DP Side Story 2, Episode 22
by BrieDeep Pivot Side Story 2, Episode 22
“Lieutenant, seriously.”
Yeon-woo, hands on his hips, stared intently at Seo-joon. His eyebrows were sharply raised like clock hands pointing to ten past ten, his whole face broadcasting how angry he was.
“If you keep it all to yourself and don’t tell me, how am I supposed to know whether to stay still or not?”
Ugh, that stubbornness, seriously… Still sounding stuffy from his blocked nose, Seo-joon muttered. Yeah, Cha Yeon-woo was never easy to deal with. And the innocent Cha Yeon-woo was the most unyielding of all. It was clear he still had no idea just how much of a depraved degenerate his older lover really was, even after everything.
Their gazes met silently in the air. Seo-joon closed his eyes solemnly, like a saint bestowed with a noble baptismal name.
“…I was just too touched, Yeon-woo.”
He liked that baptismal name so much, he felt like changing his legal name.
From now on, his name was “Seo-joon hyung,” and his bed title was “honey.”
“…On that note, could you call me ‘hyung’ one more time?”
The long-awaited day had finally come.
It was the wedding day of Jin Cheong-oh and Hong Yeong-gyo—the same pair who’d humiliated their team into rehearsing a cheesy wedding song and had shamelessly put Yeon-woo in charge of carrying the world’s most outrageous flower basket.
Wearing a soft blue suit, Yeon-woo glanced sideways from the passenger seat at Seo-joon. Both of their outfits had been chosen by Cheong-oh and Yeong-gyo. Seo-joon, silent at the wheel, wore a dark navy suit and a watch gifted by Cheong-oh.
“……”
At a red light, Seo-joon turned his head toward Yeon-woo, who quickly averted his gaze toward the window. The car started moving again, quiet and smooth.
Yeon-woo clutched his seatbelt with both hands, sneaking glances at Seo-joon. Dressed more formally than usual, the lieutenant looked almost too handsome to approach. The sharp line of his exposed forehead, the straight bridge of his nose cutting diagonally, the defined jawline, and the Adam’s apple protruding just below it—everything made Yeon-woo’s heart flutter.
The car stopped again at another light.
“……”
As Seo-joon turned his head once more, Yeon-woo hurriedly looked out the window again. Beside him, a breathy laugh slipped out.
“Yeon-woo, you’re gonna burn a hole through me.”
“……”
“No one’s going to scold you for staring.”
Seo-joon reached over to take his lover’s hand and laughed, surprised by how damp it was with sweat.
“Why are you so nervous?”
Yeon-woo, ears red at the tips, avoided his gaze. His voice came out in a tiny murmur, barely louder than a whisper.
“I don’t know.”
Seo-joon laced their fingers together gently and let out a disbelieving laugh.
“You just look so amazing today… I’m nervous.”
“Should I dress like this all the time?”
“No, please don’t. If you do, I’ll seriously die from heart palpitations.”
Still keeping his eyes on the road, Seo-joon couldn’t stop smiling. He didn’t know who was saying this nonsense, all dressed up like a flower.
“You look so good in that, Lieutenant, I can’t even talk to you properly. I feel like I shouldn’t meet your eyes.”
Seo-joon rubbed his thumb along the back of his chatty lover’s hand, unfazed by the never-ending stream of nonsense.
“Just think about how I got a nosebleed the other day. That might make it easier.”
Yeon-woo suddenly covered his mouth and giggled. He remembered Seo-joon’s face as he’d shoved him down with that stuffy, nasally voice, whispering like a pervert, “Yeon-woo, please… just call me hyung one more time…” He’d never imagined that one little “hyung” could make Seo-joon nosebleed like that. It was ridiculous.
Anyway, the shameful memory of their first kiss—the one that made him kick his blanket for days—had been mostly replaced by the image of Seo-joon’s gushing nosebleed. Now they both had reasons to kick their blankets side by side.
“…Did it really feel that good?”
“Anything’s good as long as it’s not from you, Lieutenant.”
“Hyung. Seo-joon hyung.”
Hearing it again, Seo-joon’s face lit up with a wide smile.
“I’m gonna nosebleed again, Yeon-woo.”
“Hyung.”
With the tension gone, Yeon-woo started chatting cheerfully, holding Seo-joon’s hand and laughing. Seo-joon kissed the back of his lover’s hand. Cha Yeon-woo really was full of charm. Even when he said just one word like “hyung,” he dragged it out in a way that messed with your head. Seo-joon didn’t know whether he did it on purpose or was just born that way.
Yeon-woo must’ve thought the nosebleed thing was just a joke. Sitting next to him and softly chirping “hyung, hyeooong” in that cute voice, he made Seo-joon press the bridge of his tingling nose. At this rate, he was going to die young from high blood pressure.
When they arrived at the wedding hall, familiar faces started popping up. Colonel Jin, who was busy greeting guests, spotted them and came over.
“Well, well! Look who it is.”
Colonel Jin almost hugged Yeon-woo as he greeted him warmly. Seo-joon smiled and shook hands. The Colonel had more white hair than before. With many years in the military, there were lots of uniformed guests at the ceremony.
“Congratulations, Colonel Jin. You can finally rest easy now.”
“Oh please, not yet. Do you know how much I’ve spent on wedding gifts?”
The Colonel chuckled at Seo-joon’s words.
“I keep telling you two to come visit with the baby, but you never show up.”
“I thought you’d be too busy preparing for the wedding, sir.”
“Don’t give me that. It’s not even my wedding.”
“We’ll definitely visit soon, Colonel.”
At Yeon-woo’s words, the Colonel melted like a proud grandpa. He insisted they call before coming so he could prepare something delicious, then left to greet more guests.
While Seo-joon went off to help with preparations, Yeon-woo and Do-young stood at the back of the guest section holding the flower baskets. Soon, the microphone came on with a soft hum, followed by a calm, articulate voice that sounded like a professional announcer.
“The wedding ceremony for today’s bride and groom will begin shortly. Guests, please take your seats. A beautiful ceremony is about to start.”
Hearing his lover’s wonderful voice echo through the hall, Yeon-woo’s heart skipped again, and he bit his lip. Our lieutenant is amazing… just amazing. Taking out his phone, he zoomed in the camera and filmed Seo-joon at the podium.
The chattering died down as guests settled into their seats. The wedding lights dimmed.
“Now, we begin the wedding ceremony of groom Jin Cheong-oh and bride Hong Yeong-gyo. Please join us in warm applause and heartfelt blessings.”
Both Do-young and Yeon-woo, with phones in hand and lacking free fingers, clapped by pressing their remaining hands together.
Unlike their bizarre wedding photoshoot theme, the ceremony was surprisingly typical. Maybe they had free rein to take any kind of photo they wanted abroad, but the actual ceremony was a matter of family pride—so they’d probably had to tone it down.
After Cheong-oh marched in proudly, Do-young and Yeon-woo got ready for their part. Yeong-gyo, in her white gown, was waiting at the end of the wedding aisle.
“Now, here comes the most beautiful star of today. Let’s welcome the bride with warm applause.”
Do-young and Yeon-woo entered first, tossing petals toward the aisle and guests. When they neared the end, Seo-joon gave a composed signal: “Bride, enter.”
Yeong-gyo began walking down the flower-strewn path. As Yeon-woo walked off the stage, he met Seo-joon’s gaze and smiled while scattering the last of the flowers.
Seo-joon ran the event with complete composure, not a trace of nerves. Yeon-woo loved seeing this new side of him. Our lieutenant was a natural—there wasn’t a single thing about him that wasn’t cool. He said this was his first time hosting a wedding, but how was he so good at it?
Then something unexpected happened. During the bowing ceremony to both families, Cheong-oh suddenly burst into tears. Overcome by his emotions, he bowed in front of Colonel Jin, who covered his face in embarrassment, hand pressed to his forehead.
Yeong-gyo, visibly exasperated, eventually followed Cheong-oh and bowed as well. Laughter spread through the guest section.
“A touching moment indeed. Though difficult, we kindly ask the groom’s father to shed at least one tear in response.”
Seo-joon’s calm joke reignited the laughter. The officiant and vows followed.
“Now, let’s take a moment to hear the groom’s thoughts on marriage.”
With a booming shout, Cheong-oh dropped and began doing push-ups.