The last place the two people visited after thoroughly making their way through every corner of the aquarium was, of course, the souvenir shop. The cute character dolls, keychains, pens, notebooks, and all kinds of other goods featuring marine life immediately caught their eyes.
Enjoying himself like a child, Han-gyeom looked around everywhere, then picked something up on his own and scampered off saying he’d go pay for it. Thinking pointlessly that, if he wanted to, he could buy him everything in here, Won-hyeok took Han-gyeom with him down to the parking lot after he finished paying and came back. For today’s date, Won-hyeok had brought his car.
“But what did you buy earlier?”
Won-hyeok asked as soon as they got into the car.
“I-it’s a secret.”
Han-gyeom shyly smiled as he fiddled with the item tucked away in his pocket.
“You’ve got a lot of secrets.”
At that moment, Won-hyeok let out a small laugh and suddenly leaned over toward the passenger seat. Startled, Han-gyeom pressed himself back against the seat as far as he could and sharply sucked in a breath. The whole sequence of Won-hyeok pulling the seatbelt out stretched by like slow motion. It felt like his heart was about to leap right out of his mouth.
There had been maybe two times before when Han-gyeom had ended up in Won-hyeok’s arms, but never like this—pressed so close together in a quiet space hemmed in on all sides. Swallowing hard, Han-gyeom tried to steady his pounding heart, but still stared fixedly at Won-hyeok’s profile as he moved nearby.
More precisely, it was because he wanted to store it in his head. He had no idea when he’d ever get another chance to see from this close the sculpted bridge of his nose, sharp yet cool eyes, and everything else that looked as if they’d been carved by hand.
“Sunbae, your skin is really nice.”
At those words, Won-hyeok’s eyes, with the seatbelt still in his hand, slowly turned toward him. Their gazes met across barely a span’s distance.
“Y-you’re handsome.”
Even while blinking his wide eyes, Han-gyeom said exactly what came to mind without hesitation. His earlobes reddened because Won-hyeok was so close, but when Han-gyeom smiled softly, the veins on Won-hyeok’s hand gripping the belt suddenly stood out.
Without saying anything, Won-hyeok fastened the seatbelt for him and started the car. They had spent quite a while at the aquarium, so by the time they came outside, evening was already approaching.
“Where are we eating dinner?”
“I made a reservation. It’s somewhere on the outskirts of Seoul. But Han-gyeom.”
“Yes?”
“Are you going to keep looking at me like that?”
Taking advantage of the red light, Won-hyeok asked with a faint laugh. Han-gyeom was sitting in the passenger seat, but instead of facing forward, his body was turned almost completely toward the driver’s seat beside him. Since he was staring with the earnest focus of a model student paying attention in class, Won-hyeok felt like the side of his face was heating up.
“I’m sorry. It’s just… you look so cool when you drive, sunbae….”
Han-gyeom scratched the back of his head, apparently realizing he had been staring way too obviously. But seeing his bias turning the wheel one-handed like that, looking so effortlessly cool—there was no way he could keep himself from taking it all in.
“It feels like I’m watching a commercial.”
Won-hyeok flinched and unconsciously gripped the steering wheel tightly. He couldn’t take his eyes off Han-gyeom, who had lowered his head as if embarrassed, and then a loud honk blared from behind them. The light had turned green.
“No, you fucking—”
At the blaring horn, Won-hyeok instinctively frowned and started to curse, only for his eyes to meet Han-gyeom’s exactly.
“That horn really sounds like a dog barking, huh? Right?”
Covering it up with whatever nonsense came to mind, Won-hyeok started driving again.
Once they got out toward the outskirts of Seoul, scenic views appeared in place of tall buildings. Trees overflowing with the fresh energy of spring stood in rows along the road, and the lake dyed red by the evening glow was incredibly beautiful.
The restaurant Won-hyeok had reserved was a fusion restaurant located right in front of that lake. Its quaint exterior looked as if it had come straight out of a fairy tale. Following the soft lighting that illuminated the outside of the building, they went in, and the interior was rich with a distinctly European atmosphere.
And Han-gyeom could tell instinctively. This place was expensive too.
“You paid for the tickets earlier, Han-gyeom, so of course I’m paying for this.”
While Han-gyeom was studying the menu with great care, that calm voice came from across from him. For no reason, Han-gyeom reached into his pocket and touched the item there once more.
After starting to date Won-hyeok, Han-gyeom had gotten to try all kinds of foods he normally never would have tasted. When he went to school, he naturally ate nothing but cafeteria food, and on weekends or holidays, he didn’t have even one friend to go out and hang around with, so he mostly just cooked at home. Eating the same things all the time had simply been his everyday life.
Today too, he left the ordering up to Won-hyeok, and before long, dishes that immediately caught his eye were set on the table.
“Is it good?”
“Yes, it’s my first time eating something like this.”
Thanks to Won-hyeok taking him here and there, his tongue had been absolutely spoiled lately.
So Han-gyeom was happily scooping up a big bite of risotto when, all of a sudden, he felt someone looking at him from ahead. It was because a male employee serving near Han-gyeom’s table kept glancing at him. The moment their eyes met, the man quickly turned his gaze away.
“What is it?”
“It’s nothing.”
Did I imagine it? Han-gyeom brushed it off as nothing serious and focused on his meal again. Once they finished eating, Won-hyeok stood up with the bill and headed to the register, and when Han-gyeom hovered beside him, reading the room, Won-hyeok told him to go outside and practically shoved him out.
Suddenly left outside alone, Han-gyeom kicked lightly at the stones on the ground while waiting for Won-hyeok. Then, suddenly, he sensed someone behind him. Naturally, he thought it was Won-hyeok and looked up happily, but for some reason, the person standing there was a complete stranger.
“Um….”
And on top of that, the face looked familiar—it was the employee who had been glancing over near their table earlier.
“Yes?”
“Excuse me, but you’re my type.”
At first, Han-gyeom didn’t understand and simply tilted his head. Then the man’s face turned bright red as he fumbled his phone out.
“Could I maybe get your number?”
Ah, now he got it. So this was why the man had approached him. Was this that thing he’d only ever heard about—asking for someone’s number? But why?
Wasn’t asking a stranger for their number an act based entirely on outward factors? It would mean they liked what they could see—looks, fashion, things like that—and expressed interest because of it, but Han-gyeom didn’t think he fit any of those categories at all.
“Ah, do you happen to have someone you’re dating? Is the person you were here with earlier your boyfriend?”
When Han-gyeom said nothing, the employee interpreted the silence in his own way and cautiously asked.
“Ah… uh, well….”
Caught in the sudden situation, Han-gyeom’s eyes spun.
“H-he’s not my boyfriend, but….”
At the words that slipped out without thinking, the man’s face brightened immediately, and he held his phone out again, asking once more if he could have his number. But suddenly, the man’s face stiffened on the spot. For some reason, he clamped a hand over his nose and mouth, then turned around.
There stood Won-hyeok with a cold expression on his face. The employee, sensing the pheromones rolling off him, twisted his face in discomfort, and then his gaze dropped downward.
Won-hyeok was gripping a stone that fit neatly in his hand. It seemed he had picked up one of the many stones scattered around near the restaurant. At the sight of that, the employee felt some kind of indescribable unease, waved his hand at Han-gyeom as if to say forget it, and bolted off elsewhere.
“Kang Han-gyeom.”
Once the man had disappeared completely, Won-hyeok dropped the stone in his hand with a dull thud.
“Sunbae.”
“Let’s talk.”
Won-hyeok’s expression had gone completely stiff. Reading some kind of anger there, Han-gyeom grew restless but nodded first.
The two of them headed to the walking path beside the restaurant. Maybe because it was so close to the lake, a slightly chilly air wrapped around the surroundings. Han-gyeom followed behind Won-hyeok in silence, watching him carefully.
He seemed angry, but unfortunately Han-gyeom couldn’t tell why. It naturally overlapped in his mind with the last time Won-hyeok had said he was irritated and left.
“You’ve been avoiding me since last week.”
After walking for a while, Won-hyeok came to a stop right in front of a swing-style bench.
“I-I wasn’t avoiding you exactly….”
“Then what?”
Han-gyeom searched for what to say, then finally seemed to decide there was no helping it and nodded.
“Yes. I was avoiding you.”
“Hah.”
At that, Won-hyeok raked a hand irritably through his hair and let out a mocking laugh.
“And just now too. In front of that pervert bastard trying to get your number, you said I’m not your boyfriend. How am I supposed to take that?”
“I think it’s because it’s become a habit. I’m sorry if that upset you—”
“A habit? What the hell does that mean? You mean it’s become a habit for you to say I’m not your boyfriend?”
Han-gyeom blinked his big eyes and nodded as if it were obvious, and Won-hyeok’s face turned even more vicious.
“No, what the fuck—”
“But if someone at school notices and asks, that’s what I have to say.”
“…What?”
When Han-ul had asked if he was dating Won-hyeok, Han-gyeom hadn’t been able to deny it outright. Part of that was because he wasn’t good at lying, but it was also because he’d never imagined anyone could actually catch on, so he’d been flustered.
It had been the same when his classmate asked whether he was close with Won-hyeok. He had said no, but everyone had probably noticed how awkward his tone and behavior were. So Han-gyeom had been preparing himself in case, someday, the people around Won-hyeok or people from other schools asked whether he was dating Won-hyeok, so that he’d be able to answer no at any time.
The employee from earlier had been a complete stranger with nothing to do with any of that, but because Han-gyeom had been so thoroughly preoccupied with that one issue, those words had slipped out first.
“Because if someone notices and asks, I have to say no….”
“I’ve wanted to ask you for a while now, but why are you so desperate to hide the fact that we’re dating?”
“Huh? B-because that was the condition you wanted, sunbae.”
Before long, the bloodshot anger in Won-hyeok’s expression slowly eased. He blinked slowly and stared blankly at innocent, guileless Han-gyeom.
