By Zephyria 
Compared to how nervous Song Hyun-soo had been, starting the conversation wasn’t that difficult.
Rather, Song Hyun-soo turned to look at Yoon Joo-ho with surprised eyes. He hadn’t expected him to bring it up so quickly.
Upon hearing that he had something to say, both of their expressions immediately darkened.
“Why, is something serious going on?”
“No. It’s not bad news, so don’t worry.”
Song Hyun-soo stepped in to reassure them, and Yoon Joo-ho covered the back of Song Hyun-soo’s hand under the tea table.
“I… I like Hyun-soo very much.”
“……”
“Grandmother, Grandfather, you might be surprised… we are seeing each other as lovers.”
“……”
Silence followed. The sound of Song Hyun-soo swallowing hard was clearly audible to Yoon Joo-ho.
“I don’t understand at all… do you understand?”
“Is it… like how a man and a woman like each other, is that what you mean?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
The grandmother covered her mouth. The two of them looked at each other. They confirmed the context, but their faces still showed that they couldn’t grasp the reality of the situation.
“Between men, you say. It’s natural that you don’t like it, that you’re worried. But I’m confident that I can cherish and love Hyun-soo more than anyone else.”
“……”
“I came to greet you, hoping you would give us your blessing.”
The two of them were silent again for a long time. Before objecting or getting angry, they seemed surprised and bewildered, unsure of what to do.
After a while, the grandmother took a sip of water and asked Song Hyun-soo,
“What about you? Do you… like the Crown Prince too?”
Song Hyun-soo nodded and tightly grasped Yoon Joo-ho’s hand in return.
“Yeah. I like him. I love him.”
It was a heart-stirring confession for Yoon Joo-ho, but not for the grandfather. He showed a displeased expression.
“That’s not something you should say in front of your old grandparents.”
Those words provoked Song Hyun-soo.
“What’s wrong with me loving my senior? Why isn’t it something I should say? We haven’t done anything wrong!”
“What…? What did you say, you rascal?”
The grandfather’s eyebrows twitched.
“I brought the Crown Prince, so why are you hung up on whether he’s a man or a woman? To be honest, it’s true that he’s too good for me!”
“Just because we didn’t raise you as well as others and don’t have much, does that mean we have to bow down to anyone who’s better than us? Where did you learn to talk like that…!”
The grandfather stood up abruptly. It looked like he was about to smack Song Hyun-soo on the head. Yoon Joo-ho shielded Song Hyun-soo behind him and stepped forward.
“Grandfather, please calm down.”
“You… step aside.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t do that. Scold me instead. I was the one who pursued Hyun-soo. I was the one who asked him to see me.”
“…You did?”
“Yes.”
“Why would you?”
“……”
Instead of answering immediately, Yoon Joo-ho turned to look at Song Hyun-soo, who was hiding behind his shoulder. He parted his lips as if to say something, but the grandfather spoke first.
“No matter how much the world changes, it’s still not like that. You have much more to lose, don’t you? What will happen if you get caught… are you willing to throw away everything you’ve worked so hard for?”
“I will be as careful as possible. But I’m not afraid even if I get caught.”
Yoon Joo-ho’s unwavering voice made the grandfather pause. He continued in a firm and resolute voice.
“I came to greet you today because I am prepared to face that.”
“That’s right, Grandfather! If we weren’t, we would have just met in secret! Would we have asked for your permission?”
The grandfather, who seemed to be calming down, turned his angry gaze back to Song Hyun-soo, who was hiding behind Yoon Joo-ho.
This time, Yoon Joo-ho stopped Song Hyun-soo first. He warned him with a ‘sssh’ sound and quickly cautioned him in a low voice.
“Be quiet for now.”
Yoon Joo-ho formally knelt down. His left hand was still holding Song Hyun-soo’s hand.
“I know you’re worried. I understand completely. But no matter what happens in the future, I will protect Hyun-soo with everything I have.”
“…Protect? What will you do to protect him after something happens?”
Yoon Joo-ho slowly turned to look at Song Hyun-soo. He looked at every part of his face as if to engrave it in his mind. The muscles in his jaw twitched noticeably.
“I will be with him until the end. I believe that is what it means to protect him.”
“……”
The grandfather, who had been standing there for a moment, suddenly slumped down to the floor.
Their hands, clasped tightly together, seemed to solidify and become one.
Song Hyun-soo had understood Yoon Joo-ho’s obsession with the idea of family and the formality of marriage, but he hadn’t really empathized with it. But at that moment, Song Hyun-soo sincerely thought that he would be willing to run away with Yoon Joo-ho and get married.
■
The mountain of dishes was almost done.
The grandfather, who had left the house to cool off his anger, had not yet returned, almost an hour later, perhaps having gone to the Go Bar. The grandmother had closed the door and locked herself in her room. She might be lying down with her head in her hands, sick with worry.
The only hopeful aspect was that the two of them had seen Yoon Joo-ho off. Song Hyun-soo decided to consider that a not-so-bad outcome.
After placing the last chopstick on the drying rack, he dried his hands on a towel and looked around the living room. It felt like a lie that Yoon Joo-ho had been here just a little while ago.
“……”
He stood there blankly, like a person in a daze, imagining Yoon Joo-ho’s presence in this space. It felt like he had taken a short nap and had a brief dream. He rubbed the back of his neck, smiled awkwardly, and cautiously approached and opened the door to the room. Contrary to his expectation that she would be lying down, the grandmother was sitting with her back to him.
“Grandmother, what are you doing?”
He deliberately approached and clung to her, using an even more affectionate tone.
She was looking at the pictorial with Yoon Joo-ho that had been released this time.
“I bragged so much about how our Hyun-soo was in the same drama as the Crown Prince.”
“Yeah…”
“Your grandfather bought three or four copies of this book too. He said he was afraid it would wear out if he looked at it all the time.”
Even though they were so proud, the two of them hadn’t even put up a single picture of Song Hyun-soo in their snack shop. It was because they were worried that their small mistake might backfire and harm their grandson.
“To think that a picture of you and the Crown Prince side by side would be in a book.”
“It feels like a dream, right?”
“Yeah. It feels like a dream… just like a dream…”
“……”
Sometimes I feel that way too, Grandmother.
He replied to her in his heart, hugging her tightly with both arms and resting his chin on her slender shoulder.
“Is it true that he was the one who pursued you?”
“My senior was the one who asked me out first… but I liked him too.”
“Was it always like that? Did you always like men? You had a lot of pretty girlfriends while you were growing up.”
I did. But, Grandmother, you don’t know this, but I did meet some handsome older guys too.
“It’s not because he’s a man or a woman… it’s because I like my senior.”
“How much do you like him? Enough that you wouldn’t break up with him even if I told you to?”
“……”
He released her from his arms and looked her in the face. Her eyes, looking up at Song Hyun-soo, were earnest. It was a look that hoped he would say that he didn’t like him that much.
But she soon read the truth in her grandson’s eyes. This was the child she had fed milk to, changed diapers for, and watched grow into a boy through adolescence. Reading his heart was not that difficult.
“You like him that much?”
“You saw him too, Grandmother. Wouldn’t you like him if you were me?”
Song Hyun-soo deliberately tried to make it sound like a joke. But the worry that appeared on her face did not subside easily. Her eyes, always wet and teary, seemed to be filled with tears. With the eyes of a frightened little animal, she tightly grabbed Song Hyun-soo’s arm.
“For such a great person to be involved with people like us… it scares me.”
He gently embraced her small shoulders once again. And he slowly stroked her to reassure her.
“Grandmother, that person isn’t scary at all. He’s a very… pitiful person.”
“……”
“You said so too, Grandmother. You said the Crown Prince was pitiful.”
“Well… I did, but…”
“I hope you and Grandfather will like my senior too. He’s a pitiful person, so I hope you’ll like him as much as I do.”
Her thin fingers tightly gripped Song Hyun-soo’s arm.
“What are you going to do if something happens? He’s such a famous and great person. How much will people point fingers if the world finds out…”
Yoon Joo-ho’s prediction was correct.
Song Hyun-soo had naively believed that they would like him because he was the Crown Prince. But because he was that great Crown Prince, known to the entire nation, the grandmother was more worried about that than the fact that he was a man.
“We’re really not scared at all, Grandmother.”
“Why aren’t you scared? You should be scared. It’s a scary thing.”
The thin hand holding Song Hyun-soo’s arm was trembling slightly.
“You heard what my senior said earlier. He said he would protect me no matter what happens. I believe him.”
“……”
“And I will protect him too.”
No matter what happens, even if money and popularity leave Yoon Joo-ho, I will never betray him. I will be by his side forever.
Because that’s what Yoon Joo-ho thinks it means to protect someone.
They remained there for a while longer, embracing each other. Warmth bloomed in the shape of where they were sitting together.