By Zephyria 
Yoon Joo-ho chose one of the dozens of jackets hanging in his closet. It was a dark gray suit jacket that gave off a formal and trustworthy vibe. He stood in front of the dressing room mirror and held the hanger to his shoulder. It seemed like a good choice.
Song Hyun-soo, who was hugging Monroe, met Yoon Joo-ho’s eyes in the mirror over his shoulder.
“A suit is too much.”
“It’s the first time I’m meeting them, so I should be formal.”
“It’s not like you’re asking for permission to marry me. Let’s not be too stiff.”
Yoon Joo-ho put the jacket on over his bare upper body. Then, he looked at himself in the mirror from various angles.
“I’m introducing myself as their grandson’s ‘boyfriend’.”
“……”
“From their perspective, that might be more serious than asking for marriage permission.”
Stroking Monroe’s small head, Song Hyun-soo said nonchalantly.
“If that ‘boyfriend’ is Yoon Joo-ho, most parents in Korea will change their minds, don’t you think?”
“Why? Because he’s rich and famous?”
The question was so innocently malicious that Song Hyun-soo didn’t even feel like arguing.
“It’s because you’re the Crown Prince. There’s no adult who dislikes the Crown Prince, right?”
Watching Yoon Joo-ho’s back, who seemed uninterested, Song Hyun-soo muttered to himself.
“Well, I guess being the Crown Prince means being rich and famous. So, you’re not wrong.”
Yoon Joo-ho started choosing a shirt and tie this time. He took out a white shirt with a narrow collar.
“There are also many adults who dislike me because I put their parents in jail.”
“We’re not their house. They’re more excited about the Crown Prince coming than their grandson right now.”
“That’s because they don’t know you’re my boyfriend yet.”
Today was Song Hyun-soo’s birthday.
It was also the day he was going to greet his grandparents.
As soon as he returned from Paris, Song Hyun-soo tried to get things moving, but Yoon Joo-ho surprisingly needed time. He said he needed to prepare himself mentally.
Visiting his grandparents and going to Choi Hong-seo’s memorial hall were both postponed like that. Because neither of them was something he wanted to rush through and get over with.
Song Hyun-soo put Monroe down and snatched the shirt from Yoon Joo-ho. Instead, he held a warm-toned brown knit sweater under Yoon Joo-ho’s face.
“Let’s aim to make a good impression today. Okay?”
Even though he twisted his lips with an unwilling face, Yoon Joo-ho accepted the knit sweater.
Wearing beige pants and a cozy knit sweater, he neatly styled his hair and asked Song Hyun-soo with a visibly nervous expression.
“How do I look?”
Folding his arms and stroking his chin, Song Hyun-soo looked at him askew.
“The world is unfair, I think.”
“I wore what you told me to wear. What else don’t you like?”
“Honestly, inside you’re a mess…”
Song Hyun-soo, who was chatting comfortably, belatedly shut his mouth. Yoon Joo-ho came right up to him and squeezed Song Hyun-soo’s cheeks tightly with his large hands.
“A mess? To your respected senior and honey-sugar darling?”
“It just slipped out. Honey-sugar darling.”
Only after biting and licking Song Hyun-soo’s lips, which had turned into fish lips, did Yoon Joo-ho let go of his cheeks.
“But I’m still right. Honestly, you’re incredibly twisted inside. But dressed like this, you look like the sweetest and most reliable young man in the world.”
This time, Yoon Joo-ho bent down and quietly met his eyes. When he made up his mind to give a soft smile, it seemed like a warm light emanated from the inside of his eyes. Many people might not believe it, but people who are handsome beyond a certain level really have that talent. When looks reach that level, they become a talent.
“That mess is yours. Are you still that upset?”
“……”
Ah… I’m a hopeless case.
Even though I know it’s a trick, I fall for it every time.
Meow.
As if their bickering was pathetic, Monroe yawned once and left the dressing room. Thanks to that, Song Hyun-soo, who came to his senses and checked the wall clock, became anxious.
“I need to change too. We need to leave within 30 minutes to avoid being late.”
Song Hyun-soo, who was about to turn around, immediately turned back and hugged Yoon Joo-ho tightly from behind.
“Still, it’s nice that you’re trying to make a good impression on my grandparents.”
Then, he stretched his neck and kissed Yoon Joo-ho’s nape with a smack.
“Nice?”
“You’re so nice I could die.”
“You’re being cheeky.”
Even as he said that, Yoon Joo-ho stroked Song Hyun-soo’s arm that crossed his chest.
“So, my grandparents will definitely like you too.”
“I’m more anxious because you’re so confident.”
“Why?”
“It feels like a huge trap is waiting for me.”
Whether he dismissed it as a joke, Song Hyun-soo burst into laughter. Even after he left the mirror, Yoon Joo-ho continued to look at himself. It had to be today of all days. A day when he somehow looked ugly.
■
A neighborhood with both apartments and fields.
Just as Song Hyun-soo had described.
There was an unorganized atmosphere where developed areas and areas where the old appearance remained coexisted, but that made it feel more natural and diverse.
The sky was clear. Wherever the bright, unwrinkled sunlight touched, it looked friendly and peaceful. The light of the sun had that kind of power. Even the dusty old car parked next to the park, the blue gate with peeling paint in places, and the rusty and dented sign. When the clear sunlight touched them, they seemed to be reborn.
Yoon Joo-ho took in every corner of that scenery.
As he entered an area he knew well, Song Hyun-soo became busy.
That’s the elementary school I went to, that’s the middle school, this is the high school.
The place where the PC Bar used to be, which I frequented. The fruit store run by the parents of my first love, the neighborhood older sister. The playground where I was dumped by my girlfriend of six months, which was the longest record at the time.
He pointed everywhere and chattered in a raised voice, telling Yoon Joo-ho about the memories that filled every place. Yoon Joo-ho, who was holding the steering wheel, often asked questions and sometimes showed childish jealousy.
“So, this is where.”
“Yes?”The young Song Hyun-soo used to play hand games with the neighborhood older brother, is that right?”
“You always have to say it like that…”
“If I happen to see that bastard passing by, tell me.”
“If I tell you? What are you going to do?”
“I’ll show him my face.”
Pfft.
Before he could resist, Song Hyun-soo burst out laughing.
“Why are you going to show him your face?”
“To make him feel defeated.”
Yoon Joo-ho continued in a matter-of-fact tone.
“In case he’s still thinking about trying to get back with you. In the sense of making him face reality.”
“Ah, so you’re saying that just by showing your face, he’ll lose his will to fight. Is that what you’re saying?”
“That’s right.”
“Hahaha. Oh, that’s funny. Is your face such an insurmountable wall?”
Yoon Joo-ho turned on the blinker and stopped the car in the left turn lane, turning to look at Song Hyun-soo. His eyes were unnecessarily wistful.
“Isn’t it?”
As Song Hyun-soo’s eyes met Yoon Joo-ho’s, his laughter subsided. He avoided his gaze and scratched his cheek, stammering.
“I, it is…”
As the navigation system guided him, Yoon Joo-ho turned into the alley, leaving a small cell phone store on his left. On the right was a long park that seemed to have been created not long ago, and on the left was a residential area mixed with villas and multi-family houses.
“Oh! Sunbae, it’s there, it’s there! Can you see it? The house with the green awning.”
Song Hyun-soo pointed somewhere again and fidgeted. Yoon Joo-ho, who had slowed down the car, bent down and looked in the direction his fingertip was pointing.
“That’s my grandparents’ snack shop.”
“It’s a cute shop.”
“Right? It’s small and shabby, but they run it very neatly.”
“I want to visit the snack shop next time too.”
“If word gets out that Yoon Joo-ho visited the snack shop, won’t my grandparents become rich quickly?”
Yoon Joo-ho chuckled and checked the navigation screen. The destination, their home, was not far from the snack shop.
“You said they originally only rested on Sundays, right? Did they close today specially because their grandson is coming?”
“They closed because the Crown Prince is coming, not me.”
Sipping his coffee through a straw, Song Hyun-soo spoke in a matter-of-fact tone. He didn’t show any signs of nervousness at all.
5 minutes away from the destination, Yoon Joo-ho briefly stopped the car in front of a photo studio that was not open for business. He took off his sunglasses and finally checked his appearance through the mirror above his head.