By Zephyria 
They say good fortune comes when the two of them are together, so he should be purely happy, yet somehow his heart felt heavy.
He recalled the time he tumbled down the stairs with Cha Jeong-won.
From that day on, Haon’s daily life had become strangely tangled.
So Haon wondered if Cha Jeong-won’s misfortune had transferred to him. It was just a guess, but it was becoming a fact he could no longer ignore.
It sounded ridiculous. The idea that someone’s misfortune could spread to another person like a cold no longer felt like a joke.
‘Did the senior’s misfortune transfer to me, and when we make contact, does good fortune double in return?’
Could luck and misfortune even be neatly separated in the first place? Weren’t they mixed together, rolling along as one lump, to the point where you couldn’t tell where luck began and misfortune ended?
‘No. Maybe it’s because both the sweet room and first prize are hotel-related events, so they just happen to hit? Or because the senior is a regular at this hotel?’
Having already categorized Cha Jeong-won as a regular, Haon let out a weak sigh.
‘I should be happy that good things are happening, but it feels strangely unsettling.’
His heart was too complicated to simply be happy. It somehow felt like they were entangled with each other.
The balloons hanging from the booth swayed lightly in the wind.
The staff member was still explaining the first prize. People were now throwing darts, trying to win the one remaining first prize. Amidst all that commotion, only the two of them were strangely quiet.
“Senior.”
Haon called Cha Jeong-won.
His throat was parched. He could hear the sound of himself swallowing, but strangely, he didn’t want to avoid eye contact.
He wanted to see this situation through to the end without running away. Cha Jeong-won’s face was still rigidly set.
Judging by his expression alone, he seemed unchanged, but the tips of his ears were distinctly red.
And they happened to be on the same side as the kiss.
＊ ＊ ＊
It was a suffocatingly awkward time.
The dart game was over. Having just left a noisy place, it seemed like they should say something.
Normally, in such an atmosphere, he would find some excuse to make. But now it was far too difficult.
Haon kept his mouth tightly shut, as if someone had glued his lips together with adhesive.
What if he just leaves like this?
Thank you for eating tteokbokki with me.
Enjoy the hotel’s first prize benefit.
Did you win first prize thanks to my kiss?
‘What on earth can I even say?’
He wanted to grab his own hair, but Haon forced his gaze elsewhere. While doing so, he suddenly saw a souvenir shop by the roadside and paused.
Only then did Haon realize they had been walking for quite a while, longer than he’d thought.
Flustered by the awkward atmosphere, he had ended up walking a route he didn’t usually take. Thanks to that, he discovered a shop with a nice vibe.
Inside the glass window, under softly diffused lighting, mugs and objets were densely displayed.
Without even turning his head, Haon grabbed the hem of Cha Jeong-won’s clothes as he was walking away. Cha Jeong-won, blocked as he tried to move forward, took a step back and came around to Haon’s side.
“Can we stop by there for a moment?”
Cha Jeong-won turned his head to follow Haon’s gaze. His reaction was lukewarm at best.
“If we don’t go in, I think I’ll keep thinking about it every night. Okay?”
“If I say no, does that mean I won’t be able to put you to sleep?”
“That’s right.”
As Haon nodded emphatically, Cha Jeong-won took the first step.
He had actually expected a refusal. Or at least expected him to resist a couple of times, saying no, but he accepted more readily than expected.
“Good.”
It was awkward enough as it was.
Haon flashed a slight smile and followed Cha Jeong-won.
The moment the door opened, a small bell jingled.
Gentle music flowed inside the shop. The objets on the wooden shelves were even more numerous than they had appeared from outside.
Hand-thrown mugs with a rough texture, small concrete-textured planters, candles, and small canvases—everything captured Haon’s attention.
“This place is really nice. Super cute… and the, the layout is good too.”
The words that flowed out naturally at first stumbled towards the end. Haon cleared his throat and spoke with a very serious expression.
“I like outdoor spaces, but I’m also very interested in interior decoration. The varying heights you can naturally see along the flow here are really cool.”
It started as an excuse, but there was definitely a lot worth seeing.
He tilted his head as if checking angles, slipped his hand in and out of the shadows cast by the lighting, and eventually returned to the objets.
“Senior, this is pretty, right?”
There was a mood lamp inside a milky white glass dome, with warm light softly diffusing.
“This would look good in a room…”
Haon couldn’t finish the sentence. It was really hard to say that Cha Jeong-won’s room was very dark.
“What’s this.”
So Haon shifted his interest from the mood lamp to another item.
It was a small ceramic objet.
It looked like a rolled-up piece of paper, or a staircase half-melted.
Moreover, the deep indentation on top meant it could be used as a vase for flowers or a pen holder for pens. An objet that combined decoration and practicality.
“It’s pretty.”
As he reached out his hand, another hand appeared.
Clack.
Cha Jeong-won’s hand lightly overlapped the back of Haon’s hand, which was about to grab the objet.
A nearby mood lamp flickered. Another lamp, untouched, changed color.
They could have pulled their hands away immediately, but both paused for a moment.
In that brief moment, each other’s body heat was distinctly felt.
It was a much more trivial contact than the kiss, yet his heart jumped needlessly once more.
“…You look first.”
As Haon tried to pull his hand back, a voice came from the counter.
“Customer, that’s the last one left today.”
The two turned their heads simultaneously.
“It was actually sold out earlier, but there was a cancellation, and you happened to pick that one.”
The clerk smiled.
“We usually only sell it as a set, but since it’s the last one, we can give it to you as a single item today. Plus, it’s time sale hours right now, so we can give you a bit more discount.”
“Time sale…”
As Haon murmured, the clerk nodded.
“You really have good timing.”
‘This timing again…’
The phone call in the elevator.
The dart game earlier.
And now, the last remaining objet.
In his head, he heard the sound of puzzle pieces clicking together once more.
“This is the most popular item in our souvenir shop.”
The clerk spoke again.
“The texture and shape are unique, and it’s also considered a symbol of good luck.”
Haon looked at the ceramic objet again.
The rough yet smooth curves, a shape he felt he would keep looking at if placed on a corner of his studio desk.
“Senior, what do you think? Isn’t today’s luck pretty decent?”
“If you’re very interested in this item and want it, then maybe.”
Cha Jeong-won acted as if he wasn’t very interested. Yet, he checked the price tag once more and took out his card first.
“I’ll pay.”
“Didn’t you not like it? Or maybe…”
“I’m not buying it to give to you. If I pay with my money, I’m taking it.”
My money, my purchase.
“But I was the one considering this.”
While Haon pouted regretfully, Cha Jeong-won took the objet. Haon reached out as if to stop him, but ended up just brushing the back of Cha Jeong-won’s hand.
“Oh my.”
The clerk waiting to ring up the purchase suddenly looked surprised, put down his phone, and said with a smile.
“The owner just contacted me not to charge for it. Actually, it should be sold as a set, but since there was only one left…”
Thanks to the sale, it was almost half-price, and now it became free.
When they stepped outside, the night air hit them.
‘I thought it was only the hotel events, but here too, at this timing…’
It seemed it wasn’t just a coincidence after all.
“Senior, let’s go somewhere with me.”
Haon stepped ahead.
Then Cha Jeong-won grabbed Haon’s hand. Not his forearm or wrist, but his fingers.
“Senior?”
The moment Haon called him, the strength in Cha Jeong-won’s hand holding him increased. It felt as if he thought Haon might run away if given the slightest opening.
“Me first.”
It seemed Cha Jeong-won also had something to say.
＊ ＊ ＊
Cha Jeong-won pulled Haon to a place with few people.
Fortunately, there was no one around the parking lot. Only then did Cha Jeong-won let go of Haon’s hand. Even after letting go, Haon felt like his fingertips were burning.
Instantly, Cha Jeong-won’s unique pheromones spread out. In the confined space, the faint scent spread more distinctly.
Cha Jeong-won also looked like he was trying to suppress it, seemingly surprised. Yet it remained strong.
It seemed like it was Cha Jeong-won, not Haon, who wanted to run away.