“Even if the conversation doesn’t go well… don’t be discouraged. Everything will work out fine.”
“Okay.”
Suhwan nodded as he listened to Seunghyun’s gentle words. He embraced Seunghyun, who was holding him, and buried his face in his shoulder. Seunghyun’s citrus-scented pheromones made him feel at ease.
Although Seunghyun probably said it to ease his burden, Suhwan truly didn’t want to fail this time. He wanted to somehow win Hwalyeon over to his side and gain the family’s acceptance of his relationship with Seunghyun so they could stay together. Once again, he strengthened his resolve.
After dinner, Suhwan immediately took out ice cream from the freezer. He stuck a spoon into it and settled on the living room sofa. Naturally, Seunghyun sat beside him, one arm around Suhwan’s waist, watching him eat the ice cream.
“Is it good?”
“Yes!”
Seemingly in good spirits from eating something sweet, Suhwan answered with a bright smile. Seunghyun naturally reached out and wiped away the ice cream that had smudged the corner of Suhwan’s mouth.
“You have some too.”
“I’m fine.”
“It’s delicious.”
Though Seunghyun, with his limited palate, wasn’t particularly interested, he reluctantly opened his mouth at Suhwan’s bright, sparkling eyes. Suhwan chuckled and scooped some ice cream with the spoon he had been using and put it into Seunghyun’s mouth.
“How is it? Delicious, right?”
“…Yes.”
Seunghyun forced a smile as he answered. Excited, Suhwan continued to feed Seunghyun ice cream afterward. Of course, since they ate at different paces, it wasn’t exactly “one bite for me, one bite for you” but more like “two bites for me, one bite for you.”
Either way, Suhwan was extremely satisfied. This time spent eating his favorite ice cream with his favorite person felt incredibly precious. His face continuously beamed with happiness.
“Do you like ice cream that much?”
“Huh? Yeah.”
Though that wasn’t the only reason, Suhwan, lacking in verbal expression, simply nodded.
Watching him, Seunghyun tilted his head slightly. He had been holding back because Suhwan looked so cute eating ice cream, but now he was about to become jealous of mere ice cream. Tightening his grip around Suhwan’s waist, Seunghyun said:
“Can’t you pay attention to me now too?”
“What?”
Suhwan, who had been rolling the slowly melting ice cream on his tongue, opened his eyes wide. Surprised, he turned his head to find Seunghyun looking at him with somewhat pitiful eyes.
“Do you like ice cream more than me?”
“Hmm?”
“I was thinking about you all day at school… But you’re not even looking at me, just eating ice cream…”
Suhwan removed the spoon from his mouth in embarrassment. He felt a bit ashamed for having been so engrossed in the ice cream without realizing how Seunghyun felt.
“But… we were eating together.”
Though from the middle, Suhwan had been solely focused on eating it himself. Realizing this, Suhwan awkwardly stuck the spoon into the remaining ice cream.
“Sorry. I’ll stop eating now.”
“No. Keep eating.”
“…Really?”
When Suhwan asked with a suspicious face, Seunghyun smiled and said:
“But I’ll eat what I want too.”
“…?”
Ah, Seunghyun wanted something other than ice cream? So that’s why he felt left out. Belatedly understanding Seunghyun’s feelings, Suhwan quickly nodded.
“Okay, you go ahead and eat too.”
“Alright. Then I’ll enjoy my meal.”
“Uh… what?”
Suhwan realized something was off when Seunghyun pulled the back of his head. Helplessly drawn in, his lips collided with Seunghyun’s.
What he wanted to eat was… my lips? So it was me?
“Mmm…!”
Amidst the confusion, Seunghyun’s tongue invaded his mouth. As if to prove he wasn’t joking about wanting to eat, his tongue movements were more explicit and persistent than usual. As their tongues intertwined, the wet sounds echoed embarrassingly loud throughout the living room.
“But… I still want to eat more ice cream…”
“Yes, and I want to eat a bit more too.”
“Hnngh.”
Seunghyun’s eyes were already clouded with desire. The ice cream fell from Suhwan’s hand and rolled on the floor. Realizing he could no longer stop Seunghyun, Suhwan wrapped his arms around his neck.
In the end, Suhwan didn’t get to eat any more ice cream that day.
***
Suhwan adjusted his clothes with a tense face. Despite trying not to be nervous, he kept getting anxious.
“Ahem.”
He cleared his throat unnecessarily and drank the water placed in front of him. The cool water flowing down his throat made him feel a bit better.
The meeting place with Hwalyeon was now quite familiar to Suhwan. A hotel owned by the Hwamyeong conglomerate. It was where Suhwan had first found himself after manifesting in this world, and where he had recently had a blind date with Hamin. It seemed that Hwamyeong people generally favored this hotel.
A moment later, footsteps could be heard approaching the secluded private area within the hotel restaurant. The steps, seemingly measured and precise, echoed at regular intervals.
And when someone appeared, Suhwan unconsciously rose from his seat.
“…!”
The woman who entered the room surveyed Suhwan with sharp eyes. Without even asking, he could immediately tell. That this person was related by blood to Jin Suhwan.
Hwalyeon resembled Suhwan so closely that one might think this is what Jin Suhwan would look like as a woman. They looked so similar that they could be mistaken for siblings rather than cousins.
However, the aura they exuded was completely different. Unlike the recessive Jin Suhwan, she radiated an undeniable presence as a complete alpha. Suhwan looked at her with a stiff face before slowly bowing his head.
“Welcome, Sister.”
“…”
Hwalyeon, who had been silently observing Suhwan, gave a small nod. Her short hair that revealed her sharp facial features, and the black business suit that covered her body without a gap, suited her perfectly.
“It’s been a long time.”
“Please, sit here.”
Suhwan approached and pulled out the chair for her. Hwalyeon looked at him with surprised eyes.
Ah, perhaps this wasn’t something the real Jin Suhwan would do. With an awkward smile, Suhwan quickly returned to his place.
“Your manners have… improved.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
It seemed he had made a somewhat positive impression on her. Hwalyeon’s eyes, which had been as sharp as a well-honed blade, had softened slightly.
“I’m sorry. Work ran late… were you very hungry?”
“No, don’t worry about it.”
“Let’s eat now.”
At Hwalyeon’s gesture, hotel staff who had prepared the food in advance quickly began the setup.
It seemed the hotel had accurately understood both Hwalyeon and Suhwan’s tastes, as the course meal consisted of foods they both typically enjoyed. An appetizer of asparagus with anchovy sauce was placed in front of Suhwan.
It was somewhat surprising, considering Jin Suhwan’s picky appearance suggested he might be a selective eater. In any case, since Suhwan himself enjoyed eating anything delicious without discrimination, he eagerly consumed each dish as it arrived. The hotel cuisine was indeed excellent.
The dish following the asparagus was scallops. As soon as he put it in his mouth, the scallop melted so smoothly that Suhwan’s eyes widened. He could understand why rich people always hired chefs to cook for them.
While Suhwan was engrossed in eating, he didn’t notice Hwalyeon watching him with curious eyes. As Suhwan enthusiastically cut into his steak, Hwalyeon spoke first:
“You eat well now. When you were younger, you’d only take one bite at a time.”
“Oh, was I… like that?”
What a wasteful habit. He found it absolutely unforgivable.
But since he was now that unforgivable Jin Suhwan, Suhwan continued with an awkward smile:
“I guess my palate changed as I got older. Why did I do that? Haha.”
Since the real Jin Suhwan hadn’t met with Hwalyeon for a very long time anyway, he conveniently blamed it on the passage of time. He hoped Hwalyeon would simply think he had matured with age.
“Yes, you’ve really… changed a lot.”
“Haha.”
Suhwan continued to laugh awkwardly at her pointed remark. Yet his hands never stopped cutting the steak.
After finishing the satisfying meal, dessert arrived. It was lime mousse, which Suhwan loved. It came with mango ice cream, and both had the natural taste of the ingredients without being too rich.
“Um, well.”
“…?”
After eating about half of the dessert, Suhwan cautiously spoke up. It was an effort to lighten the still heavy atmosphere. Suhwan smiled and began to speak.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
