Since there were still more people who hadn’t eaten yet, it seemed like they’d probably do one exchange in the middle, but it would look a bit strange to just stand there blankly waiting until then.
After pondering for a moment, Sungjin decided to at least scrape together what remained to fill his stomach. Thanks to that, the plate became a bit messy, but it was still better than starving.
Let’s just eat for now.
The moment Sungjin thought that and sat at the dining table first, holding his chopsticks, he heard the sound of someone pulling out the chair across from him and sitting down.
“……”
At the ominous premonition that suddenly struck, Sungjin stopped his hand while keeping his head down. Ah, no way. It can’t be, right? However, that very “no way” was the correct answer.
“……”
Beyond his lowered gaze, Yuwon’s beautiful hands came into view. Ah. Sungjin felt his appetite fleeing and swallowed a sigh inwardly. When he glanced around, empty seats were overflowing. The reason for sitting in front of him specifically… there was no need to ask.
Sungjin carefully tried to pull back his chair and move seats, but of course, it didn’t work at all.
“Where are you going?”
A voice like a bolt from the blue immediately struck down. Sungjin hurriedly made an excuse.
“Ah. I was going to get some wet wipes.”
While saying that, he quickly put down the plate he’d been holding onto the table. Sungjin went “haha,” tried to smile, and quickly went to the table where the tableware was placed to get napkins and wet wipes. How on earth did he end up here being tormented by strangers wasn’t enough, but this evil spirit had attached itself to him? And it was even a strange evil spirit that didn’t just give illness but also gave medicine and then took it back.
Probably the prettiest evil spirit in the world silently stared at Sungjin intently, and only after Sungjin picked up his chopsticks again did he also start his meal. If it weren’t for that face… Sungjin shook his head vigorously to blow away his materialistic thoughts. Since there wasn’t much edible food on Sungjin’s plate, it soon revealed its bottom.
Should I just eat up to here and have ramen as a late-night snack later…
When Sungjin was calculating in his own way, Yuwon’s cold voice was heard.
“Is there anything you can’t eat?”
“Pardon?”
Sungjin, who didn’t understand Yuwon’s words at once, tilted his head and asked back. Yuwon created wrinkles in his fine brow and asked again.
“I’m asking if there’s anything you can’t eat. Like types of meat or seafood or whatever….”
“Ah. No, there isn’t.”
“Allergies?”
“I don’t particularly have allergies either….”
Sungjin was a bit flustered even while answering since he’d been asked. Is this small talk? This? Why start a conversation like this as if interrogating someone? When he was stammering because it didn’t make sense and was slightly bewildering, Yuwon pushed back his chair and stood up.
“Stay seated.”
Then he approached the buffet zone with strides as large as his long legs and began putting the main dishes that the staff had just replenished onto a plate. Yuwon didn’t care about the other participants’ reactions. Contrary to how Sungjin had just picked up only what was left after others took all the delicious parts, he selected the most delicious parts and piled them on the plate like a mountain.
Wow, if it were me, I couldn’t do that for fear of others disliking it. Lee Yuwon does that so naturally.
Sungjin looked at Yuwon with curious eyes for only a moment before Yuwon returned to Sungjin’s side holding that plate. Then he put the plate down in front of Sungjin and pushed aside the plate with only scraps remaining.
“Eat.”
It was a plate full of only delicious food, incomparable to the shabby plate he’d filled himself. No, it does look delicious but… why this?
Sungjin couldn’t understand the reason at all, but there was no way he could ask him. It was strange to readily accept and eat what was offered, and he didn’t know what the intention was, so when he trailed off and refused, Yuwon’s eyes became even sharper.
“Ah, I’m really fine….”
“Then should I take this back?”
No, since you brought it, you can just eat it yourself. However, there was no way he could voice the thought that came to mind. Sungjin eventually gritted his teeth, managed his expression, and answered.
“Ah, no. Thank you. I’ll eat it well….”
There seemed to be no other way to escape Yuwon’s terrifying gaze. Sungjin still couldn’t understand the situation, but anyway, it seemed like doing this would offend Yuwon’s mood less, so he obediently began eating the meat.
From well-grilled steak to LA galbi and brisket, everything was really so delicious. It was so tasty that he momentarily forgot that the person who brought it was Yuwon.
While Sungjin ate the food on the plate so as not to upset Yuwon’s mood any further, Yuwon looked at Sungjin, forgetting even to fill his own stomach.
In the midst of that, the way he was chewing and swallowing diligently so as not to get indigestion was just like a squirrel. No wait, a squirrel is too small for his build… If comparing to a somewhat large rodent, would it be a capybara? Another wrinkle formed between Yuwon’s brows as he recalled some kind of large mouse-like animal in his head.
Capybaras have good affability, they say. That one… where is there a capybara that reads the room like that? Even though he’d thought of it himself, it was absurd, but capybaras must have individual differences too. If the most loser-like capybara in the world existed, it would probably have an image similar to Sungjin.
“……”
While Yuwon was having foolish thoughts and blankly observing Sungjin’s meal, Sungjin had almost emptied the contents of the plate. Since his stomach was gradually getting full, his chopstick movements were overflowing with leisure to the point of being sluggish.
Whether that was the case or not, Yuwon stared at Sungjin with the intention of feeding him until the plate was completely empty, then suddenly asked.
“Do you usually not eat breakfast?”
Last time too, it seemed like you finished with just a latte. When Yuwon, who had already finished eating, asked while looking at Sungjin with his arms crossed, Sungjin coughed awkwardly, chewed and swallowed what was in his mouth, and only then finally raised his head to answer.
“Ah… I’m not the type to eat it regularly.”
“But you drink coffee in the morning.”
“Yes, coffee….”
Isn’t that obvious? For ordinary office workers with nine-to-six shifts, morning coffee was like an energy drink and the water of life. Without it, even starting the day was a hardship.
However, Sungjin didn’t want to explain in such a pitiful way. Anyway, Yuwon was a person living in a different world from him, and if he’s a model of that level of career, he’d only pick and choose the work he wanted to do, so even if he explained, he wouldn’t empathize and wouldn’t it look like he was pretending to be pitiful?
When Sungjin trailed off, Yuwon quietly looked at his face and opened his mouth.
“Then drink it with me in the mornings.”
Why? A bewildered question arose in Sungjin’s mind. Really, why me? An emergency siren rang out in his head and his true feelings popped out first before he knew it.
“No, you don’t need to care that much….”
However, Yuwon wasn’t easy either.
“Why? Is it burdensome?”
At Yuwon’s straightforward counter-question, Sungjin coughed. Yes, fucking very much so. However, there was no way he could answer like that. Sungjin pressed his lips shut tightly and barely managed to speak.
“I vary depending on my condition at the time, so there are times I drink it and times I don’t….”
“You can just drink it every day. The coffee here was delicious.”
“Ah.”
“You don’t have to think of it as burdensome. I’m doing it because I like it.”
No, I really don’t like it though. While Sungjin couldn’t bring himself to say that and was hesitating, the evening assembly time was already approaching. After confirming that the plate was completely empty, Yuwon stood up from his seat first.
“Let’s clean up and go. Aren’t you going to stop by your room for a bit?”
There’s not really a need to do that. But it would be better than staying here continuously. Sungjin nodded and stood up from the table with Yuwon. Then, before he even had a chance to take care of the plates, Yuwon first stacked his plate and Sungjin’s plate and lifted them all at once. Sungjin hurriedly stopped Yuwon.
“I’ll clean it up. Since you brought the food, I should clean up….”
However, this time too, it didn’t work at all.
“It’s fine. You said your leg was uncomfortable. Sit for a moment.”
“No, it’s really okay….”
There was no swelling and he hardly felt any pain now. He was only a little surprised when he first twisted it, and it wasn’t seriously injured to begin with. Before Sungjin could stammer and stop him, Yuwon had already gone to the return area and was cleaning up his portion too.
A short while later, Yuwon, who had even washed his hands at the sink next to the return area, approached Sungjin and pointed to the entrance with a nod.
“Let’s go.”
“…Yes.”
Sungjin helplessly followed Yuwon to the room. Since there wasn’t that much time to spare until the assembly time, he thought he should just sit down briefly and go, but Yuwon, who brought Sungjin into the bedroom, made him sit on his bed and began rummaging through his luggage.
What Yuwon finally took out from the carrier was a mini patch famous for being effective for muscle pain and fatigue recovery.
Ah.
He brought me here to share that. He was still scary but also grateful at the same time. Anyway, at the restaurant earlier too, he did help me. Just as his heart was warming up, words like a bolt from the blue followed.
