# Chapter 143
“I heard it’s super fun. The twist is insane. I rejected Ban Hajun when he begged to watch it with me because I wanted to see it with you.”
“…”
Despite his attempt to appeal, Tae Igyeol remained silent. It seemed like their date would end abruptly after just having a meal.
Mo Eunje wanted to gift a wonderful time to Tae Igyeol, for whom this would be his first date since he’d never dated before. Granted, it would just consist of eating and watching a movie like everyone else does, and they had done these activities countless times as friends, but this was their first time as lovers, so it held a different meaning.
He couldn’t understand why his body kept fidgeting and why he felt so self-conscious when this wasn’t normally his personality. He wondered if starting a relationship changed one’s personality, but he’d never experienced this in his previous relationships. This was because his current partner was Tae Igyeol, who had been his most intimate friend for 26 years. But he didn’t dislike this unfamiliar side of himself.
“Well, if you really don’t want to, we can just eat and go straight home. I’ll watch the movie with another friend later.”
“Which other friend?”
“Anyone among those who haven’t seen it yet?”
“…”
Tae Igyeol, staring straight ahead, licked his lower lip as he struggled with his decision. He was practically on the verge of giving in. Mo Eunje fidgeted with their clasped hands and drove the final wedge.
“That’s a shame. The movie theater is dark, so we could keep holding hands the whole time.”
“At home, we can hold hands even more comfortably.”
This was an unexpected counterattack. He was annoyingly clever after all. Seeing Tae Igyeol’s mouth quirk up at one corner, it seemed he was confident in his victory. However, Mo Eunje still had his secret weapon that Tae Igyeol could never resist.
“Is-yul would weally wike to go with his bwother—”
“Fine. Let’s watch the movie. And let’s do everything else you want to do before going home.”
Tae Igyeol cut him off before he could even get to his main point, just after saying his name in baby talk. He even suggested doing everything else Mo Eunje wanted. Mo Eunje, who had been preparing to escalate through various levels of aegyo, blinked in confusion.
“…You’re surrendering this quickly? I’ve only used level 1?”
“If I see any more of your aegyo right now, I might turn the car around, meal or no meal. You have no idea what your aegyo is like, do you? No, let’s drop it.”
It must have been terribly cringeworthy. What else could be expected when a healthy man in his mid-twenties speaks with a lisp and acts excessively cute? When they were just friends, Tae Igyeol would at least openly show his disgust, but now that they were dating, his considerate attitude was just like him. Even between loving partners, there’s a limit to what one can tolerate.
“You suffer a lot, Tae Igyeol.”
Mo Eunje smiled shamelessly and lifted their joined hands to kiss the back of Tae Igyeol’s hand. Simultaneously, Tae Igyeol’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he noticeably swallowed, his voice becoming slightly rough and husky.
“We absolutely have to eat out?”
His demeanor suggested he was ready to turn the steering wheel toward home immediately if the answer was no. Mo Eunje burst into laughter and kissed the back of Tae Igyeol’s hand once more. Feeling a bit mischievous, he also kissed the tender skin on the inside of Tae Igyeol’s wrist and sucked on it lightly. Tae Igyeol’s arm tensed, making the veins stand out.
“Igyeol. After we come back from summer vacation, I’ll lock you in your house and we’ll spend all day just the two of us, so let’s date outside today.”
“Yeah. You can imprison me every day if you want.”
Now this was normal. It seemed that being in love made their ways of thinking similar. Mo Eunje smiled with satisfaction at this pleasing response.
Getting permission and returning from summer vacation were separate issues, but he thought there would be less guilt after the vacation when they wouldn’t be seeing the adults for a while. Even though he was aware of the big hurdle they needed to overcome, he had no solution because it felt so good. For once, he was happy down to the second.
# 4-5
It was the second day of their summer vacation in New Orleans. As they had always done during every vacation, after arriving on the first day, they all had dinner together, and apart from scheduled activities requiring everyone’s participation, they agreed to spend time comfortably in their own ways.
Since arriving yesterday, Mo Eunje had been sticking close to grandmother, refusing to leave her side, and ended up in an unintentional competition with Tae Iden over their grandmother. For example, claiming the seat next to grandmother during meals or fighting over who would give her a massage. Their childish but fierce competition was resolved when grandfather gave up his seat, resulting in grandmother being accompanied by her “left and right aides,” Mo Eunje and Tae Iden, all day yesterday.
Upon hearing that the family was coming to visit, grandmother and grandfather had spent three days thoroughly cleaning the house and assigned rooms before the family even unpacked. There was a bit of contention about this. Naturally, Mo Yeongwoo and Han Seola, and Tae Hyunseok and Song Yeonhwa, being married couples, each received one room.
The disagreement arose when grandmother gave Tae Igyeol and Mo Eunje the large room with a double bed and told Tae Iden to use the small room alone. After the adults went to their assigned rooms to unpack, Tae Iden raised an issue in front of the two adjacent rooms in the far corner.
“We’re brothers, so why do I have to sleep alone? I want to sleep in the same room as my brother. Mo Eunje hyung, let’s switch rooms.”
“Should we? Want to spend some quality time with your brother?”
Mo Eunje was ready to switch generously since he already lived with Tae Igyeol and planned to share a bed with him plenty in the future. He definitely would have done so if Tae Igyeol hadn’t grimaced in clear disgust.
“Why would I share a room with him? Just switch rooms between yourselves.”
“Hyuuung…”
Tae Iden hung onto Mo Eunje’s arm with a dejected expression that wouldn’t work on Tae Igyeol. Mo Eunje’s heart softened, wondering how much the eighteen-year-old must want to be with his brother to act like this. Even when they were younger, Tae Igyeol and Tae Iden had their own separate rooms, so they never shared personal space. It seemed like a good opportunity to strengthen their brotherly bond.
“Come on, when else will you share a room with your brother? Just this once, stay with Iden.”
“Go away.”
“Why are you like this? Would it kill you to look after your little brother a bit?”
“Yes.”
It seemed impossible to change Tae Igyeol’s mind no matter what. Tae Iden pouted his lips at his brother’s unwavering response. Honestly, Mo Eunje caught in the middle felt a bit awkward. If grandmother had just assigned the brothers to share a room from the beginning, this wouldn’t have happened, but since she knew everything and had been considerate, he couldn’t blame her either.
“Then you take the small room. I’ll share the big room with Iden.”
“What nonsense. Forget it and let’s go in. I want to change clothes.”
“I’m fine with that too. Iden, let’s sleep together. When my Iden gets scared at night, I’ll hug you tight, tell you stories, and sing lullabies until you fall asleep.”
“…I don’t like that. I’d rather sleep alone than be hugged by you.”
Tae Iden made a genuinely disgusted expression. Mo Eunje had unintentionally made Tae Iden give up. As Tae Iden dragged his suitcase dejectedly into the small room, Mo Eunje had a vision of drooping ears and tail behind his back.
Feeling concerned about this, Mo Eunje had gone to Tae Iden’s room last night, only to be startled to find grandfather lying there. Grandfather chuckled, saying Tae Iden had stolen grandmother from him, and Mo Eunje was about to grab his pillow and head to grandmother’s room when Tae Igyeol caught him by the nape and made him lie down obediently in bed.
Anyway, before coming, grandmother had mentioned she was knitting sweaters, which Mo Eunje had been looking forward to, but unfortunately, they were still incomplete. He checked as soon as they arrived at grandmother’s house, but the sweaters for Mo Eunje and Tae Igyeol had no sleeves. Only Tae Iden’s red sweater was finished, and Mo Eunje was genuinely so envious watching him try it on and show it off in this hot weather that he almost hit him. Instead, he made grandmother promise not to knit a separate scarf for Tae Iden and agreed to come back in winter to receive the completed sweaters.
And today, on the second day, everyone was enjoying their vacation in their own way. Han Seola and Tae Hyunseok, who had brought a full set of golf clubs, went golfing with grandfather, while Mo Yeongwoo, Tae Igyeol, and Tae Iden went grocery shopping with grandmother. They needed to buy enough food for nine adults and plenty of alcohol, requiring three strong men, but Mo Eunje, not wanting to carry heavy items, readily gave up grocery shopping to his father.
Mo Eunje and Song Yeonhwa, who remained at home, chatted while eating watermelon with the air conditioner running cool. The focus of their conversation was an actor who had recently been outed after being photographed at a gay bar. He had been with Ila Actors until two years ago, and Song Yeonhwa said she had a personal connection with him as she had helped him purchase a commercial building. Although the world wasn’t as hostile to same-sex relationships as before, there were still many disapproving gazes, and the actor who had been forcibly outed was going through a difficult time.
“It’s really funny when you look at people. Whether someone loves another man or an alien, I don’t know why they’re so desperate to interfere.”
“Then what would you do if Iden said he liked men?”
Given the topic, Mo Eunje seized the opportunity to ask. Although Song Yeonhwa had participated in jokes about Tae Igyeol and his relationship until now, those were just jokes, so he was curious about her true feelings.
