Just then, while Won-hyeok was staring fixedly at his phone, the bathroom door opened. Hot steam drifted out through the crack, and at the same time Han-gyeom slowly came out. Freshly washed, all soft and fluffy, Han-gyeom looked so tender that Won-hyeok gazed at him with deep satisfaction.
“Let’s eat.”
“Did you go buy this yourself?”
Han-gyeom’s mouth fell open as he looked at the samgyetang set out on the table.
“Yeah. I figured you’d be hungry when you woke up.”
The two of them sat facing each other side by side at the table. Han-gyeom still found this whole situation incredibly hard to believe. Spending one night at Won-hyeok’s house had already been enough of a shock, but now they were even having a cozy lunch together like this. He had slept over once before, but this was the first time he had ever stayed at Won-hyeok’s home this long.
In front of him, Won-hyeok cleanly tore off both chicken legs and placed them onto Han-gyeom’s plate. Seeing that there were two chicken legs on his portion, Han-gyeom looked back and forth between the plate and Won-hyeok. Usually, things like this were meant to be shared.
“What?”
“Can I really eat all of this?”
“Yeah. I don’t really like drumsticks that much.”
“Oh, I’ll remember that.”
Han-gyeom resolved that later he absolutely had to write in his memo pad that Won-hyeok didn’t particularly like chicken legs, and also that they had spent the whole night together today, then stuffed a mouthful of plump meat into his mouth. Resting his chin on his hand, Won-hyeok watched him intently. He had never believed people when they said parents felt full just from watching their child eat, but now, somehow, he felt like he finally understood what that meant.
Completely unaware that Won-hyeok was watching him, Han-gyeom diligently picked all the meat off the drumsticks and ate it.
“You’re the first person who’s ever given me both legs when eating chicken.”
At those casually spoken words that slipped out of his smiling mouth, Won-hyeok paused. The fact that Han-gyeom said it was the first time someone had yielded them to him bothered him. It wasn’t as if he had never eaten fried chicken with his family before. In situations like that, didn’t parents usually try to give the best pieces to their children?
“Han-gyeom. Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“If you’re living alone in Seoul, does that mean your parents are back at your family home somewhere else?”
Come to think of it, he knew absolutely nothing about Han-gyeom’s family. He had only found out a few minutes ago that Han-gyeom even had a brother. The realization that he had known so little about Han-gyeom all this time irritated Won-hyeok to no end. What on earth had his past self even been doing, if not asking these things sooner?
“My father is probably overseas, and my mother lives in Seoul.”
Setting down the chopsticks he had been holding, Han-gyeom answered evenly.
“Your father’s overseas because of work?”
“Well, it’s a little different from that. Actually, my parents are divorced.”
“……”
“They divorced when I was in school, and my father left for overseas right away, so it’s been a really long time since we’ve had any contact. My mother remarried later, so she lives separately too.”
It was family history that could be sensitive depending on how you looked at it, but Han-gyeom spoke about it smoothly, as if it were nothing. Most people were reluctant to reveal family matters outwardly, but Han-gyeom didn’t particularly hide it. His parents were the ones who had divorced, and the circumstances behind it were not something he had created either. They were the result of choices those two had made themselves.
So he hadn’t been especially hurt by that outcome, nor had he been shaped by it. Even back in high school, when his parents were getting divorced, if someone asked, he answered without hesitation. His parents had divorced. That was why Hyun-ah and Woo-jin already knew about it too.
“I told you about my brother, right? I didn’t know how to explain it, so I couldn’t really say it earlier, but actually he’s the son of the man my mom remarried, so he’s my brother on the family register, but we’re not biological brothers.”
Even while eating busily, Han-gyeom neatly added the explanation he hadn’t properly given earlier. But for some reason, Won-hyeok had gone quiet.
“Sunbae?”
His brows had drooped like someone who had just watched a sad movie. His face looked complicated, as if he might be angry, or upset, or both. Han-gyeom tilted his head.
“……Sorry. I asked something I shouldn’t have.”
Won-hyeok ran a hand down his face, looking troubled.
“Huh? No, it’s not like that.”
Won-hyeok picked a grain of rice from the corner of Han-gyeom’s mouth and absently stroked his cheek. Han-gyeom was talking with a smile as if it were nothing, but how could his heart possibly be at ease? His parents’ divorce, then remarriage on top of that. It must have been a deeply painful wound, and how hard must it have been to endure all of that? Thinking about Han-gyeom getting through that time all alone made one side of Won-hyeok’s chest feel as if it were burning away.
Even now, though he was trying so hard to act unaffected and bravely eat his meal like this, that was probably only because he was conscious of Won-hyeok. He must not have wanted to make the mood gloomy.
And yet, even in an environment like that, he hadn’t gone astray and had grown up so well, so admirably. But what had Won-hyeok done to someone like that? He’d nearly devoured him just because of rut, and on top of that, he’d toyed with the kid’s feelings under the ridiculous pretense of “watching over him.”
“I’m really trash.”
“Oh, should I gather the trash off to one side?”
“That’s enough, just eat. And when you’re done, let’s go out.”
“Okay.”
Even though Won-hyeok hadn’t said where they were going, Han-gyeom answered first and smiled brightly. That was unbearably cute.
***
“Sunbae, is there something you need to buy?”
Han-gyeom swept his gaze over the enormous interior. Won-hyeok had said they were going out, so they had come out, but the place he had brought him to was none other than a massive department store in downtown Seoul.
“Yeah.”
Under the bright lights pouring down over the white-decorated interior, people bustled about. The sound of water falling from the indoor fountain was refreshing. In truth, this was Han-gyeom’s first time ever coming to a department store this big and upscale.
As for daily necessities, he could just buy them at a large mart, and he didn’t really have any close friends to come to a place like this with just to look around and hang out.
“But Han-gyeom.”
“Yes?”
As Han-gyeom looked around with curious eyes and his mouth slightly open, Won-hyeok naturally took his hand.
“How long are you going to keep calling me sunbae? Didn’t you agree yesterday that you’d call me hyung from now on?”
“Uh…… well, that is…….”
As if yesterday’s events had suddenly come back to him, Han-gyeom’s face instantly turned as red as a roasted sweet potato. Looking at those bright red earlobes, Won-hyeok smiled to himself, thinking he wanted to put them in his mouth and bite down right this second.
“Call me hyung.”
“I don’t know if I can…… it’s too embarrassing.”
“You call Do In-seok hyung just fine without any problem.”
“That’s different from you, sunbae. There’s absolutely no reason for it to be embarrassing when I say it to In-seok hyung.”
The moment the words “In-seok hyung” came out of Han-gyeom’s mouth, Won-hyeok inwardly chewed through every curse word he knew. He was pretty sure he’d told that bastard before to behave in a way that wouldn’t make the kid call him hyung. He briefly considered how he ought to destroy him over this, then decided to let it go.
Because earlier, while they were eating lunch, he’d heard from Han-gyeom about In-seok. Thanks to In-seok listening to his worries, Han-gyeom had been able to figure out exactly what his feelings were. Since he had done such a good job carrying out the errand Won-hyeok had sent him on, being generous and letting it slide just this once didn’t seem so bad.
“I’ll still try. So it’ll start to feel natural.”
Han-gyeom never outright said no. Even while flustered, the way he still showed his determination to at least try once again was adorable, and Won-hyeok couldn’t resist pressing a brief kiss to his forehead.
“Gah…… s-sunbae. This is a public place…….”
Han-gyeom jolted in shock, then covered the spot on his forehead where Won-hyeok’s lips had touched, as if guarding it.
“So what? There are people doing way worse than this. Come on, let’s go now.”
“Okay. But what are you trying to buy?”
Won-hyeok didn’t answer that question. He only smiled lightly and said Han-gyeom would find out if he followed him. The place they arrived at like that was somewhere Han-gyeom truly hadn’t expected at all. As they kept walking after Won-hyeok, it seemed like there were fewer and fewer people around, and the area they entered was some completely separated section cut off from the rest of the space.
“This way, please.”
“Sorry for contacting you so suddenly.”
“Not at all. We’re the grateful ones anytime you come by.”
Won-hyeok continued chatting naturally with an employee wearing a gold name tag. Trailing behind them, Han-gyeom realized it instinctively. This was an area ordinary customers couldn’t enter, a place reserved only for VIPs. He hadn’t visited department stores often, but it was common knowledge that each one had spaces like this.
He had already known Won-hyeok’s wealth was far from ordinary after seeing that luxurious officetel that could hardly be called a studio apartment and his imported car, but this time he truly felt like Won-hyeok belonged to a different world entirely.
“So sunbae shops in places like this…….”
Han-gyeom looked around the unfamiliar space he had never once stepped into before and murmured almost to himself.
“Hm? Oh, I don’t usually shop in person. These days you can order anything online.”
“Then why are we here……?”
“Because I wanted to buy clothes for Han-gyeom.”
“Tha…… yes……? What?”
What had he just heard? Han-gyeom stood there blankly in utter shock, and as if he had expected that reaction, Won-hyeok simply took his hand and led him along. The private room they arrived at was filled with appetizing drinks and desserts, along with clothes that looked expensive at a glance.
Won-hyeok sat down on the sofa like he was used to this, while Han-gyeom, not knowing what to do, only watched nervously. Then one of the employees standing to the side approached with a kind smile.
“Would you come this way, please?”
“M-me?”
Han-gyeom turned his head toward where the employee was indicating. There was a clothing rack there with outfits prepared in coordinated sets. Before Han-gyeom could say anything, Won-hyeok urged him to go try them on one by one and come out.
In the end, Han-gyeom was led off by the employee toward the fitting room, walking stiffly, and watching that, Won-hyeok smiled in satisfaction.
He knew that with Han-gyeom’s personality, he would feel burdened by a situation like this. But ever since unexpectedly hearing about his family earlier, Won-hyeok kept thinking that he wanted to do something for that kid, anything at all. He wanted to give him more, and better, and prettier things.
At first, he had just planned to buy him clothes while pretending it was ordinary shopping, but there was one problem with that. If Han-gyeom changed clothes in one of the regular stores used by general customers, then not only the employees but also people inside the store—or even passersby walking past it, in other words, any number of strangers—might see how pretty he looked all dressed up.
“Fuck, absolutely not.”
Nodding to himself, Won-hyeok thought he had done well bringing him here, even if it had taken extra effort.
