Seungju vaguely deflected. Muyeon was still smiling.
“Do you have any siblings, Seungju?”
“I have a younger brother.”
“That’s the opposite of me. How old is he?”
“Three years younger than me.”
“I have quite an age gap with my older sisters.”
“I heard that.”
“I wish I had a brother close in age too.”
“There’s nothing good about having one. I’m not really close with my younger brother either.”
“Why not?”
“Because he’s got no manners….”
Seungju, who had been answering according to the flow of his consciousness, closed his mouth. Can I say such crude things in front of this man? However, Muyeon burst into laughter.
“I think my sisters would say the same thing about me. Then wouldn’t that mean you’re not really that distant?”
“Not exactly.”
Seungju deflected again. Just his younger brother? He wasn’t really close with his entire family. He felt so terrible that saying “not close” didn’t even seem appropriate. However, it didn’t seem right to get drunk on that feeling and suddenly bring up a long family history, or to randomly talk about family matters that would be confusing to someone who knew no context.
Silence time returned once again. He couldn’t get used to it. The conversation cutting off was awkward to death. Was Muyeon thinking the same thing? He spoke up.
“Should I put on some music?”
“Should we?”
Muyeon turned on the music app. Suddenly, a dubstep beat filled the car with thumping sounds. Muyeon moved his hand as if rarely flustered and skipped the song.
“Ah, that’s too loud, right?”
“No. It’s fine. General Manager, I mean, do you like this kind of music, Muyeon?”
“I just listen to it sometimes.”
But the song Muyeon put on was a decent song from the upper charts. Hmm. Seungju tilted his head slightly. His music taste doesn’t really match his face.
As if helping Seungju, who still couldn’t shake off the awkwardness even with the music, the destination wasn’t far. They arrived at the restaurant in no time. It was a weekend lunch and fortunately there weren’t many people. Only after getting out of the parked car did Seungju properly look at Muyeon for the first time today. The outfit of a shirt with a light-colored cardigan suited him well. Well, with a face like that, what wouldn’t suit him?
As soon as they sat down, menus and water were set out. Muyeon opened the menu and passed it to Seungju.
“What do you want to eat?”
“I’m having trouble deciding….”
The restaurant was upscale. The centerpiece made of fresh flowers, the wooden tables, and even all the tableware were sophisticated. He had thought earlier that it was a textbook date course, but it was so truly textbook that he didn’t know what to do with himself.
There were many menu items that caught his eye. Seungju was reading through the menu carefully when he felt he was taking too much time. That’s because Muyeon had put down the menu and was looking at Seungju.
“Having trouble deciding?”
“Yes.”
“What are you deciding between?”
“The pasta looks good, and it might not be bad to order a salad too. How about something like flatbread?”
“If you want to eat it, just order everything. The food here is good. You should taste the delicious menu items.”
“I’d feel a bit bad if we order it and can’t finish it all.”
“What’s there to feel bad about? Isn’t it good if you order so much you can’t finish it all? Let’s order everything.”
Seungju looked at Muyeon. Amazing how he could so casually suggest doing the shameless act of leaving food. Is this because he has a rich person’s mindset?
In the end, Muyeon ordered all the menu items Seungju had been contemplating. A salad, two pastas, risotto, and flatbread. Finally, Muyeon ordered sparkling water and a glass of house wine each. Seungju let out a hollow laugh seeing the wine that cost fifteen thousand won per glass.
“I think we ordered too much.”
“It’s good if we enjoy eating it.”
“That’s true. But since it’s two men, at least we’ll eat our fill.”
All the food was delicious. The brisket pasta and abalone risotto couldn’t not be delicious. Seungju was genuinely impressed.
“This place is good. How did you find out about it?”
“I came here to eat with my eldest sister’s family. I think the chef appeared on a broadcast? So my sister said she wanted to try it.”
“Listening to you talk continuously, it seems like your family is very harmonious, Muyeon. You seem to go places with your family.”
“It’s just ordinary. And my sisters’ tendencies are a bit like that. They both dislike their in-laws.”
Seungju tilted his head slightly. The word “ordinary” coming from Muyeon’s mouth made him think differently. He lifted his wine glass, trying to shake off his unnecessary inferiority complex.
Even though his stomach was getting full, the food on the table had barely decreased. Seungju realized that Muyeon was just nibbling at most of the food.
“Why aren’t you eating much?”
“I have a small appetite.”
Now that he thought about it, that was definitely true. When they first went to eat meat, he was too nervous to pay attention, but even when they went to the Chinese restaurant and when they ate lunch yesterday, Muyeon kept leaving food.
“You tell me to eat well, but you should eat well too, General Manager.”
“It’s Muyeon. People’s eating habits don’t change that easily. I didn’t know, but apparently since I was little, I would only eat the top part of the rice in my bowl. Only after my second older sister got so fed up seeing that and said something did I realize I was doing it.”
“For someone who doesn’t eat much, aren’t you too tall?”
“That’s genetics. Like how you being thin is your constitution, Seungju.”
Seungju didn’t answer. Instead, he picked up his water glass. The President isn’t that tall though. Or maybe he takes after his mother. Or maybe it’s atavism.
As if seeing through Seungju’s thoughts, Muyeon added.
“I take after my mother.”
Mm. Seungju nodded without showing his surprise. I take after my dad. We look exactly the same, like we were stamped out of a fish-shaped pastry machine.
“Where should we go after we finish eating?”
“Well, should we go for coffee?”
“Then should we go somewhere around here? Or should we go a bit to the outskirts?”
“Wouldn’t it be a bit troublesome if we go far?”
“What would be?”
Muyeon responded nonchalantly. Seungju tilted his head.
“It’s the weekend so traffic will be heavy. Weekends are short and it’s not like we’re going that far, but it’d be a bit of a waste to spend time on the road. And you’d be tired from driving.”
“Hey, it’s the weekend so we should go out. When could we go anywhere on weekdays?”
“Well, that’s true….”
Seungju realized he’d spoken like an office worker worn down by the company again. A sad office worker who only sleeps in bed until just before death on weekends. Seungju said with self-deprecation and a laugh.
“You’re positive, Muyeon. And full of energy too.”
Seungju swallowed his next words. You’re really different from me in many ways. That was the truth. Everything was different from all the trivial aspects involved in eating a single meal. Of course their family relationships were different, and his relationship with them was the complete opposite of Seungju’s. The meaning of time spent at the company would be completely different, so their attitude toward weekend time was different too.
However, Muyeon’s answer was different from Seungju’s thoughts.
“You are too, Seungju.”
“Me, where?”
“You’re diligent when working. And pretty on days off too.”
He strikes again. Honestly amazing. Seungju closed his mouth that had unconsciously fallen open. He held back his cheekbones that were twitching on their own, but he couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from rising.
“Muyeon, you’re really straightforward.”
“That’s good, right?”
Muyeon, who had put down his fork, smiles brightly. Seungju unconsciously nodded.
***
The two ended up deciding to go to a cafe in the suburbs. Getting into his car, Seungju thought anew. Is this why they say to date a man with a car?
The road wasn’t very congested. It was more awkward that he’d held back earlier. But he naturally got excited at the thought of going far for the first time in a while. As if matching Seungju’s mood, EDM started playing again from the internal speaker that had been flowing gently. Muyeon reached out his hand again and skipped the song.
“Ah, why is it doing this?”
“Isn’t it because you like this kind of music, Muyeon?”
“I set it to random play. I guess this kind of music is popular these days. Or I’ll play something you like, Seungju.”
“A song I like?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“I listen to a lot of foreign songs… it might not be your taste, Muyeon.”
“It’s okay.”
Seungju chose relatively safe songs from the music app’s playlist. After connecting his phone to the speaker as Muyeon had taught him, he played the music.
“What, I know Post Malone too.”
“I played it because it’s the safest choice, didn’t I?”
“Then what else do you like?”
“Ah, this is kind of embarrassing.”
“What is?”
“You know, it’s like going on a blind date and acting pretentious saying the songs I listen to are high-class tastes unknown to the masses and whatever, but when you actually reveal it, the artist turns out to be Coldplay or Nirvana—I feel like I’ve become that guy from those stories. It feels like I’ve become a Hongdae disease patient.”
Hahaha…. Muyeon burst into laughter. He thought it would stop soon, but he kept laughing while hitting the steering wheel. Ho, Hongdae disease, hahaha…. Seungju laughed along. How embarrassing.
Muyeon, who finally stopped laughing, said.
“I’ve been thinking this for a while, but you’re really funny, Seungju.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Ah… really hilarious. But I’ve never listened to Coldplay songs.”
“Hey, you’d recognize it if I played it. It comes out a lot in commercials.”
Seungju played a Coldplay song on the next track.
“Ah, that’s right. I think I’ve heard it before.”
“Right?”
Seungju hummed along to the bridge part and Muyeon tapped his hand on the steering wheel. Thanks to laughing to his heart’s content just now, Muyeon seemed to be in a good mood.
“What kind of music do you like, Muyeon?”
“I just listen to anything. I go to quite a few concerts with my family though….”
“What kind of concerts? Like classical concerts or something?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
The expensive taste that runs at the extreme opposite of Seungju isn’t even surprising anymore. Seungju nodded.
