By Zephyria 
Jang Ui-geon’s voice, as he spoke, also carried a hint of awkwardness—perhaps because he had become shy upon seeing Seo Chi-young’s flustered state, or perhaps because he had intended to say it that way from the start.
For a long time.
There was no way of knowing how many years they would live, or how long they would continue to see each other, or when something might happen. But at this moment, that was the only thing he could say. For a long time.
Simply because of that vague promise, Seo Chi-young stood there silently, rooted to the spot, until the moment Jang Ui-geon suddenly leaned down to lightly steal a kiss from his lips and pulled away.
“…….”
Yes. Just like this.
“Aren’t you cold?”
Hearing Jang Ui-geon’s low whisper against his ear after the brief brush of lips, Seo Chi-young brought his drifting consciousness back to the present.
“Uh… a little.”
Only then did Seo Chi-young newly feel the cool air touching his skin, and he huddled his body, which had been mostly exposed as his clothes had come undone. At that, Jang Ui-geon lifted both of Seo Chi-young’s arms and draped them around his own neck, whispering “Tight,” as if speaking to a child. Obediently following the instruction and hugging Jang Ui-geon’s neck tightly, Seo Chi-young felt Jang Ui-geon wrap his arms around his back and waist, gently laying them down on the still-cold bedding.
Upon returning home, the inner quarters were chilled, just as Jang Ui-geon had said, since the heating hadn’t been turned on. Even though they had turned it on as soon as they entered the room, the house was so large that it didn’t warm up quickly.
Stepping onto the cool floor as he entered the inner quarters, Jang Ui-geon clicked his tongue and sat Seo Chi-young down on the bedding. Then, with an apologetic expression, he took Seo Chi-young’s cold hands in his own and rubbed them gently. Within Jang Ui-geon’s large, warm hands, Seo Chi-young’s hands slowly warmed up.
He kissed the fingertips, and then, without knowing who started first, they kissed each other. As their clothes were stripped away one by one and scattered across the bedding, warmth slowly filled the room while they felt and tasted each other’s bodies.
Seo Chi-young, hugging his neck just as Jang Ui-geon had told him to, swallowed a ragged breath beneath Jang Ui-geon, who was kissing him repeatedly, moving between his nape and his face. Meanwhile, feeling a heavy volume pressing against his groin, he let out a small “oh” and flinched.
“……..B-but.”
As Seo Chi-young whispered, barely managing to catch his breath, Jang Ui-geon, who had been leaving marks beneath Seo Chi-young’s ear, lifted his head slightly. Even then, he lightly nipped the earlobe and asked, “Yes?”
“Um, are you… are you okay with being tired? ….You, you could rest, and do it tomorrow… if it’s because of me…”
Seo Chi-young murmured, recalling how Jang Ui-geon had mentioned at the shop that he was exceptionally tired today. Although Seo Chi-young was already becoming aroused and his lower half was slightly erect, if Jang Ui-geon was doing this despite being tired—for Seo Chi-young’s sake—he didn’t mind doing it later.
Jang Ui-geon, who had been biting Seo Chi-young’s earlobe with his lips, paused for a moment. However, he soon whispered while nibbling the lobe.
“I’m not tired.”
“Uh… but earlier… I mean, if you’re doing this because of me, it’s really okay… I can just do it by my-my-….self.”
Realizing how explicit he sounded as he spoke, Seo Chi-young’s face turned red. Looking down at him, Jang Ui-geon paused again with an ambiguous expression. He seemed a bit embarrassed.
“……It was an excuse.”
Seeing Seo Chi-young blink at him as he spoke with a low sigh, he clicked his tongue.
“I said that because I didn’t want to wait any longer. Not even for a moment.”
As soon as he finished those words, Jang Ui-geon covered Seo Chi-young’s lips. Then, he moved his hand down and gripped Seo Chi-young’s aroused member. As Seo Chi-young flinched and gasped, Jang Ui-geon’s tongue entered his mouth, stroking it before withdrawing.
“I endured for a week; I didn’t want to endure for even a few more minutes. ….And don’t think about doing it alone. If you want to, I’ll do it for you as many times as you want.”
“……..”
I can’t do it that many times, he thought, but he couldn’t speak. The moment Jang Ui-geon finished speaking with his lips pressed close, he thrust his tongue back into his mouth.
But even if his mouth hadn’t been blocked, he likely wouldn’t have been able to speak. At the same time, the hand that had been gripping Seo Chi-young’s member began to stroke the aroused flesh upward with a strength that was just short of painful.
“…..!……!!”
As Seo Chi-young’s body jolted, only then did Jang Ui-geon pull his lips away. For a moment, Seo Chi-young looked at Jang Ui-geon as if he were about to cry, but that was brief; with nothing left to block his mouth, there was nothing to stop the moans from leaking out.
Unable to suppress the embarrassing moans that he couldn’t believe were his own voice, letting them slip out repeatedly, Seo Chi-young looked at Jang Ui-geon with a resentful gaze for once, his face bright red.
He was a man who was occasionally quite mischievous—or perhaps had strange tastes. Even now, knowing that Seo Chi-young wanted to crawl into a hole upon hearing his own voice, Jang Ui-geon absolutely refused to help him keep his mouth shut.
Eventually, when Seo Chi-young was swollen almost to his limit and his lower waist felt melted and loose, Jang Ui-geon, who had been touching him with anxious hands and eyes filling with heat, pushed his hips between his legs.
“…….!!”
In an instant, swallowing even his moan, Seo Chi-young hugged Jang Ui-geon’s neck tightly. The sensation of being filled tightly and forced open in his narrow body was something he couldn’t even imagine when he would ever get used to.
He felt as if he were suffocating and about to die, and only then did the movement stop. But the relief of that pause was short-lived; soon, his reason vanished amidst the sensation of his insides being pounded and stirred.
Even now.
Cries were clearly erupting from his throat, but he couldn’t make sense of them. The hands gripping his waist firmly and the hot friction continuing like a fire in his groin dominated all his senses.
Whenever he saw Jang Ui-geon through eyes blurred by tears, the vague thought I’m glad would surface and disappear. He didn’t know what kind of face or expression he had right now, but it was because Jang Ui-geon also had the face of a beast.
I’m glad it’s not just me. I’m glad I’m not the only one captured by this suffocating, dizzying sensation.—Thinking such things, Seo Chi-young would eventually lose consciousness.
Weekends were always like this.
After returning to Jang Ui-geon’s house in a subtle silence where they both knew what would happen, they indulged in each other’s bodies without needing to be the first to speak.
Sometimes, it felt quite strange.
On other days—when they met during the week—they did not deviate from the range of very friendly and polite friends, as seen by anyone—and even by their own standards. It was as if nothing had happened. They spent their time as if they never even considered crossing the line of friendship.
And yet, when the weekend came, they mixed their bodies as if it were natural, without even needing to bring it up. Sometimes, it even felt as if they met that day solely for the sake of the relationship. There were times when almost no proper conversation took place from the moment Seo Chi-young closed his shop until they lay down at Jang Ui-geon’s house.
After a night spent in heat and desire with almost no conversation, Sundays could be spent more comfortably. Waking up late in the day with a body exhausted from finally falling asleep at dawn, they would spend the day in idle conversation, take a drive to the outskirts, or, if Seo Chi-young’s physical condition allowed, take a walk through the neighborhood alleys. Very occasionally, they would spend the entire Sunday afternoon naked under the covers, spending their time leisurely.
It did feel a bit strange.
The difference was too great between the weekdays, where nothing more than holding hands in a coat pocket while walking home at night occurred, and the holidays, where they indulged in desire as soon as they arrived home as if the relationship were the only purpose. Sometimes, he even wondered if the two versions of Jang Ui-geon were different people.
But.
Perhaps it was always like this.
Seo Chi-young, who had never dated anyone or had anything similar, thought that being close to someone—including a physical relationship—might originally be this way. Come to think of it, doesn’t everyone drink and hang out comfortably on the night before a holiday? Yes, maybe that was it.
…….Or, perhaps this was the distance Jang Ui-geon desired.
Not lovers. But closer than friends.
Not too light, but not too serious.
When he thought about it, Seo Chi-young’s heart would ache slightly for no reason, but he still thought it was fine. If this was what the other wanted, he didn’t harbor any further greed or thoughts. Hadn’t he already received more than he had originally hoped for?
Regardless, Jang Ui-geon clearly had an affection for Seo Chi-young that went beyond mere fondness, and he felt that alone was more than enough.
“How great would it be if we could store a lot of food in our stomachs all at once and take it out to eat later on?”
Watching a man in his thirties say something that almost anyone would have thought once or twice as a child with a very serious face—even looking sad that he couldn’t do so—Seo Chi-young could only respond with a vague “Yes…” and a smile.
Despite the chilly weather, it had been a long time since Yoon Jun-young sat in the outdoor seat in front of the counter like he used to. Since it had been as long as it had been since he last saw Seo Chi-young, Yoon Jun-young greedily ordered three portions of gopchang. Just as Seo Chi-young had feared, after eating a bit more than half, he made a sorrowful face, saying it wouldn’t go into his stomach anymore.
“That’s why I told you to just order one portion and then order more after you finish.”
“How stubborn,” Jang Ui-geon clicked his tongue. Yoon Jun-young, who was looking sadly at the plate that still had plenty of gopchang left, didn’t even respond to Jang Ui-geon and looked straight at Seo Chi-young. Then, with a serious face again, he spoke.
“Chi-young. In my opinion, I think it would be great if you opened a branch. Near where I live now.”
“If you want, I could tell Kang-hee to make some space in the corner of his shop,” Yoon Jun-young added. His gaze was too serious for the suggestion to be dismissed as a joke. Seo Chi-young blinked in bewilderment and gave an awkward smile.
Staring intently at Seo Chi-young, Yoon Jun-young seemed to realize that getting a yes was out of the question and clicked his tongue. Then, he slowly began to pick out and eat only the gopchang.
It had been a very long time since Yoon Jun-young had visited Seo Chi-young’s shop. For a while, as Seo Chi-young had been going to the establishment run by Kwon Kang-hee, Yoon Jun-young rarely came here. Then, after Seo Chi-young quit working there, Yoon Jun-young visited today for the first time since then.
Having received a message from Yoon Jun-young saying he would come this evening, Seo Chi-young had hesitated for a moment before relaying the message to Jang Ui-geon. Jang Ui-geon, who would usually arrive a bit after eleven, had come and been sitting there long before nine, the time Yoon Jun-young said he would arrive.
Seo Chi-young glanced at Jang Ui-geon, who was pouring beer for Yoon Jun-young. Feeling the gaze, Jang Ui-geon looked at Seo Chi-young and smiled naturally when their eyes met. Seo Chi-young lowered his head, feeling awkwardly shy.
“N-now that I think about it, it’s been a while since you’ve seen Jun-young, too, Ui-geon.”
“No, I see him occasionally. I saw him with Kang-hee last week.”
“Oh…”
Since he had rushed over without a word and sat down early as soon as he heard Yoon Jun-young was coming, Seo Chi-young had thought it had been a long time. Jang Ui-geon asked the scratching-his-head Seo Chi-young:
“Isn’t it you who’s seeing Jun-young for the first time in a while, Chi-young? This is the first time you’ve seen him since that day you quit Kang-hee’s shop, right? Have you met separately?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“I see,” Jang Ui-geon nodded. A slightly satisfied glint flickered in his eyes.
Seo Chi-young looked back and forth between the two and smiled faintly.
“Still, I’m glad you two made up. I was surprised because it was the first time I’d seen you two fight.”
The two men, looking slightly puzzled, soon seemed to realize which moment Seo Chi-young was referring to. Indeed, that was the last time the three of them had been in one place. The time when Jang Ui-geon had swung his fist at Yoon Jun-young and dragged Seo Chi-young out of the establishment.
“Fight? I thought I was just unilaterally beaten,” Yoon Jun-young murmured with a snort. Jang Ui-geon only gave a bitter smile, as if he had nothing to say in response. Yoon Jun-young slightly raised an eyebrow.
“I’m glad you two seem to have made up well. But Chi-young, were you okay that day?”
At Yoon Jun-young’s casual question, Seo Chi-young paused for a moment. Not knowing in what sense he was asking if he was “okay,” Seo Chi-young struggled to suppress the slight redness of his face, smiled awkwardly, and tilted his head.
“I… was okay.”
“Really? Well, seeing as you’re fine now…”
Yoon Jun-young suddenly glared into the air with narrowed eyes, as if displeased.
“That day—was it the day he suddenly punched me and Kang-hee and left, or the day after—he suddenly burst in during the morning with a face that looked completely gone, shouting and asking where Chi-young was. He looked like he was ready to chop Chi-young into pieces if he found out where he was. I regretted it the moment I told him that Chi-young had gone down to see his mother for her 60th birthday. But then Chi-young wasn’t answering his phone… so I was worried.”
Seo Chi-young could only blink, murmuring, “Uh… yes… I’m sorry.” Ah, so that was why, after Seo Chi-young had recovered and gotten a new phone, he had sent a belated message to Yoon Jun-young apologizing for that day, and Yoon Jun-young had immediately called to ask if he was still alive.
……..However.
With an embarrassed face, Seo Chi-young looked subtly at Jang Ui-geon, who was pretending not to hear and staring out toward the main road. Even though he had turned his head away, Jang Ui-geon seemed to feel Seo Chi-young’s gaze, as he frowned fiercely and growled low.
“Jun-young, stop saying useless things. …….People have moments like that in life. I’m not usually like that.”
“As you know, I’m almost always rational and a pretty decent person…” As Jang Ui-geon murmured, Yoon Jun-young threw him a blank look as if wondering what nonsense he was talking to himself and snorted.
“If you know that, then why did you shout as if you were going to kill someone to find out where he was, and then when I gave you the answer, you glared at me asking ‘Why do you know something I don’t’? …But why were you two so hostile?”
Drinking water, Yoon Jun-young looked at Jang Ui-geon and Seo Chi-young in turn with eyes that weren’t particularly interested, asking casually without addressing anyone in particular.
“What, are you two dating?”
The moment that casual question dropped, while the person asking seemed to have no particular thought about it, the expressions of the two who received the question froze. Whether out of shyness or surprise.
“Yeah, well, that’s how it happened.”
“Uh, ah, n-no, we aren’t…!”
However, the words that burst out from the two simultaneously were completely different, despite being answers to the same question.
In front of a bewildered Yoon Jun-young, who raised an eyebrow, the two who had given opposite answers at the same time froze. Seo Chi-young looked at Jang Ui-geon, who was giving him a strange look. Jang Ui-geon, who had been staring at Seo Chi-young with a face devoid of a smile, gazed at the bewildered Seo Chi-young for a moment before his eyes hardened.
“What, why are your answers different? You’re dating, but it’s not serious, or something like that?”
Only the words of Yoon Jun-young, murmuring as if it were a ridiculous situation, flowed through the silence between the two. However, Yoon Jun-young, who was subtly bad at reading the atmosphere, continued to murmur alone amidst the ominous silence, his tone belittling his friend. “Well, Ui-geon is my friend and objectively a good guy, but still, to be by Chi-young’s side, he’s a bit…”
“If I had a personality like mine, I might have gotten along better with Chi-young… If it weren’t for Kang-hee, I would have lived with Chi-young.”
And as he casually tossed out those words with a contented face while eating gopchang at home every day, Seo Chi-young looked at Yoon Jun-young with a fleeting sense of bashfulness. However, in that moment, a cold and serious voice, devoid of any trace of laughter, cut through the air.
“Jun-young, you just need to be happy wherever you are. Whether you go to Kang-hee or find someone else. I sincerely hope you become happy. …But not Chi-young. Chi-young must only be happy by my side. Otherwise, I will become unhappy.”
Stating bluntly that he absolutely refused to let that happen, regardless of how selfish it was, Jang Ui-geon swallowed his beer with a stoic expression. Hearing those words, which contained a clear and explicit boundary and warning, Seo Chi-young paused and looked at him.
He felt as if his face were about to turn red. Or so he thought… for some reason, Jang Ui-geon seemed to be in a foul mood.
Only then, with a puzzled look, Seo Chi-young stammered, his eyes wide as he looked at Jang Ui-geon, whose irritation was clearly visible beside Yoon Jun-young. “What… why are you being so serious? Are you for real?”
“Uh… Jun-young was just saying it, so please cheer u—”
But Seo Chi-young stopped mid-sentence and shut his mouth. The gaze Jang Ui-geon cast upon him was freezing.
In front of Seo Chi-young, who had instinctively fallen silent, Jang Ui-geon simply drank his beer without a word. He wasn’t exactly throwing a tantrum or shouting, but no matter how one looked at it, his mood had soured.
Uh, uh, feeling flustered and not knowing what to do, Seo Chi-young felt sorry for himself for lacking the tact to handle such situations.
He felt like he should say something; he didn’t want to see that expressionless face just drinking beer. However, after hesitating for a long time, not knowing what to say, Seo Chi-young eventually dropped his head in defeat. Seeing the gloomy Seo Chi-young, Yoon Jun-young frowned and glared at Jang Ui-geon, but without even looking back, Jang Ui-geon sensed the gaze and murmured in a low, warning tone, “You just stay out of it.” Yoon Jun-young looked back and forth between the two with a complex expression, then shrugged as if it were none of his business and went back to picking out pieces of gopchang.
After that, the conversation continued sporadically. Beside Seo Chi-young, who remained silent, not knowing how to strike up a conversation, Yoon Jun-young continued to mutter casually, indifferent to the atmosphere. “Student days were the best, having vacations and all.” “My professor asked me to come to his house this Sunday to help him out. When am I supposed to rest?” Jang Ui-geon responded with a few half-hearted remarks like, “Yeah, that’s true, just try to get through your thesis somehow,” but other than those brief replies, he hardly opened his mouth.
Meanwhile, Yoon Jun-young checked his beeping phone, clicked his tongue, and muttered, “Hey, Kang-hee says he’s coming to pick me up now. He has something to do and has to go back immediately, so he told me to get ready… I’ll be right back, bathroom.” Then he left the table.
Once Yoon Jun-young, who had been leading the conversation—even if only in a few words—while eating almost all the gopchang despite leaving some noodles and vegetables, left the seat, a heavy silence descended upon the place.
It always happened this way; other customers didn’t call out either. Seo Chi-young sighed heavily under the silence pressing down on his shoulders, thinking it would be nice if someone just said, ‘The water bottle here is empty’ or ‘Please give me some napkins,’ even if they weren’t ordering anything. Then, he opened his mouth to try and say something.
“Uh… it seems Kang-hee is just stopping by briefly before heading back. That’s a shame.”
“Why is it a shame for you, Chi-young?”
The answer came immediately, but the quiet, calm response was somehow subtly abrasive. Seo Chi-young hesitated, flustered. “Uh…”
“I mean… it’s been a while since you’ve seen him…”
“Were you and Kang-hee close?”
“Huh? Uh… I wouldn’t say we were close, but we are alumni, and… sort of like a friend of a friend…”
Seo Chi-young stammered, picking his words carefully.
The tone was calm and ordinary, but there were clearly hidden thorns. Because Jang Ui-geon rarely showed such prickliness—especially lately, having shown nothing but a kind and gentle face—Seo Chi-young blinked in bewilderment.
Jang Ui-geon, who had been silently watching him, suddenly asked out of the blue.
“Then, what is the relationship between us?”
“Huh? …Uh…”
Seo Chi-young was speechless. However, Jang Ui-geon continued to stare at him in silence, as if demanding an answer. Seeing that Jang Ui-geon had no intention of averting his gaze or backing away even after a long pause, Seo Chi-young murmured haltingly.
“Fri… friends… alumni, and, …uh… I, I owe you money, and you’re a customer of the shop…”
Muttering in a voice that trailed off, Seo Chi-young let his words fade. After staring at him in silence for a long while, Jang Ui-geon set his beer glass down on the table with a clack. Hearing that sound, which was quiet yet tinged with displeasure, Seo Chi-young shrunk his shoulders, feeling anxious for no reason. Then, he heard Jang Ui-geon call him coldly.
“Seo Chi-young.”
“Do you sleep with friends, alumni, creditors, or customers?”
Seo Chi-young flinched, his eyes widening as if he had swallowed a frog. Jang Ui-geon’s quiet, cold words continued.
“Do you meet people like that every day, share every little detail of your lives, hold hands while walking home, go to a biology major’s house every weekend to have sex and stay over, and spend every single holiday together?”
“… …No, …no I don’t.”
“Then what is the relationship between you and me?”
Seo Chi-young couldn’t answer. It wasn’t because he was awkward or embarrassed—though those reasons weren’t entirely absent—but because he truly didn’t know what to call it.
When asked what the relationship was, he really didn’t know what to say.
Almost always—five days a week—they never strayed from the territory of perfect friends. Sure, they held hands, but that was because it was cold, and friends could do that too. Other than that, there wasn’t a single sweet word, a suggestive glance, or a tender touch. They lived in such a way that one couldn’t even suspect a relationship beyond friendship, and then, only on weekends, they had a deep relationship as if they had become different people. Even then, it wasn’t a progression from sweet words or subtle glances; it was as if they met solely for ‘that’ purpose, naturally clashing their desires as soon as they arrived at the house.
Generally, people would call such a relationship—
“Are we sex partners? Like Jun-young said, we’re dating, but it’s not that serious, is that it?”
Yes, it seemed very close to the relationship people commonly described that way.
However, Seo Chi-young was stuck.
That wasn’t it. Just as Jang Ui-geon seemed to be angry beneath his quiet voice, it wasn’t like that. Sex partners? No way. He had never thought of it that way.
But.
“………”
While staring blankly at Jang Ui-geon, Seo Chi-young ultimately failed to answer. Jang Ui-geon waited patiently and silently for a response, but Seo Chi-young couldn’t say a word until Yoon Jun-young returned to the table. In the end, until Yoon Jun-young left and the shop closed, and even until the moment Jang Ui-geon walked him to his door and turned away, Seo Chi-young could not give any answer.
Perhaps because the weather was cold, the streets became sparse as the hour grew late, even for a weekend. In the summer, 9 or 10 PM on a weekend would be the busiest time, but winter was different.
Inside the shop, where the heater was on, two men sat facing each other, drinking. Seo Chi-young sat at the counter, blowing on his hands in the cold air leaking through the tightly fastened vinyl tent.
As he stood up to greet someone entering through the tent, saying “Welcome,” Seo Chi-young stopped awkwardly upon seeing who it was.
“I told you to just stay inside before the customers come if it’s cold.”
Seeing Jang Ui-geon sit in the seat across the counter while speaking with a slightly frowned face, Seo Chi-young murmured, “Uh…” and quickly said, “It’ll be cold sitting outside, please go inside and sit.”
“If I go in, will you come in too, Chi-young?”
Seo Chi-young hesitated and couldn’t answer. While he knew he only needed to come out when he heard a customer entering, as a shop owner, he felt he should wait in a position where he could greet them immediately.
While Seo Chi-young hesitated, Jang Ui-geon sat at the counter as if he had expected as much.
“One order of gopchang, and just barley tea for the drink, please.”
As Jang Ui-geon spoke while loosely unwinding his muffler, Seo Chi-young paused for a moment and asked with a puzzled look.
“Did you… bring your car?”
Jang Ui-geon looked strange. Since Seo Chi-young already knew that he always drove to pick him up on Saturdays. Then, as if a thought suddenly occurred to him, he frowned for a moment and said briefly.
“Yes, I brought it. Since it’s the weekend, I’m planning to go back home and rest with you.”
To his answer, which explicitly assumed they were going to Jang Ui-geon’s house, Seo Chi-young nodded. “Yes…”
Throughout this week, Jang Ui-geon had been in a bad mood. Because of that, Seo Chi-young had thought that perhaps he wouldn’t go to his house this weekend.
Although he continued to visit every night without fail, Jang Ui-geon was almost silent. Normally, they would laugh and talk about what happened today or what they did, sharing trivial things, but his word count had noticeably decreased. He would sit and wait without saying much until the shop closed, then walk Seo Chi-young home before returning.
Even on the way home, he would bluntly ask, “It’s cold, right?” and pull Seo Chi-young’s hand into his coat pocket as usual, but he hardly spoke while walking.
Because of this, Seo Chi-young’s heart also felt heavy, making it difficult for him to initiate conversation.
He would rather take a leap of faith, say something, and clear the air. This heavy atmosphere made it hard to breathe. Above all, it pained him that the warm and kind relationship they had carefully built up over the last while seemed to be crumbling all at once.
If this awkward and unpleasant atmosphere were to harden. If a distance grew between them and became irreversible.
He didn’t want that. He would rather apologize first, beg, or even have him get very angry or openly show his displeasure—he wanted to let it all out once and clear it.
“……..”
Seo Chi-young looked at Jang Ui-geon sitting at the counter and tried to speak hesitantly, but after hesitating with his mouth open for a moment, he closed it again. He couldn’t immediately think of how to start the conversation.
After bringing the barley tea and frying the gopchang for Jang Ui-geon, who was looking toward the main road without making eye contact, Seo Chi-young sat in front of him and looked at him in silence.
It must be cold. I’m the shop owner, so I can’t help it, but it would be better if Ui-geon-ssi sat inside. No, he doesn’t even need to come out to meet me.
Unlike weekdays when they just saw each other briefly at night, on Saturdays, he stayed at Jang Ui-geon’s house. If so, there was no need for him to come meet him; Seo Chi-young could just close the shop and go to his house.
“Um, Ui-geon-ssi.”
When Seo Chi-young spoke, Jang Ui-geon, who was moistening his lips with the steaming hot barley tea, shifted only his eyes to look at him.
“I… I don’t think you need to come out to meet me.”
When Seo Chi-young said that, Jang Ui-geon stopped moving for a moment. He then slowly lowered his hand, set the cup down, and gave Seo Chi-young his full attention.
“The weather is cold, and even if you come here, you’re just sitting in the cold before going back…”
“I come because I want to. Not for your sake, Chi-young.”
Jang Ui-geon interrupted him. He cut him off so firmly as if there was no need for further discussion that Seo Chi-young shut his mouth.
He felt as if he had spoken unnecessarily. Jang Ui-geon’s expressionless face seemed to have become even more dissatisfied.
Seo Chi-young lowered his head gloomily and interlaced his fingers.
But I don’t want to see him sitting in the cold, while he was thinking that, the wind blew from outside. The night wind, blowing past and kicking up dry dust, penetrated the tightly closed tent and chilled the air.
Out of habit, Seo Chi-young blew on his hands and rubbed them. Then, he suddenly locked eyes with Jang Ui-geon.
“Uh… um, as I said, it would be better if you sat inside…”
“You’re not going in, are you?”
He replied as if he weren’t cold at all. Hearing those words, which were tinged with irritation, Seo Chi-young suddenly thought: just as he didn’t want Jang Ui-geon to sit in the cold, perhaps Jang Ui-geon felt the same way about him.
Seo Chi-young lowered his head bashfully. However, he still felt reluctant to go inside the shop, and as he hesitated, Jang Ui-geon clicked his tongue lowly and took something out of his pocket to hand over.
“Wear these. …I’m not giving them to you, so you have to return them later.”
What he handed over with a blunt tone were large gloves. After fiddling with the high-quality leather gloves that had soft fur on the inside, Seo Chi-young bowed his head and said, “Thank you,” then hesitantly put them on. They were large enough that there was a bit of space at the fingertips. Wearing the gloves that seemed well-broken-in—perhaps because Jang Ui-geon wore them regularly—he smiled brightly, feeling bashful and happy.
Watching him, Jang Ui-geon’s eyebrow twitched slightly, and then he went back to eating gopchang in silence.
As customers came and went one by one, the last customer inside the shop left.
Although it was only slightly past eleven, Jang Ui-geon stood up.
“Shall we start tidying up then?”
Without waiting for Seo Chi-young’s answer, Jang Ui-geon went into the shop to prepare for cleaning. Seo Chi-young looked at the clock with a slightly troubled face but silently began tidying up around the counter. We shouldn’t close this early every weekend, he sighed inwardly.
After finishing the cleanup, checking the gas one last time, turning off the lights, and locking the shutter, Seo Chi-young approached Jang Ui-geon, who had been waiting for him.
Jang Ui-geon reached out his hand to Seo Chi-young. As he placed his hand in that hand, as per their nightly habit, Seo Chi-young suddenly remembered something and put his hand in his pocket.
“Uh, no, but if I wear the gloves…”
They were very warm gloves. Thinking that if he wore them, Jang Ui-geon wouldn’t need to hold his hand, Seo Chi-young was just pulling the gloves out of his pocket when Jang Ui-geon made a frustrated face and clicked his tongue.
“…Give those back. I’ll lend them to you again after we get home.”
Staring blankly for a moment at Jang Ui-geon, who was reaching out his hand for a different reason this time, Seo Chi-young awkwardly placed the gloves on that hand. But I don’t need to wear gloves after we get home, he murmured to himself.
Jang Ui-geon shoved the gloves roughly into his inner coat pocket, grabbed Seo Chi-young’s hand, put it in his coat pocket, and turned to walk away in silence. Seo Chi-young followed behind him. Before long, they left the alley and got into the car parked on the outer road.
As soon as Jang Ui-geon started the car, he turned on the heater and murmured bluntly, “It’ll be cold, but bear with it for a moment. It’ll be warm soon.”
It was always like this. Even throughout this week, while his mood was sour, Jang Ui-geon always put Seo Chi-young first. Whether Seo Chi-young needed something, was uncomfortable, or was struggling, he always thought of and took care of him first.
“Thank you.” Seo Chi-young bowed his head.
“…Then, we’re going to my house.”
Saying so, Jang Ui-geon started the car.
In the middle of the night, the car flowed smoothly onto the road where the traffic was fluid. It was a distance that would take only a few minutes to arrive. The silence flowing between the two of them in the narrow space was suffocatingly heavy even for a few minutes, and Seo Chi-young ended up lowering his head.