Kang Hyeonho drove a car that suited him perfectly. He loaded Huiwon into a large black SUV. He said there was a place he really wanted to go today and that they’d need to head out to the suburbs — Huiwon found it troublesome, but when he heard the menu was meat, he climbed in.
They drove quite a distance before arriving at a small pork ribs restaurant on the outskirts of town. The old sign was so faded it was barely legible, as if boasting a long history, and the lights weren’t even on.
Huiwon hopped out of the SUV and led the way inside.
“Are you going to do the dip-without-a-sound thing again today?”
As the side dishes were being set out on the table and Hyeonho was placing the marinated meat on the grill, he asked out of nowhere. The first time they’d eaten together at the Chinese restaurant — when the sweet and sour pork came out and he’d asked about pouring versus dipping — Huiwon had answered that he was a dip type, as in dip without making a sound about it, and it seemed Hyeonho had remembered that.
“I’m going to do the chat-while-eating type.”
Talking while eating.
Hyeonho tacked on the punchline ambitiously without even waiting for Huiwon’s answer. Then he laughed to himself. The corner of Huiwon’s lips twitched. He pressed his lips together stubbornly, refusing to smile — not even realizing how funny it looked.
“Don’t I get on your nerves?”
He was suddenly curious. Anyone could see he was being insufferable, yet Kang Hyeonho never showed any sign of irritation. Even when Huiwon was annoying, he laughed. Even when Huiwon embarrassed him, he still ate with him. He even kept promises he didn’t have to keep.
“You do.”
Hyeonho answered as if he’d been waiting for the question. Not mocking him at all — just smiling with his eyes curving softly. Honestly, Huiwon had expected him to say no. He’d expected at least one of his trademark well-meaning white lies, so the flat honest answer actually stung a little. He was always so good at lying when it suited him, and now of all times he had to be blunt — it was irritating.
“I get on your nerves, so why do you act all nice and pretend to be a good person?”
“Do I seem like a good person?”
“I said you’re pretending to be a good person, not that you are one.”
“You’d only think I’m pretending to be good if I seemed good to you in the first place.”
What kind of wordplay is this. Huiwon decided further conversation was pointless and clamped his mouth shut, poking at the innocent side dishes with his chopsticks.
Hyeonho placed some well-cooked meat on Huiwon’s plate and spoke in a mild, easy tone.
“If you answer what I ask, I’ll answer why I’m being nice to you too.”
“…….”
“Why do you dislike me?”
“…….”
“It’s not because of that day, is it. You disliked me from the very beginning.”
Huiwon wrapped a big piece of the meat Hyeonho had given him in a lettuce leaf, stuffed it in his mouth, and chewed steadily while keeping his eyes on Hyeonho. Hyeonho waited for his answer, waiting until he finished swallowing. Huiwon chewed for a long moment and finally swallowed.
“At first, it was because I couldn’t stand watching you act all nice.”
“At first?”
Huiwon gave a small nod. He’d been acting nice from the very beginning? Hyeonho traced back his first encounter with Huiwon. It had definitely been when he’d gone to buy a cake at Kim Jaeho’s request — he couldn’t remember doing anything particularly wrong. If anything, Huiwon had been hostile even then. It wasn’t a clear answer, and his head tilted on its own. Huiwon added quietly, almost to himself, I can’t stand people who act all nice.
“Was it because of that Earl Grey, or whatever the cream was, that knowing-it-all thing? But you disliked me even before that, didn’t you?”
So this is what it means to be dumbfounded. It would honestly make more sense if he said he just didn’t like Hyeonho’s face. Hyeonho asked again, but Huiwon didn’t answer and instead continued with what he wanted to say.
“A bit after that, it was because of what happened that day. That was a real nightmare.”
“…….”
“And now…… It’s not like I could suddenly like someone I hated that much, right? I just consistently dislike you.”
Huiwon finished speaking, wrapped another piece of meat, and shoved it in his mouth.
Even after hearing words that would reasonably hurt, there wasn’t a single trace of damage on Hyeonho’s face. If anything, he watched Huiwon eat the meat with a look of genuine admiration. Wow, he really eats well. He even smiled.
“You eat really well with someone you claim to dislike.”
What? Who said I’m eating because I like him. He wanted to fire back immediately, but his mouth was stuffed full of food so he couldn’t reply right away. Huiwon glared at Hyeonho while chewing through the food in his mouth. Only after working his cheeks for a long moment and finally swallowing was he able to say what he wanted.
“You said you’d buy me ten meals. I’m eating because I’m saving money, not because I enjoy eating with you.”
“Sure, let’s go with that.”
“Now you talk. Why do you act like such a good person and treat me so well?”
Hyeonho nodded in response but didn’t take his eyes off the grill. He moved the meat that was sufficiently cooked to the cooler side and placed fresh raw meat over the high heat. As it sizzled and smoke rose up, he waved his hand to keep the sharp smoke from drifting toward Huiwon.
“At first, because watching you move fast and live hard was good to see. After that, because what happened that day stuck in my mind. Now, because your reactions are entertaining.”
Your reactions are entertaining? Hyeonho’s last words made Huiwon stop mid-chopstick. This wasn’t a relationship where they laughed and chatted warmly — and he’d seen Hyeonho’s flustered face countless times whenever Huiwon sharpened his words at him. Even setting aside the dynamic between them, Huiwon was not someone who could be called entertaining.
Hyeonho met Huiwon’s suspicious, searching gaze head-on and rested one cheek in his hand.
“I wonder if having a younger brother would feel like this?”
“A younger brother?”
“I’m the youngest at home and the youngest at our precinct too. I don’t have any close younger siblings. Maybe because I’m always around older people, but it makes me feel like I’m aging faster.”
Hyeonho lifted both hands and pressed them to his cheeks, pulling the skin upward. He then volunteered an unrequested piece of information — ‘You said I looked way older, so I bought a ton of sheet masks.’
“Who said anything about being your little brother? Ten meals and we’re done, get that straight.”
“Get that straight.”
Huiwon had said it with considerable finality, but Hyeonho mimicked the last part in a teasing tone. And then he laughed to himself. What is his problem…… Huiwon’s eyes sharpened into points.
“I always wanted to try this. The teasing and stuff.”
Hyeonho, still looking satisfied, placed more well-cooked meat on Huiwon’s plate again. He’d said he was the youngest at the precinct too — whether that meant he also took charge of grilling, he was excellent at it. He cooked the meat perfectly, neither burnt nor underdone, and stacked it neatly on Huiwon’s plate so the flow of eating was never interrupted.
“Should I order more meat?”
Huiwon, who had been jabbing back at everything up until just now, this time gave a quiet, obedient nod. Hyeonho flagged down a passing auntie and politely ordered, “Another two portions here, please.”
“I want naengmyeon too.”
“Bibim or mul?”
“Mul.”
At the word mul, Hyeonho’s eyes lit up. It didn’t seem like he was excited to eat it himself — his lips were already twitching. Just as he opened his mouth with an expectant expression, Huiwon spoke faster. Don’t even try it. Seriously. Seeing Hyeonho press his mouth shut again confirmed he had indeed been about to say something groan-worthy.
Kang Hyeonho wore his disappointment plainly across his face and completed the order to the auntie: “And a mul naengmyeon as well, please.”
“Where do you live?”
Back in the car after a full, satisfying dinner, Hyeonho was tapping at the navigation system as he asked, and Huiwon rolled his eyes. He’d already snapped that nobody asked to be driven home — so it looked like he was gauging just how far short of home to drop him off.
“Think of it as payment for the bandage and medicine.”
Hyeonho offered a timely justification at just the right moment, and with that, Huiwon gave in with feigned reluctance and gave his address. The address Huiwon gave was near the university district, in an area dense with single-room apartments. Hyeonho entered it into the navigation and started the car.
Huiwon spent the entire drive home looking out the window. He was savoring the spring he’d missed while his mind had been completely consumed by new products. The soft, rounded flower buds looked as if they were competing to see which would bloom first. With just the right lighting illuminating the flowering trees, it was hard to tear his eyes away.
“Pretty, isn’t it.”
