. That’s natural.”
“Really?”
“Of course. Don’t fight because of me. It would make me uncomfortable too.”
At Sohyeon’s words, Yuwon seemed relieved as he picked up his spoon. But watching him, Sohyeon felt somehow conflicted. She wondered if it was okay to just end the conversation like this.
After much deliberation, Sohyeon finally spoke up. She really wanted to say this.
“But Yuwon, even if it’s your partner, you don’t have to accommodate everything.”
Being as careful as possible so Yuwon wouldn’t be uncomfortable hearing it, Sohyeon gave her advice.
“If they nag too severely, or interfere in everything. That’s not okay.”
“…Of course. I know that.”
Somehow she was starting to worry about this flour-like guy. Maybe because he was so gentle, she was concerned that he might be being manipulated by a bad woman.
“Yuwon, if you ever need relationship advice, contact me anytime. They don’t forbid you from even contacting people, right?”
When Sohyeon narrowed her eyes and asked, Yuwon nodded brightly with a smile.
“Of course not. It’s so reassuring. Having someone like noona give relationship advice.”
So dazzling, so bright. Yuwon’s radiant smile had the power to change the atmosphere around him. Even without any ulterior motives, it was the reason why she kept wanting to help him.
Sohyeon unconsciously let out a small chuckle. She could somewhat understand what Yuwon’s partner, whose face she’d never seen, must be feeling.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
