#160

Side Story Episode 11

“I’m just kidding. I don’t get to see you like this often, so I found it fascinating.”

Jung-hyun raised an eyebrow crookedly. Even though he knew Jung-hyun’s expression wasn’t great, Ho-jae couldn’t stop grinning. He only stopped laughing after Jung-hyun finally flicked the bridge of his nose.

“I had forgotten. That you have a talent for getting on people’s nerves, Shin Ho-jae.”

“I do?”

“Isn’t your track record a bit too illustrious to play innocent?”

“If you’re talking about the old days, you weren’t exactly a saint either, Hyung.”

“I wasn’t?”

The situation of them both pretending not to know what the other was talking about was so funny that Ho-jae laughed. When Ho-jae laughed first, Jung-hyun, who had been wearing an uncomfortable face, followed suit with a chuckle.

“Did my laughter infect you again?”

“I suppose so.”

“Hyung. Come over here.”

Shin Ho-jae stretched out one arm on the bed. Jung-hyun pretended to give in and comfortably rested his head on Ho-jae’s arm, lying on his side. Shin Ho-jae also lay facing him and gently placed his palm on Jung-hyun’s swollen belly.

Through the point of contact, a faint pheromone began to spread. He could feel Jung-hyun letting out a long breath, as if he were relaxed.

As his belly grew, Jung-hyun found it difficult to sleep lying on his back and often changed positions throughout the night. Feeling sorry for him, Shin Ho-jae began to volunteer as a giant body pillow.

Though Jung-hyun had found it unfamiliar at first, he had eventually adapted completely and found this position the most comfortable. Listening to the sound of the quiet breathing, Ho-jae whispered in a low voice.

“…I think the house you used to live in would be good.”

Perhaps woken by that voice just as he was falling asleep, Jung-hyun asked back with a slightly delayed, “Hmm?”

“Did I wake you? I’m sorry. Go back to sleep.”

“I’m already awake. What do you mean, the house I used to live in?”

“You asked me earlier. About finding a house in Seoul.”

Jung-hyun responded with an “Ah.”

“Do you like that place? If it’s there, we could move in as early as tomorrow.”

“Yes. If we have a home in Seoul, I want it to be there.”

Jung-hyun lifted his head to meet Ho-jae’s eyes. Since the lights were already off, darkness had settled over the bedroom, but his pupils were faintly visible.

Ho-jae recalled that house. A large house standing solitary in the middle of a hill. A place where, upon pushing open the firmly locked main gate, a small garden with a few pine trees appeared. After a few steps across the stone slabs, the front door of the two-story house came into view.

Even now, he could recall every corner of the house’s layout. The shelf in front of the entrance where mail always piled up in a mess, the kitchen and living room at the end of the long hallway, the utility room leading to the backyard, the large washer and dryer. The narrow stairs connecting to the garage, and even the bedroom on the second floor. It was a precious house where his memories with Jung-hyun remained intact.

“I like that house.”

“I’ll tell Secretary Kim to get it ready. We’ll have to buy all new furniture, though; could you help me with just that?”

“I’d love to. Ah… come to think of it, I also have to pick out furniture for the house in the States.”

Tasks he had pushed to the back of his mind suddenly came flooding back simultaneously. He had just received photos of the accommodation provided by his new club, which they said already had basic furniture. It seemed the club had put some effort into decorating it, but there were still some lacking parts.

Of course, there was no great rush, so he could just return to the US and fill in the things he felt were necessary as he went…

“About that.”

While he was busy thinking, he heard Jung-hyun’s voice. Ho-jae looked at Jung-hyun, who was using his arm as a pillow.

“If you’re okay with it, Ho-jae, how about we live there together?”

“What?”

“Since we’ll be in the same state anyway, I wondered if there’s any need for us to have two separate houses.”

“…….”

Surprised, Ho-jae’s face stiffened slightly. Perhaps sensing the brief silence, Jung-hyun followed up with words that sounded like an excuse.

“That’s just my thought, but your thoughts might be different. Do whatever you’re comfortable with.”

“No, of course I’d love to. What are you talking about? Why do you think I’m clinging to your side right now?”

Jung-hyun let out a breathy laugh. Ho-jae pulled up his hand, which had been resting comfortably on his waist, and kissed each of his fingers one by one. His lips lingered a bit longer on the ring finger of the left hand before pulling away. He felt a gaze staring at him blankly in the darkness.

“What is it?”

“I just realized that I’ve become completely accustomed to you, Ho-jae.”

Not immediately understanding what that meant, Ho-jae looked at Jung-hyun.

“I told you to do as you pleased out of politeness, but in truth, I expected that you would be happy if I suggested merging our houses in the States.”

“What’s wrong with that? Isn’t it a good thing?”

“It’s just… fascinating. That I can take someone’s affection for granted like this.”

Jung-hyun spoke as if it were nothing special, but Shin Ho-jae could tell that countless words had been omitted from that sentence.

He felt something surge up inside him. And he was grateful to be such a person to him.

“Hyung, I love you.”

“…Me too.”

“Me too what?”

“What do you mean?”

“You should say it properly.”

“Do I have to?”

“Of course. We decided to be honest with each other starting today. This is an extension of that.”

Jung-hyun’s face, close by, vibrated very slightly. He had laughed.

“I’m only going to say it once, so the ‘I didn’t hear you’ trick won’t work.”

“When did I ever… Anyway, yes.”

“Ho-jae.”

Ho-jae unconsciously swallowed hard. Jung-hyun stopped mid-sentence and chuckled.

“Why are you looking at me with such an expectant face over a few words?”

“…Because they’re special words. And because they’re words I’ve never heard from you, Hyung.”

“Was that so?”

“It was. You’ve said it in passing, but you’ve never said it formally.”

“I guess I was wrong about that,” he murmured, his tone full of laughter. As Ho-jae looked at him with expectant eyes, Jung-hyun pushed himself up from the bed. Ho-jae’s surprised gaze followed his face.

“Then I suppose I need to set the mood a bit more.”

As if he meant it, Jung-hyun didn’t stop at sitting up; he turned on the indirect lighting by the bedside. A soft, eye-pleasing yellow light filled the area around the bed frame. Shin Ho-jae also sat up comfortably on the mattress, following Jung-hyun.

“I’m sorry that I asked you to become family but couldn’t even say these words properly.”

Startled by the apology, which was more formal than expected, Ho-jae shook his head hurriedly.

“No. I never thought that. I think I was just acting spoiled today. You don’t have to worry about it….”

“Today is the day we decided to be honest with each other. Be more spoiled. I’ll accept it.”

Shin Ho-jae looked at Jung-hyun with an awkward smile. The reason he had been acting spoiled was that he wanted Jung-hyun to lean on him more. However, it was too impatient of him to expect things to change overnight. Jung-hyun would also need time to get used to it.

Jung-hyun returned from the nightstand drawer with something. Ho-jae composed his expression and looked at him. Since Jung-hyun was bracing himself with his knees on the mattress, the mattress tilted slightly to one side.

“Actually, I have something prepared. I only received it yesterday because it required a special order, but I didn’t expect to give it to you this quickly.”

Something prepared? Unable to guess what he was talking about, Ho-jae blinked rapidly.

“I felt that even setting the mood in a better place wouldn’t be as romantic as the moment I say ‘I love you’ for the first time.”

Jung-hyun laughed softly.

“Ho-jae. I love you.”

“…Me too. I love you too.”

“I know.”

Jung-hyun took his hand. Just as Ho-jae tried to interlace their fingers and grip tightly, Jung-hyun moved Ho-jae’s hand first. Shin Ho-jae’s eyes widened.

Jung-hyun had slowly slipped a ring onto the ring finger of his left hand. It was a black ring, very light and intricately crafted. Surprised, Ho-jae lifted his left hand to his line of sight.

And an identical ring was placed on the opposite palm. Jung-hyun held out his left hand as if asking him to put it on. With a slightly trembling hand, Ho-jae slid the ring onto his long finger.

The black ring suited his skin—which looked like coffee milk with plenty of milk added—perfectly.

“In my opinion, I thought you’d prefer something one-of-a-kind in the world over something sparkling and expensive.”

“…One-of-a-kind in the world?”

“I ordered it to be made from that puck you dropped at Lake Louise. I also thought it would be more comfortable when exercising than one made of metal.”

“…….”

Ho-jae’s brow furrowed. An emotion that was difficult to describe rushed over him.

“How did you know my size?”

“I found out there’s a way to measure it. It was a bit hard because I had to do it secretly while you were sleeping.”

A laugh escaped him. He thought he had woken up immediately whenever Jung-hyun woke up in the early morning, but he never dreamed that he had been pulling such a cute stunt.

“Was it the method where you wrap a piece of paper around the finger?”

“How did you know?”

Jung-hyun’s eyes widened. Ho-jae smiled softly.

The fact that he, who was accustomed to a life surrounded by expensive and fine things, thought of wearing a ring made of a rubber puck was purely because of him.

A ring like this, which seemed like a child’s toy, could never suit the owner of Myeong-jeong. Yet, he had prepared such a ring simply because ‘Shin Ho-jae would like it more.’

He felt childish for having pestered him just to hear the words ‘I love you.’ No words could show his heart more perfectly than this single ring.

Shin Ho-jae grabbed his left hand and unconsciously squeezed it tight. It was because his eyes were starting to sting.

“Ho-jae?”

“……I just like it so much. I really love it.”

“Maybe I should have gotten one with a diamond.”

“No.”

Shin Ho-jae quickly wiped his eyes and looked up.

“If it’s that, I already did, so you don’t have to.”

“……What?”

Ignoring the bewildered look, Shin Ho-jae jumped up from the bed and brought over the duffel bag he always carried. Opening the zipper and reaching deep inside, Shin Ho-jae pulled out a small box that fit perfectly in his palm.

It was a size that anyone could tell contained a small metal ring. It was the same size as the one Jung-hyun had just produced.

“I’ve used that method of measuring ring sizes before, too.”

“…….”

Jung-hyun looked back and forth between the box and Shin Ho-jae’s face with a somewhat bashful smile. Shin Ho-jae cleared his throat for no reason and muttered an unnecessary excuse.

“When you go to the office, Hyung, I have more free time than you’d think.”

“So you bought a ring? There are only a few stores for this brand in the country.”

“I thought a sparkling ring like this would suit you, Hyung. …I didn’t really know which brands were good, so I barely managed to buy it while asking Yuk Du-min. I didn’t expect you to prepare one too.”

“Now we have two rings.”

“You wear the one I gave you, Hyung. I’ll wear the one you gave me.”

“Let’s just wear both. Like this.”

With a beaming smile, Jung-hyun put the platinum-colored ring Ho-jae gave him on the ring finger of his right hand. Fortunately, the ring fit perfectly on both hands. Ho-jae followed suit and put the ring on his right hand. Its presence was more significant than he had expected.

“If you go to the office with rings on both hands, won’t everyone ask?”

“Then I’ll just tell them. That it’s a ring given by the person I’m going to marry.”

Ho-jae met his eyes. Since he was in pajamas and had been lying down until a moment ago, one side of his hair was sticking up, but it looked so comfortable and lovely. Ho-jae grabbed his waist and kissed him. It was a childlike bird kiss, but it felt like the most memorable kiss among the many they had shared today. As they pulled their lips apart, Jung-hyun blinked slowly.

“I’m sorry to interrupt this romantic moment, but my eyes keep closing.”

“Come here.”

Shin Ho-jae opened his arms wide. Jung-hyun moved into his embrace, and Ho-jae lightly hugged his waist and slowly lay back down on the bed.

Jung-hyun rested his head on Shin Ho-jae’s thick arm and slowly closed his eyelids. Sleep washed over him instantly.

Just as he was about to surrender to the slumber, one thing he hadn’t told Ho-jae came to mind. He had intended to tell him that he wanted to name the new company after Shin Ho-jae.

However, he didn’t feel impatient. Tomorrow, the day after, and anytime after that, there would always be opportunities to tell him.

｜Puck Drop Side Story｜ Complete