#29

Or perhaps he simply enjoyed the act of making clothes for others. After all, he had personally referred to it as ‘his pleasure.’

“The Montreal uniforms you wore before were really… well, they were cute in their own way, like little chicks.”

“…….”

The colors of the Montreal Highlights uniforms were purple and yellow. While purple was the main color, the away uniforms had a yellow base.

In particular, the away uniform Ho-jae wore when he first joined the team was a bright, vivid yellow, so he was often mocked by the opposing home fans for looking like a baby duck.

As if mindful of this, the away uniforms were changed to white starting the very next year. The fact that Jung-hyun knew this meant he was aware of Ho-jae from at least four years ago.

“…How long were you in the States?”

Ho-jae slowly scanned Kwon Jung-hyun’s face in the mirror before asking, unable to contain his curiosity. Jung-hyun answered naturally.

“I was there for about ten years. From the age of sixteen to twenty-six.”

“…….”

“I’m thirty this year. I returned to Korea four years ago.”

Thirty. That meant there was a six-year age gap between them.

He had known Jung-hyun was older, but perhaps because the first digit of their ages differed, the gap felt larger than he had expected.

And four years ago… that was the year Chairman Kwon passed away. The thought crossed his mind that his return to Korea might be related to that.

“The first time I saw one of your games was during a Canadian youth league match. I saw a black-haired player among the foreign players and looked up his name first. I became interested because it was a Korean name.”

“…….”

“I thought I’d forget quickly, but strangely, he popped into my head often. Perhaps it didn’t feel like someone else’s business, seeing a kid much younger than me struggling in a distant foreign land.”

Jung-hyun paused after saying that.

Beyond the half-open dressing room curtain, dust motes from the fabric sparkled like gold threads in the light. A few of them settled softly on Jung-hyun’s hair.

“I found out later that you were a player sponsored by Chairman Kwon. No, it would be more accurate to say I remembered. The reason he chose Shin Ho-jae was none other than… well, this part isn’t particularly important.”

Shin Ho-jae unconsciously followed the sparkling gold dust with his eyes. Soon, his gaze landed on Jung-hyun’s eyes.

In the sunlight streaming through the window, Jung-hyun’s eyes were dyed a warm color.

Those eyes were also quietly meeting Ho-jae’s gaze in the mirror.

The sound of the shop owner talking on the phone outside drifted in faintly, like background noise from a television.

Ho-jae swallowed unconsciously. He saw Kwon Jung-hyun’s lips, lightly flushed. Having tasted them once, he knew exactly what they tasted like.

“There’s a practice match next weekend. I heard you’re going to Gangneung.”

“…….”

“I don’t think we’ll have time to meet….”

The words he was speaking didn’t quite register. As Ho-jae just stared blankly at the man in the mirror, Kwon Jung-hyun smiled slightly.

It was a smile where only the corners of his mouth lifted while his eyes remained unchanged, as usual, but strangely, it felt incredibly soft and ticklish.

Perhaps because of that, a sensation arose as if someone were tickling the area around his chest with a thin brush.

As if possessed, Shin Ho-jae turned toward him. He felt a thin fabric beneath his fingers. It was the sleeve of Jung-hyun’s jacket. He slid his hand up slowly along the elbow and gently gripped his forearm.

He felt a short breath nearby and saw the long eyelashes curled within thin inner double eyelids.

Blink. As Jung-hyun closed and opened his eyes, his gold-tinted pupils met Ho-jae’s gaze head-on.

He had felt it several times already, but whenever he looked into his eyes from this close, the person in front of him felt like a completely different person, not the Kwon Jung-hyun he knew.

A strange feeling. A sensation as if the two of them were trapped alone in an isolated space.

Ho-jae’s face moved very slowly closer to him.

“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.”

Suddenly, there was a presence from outside. It was the voice of the shop owner who had finished the call. Shin Ho-jae gasped and immediately pulled his hand away.

“The call took longer because there was an issue with some of the fabric,” Jung-hyun replied to the owner beyond the curtain.

“I haven’t tried everything on yet; could you wait a little longer?”

“Of course. Take your time. Oh dear, the tea has gone cold. I’ll bring out some fresh tea.”

The owner, completely unaware of what was happening inside, replied in an ordinary tone and slowly walked away.

“The mood was good.”

“…….”

“I should have sent the owner outside entirely.”

Jung-hyun whispered in a playful tone and lightly tugged on Ho-jae’s wrist. A lukewarm body temperature touched the protruding round bone of his wrist.

Like someone who had been electrocuted, Shin Ho-jae hurriedly shook off the hand and flung open the curtain. As he stepped out of the dressing room, his face was completely frozen.

What was I trying to do?

Trying to kiss him. Even though the other person hadn’t asked for it. He couldn’t believe it.

He was confused. The times he had kissed him before were because the man was his team owner and sponsor. If he didn’t comply with his demands, it could lead to disadvantages for the team. That was certainly how it had been.

He heard the sound of dress shoes stepping down from the dressing room platform behind him, but Shin Ho-jae did not look back.

“I’ll let the owner and me choose the suit fabric arbitrarily. You’ve worked hard, as changing clothes must have been a hassle.”

“…….”

“Change back into your original clothes inside. I’ll go out and finalize the order with the owner.”

Kwon Jung-hyun passed Ho-jae and left the reception room. Only after he was out of sight did Ho-jae slowly release the tension in his brow and let out a deep breath.

Then, he snatched up the t-shirt he had taken off to change. It was then that he spotted a familiar face through the large window of the reception room.

Pink hair that could be recognized at a glance even from a distance. It was Yuk Du-min.

Yuk Du-min was crossing the crosswalk, affectionately linking arms with his companions. Coincidentally, the tailor shop where Shin Ho-jae was located was right in front of the crossing.

Shin Ho-jae quickly hid behind a clothing rack. It was an instinctive reaction.

His heart pounded irregularly. How long had he been hiding?

Only after confirming several times that they had completely disappeared from view did Shin Ho-jae slowly stand up. His palms were drenched in sweat from how panicked he had been in that short moment.

Ho-jae looked down at his hands. Instead of an intangible, unpleasant emotion, he saw his messily crumpled t-shirt.

He had hidden.

For fear that Yuk Du-min might see him with Kwon Jung-hyun. For fear that he might realize what Ho-jae had just been trying to do.

For fear of being caught trying to kiss a Beta man, the team owner, his sponsor.

His whole body turned cold, and his heart beat with a chilling sensation.

It was horrific.

He never wanted Du-min or his family to know that side of him. No, he didn’t want anyone to see it.

“Are you dressed? I’m all finished here.”

A moment later, Kwon Jung-hyun entered the reception room with the sound of dress shoes. In the meantime, Ho-jae had changed back into the t-shirt, which was now wrinkled across the back.

Jung-hyun glanced at Ho-jae as he shoved his feet into his sneakers and checked the time.

“There are still about 30 minutes left. If you’re okay with it, do you want to stop by the cafe next door? I’ve been there a few times, and the hand-drip coffee is quite good.”

Ho-jae answered without looking at him.

“If I must drink coffee, I would prefer to do so in a place where there are no people.”

“It’s a small, quiet cafe. There won’t be many people at this hour.”

“No. You didn’t understand me. I’m saying that I would prefer it if no one saw me with you, Representative.”

“…….”

“Have you not considered that you might run into someone from the team? If rumors start circulating that the owner is meeting a player privately, I think it will be worse for you than for me, Representative.”

Jung-hyun raised an eyebrow and looked at Shin Ho-jae.

“I don’t know, weren’t you perfectly fine in my office? Same during the training camp. Is my memory failing me?”

Momentarily speechless, Shin Ho-jae blinked rapidly before barely managing to continue.

“……That may have been the case then, but the situation is different now.”

“Different? How?”

Jung-hyun chuckled and stepped closer to Shin Ho-jae. Ho-jae’s mouth went dry. Jung-hyun came right up to his face and looked up at him provocatively.

“Because Shin-seonsu and I have started ‘mixing saliva’ frequently?”

“…….”

“You’re playing it awfully safe after only doing it twice. If you’re like this already, how are you going to have sex with me?”

At his blunt remark, Shin Ho-jae flinched and checked outside the reception room. Fortunately, the owner was not in sight, but his nerves were on edge, wondering if he had been overheard.

Jung-hyun tilted his head slightly and gazed at Shin Ho-jae. Then, after a few seconds, he turned around abruptly and spoke.

“Fine. As you say, Shin-seonsu, let’s not meet outside like this from now on.”

“……Thank you.”

Only after a long while did Shin Ho-jae offer a small word of thanks. He didn’t know if Jung-hyun heard it, as he had already left the reception room.

Picking up his phone from the table, Ho-jae swallowed hard. His mind was in turmoil. He couldn’t tell if he had done the right thing or handled it properly, but he was relieved that Jung-hyun had accepted his wish.

It was then that he saw a list of missed calls in red text on the screen he had unconsciously touched. For a moment, he felt a chill, wondering if it was a call from Yuk Du-min, but the caller was someone else. It was Shin Yeon-jae.

The thoughts that had filled his head until a moment ago evaporated instantly, and his heart sank with the worry that something might have happened to his father. Ho-jae immediately pressed the call button. The call connected right away.

─Brother….

“Hello?”

─Brother, where are you…? Can’t you come pick me up?

30 – Puck Drop