By Zephyria 
“Ah…!”
Thud.
The cake was safe. While it couldn’t be called completely unscathed, it had avoided the catastrophe of plummeting to the floor.
Instead, the side that almost fell had been blocked by Min-gyu’s palm, leaving the shape squashed.
Having saved the cake’s life, Min-gyu grinned at the startled Yi-ho.
“This is mine, right?”
“Uh, yeah….”
Whoosh.
Min-gyu blew out the candle, which was leaning at about a 60-degree angle. When he set the cake upright and pulled his hand away, not only his palm but the cuff of his jumper was smeared with chocolate cream.
Despite that, he felt so good that he couldn’t stop smirking. It was a feeling as sweet as the taste when he licked the cream off his hand. His body felt restless, though in a different sense than before.
“Thanks, Song Yi-ho.”
“…Uh…. But why were you outside?”
“Why do you think? I came out to look for you because you disappeared without a word after I finished showering.”
“I left a note.”
“You….”
He already looked like a kid; wouldn’t I be worried if he went out alone in the middle of the night? Did he really think leaving a nonchalant note would be reassuring? And why didn’t he answer the phone? Sigh, I get the last part. He probably didn’t even realize I was calling because he was carrying the cake with both hands.
The nagging was right up to the tip of his tongue, but for some reason, he didn’t feel like doing it today. Perhaps it was because someone had taken care of his birthday—a day his own family hadn’t said a word about—while they were traveling far from home.
So, he settled for simply smearing a cream-covered finger across Yi-ho’s cheek.
“Ah!”
Yi-ho protested, though he wasn’t intimidating in the slightest.
“Ah, what was that for?”
“You haven’t washed up anyway. Go inside and hurry up and wash. That’s why I smeared it on you.”
“…….”
Being too soft to even argue back, Yi-ho just knit his brows. Heading back into the room, Min-gyu set up a birthday table where the previous night’s late-night snack table had been. Would it be an exaggeration to say the squashed cake looked more delicious than any Korean food he’d eaten in several days abroad? However, his heart was already soaked in the clumsy romance his friend had shown him. To the point where he felt it would be a waste to wipe the cream off his hands.
Using a provided spoon, Min-gyu scooped some cake and held it out to Yi-ho.
“Song-i, have a bite before you go in.”
“…?”
When Min-gyu flicked the tip of the spoon, Yi-ho’s expression jerked, as if he finally understood that Min-gyu was trying to feed him.
“Ah, we’ve seen everything there is to see and have shared a bed for days; why are you still acting so shy? Just eat. Then I can eat too.”
“That….”
“Hurry.”
“…….”
Like a malfunctioning android, Yi-ho stiffly bent his waist and, without letting the spoon touch his mouth, plucked the piece of cake away with only his lips. Covering his mouth with his hand, his expression soon turned skeptical as his cheeks moved.
“…How do people live eating things this sweet?”
“Ah, right. Why did you buy chocolate? You don’t even like sweet things.”
“You like it.”
“…I do.”
Min-gyu paused before bursting into laughter. It was a laugh that was hard to hold back, as if something ticklish inside him was popping out.
“It’s delicious and great. Really.”
As if to prove it, Min-gyu popped a piece of cake into his mouth and gave an exaggerated reaction of how tasty it was.
“Thank you so much, Song-i. I can’t believe I’m spending my birthday in Paris.”
“…It wasn’t even that expensive.”
Yi-ho turned toward the bathroom.
“You eat the rest. I’ll wash up and come out.”
Finally, Yi-ho glanced back at Min-gyu. Then, for reasons unknown even to himself, he rubbed his face and neck vigorously and entered the bathroom, looking awkward. Seeing his shy demeanor, a thought suddenly occurred to Min-gyu.
‘…How does this guy actually survive in such a harsh world?’
Then, feeling awkward himself, he stuffed a large bite of cake into his mouth.
The time of the trip passed quickly. Even for a twenty-one-year-old with energy to spare, the journey ended just as the fatigue from a continuous, grueling schedule began to set in. After checking in their suitcases, which were bulging with miscellaneous souvenirs, the two trudged toward a bench in the airport.
Min-gyu wrapped his arm around the shoulder of Yi-ho, who was trying to give up the seat against the wall, and pulled him in, sitting in the middle seat and placing Yi-ho between himself and the wall. A look of ‘Why are you doing this?’ approached him, but there were no words to specifically explain it.
“Ah, I’m exhausted. This trip was freaking intense.”
So, pretending to be oblivious, he rested his head on Yi-ho’s shoulder.
“If I caught the flu, Song-i definitely has it too. We’re going down together.”
“Uh….”
It started as a joke, but when Yi-ho’s shoulder stiffened under his weight, Min-gyu thought, ‘Look at this.’ They had known each other for several years and had even traveled together this time, yet he was still like this. Min-gyu pressed the side of his head down more firmly on purpose. Yi-ho’s neck froze stiff. …Hmph.
“Song-i, want to look at the photos while we wait for the plane?”
“Uh, …y-yeah.”
It was a mirrorless camera bought with a significant amount of allowance for the European trip. The camera, which had passed between their hands all day as they took photos of each other, was operated by Yi-ho as skillfully as the owner.
Since they had wandered tirelessly from sunrise until late at night for several days, the camera was full of photos. After about a dozen landscapes taken by Min-gyu at the beginning, a few of Yi-ho’s photos appeared, and then the mood of the album suddenly changed. The composition became a bit—no, a lot—worse than the previous photos.
Cha Min-gyu, awkwardly cut off at the knees; Cha Min-gyu, shifted to the right alongside a beautiful building; Cha Min-gyu, creating clones of himself through motion blur; and more Cha Min-gyu….
Flipping through the photos, Min-gyu chuckled and looked back at Yi-ho.
“Why did you take so many pictures of me? Hey, what is this? I look like I have a giant head. You should have just told me to stop and pose. Ah, I like this one, though; I’m looking away naturally.”
“…I didn’t realize.”
The two continued to scroll through the image files. While Min-gyu had taken half landscapes and half photos of Yi-ho, everything Yi-ho had taken was of Min-gyu. The problem was that the majority were blurry, had strange angles, or looked like someone else was the main subject. His passion for the subject was inversely proportional to his skill.
On the other hand, the solo shots of Yi-ho taken by Min-gyu mostly boasted perfect harmony with the scenery. Of course, the numerous landscape photos were equally flawless.
“Wow…. It was freezing here back then. I think our fatigue started from this spot.”
“Exactly. Oh, a giant poodle. Song-i actually managed to snap this. I really thought that thing was a person when it stood up. And next to it, as expected, the Song Yi-ho special: short-legged Cha Min-gyu.”
“Ah, stop making fun of me. What can I do if this is my skill level?”
“Song Yi-ho, before the next trip, you need to take a lesson from m—”
The hand flipping through the photos, reminiscing about the past, stopped at a certain scene. A strange silence flowed between Yi-ho and Min-gyu.
Eventually, Min-gyu pressed the zoom button repeatedly to close in on two people captured in the background behind him.
The quality was pixelated, but the shapes were clear. Two pairs of eyes met in a rounded, protruding gaze.
Two people were sharing a kiss.
The reason they were speechless was that both people pressing their lips together were men.
“…Man, Europe really is Europe. Insane….”
“I-I guess so….”
“Song Yi-ho, did you not see this?”
“I just… was only thinking about taking pictures of you….”
“Wow, the more I look, the more amazing it is.”
“…….”
Unlike Min-gyu’s pure admiration, Yi-ho’s face began to itch, as if it were chapped from a cold wind. When he brought his hand to his neck, it was burning hot.
Had he really caught a cold? His hands and feet tingled.
Yi-ho lowered his gaze back to the screen. From the two men kissing to Cha Min-gyu, who was grinning toward the camera in the same photo.
Huh?
“…….”
Uh….
Slowly, a premise that had been naturally presented in Yi-ho’s world changed.
Men can kiss men, they can become a couple, and… they can like each other.
…I see.
Like jet lag that one cannot adapt to, his mind accepted the immediate change very, very slowly. However, the memory, etched with strange intensity, vaguely awakened emotions that had been slumbering deep within.
“Hey, Song-i.”
“…….”
“Song Yi-ho!”
“Huh?”
Yi-ho answered a step late, as if startled.
Seeing the dazed Yi-ho, Min-gyu also felt awkward. I mean, it’s not like they were stark naked; it was just a kiss.
Seriously, Song Yi-ho is so naive even as an adult that he’s shocked by something like this. Min-gyu wrapped his arm around Yi-ho’s neck.
“Why are your pupils shaking like that? Our country is just too closed-minded; this is France. Same-sex marriage is probably legal here, right?”
“Really? They can get married?”
“Uh… probably?”
He had declared it confidently, but since he wasn’t actually sure, Min-gyu opened the 〈Total Guide to European Travel〉 booklet he had bought for the trip. Fortunately, he was right.
“Yep. The Netherlands was the first in the world to legalize same-sex marriage, then Belgium, Spain, Norway… and then France legally recognized it last year.”
“Oh…. Cha Min-gyu, you’re smart.”
No, he clearly saw me reading the guide book, so why give me a compliment like that? Also, just by looking at those wide eyes, he could tell it wasn’t just empty words.
If it had been anyone else, they would have stubbornly put him down, saying, ‘Hey, I could do that too if I looked at a book. Are you cheating?’ but Yi-ho’s words made Min-gyu feel proud over something trivial.
Song Yi-ho didn’t have the overflowing bravado typical of kids their age. He was gentle and plain. Perhaps because of that personality, he was generous with both praise and gratitude.
A glancing look fell upon the problematic screen they had been viewing. Looking at the same spot, Yi-ho hurriedly pressed the button to flip the screen. His face was still full of bashfulness.
The thought he had during the trip surfaced again.
‘…How does this guy actually survive in such a harsh world?’
He knew that Yi-ho was quite special to him compared to other friends.
In fact, that feeling hadn’t arisen on its own, but stemmed from the attitude Yi-ho showed. The way the dull fellow bought a sweet cake he didn’t even like just to pull off a surprise, the numerous photos that clumsily captured him….
All of it expanded its territory like rainwater forming a puddle. Song Yi-ho changed within him as time passed. Much like the person himself, the change was quiet, but when he looked back one day, he felt a surprising transformation.
So, the position of Yi-ho within Cha Min-gyu right now was… a level where he felt he would get very angry if Yi-ho experienced something bad in this harsh world because of that personality.
Well, what could he do?
‘I’ll just have to keep staying with him. If there are any bastards who treat him like trash, I’ll have to step in and clear them out.’
The flight back to Korea began boarding preparations. Let’s go. Yeah. Moving toward the crowded area, Min-gyu widened his stride and walked half a step ahead of Yi-ho.
The trip ended, the new semester began, and as he prepared for military enlistment, the thought Min-gyu had briefly harbored during the trip was soon forgotten. However, after that, the frequency of Min-gyu’s hand touching Yi-ho became a bit more frequent.