By Zephyria 
===
“This is your first time seeing our son, right?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“He’s our youngest, so you’ll be seeing him often from now on. Even if I can’t come along, I trust you to take good care of him.”
“Of course, Ma’am. I will serve him to the best of my ability.”
Watching the employee bow politely, Eun-won bowed back, but his heart stung at the sound of the woman naturally referring to him as ‘our youngest.’ It felt, in a strange way, as if he had truly entered the domain of a new family.
“Shall we go now? I’d love to stay and play more, but I really wanted to prepare your first dinner together with my own hands. We should leave now so I can finish before your father arrives. Let’s go out together again this weekend.”
“…Yes. Thank you…. For being so thoughtful….”
“How long are you going to keep thanking me for things that are only natural?”
Smiling, Yeo Hee-jin took Eun-won’s hand and stepped into the VVIP elevator, escorted by the employee. Eun-won looked down at the small, warm hand gripping his own.
A poignant yet overwhelming sense of belonging filled his heart. A warmth he longed to lean on spread through the void that had remained empty for three years.
* * *
Cha Se-jin, who had spent the hour before clock-out leaning back in his chair and killing time, headed straight for Eun-won’s convenience store as soon as he finished work. He had intended to visit around 10 PM, as he had for the past two days, but for some reason, he found it difficult to endure until then. He decided to visit at the time Eun-won started his shift.
Since he was stuck in the rush-hour traffic and it would take about an hour to get there, the timing was perfect.
Yesterday, after rubbing the candy against Eun-won’s lips, inside his mouth, and on his tongue, all of Se-jin’s senses had been concentrated there. Even if he tried to shake it off, he couldn’t. The memory kept resurfacing; how could he possibly stop thinking about it?
Having given up on trying not to think about it, Cha Se-jin thought of Eun-won the entire time he drove home in his car filled with useless things, the entire time until he fell asleep, and from the moment he woke up this morning until now.
The way Eun-won had just stood there like a fool while watching him unwrap the candy and feeling it press against his lips; the way he had gasped in surprise at the sound of the counter being kicked, unconsciously taking the candy that slid into his mouth—that face, those lips, kept flickering before his eyes.
“…….”
Fuck, I thought it was just candy. I should have just sucked his tongue until he wailed. He’s going to marry me soon anyway, so a little kissing in advance shouldn’t be a problem.
Slowly rubbing the back of his front teeth with the tip of his tongue, Cha Se-jin entered the narrow, cramped alley. Whether it was 7 PM or 10 PM, this place was secluded with few passersby.
“Welcome.”
Entering the convenience store with high expectations of teasing Eun-won, Cha Se-jin checked the time upon seeing a middle-aged man greeting him.
As he had seen before getting out of the car, it was clearly past 7 PM. That meant Eun-won should have been at work. Cha Se-jin strode toward the counter and looked down at the middle-aged man.
“Where’s the part-timer?”
“Pardon?”
“The kid who usually works at this time. Seo Eun-won.”
“Ah! Eun-won! Oh, Eun-won quit as of yesterday.”
“He quit? Yesterday was his last day?”
“Yes…. Oh, but why is Eun-won….”
The CEO, who looked at Cha Se-jin with a puzzled expression as he leaned obliquely and rested one hand on the counter in thought, eventually shook his head. He concluded that a man who looked like an actor couldn’t possibly be the “nuisance” Eun-won had mentioned.
Regardless of whatever the CEO was thinking while staring at him, Cha Se-jin focused on the fact that Eun-won had quit the convenience store.
“If yesterday was his last day….”
He wondered if Eun-won had stayed still while he bought wine, liquor, and all sorts of strange things, pelted him with questions, and even popped a candy into his mouth because it was the end. Literally, the end. He probably thought that if he just endured it for a moment, he would never have to come here again, and naturally, he would never have to see him again.
Cha Se-jin turned and leaned in close to the CEO standing inside the counter, bracing himself with both hands.
“Why did he quit? Did he find another job?”
“Ah…. Not exactly, he said he was moving back into his parents’ house…. Oh, by the way, how do you know Eun-won….”
“Ah, back to his parents’ house.”
Cha Se-jin let out a laugh at the CEO’s words and straightened up. It seemed Eun-won had finally entered Baum. Compared to the generous amount of time Se-jin had given him to slowly coax him into standing at the altar, the pace was quite fast.
“Then it won’t take long.”
“…Excuse me….”
“Ah, right. You asked what our relationship is, right?”
“Yes….”
Looking down at the CEO waiting for an answer, Cha Se-jin gave a thin smile. Then, he replied in a bright voice.
“We’re getting married.”
“…What?”
“I’m his husband.”
The man didn’t seem to believe him, but that didn’t matter. Seeing the CEO’s bewildered gaze, Cha Se-jin grinned again and walked out of the convenience store.
It was a shame that his rather amusing routine of dropping by to tease Eun-won had vanished, but they would likely face each other in an official setting soon. After all, they wouldn’t get married without seeing each other’s faces once.
I wonder what kind of face he’ll make when he finds out I’m the one he’s marrying.
Just imagining Eun-won’s expression made it a sufficiently entertaining night.
* * *
Following Yeo Hee-jin’s suggestion to rest while she prepared dinner, Eun-won spent his time doing assignments on the laptop on the desk in his room. He had hesitated slightly about whether he should use it, but remembering her words that everything in the room was prepared for him, he decided to turn it on.
Until now, he had used rentals from school or gone to an internet cafe when in a hurry, so he was thrilled to be able to do his assignments comfortably at a large desk.
Just as he was organizing the materials needed for his assignment, a knock sounded, and Eun-won quickly stood up and opened the door.
“Young Master, the Chairman is arriving.”
“Ah…. Yes. Thank you for letting me know….”
“You don’t have to thank me. It’s only natural. I look forward to serving you, Young Master. Please let me know whenever you need anything.”
“Okay….”
Following the servant downstairs, Yeo Hee-jin, who had come out of the kitchen to greet her husband, wrapped her arm around Eun-won’s back. Shortly after, the door opened and the father entered the house.
“Welcome home, honey.”
“…Welcome home.”
After greeting Yeo Hee-jin with a light embrace, the father approached Eun-won and gently patted his shoulder.
“It feels reassuring to have you at home. So, did you have a good day?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Good, I’m glad.”
The father gripped his arm as if praising him before letting go and heading toward the room with Yeo Hee-jin. Eun-won watched the two of them, and upon hearing the servant say that dinner would be served soon, he stayed in the living room instead of going back up.
“Young Master.”
“Ah, yes….”
The servant who had gone up to the second floor a moment ago sat in the chair next to the sofa where Eun-won was sitting, wearing a smile.
“I truly hope that you don’t feel the slightest bit of discomfort during your stay here. We will do our best to ensure you feel at home whenever you come, so please feel free to treat us comfortably.”
…During your stay here? Whenever you come…?
Eun-won tilted his head, wondering why she spoke as if he were living there for a fixed period before leaving, and then stood up as he saw the father coming out of the room. Yeo Hee-jin, following behind him, smiled at Eun-won and reached out her hand.
“Dinner is ready, Eun-won. Let’s eat. You must be hungry.”
Led by the hand by Yeo Hee-jin, Eun-won entered the dining room and looked at the abundance of food on the large table with a surprised expression.
The food on the table wasn’t the kind of complex, visually stunning dishes one usually associates with wealthy families.
Steaming braised short ribs, glossy japchae, several types of seasoned vegetables, grilled shrimp, and a clear beef radish soup. The table was filled with menus close to ‘home-cooked meals’—things Eun-won had had few opportunities to encounter while living alone.
“I worked hard on this, but I’m not sure if it’ll suit my son’s taste.”
“…Did you make all of this yourself?”
“Yes. I tried my best, but I don’t know how it turned out. I heard that Eun-won’s mother was very good at making braised short ribs, japchae, and beef radish soup. So I thought these dishes would be familiar to you, and perhaps you’d miss them, so I prepared them. Of course, they won’t be as good as the taste you miss, but I hope I managed to imitate them well….”
Watching the woman serve the ribs onto his plate, Eun-won’s eyes grew misty. He was moved by the fact that she cared for him and thought of him to such an extent, and at the same time, the memory of his mother, whom he could no longer see, made him feel as if he were about to cry.