“…Isn’t your name Ju Hae-hyun?”
The back-and-forth volleyed like ping-pong, and Hae-hyun’s steps slowed. Falling into stride beside Jae-ha, he protested.
“You used to just call me Hae-hyun. Why suddenly add my last name? Don’t do that.”
Seriously—was he twenty-one or eleven? He must’ve realized that was exactly what Jae-ha’s look implied, but Hae-hyun stood his ground.
“I don’t like it when people use my surname. Just call me by my name.”
What a fuss. Jae-ha stared at him for a beat, then teased.
“You don’t even listen, and now you’re telling me what to do?”
“I’ll listen from now on.”
At least his mouth worked fine.
“You think I don’t know you turned into a dog at home just to rebel?”
“That’s… don’t you think you were too harsh? How could you not comfort me even once? I was stuck like a puppy!”
Out of nowhere, Hae-hyun’s whining spilled out in a torrent. He rattled on so smoothly, he could’ve been pitching products on TV.
“If it were me, I’d have given in at least once out of pity. Even my sister—who only ever thinks about hitting me—still comes over and pets me when I turn into a puppy, pretending she’s annoyed. Why are you so cold? All you ever talk about is food. Am I just a meal ticket to you? If this keeps up, I’ll go on strike. Then your fridge will go back to its cruel state—stuffed with nothing but chicken breast, fruit, and yogurt.”
“What’s wrong with chicken breast? You eat plenty of it too.”
Jae-ha bristled. Sure, his fridge looked like that because he lived off convenience food, but Hae-hyun’s physique proved he ate his fair share of protein.
“Yeah, but I don’t fill two whole freezer drawers with chicken breast. Why do you? Is life really that boring?”
All the way to the restaurant, Hae-hyun kept grumbling. Even after seating Jae-ha by a sunny window, handing him a towel, and opening the menu, he didn’t stop. Whenever Jae-ha tossed in a single word, Hae-hyun fired back ten. He really had endless things to say.
“Anyway, sunbae, you’re too cold. Don’t your friends ever tell you that?”
“Nope. I’ll have the sirloin steak.”
“Just that? The cheese balls here are really good.”
“Fine, add those.”
After ordering, Hae-hyun set down his utensils for him, his movements so natural they were practically a habit.
“Did you date a lot?”
Jae-ha wasn’t exactly impolite himself, but before Hae-hyun could even move, Jae-ha’s cheeky question landed. His eyes went wide.
“Dating? Where did that come from?”
His voice suddenly shot up. Why so startled? Even Jae-ha nearly flinched at the reaction.
“Well, you’ve got good manners.”
“What the…”
Hae-hyun’s shoulders slumped as if disappointed. Feeling like he’d chosen the wrong dialogue option, Jae-ha tried again.
“You don’t like me saying that?”
“It’s not that… I’ve just never heard it before.”
That answer surprised Jae-ha. From how attentive he was, it seemed impossible no one had ever said it.
“With manners like that, you seem like a sweetheart.”
“No, I meant when you said it feels like I’ve dated a lot.”
Ah, that part.
…Wait. That part?
“I’ve never dated anyone. Not once.”
A beat later, Jae-ha felt something was off—then the unexpected truth dropped. He stared at him, speechless. The smooth face, the straight neck, the broad shoulders—none of it added up. There was no way people had just left him alone.
It wasn’t like the whole world had bad eyesight, or that everyone around him was too shy to approach. Unless he’d had surgery, he would’ve looked the same in middle and high school. And it wasn’t the kind of face baby fat could hide anyway. Honestly, he still hadn’t lost all of it.
“You’re just not interested?”
He managed to reply, but some of his surprise must’ve shown, because Hae-hyun looked a little sulky.
“Is that weird?”
“No… not at all.” And he meant it. Dating wasn’t essential. “But is there a reason?”
Still, he couldn’t help but wonder. No way he hadn’t been confessed to, which meant not dating was his choice. Was he stuck in some hopeless crush? Jae-ha had known people like that.
“I just… haven’t met anyone I wanted to date.”
“So you’ve never liked someone before?”
Hae-hyun nodded. The reason was unexpectedly simple. Actually kind of cute. Jae-ha smiled faintly as he sipped his water.
“You’re still a baby.”
“Don’t tease me. You think it’s easy to meet someone like that?”
“It’s not easy.”
The laughter lingering in his voice made Hae-hyun arch his brows in mock protest. Even then, he didn’t forget to refill Jae-ha’s water.
“I told you—I’ll only date someone I really like.”
For someone who said that, he sure still went out at night like clockwork. Guess his body and heart weren’t in sync. What a cheeky brat. Jae-ha thought that, then shifted the topic.
“Then where’d you learn to refill water and set utensils like that?”
“Oh, that.”
Hae-hyun immediately looked sullen again. Clearly not a fond memory.
“My sister used to smack me on the head if I didn’t.”
Oof.
“You have a sister?”
“And a brother too. They always boss me around. They’re weird. They’re a lot older than me, but never act their age.”
Now that he thought about it, Hae-hyun had mentioned his sister earlier. And something about his brother too. He started complaining about how those two fought all the time lately, leaving him stuck in the middle. With much older siblings, no wonder he’d turned out spoiled.
“Don’t you have siblings, sunbae?”
“I’ve got one younger sister.”
“Oh! Me too.”
He had a younger sibling too? Their parents must’ve been determined. In this low-birth era… surely they’d gotten all the multiple-children benefits. While Jae-ha was lost in idle thoughts, Hae-hyun asked another question.
“How old’s your sister? Mine’s twenty.”
“She’s your age.”
Of course, unlike Hae-hyun, Jae-ha’s sister had grown into a monster with zero cuteness. Still, Jae-ha hid his family’s flaws like a proper adult and offered a generous fib.
“You remind me of her sometimes. She talks a lot too.”
Mostly to curse at him, but still—she was chatty. Her personality was a handful… Honestly, how did she even get a boyfriend with a mouth like that? The fact that she’d been dating nonstop since high school was one of life’s eternal mysteries to Jae-ha. Even if she acted differently outside than at home, the household pot was already shattered—how could no one notice?
“…Do I talk a lot?”
Hae-hyun’s question pulled him from his thoughts. Those wide eyes staring at him looked genuinely shocked. Really, he was the one who should’ve been shocked.
“You didn’t know?”
If you calculated the time from campus to here not filled with his voice, it wouldn’t add up to thirty seconds. And Jae-ha had barely spoken, so over 90% of the talking was Hae-hyun’s.
“I’ve never been told that before.”
He looked so sincere about it that even Jae-ha briefly wondered if he’d been wrong.
“Do I talk way too much?”
He asked again, eyes oddly downcast. In Jae-ha’s mind, phantom puppy ears and a drooping tail practically appeared, making him instinctively shake his head.
“No. You can keep talking.”
If he’d really been annoyed, he wouldn’t have sat quietly listening the whole way. And while the words themselves were complaints, they hadn’t sounded like it. More like an excited grade-schooler’s daily report… It was rare for whining to feel playful, but Hae-hyun managed it.
Still, even after hearing that, Hae-hyun didn’t brighten up. His sulky face only deepened, and he fell silent. Clearly, he’d taken Jae-ha’s words to heart.
Suddenly, silence blanketed the table. In the awkward quiet, their food arrived. Even with the savory smell wafting between them, Hae-hyun only chewed quietly, his puffed cheeks making it hard to concentrate. With a soft sigh, Jae-ha picked up a cheese ball and held it to his lips.
“Want some?”
Hae-hyun’s eyes went wide. Even so, he stubbornly kept quiet. Was this rebellion now?
“I didn’t mean it that way. If I really hated it, I’d have said something already.”
As he spoke, Jae-ha nudged the cheese ball against his lips. The plump softness pressed down, then puffed back up.
“So open up already. Let’s hear your voice again.”
Hae-hyun blinked, dazed. Then—slip—his lips parted just enough, and Jae-ha popped the cheese ball into his mouth. Mission accomplished, he chuckled and withdrew his hand. The gentle smile flickered across his face and vanished.
Hae-hyun stared at that fleeting smile. Then he dropped the half-bitten cheese ball back into the dish and quietly asked,
“…Really?”
“Really.”
The soft answer made his expression shift—somewhere between confused and embarrassed.
Suddenly, he lowered his head. Acting like nothing had happened, he started cutting into his steak. But his lashes fluttered now and then, and the sunlight streaming through the window painted a faint flush across his cheek.
“……”
…Wait.
Jae-ha narrowed his eyes. Out of nowhere, a wave of déjà vu he’d felt many times before crashed through him.
