By Zephyria 
The corners of Cha Jeong-won’s mouth lifted, and the curve of his eyes softened along with them.
“You were so pushy yesterday, but today you’re taking this long just to hold my hand once.”
Haon took a deep breath in, then slowly let it out.
“Just once.”
As if salvaging what little pride he had left, he set a condition while extending his hand.
“Just for today. And if you don’t tell me what happened yesterday, I’ll really avoid you forever, sunbae.”
“Then I guess I have to tell you.”
Cha Jeong-won slowly took his hand and lifted it.
Fingertips touched fingertips, and the spaces between them slowly interlocked.
It took only a few seconds for their fingers to lace completely, but to Haon, it felt much longer.
It felt like the warmth touching his palm had directly transferred to his heart.
His pheromones swayed at a very low concentration.
Warmth, each trying not to let the other notice, pooled between their hands.
“Now tell me.”
Haon raised his head, trying his best to act nonchalant.
“What did I say yesterday?”
Cha Jeong-won looked down at his face, chuckled briefly, then slowly opened his mouth as if deliberately stalling.
“Where should I start? From you saying you could be my talisman?”
Haon recalled the words he had muttered to himself this morning.
If I drink again, I’m a dog, a dog.
Haon first tried to play dumb, blinking his eyes with a bewildered expression.
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
Cha Jeong-won nodded without blinking an eye.
“You said you could be a talisman that brings peace to my daily life. With your own mouth.”
He tried to feign ignorance, but it was no use.
“Wait, how could that come from my mouth? I don’t talk like that.”
Haon raised and lowered both hands.
“I wish you had misheard.”
“You wish?”
“Unfortunately, it’s accurate.”
His calm tone made it seem even more irreversible.
“It’s true that you said that. Kissing me, holding my hand, talking about being a talisman—it was all you.”
Haon felt his breath catch in his throat.
“Th-that, well, I probably didn’t initiate it, right?”
A vague afterimage of memory brushed past him.
He said he didn’t, but it seemed true.
“You said you kissed me and held my hand all for my sake.”
Cha Jeong-won deliberately continued slowly.
“So you said all I had to do was stick by you. Then nothing bad would happen.”
The sentences were too clear to dismiss as mere drunken ramblings.
Haon searched for words, opening and closing his mouth.
“…Did I really?”
He eventually circled back to the same question.
“If you don’t want to believe it, don’t.”
The words felt like another nail being hammered into his chest.
Haon could feel the blood rushing to his own face.
“…What else did I say?”
Haon finally changed the question.
His mind shifted gears: if the milk was already spilled, he might as well hear it all first, then make excuses or apologize.
“Since we’re already here, just tell me everything.”
He spoke boldly, but his throat felt parched.
Cha Jeong-won looked down at him and slightly lifted the corner of his mouth.
“Let’s do the rest after we eat.”
“You could just give me a rough idea now.”
“I hate ‘rough’ the most.”
It was another dismissive tone.
Cha Jeong-won acted like someone who could give more at any time but deliberately gave only a little. Then he ran away.
“Let’s decide where to eat first.”
He very naturally unlaced their fingers and started walking.
Haon clenched and unclenched his palm a few times, feeling the lingering warmth, then followed.
“Sunbae, you’re not really thinking of pizza again, are you?”
He asked casually as they went down the stairs.
“We had it this morning too. If I eat it again, I’ll be living on flour all day. I want to live on something else for dinner.”
“You didn’t like the morning pizza?”
“It was delicious. That was the problem. My stomach still feels a bit cheesy.”
At the bluntly spat-out words, Cha Jeong-won let out a short laugh.
“We’ll go somewhere else.”
“Really? Can I trust you this time?”
“If you can’t trust me, just go home.”
At the casually cutting remark, Haon grumbled but still followed him.
＊ ＊ ＊
About a block away from the school alley, the rich smell of grilling meat began to rise thickly.
Instead of a neon sign, large letters spelling “Samgyeopsal” on a white signboard caught his eye.
“What’s with this flashy transition from pizza to pork belly?”
Haon muttered as soon as they stopped in front of the door.
“A course to digest and refill.”
Cha Jeong-won’s answer contained not an ounce of jest.
“Are you not going to eat?”
The face asking while holding the door open was so calm it made him hesitate to answer even more.
“Who said I’m not eating? What kind of person wouldn’t eat pork belly when it’s right in front of them?”
In the end, he moved his feet and his mouth just as sincerely.
As soon as they were seated at a corner table after being guided, Haon reflexively picked up the tongs.
“I’ll grill.”
He was willing to volunteer for labor at times like this.
Because the person grilling the meat holds the power at the table. But the tongs didn’t stay in his hand for long.
“It’s fine.”
Cha Jeong-won very naturally snatched the tongs away.
“I’ll do it.”
“Then what about me?”
“You try to remember what you said yesterday while you eat.”
“You’re giving only me the hard work.”
He grumbled, but the sound of meat hitting the grill persuaded his stomach first.
The ordered pork belly began to sizzle and cook on the iron plate. The savory smell soon filled the space.
“Let’s get a doenjang jjigae here too.”
Seeing Cha Jeong-won naturally add that, Haon tilted his head slightly.
“You said you weren’t feeling well today, but you’re making a touching choice.”
“I ordered it thinking of the pizza you fed me this morning.”
While they exchanged words, the meat had already turned to a perfect color for eating.
Cha Jeong-won picked up the fully grilled pork belly pieces and placed them directly on Haon’s plate.
“Eat first.”
“What about you, sunbae?”
“After I grill.”
“Ah, well then…”
Looking at the mountain of meat piled on his plate alone, it felt awkward to just eat by himself.
Haon picked up a lettuce leaf, scooped a spoonful of rice onto it, and placed two pieces of meat on top.
He added garlic and ssamjang, wrapping the ssam with sincerity. Then he extended the hand holding the ssam toward Cha Jeong-won.
“Open your mouth.”
“…What.”
“It feels weird to eat alone, so let’s share. You’re going to eat anyway, sunbae.”
Cha Jeong-won paused for a moment, then slightly opened his mouth.
“Why on earth aren’t we each eating our own?”
“Right. It got twisted from the start. Is it that uncomfortable for one person’s mouth to be empty?”
Haon, who had created that start, retorted cheekily.
“So eat it quickly.”
“With my own hand…”
“Whose hand feeds you, what does it matter?”
Haon didn’t miss the opportunity and pushed the ssam right into Cha Jeong-won’s mouth.
“How is it? My hand’s flavor.”
“…It’s meat I grilled.”
“Then it’s half and half. A combination of physical labor and delicate touch.”
A small laugh burst out.
The doenjang jjigae placed at the edge of the grill was also bubbling. Haon took a spoonful of the broth first.
As the salty flavor wrapped around his tongue and went down, the greasiness from the pizza subsided as if it had been a lie.
The feeling of warmth inside his stomach made his shoulders relax for no reason.
‘I’ll live.’
He always got nagged that liking such oily and salty food meant he wouldn’t live long, but the present took priority over longevity.
It was after he had eaten a few more pieces of meat and his stomach was starting to feel somewhat full.
“I have something to show you.”
Cha Jeong-won said while flipping the meat on the grill.
“Just grilling meat well is charming enough. Don’t suddenly do magic or something.”
“Thanks for the overestimation.”
He deflected the comment, pushed the meat to one side, and adjusted the heat.
Haon stopped wrapping his ssam and stared intently.
“You really have something to show me?”
Right at that moment.
Sizzle.
A much louder sound than usual jumped up.
Oil splattered from the edge of the pork belly and hit the back of Cha Jeong-won’s hand precisely.
“Huh?”
Haon was startled first by the louder-than-expected sound.
“Are you okay?”
Reflexively, he grabbed Cha Jeong-won’s hand to look. A spot slightly reddened from the oil burn was visible.
“What is this? Are you trying to do a fire show?”
Though he scolded with words, his hand had already grabbed a napkin to wipe off the oil first.
He carefully pressed with a wet towel and even blew on it unnecessarily.
“Ah, that must have been hot.”
“It’s fine.”
Cha Jeong-won’s voice was calm, but Haon could feel the muscles on the back of his hand slightly stiffen.
“Fine, my foot. It’s red.”
Haon furrowed his brow and scanned the back of Cha Jeong-won’s hand once more.
If he got a serious burn, it could cause issues with his work going forward. More than anything, preparations for his maternal grandfather’s retrospective had just begun!
While Haon was intently examining the back of Cha Jeong-won’s hand, the sound of the restaurant door opening was heard.
73 – NOT 73