“Don’t we look too much like strangers right now?”
Jun-wan silently shot him a look. The two sitting side by side definitely had a wide gap.
Yu-shin carefully spread out his left hand. His slender fingers, which had been holding the warm paper cup, had a pinkish blood color.
“Should we hold hands?”
“Let’s not do unnecessary things.”
Without exception, a sharp retort came back. Yu-shin withdrew his hand nonchalantly.
He wasn’t hurt or disappointed. He’d built up immunity to Park Jun-wan’s tone. Rather, he was a little amused.
He looks cold on the outside, but he’s quite sweet. Considering he remembered a movie he’d watched once and even booked the sequel, and bought chamomile tea that Yu-shin usually enjoyed drinking, he seemed to have consideration ingrained in him.
Yu-shin subtly covered his rising lips with the cup. The tea that had cooled to just the right temperature pleasantly wet his mouth.
The premium screening room was like a quiet lounge rather than a theater. In the spacious area, plush recliner sofas were sparsely placed, and with different levels, comfortable viewing was possible from any seat.
However, Yu-shin couldn’t concentrate throughout. Since the movie started, he’d been holding his forehead, practically buried in the sofa.
Somehow, his stomach was churning. The booming sound even induced a headache.
Damn autonomic nervous system balance has collapsed again. Yu-shin took deep breaths and repeatedly clenched and unclenched his hands. His fingertips were cold as ice.
Fortunately, it wasn’t to the point of collapsing. Having been sick for a long time, Yu-shin knew his body’s condition thoroughly. He was also skillful at coping.
Pressing his throbbing temples, he glanced sideways. The person sitting next to him was half-watching the screen. From his crossed legs and crookedly tilted face, he didn’t seem interested in the movie.
Should I suggest we leave? He could just make an excuse about motion sickness, but Yu-shin kept his mouth shut. He didn’t want to show weakness over something like this.
What was the content of the 100-minute movie? He couldn’t even remember. Yu-shin’s face when leaving the movie theater was pale.
The process of moving to the restaurant wasn’t smooth either. In the car with just the two of them, Yu-shin didn’t say a single word.
The place they arrived at happened to be a French restaurant. It was the type Yu-shin liked, but right now, just looking at the letters written on the menu made his stomach queasy.
He half-read the menu and half-listened to the server’s explanation. Yu-shin’s expression became extremely sensitive. He had no energy to pay attention to other things while suppressing his worsening condition.
Since he hadn’t said a word after coming to the restaurant, Jun-wan also became uncomfortable in this situation. He closely observed the other person sitting blankly without even touching the pre-meal bread and soup.
“Don’t you like the restaurant?”
“…Just so-so.”
Yu-shin replied curtly. He stirred the soup that came as his portion with a spoon. He politely put his lips to the rich onion soup, then immediately furrowed his brow and put it down.
“Haah, this is a course, right?”
“……”
“It’ll take at least 2 hours for everything to come out.”
The soliloquy was mixed with faint irritation. Jun-wan’s eyes looking ahead became even sharper. It was difficult for him to understand Kim Yu-shin’s insincere attitude.
“You’re so unpredictable.”
“……”
“Even if it’s not to your liking, don’t show it. We can’t change restaurants now, can we?”
Yu-shin glanced up. Still with a frown on his face. His originally pale face looked even paler. Instead of resolutely hiding his symptoms, the aftermath transformed into a prickly attitude.
“Did I badmouth the restaurant?”
“Kim Yu-shin, your attitude is like that.”
“I said I didn’t want to go out today. Who’s the one who forced someone who didn’t want to come out?”
“So this is my fault.”
Jun-wan, who shot back, also gradually had his expression cool. The only thing holding warmth in this place was the soup in the ceramic bowl and the freshly baked pre-meal bread.
Just as even that was gradually cooling, the assigned server carefully approached the table. The customers had barely touched their food. The server smiled kindly and asked if it didn’t suit their taste, or if there was a problem with the food.
“There’s no problem. You can clear the soup now.”
Jun-wan responded calmly. Yu-shin sat in an insincere posture, just staring at the table edge. His chest felt stuffy. In symptoms similar to indigestion, his stomach churned endlessly.
He pretended to rest his chin, but was actually supporting his heavy head. Honestly speaking, he felt like lying down somewhere right now.
If I’d come with someone comfortable, maybe, but since the other person was Park Jun-wan, he had no choice but to endure. Just then, escargot came out as an appetizer. From the snails that had been in and out of the oven came a strong scent of garlic and butter.
He’d at least pretended to eat up to the soup, but this time he didn’t even have the energy to pick up a fork and knife. Yu-shin only swallowed water several times in small sips.
Not touching a dish placed in front of him naturally looked somewhat rude. If it had been poor behavior normally, that would be one thing, but Kim Yu-shin had good table manners. Jun-wan couldn’t stand it anymore and threw out a question.
“What’s the problem?”
“……”
Yu-shin avoided his gaze and clenched his fist several times. His stubborn lips seemed about to open but didn’t. Finally, with a long sigh, a weak confession leaked out.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“……”
“People are watching. Please just act normal.”
“Do you know you’re the one acting the most unusually here?”
Jun-wan shot a cold gaze. He was pointing out Yu-shin’s attitude of not lifting a finger after coming to the restaurant.
“What does it matter?”
“The server keeps looking at our table. Isn’t it because you’re not even touching anything, Kim Yu-shin?”
“You can just eat my portion too.”
Yu-shin crookedly turned his head and avoided the stinging gaze. He wanted to explain as nicely as possible, but since his physical condition wasn’t good, his tone became increasingly sharp contrary to his thoughts.
“……”
In this situation, there was no way food would go down Jun-wan’s throat either. He sat still with his arms crossed, quietly observing Yu-shin’s face.
“Let’s leave.”
Without hesitation, Jun-wan kicked back his chair and stood up. Not even a third of the course had come out yet.
Even the payment was finished in an instant. It was still raining outside. The gloomy weather didn’t look like spring no matter how you looked at it.
This date had failed. Very definitively at that.
After getting in the passenger seat, Yu-shin completely shut his mouth. Like someone who had decided to ignore Jun-wan, he turned his head away and only looked out the car window.
Although the tension had dropped sharply, Jun-wan didn’t add a single word about it.
When the car entered the neighborhood entrance, Jun-wan suddenly stopped the car. He turned on the hazard lights, opened the door, and got out.
Yu-shin didn’t have the energy to point out his strange behavior. His drooping body now even had chills. While Jun-wan was gone, he reclined the chair seat a bit more and leaned back against the backrest.
How much time had passed? The car door opened again and the vehicle swayed slightly. Jun-wan, who had returned to the driver’s seat, was a bit wet from the rain.
“Will digestive medicine work?”
At the unexpected words, Yu-shin slowly raised his head. In Jun-wan’s hands were several white bags with a pharmacy name printed on them.
“…What?”
“You know your own condition best, don’t you?”
Jun-wan shot him a long glance. Before Yu-shin could answer, he carefully took out the medicines one by one. There were so many. From liquid medicines to pills, there were over ten different types.
“There’s cold medicine, painkillers, everything, so take what matches your symptoms.”
“…How did you know?”
“When you have such a deathly appearance, how could I not know?”
Yu-shin bit his lower lip firmly. His eye for detail is extraordinary. He’d tried to hide it, but it had been in vain. A sigh escaped automatically. He looked over the medicines Jun-wan had laid out and shook his head.
“I don’t need them.”
They weren’t medicines that would help even if he took them. Although he felt bad about dismissing someone’s goodwill, Yu-shin really had no energy.
When he closed his eyes, he heard a sound resembling a sigh from beside him. Then he felt signs of the medicines being put away.
Jun-wan drove with a hardened face. He wasn’t magnanimous enough to care about someone so self-centered. It would be beneficial to cut off interest as desired.
As soon as they arrived home, the two split in different directions without a word of conversation. Jun-wan headed to the first-floor study, Yu-shin to the bedroom.
