# Chapter 42
“Did Iden buy this for your birthday?”
Mo Eunje took out a box from the paper bag he’d placed under the sofa, opened it, and showed it off to Tae Igyeol. The one-armed star looked so cute and pretty that a broad smile spread across his face.
“…When I offered to buy it for you, you cursed me out calling me a crazy sucker, but now you’re this happy about it?”
“Iden is a big star. By old standards, we’d be serfs and Iden would be nobility.”
“More like a jester.”
“You think? Anyway, I almost cried when I got this earlier. I was so touched. And this one’s yours.”
Mo Eunje handed the remaining paper bag to Tae Igyeol. Since it was still packaged, he couldn’t tell what was inside. Tae Iden had said that while he easily chose Mo Eunje’s birthday gift thanks to his messaging app profile picture, he’d spent over a month agonizing over Tae Igyeol’s gift but refused to reveal what it was until the end.
When Tae Igyeol carelessly tore open the packaging, a cream-colored cushion with a soft, fluffy texture emerged. There was no way Tae Iden would have spent over a month deliberating on just an ordinary cushion. Mo Eunje felt like he’d seen something like this on TV before.
“…”
Just in case, Mo Eunje brushed his palm upward over the soft cushion. Sure enough. Tae Iden’s brightly smiling face appeared. So Tae Iden had gifted a cushion with his face printed on it.
“Such a useless thing…”
Frowning as if he’d seen something he shouldn’t have, Tae Igyeol didn’t hesitate to swipe his large palm quickly across the cushion. Immediately, Tae Iden’s bright smile disappeared and it returned to being an ordinary cream-colored cushion.
“What do you mean useless? It’s just pretty.”
Mo Eunje laid back down with his head on Tae Igyeol’s thigh, hugging the cushion and giggling. He wasn’t laughing on purpose; the laughter just burst out genuinely.
“Throw it away.”
“I’m not throwing it away. Put it on the sofa. He said he spent over a month thinking about it because he wanted to appeal to his hyung.”
“This kid is seriously discriminating between us.”
“Igyeol. With gifts, the thought matters more than the price. Iden thinks about you more than me and likes you much more. No, at that level, it’s love. Isn’t what he’s doing really cute?”
“Tell him to get lost.”
Compared to the designer wallet Tae Igyeol bought for Tae Iden’s birthday last year, this was indeed a very modest gift. Back then, Mo Eunje had given him a gray sweatshirt from his favorite sports brand. Since Tae Iden, who only wanted to copy his brother, mostly wore achromatic colors, he was extremely pleased with the sweatshirt for the simple reason that Tae Igyeol had the same one. That was exactly what Mo Eunje had aimed for, so it was a success.
“What time should we go to Busan tomorrow? I’ll book the train tickets now.”
Mo Eunje looked up at Tae Igyeol while launching the train ticket booking app on his phone, making eye contact. Tae Igyeol, still wearing a displeased expression, grabbed the cushion Mo Eunje had been hugging and threw it aside.
“What time can you wake up?”
“Hmm… Shouldn’t we go a bit early if we want to have dinner with Mom and Dad?”
“Friday, Saturday, Sunday. You said we’re going for two nights and three days. There’ll be plenty of opportunities to eat together, so don’t push yourself. Just tell me what time you can wake up.”
“What’s this? Why is everything sold out? Is something happening in Busan this week?”
Mo Eunje showed Tae Igyeol his phone screen. The situation was that only the train departing at 12:50 PM and arriving at 3:17 PM was available. Besides that, only one train leaving at 10:40 PM and arriving at 1:07 AM the next day remained, so there was no choice. He had planned to wake up late, eat lunch, catch a train around 3 PM, and then have dinner upon arrival, but that plan was ruined.
“Looks like we’ll have to take the 12:50 train.”
“Sigh… I should have booked earlier. You’ll wake me up tomorrow, right?”
“Will you actually get up when I wake you?”
He wanted to joke that he’d asked to be woken up, not that he’d actually get up, but he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue and changed the subject.
“Anyway, let’s have cold noodles for dinner. I’ll have spicy cold noodles with pork cutlet set, with extra spicy sauce.”
Perhaps because the Italian food they had for lunch was rich, he was craving something spicy and refreshing. Even though he liked rich foods with cream or cheese, he always ended up wanting something spicy for the next meal.
Mo Eunje accessed the delivery app, first added his menu to the cart, then handed the phone to Tae Igyeol. While Tae Igyeol added items like cold noodles and dumplings, Mo Eunje closed his eyes. It would be nice to take a short nap until the food arrived.
&
“Did you pack your skincare products?”
Mo Eunje asked as he stuffed underwear and sweatpants into a large sports bag. The bag was already half-filled with Tae Igyeol’s belongings.
“I packed a travel kit.”
“So I’m not packing mine and using yours instead?”
“As if you’ve ever not done that.”
“Because Eunje has good manners?”
Mo Eunje gave himself a compliment, smiling with crinkled eyes. Tae Igyeol, who had been leaning crookedly against the dressing room door watching him pack, called a taxi.
“All done.”
Tae Igyeol’s belongings were on the left side of the bag’s interior, while Mo Eunje’s were on the right. After exaggeratedly dusting off his hands, Mo Eunje zipped up the sports bag. The expression on his face as he stood up to gauge the weight of the bag was profound.
“It’s heavier than I thought. Do you want to carry it on the way there or on the way back?”
“The taxi is here. Let’s go.”
Tae Igyeol checked his phone and slung the sports bag over one shoulder. That meant he’d carry it on the way there, which made Mo Eunje grin. The reason was that while they only had one sports bag on the way there, on the way back, his mom would definitely pack something extra for them. Then Tae Igyeol would have to carry both the sports bag on the way there and whatever his mom prepared on the way back. Mo Eunje followed behind Tae Igyeol with a cheerful mood and empty hands.
Perhaps because it was a weekday afternoon, traffic was smooth, and they arrived at the train station with plenty of time before departure. Tae Igyeol, who had woken up at dawn, had eaten breakfast, but Mo Eunje, who only got up when Tae Igyeol, tired of trying to wake him, finally threw Mo Eunje’s limp body over his shoulder and carried him to the bathroom, was on an empty stomach.
“I’m hungry. I want to at least get a sandwich. What about you?”
“I’m good.”
The time was too generous to just board the train but too awkward to eat a proper meal. So he opted for a sandwich that could be bought and eaten right away, and they entered a franchise café. After telling Tae Igyeol to find seats, Mo Eunje headed to the counter.
“One club sandwich, a peach iced tea with an added shot, and an iced americano, please.”
The café wasn’t busy with few customers inside. After placing his order and watching the employee take a sandwich from the refrigerated display case, Mo Eunje went straight to the pickup counter. While waiting for the drinks to be prepared, his phone vibrated in his hand.
“Hello, Mom.”
“Where are you?”
“We just got to the train station and I’m about to eat a sandwich. We should arrive at Busan Station around 3:30.”
“Is Igyeol coming too?”
“Yes, yes, Han Seola-nim’s love, Tae Igyeol-nim, is coming too.”
Mo Eunje answered playfully, raising the corners of his mouth. Tae Igyeol, whom his mom missed more than her own son, was sitting in a corner seat, leaning against the wall with his eyes fixed on his phone screen.
“He sent such a beautiful flower arrangement for the hospital opening. How thoughtful and sweet of him.”
“Really? When did the hospital open?”
“Look at this. My only son doesn’t even know when his parents opened their hospital.”
“You have to tell me for me to know.”
“Mom sent a message last week saying construction was finished and we’d open the hospital on Monday. I told you multiple times that you should visit before the hospital opens so Mom can relax too.”
“Oh, did you?”
Come to think of it, he vaguely remembered seeing something about an opening date. He tended to skim through messages in the group chat with his parents, so he missed a lot. It’s strange that Tae Igyeol kept track of such things.
“Since no one will be at home, come straight to the hospital from Busan Station.”
“Okay. Send me the address.”
“Igyeol will know the address. Didn’t I tell you he sent flowers? Or just search for the hospital name online.”
“Ah. It’ll be on the internet too. Is the hospital busy?”
“The dermatology department must be busy. Mom only had two surgeries this morning, and they just finished, so I’m free now. I have nothing planned until I leave work.”
Even when they ran a clinic in Gangnam, Mom, a plastic surgeon, had peak seasons during school breaks, while Dad, a dermatologist, consistently had a steady stream of patients year-round.
“I’ll show you around the hospital. Then once your dad finishes his consultations, we’ll go out for sashimi. Igyeol likes sashimi, right?”
“Mom, even if Igyeol didn’t like sashimi, we absolutely have to eat it when we go to Busan. And I love sashimi too. How can your only son’s favorite foods slip your mind?”
“You like everything edible. Your dad and I went last weekend, and spring sea bream and young mullet are in season and delicious.”
“I want red sea bream too. My sandwich is ready. Mom, I’ll call you when we reach Busan Station.”
Mo Eunje chatted with his mom for about three minutes, during which the sandwich and drinks were prepared. After hanging up, he picked up the tray and headed to the table where Tae Igyeol was sitting.
“Hey, my mom says you sent flowers for their hospital opening.”
“…I bet she said to come straight to the hospital from the station, and that we’d go for sashimi after your dad’s consultations are done because I like it?”
“Wow, Tae Igyeol. You may speak crudely but you understand perfectly.”
“I’m just glad I understand your crude speech.”
“Igyeol. Eunje might not have thoughts, but he has a conscience.”
Mo Eunje, objectifying himself, took a bite of his thick sandwich. As he chewed vigorously, he checked the remaining time. It looked like they could eat and head to the train comfortably.
