By Zephyria 
The double date dinner that Lee Hae-sung and Choi Hong-seo had planned to invite Jeong Ji-in and Yi-han to was, of course, cancelled.
Yi-han had sent word through Manager Kang that meeting today would likely be difficult. Since they had parted ways the way they did yesterday, they would have understood even if there had been no contact at all; however, the fact that he reached out was, for now, considered a not-so-bad reaction. Lee Hae-sung and Choi Hong-seo decided to take it positively.
Lee Hae-sung led Choi Hong-seo out to the terrace. It was to ensure he got as much sunlight as possible. The weather was indeed fantastic. After finishing lunch on the terrace, where the Eiffel Tower was visible over the residential area opposite the hotel, Lee Hae-sung brewed coffee himself using the room’s capsule machine.
“What should we do today? Since your evening is free, shall we go out somewhere far?”
Setting a warm latte down in front of Choi Hong-seo, Lee Hae-sung stood beside him and brushed his hair back.
“I’m a little tired… can’t we just rest in the room together?”
“Why wouldn’t we be able to?”
Fiddling with Lee Hae-sung’s fingertips, Choi Hong-seo looked up at him with hesitant eyes.
“You probably wanted to show me this and that. I’m sorry.”
“That wasn’t the purpose of this trip. We can just come back another time.”
“The movie Ji-in Hyung recommended. I want to watch that with you. You’ve already seen it, right, Hyung?”
“Hmm, I have. But back then, I was someone who didn’t understand the melodrama or romance genres at all. I think my impression would be very different if I watched it with a certain someone now.”
Choi Hong-seo wrapped his arms around Lee Hae-sung’s waist, rested his chin near his navel, and asked.
“Is it a happy ending?”
At this rare display of clinginess from Choi Hong-seo, Lee Hae-sung looked down at him with a fond gaze.
“If you only look at the first film in the series, it might be close to what they call an open ending. But once you watch through to the final one, Before Midnight, it’s a happy ending.”
“Then I want to watch it.”
“Shall I prepare some snacks? Well, it’s not exactly the kind of movie you eat popcorn to.”
After Lee Hae-sung left the terrace, Choi Hong-seo looked over the railing again. The Eiffel Tower looked unrealistically close. The massive landmark symbolizing Paris seemed to tower abruptly over the roof of the house opposite them, separated from the hotel’s backyard by only a single alley.
He had many plans set up back in Seoul.
He wanted to go up to the Eiffel Tower’s observatory and take a commemorative photo in front of the Louvre Museum’s pyramid. He thought taking a cruise at sunset would be nice. If crowded tourist spots were too difficult, he felt that simply walking along the Seine with Lee Hae-sung would be enough. He knew that Lee Hae-sung had brought several cameras. He also wanted to see the landscapes of Paris captured by Rampas. However, he couldn’t find the will to step foot outside the hotel.
Taking a sip of the warm latte Lee Hae-sung had brought, Choi Hong-seo wrapped both hands around the warm surface of the cup.
“Hong-seo.”
“Yes?”
“I think we’ll have to watch the movie next time.”
“Why…?”
Choi Hong-seo’s voice trailed off as he reflexively turned toward the door. Then, he slowly pushed himself up from the chair.
The owner of the figure who had quietly appeared behind Lee Hae-sung. It was Jeong Ji-in.
“…Hyung.”
He called him that without realizing it.
Taking off a light outer garment and draping it over his arm, Jeong Ji-in spoke to Choi Hong-seo with a smile that was soft yet seemed sorrowful.
“If you’re okay with it, would you like to take a short walk with me?”
That alone felt like it could bring him to tears.
■
As they stepped out the hotel’s main entrance, the sunlight was dazzling. The sunglasses Lee Hae-sung had packed for him were in his crossbody bag, but Choi Hong-seo merely fiddled with the strap and decided not to take them out. Even though he knew it was unlikely, he worried that Jeong Ji-in might think he was just trying to look cool.
“You haven’t been able to do anything since coming to Paris, have you?”
“It’s okay. Because I… met you, Hyung.”
“……”
“And I’ve seen the Eiffel Tower plenty.”
As he added awkwardly while scratching his capped head, Jeong Ji-in gave a short laugh.
“I’m thinking of going to the pier to take a cruise. Is that okay?”
Watching Choi Hong-seo nod in response for a moment, Jeong Ji-in pushed the brim of his baseball cap down further over the other’s head.
“You’re an actor from a film that won the Palme d’Or this year. People might recognize you even if they aren’t Korean.”
The two began to walk slowly. Jeong Ji-in mostly led the conversation. He told him various things that would be difficult to know unless one was a local living in Paris. Although a slight, awkward tension lingered, fortunately, it seemed Jeong Ji-in had not come to criticize or pressure ‘Hyeon-seo.’
The Batobus pier was not far from the Nox Hotel. Even though they walked slowly while talking, it was only a ten-minute walk. Since both were somewhat well-known faces to Koreans, they waited far away from the line of people boarding the cruise and boarded almost last. Perhaps because there were so many passengers, the proportion of Koreans didn’t seem particularly high.
“Shall we go to the side of the first floor? There are hardly any people there.”
“Yes.”
“You should go on a proper cruise with Hyung-nim later.”
With a complex smile, Jeong Ji-in turned and led the way.
As he said, the passengers all flocked to the second floor, where the view was wide open. There were benches on the side of the first floor, but they weren’t very popular. Only a few people who wanted to keep their distance from the crowd sat there occasionally. Jeong Ji-in and Choi Hong-seo stood side by side in a spot far removed from them, facing the banks of the Seine.
The cruise ship, departing slowly on schedule, began to head east, going against the current toward the Pont de l’Invalides.
Neither Jeong Ji-in nor Choi Hong-seo spoke for a while. By the time the figures of people sitting on the opposite bank of the pier, eating simple meals or chatting, had thinned out and completely disappeared, Jeong Ji-in turned to Choi Hong-seo with a determined expression. ‘Hyeon-seo,’ wearing his baseball cap low and gripping his bag strap tightly, had an expression like a child called into the faculty office to be scolded.
Not only were their facial features similar, but the impression they gave off was truly alike. To the point where every expression he made moment by moment seemed to be mimicking Choi Hong-seo.
Hmm… Letting out a long sigh with closed lips, Jeong Ji-in began to speak.
“Something strange happened yesterday.”
“I’m sorry.”
‘Hyeon-seo’s’ head dropped low.
“No, what I’m trying to say isn’t about you, Hyeon-seo.”
“……”
“We talked about the cat yesterday, right?”
“Sam?”
“Right. Sam.”
“Yesterday, after you and Hyung-nim went to the hotel, I couldn’t do anything for a while. I just sat blankly on the terrace with Yi-han. I think we sat there for over thirty minutes without saying a word. But then… Sam appeared, climbing over the terrace railing. Just like he used to.”
A faint tremble mixed into Jeong Ji-in’s voice.
“What? Really Sam?”
“You’re surprised too, even though I’m saying Sam appeared.”
“Ah… I guess so.”
Even ‘Hyeon-seo,’ who claimed to be Choi Hong-seo, was surprised by the story of the dead cat returning. Indeed, it was a story that hard to believe. Seeing ‘Hyeon-seo’s’ voice grow small, Jeong Ji-in let out a weak, hollow laugh.
“To be precise, he looked like a smaller version of Sam.”
The one who crossed over from the neighbor’s terrace to Jeong Ji-in and Yi-han’s terrace, just as Sam had done every day, was a long-haired brown Persian cat. Just like Sam’s appearance during his life.
However, his build was much smaller than Sam’s, appearing to still be a kitten. He was the spitting image of Sam’s childhood, which the elderly couple next door had once shown them in a photo album.
Both of them had jumped up from their seats, startled as if they had seen a ghost. As if not understanding their reaction, the little one tilted its head and let out a ‘Nyaa.’ Then, it hopped down from the railing and stood up, placing its front paws on Yi-han’s calf. It was exactly the behavior Sam used to exhibit. It was a sign to pick him up.
“After the two of us flustered around for a while, we held him and knocked on the neighbor’s door. Since he came over from next door, we thought the neighbors might know something.”
The cruise ship, quickly passing the Pont de l’Invalides and the Pont Alexandre III, was heading toward the Place de la Concorde. The wind created as the boat gradually picked up speed ruffled Jeong Ji-in’s hair.
“Yesterday… was the one-month anniversary of Sam’s passing.”
“……”
“The couple has a country house on the outskirts of Paris, and Sam is buried in the yard of that house. Since it was the one-month mark, they decided to visit Sam.”
While driving along a quiet two-lane road away from the city, the elderly couple spotted a small stone, like a fragment broken off from a distant ocher rock, and slowed down. Since a stone in the middle of the road is dangerous, they intended to stop the car, move it, and then proceed. But as they got closer, they were horrified to find that it wasn’t a stone. Unaware of how dangerous the spot was, a tiny kitten was sitting there.
“They couldn’t see a mother or siblings anywhere nearby. That tiny thing was just sitting alone on the road, crying.”
“……”
“Without any hesitation, they decided to bring him home. They felt that if it wasn’t Sam, it must be a child Sam had sent to them…”
Stopping his words for a moment, Jeong Ji-in looked back at ‘Hyeon-seo.’ The two eyes hidden deep beneath the brim of the cap were looking this way with a light of pity. They were eyes that wanted to offer comfort.
If, just if, this child’s words are true… now is not the time to be comforting me. Strange fellow.