By Zephyria 
Min-jung wandered around the house for a while longer, indulging in a few more whims, before finally rummaging through the neglected school bag.
“I’m going to do my homework now.”
“Right, that’s a good idea….”
Min-jung pulled out the worksheets and placed them on the dining table. However, the expression on his face as he searched through the bag seemed somewhat puzzled.
“I left my pencil case in my desk drawer at school.”
“Ah….”
Yi-ho went into the study and searched the top of the desk. Naturally, in the space of an adult who was now twice as accustomed to typing as to handwriting, writing utensils were rare. Min-jung wouldn’t even touch the one clunky black pen that was there.
“I need my Jelly Jelly Roll pencil to do my homework…. It has to be that one. Oppa should have it….”
“Ah. Then maybe it’s at Cha Min-gyu’s… I mean, your brother’s house?”
“Yes.”
That was a good enough reason to go to the house next door. Once they stepped out the front door, the two entered the other house in five of Yi-ho’s steps and ten of Min-jung’s.
‘…It’s incredibly clean.’
Despite appearing so busy, the place was so tidy there was no sign that anyone had even left. It was almost as if he had a cleaning android of his own.
If there were a place where a Jelly Jelly-whatever pencil would be, it would be the study. As soon as Min-jung entered the new space, he forgot his original purpose and began to explore. Yi-ho left Min-jung to roll around, wrinkling the neatly made duvet on the master bedroom bed, and entered the study. This room was equally pristine.
He wanted to message and ask where the pencil in question was, but Min-gyu hadn’t replied to the text Yi-ho had sent earlier. Since it was too trivial a question to bother a busy man with, he wandered through the study himself.
Even though they lived next door to each other, they usually only frequented the living room or kitchen; it was rare for them to enter the study or the master bedroom. He found himself looking closely at a place he had only glimpsed from the outside.
The top of the desk was the polar opposite of his own. Books and printed materials were placed without a single misalignment, and there wasn’t a speck of dust on the monitor, mouse, or keyboard. The stationery holder was impeccably organized. Unlike Yi-ho’s desk, he could tell at a glance, without even having to rummage, that the Jelly Jelly Roll pen wasn’t here.
He knew Min-gyu had a clean personality, but this was almost obsessive. Yi-ho opened the first drawer of the desk to look for the pen. Even this compartment, containing Post-its and utility knives, was perfectly aligned.
Among them, there was something strange. A flat, disc-shaped object about the size of a finger joint….
It was made of latex, and the rolled outer surface had unfurled. It looked exactly like a small-sized condom… No, wait. It is! Yi-ho hurriedly snatched it off his index finger.
“Song-i Unc-le!”
A loud call rang out with perfect timing.
“Ugh?!”
“Did you find the Jelly Jelly Roll pencil?”
Min-jung poked his head through the gap in the door. Yi-ho stood there, blocking the drawer containing the condom—which he felt should be labeled as size XXXS—with his body.
“Ah, no. I have no… idea where the jelly pencil is….”
“It’s a Jelly Jelly Roll pencil. Why don’t you know? Uncle, you come here all the time.”
“Not every day. This is your brother’s house, not mine. My house is next door.”
“Why? You said you and Uncle Song-i Song-i live together, so why don’t you live together? Live together!”
Huh…? The person I thought was a lifelong unrequited love is telling me the in-laws welcome me? Yi-ho blinked. Just then, a large hand covered Min-jung’s head.
“He’s right. Our Min-jung is smart. Uncle Song-i Song-i, shall we live together?”
Before he knew it, Min-gyu, who had returned from work, was standing behind Min-jung.
“When did you get here?”
“Just now. Right when you were saying my house is next door. I thought you’d be here, so I went to my house first, but I was surprised to see only the kid’s bag sitting there.”
Min-gyu entered the room carrying Min-jung, who had his arms wrapped around Min-gyu’s waist and legs wrapped around his knees, dangling.
“Oppa, why are you late?”
“Because I was earning money to buy Min-jung Jelly Jelly Rolls.”
“That’s why I told you to just come down and be a union bank president or inherit Grandfather’s land.”
“Ugh, what on earth have you been teaching the kid again?”
Min-gyu lifted the clinging Min-jung up and held him in one arm. Min-jung didn’t stay held for long, squirming to get away from his brother. The age gap was closer to that of a father and son than siblings, but perhaps there was something about blood relations, because in moments like this, they looked exactly like siblings.
“Since you’re here, uh… find that Jelly Jelly Roll pencil and give it to your brother.”
“Cha Min-jung, you’ve been stuffing your things into your brother’s work bag again, haven’t you? Thanks to you, I had a great meeting with this guy today.”
Min-gyu pulled a cute pencil, which didn’t suit the black leather briefcase, from the front pocket. The drawings on the pencil shaft were colorful, but the large Jelly Jelly Roll head eraser at the end was the most striking part.
“…Did you really take that in with you?”
“Yeah. Now there’s a rumor among the clients that Cha Min-gyu is a cutie.”
…Even I couldn’t call him that; I wonder if I misheard the rumor that he’s a crazy bastard.
Min-gyu placed a hand on Yi-ho’s shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze.
“You worked hard today. Thanks.”
“…It was nothing.”
“Did you listen to Min-jung well?”
“Yeah. He ate the rice cakes well, played well, and talked to the uncle a lot.”
“Song-i must have used up a month’s worth of words just dealing with Cha Min-jung’s chattering.”
The little kid who had been between them had vanished in an instant. Min-gyu glanced around the house and walked steadily toward the closed bedroom. There, he discovered Min-jung hiding a tablet behind his back.
“Cha Min-jung. How long were you on the tablet today?”
“Just a little bit.”
“Give Oppa the tablet.”
“Hmph….”
“Now.”
Min-gyu was somewhat strict with his younger brother. Partly because he was like a daughter to him, but also because he knew how unhelpful their parents were regarding education. Thus, Min-jung pouted but handed over the tablet. The children’s tablet, which seemed as large as Min-jung’s face, was no bigger than a phone in Min-gyu’s hand. He frowned for a moment upon seeing the screen, which was completely unlocked, then let out an absurd laugh and looked back toward the bedroom door.
“Song Yi-ho.”
There was a light reproach in his voice, asking if this was your doing. It was different from the playful ‘Song-i Song-i’ or the ‘Team Leader Song’ he used at work. It felt like something electric was piercing through his ears.
Min-gyu scrolled through the screen to check the screen time. Then, after setting a lock, he closed the tablet.
“That’s enough for today.”
“Aww…. I wasn’t just playing games, I just had it on while talking to Uncle and eating rice cakes.”
“Now we’re going to a pasta party for dinner, play with Oppa and Uncle, and then go home. Mother and Father said they’ve boarded the plane from Jeju.”
“We’re eating pasta?”
“Yeah. Sounds good, right?”
Since it was a proposal that didn’t sound bad, Min-jung nodded obediently.
“Let’s just change clothes and go. Song-i, we’re going to a casual dining place, so order a steak. It’ll suit your taste.”
“Uh, okay….”
Even if he didn’t, the restaurants Min-gyu chose never failed. This time was no different.
The strange combination of two men in their 30s and one first-grader, having finished a satisfying meal, continued their gathering on the sofa after returning home. However, Yi-ho couldn’t understand why the Cha siblings had been flanking him in the middle for a while now. Having changed into comfortable clothes and leaning lazily against the sofa, Min-gyu had a different kind of mischief floating on his face than before.
“Cha Min-jung.”
“Yeah.”
“Who do you like more? Oppa or Uncle?”
“Uncle Song-i Song-i.”
“Why?”
“Uncle Song-i is kinder. Uncle Song-i is more handsome.”
Hearing the answer from the brother who had struggled to leave work an hour early for his sake and had bought him a hearty meal, Min-gyu chuckled and sank back into the headrest. The answer was so cute that the corners of Yi-ho’s mouth curled up as well.
“Do you like Jelly Jelly Roll more? Or Oppa?”
“Jelly Jelly Roll.”
The answer was much more decisive than before.
“Then between Jelly Jelly Roll and Uncle, who do you like more?”
“……!”
Finally, Min-jung was speechless. Min-jung’s eyes wavered as he faced the decision of a lifetime. He fiddled with the Jelly Jelly Roll keychain attached to his kids’ phone, avoiding Yi-ho’s gaze. Yi-ho also had to struggle to suppress his laughter.
“I like Jelly Jelly Roll just a tiny, tiny, completely little bit more….”
It was a voice as small as an ant. To be just one step below the idol of children—this was a generous evaluation indeed. Just then, an arm suddenly wrapped around Yi-ho’s chest.
“Then Min-jung, you play with Jelly Jelly Roll. Oppa’s taking Uncle Song-i Song-i Ho!”
His body was yanked backward. What touched Yi-ho’s defenseless back was a hard chest behind a thin t-shirt. Suddenly pulled into a tight embrace, Yi-ho’s lungs felt as if they were about to burst. Every line of code that had been smoothly executing Song Yi-ho’s daily process was suddenly struck through with red.
“Hup.”
It was an intrusion more malicious than any malware. His heart, which was already prone to malfunctioning, suffered a full-blown error.
“Hey, wa-wait a second….”
Cha Min-gyu, you, you, you can’t do this unless you’re asking me to marry you…!
“Waaaah, no!”
Then, Min-jung, who was in front, leaped up and charged toward Yi-ho. The weight of a first-grader was added to his upper body, pushing his body even closer against the back. Min-gyu pulled Yi-ho further into his embrace as if to show off.
“Why? Min-jung, you take Jelly Jelly Roll. Oppa likes Uncle more than Jelly Jelly Roll, so Oppa’s taking Uncle.”
“No, I hate it. Uncle isn’t yours! Uh, Uncle belongs to Uncle!”
“Ah, I don’t know. Now, whenever Min-jung plays the Jelly Min-jung Roll game, Oppa’s going to play with Uncle, just the two of us.”
“Aaaaaah!”
Min-jung thrashed indignantly on Yi-ho’s stomach. Min-jung… please…. The light weight wasn’t a big blow to Yi-ho, but the problem was that something blunt kept pressing against his lower back. …It was absolutely not an XXXS. If this were to be called an XXXS, the last S should stand for Supreme, not Small.
“Oppa, stop it! I said stop it!”
“Uh… Uncle likes Min-jung more too…. Save me….”
The culprit who started this whole situation was laughing mischievously in Yi-ho’s ear. Eventually, Yi-ho was the first to loosen the arms wrapped around his chest, set Min-jung down, and stand up.
His body felt hot, as if he had just stepped out of a sauna.
They say that for a patient of unrequited love who has fallen for a friend of 15 years, these kinds of industry rewards occasionally descend, but today was too much. Any more than this, and his heart might actually explode.