DI Ch 117

I must have rambled in my sleep because he chuckled lightly. He hugged my waist and rubbed my cheek. Even though I was reluctant because it was someone else’s memories, on the other hand, it felt good to feel like I was experiencing a happy childhood. Seo Seung-joon, who ran around aimlessly, caught insects, and cried because he stepped on mud, was all innocent and adorable as there was no threat at all… I hadn’t expected Lee Hyun-wook to appear. I didn’t know if they went to the same primary school.

“But hyung, what are you making?”

“Breakfast.”

While rubbing my head with a hazy mind on his hard back, I suddenly became curious and stuck my head out from between his sides. Beyond the cleared view,  I could see his large hand skillfully detaching a halved avocado. Unlike before, his handling of crushing and processing ingredients was proficient.

I knew how to cook some food while living on my own, but I couldn’t do it. Well, I could handle making rice myself, but my cooking skills and the type of food he wanted were different. Of course, it was a given that I only knew how to make simple and easy things. And what he wanted was a perfectly healthy meal that was not only diverse in terms of ingredients but also nutritious and looked good.

In the end, we compromised, and I ended up ordering well-prepared dishes every time. However, occasionally, he would fill the dining table. It wasn’t extravagant, but the fact that he cooked himself was visually pleasing, and it was a loss to miss the show.

As I watched, hanging onto the back of the cook’s waist, a finger covered in sauce approached me. He asked as I instinctively opened my mouth and tasted it.

“How is it?”

“Umm…”

After pausing with a subtle expression on my face, he held out another finger dipped in sauce. I licked it clean until it made a sound and nodded. I think the slightly sour flavor goes well with other ingredients.

“Should we go with this one?”

I was about to say yes, but as I saw his fingers that I had sucked on being licked by his tongue and his soft-moving lips, I discreetly withdrew.

“Why? Don’t you like it?”

“…”

“What. Are you saying it’s not that good?”

“…”

I hid behind the person waiting for an answer and hugged him tightly by the waist. Anyway, he started flirting in the morning even though he had no intention of doing it… Even if he didn’t do it intentionally, it was a really bad habit. As I was trying to hide my flushed face and not answer, a low sound of laughter came from above my head.

I’d get teased for thinking about something dirty. He wouldn’t miss the chance to tease me. Ah, no, he hasn’t been joking much recently, so maybe he won’t do that. Reflecting on the day we implicitly turned away from each other, I dropped my head in thought.

The sound of clattering dishes echoed, and I closely followed him heading for the eggs. It might be annoying to be followed like this, but he didn’t seem to mind much.

This time there was a bagel on the cutting board. He spread avocado on the half-cut bagel, then added lettuce, thinly sliced tomatoes, and cheese, just like a hamburger tower.

I usually make things roughly as long as they taste good, thinking the appearance is not that important. However, as he built it like a tower and adjusted its size so it wouldn’t collapse, it felt like he was playing house, so I stared at it without realizing it. He made it delicately with rough hands.

Next, he brought out a good piece of meat, which I didn’t know where he had kept it, and prepared various salads that would be easy to eat. As I watched and listened to the sound of grinding black pepper, Tae Seong-je suddenly spoke.

“After your midterm exams.”

Suddenly, midterms? I raised my head with a question, and he continued.

“You said you were going down to your parents’ house and coming back, right?”

“Oh, right.”

I completely forgot about the school uniforms. I playfully touched the firm waist I was holding onto. Even if I fumbled around like this, there was no reaction. Well, considering the atmosphere, what was the point of getting the school uniforms? It had been a while since I had lost motivation, so I lowered my gaze with a sad expression on my face. Instead of answering, I lazily mumbled, and he unexpectedly said something.

“Would you like to go and get some fresh air tomorrow? It’s been a while since we ate out.”

“For lunch?”

I raised my head quickly and asked as if testing the waters. Because someone was too busy and had even lost the time to eat together at home. Since that day, we’ve spent more time together at home, but anyway.

As I kept snooping around, irritated by the gaze I couldn’t meet because he was busy cooking, he casually spoke up.

“Class.”

“They’re canceled. I have a break tomorrow.”

Even a self-imposed break is still a break. It was a class where attendance wasn’t crucial, but to be honest, I would have skipped it even if it wasn’t. Because this was a date. A long-awaited date.

“Great. Since we’re going out, let’s have dinner too.”

“Outside? Really?”

“Really.”

I quickly closed my mouth and nodded.  I haven’t been able to relax and have fun outside due to safety concerns and being overly cautious lately. A full dinner outside was always delightful, regardless of how nice it tasted. I couldn’t hide my good mood until the moment I took my morning medicine.

“Do you like it that much?”

Tae Seong-je, who was about to fill the half-full cup with water, asked while smiling as if finding me amusing. I trailed off as I rubbed my cheek, which was red in embarrassment for no apparent reason.

“Well, you know. It’s been a while since we went for a drive.”

I was so embarrassed that I quickly fetched some water and took the medicine. Then again today, he got up from his seat only after seeing me eating the medicine.

“Do you have work?”

“I’ll come in before your classes end, so you should come in early too.”

I nodded and stopped him from cleaning up the dishes. After a moment of meaningless bickering, I loaded the dishes into the dishwasher. I pressed the power button and stretched my body while looking out the window.

As I walked lightly to the bathroom, I saw Tae Seong-je applying shaving foam. It was just shaving, but he looked good, so I would occasionally run over to watch. I squeezed some toothpaste onto my toothbrush and brushed my teeth while resting against the wall, finding a comfortable position.

“Do you have a beard too?”

He asked out of the blue. I was so flustered that I stopped brushing my teeth.

“Hyung, I’m a guy too.”

“I know that the best. So, did you grow one?”

“…Not yet.”

It was a pity that even though the second puberty was over, the beard did not grow well. Still, I was sure I would grow a beard soon enough as I was losing more and more of my baby hair.

“I want to grow a mustache.”

When I looked in the mirror, I saw Tae Seong-je wrinkling his nose at the words I said half-jokingly and half-seriously. It seemed like he was frowning on purpose to suppress laughter. Well, it might suit me. I was grumbling inside when he put a lot of shaving foam on my cheek. I complained and told him not to play around, but he had to put foam on the opposite side of my nose, which I had to rinse my mouth with afterward. Now I was about to wash my face, but he turned my body around to stop me.

“Do you know how to shave?”

Tae Seong-je tilted his head and asked, as I stared blankly at him.

“I know. This is it.”

I stopped talking and closed my eyes. Where did I learn this? I know how to do it, but I had no memory of learning it, did I… Maybe from my father. Usually, I learned these things from him. Or not. Perhaps from a friend. Some kids start early, maybe I learned from them during a casual conversation.

It wasn’t that my memory deteriorated because I grew older; but how do I explain that it was just that memories of people and experience disappeared, leaving only knowledge? If asked, I could simply blame it on memory loss, but it was complicated.

While I was rolling my mind and unable to answer, he continued gently spreading the shaving foam over my chin.

“If you want to grow a mustache, apply foam only to the areas except for that part. Oh, don’t move.”

“Hyung, you’re not going out?”

“Stay still.”

It wasn’t slow, nor was it fast, but the skillful hand movements made it appear so easy. Even though he hasn’t finished it himself, and if he’s going out right now, does he have time to play around?

“…”

“…”

It wasn’t unusual because we were so close and it was part of our daily life, but for some reason, my heart was fluttering. Even his breath was familiar, so why was I so nervous? He tapped my cheek while I shifted my stiff body uncomfortably.

“Focus.”

For a moment, I recalled the movement of his lips. His mouth was slightly open, showing his teeth, and then his tongue… Despite his instruction to focus, I unintentionally put all my attention on strange things.

“After the cheeks, all the way down to the chin.”

I swallowed hard when he tapped the razor against the sink to shake off the foam. Damn, the blade slipped smoothly under my chin.

It didn’t hurt, but the sounds and feelings were weird and unsettling, so my fingers kept twitching. I concentrated to prevent any excitement and to keep my breathing steady.

Finally, when it was over, he cleaned the leftover foam from my face with a cold towel. Stepping back, his eyes inspecting my face seemed like an artist admiring his own creation, and I felt like I had become his masterpiece.

Tae Seong-je frowned and twisted his lips.

“I shouldn’t have shaved it.”

“…You didn’t shave anything.”

Feeling more at ease than before, I leaned against the wall and idly responded, but he made an insensitive remark.

“Well, you still have some fuzz.”

“I don’t have any.”

“Not having a little fuzz on my baby’s face is weird.”