151.
#Side 1. Small Changes in Daily Life (7)
The human body was quite peculiar. Even things that seemed impossible to get used to became somewhat familiar with repetition. However, once a certain threshold was crossed, it was still overwhelming.
Throughout the lecture, Dawoon kept shifting in his seat due to the dull ache from his lower back to the inside of his buttocks. Noticing this unusual behavior, Theo, who sat behind him, asked if he was in pain as soon as the lecture ended.
“No, it’s nothing like that.”
While he was in pain, it wasn’t the kind Theo was thinking of, so Dawoon had no choice but to shake his head.
“You’re so tactless. You shouldn’t ask about things like that.”
Lily, sitting next to Theo, frowned and scolded him.
“How am I tactless? There’s no one more tactful than me!”
As Theo protested, Lily shook her head as if she didn’t want to continue the conversation. As she turned away from Theo, her eyes met Dawoon’s. She didn’t say anything, but her expression seemed to say she understood everything, making Dawoon feel embarrassed.
“A lot of people will be disappointed. Dawoon, you’re quite popular, you know.”
She said with a mischievous smile. Dawoon just smiled faintly in response.
It was strange. When he first told Ui-hyeon about his relationship with Hayun, he had been cautious and afraid of how Ui-hyeon would react. But now, even though Lily had clearly figured it out, he didn’t feel as anxious as he did then. Same-sex marriage was legal in England, and people’s perceptions of homosexuality weren’t particularly negative. Maybe that’s why being discovered about his relationship with Hayun wasn’t psychologically burdensome.
“Still, tell your partner to go easy on you. You look pale today. Though I suppose you’re naturally fair-skinned.”
At her words, added jokingly, Theo’s eyes widened.
“Dawoon, you have a partner? In London? Really? Are they British?”
He was surprised by the fact that Dawoon had a partner, but he had too many follow-up questions. Dawoon didn’t know how to explain about Hayun, so he just tried to brush it off with a smile.
“Didn’t you say you hadn’t been in London for long? Don’t tell me it’s another international student?”
As Theo refused to give up easily, Lily pulled on his arm, telling him to take it easy. Even as she suggested they go eat instead of talking nonsense, Theo couldn’t take his eyes off Dawoon, seemingly disappointed that he hadn’t gotten an answer.
“Someday…”
Dawoon’s lips moved, but he hesitated. What was he trying to say?
“Hm? What were you going to say?”
Theo leaned in closer, asking as if he had been waiting for this. His eyes were sparkling with curiosity. Dawoon smiled faintly, as if he had no choice.
“If I get the chance, I’ll introduce you.”
At these words, smiles spread across Theo and Lily’s faces as they kept their eyes fixed on Dawoon.
“You’re welcome anytime.”
Dawoon nodded at Lily’s casual response.
Someday, if the opportunity arises.
Just the fact that he didn’t need to hide it felt like taking a step forward.
***
Dawoon had worried that Hayun might oppose his part-time job until the end, but fortunately, Hayun didn’t say anything more. Although he failed to prepare a surprise gift for Hayun’s birthday, the fact that Hayun allowed the part-time job made Dawoon think a lot.
He’s not trying to control every move like before. That was the most significant thing. Even when Hayun removed the location tracking and cloning programs from his phone, Dawoon had been half-doubtful. He had even suspected that Hayun might have pretended to remove them but actually left them in place. Since the distance from the café to the library wasn’t far, he had prepared excuses in case Hayun checked.
After seeing Hayun’s frantic search when he couldn’t contact Dawoon, he realized that the location tracking program had indeed been removed. Still, he had expected Hayun to try to control him more after that incident, but surprisingly, he didn’t. Was it because he was trying to buy a birthday gift for Hayun? Although not entirely convincing, Dawoon could see that Hayun was also trying to change.
Thanks to this, a month had passed safely since starting the part-time job.
“I’ve put in a bit more than we contracted. We were busier than expected this month, so consider it a bonus. It’s also a way of saying I look forward to your continued work.”
The owner said cheerfully as she handed over the envelope containing the part-time wages. Usually, it would be transferred to a bank account, but when Dawoon asked for cash to avoid Hayun finding out, she had readily agreed.
Opening the envelope, he found that it indeed contained more money than expected. This should be enough for what he was preparing.
Choosing a birthday gift for Jeong Hayun was really not easy. Considering the clothes he usually wore or the watches he carried, it was impossible to match that level with part-time job wages. If he had started the part-time job earlier and saved for a few months, he might have been able to buy what he had initially seen, but unfortunately, time was short.
Today, after getting permission in advance to take a day off from the part-time job, he headed to the supermarket where he often went grocery shopping with Hayun. As he put various items in the cart, referring to what he had searched online, the load became quite heavy. Thankfully, it wasn’t far from the supermarket to home.
Returning home, he laid out the purchased ingredients in the kitchen and took a deep breath. Now that he was about to start, he worried whether it would turn out alright. Until now, Hayun had always done the cooking, or they had bought food. So this was Jeong Dawoon’s first time cooking in his life.
Fortunately, the kitchen was equipped with all sorts of cooking utensils. Even a top-of-the-line oven that they rarely used was there.
As long as I follow the recipe, it shouldn’t kill anyone.
He set up a tablet PC on one side with the recipe open and started preparing the ingredients one by one.
“Ouch!”
While cutting, he slightly pricked the tip of his finger. Fortunately, it wasn’t a deep cut, but it still bled. He put the finger in his mouth and sucked on it, then suddenly wondered what he was doing. Trying to do something he had never done before made him feel a bit cringeworthy.
But this is all I can do for him right now.
After finding a band-aid and roughly bandaging the wound, he picked up the knife again and took a deep breath. He thought he had plenty of time, but because everything was so clumsy, it was taking several times longer than the preparation time stated on the internet. At this rate, he would never finish before Hayun returned from work.
Thinking he should hurry a bit, his phone rang. Checking quickly, it was indeed Hayun.
[Shall I come pick you up at the café after work? Let’s eat dinner out.]
“No!”
His voice rose involuntarily at the suggestion of eating out. Realizing Hayun would find it strange, he hit his mouth a few times with his hand, frowning.
“It’s just… I’m not feeling well… I’d like to have dinner at home.”
He wanted to hit himself on the head for coming up with such a poor excuse.
[Are you sick? If so, you should go to the hospital.]
“It’s not that bad. I bought some medicine on the way home!”
He answered hastily, worried that Hayun might send Director Park to take him to the hospital immediately. There was a long silence on the other end of the phone. Had Hayun caught him lying? Or was he trying to figure out how to drag him to the hospital anyway? Either way, it was the worst.
[Alright. I’ll leave work a bit early.]
“No, you don’t need to do that.”
Time was already short, and Hayun saying he’d come home even earlier was absolutely not okay.
“Really, I’m fine. I don’t want to interfere with your work.”
This time, he heard Hayun sigh, but perhaps because he knew Dawoon didn’t like interfering with his work, he agreed.
After ending the call, Dawoon felt even more rushed. Now there was no time to worry about whether things would turn out right or not. The only important thing was to finish everything as planned within the time limit.
***
“Aren’t you going up?”Â
At Director Park’s question, Hayun looked up at the building through the window. The lights were brightly lit on the top floor where their home was.
“What do you think he’s up to?”
Hayun asked in return, and Director Park just blinked. Although they had arrived in front of the apartment 20 minutes ago, Hayun showed no intention of going inside. It seemed pointless to have left work early at this rate.
Checking his watch, Hayun opened the back door, seemingly ready to go in now. Director Park, who got out with him, opened the car trunk. Inside were a cake and wine that Hayun’s coworkers had prepared.
“Ah, you can just take those, Director Park.”
Hayun said before Director Park could take them out of the trunk. He seemed to have no attachment to the gifts given for his birthday.
“But this is quite a good wine.”
The wine gifted to Jeong Hayun was carefully chosen by those who prepared it. It was a high-end wine that ordinary people couldn’t afford to buy, but Hayun didn’t even look at it.
“I’m more curious about what that kid has prepared.”
Hayun gestured towards his brightly lit home. No matter how expensive the wine was, it couldn’t compare to what Jeong Dawoon had prepared. Understanding his meaning, Director Park didn’t insist further.
The kid who started a part-time job to buy a birthday gift had refused when Hayun suggested eating out for his birthday. That meant he was preparing something at home.
Jeong Dawoon had a dry personality, in a different sense from Jeong Hayun. He was only a bit special towards Haram, but after his parents passed away, he was particularly dry in his relationships.
That kid was now preparing something for him. It was impossible not to have expectations.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
