SDM 69

Ryu Byung-chan, not as the chairman of Ryu Shin Group but as Ryu Chae-yoon’s father, really seemed to have wanted to see Baek Sang-hyun in person. He looked at Baek Sang-hyun for a long time, then extended his hand again.

“Please take good care of Chae-yoon.”

“…”

“He was a very sick child. Seeing how much he likes you, I don’t even think about stopping it.”

“…Yes, I’ll treat him really well.”

To ensure he never gets sick again. Seemingly satisfied with the answer that contained no lies, Ryu Byung-chan’s eyes curved slightly behind his glasses.

“Well, I’m sorry for troubling you to come all the way here.”

“Not at all. I was glad to meet you too, Chairman.”

“Oh, and if you don’t have any plans this Lunar New Year, come to our family home.”

“…Pardon?”

“Usually, when we bring someone into the family, we make pancakes and fry things together on the first holiday.”

…Into the family?

“Can you cook?”

“…Yes. I can do it moderately well.”

“That’s good. If the daughter-in-law is too bad at cooking, it’s too hard for me to do it all.”

Daughter-in-law… Well, it’s not wrong. No, is this becoming a chairman-approved marriage? That might not be so bad…

“Ah, and keep it a secret from Chae-yoon that I called you. I’ll tell him myself later.”

The father’s expression, mixed with awkwardness and embarrassment, was quite red. Should being recognized as a daughter-in-law also be kept secret?

It’s a secret that will be revealed by Lunar New Year anyway, but it seems both children and adults alike want to postpone embarrassment, even if just for a moment.

* * *

Seong-woon nervously pressed the call button to Baek Sang-hyun’s apartment, looking around. It was already his fifth attempt, but there was no response. He said he was home, so why wasn’t he opening the door?

Hyung-seok, who had been watching Seong-woon’s back for a while, finally got the parking lot gate to open by going to the management office and dropping Ryu Shin’s name. But what good did that do when the front door remained firmly shut? The oddly long corridor seemed to smell of oil… What on earth was going on?

“Baek Sang-hyun.”

Fortunately, the incessant calls finally connected.

─ ….

“Open the front door.”

─ How did you come up from the basement?

Behind his voice, there was a clattering noise as if he was up to something. Seong-woon pressed the phone close to his ear and lowered his voice.

“Security office.”

─ …

“I swear… I even used the Ryu Shin name.”

─ …

“Why aren’t you opening the door? …Is someone else there?”

─ There’s no one here.

“Then why?”

─ Haah… Just a moment.

With a long sigh, the front door opened. The source of the oil smell filling the corridor was from inside Baek Sang-hyun’s apartment. As the door opened, Seong-woon unconsciously sniffed at the savory aroma wafting out.

“What were you doing?”

“…Practicing cooking?”

“Why? Are you in a cooking movie?”

“If it were that… I wouldn’t be trying this hard.”

“You’re already good at cooking.”

“I specialize in Western cuisine.”

“Are you frying jeon? It smells like oil.”

“Yes.”

For some reason, Baek Sang-hyun looked tired. When Seong-woon cupped his face with both hands and caressed it, Baek Sang-hyun grasped Seong-woon’s hands and melted like cotton candy. Seong-woon was a bit scared at how such a small gesture could have such a big impact on someone.

“During holidays, usually…”

Seong-woon hesitated, about to ask if he usually cooked holiday food alone. Given his own unpleasant memories of holidays, he had assumed Baek Sang-hyun might do the same, being away from home, since his other family members were all in America.

“I usually don’t. Even when I was in America, I didn’t really celebrate holidays.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes, what about you, sunbae-nim?”

“Huh?”

“Last Chuseok… did you do anything special?”

“No? We just ate good food… We offer all the ancestral rites at the temple, so we just visited the temple briefly in the morning.”

“So you don’t really cook at home for holidays or anything like that?”

“I guess… not? The housekeeper does prepare various dishes though.”

“It’s not really holiday food per se, but there are more meat and seafood side dishes on the table. The only thing that feels like holiday food is kkochi-jeon. Because father likes it.”

Baek Sang-hyun, who had briefly looked gloomy, started asking strange questions unlike his usual self.

“About the chairman. Is he very picky about food?”

“…The chairman?”

“Your father, sunbae-nim.”

“…Father??”

Not only could Seong-woon not understand the intent behind the question, but he was also so taken aback by the unexpected form of address that he couldn’t help but gape.

Baek Sang-hyun lowered his eyebrows and put on a pitiful expression. Unlike usual, he wasn’t sparkling at all right now. Like platinum that had weathered storms and gotten scratched all over, his shine had dulled. Of course, that didn’t mean he looked rusty.

“Just answer, please.”

“You’re asking if my father is picky about food?”

“Yes.”

“I’m not sure about that… but our housekeeper is a good cook.”

The cooking of the housekeeper who works at Ryu Chae-yoon’s family home was really… It even made Seong-woon grateful for this inefficient body of Ryu Chae-yoon’s. Because it was so delicious, he didn’t have to worry as much about gaining weight from eating too much. If it had been Jin Seong-woon’s former body, he probably would have gained over 10kg by now.

Baek Sang-hyun covered his face with both hands for a while, then rubbed his face and headed to the kitchen.

“Um… would you like to try some?”

“Sure, what did you make?”

“Yukjeon, wanja-jeon, and saeu-jeon.”

“Sounds delicious.”

Baek Sang-hyun brought out a plate full of still-steaming jeon.

“No kkochi-jeon?”

“Kkochi-jeon?”

“Yes. Father liked it, so it was on the table during last Chuseok too.”

“Skewer pancakes…”

“But… why did you make jeon?”

At the cautious question, Baek Sang-hyun smiled gently. He chewed and swallowed the jeon filling his mouth, then gave a very ordinary answer with a casual attitude.

“It’s a holiday, isn’t it?”

“Hmm… is that so?”

Looks like he doesn’t want to say much. Seong-woon tended not to pry into things others didn’t want to answer. He was already disliked, so he didn’t want to receive hateful glances by asking too many questions.

“It’s delicious.”

“Please eat as much as you want. There’s… a lot.”

“But jeon is greasy, so… I can eat more with makgeolli or soju mixed with beer.”

Of course, I can’t drink. Even though the Yoon Gwanwi bastards said all congenital diseases were cured, Seong-woon didn’t want to touch caffeine or alcohol.

The memory of the heart attacks that had occurred several times remained too vividly. He didn’t want to experience the sensation of electric eels running through his body again.

“Can you drink cola?”

“No… that has caffeine too, so I can’t. Do you have any cider by chance?”

“Ah, just a moment.”

Baek Sang-hyun stood up abruptly and opened the refrigerator. Since he cooked well at home, the inside of the fridge looked quite lived-in. There were even green soju bottles and brown beer bottles…

“There’s only sparkling water. Is this okay?”

“…Baek Sang-hyun.”

“Yes?”

Seong-woon didn’t often call him “Baek Sang-hyun.” Because of that, Baek Sang-hyun opened his eyes wide in surprise.

“You… if it’s okay, could you drink some alcohol?”

“Pardon?”

“Since I can’t drink… I’d like to at least see someone drinking.”

“What do you mean?”

“Then I might be able to imagine it’s soju mixed with beer while drinking sparkling water.”

Seong-woon put down his chopsticks, got up, and took out soju and beer bottles from the half-open refrigerator. After more than 6 months of abstinence, shouldn’t the desire to drink less have set in by now? But still, just seeing the color of the bottles made his mouth water.

“sunbae-nim?”

“I’ll mix it well for you.”

“…Do you want to drink that badly?”

“Not to that extent…”

“You’re drooling.”

“What?”

Seong-woon wiped his mouth unconsciously, confirming nothing was there, and rolled his eyes. Haha, the burst of laughter was quite refreshing.

Even the lips glistening with oil from eating lots of jeon looked pretty. It’s hard to tell if that face itself is pretty or if it just looks pretty because it’s Baek Sang-hyun.

“You know I drink it half and half, right?”

“How can anyone drink that…”

“It tastes like soju.”

He poured half beer and filled the rest with soju in a cup that seemed to be a gift from a fan cafe, with hologram coating. He had seen him drink that before… but it should be fine now since we’re at home, he thought.

At least having sparkling water made the jeon go down smoothly. It tasted even better eating it with the white kimchi Baek Sang-hyun brought out. Of course, every time Baek Sang-hyun drank alcohol across from him, drinking sparkling water really did make him think it was a little like soju mixed with beer.

If we turned off the lights, would it really taste like soju mixed with beer? Like Wonhyo Daesa’s skull water…

“Did you make the meatballs yourself?”

“Yes. Half beef, half pork.”

“The seasoning is perfect too. You’re really good at cooking.”

“…Do you think someone like me would make a good daughter-in-law, sunbae-nim?”

“…Daughter-in-law?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t have a son… and why would you be a daughter-in-law in the first place?”

“Just imagining.”

My son’s daughter-in-law is Baek Sang-hyun…? Seong-woon’s mind began to spin very quickly. Well, okay. Let’s say I married someone and had a child. So a daughter, no, a son… Baek Sang-hyun is a man but likes men, so it would be right for a son to bring him?

…Ah, I don’t know. Anyway, if one day suddenly Baek Sang-hyun was brought as a daughter-in-law, wouldn’t it be good of course? It’s Baek Sang-hyun, isn’t it? Handsome, good-natured, good at cooking…

“But… my opinion isn’t objective at all.”

“I want to hear your subjective opinion, sunbae-nim.”

“Well… I’d like it.”

“How much?”

Resting his chin slightly, Baek Sang-hyun leaned his upper body forward, bringing his face closer. 

Maybe it’s because of the alcohol, but it seems like he’s getting a little hot. Seong-woon attributed the heat rising from his own face to others and rested his chin just like Baek Sang-hyun.

“Enough to want to bow down?”

Whispering in a low voice, Baek Sang-hyun smiled brightly. He had seemed somewhat dejected earlier, but now he appeared to have regained his confidence, which made Seong-woon feel better too.

As they chatted about things like Baek Sang-hyun’s recent filming, several glass bottles had piled up on the table before they knew it.

“…When did we drink all this?”

“It’s my first time drinking this much too… it’s been a really long time since I drank alcohol.”

“Are you drunk?”

“I’m not drunk.”

Seong-woon had seen Baek Sang-hyun drunk for the first time at the last semester opening party. He didn’t seem to have any particularly bad drinking habits… although he did sort of threaten someone by dragging them into an alley. But at that time, there were misunderstandings between them, so there was room for consideration.

“How… what taste do you drink this for?”

Seong-woon took Baek Sang-hyun’s glass and just smelled it, then shuddered. Wouldn’t it be better to just drink soju? The improperly mixed soju and beer smelled like strange chemicals.

“Because it’s delicious…”

Although he said he wasn’t drunk, Baek Sang-hyun was clearly already half gone. Seong-woon looked at him and got up to clean the table roughly.

“…Just leave it.”

“It’s fine. Don’t get up, just stay still.”

Just how much jeon did he make? Even a large family of three generations wouldn’t make this much. Seong-woon clicked his tongue looking at the mountain of food. He washed the used dishes once and put them in the dishwasher, and gathered all the alcohol bottles to take to the utility room.

Seong-woon looked down for a long time at the top of Baek Sang-hyun’s head, which was bowed so low it almost touched the now clean table. He checked his own strength. Would I be able to move that body to the bedroom? I should be able to support him at least, since he could do it even when his body was in worse shape than now.

After patting Baek Sang-hyun’s back a few times with no response, he pushed him back to straighten his waist and pulled the chair out. There was a loud screeching noise, but fortunately the downstairs apartment was empty.

“Mr. Baek Sang-hyun.”

When he tapped the slightly flushed cheeks, the closed eyes opened a little. He looked somehow younger all slumped over, so Seong-woon playfully coaxed him.

“Hyung will move you. Put your arm around my neck here.”

“…Hyung?”

It’s not easy to move a man much taller and bigger than yourself. But Seong-woon started to walk backwards while hugging Baek Sang-hyun, who was completely leaning on him.

The breath touching his nape was very warm. As their upper bodies pressed together without any gap, Seong-woon ended up burying his nose in Baek Sang-hyun’s hair. It was a bit funny that even his hair smelled delicious, whatever jeon he had made.

After barely dragging him to the bedroom and dropping him on the bed, Baek Sang-hyun laughed softly for a while. Seeing that, it was clear he had been pretending he couldn’t move while actually being able to.

“Is it funny seeing someone grunt and drag you here?”

“…Hyung, want to sleep over?”

“What are you saying now? You’ve been keeping me from sleeping over all this time.”

Probably because Baek Sang-hyun was such a famous celebrity that people would crowd around and sightings would pop up whenever he went out, the two of them always met at Baek Sang-hyun’s house.

But at some point, Baek Sang-hyun started sending Seong-woon home with a smile every night. Of course… Seong-woon seemed to know the reason, so he went home without saying much.

“So… you don’t like it?”

Why is he being so childish today? Seong-woon and Baek Sang-hyun’s relationship was quite strange. In the relationship between Jeon Seong-woon and Baek Sang-hyun, Seong-woon was 2 years older, but between Ryu Chae-yoon and Baek Sang-hyun, Baek Sang-hyun was 7 years older.

No matter how much Baek Sang-hyun treated Seong-woon as a 2-year older sunbae-nim with over 20 years more experience, outside he had to treat him as much younger and a junior, so this got oddly mixed up.

So while calling him sunbae-nim, he sometimes treated Seong-woon like a kid, and even when they were alone, he didn’t particularly act like a younger person…

“What’s with you today?”

“Let’s sleep together, sunbae-nim.”

So does that ‘sleep’ mean… just sleeping, or does it have some other implication?

Seong-woon was terrible at reading these kinds of atmospheres. Of course. For nearly 10 years, Baek Sang-hyun was the only person he had any kind of private relationship with. And even that was superficial.

“…Then I’ll wash up a bit.”

“You’re sleeping over, right?”

“Yeah.”

But he couldn’t ask directly. No matter how he thought about it, it seemed like that would completely ruin the atmosphere.

A large hand cupped the back of Seong-woon’s head and pulled him close. Hot lips touched his cheek and nape a couple of times before pulling away.

Thump, Seong-woon looked at Baek Sang-hyun’s arm sprawled out on the bed and clicked his tongue. Surely he wasn’t just going to sleep like that, right? If so, he felt he might feel self-loathing for thinking of something more.

Seong-woon grabbed Baek Sang-hyun’s pajamas as usual and entered the bathroom, taking much longer than usual to wash. Then he glanced at the area between his legs that he usually didn’t pay much attention to. It was the body part that surprised him most when he woke up in this body.

Not to be arrogant, but while his previous body was quite pretty too, this current body was truly a ‘bone beauty’. It meant pretty down to the bone structure.

Moreover, honestly, he had thought that human genitals were kind of gross, like why are they shaped like that… but even the genitals… even the color was so pretty it was bewildering. And…

“…Why doesn’t hair grow?”

At first, he thought he had received hair removal. So he thought it would grow after some time passed, but the area between Seong-woon’s legs was still smooth.

Well, it should be fine…. Seong-woon muttered to himself as he wiped off the water with a towel and put on Baek Sang-hyun’s soft pajamas. He tightened the waist string so they wouldn’t slip down, then went to the bedroom to find the bed empty.

“…What?”

“You washed quickly.”

Baek Sang-hyun, who had washed in the bathroom attached to the bedroom, smiled brightly. See, I told you that he wasn’t drunk? When Seong-woon made a slightly grumpy face, Baek Sang-hyun came closer and started drying his wet hair.

“You’ll get spoiled.”

“You mean you, sunbae-nim?”

“Yeah.”

“I’d like you to get a little spoiled.”