TGMND 119

Time had passed since then. At some point, Yoon Ji-gu had grown enough that he no longer flinched or exited the game when he heard the word “fast.” Yeo-woon was a bit disappointed; he’d thought Ji-gu’s flustered reactions were cute.

“Ah, right.”

There was something he meant to say at the pool earlier, but he had completely forgotten. Why did he only remember it now?

[Couple] neutaaaa: Gubyeol

[Couple] Ji9star: Yeah?

[Couple] neutaaaa: I’m going to take a vacation this time

[Couple] neutaaaa: Want to go to the beach together?

[Couple] Ji9star: Why the beach?

[Couple] neutaaaa: It doesn’t have to be the beach

[Couple] neutaaaa: Let’s just go on a trip together lol

[Couple] Ji9star: Can we swim in this weather?

[Couple] Ji9star: But hyung

[Couple] neutaaaa: Yeah?

[Couple] Ji9star: …Are we staying overnight?

[Couple] neutaaaa: Since it’s far, I think we’d have to

Why is he like this, he doesn’t have anything to do anyway. He should just say yes, but he’s making a fuss pretending to think about it. Yeo-woon waited for his answer and then joked.

[Couple] neutaaaa: You’re not thinking anything weird, right? lol

[Couple] neutaaaa: Pervert Gubyeol

[Couple] Ji9star: ?? I haven’t said anything yet

[Couple] Ji9star: You’re more of a pervert for jumping to conclusions lol;;

[Couple] neutaaaa: Oh;;

[Couple] neutaaaa: So are you going?

[Couple] Ji9star: Of course

[Couple] Ji9star: Sigh, who else is going to save you if you fall in the water – _-

Actually, if Yoon Ji-gu had said no, Yeo-woon wasn’t planning to apply for vacation at all. He didn’t have anyone else he wanted to travel with this year.

[Couple] neutaaaa: Is any date okay?

[Couple] Ji9star: Wait wait

Yoon Ji-gu seemed to be checking his schedule as he was away for a moment. Then he came back after about a minute and said.

[Couple] Ji9star: Um, Monday to Sunday is fine, any day works for me

[Couple] neutaaaa: lololololololololol

[Couple] neutaaaa: I’ll keep that in mind

[Couple] Ji9star: Let me know when you decide on a date so I can skip my cafe part-time job >_<

[Couple] neutaaaa: But isn’t the owner your mother? What are you going to say to skip?

[Couple] Ji9star: Just… I’ll say something came up and I’m going on a business trip…

[Couple] neutaaaa: What kind of business trip does a college student have? Would she believe that?

[Couple] Ji9star: Ah I’ll handle it;; It’s my mom

[Couple] neutaaaa: What are you going to say?

[Couple] neutaaaa: What will you say? Gonna tell her your boyfriend told you to skip work? lol

At Yeo-woon’s words, Yoon Ji-gu messed up his skill. He fell from a high spot, losing half his HP from the fall damage, and climbed back up the ladder.

[Couple] Ji9star: Ah seriouslyㅡㅡ

[Couple] Ji9star: I almost died;;

[Couple] neutaaaa: lololololololol

[Couple] Ji9star: Hyung, are you messing with me now?

[Couple] neutaaaa: Yeah, it’s fun haha

[Couple] Ji9star: ㅡㅡ;;

Yoon Ji-gu directed his frustration towards the monsters instead of Yeo-woon. After quickly clearing the map, he took Yeo-woon to the next map.

[Couple] Ji9star: But hyung

[Couple] Ji9star: Since you brought up the trip first, I’ll just ask directly @_@ We need to be clear about these things so I can prepare

[Couple] Ji9star: Are we… planning to, you know… that day? Haha

“…”

Yeo-woon chuckled awkwardly. He’d anticipated Ji-gu might misunderstand, but he genuinely just wanted to go out and have fun together this time. But it seemed his suggestion came across to Ji-gu as some sort of scheme. This time, it really wasn’t like that…

[Couple] neutaaaa: I thought you were saving yourself for marriage

[Couple] Ji9star: ㅡㅡ You seduced me first hyung

[Couple] Ji9star: And we’re married in the game, you know ><

[Couple] Ji9star: You’re the one who suggested we stay overnight on this trip. How am I supposed to interpret that? In movies, whenever they go on trips, they always do it, haha, it’s obvious~

[Couple] neutaaaa: Games and movies are fake, live in reality Ji-gu… Come to your senses, don’t abandon your principles

The fresh memory of that painful day was still vivid for Yeo-woon. Honestly, he was still a bit scared, so he was trying to let Ji-gu down gently, but then came a completely unexpected reply.

[Couple] Ji9star: I lol just converted lol

[Couple] neutaaaa: ?

[Couple] Ji9star: Namo Amitabha

[Couple] neutaaaa: Are you crazy;

[Couple] Ji9star: I prayed and asked Buddha, and he said it’s okay to do it with you lol

[Couple] neutaaaa: Where are you right now?

[Couple] Ji9star: At home lol

[Couple] Ji9star: I know I looked pathetic to you before, but…

[Couple] Ji9star: I’m theoretically super knowledgeable now lol Just need practical experience lol

“…”

Seriously? Yeo-woon quietly got up and put on his slippers at the entrance. Then he opened the door, went out to the hallway, and pressed the doorbell of the next-door apartment. Ding dong, a clear doorbell sound was heard.

“Yoon Ji-gu, come out.”

-…

“Hey, come out right now. Are you not coming out?”

Yeo-woon knocked on the door hard. Apparently having heard his voice, the door opened slightly in less than 10 seconds. And through that gap, Yoon Ji-gu with flushed cheeks, looked at him.

“W-what is it.”

“Ji-gu, what did you say you wanted to do?”

“…”

“You said you’re knowledgeable in theory. Explain what theory.”

“…Isn’t it kinda low to just show up like this?”

“Why can’t you say anything while looking at my face?”

“Ah, geez…! Why’d you come over?”

Of course, I came to tease you. The more amusement seeped into Yeo-woon’s voice, the more Yoon Ji-gu’s face reddened and he gritted his teeth. It seemed he could say things in messages but was too embarrassed to say them face to face. Yeo-woon gently pinched and shook the cheek of the keyboard warrior living next door.

“Hey, Yoon Ji-gu.”

“…What?”

Yoon Ji-gu mumbled with a sulky face. His pronunciation was unclear as his cheek was being pinched and stretched.

“You’re not good in practice either.”

“Ha, you’ve only done it with me once and you’re acting like you know everything.”

“You should speak properly. We didn’t even finish.”

“…Then give me a chance. There’s a possibility I could be good. Who knows, maybe I’ll make you cry with how good it is.”

“Who was it that was sobbing in front of me? Pretty sure it wasn’t me.”

“Ah, stop picking on me. And if you’re going to make fun of me, just go! I need to play my game!”

“When I leave, you’re just going to start sending me a bunch of messages again saying things you won’t say to my face, aren’t you?”

Ji-gu, struck by his words, glared at him with fierce eyes, only to finally look away, seeming genuinely upset this time. If Yeo-woon teased him even a little more, Ji-gu might ignore his texts altogether. Yeo-woon decided to back off a bit.

“Alright, I’ll go then. Our little Ji-gu, have fun with your game, okay?”

“…”

The moment Yeo-woon turned around, smiling, Yoon Ji-gu grabbed his shoulder and quickly turned him back. Without giving him a chance to react, Ji-gu brought his angry face close, then planted two quick pecks on Yeo-woon’s lips before shoving him back and slamming his door shut.

“What was that?”

Left standing there after suddenly kissed and pushed out, Yeo-woon stared blankly at the slammed front door, then chuckled. Ji-gu was finally getting the hang of doing adorable things. Yeo-woon previously unwilling heart started to soften just a little bit.

***

The travel preparations for the two went smoothly.

“Let’s see…”

Yeo-woon read aloud the contents they had organized together on an A4 paper.

<Food>

– B Buckwheat Noodles: Famous for buckwheat noodles. There’s a famous macaron shop nearby in the market.

– XX Port A Sashimi Restaurant: Famous for sashimi.

– S University Main Gate Gopchang Restaurant: Famous for gopchang.

– D Fish Market: Lots of fish.

– Y Grilled Clams: Famous for grilled clams.

– Find more!

<Things to Bring>

– Meat

– Vegetables

– Kimchi and side dishes

– Swimwear (not full-body swimsuits)

<Things to Do>

– Watch the sunrise in the morning

– Swimming

– Go for a drive

– Make a sand sculpture of Yoon Ji-gu as a fish

“…”

Now that Yeo-woon looked at it, Yoon Ji-gu had secretly crossed out the sand sculpture part. He must have really disliked it… It didn’t seem like he would willingly go along with it.

On previous trips, other friends would prepare Excel spreadsheets detailing everything from the itinerary to the budget, organizing it like a mini-package tour. Compared to that, the plan they had worked hard on together seemed quite humble.

“I haven’t properly planned anything since using a planner for school….”

Yeo-woon lazily set the paper aside and sprawled out on his back.

“We’ll just go with the flow!”

It wasn’t as though they were traveling just to stick to a schedule. Forget the plan—what mattered was having a great time. Between work hours, Yeo-woon had managed to “borrow” some time to book an ocean-view resort with a huge pool. Meanwhile, he left the restaurant research to Yoon Ji-gu, who returned the next day with a list that Yeo-woon began marking on a map.

‘Huh?’

Something was off. Yeo-woon should have noticed when snacks kept piling up at Yoon Ji-gu’s house without decreasing. Compared to less than ten restaurants, there were over thirty places selling desserts like bakeries and macarons. While he had looked annoyed when asked to find good restaurants, it seemed he had searched quite diligently according to his own tastes. Yeo-woon marked the last macaron shop on the map with a star and closed the app with a chuckle.

‘Hyung, this’ll be my first trip with someone besides family since high school.’

As they discussed the trip, Ji-gu murmured this with a face bright with excitement.

‘Oh, really? You mean the school trip?’

‘What are you talking about! That’s not a trip! It’s a school event!’

‘Oh my, how noisy. Just asking. So in high school… with friends?’

‘Yeah. We skipped school to go to Incheon and eat grilled clams….’

‘Whoa… Was it good?’

‘It was, you know… pretty decent.’

Anyway, Yoon Ji-gu seemed very excited about going on a trip with someone other than family, and with someone he likes, for the first time in years. On the desk calendar in Yoon Ji-gu’s house, there were five red stars marked on their travel dates, and he had already arranged for his second-oldest brother to watch his cat for three days. He’d whispered this secret plan as if even the cat shouldn’t find out.

Yoon Ji-gu was more serious about this trip than anyone else.

Then suddenly, it occurred to Yeo-woon that getting around without a car for two nights and three days might be inconvenient. He promptly called up his younger sister, who still lived with their parents, and arranged to meet. Saturday morning, his phone vibrated loudly with an incoming call. The screen displayed the name “Lee Seol.”

“Hello?”

-I’m here.

Click. The call ended as soon as Yeo-woon answered.

“Same as ever.”

Apparently, even telling him to come down was too much of a hassle for her. Used to such one-sided notifications, Yeo-woon quickly opened the front door and ran out. After taking the elevator down to the first floor and going outside, there was a white car parked in front of the building with its engine running.

“Seol-ah.”

As soon as Yeo-woon called her name, the woman squatting in front of the car and rubbing at a faint scratch looked up. With her hair tied high, she raised her eyebrows at the sight of her older brother and got to her feet.

“Hey, Lee Yeo-woon. It’s been a while? You’re still alive?”

“What’s with the ‘hey’ when talking to your big brother?”

“Never mind that. If you eat anything in my car, you’re dead. Fill up the gas tank, get it thoroughly washed, and return it with something expensive inside.”

She raised his chin as if making a reasonable demand. Yeo-woon snorted at his sister’s brazen words.

“Why is this your car? It’s Mom’s car.”

“Mom told me to use it, so it’s mine.”

“Uh-huh, sure…”

“But who are you going on a trip with that you need to borrow a car? Ha Seon-young has a car too. Did you two fight or something?”

“Seol-ah, your sense of fairness never fails to impress.”

It was so consistent that she never called her own brother or his brother’s friend ‘oppa’ that it wasn’t even funny anymore. Seol had treated Yeo-woon worse than a friend since childhood. She hasn’t changed at all since then.

Yeo-woon took the car keys from Seol’s hand. Just as he did, Seol, still eyeing him with mild disapproval, held out her hand expectantly.

“Travel expenses.”

“Oh my, I came down in a hurry and forgot my wallet. What should I do?”

“Transfer it.”

“…”

“Don’t tell me you left your fingerprints at home too?”

Even after a long time, Seol is still Seol. Should he be grateful that she’s still consistently rude, or should he smack her like when they were kids?

“But Lee Yeo-woon, who are you really going on a trip with?”

“You don’t need to know.”

“I’m not really curious either. I just asked out of courtesy.”

…Well, at least she’s healthy.

After insisting that he transfer 100,000 won to her, Seol waved goodbye without a backward glance. Just as she turned around—

“Ah, what the—!”

“…What.”

She had run straight into someone’s chest. It was Yoon Ji-gu, who had rushed out of the café without even taking off his apron. Ji-gu turned his gaze to look at Yeo-woon. Seol, who was rubbing her forehead that had bumped into him, looked Ji-gu up and down, then turned her gaze to Yeo-woon, whom Ji-gu was looking at reproachfully.

“What? Someone you know?”

“He’s the guy living next door.”

“Ah, the neighbor. Hello.”

“…”

Seol bowed her head with a friendly smile, but Ji-gu just looked down at her without moving. Having her offered friendliness ignored, Seol also got annoyed and wiped the smile off her face.

“Seol-ah, go on ahead. I’ll contact you later.”

“Huh? You don’t need to contact me!”

Seol disappeared down the opposite street, muttering to herself about buying a sandwich. And left standing on the street were only Ji-gu and Yeo-woon.

“…”

“…”

Ji-gu’s eyes looked particularly… mournful today. He hadn’t said anything yet, but Yeo-woon was instantly overcome with guilt. And he took the opportunity to reflect on the past in his mind, wondering if he had done something wrong.

“Hyung.”

“Yes?!”

Here it comes. Yeo-woon realized that he had ignored five of Ji-gu’s messages last night because he fell asleep first, and braced himself.

“That person just now… who is she? I’m not being obsessive, I’m just curious.”

“…Huh?”

It was completely different from what Yeo-woon had expected.

“Don’t misunderstand. I don’t follow you around all the time or anything. I just happened to… well, you know, I was cleaning the café windows and happened to look out. But who is she really? Why were you looking at the phone together and acting so close? Why did you smile at her? How is your skinship so natural? Is she someone you were seeing before we started dating? Why are you meeting in front of here? With what confidence, when I could clearly see everything?”

“C-calm down.”

“Let me tell you one thing. I’m much, much, much better looking than her. And not to brag, but I’m also probably younger? So you’d better know how lucky you are. Don’t overthink it and explain quickly. Otherwise, I’m really going to get angry. I mean, wow, we’re supposed to hang out later, right? And you’re doing this on purpose, right here where you know I’m working. Is this some kind of jealousy strategy? If I hadn’t seen, you would have called him out to meet until I did see, right? But too bad for you—I don’t get jealous over stuff like this. I’ve told you a hundred times, this doesn’t work on me…”

“She’s my younger sister.”

“…!”

Ji-gu, who had been spilling out words, looking completely hurt, froze on the spot.

“W-w-what?”

“She’s my younger sister. She came by to lend us a car for our trip.”

“…Car?”

“Yeah. But when I go out with Seol, people always assume we’re siblings without me saying a word. She’s just a long-haired version of me. Don’t we look alike?”

“…”

Yoon Ji-gu’s eyes quivered like there was an earthquake. As he replayed everything he’d just said, his face turned pale.

“No wonder she looked so pretty…”

“You said you were better looking earlier.”

“Being handsome and pretty are different things.”

“Yeah, Seol is popular.”

“Is your sister’s name Lee Seol? That’s a really pretty name too. And now that I think about it, her voice sounded really sweet too…”

Ji-gu started praising Seol with all sorts of flattery. Occasionally stumbling over his words while checking Yeo-woon’s reaction, it was clear he was trying to make up for what he had said earlier.

“What! Did I say anything wrong?!”

Ji-gu, who had been rambling excuses to himself, suddenly raised his voice. His eyes narrowed fiercely, pretending to be angry. But Yeo-woon didn’t fall for his expressions anymore. To see Ji-gu’s true feelings in situations like this, it’s best not to listen to his words but to check the color of his neck or ears. A blushing Ji-gu meant he was feeling embarrassed or shy.

“Hyung.”

“What?”

“…Can you please text your sister and tell her I’m really, really sorry for glaring at her and ignoring her greeting?”

Just as expected, after a moment’s silence, he backed down and mumbled, looking defeated. As if he didn’t have a jealous bone in his body… Yoon Ji-gu was the jealous type—ridiculously cute about it, too.

“And what do I get in return?”

“Ah geez. What do you want?”

“Tell me your house password. Let me go up first and play with Bbosong while you’re working.”

“…Then you tell me your house password too.”

“12341234.”

“Are you crazy?! You’ll get robbed!”

“Ah, come on, just tell me.”

“…Give me your phone.”

Scolding Yeo-woon for mentioning something as sensitive as a passcode out loud where anyone could overhear, Ji-gu wrote his house password on Yeo-woon’s phone.

‘7849516203#’

There didn’t seem to be any pattern to the numbers. After sending Ji-gu back into the café, Yeo-woon parked the borrowed car and stood in front of Ji-gu’s door.

“Let’s see…”

As he placed his palm in front of the door lock, a keypad with numbers and symbols appeared on the screen. While entering the door lock number, comparing it with the password Yoon Ji-gu had given him, Yeo-woon finally realized the pattern of this password. It formed a shape—a diagonal line starting from the number 7 and moving up to the left.

“Well, I guess that’s one way to keep out thieves.”

For someone like Yoon Ji-gu, he seemed to have used his brain quite well. After pressing the pound button at the end, the door lock unlocked.

Beep.

As soon as he opened the door and entered, he met eyes with a cat who froze, staring at Yeo-woon with round eyes. The cat’s mouth was slightly open, with an expression that seemed to say, ‘Why are you here?’ It seemed strange to the cat that Yeo-woon suddenly entered using the password when Yoon Ji-gu wasn’t home. He couldn’t help but laugh at how the startled, frozen cat looked quite similar to its owner.

Yeo-woon picked up a cat toy strewn on the floor and started playing with Yoon Bbosong in a way the cat would enjoy. Just like his owner, the cat pretended not to care while obviously enjoying the soft pets along his fur.

“Bbosong, what do you think we should ask Ji-gu to have for lunch?”

Meow!

When Yeo-woon lazily swung the fishing rod toy with a noisy feather, the cat pounced, snatched the toy, and started gnawing on the end with a nom-nom sound. The sunlight slanting in was particularly warm, and today was as peaceful as always. Yeo-woon hummed a tune, gladly waiting for Yoon Ji-gu’s work to end.