“That university—wow, isn’t it a really famous place? That… one of the Ivy League schools, right?!”
Han-gyeom asked with his eyes wide open, clearly shocked. At that, In-seok burst into a hearty laugh as he flipped the meat over with the tongs. Han-gyeom’s reaction had been far too transparent.
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Wow… hyung, you must’ve been incredibly good at studying….”
Han-gyeom murmured it almost to himself.
“What kind of reaction is that? Is that your roundabout way of saying I don’t look like I’d be smart?”
Even though he knew he’d said something rude, Han-gyeom failed to add anything in time and just bit down on his curled-in lips. Realizing Han-gyeom was the type who absolutely could not lie to save his life, In-seok let it slide with a big laugh. That only made Han-gyeom feel even more sorry.
Judging purely by his appearance, In-seok had the kind of look people might call a little flashy or rough around the edges, so hearing that he attended one of the Ivy League schools had genuinely been shocking. Han-gyeom lowered his head in embarrassment at himself for judging someone by their looks, but In-seok seemed used to that kind of misunderstanding and brushed it off like it was no big deal.
“Had you always planned to go overseas?”
“Huh? No.”
In-seok took a drink of the beer set in front of his plate. Han-gyeom had said he wouldn’t drink, so In-seok was the only one drinking.
“I was never that interested in studying in the first place….”
As if something had suddenly come to mind, In-seok smiled faintly.
“I’ve got a cousin my age, you know?”
“A cousin?”
“Yeah. But that bastard… no, that guy was born with everything going for him. Great family, handsome face, natural genius-level brains, all that stuff.”
Han-gyeom wondered why the conversation had suddenly turned to In-seok’s cousin, but since those traits reminded him of Won-hyeok, he listened intently. It was amazing to think there was another genius in the world like Won-hyeok.
“But that guy’s personality was kind of a pain in the ass, so we didn’t get along very well at first. But then at some point, I got stubborn about it. I wanted to crush that smug bastard’s pride just once, so I studied like crazy.”
He explained that Hae-jun had really helped him a lot back then, and that was why he occasionally helped out at the café for free. It seemed the two of them were much closer than Han-gyeom had originally thought.
As Han-gyeom listened, he found himself growing curious about who In-seok’s cousin was. In-seok himself was, objectively speaking, very handsome too, and while his way of speaking and acting could be a little light, he had a good personality as well. He was sociable enough to open up this quickly even with someone like Han-gyeom, who normally took a long time to warm up to other people.
For someone like that to envy a cousin who had everything—it naturally made Han-gyeom curious.
“Ah, enough about me. Tell me about yourself. More specifically, your lover.”
In-seok grinned as he poured beer into his glass. Han-gyeom’s cheeks instantly flushed red. Somehow, whenever the moment came to talk to someone about Won-hyeok, his heart couldn’t stop pounding.
It had been like that at the freshman classmate dinner before, and it was like that now too. Maybe it was because the more he talked about it, the more it felt like the reality of dating Won-hyeok was becoming fully, truly his.
Han-gyeom told him that they’d met as a sunbae and hoobae in the same department at the same school, and roughly how they’d ended up dating. Before long, the conversation naturally turned into a string of stories praising Won-hyeok.
“Wow, does a person like that actually exist? Handsome, rich, and with an amazing personality too?”
When In-seok clicked his tongue in disbelief, Han-gyeom felt oddly proud. After all, that unicorn-like person was the one currently dating him.
“Yes, isn’t it amazing? Sunbae is really incredible.”
As he sipped his beer, In-seok found himself thinking again that Han-gyeom’s boyfriend sounded oddly similar to his cousin, Do Won-hyeok. Both of them seemed to possess every favorable quality a person could possibly have. But there was one clear difference between them, and that was their personality.
From the sound of it, Han-gyeom’s lover was someone who took good care of others, was considerate, and seemed like a born saint. That was nothing like Do Won-hyeok. In-seok silently apologized to Han-gyeom’s boyfriend for even making the comparison. Sorry for comparing you to a lunatic like that bastard.
“That’s why it still feels so strange. That someone like him is dating me.”
“There’s nothing strange about that. Honestly, what reason do you even have to feel that way?”
“Huh?”
“You’re a student at Hankuk University too, so your academic background is solid, and no matter how amazing your lover’s face is, it’s not like your looks lose out anywhere either. And you’re kind too. Someone diligent and pure like you is actually harder to find these days.”
As In-seok let the compliments spill out one after another, Han-gyeom grew shy for no reason. It was the first time. The first time someone had praised him to his face, specifically and plainly, as a person named Kang Han-gyeom.
Maybe it was because his home environment had been unstable since birth, but Han-gyeom had always felt left out wherever he went. Even to his parents, who constantly fought loudly and cared only about their own circumstances, and even in that house his mother remarried into, Han-gyeom alone had always been the outsider.
It had been the same during his school years. Oblivious and a little lacking in social skills, Han-gyeom often drifted outside the scope of his classmates’ attention. He was never directly bullied, but he’d heard plenty of whispers and gossip behind his back.
So there was no way anyone had ever existed who would point to him directly and say, this is what you’re like, this is one of your good qualities.
“T-thank you, hyung.”
Maybe In-seok was only praising him out of politeness, but it still felt good. Gripping his water glass tightly, Han-gyeom smiled shyly. Maybe because they were sitting in front of the grill, but his cheeks, flushed reddish with heat, his timid voice, and the perfectly curved corners of his mouth came together in perfect harmony.
In-seok nearly spat out the beer he was drinking. Han-gyeom was just a younger guy he’d gotten to know through the part-time job, and he didn’t have even the slightest intention of trying anything—but even so, seeing that expression stirred up a faint sense of guilt. It felt like he was doing something he shouldn’t to Han-gyeom’s boyfriend, a man whose face he didn’t even know.
Looking at a kid whose expressions were that transparent, who wore absolutely everything on his face like that, he started to feel a little sorry for the boyfriend. He didn’t know how deep the feelings between them really ran, but if he himself were Han-gyeom’s boyfriend, he probably would’ve tried to keep a situation like this under tighter control. Because the thought of that kind of face being shown to other people anytime, anywhere would definitely be unpleasant.
Well, In-seok was exactly the type who hated that kind of thing, which was why he’d stopped dating in the first place.
“Han-gyeom, I’m gonna step out for a smoke.”
Talking about this and that with Han-gyeom had made him lose track of how late it had gotten. Digging through his pocket, In-seok shook his cigarette pack.
“Eat comfortably while I’m gone. Order more if it’s not enough.”
“Okay.”
The moment In-seok went outside, Han-gyeom quickly set down his chopsticks and picked up his phone. There was still no text from Won-hyeok. Was he asleep because he was tired? With slightly dejected hands, Han-gyeom went back to eating the meat.
While Han-gyeom filled his stomach with grilled meat, In-seok stepped outside, skillfully put a cigarette between his lips, and lit it. With one hand, he pulled out his phone and reopened the text he’d sent to Hae-jun.
There was still no reply to the message asking if everything was okay.
The faint sound of the cigarette burning tickled at his ears. When he took a deep drag through the filter, a clump of ash dropped to the ground with a soft tap. He exhaled a cloud of pale smoke and was about to put his phone away when, all of a sudden, he bumped shoulders with someone coming from the front.
In-seok reflexively started to say sorry, but the other person apologized at the exact same time. And yet, the voice sounded very familiar.
“…….”
When he lifted his head, there stood Do Won-hyeok, just as he’d feared.
“Wh-what the hell. Do Won-hyeok?”
Only then did Won-hyeok seem to recognize In-seok, immediately furrowing his brows.
“Why are you here? Weren’t you in Singapore with my eldest aunt?”
“How do you know that?”
“You might not care about family, but my mom and my eldest aunt are actually pretty close.”
In-seok stared at Won-hyeok, whom he’d run into out of nowhere, finding it oddly fascinating. Then he quickly noticed that Won-hyeok’s expression looked anything but good, and he took a step back.
“But what are you doing here?”
“What do you mean, what am I doing here?”
“No, I’m just surprised to see you at a meat place like this. Didn’t you say you hated places like this because the smell gets into your clothes?”
Won-hyeok didn’t say anything. At least where that comment was concerned, it meant he agreed.
“I didn’t come here to eat.”
“Then what?”
“To catch someone.”
“…….”
The cigarette butt In-seok had finished fell to the ground with a dull tap. If anyone else had said something like that, he would’ve assumed it was just a figure of speech, a joke. But the fact that the speaker was Do Won-hyeok made it a truly nerve-racking thing to hear.
Because that bastard was exactly the kind of person who really would come to catch someone.
“Fuck, they said they were taking the kid out for a staff dinner, and they kept him this late at a place like this? It’d still be lacking even if they were feeding him something actually good.”
Hearing Won-hyeok mutter that under his breath, In-seok let out a deep sigh. He had no idea what was going on, but he wanted no part in it. He had already learned through painful experience that nothing good ever came from getting tangled up with Do Won-hyeok.
“Won-hyeok, please try to avoid bloodshed.”
“Fuck off. And don’t call me without my family name. It’s disgusting.”
All over again, In-seok felt deeply sorry for whoever Won-hyeok had come to catch. More than anything, he was profoundly relieved that it wasn’t him.
“R-right. Then come in when you’re ready.”
In-seok picked the cigarette butt back up, threw it into the trash, and darted back into the restaurant like an arrow. They’d pretty much finished eating anyway, and he intended to get out of this place before he got caught up in whatever stupid thing Won-hyeok was about to do.
Once In-seok rushed inside, Won-hyeok finally started walking too.
Han-gyeom, who had been chewing on a piece of meat, spotted In-seok first and looked up.
“Hyung, should we head out now—huh?”
Then Han-gyeom’s eyes suddenly widened dramatically. But In-seok didn’t have the luxury of paying attention to that right now.
“Han-gyeom, you’re done eating, right? Should we get going now?”
“Won-hyeok sunbae!”
As In-seok hurriedly started gathering his things, Han-gyeom suddenly shouted out. At the exact same moment, In-seok’s whole body froze solid.
wahhhh thankyou for this ch but I hope the chs comes a little fast hehe