By Zephyria 
In the meantime, it had become completely dark outside. The temperature dropped sharply after the sun went down. The fact that true winter was just around the corner became palpable.
Song Hyun-soo, with his hands deep in the pockets of the cardigan Shin Hyo-jin had gifted him, turned around the corner of the restaurant.
“……”
Yoon Joo-ho’s back was visible as he stood in the dark empty lot, smoking a cigarette. Song Hyun-soo slowed his pace for a moment.
From Yoon Joo-ho’s mansion, it was only a matter of crossing the Yeongdong Bridge to get to Seongsu-dong. During times of low traffic, it took only 10 minutes from the mansion’s parking lot to this restaurant. The two of them visited this place at least once a month to eat meat or drink alcohol.
Even so, when Song Hyun-soo looked at Yoon Joo-ho smoking a cigarette in this spot, he still fell into sentimentality.
Back when he was not even acquainted with Yoon Joo-ho, much less his boyfriend, back when he was just ‘anonymous actor 1’ outside of Yoon Joo-ho’s interest.
He had grown up imitating Yoon Joo-ho in dramas, and he was such a fan that he fell asleep to his voice as ASMR, yet he had never even imagined that he could like him as a romantic interest. Even after they started working together, even while he was conscious of him, that thought didn’t change for a while.
Superstar Yoon Joo-ho.
A tree he couldn’t climb, a rooster on the roof. To Song Hyun-soo, he was more than that. A star in the sky. No matter how much he stretched his arms, stood on tiptoes, or jumped, he could never reach it.
And yet, in the moments when he faced him here and talked to him, he was lost in ecstasy.
His face, flickering in the streetlights, was like a scene from a movie, and every time he changed his expression and gaze, his heart tightened, he felt breathless, and he sighed. Like an audience member deeply immersed in a well-made film.
Yoon Joo-ho, who had been such an object of admiration, was now…
Song Hyun-soo smiled silently, sending affectionate eyes toward Yoon Joo-ho as he smoked a cigarette with one hand in his pocket.
Two people who had been completely unrelated become precious to each other.
Even though he had lived for decades without that person, he could no longer imagine a life without him.
Love that changes life, that changes the perspective and attitude towards life.
The opportunity for such love does not come often. He had met enough people to know that, and he was glad that they had met each other after that.
Song Hyun-soo approached Yoon Joo-ho and stood next to him, nudging him with his shoulder.
“Why did you come out without a coat when it’s so cold?”
“I’m not cold.”
“Are you upset because of me?”
“……”
Without answering, Yoon Joo-ho only stared intently into Song Hyun-soo’s eyes, his hand still. Then, he brought the cigarette to his lips and muttered.
“You’re eerily good at noticing things like this.”
“What is it? Is it really because of me?”
He thought it was half a joke, but was it serious?
Perhaps the face looking up at him had unknowingly become dejected. He could feel Yoon Joo-ho’s gaze softening as he looked down at him. He took his hand out of his pants pocket and gently rubbed above Song Hyun-soo’s eyebrows with his thumb.
“Are you having fun today?”
Nod.
“Were you excited to receive the gift?”
Nod.
The affectionate touch now squished Song Hyun-soo’s cheeks.
“Aeo… O ondeo.”
Why. What is it again.
Yoon Joo-ho’s eyebrows twitched as he turned the captured face this way and that.
“Thinking about it, this isn’t right.”
After throwing out that cryptic remark, he let go of Song Hyun-soo’s face and brought the cigarette to his lips.
“What isn’t right?”
“Seohae is ‘hyung,’ and Han Joo-young is ‘hyung,’ but why am I ‘sunbae’?”
“……”
“It’s a bit much to call your boyfriend ‘sunbae,’ isn’t it?”
“Did you want me to call you ‘hyung’? Should I call you ‘hyung’?”
“That’s not what I’m talking about.”
Yoon Joo-ho turned to him with a shocked expression, as if wondering how he could be so clueless.
“If not that, then what? Are you telling me to call you ‘jagiya’ or ‘yeobo’ or something?”
“I’d rather die.”
His face contorted as if he had bitten into a bug, unable to bear even the thought of it.
“Then what do you want me to do?”
“Anyway, not ‘sunbae.’”
He had been quiet for a while, but it seemed like his prince-like tendency to be stubborn and sulky when he didn’t like something had been triggered again. The real reason for his bad mood was likely not just the honorific. Song Hyun-soo now understood Yoon Joo-ho that well.
Song Hyun-soo moved behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist. He slipped his hands inside the hem of his knit sweater and stroked his firm abdomen.
“What are you up to?”
“Nothing. I just wanted to touch my boyfriend.”
“Flattery won’t work.”
Even as he said coldly that it wouldn’t work, Yoon Joo-ho’s mood would usually improve by more than half when Song Hyun-soo clung to him. Even now, he didn’t push away the lover who was bothering him from behind.
Resting his chin on his shoulder, he stared blankly at the smoke scattering from the corner of his lips.
“You told Sunbae not to give you birthday presents, but you got angry because I was happy to receive a gift from someone else. Is that why you’re mad?”
“If you don’t give gifts, I save money, so I’m happy.”
“Sunbae has already given me so much.”
“Does that mean I shouldn’t even give you birthday presents?”
“I’ll think of the bag you bought me last time as a birthday present.”
Yoon Joo-ho turned around with a scowl. Was he really saying that now? That was the look in his eyes. He clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“I know why you get dumped by girls every time, even with that face.”
“What’s wrong with my face?”
Even in a relaxed state without urgently pumping up to stimulate them, his abs were clearly defined. Song Hyun-soo scratched the grooves with his fingertips.
Yoon Joo-ho brought the cigarette to his lips and chuckled.
“You have a very funny face, so it’s never boring to look at you.”
“You were terrible at dating too, Sunbae.”
“I just never wanted to be good at it.”
“Yeah, yeah. Sure.”
Yoon Joo-ho put the filter in Song Hyun-soo’s mouth, who was resting his chin on his shoulder. He sucked deeply on the filter. As he exhaled smoke toward the dark empty lot, he fiddled with his side inside the knit sweater.
“Give me a gift later.”
“Later when?”
“When I can give Sunbae a lot of things too.”
“You’re going to give me a lot?”
“Of course. When I make money, I’ll send living expenses to my grandparents regularly, and I’ll give Sunbae a lot of gifts too. Right now, I don’t give you anything. I only receive…”
“……”
Yoon Joo-ho slowly turned around to face Song Hyun-soo. The warm orange light of the streetlamp seemed to emanate softly from him. I really am in deep.
Yoon Joo-ho’s dry hand, which was low in temperature, reached out and stroked his cheek.
“You don’t think you give me anything?”
“I actually don’t.”
“You only receive?”
“The only thing I’ve given you is a keychain.”
Yoon Joo-ho, looking down at Song Hyun-soo’s eyes, which believed that without any doubt, lightly tapped his forehead with his own. He muttered as if sighing.
“Are you an idiot?”
“Why am I?”
“An idiot wouldn’t understand even if you explained it to them.”
“If I’m an idiot, then Sunbae is dating an idiot. There’s nothing good for Sunbae either.”
Song Hyun-soo grumbled and clung to Yoon Joo-ho’s back. Whether he was dumbfounded or genuinely amused, Yoon Joo-ho continued to chuckle as he smoked his cigarette. He had never been told he was smart by anyone in his life, nor had he ever been good at anything. Perhaps he really was an idiot. But even he thought he was a genius at cheering up Yoon Joo-ho.
He hugged his waist, which seemed to be in a better mood, and rubbed his nose against his long neck.
“Hyung, Joo-ho hyung.”
“Don’t mess around.”
“I only have hyung.”
“You have a lot of hyungs.”
“I only need Joo-ho hyung.”
“Are you placating a five-year-old?”
He slightly raised himself on tiptoes, put his lips to his ear, and whispered.
“It’s not that, I’m saying I love you.”
“……”
Yoon Joo-ho paused his breathing for a moment. His long eyelashes, casting a long shadow, blinked slowly. He soon flicked the cigarette butt with his finger to extinguish the ember.
“Let’s go home.”
“Already?”
“I want to go home.”
He laughed at Yoon Joo-ho, who spoke as resolutely as a child with a serious expression and tone.
The season when he met Yoon Joo-ho was returning.
The star that shone alone in the night sky was, unbelievably, by his side. He was still a star to Song Hyun-soo, but now he was also the most familiar warmth, the most reassuring scent.
Led by his hand, he looked up at the night sky. The sky, clear and cloudless, was studded with stars for the first time in a while.