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As Jeonggwan was about to enter the departure gate, he chuckled at the contrasting sight of his dad sobbing with his face buried in his mom’s shoulder, and his mom expressionlessly waving her hand, telling him to go in without worrying. Won Junjae turned around and bowed to Jeonggwan’s parents. Seeing Junjae acting like a husband taking his wife on a honeymoon after a wedding, Jeonggwan burst into laughter, even clapping his hands. Although Junjae was quite embarrassed, Jeonggwan’s broad smile wasn’t just because of that.
There was also genuine laughter of joy. He felt proud because Junjae was acting as if he were really part of his family, seemingly telling Jeonggwan’s parents that he would safely take care of him. At the same time, he wondered how Junjae would act when he becomes a parent sending his child to study abroad.
“Hyung, how do you think you’d feel if our child goes to study abroad like this in the future?”
“…First, I’m touched by the ‘our child’ part.”
“Ah, you’re being cheesy. Anyway, do you think you could send them off well?”
“I think I’d just tell them to have a good trip.”
You? Really? Jeonggwan looked at Junjae with a skeptical expression. He’d probably cry while pretending not to, looking at distant mountains and quietly wiping a tear that had fallen to his chin. It was obvious how Junjae would act, but Jeonggwan didn’t say it out loud. Junjae still didn’t know what kind of character he was, but that’s what made him likeable.
Jeonggwan squeezed Junjae’s hand tighter.
Entering the first-class lounge, Jeonggwan got excited upon hearing that all the food was free. He let go of Junjae’s hand and ran off, starting to pile various foods on his plate.
“As expected…”
I’m less important than food. Although the ‘our child’ sentiment had crumbled, Junjae was used to this treatment, so he just slowly walked behind Jeonggwan.
* * *
Pig_goeni | This is first-class lounge food! #Delicious
Pig_goeni | This is the duty-free shop! #AllTheChocolateIsMine
Pig_goeni | This is first class! #CannotWaitForTheFood
Pig_goeni | This is France! #NotAHoneymoon
Pig_goeni | This is the Eiffel Tower! #PhotographyChallengedBoyfriend #DamnItJunjaeHyung
Pig_goeni | This is a Michelin-starred restaurant! #ButNotImpressedAtAll
Jeonggwan’s Instagram was constantly being updated even before flying to France. Junjae told him to put down his phone and play with him, but Jeonggwan’s attention-seeking behavior didn’t stop. He uploaded so many photos that Junjae was happy when Jeonggwan finally focused on him after the plane took off and the internet was unavailable.
Most of the photos were either solo shots of Jeonggwan or food pictures, but Junjae’s name tags and his ringed hand slightly visible across the table when taking food photos had a strong presence. Because of this, there was now a commotion in Korea, on the opposite side of France, over Jeonggwan’s Instagram.
Although Jeonggwan’s Instagram was a private account, he had many followers as he was quite popular. One of his followers who only knew him by face had been wondering about the sudden increase in luxury items and high-end locations in Jeonggwan’s photos. But this time, when Jeonggwan posted a mirror selfie with Junjae visible in the background taking a picture of Jeonggwan, the follower realized that 1_WonJunja was that Won Junjae and uploaded all the captured images of Jeonggwan’s Instagram to the internet.
Of course, Jeonggwan was unaware of the chaos in Korea. Due to the 7-hour time difference, Jeonggwan and Junjae were exhausted and sleeping in Jeonggwan’s castle, gifted by Won Youngjae, after a passionate night. However, Junjae, who had to return to Korea soon, was awake, wanting to watch Jeonggwan sleep with the intention of sleeping on the plane, so he was able to immediately access the news.
[Did you go on a honeymoon? – Won Seongje]
[You crazy bastard. – Won Seongje]
[Tell him to take down all the photos immediately. – Father]
[And why are his clothes like that again? So undignified. – Father]
[The ring looks cheap. Change it for something else right away. – Father]
[You two look like you’re having fun. Just remember to wear scarves as it’s cold. – Mother]
And thus, he received a barrage of affectionate messages from family members. He naturally ignored Won Seongje, and for his father’s messages, he wanted to reply with rebuttals like “What’s wrong with suspenders? They’re cute if you see them often” and “The ring is simple and pretty,” but he chose not to reply at all. In the end, Junjae only replied “Yes” to his mother’s message and let out a short sigh.
The family’s reactions were one thing, but the real problem was the media. People were instantly spreading Jeonggwan’s photos, speculating and judging, saying that the lives of the wealthy were more intriguing than those of celebrities. It would have been fine if the judgments were solely directed at him, but they were critiquing Jeonggwan down to the nano-level and even cursing him. Articles that would surely hurt Jeonggwan when he woke up were already pouring in. Junjae ran his hand through his hair and sent a serious text message to Secretary Oh.
[Please strengthen security in Nowon-dong.]
He personally didn’t care what Jeonggwan did. Whether he tagged him or his hand appeared in photos. He wouldn’t even mind if Jeonggwan publicly posted his face on Instagram, calling him his boyfriend. But it upset him greatly that Jeonggwan was being judged and cursed by so many people because of him. Should he really tell Jeonggwan to deactivate his Instagram? Junjae stroked the forehead of Jeonggwan, who was sleeping next to him with an angelic face, unaware of everything.
“Hyung. Don’t go.”
“Should I not go?”
“No, I’m kidding. Go quickly.”
“…If you really told me not to go, I wouldn’t.”
I’m really kidding. I’m fine. Jeonggwan smiled and pushed Junjae’s back, urging him to get in the car parked in the yard. However, Junjae kept stopping, his face dripping with reluctance as if to say, “How can I leave you alone in this situation?”
“I’m really okay, I tell you?”
“…How can you be okay?”
“No, really. I’m so okay that I’m wondering if it’s possible to be this okay.”
Junjae looked at Jeonggwan worriedly with eyes that said, “No. That can’t be,” but Jeonggwan was genuinely, surprisingly unbothered. In fact, he was a bit shocked at first. It was the first time he had over 3,000 KakaoTalk messages when he woke up, and the first time his face was pixelated and plastered everywhere he looked.
But he felt good thinking, “Am I about to become an influencer?” and seeing that the comments on his posts circulating on SNS were positive. Of course, there were many malicious comments too, but only the first few hurt; soon he was reading them with a smile. He couldn’t help but laugh at comments like “It’s really a pearl necklace on a pig’s neck.”
And his time was too precious to react to and be sad about each instance of people who didn’t even know him judging and cursing him based solely on external appearances, saying things like “He must be lazy” or “He must only care about money.” He felt that people who easily leave malicious comments about others’ lives were living inefficient lives, disparaging their own existence, so Jeonggwan didn’t feel it was worth responding to them.
Of course, if he heard such things face to face, he would really be hurt, but people hiding behind the internet just seemed pathetic to him, so it really didn’t affect him at all. That’s why Jeonggwan was genuinely unbothered. And he was also encouraged by the fact that there were more supportive people than those cursing him, contrary to expectations.
“Hyung. I’m worried about you.”
“…Why me?”
“Because I think you’ll be sad here alone and won’t be able to sleep on the plane.”
“…”
“I’m really okay. I’m so unbothered that I could even start a 24-hour live broadcast right now.”
Jeonggwan twirled around to demonstrate how fine he was, but Junjae made a sad face, not dropping his suspicion that “You’re just pretending to be okay even though you’re struggling right now.” It was lovable how much care for him was evident in that, but Jeonggwan couldn’t keep Junjae any longer. The flight time was tight, and if he missed this, Junjae would be cursed out by his father for not showing up to work because of his boyfriend as soon as he returned to Korea.
“See you next week.”
“…”
“Honey.”
“…I don’t want to go even more now.”
You just don’t want to go, using me as an excuse. When Jeonggwan squinted and spoke informally, Junjae laughed with a deflating sound. In truth, Junjae really didn’t want to go because he was so worried, but he got in the car, agreeing when Jeonggwan said that if he didn’t go, his dad would get angry and he might not be able to come next week.
“I’ll keep messaging you.”
“Keep going until you board the plane.”
“I’ll do it even after boarding the plane.”
“You’ll probably end up writing in the notepad app because there’s no internet.”
Even after getting in the car, Junjae lowered the window, unable to let go of his lingering feelings. Jeonggwan looked at Junjae with a mocking expression, as if to say, “Go ahead and try. Your KakaoTalk messages will be sucked into a black hole.” But this time, Junjae mimicked Jeonggwan’s expression, looking down on him.
“…Actually, you can use the internet on the plane if you pay.”
