I was incredibly excited about my first relationship. So I thought our romance would be tingly, sweet, fluttering, and just endlessly wonderful. It was because I’d forgotten about the mongrel puppy next door. The first few days were very peaceful dates. Each day, the date started from picking up Samyukshippal after lectures ended.
Samyukshippal, who had completely become my ally after receiving a phone, didn’t interfere with our dates at all. Even if it was early for dinner, after I bought him the meal he wanted to eat and put snacks in his hands, Samyukshippal would politely greet us and naturally slip into the villa first as if it were obvious. From then on, it was a date with just Kkotmoa and me.
We went to the movie theater and when the lights went out, we’d watch movies while holding hands with our fingers intertwined, and we enjoyed drives. We took walks along the elegant Han River, and kissed while avoiding people’s eyes. After kissing once, I was dying to press our lips together whenever there was a chance, to the point where I couldn’t live without it. Each day was perfect. If only the horny mongrel puppy next door hadn’t broken up with the freshman girl he’d been seeing.
“When you two stick together just by yourselves, it looks weird, you know? Kids these days are so quick to notice. You fuckers should actually be grateful to me and bow in thanks.”
That senile bastard with too much time on his hands followed us around interfering with our dates at every turn with ridiculous shameless excuses. No matter how much I scolded, cursed, or threw fits, he didn’t even pretend to listen. Even when we avoided him with tactics reminiscent of espionage operations, it was useless. Like the crazy bastard he was, every time he appeared after sniffing us out like a ghost, I was so startled. He was worse than even elementary schoolers who knew to avoid situations tactfully. An ignorant mongrel who couldn’t distinguish where to butt in and where not to.
But it seemed I was the only one who found the mongrel next door disagreeable. Unlike me who overtly threw fits, cursed, and showed irritation, Kkotmoa had never once shown any sign of dislike. Today too, I had an espionage operation planned. It was possible because Kkotmoa and I had different last classes. The mongrel was in the same major class as me.
[I’ll secretly slip out before the lecture ends, so don’t answer Kang Junwoo’s calls, ignore his messages, and even if you run into him pretend not to see him and come alone to the cafe next to the back gate. Please, I want to date just the two of us today]
I sent a message to Kkotmoa. Even if the mongrel next door had the same last lecture as me, he would smell flowers and follow Kkotmoa around. To what extent? Countless times, he’d leave the lecture hall with me after class ended, say goodbye and part ways, only to appear together at the place where I was supposed to meet Kkotmoa. At first I was shocked, but now I just sighed. It was to the point where I had to suspect whether Kkotmoa didn’t want to be alone with me and was deliberately bringing the mongrel along.
[Okay, I’ll go to the cafe next to the back gate as soon as the lecture ends]
[You have to come alone quickly without getting caught]
After receiving a reply, I sent another message pleading earnestly. Only after receiving a reply saying he understood did I feel somewhat relieved. And 15 minutes before the lecture ended, I quietly stood up. The mongrel next door glanced at me but I ignored him and left. Today, I really wanted to be alone with Kkotmoa. I was planning to quickly kidnap Kkotmoa and run away as soon as he arrived at the cafe.
The reason I chose the cafe next to the back gate was because the mongrel next door always used the main gate. It was because the parking lot was near the main gate, and also because the mongrel had the stupid philosophy that confident men should use the main gate. I drove the car around the school to the back gate. I parked in front of the cafe and ordered two mango juices. Kkotmoa still liked mango juice best among beverages. I deliberately sat on the terrace because I had to kidnap Kkotmoa as soon as he appeared.
“……”
But a few minutes later, I had no choice but to twist my face. Next to my flower approaching with quick steps through the back gate, I also saw the mongrel bastard. The mongrel was barking at my flower while wagging his tail incessantly, and my flower was hurrying his steps looking only ahead without even giving the mongrel a glance. A sigh came out naturally.
“I’m here, Hyeondo.”
“Haah… Why did you bring that bastard along.”
“I didn’t bring him along. Junwoo just came on his own.”
“That’s the same thing.”
“It’s different. Hyeondo, listen.”
Kkotmoa, who had blown away even my will to stand up, sat across from me. The mongrel next door sat next to him and grinned disgustingly. My irritation surged because the mongrel next door took the mango juice I was drinking and drank it as he pleased. Looking at me unable to straighten my face, Kkotmoa began lecturing quietly in a gentle voice.
“If I had brought him along, I would have suggested to Junwoo to go together or hang out together, right? But I didn’t suggest it. I didn’t say where I was going. I didn’t say I was meeting you either. I did what you told me—didn’t answer Junwoo’s calls, ignored his texts, and pretended not to see him when I ran into him. So then, I didn’t bring him along, did I? Junwoo just came on his own by his own judgment on his own feet. It has nothing to do with me. Hyeondo, do you understand what’s different? Do you understand that I didn’t bring him along?”
I stared blankly at my flower speaking gently and demurely as if enchanted. How could he be so capable and articulate—my mouth had curved into a line and hooked on my ears before I even knew it. The mongrel next door wasn’t even in my sight anymore.
I had caught a disease.
The disease of finding everything you do cute enough to go crazy.
The disease of finding everything you do pretty enough to go insane.
The disease of just loving everything you do so much I could die.
I hoped the disease I caught would be an incurable illness that would never heal.
* * *
“Samyukshippal. Lunchbox.”
Having come to Kkotmoa’s house early in the morning, I held out the lunchbox container I was holding to Samyukshippal. I came fighting a war with sleep this early in the morning just to give him this.
“I told you I could just pack tuna kimbap for him…”
Kkotmoa looked at me with a face mixing pleased and apologetic expressions and smiled. Just this one expression alone made me proud that I had Secretary Park find out about a special lunchbox company. Actually, that place was apparently what they call a celebrity lunchbox company where fans pool money together to send lunchboxes to filming sets when the celebrity that Secretary Park’s nephew pathologically loved was filming. However, celebrity or whatever, if you had money, you could create a lunchbox just for Samyukshippal’s field trip that was the only one of its kind in the world. I had no intention of revealing that the one lunchbox Samyukshippal was opening cost 800,000 won.
“Wow, jackpot!”
Samyukshippal screamed at the top of his lungs. Kkotmoa’s eyes also widened in surprise. And for good reason—it was a 5-tier lunchbox specially ordered and made with a lunchbox container with delicately hand-drawn shapes of characters currently popular among elementary school students, inari sushi, various types of kimbap, sushi, rolls, sandwiches, wings, pizza, shrimp, ribs, abalone, various fruits, and more. Honestly, it was a burdensome amount for Samyukshippal to eat alone, but considering he ate so much and accounting for the kids who would gather around with wide eyes upon seeing the lunchbox and snatch food away, it seemed an appropriate amount.
“Hyung’s boyfriend Invincible Hyung, thank you so much!”
Samyukshippal took pictures of the lunchbox with the phone I bought him, then politely bowed to me with his back bent. I patted his small head as I always did.
“Since there’s a lot, share it with your friends. Show off a bit too.”
“The kids are gonna completely flip out, right? Haa, now I think I might like Hyung’s boyfriend Invincible Hyung more than my hyung.”
Samyukshippal, sighing and making an expression like he was worried, was quite shrewd. Even this was something he was doing on purpose to show me. Kkotmoa didn’t open his mouth so as not to lower Samyukshippal’s morale, but shot me a glare. He seemed to think it was excessive for an elementary schooler’s spring field trip lunchbox. However, pretending not to see Kkotmoa’s eyes, I forcibly stuffed the 5-tier lunchbox container into Samyukshippal’s bag.
“Let’s go, Samyukshippal. I’ll take you to school.”
When I held out my hand while slinging over my shoulder the bag containing only the lunchbox container, Samyukshippal quickly grabbed my hand. Kkotmoa was watching us with a dissatisfied expression. His eyes looked at me as if I were also an elementary schooler. Feeling oddly guilty, I made eye contact with Samyukshippal and squeezed his hand tightly.
“Hyung, let’s go quickly. I want to go on the field trip. Quickly, quickly.”
Samyukshippal pulled on Kkotmoa’s clothes with his empty hand that wasn’t holding mine. My partner in an alliance making a big deal and I had become close enough to communicate with just eye contact and gestures.
“Jaea, if anything happens, call hyung, and when it’s time to come home, call ahead too and hyung will come pick you up at school. Got it?”
While stopping in front of the school gate, Kkotmoa instructed Samyukshippal. It looked like a dad sending his son on a field trip rather than a brother.
“Okay. I’ll go on the field trip and come back. I hope lunchtime comes quickly. Hyung’s boyfriend Invincible Hyung, you’re really the best!”
The car came to a complete stop and Samyukshippal jumped out from the back seat first. He seemed excited about going on the field trip and about showing off his lunchbox. Kkotmoa quickly got out of the passenger seat to neatly arrange Samyukshippal’s clothes and properly put the bag on his shoulders.
Samyukshippal, who had kissed Kkotmoa’s cheek, waved his hand fluttering, then bowed his head to me through the window. I roughly waved my hand as if to tell him to hurry in. Only when Samyukshippal entered through the school gate and was no longer visible did Kkotmoa get back in the passenger seat.
I didn’t miss that gap and stole Kkotmoa’s lips. I had planned to just give a light peck since we were in front of Samyukshippal’s elementary school gate, but once our lips touched I couldn’t control myself. My greedy tongue eventually parted his lips, and quickly wrapped around his tongue. I felt the touch of hands pushing my shoulders, but my hand pulled his small head more toward me. I was dying to kiss him whenever there was a chance.
“Haa, you really…!”
Kkotmoa, who pushed me away with both hands, glared at me. His face flushed red and heated was very pretty. Objectively speaking, it was really a pale, demurely featured face with nothing particularly outstanding, delicate but quite extremely plain, yet I don’t know why he looks just endlessly pretty in my eyes.
“Well then, you should’ve been a bit less pretty.”
“What are you saying…”
“Every time I see you I keep thinking bad thoughts first, so I’m dying too. I can’t control it well. Even now I’m holding back a lot, so cut me some slack.”
“Even so, you should think about the place, what if someone sees…”
Kkotmoa grumbled while fastening his seatbelt. I had no intention of being cooped up at home on such nice weather. We even luckily received a class cancellation notice for the liberal arts class we were taking together, and ignoring this nice weather as lovers would be a sin deserving divine punishment.
