WYK 40

Each day passed without much happening.

Every morning, Jeong-yoon would ride in Chae-heon’s car to go back and forth between school and home. It felt like being a prince with a reliable bodyguard. However, Chae-heon didn’t even touch him, let alone kiss him. The only thing that had changed was his constant questioning of her whereabouts.

Right now, Jeong-yoon was sitting in the passenger seat of Chae-heon’s car. It seemed she had gotten used to commuting with him, as Jeong-yoon’s voice filled the silence inside the car.

“Today’s group presentation… I did present, but honestly, even I didn’t fully understand the content. The professor probably noticed, right? I should have taken other elective courses instead of choosing law.”

“Don’t worry about it. Except for the professor, nobody probably understood what you were saying anyway.”

“Do you think so?”

“Yeah. I pretend to understand when others present, too.”

Chae-heon said with a laugh in his soothing voice. Thanks to him, Jeong-yoon felt somewhat relieved. His confident tone made him more trustworthy.

As they chatted away, they soon found themselves near Jeong-yoon’s home. The high school building briefly came into view behind the green trees of the park. It was the school they had attended together. Suddenly, Jeong-yoon remembered something he had said. It was about moving to this place. He turned his head to look at the distant high school building before shifting his gaze forward again.

“You said you were going to move. Did you?”

“I did.”

“Wouldn’t it be a bit sad to move? Leaving your cozy home behind.”

“Well…”

Chae-heon replied somewhat hesitantly. Well, the last time Jeong-yoon saw his house, it looked more like a hotel than a home. It was tidy and neat, with only the essentials. It was functional but lacked warmth.

“Did you pack up your luggage yourself?”

“I didn’t have much to pack, since I bought everything new.”

“You bought everything new?”

“Yeah. I didn’t want to bother with moving it all.”

Jeong-yoon nodded with a puzzled expression. Ah, I see. So, if it was bothersome to move, you just buy new things. Such an easy solution. As expected, the scale was different.

Chae-heon took care of his daily commute to and from school, making him feel like he was a prince with him as his bodyguard. But in reality, Chae-heon was the prince. Jeong-yoon scratched the car door with his fingertips before lifting his head and giving a wry smile.

***

“Thank you for today too. Goodbye, see you next week.”

Jeong-yoon smiled brightly as he spoke the last words. He wouldn’t see him until Monday, as tomorrow was the weekend. As a farewell gesture, he waved his hand before pulling the door handle. But the door didn’t open.

“Kang Chae-heon. Please open the door.”

Jeong-yoon pulled the handle again and turned his head towards Chae-heon. His finger was pointing at the car door.

However, instead of opening the door, Chae-heon gently leaned in toward Jeong-yoon. Jeong-yoon stopped breathing.

Was he thinking of kissing him? It’s broad daylight. Even though the tinting is dark, still… But should he close his eyes now?

All kinds of delusions were floating in Jeong-yoon’s head. However, contrary to Jeong-yoon’s expectations, Chae-heon did not kiss him. He just spoke to Jeong-yoon while looking into his eyes. It was a relief he didn’t close his eyes. Otherwise, he would have been really embarrassed.

“Let’s meet this week instead of next.”

“This week?”

Jeong-yoon leaned further against the backrest. However, Chae-heon’s body, which was already close, did not move away. It was a somewhat tense atmosphere. They had never been this close in broad daylight before, which made it even more nerve-wracking.

“I’ve finished cleaning up my house, so come over.”

“House? Are other people coming too?”

“Why would other people come to my place?”

Chae-heon answered clearly. The response was so decisive that Jeong-yoon felt stupid for asking the question.

“Yeah, got it. I’ll go.”

Jeong-yoon nodded without much hesitation. He couldn’t miss this opportunity. He could see him even on the weekend, so of course he had to go.

Only then did Chae-heon lowered his body slightly. As his scent and warmth drifted away, Jeong-yoon felt a mixture of relief and slight disappointment.

“Come tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow, right away?”

“Yeah. In the evening.”

“Okay. Give me your address.”

“No, I’ll come pick you up.”

It wasn’t like Chae-heon was escorting him, so why did he come to pick him up? But even as he thought that, Jeong-yoon nodded politely. There was no reason to refuse since he was offering to drive him personally.

“Alright. Then I’ll really go home now. Take care.”

This time, he gave his real last farewell and stepped out of the car.

As he typed in the apartment password, his mind wandered. What should he bring as a housewarming gift? He couldn’t just show up empty-handed. With a serious expression, Jeong-yoon headed toward the elevator.

At that moment. Chae-heon stared at the apartment entrance and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. He completely erased the smile he had shown to Jeong-yoon, and just stared at Jeong-yoon’s back with sunken eyes as if lost in thought, he continued to stare at Jeong-yoon’s figure until it disappeared from view.

***

“Mom, can I bring this wine?”

“But that was the gift your dad received for Chuseok. Who are you giving it to?”

“Kang Chae-heon… You remember him, right? He was the class president for all three years of high school.”

“The tall and handsome one?”

Jeong-yoon’s mother immediately thought of Chae-heon when she heard Jeong-yoon’s words.

By that point, Jeong-yoon couldn’t help but smirk as he retrieved the wine. Well, Chae-heon’s appearance was one that wouldn’t be easily forgotten after just one encounter. Not only was he handsome, but he also had a distinctively upright demeanor and an inexplicable aura that drew quite a bit of attention.

“Yeah, that handsome guy. He goes to the same university as me. We’re in the same department.”

“Is that so? Then you should have brought him home. I would have made something delicious for him.”

“… It wasn’t like that between us to bring him home… Anyway, he’s inviting me to his housewarming, so can I bring this wine as a gift?”

At those words, Jeong-yoon’s mother snatched the wine bottle from Jeong-yoon’s hand, put it back in the display case, and took out another wine. It was a black label wine that was proudly placed at the top.

“Then take this. He seems like a well-off kid, but I don’t want my son to fall behind.”

“…”

Receiving the wine, Jeong-yoon looked at it with a thoughtful gaze. His mother, who used to knock on doors, saying that using hot water for a long bath would result in high gas bills, and who would buy regular eggs when asked to buy eggs for animal welfare reasons, was now personally handing him expensive wine.

‘Kang Chae-heon seems to be doing well. With his neat appearance, he looks like a young master.’

Jeong-yoon had never mentioned Kang Chae-heon’s wealth. His face seemed to radiate prosperity without any prior information. Indeed, with his smooth skin resembling marble and his always relaxed expression, even if he kept his mouth shut, it seemed like he was saying, ‘I have a lot of money.’

“Thank you, mom.”

Jeong-yoon hugged his mother and kissed her cheek a couple of times. His mother was disgusted and pushed him away, but her face was smiling brightly.

Now that the gift was prepared… all that was left was to wait a little while for Chae-heon’s car to arrive.

***

Chae-heon’s house was closer than expected. It was close enough that one could walk without needing to drive. It took less than five minutes by car, including the time waiting at traffic lights. If one were to walk, it was just across a small park and crossing one pedestrian crossing.

“Come in.”

Passing through the entrance held by Chae-heon, Jeong-yoon stepped inside.

A spacious, open structure with a cool marble floor. It was a place that felt quite different from the houses Jeong-yoon visited in Seoul. The house in Seoul had only one bed and didn’t look like a house where people lived, but here, this place had high-end furniture that hinted at the passage of time, and there were several framed photos by the entrance.

There were bright smiles in the pictures, of a pretty woman and a handsome boy who resembled her. They seemed to be Chae-heon and his mother. Jeong-yoon resisted the urge to examine the framed photos closely and moved on.

He placed the wine bottle on the center table in the living room. It was given to him by Jeong-yoon’s mother.

“This is a gift.”

“Thanks.”

Chae-heon answered in a humorous voice as he took the outerwear that Jeong-yoon had taken off and hung it on a hanger. Jeong-yoon felt embarrassed for some reason. He was a little embarrassed to hear gratitude from a guy who could afford to buy a lot of wine.

Chae-heon roughly hung the clothes hanger on the bookshelf and went to the kitchen. It looks like they will give something. Jeong-yoon glanced at his back and then walked towards the entrance. He wanted to see the framed photos he had glimpsed earlier. A while ago, he couldn’t bear to look at it properly because he felt like he was invading Chae-heon’s privacy, but now he felt like he was welcomed by him, which gave him a lot of courage.

Chae-heon cuddled his black-haired beautiful mother. Chae-heon holding a brown-haired puppy. Chae-heon blowing soap bubbles. There were no pictures of him when he was older, just pictures of Chae-heon as a child.

As Jeong-yoon passed by several photos of Chae-heon, he suddenly stopped in front of one. It was a picture of Chae-heon holding a bunch of yellow chrysanthemums in his arms. The little boy looked so innocent and charming that it was hard to tear one’s gaze away from the picture.

Indeed, beauty seemed to run in the family. Even as a little boy, he looked so pretty that one could believe he was a girl. It was amazing how genetics worked.

While Jeong-yoon was observing the photo, Chae-heon came up next to him. Jeong-yoon turned his head and smiled.

“Kang Chae-heon. All of this is you, right?”

“That’s right.”

“You were very pretty when you were young.”

“Not now?”

In response to Chae-heon’s question, Jeong-yoon tilted his head slightly. Under the soft lighting, Chae-heon’s eyes crinkled as he smiled beautifully.

“…”

Pretty. Yes, pretty. That’s right, pretty. Let him take all the praise and beauty for himself.

Jeong-yoon swallowed his inner thoughts and stared at the photo without giving a response. He felt an urge to give a positive answer, but for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He felt both flattered and nervous. He didn’t know how to describe this feeling.

“Anyway… this one was taken at the zoo. This one is probably at my aunt’s place.”

Chae-heon, who had been looking at photos together and explaining the place, soon left. This was because there was a ding sound from the oven or something.

Jeong-yoon looked at the photos alone, then returned to the sofa and sat down comfortably. Chae-heon, who had been going back and forth from the kitchen, was now filling the table with elegant dishes. The menu consisted of pasta, risotto, and pizza.

“You didn’t make it yourself, right?”

“I heated up the packaged food. I’ll do it myself next time.”

“I thought we were going to eat black bean noodles or sweet and sour pork.”

At those words, Chae-heon put down the cream pasta and laughed lightly.

“But you like this kind of food.”

“How did you know?”

“I just know.”

“Anyway… I will eat well.”

They sat side by side on the sofa and took bites of pizza and pasta.