-90-
Under Junjae’s strict supervision, Jeonggwan ate healthy meals three times a day, took vitamins, and prepared for the competition without overexerting himself. The competition was now just a week away. While he was confident in the taste of his desserts, the design was the issue, so Jeonggwan had been practicing plating intensively for several days.
Juhwan, watching from outside the kitchen, kept exclaiming in admiration. Although he had seen countless elaborate desserts made by patissiers more skilled than Jeonggwan, he was amazed to discover that Jeonggwan, whom he thought only kneaded dough and ate, was such a capable person.
“He’s really good with his hands. How does he shape it like that?”
“Jeonggwan was always at the top of his class in school.”
“What about you?”
“I got into school by bribing them.”
Jihoon, who was watching alongside Juhwan, calmly revealed his own misconduct. Normally, he would have kept it a secret to avoid giving Juhwan any leverage, but they had become quite comfortable with each other, meeting at least three times a week, and Jihoon now readily answered Juhwan’s questions.
“Don’t you bake then?”
“I do sometimes.”
“When do you do it?”
“…You’re trying to come over then, aren’t you?”
Jihoon glanced sideways at Juhwan, as if to say he knew what he was up to, and Juhwan boldly asked back, “Is that not allowed?” Jihoon rubbed his forehead as if he had a headache and looked away.
“…I don’t really set specific days to bake.”
“Then call me when you’re going to bake.”
“…”
Jihoon had two main concerns these days. One was his mother, who kept pestering him to see his famous friend’s face, as rumors had spread everywhere. The other was Kyung Juhwan, who was aggressively flirting with him. Ever since Juhwan started coming to the cafe, he would use Jeonggwan as an excuse to show up whenever he had a chance. At first, Jihoon really thought Juhwan was coming to see Jeonggwan.
“Call me when you’re baking.”
“…Okay.”
However, Juhwan’s gaze was mostly directed towards the cafe bar, not the kitchen. The coffee preparation bar where Jihoon usually sat. At first, Jihoon thought, “Why do I keep making eye contact with Juhwan? How annoying,” and didn’t think much of it. But soon he realized that Juhwan was intentionally looking at him, which greatly flustered him.
How did Jihoon notice Juhwan’s clear intentions?
“Jihoon, can I get a marron latte?”
“Oh, Jeongwon hyung, you’re here.”
“Yeah. It’s getting colder outside.”
“Have a seat.”
It started when Jeonggwan’s third brother, Jeongwon, who Jihoon would have taken down long ago if he wasn’t his friend’s brother or if he was an alpha instead of a beta, began appearing frequently at the cafe. Jeongwon said he had more free time due to Junjae’s extreme favoritism, as he was desperate to score points with Jeonggwan’s family. As a result, Jeongwon often visited the first-floor cafe during his breaks, and Juhwan visibly guarded against him.
At first, Juhwan treated Jeongwon kindly because he was Jeonggwan’s brother, but after hearing Jihoon say that his ideal type was a tall alpha with a large chest, Juhwan would light up whenever Jeongwon, who mostly fit that description, came to the cafe, and block any attempt at conversation between them.
At first, Jihoon thought Juhwan might be interested in Jeongwon, but his gaze was too fierce for that. Even when having a normal conversation with Jihoon, Juhwan’s face would change dramatically whenever Jeongwon opened the cafe door, as if to say, “Ah, that bastard’s here again.”
Jihoon wondered if Jeongwon might have said something rude to Juhwan when he wasn’t around, but he knew Jeongwon’s gentle personality too well for that to be the case. Moreover, Jeongwon, the target of this hostility, would quietly drink his beverage and leave without any thought, so Jihoon could only guess that something had triggered Juhwan again.
“Thanks for the drink.”
“Yes, take care, hyung.”
Just like now.
“Is he really a security guard? Doesn’t he have too much free time?”
“Well… Junjae hyung decided it…”
“Did he buy a smaller size jacket on purpose to show off his arm muscles?”
“Are you Jeongwon hyung?”
As soon as Jeongwon left the cafe, Juhwan criticized him, shooting laser-like glares as if he might set Jeongwon’s back on fire. Jihoon reflexively defended Jeongwon out of habit of disagreeing with Juhwan, without much thought.
“Why are you taking his side?”
Juhwan showed his jealousy with his whole body.
“I can’t take your side, can I…?”
However, Jihoon found Juhwan’s behavior very uncomfortable and burdensome, so he pretended not to notice the obvious feelings while actually being aware of them. Firstly, he couldn’t easily warm up to Juhwan who had bullied him when they were young, and secondly, Jihoon preferred a more rugged body type, while Juhwan’s muscular but lean body was far from his taste.
“Why can’t you take my side?”
“…Ugh, I want to stop talking about this topic.”
Unable to bear the cringe, Jihoon ended this dissonant romantic atmosphere by suggesting they change the subject. Juhwan also nodded without pushing further and asked about Jeonggwan and Junjae’s situation, which he had been curious about for a few days.
“I thought Won Junjae would get married soon. It’s been quite quiet?”
“He said he’ll marry after Jeonggwan does everything he wants to do.”
“Does he have a lot he wants to do?”
“…Probably? He wrote down quite a lot.”
Jeonggwan’s to-do list would take more than 24 hours a day to complete. Even if Jeonggwan didn’t sleep and did everything he wanted, he’d be nearly forty by then. Jihoon couldn’t understand why Junjae had said such a thing. Was he blinded by love, or was he making excuses because he didn’t want to get married?
“What does he want to do?”
“There was something about dating the most handsome alpha from each country.”
“…And Won Junjae allowed that?”
“Ah, that might be his bucket list.”
“Oh, it’s not bad to have such a grand dream to fulfill before dying.”
Juhwan nodded with a quite serious face, saying it wasn’t a bad idea. Jihoon shook his head at Juhwan’s reaction. Like YouTuber, like viewer – they were exactly the same.
By the way, apart from that content, there were many things in Jeonggwan’s bucket list that shouldn’t be seen. Jihoon was worried that Junjae might see it. Well, if there’s no reason to take him home, he probably won’t see it.
“What… is this?”
“Hyung, that…!”
“…Dating the most handsome alpha from each country? 206 countries?”
Junjae was looking at Jeonggwan’s notebook with a shocked expression. Today was the first time Junjae had come inside Jeonggwan’s house, and he had been in a very good mood when he entered. Jeonggwan’s parents had welcomed him like a son-in-law, greeting him in their socks, making Junjae feel as if he and Jeonggwan were already married.
The family told him to look around Jeonggwan’s room while dinner was being prepared, which would take about thirty minutes. Junjae entered Jeonggwan’s room with an excited heart, and that’s where the incident occurred. As Junjae was looking around Jeonggwan’s room, he brightened at the sight of Jeonggwan’s childhood photos on the wall and asked if there were more. Jeonggwan, also excited, went to the living room to find old photos his father had collected, leaving Junjae alone. That’s when Junjae pulled out a particularly bright purple book from Jeonggwan’s bookshelf.
It was Jeonggwan’s densely filled bucket list, and as Junjae was skimming through it from number 1, thinking how typical of Jeonggwan it was and that he could probably fulfill most of these wishes, his eyes fell on the problematic number 13.
Date the most handsome alpha from each country. (206 countries)
Junjae’s pupils shook, and even though he knew it was a joke, he felt his facial muscles stiffening. Because Jeonggwan really could date the most handsome alphas from each country if he wanted to. If Secretary Oh saw this scene, he would have sent the squid guardian meme again with a disdainful expression, pretending it was another mistake, but Junjae was truly serious. Because he felt that the cute, cool, and lovable Jeonggwan could really charm them all.
“Hyung… You know that’s all a joke, right?”
“…I kno-“
As Junjae was about to say “know,” another problem caught his eye, and his eyes finally crossed the point of no return.
Get intensely involved with a handsome alpha. After marriage, make him cry and beg when I ask for a divorce. Make him plead in front of the courthouse to reconsider, saying we can’t break up kkkkk <- Kim Jeonggwan, really kkkkkk
Number 15 was even more incredible. Not just getting intensely involved with a handsome alpha and marrying him, but divorce after marriage? There was also a comment next to it, presumably from Jihoon, and those “k”s drove Junjae even crazier.
“Hyung. Calm down. It’s just a meme.”
“…Divorce?”
“It’s a meme that was popular among idol fans. It came from wanting to get intensely involved, and I wrote it as a joke. It has nothing to do with you, hyung.”
Jeonggwan desperately tried to explain, shaking his head and grabbing Junjae’s wrist, saying it wasn’t true, but Junjae couldn’t hear anything anymore. When he entered Jeonggwan’s house today and received such a warm welcome from the family, he had felt proud, as if he had become Jeonggwan’s husband. But now, before they even got married, he was being forewarned about divorce. Junjae felt like he might cry already.
“…”
Junjae approached Jeonggwan, who was standing with his back to the door, holding the album. Then he reached out and closed the door. Click.
