Ian glanced sideways at the table. Not only did all the food look delicious, but it was as splendid as the interior. The dish containing the cold dish had a phoenix drawn with carrots and cucumbers, and other plates were decorated with flowers and fish.
“Please enjoy your meal.”
The staff member left those words and hurriedly exited the room. Unlike before, they didn’t release even a bit of pheromones meant to seduce Ganghyuk.
“Still embarrassed?”
When Ian didn’t move even after the staff member left, Ganghyuk asked in a voice tinged with laughter.
“I’m okay now.”
Ian, who had slapped both palms against his cheeks loudly, tried to get down from Ganghyuk’s thighs. Then Ganghyuk wrapped his arms around Ian’s waist.
“Eat sitting here. It’s more comfortable than a chair.”
Though to call it comfortable, the bulkiness pressing against his buttocks from earlier was distracting, but Ian stayed still obediently.
Although it was harder than a chair, Ganghyuk’s body temperature warmly embracing his back gave him a sense of stability. When they were alone at home, they were almost always like this, so it was familiar too.
“The food looks like works of art. I’ve never eaten anything like this before.”
As the tension loosened to some extent, the food came into view. Ian’s eyes sparkled at the splendid appearance.
Ganghyuk reached out and served the food onto a small plate in an easy-to-eat portion. When Ian, who had been licking his lips, tried to grab chopsticks, Ganghyuk pulled them back and fed him directly.
“Here, say ah.”
When the flustered Ian raised his head, Ganghyuk smiled gently. As if enchanted by the irresistible smile, Ian parted his lips.
Moving his jaw unconsciously, a chewy yet soft texture and sweet-and-sour taste filled his mouth.
“It’s really delicious…”
Not only was the inherent taste of the ingredients alive, but the seasoning wasn’t strong either, making it easy to eat. He felt a slightly unfamiliar taste, but it was harmoniously mixed with familiar tastes to the extent that he didn’t feel any resistance.
“I’m glad it suits your taste. Try this too.”
Rather than eating the food, Ganghyuk observed Ian’s variously changing expressions. Indeed, the saying about being full without eating wasn’t said for nothing.
Even without chewing the food, he could feel what it tasted like by watching Ian’s expression. Seeing him eat so well made him feel good.
Through Ganghyuk’s mind flashed the numerous restaurants he had been to. Even while selecting places worth taking Ian to among them, he busily moved his hands.
“Executive Director—no, hyung should eat too.”
Ian, who had tasted each dish once, grabbed Ganghyuk’s hand. When he came to his senses, he had been the only one consuming the food.
“Yeah. I’m eating.”
Ganghyuk picked up a piece of beef and ate it. It didn’t smell like meat and was delicious. But that was all. No matter how delicious the food, it didn’t move him more than watching Ian eat.
After that, countless more dishes came out. Even though they’d only ordered the course menu, the portions were substantial. Ian, who ate quite a lot for his build, was rubbing his belly with his palm by the time the jjajangmyeon came out.
The jjajangmyeon topped with half a boiled quail egg and thinly sliced cucumber was the only familiar-looking food he’d seen today.
At the familiar aroma, Ian brought his nose close to the bowl. When he took a deep breath, he could smell the delicious scent characteristic of jjajangmyeon.
It was a bit surprising that even a high-end restaurant served jjajangmyeon the same as what he usually ate.
“It’ll splatter on your face.”
Ganghyuk pulled Ian close to his body and mixed the noodles and sauce well with chopsticks. Seeing the glossy noodles, his stomach that had felt full just moments ago suddenly found some room.
Ian parted his lips. He waited for Ganghyuk to feed him, but when nothing entered his mouth even after waiting like that, he turned his head questioningly and saw Ganghyuk chuckling.
With an awkward laugh, Ian closed his mouth. This was why getting used to things was scary. Since Ganghyuk kept feeding him, he hadn’t even thought about eating the jjajangmyeon with his own hands.
After clearing his throat and gripping the chopsticks in his hand, only then did Ganghyuk feed Ian the jjajangmyeon.
“Mm. The jjajangmyeon tastes similar. I think the one I ate in the neighborhood was more delicious. Executive Director, you remember, right?”
The jjajangmyeon tasted more ordinary than expected. Maybe it was because he’d built up high expectations while eating the previous dishes. The jjajangmyeon from the neighborhood Chinese restaurant they’d frequented felt more delicious.
The texture of the ingredients was better here, but the unique savory flavor was stronger in what he usually ate.
“If you don’t like it, should I order something else?”
“Ah, it’s not that it’s bad. This is delicious too.”
Ian shook his head at Ganghyuk’s words. Besides, his stomach was quite full. When he touched his belly, he could feel it protruding roundly. Perhaps because he had no abs, his stomach stuck out as much as he ate.
For dessert, tangyuan and ice cream made with jasmine tea came out. Ganghyuk separately ordered and drank longjing tea.
Ian, who had only eaten the dessert with his own hands, left the restaurant with a satisfied face. Sucheol, who had finished eating first and was smoking in the smoking area, received Ganghyuk’s call and brought the car around.
“Hyung-nim, they said the luggage is all sorted.”
While driving, Sucheol talked about the moving progress. Ian grabbed Ganghyuk’s hand with an excited face.
It felt real now that he would be living in a new place. Thanks to quite a bit of time passing while they ate, the sunset was already setting outside the window.
His heart pounded thinking he would soon see the night view that Jaehyun had praised as spectacular.
The neighborhood Ian had lived in was in Seoul, but rather than high-rise buildings, there were mainly two and three-story buildings like the one with the soup restaurant.
The alleyways were so narrow that only one car could barely pass through, and the building colors were quite colorful. But in the neighborhood where Ganghyuk originally lived, the buildings were all so tall you had to tilt your head back to see them.
The black sedan entered the underground parking lot of the tallest building among them. Ian let out a small gasp of admiration watching the barrier rise after recognizing the vehicle number.
Inside the parking lot was full of expensive cars. At the sight of it packed full of various foreign cars he’d only seen on TV or the internet, Ian, who got out of the car, looked around like he’d come to an exhibition hall.
Ganghyuk draped his arm over Ian’s shoulder and asked. Seeing his admiring expression made him want to buy all the cars in here for him.
“Should I get you a car?”
“I don’t have a license though.”
“You can just get a license.”
“Later.”
Ian smiled and shook his head. If it were Ganghyuk, he seemed like he’d hand over car keys to a foreign car worth hundreds of millions tomorrow saying it was a gift.
“Hyung-nim, I’ll be heading in now.”
“Good work.”
“Yes.”
After Sucheol, who had greeted them, drove off, Ganghyuk got on the elevator with Ian. He took out a black card from his wallet, held it to the pad, and pressed the floor button.
“Keep one of these with you.”
Ian fiddled with the card Ganghyuk handed him. He’d heard it was a place with tight security, but it felt strange that you couldn’t even take the elevator without a card.
The elevator quickly rose toward the very top floor. With a ding, the door opened.
“Come here.”
There was only one front door on the top floor. Ganghyuk pulled Ian’s hand as he hesitated.
“Can you remember the password? This card only works for the lobby entrance and elevator.”
Ganghyuk looked at Ian before pressing the password. Ian answered with wide eyes.
“Of course. I have pretty good memory.”
Only his short-term memory was good, but he didn’t bother mentioning that. He could remember a password quickly enough. However, when eight non-repeating numbers were pressed rapidly, he only blinked.
89435… He barely memorized five. He’d forgotten that he was particularly weak with numbers. Even during English listening tests, when calculation problems came up, his head would strangely freeze and he’d get many wrong.
“…Can’t you just send it to my phone?”
His voice came out timidly at the thought that he couldn’t even memorize eight numbers despite speaking confidently. Ganghyuk smiled briefly and pointed inside the open door with his chin.
“I have to change the password anyway.”
“Why?”
“Because I gave it to Jaehyun.”
Then why did you tell me to memorize it, he protested with his eyes, but his back was pushed. The moment he stepped inside, Ian’s pupils trembled finely.
