Chapter 48
Yuwon went down to the underground parking garage at the appointed time. As he got off the elevator, he could see Jeonghyeok leaning against his car not far away. Since Jeonghyeok was also watching the elevator, their eyes met immediately.
Yuwon unconsciously hesitated and walked with his head down. He tried to act as if nothing was wrong, but that seemed difficult. Even the brief eye contact made his heart flutter. He kept thinking of ajeossi who had ruthlessly pressed him down in the darkness last night.
When he reached the car, Jeonghyeok opened the passenger door and said, “Get in.”
Yuwon obediently got into the passenger seat. After closing the door, Jeonghyeok walked around the front of the car toward the driver’s seat. His stride was so wide that though he didn’t seem to take many steps, the driver’s door opened quickly.
Getting into the car, Jeonghyeok started the engine and asked, “What did you have for lunch?”
“I just had bread with jam.”
What about you, ajeossi? He could have asked, but Yuwon didn’t continue the conversation and kept his mouth shut. He wasn’t in the mood to leisurely ask such things.
He felt a gaze looking at him for a while, but he deliberately pretended not to notice. Could he be getting angry again? As he waited for Jeonghyeok’s reaction, the car soon started with a screeching sound.
After passing through the parking garage exit, sunlight poured down from the still bright sky. The streets were flowing with the leisurely pace of late afternoon. In just one more hour, they would be bustling with office workers hurrying home from work.
After staring out the car window for a while, Yuwon fiddled with the seatbelt crossing his chest diagonally and asked, “But why are we suddenly eating out?”
If nothing else, he wanted to ask about this. During their time living together, he’d never gone out for dinner with Jeonghyeok. Usually he cooked, and often Jeonghyeok would bring something home on his way back from work.
Wondering if there was some special reason, he looked at him steadily, and after a while, Jeonghyeok spoke. “…Just. We’ve never done that before.”
At the simple answer, Yuwon just nodded. After that, it was silent again.
Jeonghyeok glanced at Yuwon out of the corner of his eye.
I want to feed you something delicious. I want to put something expensive and good in your mouth. Why won’t those words come out?
His gaze, which had lingered on the handsome profile as if carefully drawn, moved to the properly seated guy’s thighs, to the white hands placed neatly on top.
He wanted to hold that hand just once, nothing more, nothing less. Those hands that he could normally grab freely felt like distant stars he couldn’t reach today.
Jeonghyeok collected his gaze that had been on Yuwon’s hands. As he pressed hard on the brakes at a traffic light, he unconsciously clenched his jaw.
***
The car stopped in front of a building in Apgujeong. After leaving the car with valet parking, they could see a restaurant with an elegant, classic atmosphere flowing from its exterior.
“You said we were having meat.”
“We’re going to eat meat.”
In front of the restaurant entrance, Yuwon followed behind Jeonghyeok with a troubled expression. When he said he’d buy him meat, he’d vaguely imagined the kind of meat restaurants he knew. At most, he thought they’d go to a pork belly place near home or the pork rib restaurant they often ordered takeout from.
If he’d known they were coming to a place like this, he would have dressed more properly. He was concerned about his appearance in jeans with just a cardigan thrown on.
Yuwon looked up at Jeonghyeok walking in front of him. In his usual suit, he looked perfectly neat and suited for a place like this. Feeling compared made him feel even more withdrawn.
After climbing the stairs and passing through the transparent automatic doors, a tall male employee politely bowed.
“Good evening. Do you have a reservation?”
“Yes.”
“May I have the name for the reservation?”
“Moon Jeonghyeok.”
While Jeonghyeok talked with the staff, Yuwon looked around the restaurant interior. The overall atmosphere was warm with dark, gentle lighting. Near the entrance was a long bar table, with dining space behind it. The spacing between tables was quite wide, making it look good for private conversations.
Following the staff’s guidance, the two sat at the innermost table. Amid the gentle music, the occasional clinking of dishes could be heard. Since it was still early, the seats were sparsely filled, but wherever he looked, people who appeared to be couples were dining while smiling brightly.
Yuwon lowered his voice and said, “You should have told me.”
“What?”
“If I’d known we were coming to a place like this, I would have worn something nicer.”
“It doesn’t really matter.”
“Of course it doesn’t matter to you, ajeossi.”
Speaking reproachfully, Yuwon pulled down his clothes and grumbled about something more.
“You look pretty in anything. That’s why it doesn’t matter.”
Though he meant it sincerely, Yuwon looked at Jeonghyeok as if he’d heard a childish joke. Then he snorted and shook his head.
“…Never mind.”
He’d sensed it since they were in the car, but Yuwon was indeed a little different from usual. When he said something this cheeky, his face should have turned red, but it didn’t. Far from turning red, he looked particularly pale today.
“Are you really sure you’re okay?”
“Yes. I said I’m fine.”
“But why do you look like you have no color today?”
Jeonghyeok examined Yuwon a bit more carefully. Looking closely, he seemed slightly pale, like a sick person. If he could, he wanted to put his hand on his forehead to check if he had a fever.
At the piercing gaze directed at him, Yuwon opened his eyes sharply and said, “Then what, did you think I’d be completely fine? After doing that to a person, huh? After doing that…”
Ah, maybe this isn’t the right time to talk about this. Yuwon gradually trailed off. Feeling the atmosphere had become awkward, he grabbed the water glass in front of him. Just as he was unnecessarily rubbing the smooth glass surface once, it happened.
“About yesterday.”
Jeonghyeok paused briefly and then spoke again.
“I’m sorry.”
“…”
“No matter how angry I was, I shouldn’t have done that to you. I made a mistake.”
It was a calm tone. No different from just before when he’d said “you look pretty in anything.”
Yuwon just blinked quietly. He was a bit surprised, not having expected to receive such a full apology.
After clearing his still rough throat once, Yuwon straightened his back. Receiving an apology was one thing, but there was something he needed to clarify.
“Then… the misunderstanding is cleared up too?”
“Misunderstanding?”
“About Seongcheol helping me. You misunderstood that I was being hugged, ajeossi.”
Jeonghyeok narrowed his eyes slightly. Come to think of it, that was also a problem. That bandit-looking guy who skillfully wrapped his arms around Yuwon’s waist, and Yuwon nestled in such a guy’s arms. That’s what had made him lose his mind.
But he didn’t want to clash with Yuwon again. He’d brought him here to feed him something delicious at a nice place, to sincerely apologize.
Jeonghyeok roughly nodded and said, “Yeah, well…”
“The thing about never meeting them again, you just said that in anger, right?”
It wasn’t just anger. Though he held back the words that had risen to his chin, he absolutely couldn’t agree.
“Jaejoon and Seongcheol are like family to me. They’re really, really close friends.”
Yuwon, sensing Jeonghyeok’s true feelings, drove the point home.
“If you don’t let me meet them, I’ll really sleep in separate rooms from you, ajeossi.”
“You’re talking about separate rooms again.”
“So take back those words. That would solve it.”
At Yuwon’s triumphant words, Jeonghyeok gritted his teeth. No matter how he thought about it, he didn’t like that bandit-looking guy. He wished Yuwon would never meet that bastard again.
“…Fine.”
But there was no choice.
“I’ll take it back.”
In the end, Jeonghyeok surrendered. He didn’t want to hear troublesome talk about separate rooms and such. Most of all, right now, somehow making Yuwon feel better came first.
Only now did the corners of Yuwon’s mouth slowly rise. Seeing that, he felt like his chest, which had been stuffy all day, was finally clearing.
Yeah, this is enough. Jeonghyeok thought so.
“Excuse me.”
Just then, food was served. Pre-dinner bread and three types of butter were placed on the table. The waiter carefully explained the differences between the three types of butter and then left the table.
Jeonghyeok pushed the bread basket toward Yuwon and said, “Eat.”
Maybe because it was his first time at a place like this, he felt subtly nervous even though he was just picking up bread. Yuwon, who was about to pick up bread, pulled back his hand as if he’d remembered something.
“I’ll go to the bathroom for a moment.”
Though there were wet towels set up, perhaps because he’d been nervous, his palms felt sticky. When Jeonghyeok nodded, Yuwon got up from his seat and headed to the bathroom on the opposite side.
Jeonghyeok watched Yuwon disappear behind the wall and then leaned back against the leather chair. He didn’t feel like eating first, so he planned to wait until Yuwon returned.
Then, Yuwon’s phone on the table started vibrating.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
