Yeonrok, who had forgotten that Moon Gyeonwoo had proposed to become his lover because he had been acting so indifferently, was flustered. Moon Gyeonwoo glanced at Yeonrok once, then lowered his eyes subtly and asked.
“Are those two perhaps really dating?”
“No, we’re not really dating. I… I’m going to live single!”
It’s just that Yeonrok’s heart wavered every time Choi Hwan kept saying they were family, but they were absolutely not dating. He still hadn’t lost his will to live as close roommates with the three of them.
“Okay, that’s fine then.”
Yeonrok was always flustered at times like this with Moon Gyeonwoo. It was much more comfortable dealing with him when he acted coldly like before. It’s uncomfortable and strangely tense. However, it wasn’t an unpleasant kind of tension. Yeonrok realized anew that he was really weak to someone who showed him goodwill.
“Uh, I’m going to sleep a bit… I think I’m getting carsick.”
When Yeonrok quickly changed the subject, Moon Gyeonwoo rummaged through the large bag he’d brought.
“Sleep on this.”
He smoothly fitted a neck pillow, covered him with a blanket, and placed a cushion in his arms. When did he pack all this? Yeonrok received them bewilderedly. Once armed, it was comfortable, so the moment he rested his head, he instantly fell fast asleep. He, who had been sleeping sweetly like that, was awakened by a hand gently shaking his shoulder.
“Yeonrok-ah, it’s a rest stop, what do you want to do?”
Opening his eyes, Yeonrok realized he had been comfortably resting his head on Moon Gyeonwoo’s shoulder. He suddenly raised his head in surprise.
“Why are you so surprised? Did you rest your head somewhere you shouldn’t have?”
Moon Gyeonwoo spoke affectionately while even touching his disheveled hair. Still not accustomed to this affection, Yeonrok was even more startled and got out of the car as if bouncing out. Moon Gyeonwoo followed out with a beaming face. He apologized awkwardly.
“Sorry, it must have been heavy.”
“It wasn’t particularly heavy, and if it’s you, it’s okay. Ah, there are snacks over there, Yeonrok-ah.”
As Moon Gyeonwoo intended, Yeonrok’s attention was quickly drawn to the rest stop snacks.
“Wow, that looks delicious.”
Actually, he hadn’t been even remotely carsick, so the hunger he’d forgotten while sleeping came rushing back. Rather, it was Moon Gyeonwoo who was carsick, so he had an anti-motion sickness patch attached under his ear. Yeonrok, who had been bothered by it all along, asked.
“You seem to be carsick, is it okay if food smells waft around?”
“It’s okay, so don’t worry about me and eat.”
Even so, if he ate in the car, Moon Gyeonwoo would seem to suffer, so he decided to eat before getting back in. The good thing about having four bodyguards following them was that they could buy various things and share them. The bodyguards ate quite a lot, befitting their physiques. Yeonrok excitedly bought lots of different types of rest stop snacks.
After setting up a snack spread on the table, he first squeezed ketchup and mustard on a piping hot hot dog. It didn’t come out well so when he bit it with his teeth, it splattered all over his top. He wasn’t even that surprised. Moon Gyeonwoo, who had been watching from the side, silently handed him a tissue. Yeonrok dejectedly roughly wiped off the sauce on his top.
As always, his small and trivial misfortunes didn’t end here. When he sat on the chair, someone had spilled a drink so he ruined his pants too, and while picking up chopsticks he’d dropped, he hit his forehead on the table. On the way out after deliciously eating lunch in downtown Gangwon-do after leaving the rest stop, his shoelace suddenly came undone and he almost tripped.
“You really require a lot of attention.”
Moon Gyeonwoo said while crouching down without hesitation to tie Yeonrok’s shoelaces. He had been giving Yeonrok wet wipes, bringing new chopsticks, and checking his bumped forehead the whole time.
“Sorry for requiring so much attention.”
Will this trip be okay… Yeonrok, who had been anxious inside anyway, replied dejectedly. However, Moon Gyeonwoo hadn’t said that with the intention of scolding Yeonrok.
“Why? I like things that require a lot of attention.”
Saying that, his pretty eyes looking up curved gently. Just like Moon Gyeonwoo’s affection, this eye smile was also unfamiliar, so Yeonrok was momentarily speechless.
“…There, all done.”
Feeling embarrassed as it was the first time someone else tied his shoelaces, Yeonrok grumbled.
“It’s not always like this. It’s just that there are times when I’m unlucky like this. I’m used to it because it happens often.”
Moon Gyeonwoo, who had finished tying his shoelaces, dusted off his hands and stood up. He tilted his head.
“Hmm, from what I see, rather than being unlucky… have you ever been tested for ADHD?”
“Huh?”
At the unexpected topic, Yeonrok made a blank sound. What was ADHD again, wasn’t it that? Was it being distracted and having trouble concentrating?
“I think I’ve heard the term.”
“From what I see, there’s a possibility you might have ADHD. Of course, I can’t diagnose without testing. It’s just that you have that tendency.”
Since a doctor was saying so, it somehow sounded plausible to Yeonrok. Is that so? It does seem like it… But no, there really are definitely times when I’m unlucky though. The bodyguard hyungs said I have good athletic ability too. Moon Gyeonwoo said to get tested sometime next time.
“Anyway, shall we go now?”
“Let’s walk a bit to digest.”
Actually, the whole way here, Moon Gyeonwoo seemed to be enduring without showing he was carsick. His complexion was pale, he didn’t eat snacks at the rest stop, and ate little lunch too. So using digestion as an excuse, they decided to walk around downtown for a bit.
Since there was a traditional market right nearby, they stopped by and bought some food. Even though the resort provides three meals a day, snacks are a separate matter. Yeonrok, who had eaten a hearty lunch, thought so.
“Oh, a fortune-telling place.”
Gulping down his hotteok, Yeonrok muttered. Moon Gyeonwoo, who had been yielding his hotteok to a bodyguard, also turned his gaze. Seeing the nearby fortune-telling place with a sign that read ‘Horyeong Fortune-Telling House’ reminded him of something.
“There was a time when I was really unlucky before. Nothing was working out so I went to a fortune-telling place.”
Moon Gyeonwoo, who was probably at the forefront of scientific advancement more than anyone else in this area, looked at the fortune-telling place with an openly scornful gaze. It was obvious he wouldn’t believe in things like superstition at all.
“But as soon as I went in, they said I was unlucky and threw a whole measure of salt at me and kicked me out.”
“Didn’t you report it?”
“Nah, report what for getting salt thrown at me. I just came out thinking I was unlucky.”
When Yeonrok looked around for a place to throw away the hotteok paper, Moon Gyeonwoo took it and put it in his pocket while saying coldly.
“That’s all a sales tactic. Suckers get hooked by such pretentious behavior. They make you come back and cling on somehow to spend money. Where in the world are there gods or ghosts? They’re all scammers.”
Hearing the harsh evaluation, Yeonrok suddenly felt mischievous and pointed to the fortune-telling place and said.
“Still, it seems like it’d be fun, should we go in there?”
Moon Gyeonwoo immediately made a reluctant expression. Seeing Yeonrok’s eyes sparkling with mischief, he reflexively nodded his head.
“Well… once in a while…”
His expression seemed to be swallowing the words that they could waste money on something like this. Yeonrok found it amusing and grabbed Moon Gyeonwoo’s hand and led him. When they entered the fortune-telling place, perhaps because it was lunchtime, it smelled like jjajangmyeon.
“Welcome~. Just a moment. I’ll go after I finish this.”
Only glancing once, a middle-aged woman slurped up the remaining jjajangmyeon. Then only after putting away the bowl did she leisurely sit down.
“Here for fortune-telling? Sit in front here.”
Moon Gyeonwoo sat in front with a gaze secretly harboring ‘go ahead and try if you can.’ The shaman slickly applied intense red lipstick and naturally spoke to Yeonrok.
“So, what are you curious about, young bachelors? I specialize in saju.”
“Not particularly…”
About to say he wasn’t curious, Moon Gyeonwoo looked at Yeonrok once and closed his mouth. Yeonrok excitedly told her his saju with sincerity. Moon Gyeonwoo coldly refused.
“I’m fine. I don’t want to tell a stranger my personal information in detail.”
Perhaps it was the first time seeing such an attitude, as the shaman looked at him with a reluctant gaze, Yeonrok quickly interjected.
“I don’t have anything particularly curious! Um… what should I ask?”
“Then shall I just take a general look for you?”
Subtly using informal speech, the middle-aged shaman looked at the saju she’d written down and scribbled various things.
“Our bachelor has a very blessed saju. Very lucky. The harmony and balance of the five elements are well established. It’s a fortune that can even turn misfortune into good fortune. Wherever you go, you have benefactors, benefactors.”
“Ooh…”
Yeonrok’s face became subtle. A blessed saju? Benefactors? Lucky? The words that it was all sales tactics and scammers suddenly came to mind. Sure enough, Moon Gyeonwoo couldn’t hold back.
“Isn’t that something anyone can say?”
Saju (사주) – Four Pillars of Destiny
