By Zephyria On the large marble countertop, two sinks were placed side by side. Yoon Joo-ho turned halfway and leaned against it. Then, with his toothbrush in his mouth, he gestured with his chin towards Song Hyun-soo’s feet and asked,
“Aren’t you hot?”
“It is a bit hot.”
“Then why the stubbornness?”
Song Hyun-soo spat the foam from his mouth into the sink and wiggled his slipper-clad feet, saying,
“It’s not stubbornness, I just wanted to try wearing them since I brought them. And Monroe reacts well when I wear these.”
As he rinsed his mouth with water from the toothbrush cup, Song Hyun-soo’s phone rang from outside the bathroom. Song Hyun-soo instinctively glanced at Yoon Joo-ho. He was brushing his teeth as if nothing was wrong, but he could sense the atmosphere stiffen for a brief moment.
“Who could it be? I don’t really have anyone who’d call.”
Muttering the unnecessary thought, Song Hyun-soo wiped the water from his mouth with the back of his hand and quickly left the bathroom.
If there was one thing he had newly learned about Yoon Joo-ho during their week together, it was that he was surprisingly possessive. He had somehow thought Yoon Joo-ho would be the type to maintain distance and have a cool relationship without lingering attachments. But now that they were dating and living together, Yoon Joo-ho paid attention to every phone call and message Song Hyun-soo received. This was true even when the caller wasn’t Jung Ji-in.
Still, he hoped it wasn’t his hyung… It was probably not, as it was too early for him to be awake. With that tension, he picked up his phone from the bedside table.
Fortunately, it was Jung-ho. He was so glad it was Jung-ho.
“Oh, Jung-ho!”
He answered the phone with an even louder voice, so it could be heard from the bathroom.
[Hey, why are you yelling so loud?]
“I’m just happy to hear from you.”
[What are you talking about? Did you eat something wrong? Have you gone strange from living in luxury?]
“Of course. I’m doing very well here.”
He subtly turned his body and looked back. As expected, Yoon Joo-ho was leaning against the bathroom doorframe, watching him. He was moving his toothbrush perfunctorily.
[Seeing you talk nonsense, is Joo-ho hyung monitoring you?]
Jung-ho chuckled as if he understood, but his voice suddenly changed.
[Ah, that’s not the point, hyung. I’ll be your manager.]
“Have you made up your mind?”
Song Hyun-soo’s face brightened at the good news.
[Honestly, I had already decided more than half by that day. But I was worried about the shop. I thought it would be difficult if you could only come out one or two days a week and I quit too. But yesterday, I casually brought it up, and do you know what the manager said?]
Jung-ho seemed upset that the manager, whom he expected to try and keep him, readily agreed without even asking for a reason. The guy, who never thought highly of his manager, vented his anger for a long time. In the meantime, Yoon Joo-ho, who had been leaning against the doorframe, had disappeared into the bathroom.
[Anyway, I’ve decided to invest my youth in Look Planning. Honestly, I like supporting others, so maybe being a manager is my calling, just like Joo-ho hyung said.]
“That’s great. It’ll be fun working together.”
[Right? It’ll be fun, won’t it?]
As if he had already shaken off his anger towards the manager, Jung-ho’s voice was filled with excited anticipation.
“I’ll tell Sunbae that.”
[Until I find someone, I’ll be working at the bar. Tell him that too.]
“Okay.”
After ending the call, Song Hyun-soo turned back, wiping his mouth with a towel, and his eyes met Yoon Joo-ho’s again as he emerged from the bathroom.
“It was Jung-ho.”
“Then why were you looking over your shoulder like that? Like someone receiving a call from an illicit lover.”
That’s because every time you call me, your mood suddenly plummets.
“You mean observant? Me? I’ve never been. Oh, Jung-ho said he’d be the manager!”
“That’s good.”
He had expected Yoon Joo-ho to be more delighted, given how hard he’d tried to persuade Jung-ho. But Yoon Joo-ho reacted as if he had known all along that Jung-ho would accept.
“When I told the shop, the manager was furious that they didn’t even try to keep me. He said he’d thought about the shop’s perspective, but as you said, I didn’t need to consider the shop’s position.”
The places Song Hyun-soo received calls from were predictable. His grandparents, Jung-ho, Chae-young, Jung Ji-in, Director Bang, Seohae, with whom he occasionally exchanged messages, and Yoon Joo-ho. That was it. There was no one Yoon Joo-ho needed to be wary of.
Yet, for Yoon Joo-ho, who was always on edge, Song Hyun-soo would openly chatter about the contents of every call or message he received, just like now.
Yoon Joo-ho looked down at Song Hyun-soo’s lips, which were busily recounting the phone conversation, and wiped the corner of his mouth with the towel he was holding. It seemed some moisture had remained.
“What time did you say Jim was arriving?”
“Around 5. He said he’d call before leaving.”
“Shall we skip your workout and organize Jim’s things together?”
“It’s not much, so I can do it alone. You don’t like skipping workouts.”
“It’s okay sometimes.”
“Do you want to be with me that much?”
Yoon Joo-ho draped the towel he had used to wipe Song Hyun-soo’s mouth around his neck and pulled both ends of the long cloth taut. Song Hyun-soo was drawn until his lips were right in front of Yoon Joo-ho’s.
Song Hyun-soo looked up, expecting a response befitting a couple, but Yoon Joo-ho, as usual, changed the subject.
“Or, we can unpack later and go shopping today.”
“I’ll go if you have something to buy.”
“No, for you. You need to prepare various things before filming. It’s cold even in April for night shoots by the sea. I need to buy a few puffer jackets, some Ugg boots, and other cold-weather gear.”
He listed various items, gazing into space with narrowed eyes, then suddenly became enthusiastic and pulled Song Hyun-soo out of the room by the hand.
The two descended to the lower floor and first stopped by Monroe’s room. While Yoon Joo-ho emptied the automatic toilet bin and caught the fleeing creature to check its weight, Song Hyun-soo prepared fresh water and food for the water dispenser. It had become a routine.
However, because they had woken up later than usual, Monroe had already finished eating from the automatic feeder. Song Hyun-soo, preparing treats instead of food, shook the treat container with an apologetic expression.
“Sorry. We overslept a bit. I’ll make sure to feed you myself on time tomorrow, okay?”
Monroe, who had approached Song Hyun-soo holding the treats, jumped onto his calf, following his steps.
“See? I told you! He likes these slippers.”
“I think he’s just excited because of the treats?”
Yoon Joo-ho chuckled as he returned to the room after washing his hands.
“No, I’m not. Look.”
Song Hyun-soo placed the treats on a shelf and stepped back. Monroe looked at the treats on the shelf with a wistful gaze, then crouched low, eyes gleaming, and darted towards the slippers. Song Hyun-soo would run away, and Monroe would chase. After a few rounds of tag, Song Hyun-soo relented, offering his foot as if he couldn’t help it. Finally, Monroe grabbed the long ears of the slipper, held it with his front paws, flopped onto his back, and then flipped over again, gnawing on it.
“It seems he’s completely lost his wariness of us now, right?”
“It would be a problem if he still was.”
“Then why isn’t he coming out of the room yet?”
“…He’ll come out when he’s ready.”
Yoon Joo-ho, tidying up the toys Monroe had messed up overnight, tossed a blue ball into the toy box and picked up the treat container from the shelf. Monroe reacted immediately.
“Give it to me. I said I’d give him treats today.”
“When?”
“You gave him treats yesterday too. He only likes the person who gives him treats. Hand it over quickly.”
He lunged to snatch the container, but Yoon Joo-ho was faster, pulling his arm back. They chased each other around Monroe’s spacious room, grappling back and forth. Song Hyun-soo, with a relaxed expression, grinned and suddenly lunged at Yoon Joo-ho, who was backing away as if he might give it to him. He wrapped his arms around Yoon Joo-ho’s waist, binding him, and tickled him by biting his bare skin through his unfastened robe. Only then did Yoon Joo-ho burst into laughter and hand over the treats.
“You were going to give them anyway, so why tease me?”
Song Hyun-soo wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, panting with ragged breaths, and slumped onto the floor.
“I was playing with him. Just like you played with him.”
Yoon Joo-ho sat down beside him and gestured towards Monroe with his chin.
“Am I Monroe?”
Ignoring Yoon Joo-ho, who was giggling uncontrollably, Song Hyun-soo began feeding treats to Monroe, who was impatient from waiting. As soon as he placed one or two freeze-dried, small cube-shaped treats on his palm, Monroe buried his little head and began eating frantically. For this moment, he was allowed to be petted to his heart’s content.
“Your beauty shines brighter every day, Ms. Marilyn Monroe. You could be an actress.”
Yoon Joo-ho, watching Song Hyun-soo shower compliments on Monroe, who didn’t seem to be listening, said something with a look of wonder.
“Do you like him that much?”
“Don’t you like me?”
“I’m different from you. You like everyone. You like me, Sang-ho Hyung, Seohae Hyung, Jung-ho, even the restaurant owner.”
Yoon Joo-ho’s hand, which had been resting loosely behind his back, moved up to Song Hyun-soo’s nape. His shoulders tensed at the gentle massage.
“You don’t know because you don’t see. I can be quite cold.”
“You’re blind when it comes to those you like. So transparently.”
“But it’s okay because there aren’t many people I like anyway.”
Yoon Joo-ho’s chin pressed down on Song Hyun-soo’s shoulder. His nose tip rubbed against the lower part of his cheek.
“What number am I?”
His voice was a whisper.
The hand massaging his nape pulled Song Hyun-soo’s head to face him. Then, with a slightly colder tongue than usual, he licked Song Hyun-soo’s lips.
“Don’t do this in Monroe’s room.”
“I never agreed to that.”
He tried to push Yoon Joo-ho away with his elbow, but he was surprisingly persistent. Even as Song Hyun-soo turned his face away to avoid his lips, Yoon Joo-ho nibbled along his jawline, his kisses moving to his ear, making Song Hyun-soo’s body heat up.
“Tell me. What number am I?”
Not just his lips, but this time Yoon Joo-ho’s hand slipped under Song Hyun-soo’s t-shirt. As Song Hyun-soo struggled to pull down the hand crawling up his chest, his body leaned back.
“S-Senior, you… you don’t tell me I’m your first either.”
*HLCs 140 and 141 are double releases.