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As Jeonggwan’s despondent voice echoed in the air, Junjae’s expression changed immediately. Rejected? What do you mean… Junjae held Jeonggwan’s cheeks with both hands, making him look into his eyes, as if he had heard something preposterous.
“That’s not what I meant.”
You know what I mean. Junjae’s eyes seemed to say exactly that. Even if Jeonggwan said he didn’t mind getting married right now, Junjae didn’t want to. Was he afraid Jeonggwan would regret it after marrying in the heat of the moment because he was upset about Junjae’s father? That was partly true, but…
In Junjae’s eyes, Jeonggwan was really impressive. A person who does everything he wants to do, and accomplishes it. Jeonggwan was such a progressive and cool person. Being still young, he must have a lot he wants to do, and Junjae didn’t want to hinder his future with marriage. He had spent his 20s just working as he was told without any dreams, but he wanted Jeonggwan to have a fulfilling 20s.
“I want you to do everything you want to do.”
“…I can do it after we’re married.”
“There will be many restrictions.”
Jeonggwan pouted his lips in a small act of rebellion, but Junjae firmly shook his head. Even if Junjae could shield Jeonggwan from family pressure to allow him to do what he wanted after marriage, realistically, it wouldn’t be easy. In the end, Jeonggwan’s freedom would be limited somehow.
“I can really wait 5 years, 9 years, however long it takes.”
Some might think it’s too reckless to wait without a plan, not knowing what might happen, but Junjae could sincerely wait however long it took. Jeonggwan, who made him feel alive just by being near him, just by looking at him, was Junjae’s dream itself. And Junjae wanted that dream to be happier and brighter.
“9 years? That’s a bit… What if you end up marrying someone else?”
“I’ll do better so you don’t even think about that.”
Junjae gently comforted Jeonggwan, saying he would quietly wait by his side so that no obstacles would arise, but Jeonggwan just stared at Junjae silently, lost in thought.
* * *
Jeonggwan was skilled enough in confectionery to consistently rank 1st or 2nd in his department. He was naturally dexterous, but his skills had improved because he always tried new things and practiced consistently. Lately, his confectionery had taken a backseat due to Jihoon’s sudden job offer and his relationship with Junjae, but thanks to Junjae’s encouragement to do whatever he wanted, Jeonggwan reignited his passion for confectionery that he had temporarily put on hold.
Following Jeonggwan’s wish to participate in the domestic skills competition’s confectionery and baking section, Jihoon allowed him to freely use the kitchen even after cafe hours. As a result, for the past few weeks, the first floor was filled with the aroma of freshly baked bread even after 6 PM, when Won Electronics employees usually left work.
“Is it because of the bread smell? Sales have increased even more.”
“Then give me a raise.”
“Where’s your conscience?”
“I ate it, what are you gonna do?”
Jihoon, who had briefly entered the kitchen, playfully tapped Jeonggwan’s chin with his hand, asking what was so delicious, and was about to leave when he suddenly turned back to Jeonggwan with a strange look on his face. He then grabbed Jeonggwan’s chin and lifted it.
“What’s this? Where did one of your chins go?”
“What?”
“Why have you lost so much weight?”
“I’ve lost weight?”
Jeonggwan also touched his chin here and there with a “Me?” expression, but he couldn’t really tell himself, so he just thought maybe some swelling had gone down.
“Damn. Your uniform has become really loose too?”
“What?”
However, seeing Jihoon pull at the arm part of his uniform, which used to fit snugly, Jeonggwan finally realized, “I really have lost weight!”
“Hey. Are you sick or something?”
“I’m not sick?”
“Or are you working out?”
Working out, my foot. Recently, after finishing practice at the cafe, Jeonggwan would ride home in Junjae’s car and collapse into bed, exhausted. The domestic competition was just a month away, and he needed to achieve some kind of result there. To quickly conquer various competitions, advance to international competitions, then enter as a hotel patissier to improve his skills and create his own signature menu to open a shop – it would take at least 5 years, even at the fastest.
Five years might sound short, but realistically, it was a plan that would only be possible when Jeonggwan was in his thirties. But Jeonggwan was determined to achieve it within 5 years. Junjae said he could really wait until Jeonggwan reached his current age, which was over 9 years, but Jeonggwan felt that was too much to ask of Junjae. Jeonggwan wanted to quickly achieve all his goals and then marry Junjae. It wasn’t just about getting revenge on Junjae’s father.
Junjae’s words about doing better so that such thoughts wouldn’t even occur had deeply embedded themselves in Jeonggwan’s mind. Could anyone in the world love him as much as Junjae did? He had felt it since the police station incident, but he felt a family-like bond with Junjae. He felt the unconditional affection and sense of security that comes from parents or siblings.
That’s why he wanted to become a real, legal family with Junjae. For that, they needed to get married, but even when Jeonggwan said again that he really didn’t mind getting married, Junjae gently but firmly expressed his refusal. He said Jeonggwan would definitely regret it. So Jeonggwan decided to quickly achieve his dreams and then marry Junjae. That’s why Jeonggwan devoted himself to competition preparation even on his days off, which seemed to have caused him to lose weight rapidly.
“I guess it’s because I’m focusing so much on the competition.”
“Eat two bowls of rice… Ah, you already do that. Eat three bowls of rice.”
Jeonggwan grinned, finding it cute and funny how Jihoon, who used to nag him to lose weight, was now worried about him losing too much weight and telling him to eat more.
“Ah…”
However, perhaps because laughing consumed more energy, Jeonggwan suddenly felt dizzy and held his head with his hand.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“…Yeah. I guess I’m dizzy because I’m hungry.”
“Damn, you scared me. Hurry and finish work, then go eat with hyung.”
Jeonggwan raised his hand to show he was fine as Jihoon approached in concern. He had skipped breakfast and lunch today, and hadn’t had dinner yet, so he seemed hungry. The problem with his body was that it consumed fuel too quickly if he didn’t feed it.
“Yeah. Today I’ll have a special medicinal chicken soup with wild mushrooms…”
Just as Jeonggwan was thinking he should eat some nourishing food for his health, feeling that his fuel consumption was even more severe today, it happened.
“Jeonggwan!!!”
Thud. Jeonggwan collapsed right there.
A large, white five-story building came into view. It was known as one of the prettiest buildings in the area due to its unique architecture. Jeonggwan was the owner of that building. Although he hadn’t received rent even once since it had only been three days since it was gifted to him, just looking at it made him feel full. Someday, he would open his own bakery on the first floor of that building, and the mere thought of it made him smile with happiness.
‘…Huh?’
However, Jeonggwan’s smile faded as he saw someone coming out from inside the building.
‘…Hyung?’
It was Junjae. Not alone. Junjae, dressed in a white suit as if he were a newlywed, was walking out arm in arm with someone. Although the face of that person couldn’t be seen, they were also wearing a white suit that matched Junjae’s. At that moment, the building suddenly transformed into a lavish wedding hall, and the path Junjae was walking on turned into a bridal aisle.
‘Hyung! W-what’s this? Who is that?’
Startled, Jeonggwan ran towards Junjae. He leaped up the high bridal aisle in one bound and blocked Junjae’s path. He asked for an explanation about who the person next to him was and why Junjae was walking down the bridal aisle.
‘I’m already thirty-nine. I can’t wait any longer.’
‘…Hyung, you’ve already reached that age?’
‘I’m tired now.’
Ding. Jeonggwan muttered reflexively without realizing it. Junjae looked at Jeonggwan with contemptuous eyes. I’m getting married at almost forty after waiting for you, and you’re still joking around? Junjae continued walking down the bridal aisle with the man on his arm, passing by Jeonggwan. Jeonggwan urgently chased after him. He absolutely couldn’t let Junjae walk all the way down this aisle.
‘You said you could wait even more than 9 years…!’
‘They say sperm production decreases after forty. I can’t wait 9 years. Sorry.’
‘What…’
Jeonggwan was greatly flustered by Junjae’s cold tone. The fact that sperm decreases after forty was something Jeonggwan had seen in the news once, and it turned out to be true… No, this isn’t right. I knew this would happen! Waiting 9 years, my foot! Jeonggwan gritted his teeth and grabbed Junjae’s arm again.
‘No…! You can’t go!’
‘Let go. Even if I get married and have a child now, I’ll be sixty when the child turns twenty.’
‘I can’t let you go like this!’
‘Sigh… You already got a 12 billion won building. Let’s end this cleanly.’
Even though Jeonggwan sat down holding onto Junjae like a child throwing a tantrum, Junjae continued walking down the bridal aisle undeterred. Jeonggwan felt his heart shattering at Junjae’s cold and harsh attitude towards him. He didn’t care about the 12 billion won building or anything else. He felt like he would die right now without Junjae. Jeonggwan cried and wailed, clinging to Junjae’s pant leg.
‘No-!’
Flash. Jeonggwan opened his eyes.
