RFT 40

Getting into the car, Cheon Sa-hyun tossed his bag into the backseat. Do Ye-jun, who had been watching him blankly, asked,

“You’re later than I thought?”

“Yes. I lost track of time picking out some pretty clothes.”

“Pretty clothes?”

“Yes. I have to look pretty for Hyung.”

The moment he heard those words, Do Ye-jun’s face crumpled.

“What are you talking about? Forget it.”

“Then, because I have to look pretty for your mother and father.”

“Forget that even more!”

At Do Ye-jun’s look of disgust, Cheon Sa-hyun laughed playfully and started the car. It was as if nothing had happened. Do Ye-jun couldn’t sense even a hint of anything strange from Cheon Sa-hyun.

Shortly after, they arrived at a rest stop and bought some simple snacks. [stolen content]Cheon Sa-hyun told him several times to eat a proper meal, but Do Ye-jun remained stubborn and managed to secure some sotteok-sotteok. [Read on Read BL Novels]Cheon stolen contentSa-hyun let out a sigh as he wiped the sauce from the corner of Do Ye-jun’s mouth.

“I wonder if I’m raising a child…”

Do Ye-jun glared at him, snatched the tissue away, and scrubbed his lips vigorously. Seeing him pouting, Cheon Sa-hyun approached him first with a gentle smile.

“Give me a bite too.”

“No. You were just asking why I eat things like this.”

He must have taken that to heart already. Cheon Sa-hyun suppressed a leaking laugh and asked once more in a pitiful voice.

“Just one bite, please.”

Though his face looked displeased, Do Ye-jun slid the sotteok-sotteok toward Cheon Sa-hyun. Cheon Sa-hyun opened his mouth and took a bite. Then, as if he had been waiting for this moment, Do Ye-jun used the tissue to scrub the corners of Cheon Sa-hyun’s mouth vigorously.

“Sigh. I’m the one raising a child here!”

He shouted loudly. Cheon Sa-hyun just chuckled and let him do as he pleased. He rubbed so hard that Cheon Sa-hyun’s lips became red and swollen.

“Tastes good, right?”

“Yes. It’s delicious.”

“See? I told you it was good.”

Do Ye-jun looked satisfied, as if his revenge had been quite successful, and handed the remaining half of the sotteok-sotteok to Cheon Sa-hyun.

“It’s delicious, so you eat the rest.”

“…Hyung, you’re just saying that because you’re full.”

“I am not? I’m yielding it to you out of the kindness of my heart.”

Cheon Sa-hyun accepted it as if he had no choice and forced himself to chew and swallow. Every time sauce got on his lips, Do Ye-jun diligently wiped it away with a tissue. Eventually, when he ran out of tissues, he reached the point of scrubbing with the back of his hand. Do Ye-jun’s touch was so relentless that it was hard to tell if he was hitting him or cleaning him.

“I’m done. Stop now.”

Cheon Sa-hyun stopped him, snatched the tissue from Do Ye-jun’s hand, and threw it in the trash along with the skewer. Do Ye-jun ran off to the restroom, saying he was going to wash his hands. To anyone watching, it looked like he was tucking his tail and fleeing for fear of repercussions, so Cheon Sa-hyun didn’t bother stopping him.

The next morning, having finished preparing early as usual, Cheon Sa-hyun spoke casually to Do Ye-jun, who was sitting on the bed rubbing his sleepy eyes.

“I’ll be late today.”

“Will you be back for dinner?”

Do Ye-jun asked naturally, and Cheon Sa-hyun stopped his hands from tying his tie and looked at him. He spoke in a slightly dazed tone.

“Wow… we sounded just like a married couple just now. Right? It would have been perfect if only ‘honey’ was added to the front; that’s a bit of a shame.”

“….”

“I believe that once your memories return, Hyung will call me honey again. It’s probably just because it’s still a bit unfamiliar, right?”

Cheon Sa-hyun murmured bitterly with a longing look in his eyes. It was enough to bewitch Do Ye-jun just by listening. Was this why there was a proverb about getting your nose cut off while your eyes were open? Cheon Sa-hyun stroked Do Ye-jun’s hair and said,

“I’ll be back for dinner. Make sure you eat, too. Okay?”

“…Okay.”

Today was the day Cheon Sa-hyun had to attend a family dinner. Since he had mentioned it in passing before, Do Ye-jun knew today was the day even without a separate reminder.

Knowing that Cheon Sa-hyun didn’t like his family and became moody on the days he had to meet them, Do Ye-jun felt an unnecessary sense of concern. As if reading Do Ye-jun’s mind, Cheon Sa-hyun smiled and spoke as if nothing were wrong.

“I’ll try to come back as quickly as possible, but I might be late, so don’t wait for me. Haah… in my heart, I want to skip work and stay with Hyung… but it can’t be helped, so don’t be too upset, Hyung.”

Normally, he would have shot back [unauthorized copy]at Cheon Sa-hyun’s joke, asking why on Read on Read BL Novelsearth he stolen contentwould be upset, but…

“Alright… have a safe trip.”

He couldn’t say those things today. At Do Ye-jun’s lifeless send-off, Cheon Sa-hyun smiled and said,

“Why are you being so obedient and pretty today?”

“….”

“This is bad. Looks like I’ll be thinking about Hyung all day again.”

Cheon Sa-hyun pinched Do Ye-jun’s cheek gently. Do Ye-jun tried to put strength into his eyes to glare at him, but then relaxed them again.

“Then… think of me if you want…”

The words he mumbled contained a bit of comfort in Do Ye-jun’s own way. Cheon Sa-hyun chuckled, kissed his cheek, and left the house.

Cheon Sa-hyun leaned back against the backrest of his chair. It was already past 6 PM.

Normally, this would be the time he looked forward to most, but not today.

Cheon Sa-hyun let out a slow sigh and loosened his tie. He undid [unauthorized copy]the top button [stolen content]as well. If he didn’t do this, the suffocating feeling in his chest would only tighten further.

Knock, knock.

With a neat knock, Kim Jun-hwan appeared.

“Aren’t you… leaving for the day?”

Standing there with his bag already in hand, he looked completely ready to go home. Cheon Sa-hyun straightened his posture from the backrest and checked his phone.

“Go ahead. I have a dinner appointment today, so I’m planning to leave right on time.”

“Yes, then I’ll be going. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Kim Jun-hwan bowed his head and left, closing the door. Cheon Sa-hyun’s gaze remained fixed on his phone. Cruelly, not a single message had arrived from Do Ye-jun. He was likely rolling around with Bori at home, not thinking of him at all. After all, he was the kind of person who would use every ounce of his brain to avoid crowded restaurants during dinner time.

Cheon Sa-hyun found that particular trait of Do Ye-jun especially cute—the way he played such obvious tricks. Letting out an unconscious smile, he soon opened the message window. If Do Ye-jun wasn’t contacting him, he could just do it himself.

[Don’t skip dinner, and make sure to take your medicine. I’ll check later.]

In truth, there was no proper way to check, but if he didn’t put it this way, Do Ye-jun would surely try to sneak past it. He was such a clumsy, willful, and troublesome person who needed help with everything from A to Z…

“Why don’t I hate it?”

Far from hating it, he wouldn’t be satisfied unless he kept him stuck right by his side. It was something he couldn’t even understand himself. Cheon Sa-hyun shook his head and stood up. He had to leave soon to arrive at a reasonable time.

And as planned, Cheon Sa-hyun arrived at the family dinner. A little later than the appointed time.

Everyone present knew that he never broke a time appointment, yet Cheon Sa-hyun consistently arrived late to family dinners, pretending it was a mistake.

“Everyone arrived early. I’m a bit late.”

Appearing brazenly, Cheon Sa-hyun boldly omitted an apology. Despite this, not a single person scolded him. Leisurely passing the table where his family sat, Cheon Sa-hyun sat in his usual spot.

His portion of the meal was already set. Cheon Sa-hyun first moistened his throat with wine. If there was one thing he liked about these dinners, it was the wine. Whenever the family ate together, his grandfather, Chairman Cheon, would bring out old and expensive wines.

Today, as expected, the flavor of the wine was perfect. Unfitting for this occasion.

“Well, now that Sa-hyun is here, let’s all eat.”

Chairman Cheon had not started the meal until Cheon Sa-hyun arrived. Once he picked up his utensils, the other family members followed suit. Without glancing at anyone, Cheon Sa-hyun poured all his attention into savoring the wine. Cheon Jae-min, sitting across from him, glared at him with a sharp gaze.

“He always thinks he’s the protagonist. He’s never appeared on time. He did the same last Lunar New Year…”

A sarcastic voice cut across the table. Only then did Cheon Sa-hyun shift his gaze to him.

“I had some work to wrap up.”

Cheon Sa-hyun lied without blinking.

“You should have wrapped it up in advance when you knew there was a family appointment. Everyone here works; isn’t it strange that only you are late every time?”

Listening to Cheon Jae-min, Cheon Sa-hyun leisurely swirled his wine glass. The red wine rode smooth waves, drawing a streamlined pattern against the wall of the glass.

“I don’t know… maybe family appointments just aren’t as important as work to me.”

He murmured as if he were talking about someone else. Then, as if uninterested, he put a piece of meat, grilled perfectly to his taste, into his mouth.

Surely the same chef had cooked it in the same way as before. But the steak, which had been barely edible in the past, was—to put it brutally—worse than the rolled omelets Do Ye-jun had ruined. Cheon Sa-hyun chewed and swallowed the top-grade meat as if he were chewing on a piece of tissue.