“It’s absolutely gotta be cash.”
“You do know that’s tax evasion, right?”
“Do *you* know that you pulled strings with a personal connection to skip the whole waitlist? If you don’t want to hear complaints about celebrity special treatment, come back next year.”
At such ruthlessly money-grubbing behavior, Seonwoo burst into a chuckle. It was because he thought nothing had changed at all.
***
The curtain swayed lightly and Yoonjo hesitantly poked his face through the gap. He looked quite pitiful, his expression twisted as if he was about to cry at any moment. Seonwoo, who had been sitting on the sofa flipping through a fashion magazine, looked up at the sound.
“Hyung… do I really have to wear this?”
“Why do you think you can’t wear it?”
“Because it’s a type I’ve never worn before…. It’s a bit awkward.”
The curtain fluttered as if he kept rubbing his legs together. Seonwoo looked at the tips of Yoonjo’s ears, dyed as if they’d been dipped in red paint, then got up from his seat. Then he snatched the clothes Hayoung had given him earlier and showed them to Yoonjo.
“Then I’ll wear them with you. Even though Hayoung lives like she’s got a screw loose, she makes good cloth—”
“……”
“…es, but, baby. Why are you about to cry?”
His eyes were red as if tears would spill at any moment, and his lips were trembling. Seonwoo wondered for a moment if there was something wrong with what he’d just said and carefully retraced his words. With a short “Ah,” a certain point crossed his mind.
“You don’t like me calling the designer by name?”
“……”
“If you don’t care, I’ll just keep—”
“I don’t like it.”
It was childish possessiveness to the extreme. The corners of his mouth tried to lift involuntarily, but Seonwoo, as always, calmly composed his expression.
“Why don’t you like it?”
“That’s, obviously…!”
Yoonjo, who had been about to shout boldly, soon shut his mouth tight. It seemed he thought it was strange now that he was actually going to say it. Yoonjo, who had only repeatedly opened and closed his lips, raised his arms to tightly embrace Seonwoo’s waist and buried his face. Seonwoo patted the back of Yoonjo’s head and waited quietly. Before long, Yoonjo spoke.
“You’re right, hyung, I guess I’m still a kid.”
“It’s okay to dislike things.”
“I think I’d get angry if I saw you picking perilla leaves for someone else.”
“…Why would I suddenly pick perilla leaves for someone else?”
At the out-of-the-blue remark, Seonwoo’s answer came a beat late. Then Yoonjo grumbled while still pressed close to Seonwoo’s chest.
“Not just perilla leaves, lettuce wraps too, and you can’t just pick rice off anyone’s face like that either.”
Aha. Seonwoo understood what Yoonjo meant and narrowed his eyes slightly. In short, Yoonjo was telling him not to act friendly with just anyone. He wondered how to correct this misunderstanding. Even though he’d always said he wasn’t that kind of person with everyone, Yoonjo stubbornly refused to believe it. Even that side of him looked so cute that if this was Seonwoo’s problem, it was indeed a problem.
If someone else had acted like this, he’d feel suffocated, but when Yoonjo actually did it, he didn’t feel the slightest bit threatened or burdened. Just a vague affirmation that he should do so followed.
“…If hyung doesn’t do it either, then I’ll be careful too.”
“I can’t do it, but you’ll ‘be careful’? That’s too unfair.”
“You’re supposed to accommodate everything for the person you like, right?”
“Isn’t it usually the opposite?”
Feeling like he absolutely couldn’t win with words, Yoonjo rolled his eyes around. Then he opened his mouth as if he’d made up his mind.
“I’ll let it slide up to friends. But… I can promise you. I won’t even grill meat for anyone else. If I do, I’ll designate that day as hyung’s day. A day when you can do whatever you want!”
At Yoonjo’s resolute pledge, Seonwoo finally failed to manage his expression. Unable to contain the laughter that escaped, he pulled Yoonjo into an embrace. Seonwoo, who had been subtly running his fingers through his hair, finally voiced his emotions out loud. Then Yoonjo lightly poked Seonwoo’s side and grumbled again.
“I’m not joking, I’m serious.”
“I know. I know, Yoonjo-ya. I’ll be careful.”
Seonwoo, who had been patting Yoonjo’s back for a while like soothing a child, spotted Hayoung’s figure through the mirror on the opposite side. Hayoung was scrunching up her face as if she’d seen something she shouldn’t have. The moment their eyes met, Hayoung made a gagging motion, and Seonwoo slightly moved his lips as if telling her to be quiet. Worried that Yoonjo, nestled in his arms, might see Hayoung, Seonwoo took a step further into the fitting room and closed the curtain.
“You’re not going to show me what you’re wearing?”
“…But this is really too embarrassing….”
“I think it’ll look pretty on you, Yoonjo. It’s fine to stay stuck together like this, but show me what you’re wearing. Hm?”
When he coaxed gently, Yoonjo poked his head out. His arms were still wrapped around Seonwoo, like a cicada on an old tree.
“You can’t laugh when you see it.”
“I absolutely won’t laugh.”
“Really.”
“Yeah. Really.”
Yoonjo quietly felt Seonwoo’s hand gently stroking his eyes, then loosened his arms and stepped back a little. His legs felt bare and strange, so he scratched the back of his neck.
The outfit Yoonjo was currently wearing was one designed by Hayoung with an explorer motif. Shorts that came just above the knee, a comfortable shirt, and a scarf around his neck. Whether it was because of his well-tanned skin and his sleek yet subtly muscular body, the clothes suited him as if they’d been his from the start.
However, Yoonjo’s expression didn’t.
“Ah… this is really weird….”
Having worked in the fields all his twenty years of life, Yoonjo was naturally more accustomed to long pants than shorts. Under the scorching summer sun, he had to be careful of heat stroke, and when the sun set, he had to continue the battle with mosquitoes, so naturally his choices were limited. His school uniform was obviously long pants, and after school he went straight to the fields, so all his everyday clothes except sleepwear were the same.
In other words, to express Yoonjo’s current feeling, it was as embarrassing as walking around the streets in just underwear.
“Besides my pajamas, I’ve never worn anything like this… it’s a bit… awkward. Don’t you have long pants instead of this?”
Yoonjo, who had pushed his slightly reddened cheeks with his palms as if embarrassed, suddenly looked at his shoes. They looked dirty and didn’t match the clean outfit. He was tapping the floor with his toes when he saw a hand touch the front of his shirt. It was Seonwoo.
“You buttoned them wrong, one off.”
“…I guess it’s because it felt awkward.”
At Yoonjo’s words, Seonwoo let out a short laugh, then held Yoonjo’s shoulder with one hand and undid the buttons with the other. Even doing it with one hand, the series of movements was natural and looked easy.
Yoonjo, who had been quietly watching Seonwoo’s actions, tilted his head slightly. Perhaps because he wasn’t wearing anything under the thin shirt, he felt a strange warmth each time his fingertips touched.
His white, straight fingers looked smooth. Yoonjo lifted his hand slightly to check. Unlike Seonwoo’s, his hands were rough with calluses here and there. Yoonjo, who had curled his fingers to hide them, looked up at the hand lightly brushing his nape.
Seonwoo’s hand slid past his shoulder toward his back, then touched the area where his buttocks and waist connected. This was another point that made him think this outfit was strange. The front looked normal, but the back of the shirt was oddly cut out. There were buttons, but he couldn’t reach them so he’d just left them.
“There are more buttons here, you forgot these too.”
Seonwoo, who had turned Yoonjo’s body toward the full-length mirror in the fitting room, brought his hand to the cut-out area. Dimples were visible on both sides where the waistline ended. These were parts he hadn’t discovered that rainy day before.
As if entranced, Seonwoo was touching that spot with his thumb when he slightly withdrew his hand at Yoonjo’s flinching movement. Yoonjo, visible beyond the mirror, was gripping the hem of his shirt tightly with his head down. Because the hem had rolled up, his smooth skin was briefly visible.
“It’ll be troublesome later if you’re this ticklish.”
Not knowing what would be troublesome, he glanced up and his eyes met Seonwoo’s. Yoonjo hurriedly stared at his toes.
Seonwoo, looking at Yoonjo’s reddened nape, slowly buttoned him up. Then he lightly grasped Yoonjo’s hand that had been hidden as if concealing it. Because of this, the two became pressed closely together. Heat was felt between their two bodies, so Yoonjo squirmed.
“I’ve noticed this before, why do you keep hiding your hands?”
“No, well…. Just this and that….”
“Your hands are pretty, don’t hide them.”
Moving his arm as he was, Seonwoo intertwined his fingers with Yoonjo’s and kissed the back of his hand. Yoonjo’s face turned red again and his mouth opened slightly. Between his smooth lips, his red tongue was briefly visible.
“A prize for wearing your clothes well. It suits you well. Just finish tidying up and sit out front. I’ll change and come out too.”
Seonwoo, who naturally released their intertwined hands, swept Yoonjo’s bangs. His round forehead was briefly visible before being covered by hair again.
When Seonwoo went outside, the curtain swayed lightly. Only when the surroundings became quiet did Yoonjo touch the spot where Seonwoo’s lips had touched. It was because he couldn’t shake off the feeling of disappointment.
“Not something like this… I wish he’d kiss me instead….”
Thinking about it, Seonwoo never did anything more first. It was always Yoonjo who charged forward, and Seonwoo was closer to the receiving end. At most it was this kind of brief contact, but Yoonjo needed something a bit more definite.
“It’d be even better if he’d tell me he likes me.”
Yoonjo, who had stuck out his lips and murmured quietly, gathered the clothes he’d taken off and came outside. Right in front of the fitting room, on the plush sofa, was Hayoung holding her phone with both hands doing something. She glanced at Yoonjo, then tapped the seat next to her and said.
“Sit down.”
Yoonjo, who quickly scanned the seating area, planted his bottom not next to Hayoung but a little farther away. At this, Hayoung cackled with laughter, but Yoonjo just wondered why this woman laughed at every little thing without rhyme or reason.
“Ah, seriously…. Kiseon, that bastard is a total thief.”
“Why does hyung’s name suddenly come up?”
Seeing Yoonjo ask sharply, Hayoung laughed as if rolling around again. Before long, sitting up straight, she put down her phone and stared at Yoonjo.
“Just so you know, there’s not even a 0.01% chance that he and I will ever get together. I mean, in a romantic relationship.”
“Then you’re saying there’s a 0.001% possibility.”
“Can you not even imagine doing anything with him? It pisses me off. Your name was… Yoonjo, right? Yeah, would Yoonjo date poop?”
At the unfiltered words, Yoonjo’s eyebrows gradually tilted.
“Hyung is a gem.”
“Anemone~”
So there really were people who used dad jokes like that. Yoonjo felt the fighting spirit that had flared up just moments ago fizzle out. Yoonjo, who glanced around as if searching for Seonwoo with his eyes, replied in a softer tone.
“What about you, noona, what’s your relationship with hyung?”
“With Kiseon, it’s a long working relationship. Well… I did witness some not-so-great situations in between, but anyway. What’s Yoonjo’s relationship with Kiseon?”
“The person I love and the person I will love.”
