RND 59

“Aha.”

A long sigh escaped his lips.

“I should do it right away. Song Yi-ho’s boyfriend.”

Stumbling blindly down an unknown path wasn’t exactly Yi-ho’s taste, but since Min-gyu was by his side, it would be fine. Just as their first kiss and sex yesterday had been fine, so would the other things they didn’t know yet.

The perceptive Cha Min-gyu could read Yi-ho’s thoughts, even those he couldn’t put into words, just by observing the slightest changes in his expression.

“Yeah, Song-i. I’m right here.”

Min-gyu had said that even the day after they shared their bodies, he would call Yi-ho by his old nickname to prove that their steadfast bond of time had not collapsed. The moment that promise was fulfilled, Yi-ho pulled him in abruptly, even without the flushed heat of intercourse. Min-gyu’s body collapsed slightly over Yi-ho, sinking between the bed and his embrace. Min-gyu pressed his lips against Yi-ho’s neck, which had shrunk back ticklishly from the breath touching his ear. It was a ticklish and stimulating contact.

After sucking on the skin a couple of times, Min-gyu gave the same kiss to the jawline and was moving toward the lips when—

Ding-dong.

The loud sound of the doorbell broke the mood.

“Hey, outside….”

“It’s probably just a gas inspection or pest control. They’ll leave if they think no one’s home.”

…Probably. Yi-ho had only changed the subject out of shyness; he had no intention of stopping in this atmosphere. He was also curious about what more Min-gyu would do….

However, the interruption of the doorbell was persistent.

Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong.

“…It must be something really urgent.”

“What kind of bastard has no manners and does this on a weekend morning….”

Unlike the tender smile he had been giving Yi-ho, Min-gyu’s face turned fierce as he reluctantly pushed himself up. But Yi-ho kept it a secret that he felt a slight flutter of excitement at that change, in a different sense. Leaving Yi-ho behind, Min-gyu went into the living room and snatched up the intercom receiver.

“Who is…. …Sigh.”

By the time Min-gyu closed his eyes tight and bit his lip hard, Yi-ho, who had followed him out, also grasped the situation. It was because of the shouting coming from outside the door, which was impossible not to hear. Yi-ho went to the entrance first and opened the door.

“I want to play with Song-i Song-i’s uncle too!”

Min-jung, clutching a Jelly Jelly Roll doll in one arm, shouted sorrowfully.

On a weekend where the rain had finally stopped and the weather turned sunny, the two people who had just connected their hearts and taken their first steps as lovers the day before arrived at a large suburban kids’ cafe, with an elementary school child sandwiched between them.

“Uncle Song-i! Look over here!”

Min-jung, who had boldly climbed to a high point of the facility, waved his hands vigorously to catch his attention. Yi-ho also raised both arms high to signal that he was focusing on him.

Around Yi-ho, there were plenty of other guardians waving their hands toward their children just like he was. They were diligently taking photos of their children with their phones.

Oh, I see. Yi-ho also took out his phone and pointed the lens toward Min-jung. Min-jung’s expression brightened, and he leaned his face out toward them, making V-signs with both hands. A mischievous smile with a wrinkled nose appeared on his face.

Yi-ho zoomed in on Min-jung’s face, which had been captured from a distance.

‘Wow, he looks exactly like Cha Min-gyu….’

He looked strikingly similar to the face that had been smiling and teasing him this morning. He hadn’t noticed when they were standing side by side, but seeing the face enlarged, the eyes, nose, and mouth were a spitting image of the person who had just approached him.

“Song-i, I’m here. What are you looking at?”

“Ah, the photos I took of Min-jung. Want to see?”

“Is the little one playing well?”

“Yeah. He’s up there.”

“Geez, he’s really excited.”

Min-gyu crossed his arms and looked up at Min-jung, who had occupied the very top of the play structure. Then, he also took a few photos. He seemed to be taking them haphazardly, but the composition was much better than the ones in Yi-ho’s camera. Even if Min-jung was sticking his tongue out instead of striking a pretty pose for his older cousin’s camera.

“So ugly, seriously. Who does Cha Min-jung take after to be like that? I’m worried he’ll be teased as an ugly duckling at school.”

“…I think Min-jung looks a lot like you.”

“What? What are you talking about? Until puberty, I heard all the time how a boy could be this pretty.”

“He resembles that too, then….”

Min-gyu looked back at Yi-ho displeasedly. Now that he was conscious of it, this grumpy face was also very similar. The stubbornness and the way he pushed forward once he made up his mind, and the way he pressed the doorbell as if to break it this morning just to make someone look at him….

“Did you get in touch with your parents?”

“I told them to pick him up in front of the kids’ cafe in three hours.”

“Ah, Min-jung didn’t come alone, right? They came with him?”

“Yeah. Though they just dumped him and left. We had a big fight, so this won’t happen again.”

“Hmm? Come on… it’s not like this is the first or second time, and Min-jung probably came because he likes you, so why did you do that?”

“Because I have a lover now, and I have to spend time with my lover on the weekend.”

“…….”

“What if my lover dumps me because the mood was good this weekend but then this happened?”

“Would he really do that?”

“Since I’ve ended up meeting such a kind and gentle person, I should be the one to treat him well first.”

After a short silence, Min-gyu placed his palm on the small of Yi-ho’s back.

“Does your waist hurt?”

“…Ah, well….”

Even though it was noisy around them and likely no one but Yi-ho could hear, Yi-ho, whose heart wasn’t as bold as Min-gyu’s, couldn’t help but be startled.

“It’s a bit better than this morning….”

“That’s why I told you to just rest at home.”

Min-gyu had actually tried to take the wailing Min-jung back. However, seeing that the boy would face a gloomy weekend of being scolded by his older cousin the moment he left and failing to achieve his goal, Yi-ho had dissuaded him, suggesting they just play together.

Perhaps it was because he was a comrade who knew all too well how scary a truly angry Cha Min-gyu could be.

On the other hand, he was glad Min-jung had come. If that atmosphere from the morning had continued all day, he wouldn’t have been able to pull himself together. It was good that a gap was created like this, allowing him to calm himself down.

Of course, even so, it was true that the scene was excessively peaceful.

From a distance, he heard Min-jung calling, “Hyung-aaaa! Come over here!” Amidst the laughter and shouting of children filling the air, strangely, only that voice pierced straight into his ears. Min-jung, in the ball pit, was pointing and demanding that he be made to reach the basketball hoop above immediately.

Min-gyu gently stroked Yi-ho’s shoulder.

“Song-i, you go over there and rest for a bit. I’ll come feed him in about 30 minutes.”

“Hmm…, okay.”

“Min-jung’s Hyung-aaaa!!”

“Cha Min-jung, Hyung is coming, I’m coming.”

Min-gyu strode over and dove into the ball pit. Yi-ho rubbed his shoulder where the afterimage of Min-gyu’s hand remained. The gesture that would have been a pat or an arm around the shoulder if they were just friends had become slow and soft.

With his cheeks twitching, Yi-ho moved and sat at a table provided in a corner of the kids’ cafe. The other adults there, besides Yi-ho, looked like office workers who had been drained of all their energy by a project for several days. Yi-ho also felt like his soul was about to leave his body, even though it hadn’t even been an hour.

Looking over, Min-jung had claimed Min-gyu’s shoulders, and his height had shot up.

“He’s playing well.”

It went without saying that Min-jung was cute, and the sight of Min-gyu rolling around in the ball pit and playing with his younger cousin was tender and pleasant to see.

As he rested his chin on his hand and watched in that direction, a contented smile leaked from his lips. Then, he suddenly flinched.

He felt as if they had barely taken the first step into a relationship yesterday, so why did he suddenly feel like a married couple who had lived together for 30 years?

…The heart-pounding nervousness that had been there until a moment ago had also quieted down at some point.

Partly because with Min-jung’s appearance, they had returned to the way they had spent the last 15 years….

“Hmm….”

Even if he had no intention of making a fuss like students in love, this seemed to be a slightly different case.

After pondering for a moment, Yi-ho concluded that it didn’t really matter. Since dating Min-gyu in the first place was a situation he hadn’t predicted in the slightest, what did anything matter? It’s just hard to take the first step off the bungee jumping platform; once you jump, you feel like things will work out somehow.

Still, if there was one thing that had changed, it was that he no longer had to hide his greed to want to be together. After capturing a few photos of Min-gyu’s back, Yi-ho stood up to dive into the ball pit with them. At that moment, his phone rang with bad timing. The caller was someone Yi-ho had a problem to resolve with.

“Yes, hello.”

-Has the rainy season stopped there?

The grandmother, the landlord who owned unit 1801 where Min-gyu lived and unit 1802 where Yi-ho lived, stated her business immediately upon answering.

“Yes… I think it will be completely over by next week. It’s subsided a lot.”

-Then we should start the repairs for the leak.

The cool landlord did not avoid her duties as a lessor. It was something to be very grateful for.

-I’ll send someone after the weekend. You’ve worked hard. In this bad weather.

“Not at all….”

-Did you say you were staying at the house next door in the meantime?

“Ah, yes. I was indebted to a friend’s house.”

-It was a good idea to rent them out to friends together.

“Ahaha….”

Well, as a result, thanks to that, we are no longer just friends…. Though she probably didn’t expect this outcome at all.

-So, what are your thoughts on the lease contract?

“Uh….”

Ah, right. The contract expiration date was approaching.

Hearing Yi-ho’s hesitation, the person on the other end replied cynically.

-Since this happened, maybe you don’t want to live there anymore? Speak comfortably. But the sooner you tell me, the better.

“No, it’s not because of that, but I think I’ll have to discuss it with my friend. I’ll let you know before it’s too late.”

-Alright then.

After a few more words of ordinary small talk, the call ended. Yi-ho sat back down after standing awkwardly and opened an internet window. ‘Leak repair period’ was typed into the search bar.

“Uh….”

It was shorter than he thought. He thought it would take a long time, but it said that stopping the leak itself was possible in a day, not even several days. And it took about two days to redo the ceiling and wall paper….

No matter how much he dawdled while organizing things.

‘What, do I have to move out of Cha Min-gyu’s house by next week?’