Ah, that question.
Yujeong, who mentioned an ex-lover, turned his head as if it was just a light question without much meaning. However, his expression strangely showed he was conscious of it.
‘Am I just seeing what I want to see?’
Seongjo didn’t add any words either way to that question and just readily nodded his head.
Even when meeting with Yeongbeom, Seongjo had never gone grocery shopping himself. Perhaps it was because even though they’d lived like semi-cohabitants, they’d never completely lived together.
There were cases where Yeongbeom directly bought ingredients to cook or sometimes shopping was done through Seongjo’s secretary, but in fact, when the two were dating, they ate out much more frequently than buying groceries and cooking at home.
Yeongbeom’s side had never suggested going to the mart together first either. Whether he thought Seongjo wouldn’t enjoy it, or simply didn’t feel the need to do so, he couldn’t know.
It was a place he’d had no interest in until now, but it was amusing that now that he’d actually come, it was more interesting than expected. Seongjo reached out and grabbed the cart handle while saying.
“I’ll push the cart.”
Yujeong looked at Seongjo with eyes like watching a young child excited about coming to the mart for the first time, and let go of the hand holding the handle. As if to say go ahead and try. Seongjo rested his arms on top of the handle as if folding them, then pushed the cart while bending his body.
Seongjo, who’d been walking a bit, stopped in place before long. The fruit section had caught his eye. Instead of Seongjo, who stood in front of it staring intently at the fruits, Yujeong, who’d grabbed the cart handle again, began to quietly move his steps alone.
So when Seongjo returned holding a 2-pack of elephant mangoes as big as watermelons, Yujeong had already gone off some distance.
Seongjo, who’d followed him to Yujeong who was selecting vegetables in front of the vegetable section, tossed the mangoes into the cart. Yujeong, who’d glanced around and discovered the giant mangoes, had an absurd expression.
“Do you like mangoes?”
“So-so?”
Rather than liking the taste of mangoes, he’d just brought them because they were curious. Perhaps Seongjo’s answer wasn’t satisfactory, as the absurd expression remained on Yujeong’s face.
Even so, he didn’t tell him to put the mangoes back. If he had, it really would have looked like a child who came along with shopping parents, secretly adding things they wanted to eat and getting caught and scolded.
Seongjo no longer looked around and just observed Yujeong’s actions. Standing in front of the vegetable section with a careful face, Yujeong compared this pack and that pack, then substantially selected bok choy and bean sprouts, mushrooms, and cabbage among others and put them in the cart. To Seongjo’s eyes they were all products that looked the same, so he couldn’t read the selection criteria at all.
Walking a few steps while carefully looking into the cart, when he raised his head, he saw an employee grilling dumplings. Seongjo’s eyes lit up seeing that sight.
“Do they grill and sell them right here?”
When he threw the question at Yujeong, he burst into soft laughter. It seemed he’d realized Seongjo was perceiving the tasting corner as something like a street hotteok stand.
Yujeong, who turned to look at Seongjo with a puzzled expression, walked to the tasting corner instead of answering. Yujeong, who picked up a half dumpling in a small paper cup, brought it right to Seongjo’s lips. The employee, still grilling dumplings, said in a mechanical and friendly voice.
“It’s hot-.”
It was words Seongjo naturally heard too, but Yujeong deliberately repeated those words to Seongjo in a clear voice.
“He says it’s hot. Blow on it.”
So Seongjo inadvertently blew on the dumpling to cool it. Yujeong, who poked the dumpling with a green starch toothpick, thrust it right at Seongjo’s lips. When Seongjo hesitated slightly and opened his mouth, Yujeong carefully supported his lips. The grilled dumpling touched right on his tongue.
While Seongjo chewed what entered his mouth with a subtle expression, Yujeong finished tidying up by tossing the toothpick and paper cup into the trash can right next to the tasting corner. Then he turned to Seongjo and asked.
“How does it taste?”
“…It’s good?”
Seongjo still answered in a dubious voice. The taste just felt that way to Seongjo’s palate, but it wasn’t something to say in front of the person who grilled it. Besides, Yujeong was looking at Seongjo as if expecting something.
Yujeong, who nodded at Seongjo’s answer, took out one package of dumplings from the refrigerator next to the corner and put it in the cart.
Did he decide to buy them because he heard they were good? Without saying anything more, Seongjo stuck close behind Yujeong who pulled the cart and led the way again. He peeked his head out beside him and asked.
“Is it normally like this?”
“Yes, the idea is to try it and buy it if it’s okay. They’re not grilling to sell.”
A kind of marketing. Seongjo, who understood, nodded his head. He felt like a child ignorant of the ways of the world. Since it was actually that kind of situation, he wasn’t in a position to refute Yujeong treating him as such.
Past the age of thirty, and moreover Lee Seongjo who heard everywhere that he was clever and had everything—there weren’t many places where he could act like someone who knew nothing like this. Around then Seongjo quickly accepted the fact that he wasn’t very helpful at the mart.
So he didn’t step forward to push the cart again and moved his steps sticking to Yujeong’s side. He mostly matched pace with Yujeong, but occasionally when something he wanted to look around caught his eye, he’d leave that spot and come back. As such shopping continued, Yujeong now seemed to completely perceive Seongjo as a child who’d come along to the mart.
Then when a tasting corner caught his eye once again, Seongjo made the first move before Yujeong. He poked the tofu that was laid out with a starch toothpick and thrust it in front of his eyes just like Yujeong had done. Yujeong made a troubled expression but didn’t quite refuse and ate the tofu Seongjo offered.
“Are you brothers? You get along well.”
The employee who was cutting the tasting tofu complimented them with a smile. Seongjo’s face creased slightly upon hearing those words. It was because the question was natural but he felt strangely dissatisfied.
Just where did they look to reach the conclusion that they were brothers? To make that judgment, Seongjo and Yujeong’s faces didn’t resemble each other in the slightest. Both were tall, and gave off the feeling of being hard to approach with impressions close to cold. Still, if they were family, couldn’t they leave out the element of resembling features?
Was it purely similar atmosphere that made them say that? Some doubt remained. Seongjo approached the side of Yujeong who was pulling the cart again as if nothing had happened, then stared intently at his face. After carefully examining Yujeong’s features, he shrugged his shoulders and said.
“I don’t know where we’re supposed to look alike.”
Rather, because he didn’t resemble Seongjo himself… it could be said it was a face more to his taste, Yujeong was. Because Seongjo was basically more drawn to people who had different aspects from himself.
Yujeong laughed lightly as if in agreement.
Brothers.
Was it because they looked too close to be friends? Like family?
Seongjo suddenly opened his mouth. Somewhat impulsively.
“Don’t we look like lovers?”
After throwing out those words, he laughed playfully. He wondered if it was too light a joke. Seongjo turned his head and opened his mouth to roughly gloss over it.
“Then again, it’s usually hard to see two men together like that.”
He was about to walk looking elsewhere, but an answer came from Yujeong who he’d thought wouldn’t respond. In a deliberately calm tone.
“It’s probably more so because we weren’t close together.”
“Hm?”
At Yujeong’s words, he turned his head to look at him. Unlike Seongjo who’d averted his gaze moments ago, Yujeong was looking at Seongjo without turning his eyes away. Their gazes met as if to say he hadn’t misheard. Yujeong added a word without beating around the bush.
“If you want to be misunderstood… walk closer together.”
If you want to be misunderstood as lovers…
Associating the implied words, Seongjo stared at Yujeong. Yujeong didn’t say more. That said, he didn’t turn his head away this time either. Yujeong, who reached out first, wrapped around below Seongjo’s shoulder, near his upper arm. Then he pulled him close to his side.
From any angle, it was a pass.
Seongjo let out an empty laugh and narrowed his eyes. He looked at Yujeong as if deliberately glaring at him. Even though he definitely would have noticed the look, Yujeong pretended not to know with his eyes turned elsewhere.
Seongjo didn’t refuse. There was no reason to refuse. He simply moved his steps standing close to his side until shopping was finished.
