By Zephyria “Um… then, you know.”
The eyes that looked at Ryu Jeong, telling him to speak, were very affectionate. Ryu Jeong couldn’t continue right away and hesitated for a moment.
“I… I don’t have much time after my cafe shift. Could I go to my place before heading to the convenience store?”
“Wolhyeon-dong?”
“Yes… It seems like it would be more of a hassle to travel back and forth every time…”
“Who? Chief Yoon?”
“Ah, no. Well… Ah, Chief Yoon too, but… CEO Lee. I figured CEO Lee would be busy at that time anyway…”
“Hmm.”
Lee Do-hyeon tapped his fingers on the steering wheel and hummed. He had hoped Ryu Jeong would say he would quit at least one of his part-time jobs, but that didn’t seem to be an option for Ryu Jeong. Ryu Jeong seemed to have thought of an alternative out of concern, but Lee Do-hyeon wasn’t particularly happy about it.
“That’s true. It would take more time to travel back and forth.”
From Ryu Jeong’s perspective, it wasn’t wrong, but Lee Do-hyeon wanted to give Ryu Jeong all the consideration and favor he could offer.
“I brought you to my place because I wanted to be with you more, but it would be pointless then.”
Lee Do-hyeon pretended to contemplate, humming nonchalantly, and stretched the corners of his lips as if it wasn’t a big deal.
“Should I just move into Jeong’s place?”
“…Pardon?”
It was something he couldn’t help but doubt his ears. Ryu Jeong, who couldn’t understand right away and blinked blankly, soon turned red to his earlobes and shook his head.
“Ah, no.”
“Why? Don’t you want to live with me, Darling?”
“It’s not that I don’t want to…”
“Not.”
Then what is it? The light changed again, so Lee Do-hyeon took his eyes off Ryu Jeong and looked ahead. Ryu Jeong glanced at Lee Do-hyeon’s handsome face line, which was as beautiful as seeing it from the front, and stammered.
“As you saw when you came before… it’s very small.”
“There’s enough room for two to lie down, what do you mean.”
“…It’s dirty…”
“Was it dirty? You clean up so neatly, I didn’t think it was dirty.”
“It’s cold in the winter…”
“That’s good. We can just hug each other.”
One or two nonchalant rebuttals followed. Was Lee Do-hyeon really going to move to Wolhyeon-dong? Ryu Jeong, who knew very well how shabby it was, couldn’t readily agree and added in a small voice that it was hot in the summer.
“Is that so? Then I’ll have to take my clothes off.”
“……”
A somewhat vivid rebuttal flew back. From then on, Ryu Jeong didn’t add any more words to dissuade Lee Do-hyeon.
Lee Do-hyeon chuckled as if he found it cute, then readjusted his grip on the steering wheel and pressed his lips tightly together. But it was in vain. He couldn’t just take back the overflowing feelings.
“S-Stop laughing…”
Ryu Jeong, with a face flushed redder than ever, glanced sideways. Lee Do-hyeon couldn’t help but burst out laughing at the sight of Ryu Jeong being so embarrassed.
“I don’t want to let you go.”
The university district, which he arrived at just in time for lunch, was crowded with university students who had come out for a meal. So there were winter classes. Lee Do-hyeon, who had parked the car on a suitable side street to avoid the crowds, stared intently at Ryu Jeong, who was preparing to get out, and suddenly opened his mouth.
At those words, Ryu Jeong paused while unbuckling his seatbelt. Lee Do-hyeon’s tone was usually affectionate, but it was a monotonous tone with almost no ups and downs. But this time it was different. The end of his sentence dropped sharply, sounding like a soliloquy and almost a whine.
Ryu Jeong couldn’t choose what to say and just moved his lips. He didn’t say it in his mind but out loud, which meant he wanted Ryu Jeong to hear it, but Ryu Jeong didn’t know how to react.
Even when he was drowsy from not sleeping properly or when his whole body was staggering from skipping meals, he had rarely thought about resting. No, he couldn’t. After being beaten to near death by the loan sharks who had barged into his house, he couldn’t even consider the option of resting or quitting his part-time jobs. Rather, he realized that giving up sleep and meals and going out to earn even a little more was the way to take care of himself.
But strangely, Ryu Jeong’s heart wavered at Lee Do-hyeon’s words. His body, which had tasted sweetness after spending just two nights comfortably, began to hesitate to return to its previous life. His heart, which had been defensively hardened for years, retreated helplessly. He had a feeling that if he just stood by Lee Do-hyeon’s side, he could do so forever.
But the reality was colder than any winter. The feet and fists that flew at him with all their might hurt, and the future, which even he couldn’t guarantee, was still clouding his vision.
“…I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what. I know too. That you have to go. I know, but… I’m just whining because I’m sad.”
Lee Do-hyeon chuckled and carefully brushed Ryu Jeong’s hair behind his ear, who looked like he didn’t know what to do because he was sorry. Ryu Jeong flinched involuntarily at the cool temperature that brushed against his earlobe, and shrugged his shoulders. His eyelids, tightly closed by the brief touch, fluttered.
His densely packed eyelashes slowly lifted, and his lightly colored eyes reappeared. Lee Do-hyeon followed his own reflection in his eyes as if chasing it, then gritted his teeth as he superimposed the eyes that had been searching for him, soaked in pleasure, last night. The muscles on his nicely angled jaw tensed for a moment and then subsided.
“There’s something I’m curious about.”
Lest he get a strange look. Lee Do-hyeon quickly changed the subject. He had been secretly mulling over the words as he watched Ryu Jeong’s face become visibly embarrassed when the topic of part-time jobs came up. He slowly opened his mouth, facing the innocent eyes that had finished preparing to listen without knowing why.
“If there’s another good job besides what you’re doing now, would you consider quitting?”
“…What do you mean… another job…”
“Ah, it’s not that there is one. I’m just saying. A job that’s easy on your body and pays well. That kind of job.”
Ryu Jeong hesitated, unable to answer readily. There were plenty of such jobs if he looked for them, but it was clear that they wouldn’t be a good fit for him. It wasn’t all of them, but such good jobs tended to value high education or experience, and he, who had nothing to show for himself in many ways, didn’t even qualify to submit a resume.
The result of the application would be obvious. But if he had the opportunity, there was no reason to refuse. Ryu Jeong, embarrassed that he was being greedy, nodded with an awkward face.
“But why are you asking that all of a sudden…”
“Just because. I was curious about what you thought.”
It didn’t seem like that was the only reason, but if Lee Do-hyeon said so, then it was so. Ryu Jeong smiled, following the smile that flew at him along with the vague answer. His heart fluttered every time he saw Lee Do-hyeon’s smiling face.
“Just a moment.”
At that moment, the cell phone that had been carelessly placed on the console tray vibrated. It was Chief Yoon. The fact that he was being so persistent even after Ryu Jeong had unilaterally refused the call meant that there was a good reason. After asking for Ryu Jeong’s understanding, Lee Do-hyeon pressed the receive button. His voice, asking what was wrong, was colder than before.
Amid the loud noise that leaked in faintly as if it had been soaked in water, the voice of a man mumbling something mixed in lightly from beyond the receiver. Ryu Jeong held his breath so as not to interfere with the call and glanced at Lee Do-hyeon. Perhaps because his hands were big, the cell phone in Lee Do-hyeon’s hand looked small, like a toy.
Was he in the middle of a serious conversation? Judging from Lee Do-hyeon’s expression, who was just listening with his eyes slightly lowered, it was impossible to guess. Ryu Jeong, who had been watching the neatly trimmed fingernails tapping on the steering wheel for a while, scanned the wrinkle-free suit. As he slowly moved his eyes along the curves of the muscles that were hidden and revealed by the appropriate fit, his eyes met Lee Do-hyeon’s, who had just raised his eyes.
He felt like he had been caught doing something bad for no reason. Even after seeing Ryu Jeong’s eyes widen in embarrassment, Lee Do-hyeon just stretched the corners of his lips and smiled. Without saying anything to the voice chattering from beyond the receiver, Lee Do-hyeon stroked Ryu Jeong’s hair with the hand that had been tapping on the steering wheel. Ryu Jeong flinched reflexively, but his heart calmed down at the pheromone that smelled like perfume from inside his sleeve, and he slightly tilted his head towards Lee Do-hyeon to enjoy the touch.
“I’ll go to the office for details. I’ll be there soon.”
The call didn’t last long. Lee Do-hyeon briefly ended the call, which seemed like it would be long, and stroked the round head that was tilted towards him a few more times. As if he liked the touch, the white nape of his neck was flushed.
“You have to go… don’t you?”
“That’s right. He keeps looking for me.”
Lee Do-hyeon shook his head slightly as if he couldn’t help it. Ryu Jeong straightened his back as Lee Do-hyeon lightly touched his cheek after his hair.
“You have to go in now too, right? I feel bad that we couldn’t have lunch together. You need to eat well to work.”
“Ah… it’s okay. The owner of the place I’m going to now sometimes prepares something simple… and I can buy something to eat at the cafe later.”
Of course, that was only possible on the premise that he wasn’t busy, but Ryu Jeong lengthened his words to reassure Lee Do-hyeon.
“Then use this.”
Lee Do-hyeon said, as if it was a good thing, and took something out and held it out. Ryu Jeong, who carefully examined the small object in Lee Do-hyeon’s large hand, was startled and waved his hand when he realized what it was. It was a credit card that Lee Do-hyeon had held out.
“Ah, no. I have money too…”
“I saw that you didn’t have a wallet. You don’t carry anything other than a transportation card, do you?”
When Ryu Jeong looked at him, asking how he knew that, Lee Do-hyeon said nonchalantly that it was unavoidable because of the laundry.
“And use the check for whatever you need.”
He couldn’t receive that even more. He was afraid to even touch such a large sum of money, let alone have it. Ryu Jeong hurriedly unbuckled his seatbelt and rummaged through his hoodie and pants pockets. Sure enough, the five checks he had received the day before yesterday were neatly folded in half in the freshly laundered clothes. He couldn’t help that they were already creased, but Ryu Jeong smoothed them out as much as possible and held them out to Lee Do-hyeon.
“I can’t accept it. It’s too, too much money, and I never said I would accept it…”
“I told you. I bought your time.”
“I wasn’t with you for money. That’s why I can’t accept it…”
He was about to force his fingers open and hand it over. Lee Do-hyeon sighed deeply in embarrassment. He had expected that Ryu Jeong wouldn’t accept it, but if he left it like this, he felt like Ryu Jeong would burst into tears.
“Then let’s do this. I’ll buy the time from the hotel to our house.”
Lee Do-hyeon lightly pushed away Ryu Jeong’s hand, which was even trembling. It was still the same thing, just with a little more explanation. Lee Do-hyeon smiled slightly as he saw Ryu Jeong’s face distort, asking what that meant, and added again.
“I’m buying the time before you became my Darling. The time when you had nothing to do with me.”
“What… does that mean.”
“I took your busy time, so you’re getting fair compensation.”
Even so, Ryu Jeong didn’t seem to understand. Lee Do-hyeon, who lightly refused Ryu Jeong’s hand, which seemed confused from thinking repeatedly, tilted his head slightly.
“You might think it’s insignificant, but it’s a valuable time for me to pay this much for, so please accept it. This, and the card too. I would have paid with this card even if we had eaten together. You have to eat without me, so keep it and buy something to eat with it.”
“……”
“You’re not going to accept it? I need you to accept it quickly so I can go to work.”
His soft words sounded like a request, but the firm ending told him that it wasn’t.
I’ll just have to keep it. Ryu Jeong reluctantly accepted everything Lee Do-hyeon held out. They didn’t feel particularly heavy, but he felt like his shoulders were drooping. Ryu Jeong, who was hesitating about what to do, carefully organized them and put them deep in his pants pocket so they wouldn’t fall out. He was going to keep them safe so he wouldn’t lose them and hide them as soon as he got home.
“Make sure you eat. I’ll check.”
“Yes…”
“You know I get a message on my phone when you pay, right?”
Lee Do-hyeon showed him the blacked-out screen as if to prove it, and Ryu Jeong nodded again, saying he understood. It was as if he had a surveillance camera attached to his heart. He didn’t like that he had been caught in less than a minute.
With the short standoff over, it was time to say goodbye. Ryu Jeong awkwardly touched the door handle and glanced back at Lee Do-hyeon. After looking at Lee Do-hyeon, who was just smiling quietly, with regret, he got out, and the window rolled down as soon as the door closed.
“Do it skillfully. So it’s not hard.”
“I’ll try…”
Ryu Jeong, who was fiddling with his coat sleeve for no reason, bowed deeply. Wasn’t it too formal of a greeting to exchange between lovers? Instead of pointing it out, Lee Do-hyeon put his regret aside and stepped on the accelerator.
Ryu Jeong, who was reflected in the side mirror, was standing still in place, as if he intended to stand there until he was out of sight. Lee Do-hyeon straightened his gaze only after he had become smaller and smaller until he had completely disappeared from view. He should have kissed him one more time. He just smacked his lips at the belated regret.