# Chapter 32
“Don’t tell me you ate all of that…”
“No, I was video chatting with Grandma while eating, and before I knew it, it was gone? I didn’t realize I’d eaten it all. Somehow I was just talking with Grandma and suddenly felt super full. I thought it was strange.”
“Haa… you clueless kid.”
Tae Igyeol pressed his forehead with his hand and sighed, giving Mo Eunje a dismayed look. If he didn’t do that, he might have kissed Mo Eunje right then and there, because with bread crumbs on his lips and fidgeting fingers, Mo Eunje looked incredibly cute and lovable. As his heart began to tickle and his carefully managed expression started to crumble, Igyeol turned his head, pulled out a wet wipe, and vigorously wiped around Eunje’s mouth.
“Are you a child? Why do you always eat like this with food all over you?”
“So you won’t get bored.”
“Always such a high-maintenance guy…”
“Won’t you treat me to dinner? Let’s go cut into some expensive meat after a long while.”
“Just cut into the castella you like so much. And try not to get it all over your hands.”
There was still one box left of the castella that Tae Igyeol had bought early in the morning as soon as the bakery opened. He wanted to wipe Eunje’s fingers too, but of course, he knew that if he naturally grabbed his wrist and brought the wet wipe to his fingers, Eunje would spread his hand out completely. And if that happened, he wouldn’t be able to suppress his desire to intertwine his own fingers between those neat joints. So he turned his back, pulled out two wet wipes, and tossed them to Mo Eunje.
“Hey, this tastes best when you tear it with your hands.”
Mo Eunje quickly wiped his hands with the wet wipes and retorted. After collecting the used wet wipes and throwing them in the kitchen trash can, Igyeol headed to the living room, and Mo Eunje put his hand on Igyeol’s shoulder and followed him closely. If anyone else had touched him with hands that weren’t properly washed, he would have immediately frowned and grabbed their wrist to twist it, but if his clothes got dirty, they could just be washed, so what was the problem? Tae Igyeol headed toward the sofa, looking straight ahead to hide his twitching facial muscles.
“Come on, treat me to dinner, okay? Let’s go to the department store and then cut into some meat at your uncle’s regular restaurant.”
“My father’s regular restaurant requires reservations.”
While dryly responding as he sat on the sofa, Tae Igyeol was secretly planning to order something delicious for lunch and take Mo Eunje to his father’s regular restaurant for steak in the evening.
But the reason he responded so indifferently was because while Mo Eunje’s natural temperament was cute and lovable, he became even cuter and more lovable when he was eager for something. Even now, wasn’t he sitting next to him, looking straight into his eyes with sparkling black pupils?
“You can call your uncle and ask him to make a reservation. You know if your uncle calls, they’ll immediately give us a private room. You don’t like course meals because they only give one bite at a time. So, cutting meat, deal? I swear I’ll eat so deliciously that you’ll be impressed.”
“You actually want a course meal.”
“Yes!”
“…”
“…Huh? No? Not at all…? Course meals are just expensive and come out in tiny portions like boogers, it’s frustrating. Who wants to eat that kind of stuff? I want a steak that comes out all at once with plenty of meat. You know what I mean, right?”
Yes. Who would understand your mind if not me?
It was so obvious that he almost laughed. Tae Igyeol raised one corner of his mouth in an arrogant smile and flicked Mo Eunje’s forehead gently with his finger. He actually wanted to do something else, but barely restrained himself.
“Make a reservation for the signature dinner course at the restaurant you like.”
“Really? For real? Seriously? Yes, that’s a good decision. The wisest choice you’ve made this year. Even though it comes out one bite at a time, in the end, there’s a steak main course whether it’s lamb or beef, so the portion should be fine.”
“…”
“Should we make it for 6 PM? No, how about 5:30? I should hurry and make the reservation call and then take a shower before you change your mind. When I come out after showering, we’ll go straight to the department store. Got it?”
With a smile spreading from ear to ear, Mo Eunje made a phone call on his mobile phone and quickly darted to the bedroom. He apparently planned to shower in the bathroom attached to the bedroom.
“Haaa…”
Tae Igyeol sighed and hunched over, burying his face in both hands. In his mind, he had already done all sorts of lewd things, enough to have three children and be expecting a fourth, but in reality, he was just a stupid, pathetic guy who hadn’t even held hands properly.
Being so close to Mo Eunje and sharing every daily moment was wonderful, but it was driving him crazy that he could only appreciate Mo Eunje with his eyes, as if he were an art piece not to be touched. He needed to make a decision soon. At this rate, he might die of desiccated blood without even confessing.
## 2-1
After arriving at the department store with Tae Igyeol, Mo Eunje immediately headed to the jewelry store. If the department store had been the only destination, he would have worn comfortable sweatpants as usual, but the fine dining restaurant they had reserved had a somewhat formal atmosphere, so he dressed appropriately in a shirt and slacks with a baggy ivory cardigan.
He had tried to wear a leather jacket, but Tae Igyeol firmly shook his head and made him wear his cardigan instead, which was too loose on him. Even though he still looked good in anything he wore because he was so handsome, he felt a tremendous regret that the cardigan wasn’t a brighter, more colorful one. Anyway, considering the outfit he wore during the “Book of the Month” live broadcast last time, it was fortunate that he had packed a few outfits for going out when he temporarily moved to Tae Igyeol’s house.
“Watch where you’re going. You’ll get hurt.”
As Mo Eunje stood one step above Tae Igyeol on the ascending escalator and turned his body around to look at him, Igyeol immediately nagged. Mo Eunje barely listened as he fixed Tae Igyeol’s shirt collar that had folded into his jacket.
Today, Tae Igyeol was again wearing cream-colored pants and a shirt. The only difference was that instead of the trench coat he had been enjoying lately, he wore a blazer jacket as his outer layer. He had so many clothes that besides the dressing room attached to his bedroom, he used another room as a dressing room, with plenty of summer clothes, winter clothes, and especially lots of spring and fall outfits. Mo Eunje, who went in and out as if it were his own home, had already mastered the varieties of his shirts and white-series pants, and was speechless upon seeing that he owned about twenty trench coats.
To Mo Eunje’s eyes, not only the colors but also the designs were all similar, looking like the same clothes hung up, but Tae Igyeol emphasized the subtle differences in details that only he could see. It was a mystery why he kept buying the same clothes when in photos he would look like a man with only one outfit anyway.
“We’re getting off. Be careful.”
As Mo Eunje turned his body straight to get off the escalator, Tae Igyeol grabbed his shoulder from behind as if embracing him. He wouldn’t have fallen even without being held, but Igyeol was always worried about something.
“Let’s go in and try it on first. If there’s no simultaneous online-offline sale, let’s order online.”
“Just go in.”
Tae Igyeol gestured with his chin as if telling Mo Eunje to enter first. When Mo Eunje entered the jewelry store, a familiar face caught his eye first. A model with a bob haircut tucked behind one ear was posing in a white background poster, wearing earrings, a necklace, a ring, and a bracelet with simple designs, raising her hand beside her face to showcase the jewelry well.
“Was Shin Dael the model for this place?”
“It must have changed recently.”
“Really?”
“She said she was doing an ad shoot about two weeks ago. This must have been it.”
Tae Igyeol’s answer was dry. Come to think of it, when they met at Cafe Ila, Shin Dael had said she only had one ad shoot this month so she was free, and asked Mo Eunje to contact her whenever was convenient for him. This must have been the schedule she was talking about.
“It’s already out?”
“They probably just put up the posters first, and the TV commercial is still in production.”
Despite his indifferent tone, Tae Igyeol knew most things about the person he liked. He always had a possessive and obsessive personality, so Mo Eunje had guessed that if Tae Igyeol ever dated someone, he would want to know everything about them, down to the smallest detail. It wasn’t surprising. He just hoped that Shin Dael wasn’t the type to find such behavior tiresome like he did.
“The advertiser here has a good eye. They have sense.”
He whispered to Tae Igyeol so that the clerk couldn’t hear. Shin Dael’s elegant and sophisticated image matched very well with the overall simple and clean design of the jewelry. Whether he heard it or not, Tae Igyeol showed no reaction. Mo Eunje had thought he would be pleased to hear his favorite woman being praised, but considering Tae Igyeol’s unique way of thinking with his strong possessiveness, it might have been a comment that could cause jealousy.
“Please show me the initial necklaces.”
It seemed it was the latter after all. Tae Igyeol immediately asked the store employee as if he wanted to get the business over with and leave quickly.
“Which alphabet are you looking for? Do you have a specific design in mind?”
“…The letter M. I don’t have any particular design in mind, please show me all the designs currently available in the store.”
Tae Igyeol, who had briefly glanced at Mo Eunje, answered instead. Asking to see all the designs in the store while flexing—he must have made a really big profit today. Mo Eunje had already previewed the designs and even captured screenshots showing the model names, but since trying them on didn’t cost anything, he remained quiet beside him.
“We currently have these three designs available.”
The employee placed three different alphabet M pendant designs on the showcase. The one in the middle was what Mo Eunje had marked. But now that he saw them in person, he was wavering.
“Can I try them on?”
“Of course.”
With the employee’s help, Mo Eunje tried on each of the three necklaces in order while taking selfies. While it was important to see with his own eyes through the mirror, he might not remember well, so he planned to choose while looking at the photos.
