DP Episode 89

Deep Pivot Episode 89

Resting his chin on his hand while holding the steering wheel, Seo-joon stared blankly ahead. Students in matching uniforms streamed out through the school gate.

Instinctively, he scanned the crowd for the student with white hair, noticing a silhouette that stood out a head taller than the others.

A smile slowly formed on Seo-joon’s face. Although the hood obscured his face, Seo-joon recognized Cha Yeon-woo by his stride alone.

Yeon-woo exited the gate and glanced around, looking in Seo-joon’s direction at the soft sound of a car horn. His faint smile appeared under the hood.

Seo-joon unlocked the car door. Monday, day one of his new job as the cute boyfriend’s morning chauffeur. As it turned out, he was enjoying it.

“Hello.”

Yeon-woo brought the cool scent of the breeze as he climbed into the car. Seo-joon pulled back the hood to reveal his face and brushed his cheek before retracting his hand.

He nearly forgot they were parked in front of the school and almost kissed him. Seo-joon leaned back into the driver’s seat instead of toward Yeon-woo.

“What did you do at school? Paid attention in class?”

“Today, we had morning classes and career education in the afternoon.”

Seo-joon entwined his fingers with Yeon-woo’s once they left the school road.

“Career education? What did you do?”

“Ring making.”

“Isn’t that something you do after exams?”

“Our school has a separate college entrance class. Apart from them, we often have career classes.”

Seo-joon took advantage of the stoplight to turn toward Yeon-woo and gave his hand a shake.

“Show me what you made.”

“Oh. It’s kind of embarrassing because I couldn’t make it well…”

Reluctantly letting go of Seo-joon’s hand, Yeon-woo rummaged through his pants pocket.

A bracelet stamped with the crooked letters

“CHA JEONG-WOO” rested in his hand.

“It’s a bracelet for Jeong-woo to prevent him from getting lost.”

With one hand on the wheel, Seo-joon smiled as he examined it. Since Cha Yeon-woo was cute, it made sense that the bracelet he’d made would be too.

“It’s nice. You’re pretty good with your hands, Yeon-woo. Show me the ring too.”

“…R-Ring?”

With wide eyes, Yeon-woo shook his head dramatically as if confused.

“No, I didn’t make a ring.”

“You said it was ring-making earlier.”

“….”

No… I didn’t say that… He mumbled uncertainly and put the bracelet back into his pocket. Watching his hand fidget around inside the pocket, Seo-joon chuckled.

It seemed like the ring Yeon-woo made wasn’t meant for Jung-woo after all.

…His feelings are so transparent.

It would take at least ten more years before Cha Yeon-woo could convincingly lie to Seo-joon.

“Show me the ring.”

Seo-joon held out his hand to him. After some hesitation, Yeon-woo eventually pulled his hand out of his pocket and placed a silver ring in Seo-joon’s palm. The exterior was simple and unadorned, but inside, there was a tiny engraving, “S♡Y,” that nearly made Seo-joon laugh.

Seo-joon casually slipped the ring onto his left ring finger, surprised to find that it fit perfectly.

“You made it so beautifully, so why hide it? Did you not want to give it after meeting me?”

Yeon-woo’s face flushed bright red at his teasing smile.

“I… didn’t want you to misunderstand.”

“Misunderstand what?”

“The kids in my class made their rings for their girlfriends, so I just made one too. Please don’t take it too seriously. I’ll give you a proper gift later.”

It seemed he didn’t want his first gift to be a hastily made silver ring from class. Seo-joon admired his hand with the ring.

“But it’s lovely. You made it yourself, Yeon-woo. This is the best gift I’ve ever received.”

“….”

“Thank you.”

Seo-joon intertwined their fingers and kissed the back of Yeon-woo’s hand. Yeon-woo averted his gaze and pulled his hood forward.

“…I’ll replace it with something really nice next time.”

He seemed to believe covering his face was enough to hide his emotions. But it was clear from his trembling voice and the slight sweat on his palm.

Seo-joon turned to face the front again, jokingly saying, “Yeon-woo, you’re surprisingly clever. You got my ring size just right.”

“…I measured your hand while you were asleep. My pinky is the same size as your ring finger.”

That much of a difference, huh? Pulling Yeon-woo’s hand to the wheel to compare, Seo-joon thought about how everything about Yeon-woo was large, which only made him cuter.

“When you think about it, that was really silly. Why measure someone’s finger while they’re asleep?”

The thought of Yeon-woo peering at his fingers while he slept made Seo-joon’s heart tingle, and his words came out sounding petulant. But instead of provoking a reaction, Yeon-woo gave a disarmingly honest answer.

“Well, it’s good to know in advance if we’re going to get couple rings later.”

For a moment, Seo-joon turned his head to look at him. How does he say such embarrassing things so easily? It’s a shame the hood hides his expression.

“Sounds like you’ve got a lot of plans in your head that I don’t know about, Yeon-woo.”

The car was already entering Yeon-woo’s neighborhood.

“Tell me more. What else have you planned?”

Yeon-woo gently traced the back of Seo-joon’s hand with his thumb as he spoke.

“I haven’t planned much. I just want to hold hands on dates, travel together, get couple rings, celebrate anniversaries… I want to do all of those things with you, one by one.”

These were simple things that any couple would do, but they were things Seo-joon had never considered.

“To do all that, you’ll have to live at least ten more years.”

“Ten years…? I’m planning a cruise trip with you for our 50th anniversary and a vow renewal ceremony on our 60th.”

“Slipping a wedding in there, thinking I’ll just go along with it.”

With Cha Yeon-woo, Seo-joon was gradually getting closer to a normal life, which felt more special than anything else.

Seo-joon parked the car in the alley in front of Yeon-woo’s house and turned off the engine. Before moving in together, they needed to organize Yeon-woo’s place. They got out of the car and descended the steep steps together.

✽✽✽

Seo-joon packed Yeon-woo’s belongings into the suitcase he’d brought. Most of them were school uniforms, casual clothes, and textbooks, which would no longer be needed in a few weeks.

“I thought there’d be more to throw away, but there isn’t much,” Seo-joon noted as he opened the refrigerator. None of the furniture in this house belonged to Yeon-woo. Even the utensils in the kitchen drawers were borrowed from what was already there.

“Excuse me,” came a woman’s voice from the open front door. A middle-aged woman peered in and entered with a bright smile upon seeing Yeon-woo.

“Oh, Yeon-woo! Moving out today?”

It was Choi Jeong-sook, the landlady with whom Yeon-woo had already exchanged messages over the weekend about ending his lease.

“Hello.”

“Hi, oppa…” came a voice behind Jeong-sook. Her daughter, Sun-ae, peeked around her, inspecting Seo-joon and Yeon-woo while adjusting her curled bangs.

“Is this the supervisor you mentioned?” Jeong-sook asked, glancing at Seo-joon.

“Goodness, you’re handsome.”

Seo-joon shook her hand while bowing in greeting.

“Nice to meet you.”

Still holding onto Seo-joon’s hand, Jeong-sook took Yeon-woo’s hand with her other.

“Yeon-woo told me about you. You must be so kind-hearted.”

Suddenly thrust into the role of a supervisor providing accommodation for a struggling subordinate, Seo-joon hid his guilty conscience behind a smile.

“Yeon-woo is so good-natured; he’ll be fine wherever he goes.”

If she knew that her “good-natured” Yeon-woo was about to move in with his boyfriend, who was nine years older, she probably wouldn’t be smiling so warmly.

“Thank you for everything,” Yeon-woo said, offering a box of drinks they’d bought at the convenience store earlier and bowing politely.

“Oh, you shouldn’t have.”

Accepting the box, Jeong-sook looked around the house. Even though she wouldn’t feel upset about losing a tenant without a lease, she felt a bit sentimental after several years with Yeon-woo.

Her gaze wandered to the broken glass front door. Tsk. She clicked her tongue in regret. Since Yeon-woo was a large male student, she had managed to make excuses, but to find a new tenant, she needed to replace the door with a steel one.

“I’ll cover the cost of fixing the door.”

“Huh? Oh, no need.”

Jeong-sook waved her hands dismissively at Seo-joon’s offer.

“I should have replaced it earlier, but I kept putting it off.”

“Yeon-woo told me how much he relied on you. Please accept this as a thank you.”

“Oh, well… if you insist, I can’t refuse.”

She chuckled brightly and without hesitation. Seo-joon handed the suitcase to Yeon-woo.

“Why don’t you go to the car first, Yeon-woo?”

Nodding, Yeon-woo hugged Jeong-sook in farewell before leaving the house.

“Send me the estimate after changing the door.”

Seo-joon handed her his business card.

“Oh, so you’re a lieutenant.”

She glanced at the card and nodded.

“And…”

He waited a moment until Yeon-woo was out of earshot before continuing.

“Do you know Cha Yeon-woo’s father?”

“Of course. He didn’t visit often, but I recognize him. Always made a scene whenever he came.”

“If he ever comes here again, please contact me, not Yeon-woo.”

Jeong-sook promised to do so and nodded repeatedly. After saying goodbye, Seo-joon left.

Sun-ae, who had been silently clinging to her mother, suddenly patted her shoulder.

“Mom, that guy’s really handsome, right?”

“You’re starting again.”

“They must pick espers based on their looks.”

“You really sound dumb, even for my own daughter.”

“But he’s got a girlfriend. I saw it.”

Sun-ae rolled her bangs back into place with a hair roller while pointing to the ring finger of her left hand. Ignoring her, Jeong-sook looked at Seo-joon’s business card again and shook her head.

No matter how good a boss he was, wasn’t it a bit too much? She clicked her tongue. I don’t mind getting a free door replacement, but… She sighed with a mix of relief and disappointment before linking arms with Sun-ae.

“Will Yeon-woo come back?”

“Why would he? He’s now a guide with a bright future ahead of him. He won’t miss a semi-basement like this.”

“Oh, I should have hugged him while I had the chance.”

Darkness fell over the empty house as the mother and daughter continued chatting while walking up the stairs, their voices growing distant.