By Zephyria While nudging Yoon Joo-ho’s side with his elbow, glancing at Jung-ho, Song Hyun-soo felt a strange tickle of pleasure, despite himself. Yoon Joo-ho, walking ahead with a smiling face, opened the back door for Jung-ho.
“I’m sorry if I made you feel awkward. Jung-ho-ssi, you know how couples who have just started dating are. Please understand.”
Although it was an action intentionally meant for Jung-ho to see, he continued his act with a smooth demeanor.
“Jung-ho-ssi…”
Jung-ho, unable to believe that the actor Yoon Joo-ho was calling his name so familiarly, repeated Yoon Joo-ho’s words in his mouth and got into the back seat of the sedan with a dazed expression. Yoon Joo-ho looked back at Song Hyun-soo behind him and winked, and Song Hyun-soo shook his head in amusement at his brazenness.
Yoon Joo-ho, sitting in the driver’s seat, asked for Jung-ho’s home address, entered it into the navigation, and started the car. His tone and words were consistently polite and affectionate. There was no trace of the rude and arrogant top star that the public often imagined.
Who is this man? Song Hyun-soo couldn’t take his eyes off his profile. It was as if the actor Yoon Joo-ho from a drama, with impeccable manners, was in front of him, not the human Yoon Joo-ho who growled and snapped, knew his own brilliance all too well, and sometimes spewed venomous words that could ignite a fire in people.
“Jung-ho-ssi, your long hair is cool.”
“Hearing that from someone truly cool… makes me feel like I’m showing off in front of an expert, and I’m humbled. Thank you.”
“I heard you’re very close with Hyun-soo.”
As he merged onto the road from the alley, Yoon Joo-ho glanced at Jung-ho in the rearview mirror.
Hyun-soo…
There was no trace of resistance in Yoon Joo-ho as he spoke those words aloud. As if he always called him that.
“Yes? Me? That’s right. I’m close with Hyung. I’m sorry…”
Yoon Joo-ho burst into laughter at Jung-ho’s sudden apology. It was a fresh, cheerful laugh, the kind that would naturally elicit admiration from men and attraction from women. Well, sometimes… even men could find it attractive. Like me…
“Why are you apologizing? Jung-ho, you’re not only cool but also funny. I’m just grateful that you get along well with Hyun-soo.”
Yoon Joo-ho’s gaze flickered towards Song Hyun-soo in the passenger seat. Then, he added in a slightly slower tone,
“As long as you two aren’t up to anything behind my back.”
While most people would have taken it as a joke, Song Hyun-soo saw the barb hidden within the jest. And Jung-ho probably saw it too.
“Up to something? Me, with Hyung? No, there’s really, really a 0.000001% chance of that, so please don’t worry! It’s impossible.”
“Hmm, I wonder… they say strong denials are affirmations.”
Yoon Joo-ho continued speaking, unfazed by Jung-ho’s expression, which looked like he might break out in hives just imagining it.
“Hyun-soo is handsome, but he also has a cute side when you watch him. I don’t know if I’m being a doting boyfriend, but there are times I worry.”
“No… you really don’t need to have that kind of worry.”
Jung-ho was firm. No matter how fascinating it was to meet Yoon Joo-ho in person and talk in his car, some things were just not possible.
“I am absolutely, pos-i-tive-ly unable to see men as romantic partners. If it were someone like Yoon Hye-an, maybe, but with Hyung… Ah, with Hyung, it’s really not it.”
“This bastard is hilarious. Hey, I’m telling you, I’d never be with you, even if I died and came back to life, okay??”
Song Hyun-soo, who had been listening without intervening as much as possible, turned his whole body to look back at Jung-ho. Then, pointing at Yoon Joo-ho, who was driving, he glared.
“Can’t you see I have high standards? I’m the one who’d say you’re really not it.”
“Ah, that’s a relief. So, Hyung, you and Yoon Joo-ho… you and Mr. Yoon Joo-ho, you guys date well.”
“We’re already planning to date the hell out of each other, aren’t we?”
Yoon Joo-ho couldn’t hold back his laughter any longer at their conversation, which would make even a first-grader cry. As Yoon Joo-ho chuckled, resting his elbow on the window frame and covering his mouth, the two exchanged glares and reached an awkward truce.
Clearing his throat to suppress his laughter, Yoon Joo-ho turned the steering wheel to make a right turn.
“Well, it’s a bit infuriating… no, it makes me angry that you’d reject my boyfriend so strongly. But still, hearing you say that puts my mind at ease.”
Jung-ho, perhaps surprised by Yoon Joo-ho’s use of slang like ‘infuriating,’ which contrasted with his polite demeanor so far, clutched his seatbelt and glanced at his profile.
“I heard from Hyun-soo that you were surprised when he told you about us.”
“Yes, I suppose so.”
“Was it uncomfortable?”
“Uncomfortable if…”
“I mean, did you feel disgusted hearing that two men were dating?”
“Ah, no! Not at all! Disgusted? Not at all! A meeting of two handsome men, I think you’re a couple for the ages!”
“Jung-ho, you’re really funny.”
Yoon Joo-ho, having lightened the mood with his cheerful laughter, waited for it to subside before continuing in a serious tone.
“Hyun-soo wanted to tell you, Jung-ho. He said you were a friend he could trust.”
“Me…?”
Jung-ho’s eyes, filled with emotion, turned towards the back of Song Hyun-soo’s head. Yoon Joo-ho nodded slowly.
“This isn’t something you can tell just anyone. It could even become a weakness. Unless you trust someone a great deal, people usually don’t talk about it.”
“Right. I suppose so. I was so shocked, I didn’t even think that far.”
“Well, the shock is greater at first. Jung-ho, there’s a shopping bag under the left seat there. Could you get it for me?”
As Yoon Joo-ho said, Jung-ho fumbled around the dark rear legroom and retrieved the shopping bag, placing it on his lap. Song Hyun-soo hadn’t heard about this either. Curious, he turned to look. It was an orange shopping bag from Louis Vuitton. Jung-ho and Song Hyun-soo made eye contact.
“What is this?”
“Open it.”
Jung-ho, with a face that seemed to fear finding a knife or a dead rat inside, carefully took a box out of the shopping bag. He untied the blue ribbon, opened the lid of the box, and pulled out a large dust bag. Inside the dust bag was a backpack.
“I prepared this as a token of my appreciation for your future cooperation.”
Even with Yoon Joo-ho’s explanation, Jung-ho couldn’t speak. Song Hyun-soo was the same.
“I hope you like it. Since I’m an ambassador for the brand, I’m a bit hesitant about other brands, but…”
Jung-ho’s voice seemed to have faded away for Jung-ho. It was a bag with a classic design released every year, in a subdued color that could be matched with any outfit. Song Hyun-soo hadn’t known this was being prepared either.
“Living with a secret is inconvenient, isn’t it? I’d like you to think of this as a small token of apology for the inconvenience.”
“Seonbae, is this… um, uhm… to buy Jung-ho’s silence?”
A hand suddenly reached out from the back seat and covered Song Hyun-soo’s mouth. It was Jung-ho, of course.
“Buy his silence? Why do you dismiss Mr. Yoon Joo-ho’s sincerity like that? I absolutely don’t think that, Mr. Yoon Joo-ho. From now on, we are people on the same boat, this is a symbol of that.”
Yoon Joo-ho laughed loudly and nodded.
“That’s right, Jung-ho. Jung-ho, you’re someone I can talk to.”
With a face still full of laughter, Yoon Joo-ho reached out. He then removed Jung-ho’s hand from Song Hyun-soo’s mouth.
“But, don’t just touch someone’s lips like that.”
Despite smiling as if it were a joke, his face, as radiant as it could be, somehow carried a chill that seemed to seep in from a gap in the door. Jung-ho seemed to take it entirely as a joke and let it pass, but Song Hyun-soo observed him with suspicious eyes.
Could it be that all the times he’d brought up Jung-ho so casually were because he was conscious of him?? Was he, Yoon Joo-ho, jealous of Jung-ho?? No, that couldn’t be it.
“Since Jung-ho is someone I can talk to, I’ll ask this. I heard you’ve been picking out clothes for Hyun-soo too?”
“Hyung dresses however he grabs things, relying on his looks.”
“I also heard that Jung-ho often takes the photos posted on Hyun-soo’s social media.”
“It might sound like bragging, but you can say that all the photos with the most hearts on Hyung’s account are my work.”
“Does Jung-ho drive?”
“I have a license. I don’t have a car yet.”
“That’s good.”
“……”
Jung-ho, with a puzzled expression, looked back and forth between the backs of the two people in the front seats, wondering what was so good. He still clutched the backpack tightly in his arms.
“How about working as Hyun-soo’s manager?”
“What?”
“If Jung-ho leaks our relationship anywhere, it’ll be a big problem. I need to keep an eye on him.”
“……”
“I’ll follow you anywhere and make you regret spilling those words to death. It’ll be a big problem for Jung-ho.”
“……”
“Haha, just kidding.”
Ahaha, hahahaha.
When Yoon Joo-ho laughed first, Jung-ho awkwardly followed suit.
Song Hyun-soo stared intently at Yoon Joo-ho’s profile. Everything he had said about him being polite and affectionate was now canceled. Of course, it wasn’t like he had a script. The growling and snapping couldn’t hide its true nature.
“I’m serious about asking you to be Hyun-soo’s manager. I don’t want to say this about the place I’ve dedicated my life to, but the entertainment industry isn’t such a beautiful place.”
Seeing the red light, Yoon Joo-ho slowed down behind the car in front. He suddenly turned to Song Hyun-soo in the passenger seat. He reached out, draped his arm over Song Hyun-soo’s shoulder, and lightly stroked his cheek with the back of his hand. His gaze was filled with endless concern and affection.
“If someone trustworthy is by Hyun-soo’s side, I think I’ll feel at ease too.”
How much of this was acting, and where did the sincerity begin? His performance as a doting, overprotective boyfriend, enough to seem like a doting parent, couldn’t have been more perfect.
Meeting Yoon Joo-ho’s eyes, Song Hyun-soo hoped this at least wasn’t an act put on for Jung-ho. And he believed it wasn’t. He knew by looking into his eyes. He knew Yoon Joo-ho that well.
“Um… the car in front has started moving.”
Unable to bear watching their affectionate display any longer, Jung-ho in the back seat interjected with a pained voice, as if complaining of stomach pain. As he withdrew his hand and started the car again, Yoon Joo-ho added casually,
“It would be good to keep an eye out for any bugs that might be attracted, too.”
Jung-ho’s face was now confused, unsure of what was a joke and what was serious.