【08. Change】
The man in the mirror smiled faintly at Chaehun.
His hair was neat, and his shirt didn’t have a single wrinkle. The necktie and pin with a bluish sheen, the suit he’d received from Seunggeon a week ago, suited the man well.
Chaehun admitted he was excited. It was similar to when he’d gone to see a movie with Seunggeon about 10 years ago.
At the time, it was Seo Jumyeong who had gotten tickets to a preview screening of a famous Hollywood blockbuster. He said he didn’t really like movies and just handed over the tickets and backed out. Shin Yujin notified them three days before the preview, and Nam Taeho a day before, that they couldn’t attend due to their respective circumstances. In the end, only Chaehun and Seunggeon went to the preview.
Chaehun had gotten completely excited like a child the day before going to an amusement park. He took out all the clothes he had and tried them on one by one, and even endured his older brother’s punches to borrow a cardigan.
And it was the same this time. He put on the suit he’d received from Seunggeon, wore a watch, and even styled his hair. He didn’t know how much effort he put into looking dressed up but making it seem like he wasn’t.
“This is crazy.”
Chaehun let out a sigh-like lament. Even he thought it was funny. He was this excited over a guy he shouldn’t get emotionally entangled with.
Because it’s like a date.
The word that hadn’t left his mind since last night made Chaehun waver. Last Wednesday, they’d just had sex and parted ways so it didn’t matter, but today was different.
“What do I do?”
Chaehun asked himself reflected in the mirror what he was going to do, but no answer came to mind. Only laughter flowed out like a fool.
As he was checking his condition one last time, the front door opened and Seo Jumyeong appeared. His face, having worked overtime and come home in the afternoon, was soaked with fatigue.
“You’re back?”
“Yeah.”
Seo Jumyeong, who entered feebly, sat down on the sofa as if collapsing. Chaehun felt sorry for Seo Jumyeong, whose under-eyes were sunken and who looked somewhat soul-less. He knew IT companies ground people down, but he didn’t know it was to this extent.
It was Tuesday night when Seo Jumyeong had rolled into Chaehun’s place. With a desperate face, he asked to let him stay just one night.
The story was complicated. The water pipes in the officetel where Seo Jumyeong lived were old and leaked, flooding his place. The manager called a technician, but they were diagnosed that the walls would need to be torn down to replace the water pipes. In the end, Seo Jumyeong had to move without it being planned.
However, Seo Jumyeong had been going to work even on weekends recently, so he didn’t even have time to find a place to move to. Eventually, he left his luggage at his parents’ house and entered a goshiwon near the company. It was because with continuous overtime, he didn’t care as long as he could just sleep and shower. But after a few days, a large amount of bugs appeared, so Wednesday was when he fled to Chaehun’s studio.
Seo Jumyeong, who hated bugs terribly, left the goshiwon immediately. The problem was that the goshiwon owner stubbornly refused to refund the monthly rent for such a reason. Knowing Seo Jumyeong’s situation of being tight on both time and money, Chaehun told him to stay at his place.
Seo Jumyeong came home late at night, washed up, just slept and went to work. Since Chaehun slept early and woke up early, and even slept deeply, all he did was see Seo Jumyeong’s face once in the morning, so it didn’t feel like they were living together.
Today was the same. It felt like a friend exhausted from fatigue with sunken eyes had come to visit.
“Don’t do that, hurry up and wash and sleep.”
“Let me space out for a bit. But, are you going on a date?”
“Huh?”
“Why are you surprised? Have a good date.”
Chaehun couldn’t bring himself to say it wasn’t a date. Seo Jumyeong was quick-witted. Rather than leaking information about Seunggeon, it was better to just say he was going on a date.
After checking his wallet and phone one last time, Chaehun glanced at Seo Jumyeong.
“I might be late. I’ll contact you if I’m late.”
“You’re not staying out overnight?”
“Huh? No. I’ll come back.”
“Don’t tell your lover that you’re living together with me. Use your tact. You’re weak at that kind of thing.”
Leaving behind Seo Jumyeong’s very kind advice, Chaehun quickly escaped from the studio. There was still more time before the appointment, but if he made a mistake, it seemed Seo Jumyeong would thoroughly grill him.
Riding down the elevator, Chaehun sent a message to Seunggeon.
[I’ll be waiting at the entrance.]
There was no sign that Seunggeon had read the message, but Chaehun didn’t care.
As he exited the building with light steps, bright sunlight greeted Chaehun. The season was spring. It was a sunny Saturday. People’s clothing had become lighter and the street trees had long ago changed into clothes of vibrant light green leaves.
The energy of spring was similar to Chaehun’s excited heart. Chaehun rubbed his cheeks. If he didn’t properly pull himself together, it might all show on his face.
[Arriving soon.]
After checking Seunggeon’s message, Chaehun smiled like a fool then deliberately hardened his face. He couldn’t control his emotions. This was serious.
*
*
On the elegantly decorated table, prettily decorated bite-sized food was presented. The amuse-bouche provided first before the main meal was enough to enjoy with the eyes before tasting.
But Chaehun couldn’t concentrate on the food placed before him. In his head, the word “date” was still rolling around and around.
On a day perfect for going out, he’d arrived at a French restaurant in Seunggeon’s car and was in the middle of having lunch. Although it wasn’t a perfect private room, thanks to the brick partition blocking people’s gazes, there was a strong feeling of being alone together.
After eating lunch, they were going to try on the fitted suit at the tailor shop they’d gone to last week, then go to an art museum. It was because Seunggeon said there was a work he wanted to see.
And he thought all of this resembled a date.
Get a grip, Kang Chaehun.
Chaehun tried to calm himself down. He felt in real-time that he was striding along a thorny path. But there was nothing he could do. It was better to just enjoy it. Having a stupid one-sided crush—it seemed like it would somehow work out as long as he was aware of it. Of course, even this was an excuse.
“Are you sick somewhere?”
As he was sorting out his mind about this and that, Seunggeon asked if he was sick. Since he had food in front of him but wasn’t touching it, that was understandable. But he couldn’t honestly tell him he was struggling not to have a one-sided crush on him.
“No. I’m fine.”
“Then why aren’t you eating?”
“Just, something suddenly came to mind. Um. This is delicious. Tomato and basil go well together. Ahem. But how did you know about this place? Do you also search the internet and stuff?”
After quickly taking a bite of food, Chaehun recalled Seunggeon saying that the act of eating was sensual, cleared his throat, and changed the subject.
The antique restaurant built with bricks was located at the edge of Gangnam, and at the entrance it said it was reservation-only. He was curious how Seunggeon knew about a place that required quite a bit of effort to find.
“Director Shim told me. He said this place was good.”
“The tailor shop last week was also found by Director Shim, right?”
“Right.”
“I’m saying this because Director Shim isn’t here, but chaebol secretaries really have to be capable.”
“He is capable.”
At Chaehun’s honest impression, Seunggeon agreed. Director Shim Jeongmin was the secretary who took care of Seunggeon’s private life. Not only did he take care of various things, but he also managed personal assets. When Seunggeon ordered something, Director Shim made it reality. That was truly an amazing ability.
As the meal continued, small talk continued. Chaehun had many stories to tell Seunggeon. He first talked about Park Gwangho’s current situation. Starting next week, Park Gwangho was moving to the Personnel Support Team. The office he reported to work at would be completely different. He no longer needed to see the face of Park Gwangho, who had made a shit-eating expression whenever their eyes met all last week.
“The office people were happy. This is all thanks to the CEO-nim.”
Chaehun lightly flattered him mixing sincerity and jokes. However, Seunggeon’s reaction wasn’t good. His handsome eyebrows twitching meant he was displeased.
“Your reaction is lukewarm though?”
“It’s strange because you’re calling me CEO.”
“Then…… Seunggeon-ah. Thank you. Thanks to you, I won’t see that bastard’s face starting next week. I really feel like I can live.”
This time he smiled brightly while giving thanks. Only then did Seunggeon faintly lift the corners of his lips. For a guy with no expression changes, it was a big smile. In the meantime, the salmon carpaccio was cleared away and snail dishes came out. Next was abalone.
The topic of conversation also naturally changed. From almost being falsely accused because of Park Gwangho’s troublemaking, to preferred coffee, and even to friends’ recent situations. Chaehun told him about Seo Jumyeong’s misfortune. As Chaehun was finishing up saying he’d be living with Seo Jumyeong until the end of this month, he recalled something and made a suggestion to Seunggeon.
“Ah, I’m asking just in case, but do you have any thoughts of meeting the guys? It might help your lost memories return.”
“It’s not something for you to step up about. If I need to, I’ll say so.”
