Seonwoo, who had settled into the sofa, took the coffee Jeong Suyeon handed him and placed it directly on the glass table. It looked like a gesture indicating he wouldn’t drink it. Regardless, Jeong Suyeon crossed her legs and casually opened the conversation.
“That kid who appeared with you, he had a good look. Do you know him?”
“He’s a civilian who won’t be entering this industry. He’s a friend who helped out because of Woojin’s absence.”
“Setting me up like this….”
Jeong Suyeon clicked her tongue and took a sip of coffee. Leaning her back against the sofa, she nodded her head a few times, then crossed her legs the other way.
“Have you met with Director Bae? The casting is almost finished, but they can’t find anyone to do the supporting role. There’s no one suitable, apparently.”
“Producing the film is entirely the director’s responsibility. There’s no room for me to interject.”
“You had a hand in the first work. Aren’t you thinking of doing the same this time?”
“No. CEO-nim, as I told you before….”
“Seonwoo-ya.”
Jeong Suyeon, who quietly called Seonwoo’s name, placed her cup on the table and smirked.
“My memory is fine, so there’s no need to repeat yourself. Why are you being so stiff? You and I have been eating from the same pot for 9 years already. At this point, we’re family. We’re people who know everything there is to know about each other.”
Seonwoo barely managed to compose his expression that was about to contort. Clenching and unclenching his fist briefly, he immediately responded.
“I’m well aware that you’ve been accommodating me all this time. Once this matter is wrapped up, as you promised, the contract expiration….”
“I think you’re mistaken about something.”
Jeong Suyeon, who cut off Seonwoo’s words cleanly in the middle, crossed her legs the other way. Deep furrows were even carved between her brows. As if showing she wouldn’t hide her displeasure, the surrounding air instantly sank coldly.
“Do you think you have a choice right now? Or are you testing my patience to see how much I can endure?”
“…….”
“I was understanding when you suddenly said you wouldn’t act anymore, and I was okay with it when you said you’d write after that. But now what? Contract expiration? Fine, what benefit would there be in keeping an entertainer who does nothing anyway. So I said I’d do it. But not right now. We also mutually agreed to do just one last job. Are you complicating things now and continuing to irritate me? Do you think I’m some vending machine that spits out the answer you want the moment I open my mouth?”
“…I’m sorry.”
At Seonwoo’s brief apology, Jeong Suyeon roughly swept her hair back. At her action, as if tense, Seonwoo’s long eyelashes trembled faintly.
Seeing the pale beauty trembling like that, it felt as if she herself had become the sinner. This is why I can’t let go of Ki Seonwoo. Clicking her tongue inwardly, she responded in a slightly softer tone.
“Forget it, I was being sharp. The work is progressing for now, so let’s just pray for a successful release. Recovering the investment starts from then.”
“Understood.”
“You can go.”
When she waved her hand and issued an order to leave, Seonwoo bowed his head slightly and immediately exited the CEO’s office. Leaning his back against the closed door, Seonwoo pressed his eyes firmly at the sudden wave of fatigue.
Nothing was going right. He had a life so accustomed to enduring, yet he didn’t know what he was so rushed about. And on top of that, Seo Yeongyeom. It was disgusting.
Nevertheless, the reason he couldn’t easily let go of anything was because of his own nature. If only this gets resolved…. Just this…. Seonwoo, who murmured the same words inwardly several times, swept his face with one hand and checked his phone.
「Hyung, don’t come to school.」
「From today, you don’t need to pick me up either.」 12:02pm
It felt like someone had grabbed his heart and slammed it somewhere far away. When he scrolled down a bit more with trembling fingers, Yoonjo’s next messages continued in a stream.
「Everyone at school is recognizing me」
「Hyung, what if sasaeng fans follow you because of this?!」
「What if someone kidnaps hyung?」
「That can’t happen, absolutely not」
「I can’t bear to see that」
「I can go to school by myself so don’t worry」
「You keep calling me a baby but in just a little while I’ll be twenty-one, you know?」
「Instead of worrying about me, give Dongtae a pat」
「Ah but don’t pet Dongtae too much.. He might get spoiled, you know, um.. Instead, when I come back from school, you can shower me with affection!」 12:03pm
「And I’ll be a little late today, I’m doing a group project before coming back!」 12:04pm
The last one had an emoticon instead of a message. It was a cute puppy pouring out hearts. It was a black retriever with prominent black fur. He only picks ones that look like him…. Seonwoo, who had been muttering quietly, let out a slight laugh. Then he paused.
His insides that had been uncomfortable until just moments ago, his fingertips that had been trembling, had calmed down peacefully. Seonwoo, who gripped his phone tightly with both hands, held it against his forehead for a moment before removing it. He looked like someone who believed Yoonjo’s warmth would remain on the screen.
“Whew….”
“Oh, Seonwoo-ya. You haven’t left yet?”
Woojin was walking from the end of the corridor, holding a stack of documents. Coming closer, he looked at Seonwoo and the CEO’s office sign, then added casually.
“Since you’re in Seoul, go say hello to my grandmother before you leave. She asks about you sometimes. Oh, and…. I’m saying this out of excessive concern, but….”
Woojin, who lowered his voice toward the end, whispered in Seonwoo’s ear.
“You’ll be in big trouble if you get caught with that. We somehow covered it up during the Seo Yeongyeom incident… honestly, even this time is a bit much for me, you know? So you need to be careful.”
It was advice filled with worry, but he couldn’t accept it purely with joy. Should he really have to hide his sexual orientation to this extent? It wasn’t even something that could be called sexual orientation. Seonwoo just wanted to hold someone in his heart, but people imposed the prejudice of gender on it.
Seonwoo, who had moved his lips several times, smiled bitterly and quietly responded.
“I’ll be careful. Go on in. I’ll go say hello to grandmother sometime today.”
“Yeah…. But, Seonwoo-ya.”
When he stopped his steps at the call, Woojin took a step back. He scanned Seonwoo up and down and said.
“Whoa…. I think you’ve put on some weight? The air there must have been good. I was worried because it seemed like you couldn’t break your habit from when you were acting. Have you tried catching whelks in the tidal flats? Ha… that’s freaking… no, really a delicacy.”
At Woojin’s words, Seonwoo’s head tilted slightly to the side. Unable to shake off the feeling of déjà vu, Seonwoo slowly asked.
“Do you know why Yoonjo doesn’t use dialect?”
“He said he wanted to speak Seoul dialect, so I taught him. Why?”
Seonwoo realized where Yoonjo’s speech habits originated from. A hollow laugh escaped naturally.
***
When he passed through the front door and entered the living room, a dull sound was heard from somewhere. Before he knew it, Dongtae was charging toward Seonwoo, using the mat laid on the floor as a foothold.
Huff huff! Hwooong! Seeing him constantly saying something, it seemed like he was nagging about where Seonwoo had gone, leaving him behind. Seonwoo, who sat down and gently stroked Dongtae’s head and cheeks, recalled what had happened earlier at the hospital.
Woojin’s grandmother, aside from having some difficulty walking, was healthy beyond her years. Sitting on a well-sunlit bench with Seonwoo’s support, she laughed heartily and patted the seat next to her.
‘So instead of just standing there like that, you know, hey, quickly come sit down.’
‘…I’m sorry for coming so late. Grandmother, I used the house well. I left it clean, and there were a few places that needed repair, so I took care of those parts as well. Thank you.’
‘Hey…. Yoonjo?’
At the out-of-the-blue question, when Seonwoo sent her a puzzled look, grandmother tapped her knee with her fist and responded.
‘Even though he’s not kkwaenggurakji, Yoonjo, that kid runs here and there, runs this way and that way… Aigoo…. Maybe it’s because he ate a lot of shellfish growing up… but still, you know.’
‘Not at all. Thanks to Yoonjo, I had many good experiences… I’m embarrassed to say this, but I have a habit of not eating meals properly, and I fixed that a lot because of Yoonjo. As you know, he cooks deliciously too.’
At Seonwoo’s words, grandmother’s eyes widened. It was clear that words she couldn’t believe had just been shoved into her ears.
‘Hey, is that so? Yoonjo only knows how to make buchimi and nothing else, you know? That… you know, he can only do those things. That thing where he chops ingredients all roughly.’
Having said that much, grandmother soon tapped Seonwoo’s forearm a few times, then said as if remembering.
‘Oh my…. When I saw him using a knife, it was frustrating, but now he even cooks rice? You know… so was it winter… He said he was going to Seoul and did he learn a ton, hey.’
A strange thought came to mind. After that, Seonwoo exchanged light greetings with grandmother a few more times before standing up. On the way back home, he could only think of Yoonjo.
Yoonjo who said he couldn’t cook, Yoonjo who said he couldn’t handle a knife, Yoonjo who sometimes used rough language, and… Yoonjo who worked harder than anyone at anything.
Seonwoo, who had been continuously stroking the fluffy fur, pulled Dongtae into an embrace. He could smell the unique nutty scent characteristic of dogs.
“Dongtae-ya, when will Yoonjo come back?”
Woof! Along with a short bark, a sound came from the front door. The lock was released and the door opened. What appeared from the end of the hallway was, of course, Yoonjo. Yoonjo, who had an unknowingly tired face, smiled brightly as soon as his eyes met Seonwoo’s.
“Hyung! When did you get here? Did your work go well? And… you seem to have seen the message but there was no reply… I was worried. Ah! Listen to this. As soon as my major class ended, someone I’d never seen before asked me if I appeared on TV. I said no, but they kept whispering that it seemed right…. In the midst of that, I was upset about the philosophy group project, but a sunbae who said he’d submitted a leave of absence notice came.”
Yoonjo, who put down his bag on the living room table, immediately started organizing. He glanced back at Seonwoo, then moved busily again. Even then, his mouth was moving without rest.
“I’m thinking it’s fine since it’s all good, but at school they’re really being so annoying….”
Seonwoo, who had been listening attentively to Yoonjo’s chatter, reached out his arms. Holding Yoonjo from behind and staying still, he responded as if muttering.
“Yoonjo-ya…. I had a hard day today.”
At the uncharacteristically whiny behavior from Seonwoo, Yoonjo stayed still for a moment, then wriggled his body. Facing Seonwoo, Yoonjo showed a resolute expression.
“Who bullied hyung? Tell me everything. I’ll go and beat them all up.”
Seeing the small walnut tucked under Yoonjo’s chin, Seonwoo smiled faintly.
“Resolving things with strength or drawing out answers with violence isn’t good. Ji Yoonjo, child. But right now….”
Trailing off, Seonwoo tapped his own lips.
“I need help from a different area.”
Smooch-.
Yoonjo, who kissed him as if he’d been waiting, rolled his eyes slightly and raised his index finger.
“One more time?”
“Mm.”
Smooch-.
As soon as Yoonjo pulled away, this time Seonwoo approached. Smooch, smooch. It was hard to tell how many kisses were exchanged. Yoonjo unconsciously parted his lips slightly. Just as Seonwoo also tilted his head slightly and was about to approach….
Woof-!
A resounding cry was heard.
Awoooooo-!
Now even howling, Dongtae wedged his body between Yoonjo and Seonwoo, then gently nudged with his nose tip. It meant he wanted to go for a walk.
Thanks to that, the atmosphere that was about to get sticky evaporated cleanly as if it had never happened. Yoonjo pulled Dongtae, who had approached him, into an embrace and then grabbed and shook Dongtae’s front paws.
“Master says he wants to go for a walk.”
Seonwoo couldn’t hold back his laughter and finally burst out laughing.
