By Zephyria 
Ice, brandy, triple sec, and lemon juice are added to a shaker and shaken well. Then, using a strainer, only the liquid is filtered and poured into a glass. Today, Song Hyun-soo chose a typical cocktail glass in the shape of an inverted triangle.
Finally, he garnished the glass with a thinly sliced lemon and placed it on the coaster of a regular customer sitting across the Bar.
“So, I’m going to Paris for a photo shoot this time.”
“A photo shoot? In Paris?”
The customer, Hyun-seo, who was taking pictures of the cocktail, widened his eyes.
“That’s right. It’s going to be in ‘Once.’ The December issue.”
“That’s great, Hyun-soo! Wow, that’s really great!”
Hyun-seo half-lifted his butt from the Bar stool and wiggled with joy.
Song Hyun-soo smiled at the enthusiastic reaction he had expected. Not only Yoon Joo-ho, but also Director Bang, Seohae, Jung-ho, and Jung Ji-in. The people around him were all happy for him, of course, but he wanted to make a fuss with a like-minded friend of his age. If Choi Hong-seo were here, he probably would have done that.
He, Hyun-seo, would sincerely congratulate him as if it were his own business. He was glad he could see him before leaving for the photo shoot.
“I’m shooting this pictorial with Jooho Senior.”
“Then it’ll be even more of a hot topic!”
“Right? That Senior has a lot of popularity anyway… It’s beneficial for a rookie like me to shoot with him.”
In fact, the very fact that he was shooting a pictorial with Yoon Joo-ho, his beloved lover and admired senior, was overwhelming, dizzying, and happy for him as an actor and as a lover. Nevertheless, Song Hyun-soo pretended to be nonchalant, as if he were relieved to be able to ride on Yoon Joo-ho’s popularity.
Click.
Just then, the cell phone placed on the counter under the Bar vibrated briefly. He glanced down and saw a message from Yoon Joo-ho.
How did he know I was talking about him…
《Do you finish at 10?》
Sunday was the day ‘Jessica’ closed at 10. Yoon Joo-ho had already memorized ‘Jessica’s’ business hours.
Why, are… you com… ing to… pick… me up? Send.
He dropped me off when I came to work, and now he’s going to pick me up too?
“I’ll definitely buy the magazine when it comes out!”
Perhaps because he was so excited that he was thirsty, Hyun-seo shouted that and quickly gulped down three or four mouthfuls of the golden cocktail.
“Uh, uh? You shouldn’t drink it like that!”
“Why? It doesn’t seem that strong. It’s delicious.”
“It looks easy because it’s sweet and sour, right?”
“Isn’t it?”
“It’s 25% alcohol.”
Hyun-seo was surprised to hear Song Hyun-soo’s explanation and put down the cocktail. Whether he was weak or strong in alcohol, Hyun-seo didn’t really like drinking in the first place. So Song Hyun-soo usually made cocktails with an alcohol content of about 5% that were easy to drink.
“I thought it was a light cocktail like usual.”
“That’s all the bartender’s skill. It’s a cocktail called ‘Sidecar.’ It’s easy to drink even though it has a high alcohol content, right?”
“That’s true. It’s delicious.”
“Okay, drink water if you’re thirsty, and drink the cocktail slowly. Then there won’t be any problem.”
“Thank you.”
Hyun-seo smiled as he drank the water that Song Hyun-soo poured into his glass.
He only saw his face when he came to the store once or twice a month, and Hyun-seo wasn’t very talkative. But somehow, he was easy to get along with. Like close friends who knew each other inside and out, literally all the secrets and flaws.
In front of Hyun-seo, Song Hyun-soo could be honest without having to put on airs.
“Ah… but it’s good to be shooting a pictorial, but I’m already nervous about going to the airport.”
“Is this Hyun-soo’s first time going abroad?”
“Huh? How did you know?”
“Ah…”
The smile disappeared from Hyun-seo’s face. He seemed flustered, and his eyes wandered around the air.
“Do I look like that? Does it show that I’ve never been on a plane before?”
“No! How would I know that? Fan cafe. I think I saw it in the fan cafe.”
“What, Hyun-seo, are you still hanging around my fan cafe?”
“I told you. I’m Hyun-soo’s fan.”
Hyun-seo, who had regained his smile, wet his lips with a sip of cocktail.
“At first, I thought Hyun-seo liked me.”
“Why? Was I that weird?”
“You didn’t sit at the Bar and talk to me, and you sometimes came alone and sat at that corner table and just glanced at me. In the beginning.”
“Ah…”
“Then, when our eyes met, you’d blush and turn your head away. So I thought you liked me.”
“Did you think that even though I’m a man?”
“I’m the type to be loved by everyone, regardless of gender.”
So now I even have a male lover.
Song Hyun-soo added in his mind, and Hyun-seo and he laughed at each other.
Click.
Another message arrived.
《Do I look that free?》
《I’m sending this to remind you not to forget that we’re meeting Seohae hyung at the Bar after you finish.》
Even after overcoming so many things together, Yoon Joo-ho was still Yoon Joo-ho.
There were definitely parts of him that had changed, but he was still the same. Song Hyun-soo didn’t hate that. It’s not like he wanted him to become someone else.
I… didn’t… for… get. Senior… don’t be… late. Send.
Hyun-seo, who had taken another sip of his cocktail, leaned his upper body closer to Song Hyun-soo. His sparkling eyes were full of anticipation.
“This pictorial. Since you’re shooting with Yoon Joo-ho Senior, the photographer must be a really famous person, right?”
“I think so. The photographer, the stylist, the editor… Anyway, they’re all the best.”
“That’s really great.”
“I’m worried that my presence will be overshadowed by Yoon Joo-ho Senior.”
“That won’t happen.”
Hyun-seo’s tone was quite firm. Song Hyun-soo shrugged his shoulders and chuckled.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Just…”
“Just?”
“I just think Hyun-soo probably practiced his poses a lot after looking at magazines.”
“How did you know?”
This time, Song Hyun-soo asked back in surprise.
Hyun-seo simply smiled blandly with his eyes lowered.
“I just think so. Because Hyun-soo works hard at everything.”
“Something I think about sometimes.”
Hyun-seo raised his eyes and met Song Hyun-soo’s gaze.
“Hyun-seo seems to be better at guessing than most fortune tellers.”
“Fortune teller?”
“I’ve never had my fortune told, but Hyun-seo sometimes guesses things so well that I’m surprised. Is it because you have good observation skills?”
“I’ve never heard that before.”
“I used to copy poses and expressions from magazine photos a lot. And Hyun-seo guessed that?”
Even in middle and high school, and during his dormitory days, he often imitated the pictorials of actors. Mainly Yoon Joo-ho’s pictorials, though. He and Choi Hong-seo would take pictures of each other doing that and give each other clumsy advice.
Song Hyun-soo scratched the bridge of his nose with his index finger and added with a playful smile.
“So I’m nervous about this shoot, but I’m also a little confident.”
“You’ll definitely do well.”
“Hyun-seo said you’ve been to Paris, right?”
“Yes? Yes…”
“Did you say you stopped by Paris after the Cannes Film Festival?”
“That’s right.”
“Do you have any recommendations?”
“You probably already know most of the famous tourist attractions, right?”
“The Eiffel Tower, the Louvre Museum, the Champs-Élysées, Notre Dame Cathedral… Ah, I’m also curious about Montmartre… I don’t know if I’ll have time.”
“Is your schedule short?”
“It’s 5 nights and 6 days, but I only have about 2 nights of free time.”
“Aren’t you just going there to shoot the pictorial?”
“Ah… well, since I’m going all the way there, it would be a waste to just work and come back!”
No one had suspected anything. Song Hyun-soo’s voice suddenly rose.
After the photo shoot, 2 nights and 3 days alone with Yoon Joo-ho were waiting for him. He wished he could have secured more time, but after returning from Paris, a full-fledged promotion schedule was waiting for him.
As much as he was looking forward to the time he would spend in Paris with Yoon Joo-ho as much as the shooting, or honestly more than the shooting, his voice rose as much as he wanted to hide that anticipation.
“That’s right. It’s good to travel together, even if it’s short, while you’re there. But I didn’t really go around much, so I don’t have anything to tell you.”
“Is that so?”
“Ah, Bateaux Mouches! Riding the Bateaux Mouches was… really good.”
“Bateaux Mouches?”
“It’s a cruise ship that you can take on the Seine.”
“Oh, a cruise ship.”
“There’s also Bateaux Parisiens, but there probably isn’t much difference in the course.”
“Okay, Bateaux Mouches. I have to ride it too.”
Song Hyun-soo picked up his cell phone and added Bateaux Mouches to the wish list in his notepad.
“And I have a close hyung who lives in Paris. I’m going to meet him this time too.”
“Is that so? A very… close hyung, I see.”
Hyun-seo’s voice seemed a little agitated for some reason.