First Date (1)
Thud.
Jeongbae dropped his earphone cord. Of course, he’d intended to do so, but now that his plan had been discovered, his face felt like it would burst. He deliberately acted nonchalant and changed the subject.
“Well, I have a weekend part-time job. I go early in the morning and finish around four or five.”
Jaehyuk quietly closed his book. Thwack—a dull sound echoed.
“Where should we meet tomorrow?”
“Um… let’s eat at the rice soup place—”
“I don’t want to.”
Jaehyuk slowly tilted his head.
“If it’s a date, I want to go somewhere new. How about the central fountain downtown where we first met?”
Jeongbae answered with his ears flushed bright red.
“I told you several times it’s not a date—”
Jaehyuk laughed softly.
“I’ll make the restaurant reservation. We’ll have a nice meal and… then we can go wherever you want after that.”
Jeongbae couldn’t say anything for a moment. After a brief silence, he eventually nodded.
“Okay… See you tomorrow.”
The moment he answered, something warm and soft touched his lips. Jaehyuk hastily removed his glasses that had bumped against Jeongbae’s cheek.
A tongue intertwining gently and carefully. It was a delicate yet sticky kiss. Jeongbae stared blankly at the screen.
“……”
“That’s all for today.”
A smile spread across his expressionless face. Jaehyuk quietly put his glasses back on and began concentrating on his book again.
Without a word, Jeongbae just wiped his lips and put his earphones back in. The sound of his heartbeat pounded heavily.
The instructor was saying something, but not a single word entered his ears. His lips tingled. It was a different kiss from before. It wasn’t rushed or rough. It was careful and… affectionate.
‘A date?’
Jeongbae bit his lip. His plan to go to a motel, have sex one last time, and break things off cleanly kept wavering. Yoon Jaehyuk was dangerous. He cooked meals, looked after his siblings, sat quietly beside him pretending to study together. And on top of that, kissing him while saying ‘that’s all for today.’
‘This… it’s like we’re dating.’
Jeongbae’s hands trembled. He couldn’t put strength into the fingers holding his pencil.
‘No. Get it together, Kang Jeongbae.’
But his heart kept pounding. Looking forward to tomorrow, being excited about eating together—it was all a first for him.
Jeongbae struggled to swallow down the dust and taste of blood that filled his throat. The work from dawn was as grueling as always. What Jeongbae was assigned was material transport, called ‘gombang.’ It was work that didn’t require special skills but ground down your body.
Rebar, lumber, plywood, cement bags. There were many types, but the work was simple. Move the designated amount to the designated floor within the designated time. There was only one method—you had to carry it on your back yourself.
Jeongbae steadied his breathing and shouldered a cement bag. One bag was 20kg. If you lifted two at once, that was 40kg. His shoulders and arms felt like they were collapsing simultaneously with a thud.
‘If you lower it slowly, it’s harder. When you lift, do it quick—’
He bent his knees to use his lower back as little as possible, but at some point his back would scream first anyway. While climbing the stairs, his weight pressed down on the soles of his feet two or three times heavier, and his legs trembled.
“Get the rebar bundles up to the third floor first. We need to use those first.”
“Yes.”
At the work foreman’s instruction, Jeongbae answered briefly to conserve even the energy to speak. The stairs were steep, and the path through the piles of materials was so uneven that one wrong step could twist your ankle.
By lunchtime, the upper part of his shoulders had already gone numb. It felt like he was carrying rocks instead of muscles. When he took off his gloves, his fingers were swollen.
After somehow finishing moving today’s designated amount, time was tight. He just wiped himself down with wet wipes so as not to kick up dust, ran his fingers through his hair, then rushed to the bus stop.
‘Can I even go out looking like this…?’
His appearance, covered in dust and sweat. He felt self-conscious just getting on the bus. But as the appointment time drew near, his steps inevitably quickened.
The street where the downtown central fountain was visible. A familiar figure caught his eye from afar. It was Yoon Jaehyuk. A rider jacket and black turtleneck. Hair styled to show his forehead slightly. Jaehyuk’s appearance caught his eye sharply, like someone with a spotlight following them.
‘What the… He really looks like a model. I didn’t know he’d dress up like that…’
Jeongbae unconsciously slowed his steps. That’s when it happened. Two women approached Jaehyuk. A cute woman in a miniskirt held out her phone. Jaehyuk turned his head away as if annoyed, but Jeongbae stopped as if his feet were stuck to the ground.
‘Ah… someone like him and me…’
The contrast was too stark between himself, soaked with the signs of hard work in a dirty place, and Jaehyuk, who had people lining up for him even when he was just standing there. Jeongbae’s heart sank for a moment. He suddenly felt pathetic for confidently suggesting they meet.
‘Should I just go back…? My condition isn’t great today anyway…’
Then he changed his mind.
‘Yeah, if I want to push him away… this might be better. I’ll be the embarrassed one. If I show up like this… he’ll get sick of me too. Then he’ll leave on his own.’
His legs trembled with tension and embarrassment as he approached Jaehyuk. But he thought this was right.
Jeongbae walked slowly, deliberately even slower, toward Jaehyuk. A work shirt soaked with sweat, shoes still covered in dirt and dust.
Let him see this appearance as it is. That way, there’d at least be a chance to end things.
Just as he was trying to fix that thought in his mind, Jaehyuk turned his head.
Amid the sound of the fountain’s water, among the countless people, Jaehyuk found Jeongbae precisely.
The moment their eyes met, Jaehyuk’s expression softened and the corners of his mouth slowly rose.
Jeongbae stopped like a fool.
His heart began rolling in a completely different direction from what he’d expected.
***
“Um, if it’s okay, could I get your number?”
Jaehyuk’s face twisted sharply. He was losing track of how many people this was—he was getting annoyed. He’d even snuck into his family home to procure these clothes, and now these nobodies were clinging to him.
Pretty nails with nail art, a phone dangling with cute accessories. A petite woman with beige hair wearing a pink knit sweater. Jaehyuk put on a subtle smile. The woman’s cheeks flushed slightly.
“A dwarf shit-sack like you looking up at me. Fuck off.”
“What?”
“I’m a married man. Now that adultery’s been decriminalized, all kinds of crazy bitches are wandering around outside prison.”
“What the hell, you crazy bastard.”
The woman spat out harsh profanity that didn’t match her cute style, even spitting before leaving.
‘Ugly and nasty-tempered too. As expected, the only angel is my Jeongbae.’
Even though he’d thrown the first punch, Jaehyuk casually put her down.
‘Now that I think about it, my hand feels empty. I should get rings made soon.’
Imagining a design that would suit Kang Jeongbae’s hand rather than his own, Jaehyuk grinned like an idiot again.
“Um… by any chance…”
“Oh, no. I’m married.”
“Okay.”
Jaehyuk’s expression turned serious toward the man who’d just spoken to him, then he fell back into his delusions.
‘Should I stamp it while I’m at it? How do you do marriage registration again? Do we both have to go?’
While casually thinking about crossing out Kang Jeongbae’s perfectly fine family register, he slowly thought of people to sign in the witness section.
‘Marriage annulment lawsuits have complicated procedures, they say. Once I slam it down claiming he’s mine…’
A pleased smile appeared on Jaehyuk’s handsome face.
The fountain, their meeting place. Eyes were openly focused on the handsome man who was rejecting what felt like his umpteenth attempt at being picked up.
“Just how beautiful must the person he’s waiting for be?”
“His standards are seriously fucking high. That last guy wasn’t bad, was he?”
The gazes watching Jaehyuk while waiting for their companions or gathered in small groups with the companions they’d met. Jaehyuk ignored them and recalled Jeongbae from last night. That gentle face looking at him while standing in the doorway with only a towel wrapped around him, soaking wet. If only it weren’t for that Dogyeom or whoever the hell he was, he could have pounded him all night long…
But Kang Jeongbae, who quietly took his side even among his siblings, was cute. Especially when he suggested the date… he was so happy his dick got hard. Fuck. Even thinking about it again made him curse.
He sang the national anthem quietly in his mind while looking only at Kang Jeongbae’s white, appetizing nape as he concentrated on the lecture. That brother-in-law or whatever the fuck he was.
But this is even better. Today is a date. A date. Jaehyuk’s mouth stretched to his ears at the thought of running the full course from a restaurant to a hotel.
A man rejecting all pick-up attempts and giggling to himself alone. It should have been creepy, but more than that, it was a feast for the eyes. A height approaching 190cm, long legs and arms, broad shoulders. Short hair, neat yet delicate features. The rider jacket and slightly raised bangs created an oddly sexy style.
That’s when it happened.
Jaehyuk suddenly stood up and started running. Kang Jeongbae. It was Kang Jeongbae. With almost Mongolian-level eyesight, Jaehyuk spotted Jeongbae and dashed forward like a cheetah.
“Sorry, I’m late.”
“Late? I just got here too.”
Everyone’s eyes filled with shock. His companion was a dirty construction worker covered in sweat and dust. Hair flattened by a hard hat, black worn work clothes with the neck and armpit areas clearly soaked with sweat. It wasn’t even that hot out. A face like a troublemaker from the front row of a classroom. And along with that, his apologetic smile showed two missing teeth.
What was even more surprising came next.
“What, it’s chilly and you’re not even wearing a jacket.”
That cocky handsome man took off his expensive leather jacket and wrapped it around the dust-covered man.
