“Eat a lot.”
As soon as Hyedam sat down, he looked at Leo with surprised eyes as he immediately emptied a glass of cold draft beer, then soon picked up the pork rib bone in front of him.
“I’ll eat well.”
Beer was one thing, but the pork ribs with appetizing seasoning soaked in and warmly steaming came first.
“What exactly do you like?”
Hyedam, who had been chewing the tender meat, chuckled at Leo’s words as he stared at him intently. What do I like? I don’t know either.
“Sleeping?”
“…Everyone likes that.”
“Or eating?”
“…For someone like that, you don’t eat large portions, and you don’t eat every meal properly either.”
“I definitely like playing.”
“No work, high pay?”
“What?”
“You said that before.”
“You caught me.”
Though it wasn’t particularly an interesting conversation, the smile didn’t leave Hyedam’s face as he ate meat starting with the pork ribs.
“You definitely like meat.”
“Alcohol too.”
The honorifics that had consistently appeared until he was with Luna seemed to blur when they were alone.
“Even though you can’t drink well.”
“Who?”
“Ugly Hyedam-ssi.”
“Am I really ugly?”
“Yes.”
The word that kept calling him ugly was both familiar and awkward. If he hadn’t heard Luna’s definition of what he meant by ugly, it would have been a modifier he would have passed by without much thought. Objectively, by the standards of him and his family, he was definitely ugly.
But after hearing Luna’s words, those words felt more uncomfortable than any other words.
“Sincerely?”
“Do you hate me calling you that?”
Hyedam put down the bone he had finished eating and gulped down the beer next to him. The beer with white foam went down smoothly. Should he call it the feeling of refreshingly clearing out his stuffy insides? Though he couldn’t empty it all at once like Leo, Hyedam, who had drunk about 1/3, put down his glass loudly.
“I think it’s not a very good action to keep attaching the modifier ‘ugly’ to someone who already knows they’re ugly.”
“Alright. Pretty Hyedam-ssi.”
*Clang.*
Having eaten one pork rib, the knife that he had picked up to now cut meat slipped from Hyedam’s fingertips and made a loud noise as it hit the tableware. Hyedam’s eyes, which hadn’t contained any particular emotion even when hearing the word ugly, trembled palely.
“Team Leader.”
“Yes, pretty Hyedam-ssi.”
“Are you playing with me right now!”
I told you not to call me ugly, so you say I’m pretty? He couldn’t see it positively even if he tried. His voice naturally rose with the anger surging up.
“Because you’re really pretty.”
“Just before you said I was ugly.”
“That’s also true.”
“You’re crazy.”
“You just realized that now?”
He was embarrassed at himself for thinking they were having a normal conversation, even if only briefly. Word games should have limits too, and feeling like only strange word games would increase if they talked longer, Hyedam picked up the knife he had dropped again.
Whether the knife made noise hitting the tableware or not, Hyedam, who didn’t care and cut the meat, stuffed his mouth full of meat and chewed vigorously. Rather than having a long conversation, Hyedam’s thought was to just eat something delicious. Even if he didn’t like the person in front of him, the food tasted excellent.
“What should I do for you to like me?”
“I don’t think that will happen.”
Drinking the remaining beer, Hyedam looked at the garden with soft lighting. Beyond it, the gently flowing river water was shining, reflected in the light. Though it wasn’t as neat and beautiful as his house’s garden, he wanted to calm his churning stomach while feeling the quiet atmosphere.
“But I like Hyedam-ssi.”
“Yes.”
“I just said I like you, why is your reaction like that?”
Hyedam, who had opened his mouth to answer his words, bit his lips tightly with an “oops” expression. The words he had heard enough to get calluses on his ears on nights spent with him were “I like you” and “you’re pretty,” so was there any need to be surprised? If he had let his guard down even a little, he almost answered that it was something he said every time.
“Someone in Team Leader’s position wouldn’t work with someone they dislike. There wouldn’t be a reason to see each other’s faces and eat alone like this either.”
Hyedam, who had said the most reasonable thing, reached for his beer glass instead of the fork and knife.
“Eat more meat.”
“I ate a lot.”
“Do you want to have no work and high pay for life?”
At Leo’s proposal, who had been barely eating properly and just drinking beer and lounging around, Hyedam shook his head while drinking beer.
“Team Leader. Eat your meal. You didn’t eat properly today. And if you play like this today, how are you going to handle the tangled schedule starting tomorrow? You need to have good stamina to handle all that, so please eat.”
“I just made a life proposal to Hyedam-ssi, are you avoiding giving a proper answer?”
What life proposal? Is there such a thing as no work, high pay? If you give me the same salary as now but reduce the work, that would be kind of no work, high pay. Speaking only of workload, it was true that it had definitely decreased compared to before.
Robert-ssi, who said he would just do the handover and return to England, was still dividing work with Hyedam, and he had also heard the explanation that there would inevitably be more personal schedules than work-related ones at the end and beginning of the year. Today too, to speak coldly, rather than working, he had just looked around the department store, eaten delicious food, and in the afternoon, lazily wandered around watching shopping.
“No work, high pay for life? I know the world a bit too much to fall for such sweet talk. If you just reduce my current work a little more, I think I’ll be quite satisfied.”
“Reducing the time working together is difficult, because I came today pushing back all my schedule because I wanted to see Hyedam-ssi.”
“I’m honored that you wanted to see ugly me so much.”
“Why are you being twisted again?”
“If you’re done eating, let’s go. I’ll call a designated driver. It’s quite a distance so it might take some time to catch one.”
Hyedam, who had drunk all the beer remaining in his glass, picked up his cell phone that had been placed face down on the table.
“There’s a secretary nearby so I can call them, are you really not going to accept my proposal?”
“No work, high pay?”
“Yes.”
“What are the conditions?”
“If there are conditions you want, say them all. I’ll compile them as much as possible and propose again.”
Neither Leo making an absurd proposal nor Hyedam calmly ignoring it placed great meaning on the words they were saying now. Even during the ridiculous conversation that could be called a festival of random words, Hyedam had to bite down hard on his molars several times to hold back laughter.
At the designated driver’s text saying he would arrive within 5 minutes, at Hyedam’s suggestion that rather than waiting inside, how about going outside to get some air even if it’s a little cold, the two slowly strolled through the windy garden.
“But do you know exactly what ‘no work, high pay’ means?”
“If you marry me, all the money I have becomes Hyedam-ssi’s, isn’t that no work, high pay?”
“Ah, I was a little tempted just now.”
When the cold wind dug into his jacket that wasn’t properly fastened, Hyedam fastened his clothes and crossed his arms. Having no particular place to put his gaze, Hyedam looked up at the sky, then when the wind that had been blowing from behind his back became calm, he glanced behind him.
Not knowing when he had come behind his back, Leo’s arm, which would be just right if it only blocked the cold wind, slowly dug between his sides and soon wrapped around his waist. About to push it away, Hyedam, who found it troublesome even to unfold his arms, stayed still as he did.
“Ondal.”
The word was transmitted along his back touching his chest.
“What Ondal? That was at Christmas, and in a few days it’ll be a waning crescent moon.”
When his back fully touched his chest and warmth gently transferred over, Hyedam relaxed his body and leaned comfortably against him. Comfortably resting his head on his shoulder, he looked up at the night sky.
It seemed like all the cold wind went to Leo and only his body temperature was transmitted to him. At the coffee scent warmly enveloping him, Hyedam slowly breathed in and out.
“What are you doing on New Year’s?”
Looking at the moon floating alone in the dark sky and the scattered clouds around it, he moved his lips.
“I’ll watch the countdown while having chicken and beer.”
“With who?”
“I haven’t thought about that yet.”
“Do it with me.”
“Why would I?”
*Ugh.*
Suddenly Leo put strength in his arm, squeezing his waist, making a groaning sound burst from Hyedam’s mouth. Just as he was about to protest asking why, at the contact from the designated driver saying he had arrived, Hyedam pushed Leo’s chest with one arm and escaped from his embrace.
“Quickly say you’ll do it with me.”
Hyedam, who was heading to the parking lot while telling the designated driver he’d see him at the parking lot, looked up at Leo who had blocked his way. Then he gestured with his chin to move aside.
“You’ve arrived? The car number is…”
The corners of Hyedam’s eyes became fierce looking at him interfering even with the simple task of going to the parking lot while talking on the phone with the designated driver.
“Yes, yes, I’m going now so I’ll see you in front of the car.”
At the same time as ending the call, “Why are you like this! During a call…” Leo swallowed up Hyedam’s words explaining the situation in one bite.
“Don’t talk on the phone with other people.”
At Leo’s words after devouring Hyedam’s lips for a time that was short if short and long if long, Hyedam was dumbfounded and clicked his tongue. Telling his secretary who handles his work not to talk on the phone with others? Should he not make calls and only exchange messages?
While being led by the hand to the parking lot by Leo, who made his unreasonable claim sound like it was natural, Hyedam subtly showed his fist toward his fine back of the head.
