By Zephyria Ah, it’s autumn.
Looking at the scenery outside the window, they had now fully entered autumn. Hawaii would still be like summer now. Seo-woon looked at the dry autumn scenery and once again thought of Hawaii. When was it that they returned from their honeymoon, yet the Hawaiian scenery still shimmers before his eyes. Hawaii was really nice. An indescribable leisure overflowed everywhere, and there were many things to do and eat. For Seo-woon, that is.
Seo-woon, who had once decided on divorce just two days into marriage, had eaten and played better than anyone during her honeymoon. It was a so-called hotel vacation combined with a honeymoon.
After the second day of marriage, while Seo-woon received massages or lounged on sunbeds enjoying leisure, Yi-jin worked. He worked fucking hard. Then when Seo-woon got hungry and called for Yi-jin, the two would go eat. The restaurant recommendation list created with the blood and sweat of Hawaii branch employees was undefeated, and as a result, Seo-woon had to board the plane back to Korea with plumped cheeks. (Of course, he also ate the in-flight meal. Thanks to Yi-jin waking up the sleeping Seo-woon like crazy.)
When playing alone got boring, Seo-woon would call Yi-jin to walk the beach together. They also enjoyed simple leisure sports. The marine activities themselves were fun, but he stopped after doing them once. Just because something was fun didn’t mean it wasn’t tiring. What Seo-woon needed, having been busy without rest right up until the wedding, was vacation, not exercise.
By this point, Seo-woon no longer saw Yi-jin holed up in the study as bad. Although Yi-jin had worked even during their honeymoon, he never refused Seo-woon’s requests, and thanks to that, Seo-woon could spend his days playing and eating exactly to his taste.
…This is better than I thought? He even thought that later. Seo-woon adapted perfectly. While he had been worried at first, Yi-jin never looked down on Seo-woon or gave him attitude just because he himself was working. Rather, he thought highly of Seo-woon. This happened early in their honeymoon.
“Are you awake?”
“…Did I sleep?”
“Yes. You were sleeping.”
“When did I fall asleep…”
“It’s been quite a while. Just what I know, it’s been 2 hours and 10 minutes.”
“…Oh, yes.”
He had fallen asleep crumpled on the sofa despite having a perfectly good bed. Right after coming up to the room after eating breakfast, no less. What kind of animal… Seo-woon fumbled around his mouth area. His skin felt smooth and glossy from adequate sleep and abundant meals. Fortunately, it seemed he hadn’t drooled.
Wow, I must have looked like complete trash. As he belatedly prepared to get up, there was a laptop on the table that hadn’t been there before. Judging by the XX Electronics logo, it was Yi-jin’s laptop. (Seo-woon hadn’t even brought his, and it was a YY Electronics product, a competitor of XX Electronics.) He didn’t know when it had come out, but Yi-jin must have been working here instead of in the study.
…He wasn’t watching me the whole time, was he? Embarrassment hit him belatedly. Should he make excuses about being tired yesterday? But he had eaten and slept too well yesterday to do that. As if sensing Seo-woon’s complex feelings, Yi-jin spoke in a quite serious tone.
“You really seem amazing, Seo-woon.”
“What now?”
“Being this instinctive yet not losing your reason and maintaining daily life. It’s really admirable.”
Is this an insult or a compliment? Either way felt uncomfortable, but at least now he knew. That was real. He’s for real! Yi-jin was sincere.
Then wasn’t that enough? His not-fully-awake rational thinking skillfully soothed Seo-woon. Hey, don’t think more about it. He said you’re amazing. He said you’re admirable!
Right, right. Whatever it was, good things were good. Seo-woon swaggered around with his hair sticking up sky-high. Praise makes even Seo-woon dance.
“I know.”
“Even self-objectification, you really are amazing.”
“This isn’t anything amazing…”
Clap clap clap! Suddenly Yi-jin clapped his hands. And how well he clapped – the applause was so loud and clear.
“To even have humility.”
“Is, is that so?”
“Yes. You must have been uncomfortable sleeping on the sofa, would you like to have a light snack?”
“It wasn’t that uncomfortable…”
“You really are amazing. Others would have woken up in the middle from discomfort.”
Seo-woon received another round of applause at this point. He also received a room service menu. I’m not really hungry though… Seo-woon muttered this while dutifully looking through the menu and ordering. Right. It seemed like it was from that day. Seo-woon began to become genuinely lazy.
Come to think of it, there was one more thing. From this day on, Yi-jin became synchronized. Whatever he saw Seo-woon as, whenever Seo-woon seemed a bit bored (or woke up from a nap), Yi-jin was busy bringing room service menus. “We just ate, what more are we going to eat?” He’d say that, but when the room service actually arrived, his heart felt differently, so Seo-woon diligently tasted everything.
Then they’d waddle out for a walk with full stomachs. Those were the kind of days. The number of meetings was still stuck at five, but being together all day, they managed to keep conversations going. Mostly about food, but still.
Walking the beach while having random chatter with each other, they’d keep walking without noticing time pass. On the last night, they even held hands. Looking at the sunset beach, Seo-woon’s heart somehow swelled up, so he reached out first. Having already had sex, why be surprised? At first, Yi-jin was stiff like a jointed doll, but he carefully took Seo-woon’s hand in return. Only his touch was careful – his grip strength in clutching Seo-woon’s hand was not gentle at all, making Seo-woon unconsciously curse. People can swear when they’re surprised. Seo-woon still thinks that way.
“I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. I was just surprised…”
“But you swore.”
“…Hey. How is that swearing? It’s an exclamation.”
“You clearly said ‘shibal’…”
“Oh, a shooting star!”
Oh my, a shooting star! Where, where? Korean couples positioned nearby lifted their heads like meerkats at Seo-woon’s hastily made-up lie to cover his mistake. Fortunately, Yi-jin’s situation wasn’t much different. Of course, for different reasons.
“That’s strange. This isn’t the time when meteors are easily visible. What exactly was the color of the light? Where was its position?”
“Uh, I don’t remember well… Since this is Hawaii, maybe they’re more visible here?”
“Regardless of the type of meteor or the observer’s position, meteors are generally most visible around 1 AM.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Of course, it’s not probabilistically impossible. If a meteoroid chases Earth faster than Earth’s orbital speed and enters the atmosphere, even in the evening hours…”
Again, whatever the case, what’s good is good. It was also Seo-woon’s motto. That day, Seo-woon held hands with Yi-jin and gazed at Hawaii’s night sky for a long time. The scenery was as beautiful as a living postcard, complete with background music. It was an astronomical story that began with the shooting star that Seo-woon had launched.
The warmth of their clasped hands was cozy, and the sea breeze tickling their faces was pleasantly lukewarm. The two stayed like that until the sun set and complete darkness arrived. Whether it was her mood or not, he didn’t know, but as Yi-jin chattered about astronomical topics – planets, satellites, constellations – that Seo-woon had no interest in, his voice seemed a little excited, so he just wanted to keep it that way. It’s one of Seo-woon’s few honeymoon-like memories.
And now, at this time in Korea, Seo-woon was enjoying the leisure of a cup of coffee at a cafe during a weekday afternoon. The newlywed period – just hearing the word makes your heart flutter. Others say they’re busy overturning dinner tables just from making eye contact, but Seo-woon herself wanders outside the house every single day.
This is all because of the weather. The Korean weather, having fully entered autumn, keeps making people crawl out of their homes. The clear autumn sky is high and blue, and coffee made by others is always right. He still ends up ordering iced drinks after deliberation, but the season for warm coffee isn’t far off. By the end of November, it will be much colder than now.
It’s only a month away, yet right now it just feels distant. Seo-woon blankly tried to gauge the date. By the end of November, Min-young’s college entrance exam would be over and her aunt’s birthday would be approaching. And also…
– Seo-woon!
“Yes, auntie.”
– You packed everything properly, right? Nothing’s missing?
Our auntie isn’t exactly a lady either. Next to Seo-woon, who was answering the phone, large kimchi containers were lined up. How much trouble he had gone through to bring these kimchi containers inside the cafe.
Seo-woon checked the number of kimchi containers again. Three containers in total. A whopping three containers. At this rate, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he had taken out all the remaining aged kimchi. What’s more, one container was bachelor radish kimchi, which made her heart heavier. Aged bachelor radish kimchi, that’s what Min-young likes…
“I packed everything. Three containers total, right?”
These kimchi containers, no different from weapons, were auntie’s masterpiece gift. Precisely a birthday gift, with Seo-woon handling the delivery.
– Yeah, that’s right. It was heavy, wasn’t it? You brought it safely without getting hurt, right?
“Of course. It was right in front of the entrance, so it was easy to carry. You could have just left it there and I would have gotten it myself. Wasn’t it heavy for you?”
– This girl, of course I made your uncle do it. He lifted that thing this morning and already hurt his back again. I wonder if that guy’s spine is made of glass…
Ah, uncle again…! What’s so special about this birthday that I don’t know how many people have already been harmed. I don’t want to believe it, but this is all happening because of just one person – Seo-woon. Seo-woon fiddled with her coffee cup with an even heavier heart.
– By the way, I’m worried whether it’ll suit the in-laws’ taste. They must have lived eating only healthy things – I hope I’m not doing something unnecessary.
“Of course not. I think they’ll really love it.”
– I hope so, but… I’m worried about embarrassing you.
“That won’t happen, so please don’t say such things.”
Thank goodness it’s a phone call. At least he doesn’t need to manage his facial expressions. Seo-woon worked hard to reassure his aunt while hiding his true feelings.
Kimchi as a gift to a chaebol family that everyone would recognize by name, would they really like it? In front of his aunt, he naturally boasted that they would, but honestly Seo-woon doesn’t know either. Even when trying not to be conscious of it, only stories about a married acquaintance’s tale of eating a hundred sweet potatoes or crazy in-law stories he saw on the internet come to mind. Especially since the other party is who they are.
Still, any reasonable person would at least pretend to be grateful, so he can only hope for minimum common sense. When they went on their honeymoon, at least Yi-jin was beside him, but Seo-woon’s heart was heavy facing this historic solo visit to the in-laws.
– It’s a shame after being invited and all. Why did that Yeo Min-young only mention the parent consultation now…
“How did the consultation go?”
– Not yet. I just arrived. She won’t even come out after I scolded her this morning. What should I do with this kid?
“It’s a sensitive time. I’ll try to comfort her well.”
– Oh my, don’t even mention it. She’s like a complete tyrant. Being a senior in high school is like having a title, a title. All the family members are busy reading Yeo Min-young’s mood. You’ll understand when you have kids too, Seo-woon. Nothing is as uncontrollable as children.
Sorry to Min-young, but it’s fortunate that the conversation topic changed. Thanks to that, Seo-woon was able to end the call talking only about Min-young.
After finishing even the phone call, there really wasn’t much time left now. The appointment time he had secretly hoped wouldn’t come was approaching. The seating was already uncomfortable, but thinking about going with kimchi containers made everything look dark already.
The delivery destination for the three containers of aged kimchi that made Seo-woon anxious was none other than Hannam-dong, Yi-jin’s family home. Seo-woon was going to Yi-jin’s aunt’s birthday party today. Not as Yi-jin’s husband, but representing his aunt who was invited to the birthday party. By the way, he’s going alone without Yi-jin. He’s not in Korea right now.
That bastard really went on a long business trip. Just when he thought they might finally do something together, he left without even having that chance.
Seo-woon resolutely left the cafe. What is there in life? Even if you can’t eat, go! I have alimony! Now it’s time for the final battle.
* * *
The power of three containers of aged kimchi packed tight even with the broth was tremendous. Seo-woon was continuously panting heavily with him back to the picture-perfect garden.
Although he had greeted them when returning from the honeymoon, they had met outside then. If he had known it was this kind of house, he wouldn’t have sent the taxi away at the entrance. What kind of house is so big, he had to walk quite a while from the mansion entrance to reach the front door. He should have asked to be taken all the way inside. It was too late for regrets. The taxi had left, and three kimchi containers sat beside Seo-woon’s feet.
Anyone would think he was having a heat cycle or something. Seo-woon caught his breath and checked his outfit once more. Meeting adults is always nerve-wracking. Not just because they’re Yi-jin’s family, but because of Seo-woon’s own pressure not to disappoint his uncle and aunt. It might even be victim mentality.
A kid who grew up without parents and didn’t receive proper family education. Even if he heard such words now, he wouldn’t be as hurt as when he was young, but this is a matter of pride. The young Seo-woon who used to get hurt by every piece of cheap sympathy thrown out in passing like charity is gone.
As Seo-woon gradually matured, he especially tried to appear well-mannered in front of adults. Regardless of his inner circumstances, he didn’t want to show even the slightest flaw on the surface. During the meeting between families, he had rushed through it with the attitude that at worst it would just be a broken engagement, but now the weight was different. Not only his own pride, but also the sacrifice and effort of his uncle and aunt who raised him were at stake. Above all, an experience like his own collapse once was enough. This was long before Seo-woon met Yi-jin.
The magnificent front door embedded with sculptures that you’d only see in museums looked particularly enormous. No matter how big and impressive, it’s just a front door, yet why was opening this door so frightening? Even though he could no longer find that young self who used to cry under the showerhead while washing his hair because there was nowhere to cry freely, firsts are always difficult and scary.
But it’s okay. This too shall pass. What he learned as he became an adult was that the world doesn’t collapse so easily, and tomorrow’s sun will rise tomorrow.
It’s okay. I’ll be okay. Seo-woon maturely consoled himself. There’s nothing to be intimidated by. Don’t shrink back. Even if such feelings arise, never show it in front of other people. That’s when it happened. Suddenly the door opened.
“Oh my!”
With a single scream, a beautiful middle-aged woman wearing a feathered beret was staring at Seo-woon with wide eyes. Wow… I thought I was watching a musical. He stood there dazed at the surreal sight, but only briefly – warning sirens blared in his head. Greetings! When you meet adults, greetings first!
Unlike his flustered mind, Seo-woon was politely bowing. It was a feat accomplished by survival instinct.
“Hello, aunt. How have you been all this time…”
“Good heavens!”
And he was ignored. Bang! The massive front door made as heavy a sound as it looked. Yi-jin’s aunt had long since gone into the house. What’s going on here…? From beyond the firmly closed front door, the aunt’s high-pitched voice could be heard.
“Seo-woon is outside!”
So she closed it thinking I was someone else. That’s even stranger. What, what is it? Did I make some mistake?
He was scared at first, but fortunately the anxiety didn’t last long. Bang! The door opened, and they came out. An era of chaos beyond anxiety had arrived.
“Seo-woon is here!”
“You must have had a hard time getting here.”
“How have you been?”
“It’s even better to see you after so long!”
“Father! Uncle! Seo-woon is here!”
“What? Already? I didn’t get any word from Driver Yoon?”
“Seo-woon! Good to see you!”
It’s loud. That was the first thought he had. Alphas and omegas subtly resembling Yi-jin poured out, competing to welcome Seo-woon. While he was grateful they welcomed him so warmly, he wondered if they had to welcome him exactly this way. Why were they all so tall, Seo-woon found himself surrounded by the Ahn family members before he knew it. Seo-woon wasn’t short either, but being surrounded by people a head taller than him didn’t feel great. Even the omegas in this family were tall.
“Oh my, what’s all this?”
“Ah, these are gifts from my aunt…”
“Our in-laws really. We told them not to prepare anything, and they bring such precious things.”
“Seo-woon prepared gifts?”
“That’s what he says!”
“With all this luggage, you came alone? What about Driver Yoon?”
“Oh, I just took a taxi…”
“Good heavens! All the way here alone without a driver!”
“Seo-woon came all the way here by himself?”
“That’s what he says!”
“Seo-woon came?”
“Did anyone get word from Driver Yoon?”
It’s chaotic. Quite a lot, chaotic. There’s one Seo-woon but question mark serial killers are bombarding him with questions from all directions. He thought he’d prepared mentally enough, but this was completely useless. He still hadn’t properly greeted anyone. Hadn’t greeted them, but… I don’t know. I don’t know anything, but I’d like them to at least accept my greeting first. Preferably starting with the kimchi container.
Why was that bastard born as the youngest? Since all the in-laws were older relatives, it was hard to interrupt first. With everyone just saying their own piece, and no one stepping in to control things like on the day they met the families, the commotion continued endlessly. Help me, you bastard Jini! Seo-woon finally felt the absence of that fucking guy.
“Wait, what’s this? Did everyone know?”
What stopped the seemingly endless welcoming ceremony was today’s main character, Yi-jin’s aunt. He was looking back and forth between Seo-woon and the family with a somewhat displeased expression.
Startled by the cold gaze, Seo-woon quickly straightened his posture. Adults observed everything from standing posture to minor speech habits. The conclusion was naturally “home education.” The aunt spoke.
“There was no talk of more guests coming.”
“Of course not. It’s a surprise!”
Excuse me? A surprise? Seo-woon had unknowingly become a surprise gift. The excited family each chimed in.
“If we told you beforehand, how would that be a surprise?”
“Right, right!”
“Ta-da! Our prepared gift, Seo-woon!”
“Sister, happy birthday!”
“Happy birthday, aunt!”
The old saying goes you can’t steal someone’s nature. Liking surprises must also run in the family. What powerful genes. Though he didn’t want to believe it, it seemed like Seo-woon’s aunt-in-law, who didn’t share a drop of blood, was also part of this gang.
While everyone celebrated the success of the surprise, the aunt’s stern face showed no signs of softening. He hoped only he felt this way, but it seemed like others saw it too.
“What exactly is this supposed to be?”
At the sharp voice, everyone stopped laughing one by one and began reading the aunt’s mood. Seo-woon, who had unintentionally contributed most to this surprise, also looked. But why me? It felt so unfair, but there was no other choice. The feeling wasn’t good.
“…This is so wonderful! Come here, my gift! Mmm! Thank you for coming! I’ll gladly receive this birthday present!”
There was one fact Seo-woon overlooked here. He forgot that Yi-jin’s aunt was also Ahn family blood. Seo-woon was suddenly grabbed by the shoulders and received kisses on both cheeks. What just happened to my cheeks…? He was dumbfounded. He’d done baisers, which he’d only seen on monitors, with an Asian person – and with an in-law he’d met exactly three times as of today.
Clap clap clap! For some unknown reason, he also received sudden applause.
“Good heavens! I was really surprised!”, “We got outsmarted!”, “Well, our Sunny, not bad!”, “As expected, we can’t beat the lady.”, “Our aunt is the best!”. Everyone except Seo-woon seemed moved by the aunt’s surprise attack.
At this point, Seo-woon realized another surprising fact. A strange guy I know is better than strange people I don’t know well. It was a night when he especially thought of our organization fairy who had left for a long business trip.
“Welcome to our home!”
Ah, I fucking want to go home from work. It was a spectacular initiation ceremony that would never happen again in Seo-woon’s life.
“Amazing!”
“How can kimchi taste like this!”
“Kimchi made with care is definitely different.”
The aftermath of the initiation hadn’t subsided when auntie’s aged kimchi opened the prelude to the birthday party. While Seo-woon felt inwardly relieved, he still couldn’t adapt to this situation. What Seo-woon had prepared was a defensive stance against crazy in-law stories, not this kind of chaos.
The familiar kimchi containers placed in the center of the vast marble dining table, and the people. Everyone was tasting the aged kimchi with textbook-perfect elegant postures, but please, if they could just eat it normally. It’s just kimchi after all. Even if they were eating some delicacy that didn’t exist in the world, they wouldn’t act like this. Could this be some new form of harassment? Only Seo-woon, who was listening, felt like going crazy. What made it worse was that he was occupying the center seat at the table. Graciously, Seo-woon had been granted the seat next to the aunt, who was today’s main character.
Yi-jin’s family was eating aged kimchi without any rice. Please, if only they would eat it with rice too. Watching made Seo-woon’s mouth feel salty. As if reading Seo-woon’s wishes, Yi-jin’s father, who had been savoring the bachelor radish kimchi, completely stopped moving.
“…Gasp!”
Then he cried. But why on earth? Chairman Ahn Yi-sun’s shoulders shook. Seo-woon’s bewilderment shook along with them. So why exactly! It was a moment when he missed his artificial intelligence that used to execute encyclopedia functions without being asked.
“How happy this is.”
Huh? Suddenly? Soon after, the other family members nodded vigorously. He didn’t know why they were all suddenly acting like this, but at times like this, it’s best to just stay still. Ha, haha… Seo-woon appropriately conserved his words while trying to maintain a smiling face. The family members were each moved to tears, getting emotional.
“Family members facing each other.”
“Spending time together.”
“A life of celebrating birthdays.”
“It’s truly happiness.”
“Indeed, life isn’t all about money.”
“If it weren’t for Jini, we might never have known for our whole lives.”
“Jini is our family’s blessing.”
“Our family’s blessing indeed!”
“Of course! Absolutely!”
Right, right. That’s correct. A life where family members face each other, spend time together, and celebrate birthdays, it’s happy. It’s happy, but he wondered if it was necessary to go this far. While he was awkwardly rolling his eyes at the atmosphere he couldn’t adapt to, suddenly all around became quiet.
“Seo-woon-ssi, thank you for becoming family with us.”
“Having such a good person like Seo-woon-ssi as Jini’s companion, we’re truly delighted.”
Like Yi-jin, people in this family seem to be naturally serious about everything. Having no immunity to such overt praise, the awkwardness wouldn’t subside in many ways. It was also bewildering.
“No, no. I’m the one who should be grateful that you think of me that way… I’ll try hard not to disappoint… no, I’ll do my best.”
A total disaster. He even stammered and added unnecessary interjections. This would make the adults dislike him…
Contrary to Seo-woon’s worries, praise burst forth instead. “…How modest he is too!” Me? Thanks to that, only Seo-woon felt embarrassed.
“That child being our family – we’re truly blessed.”
“It seems like our blessings have increased, don’t you think?”
“Deongi! How about Deongi as Seo-woon’s nickname?”
“Cute. But Wooni seems good too!”
“Which one would be better?”
“Seo-woon, will you choose for us?”
Wait, hold on. How did the conversation turn this way? Using the excuse of being embarrassed, he had casually listened to their conversation, and now he was naturally faced with a predicament.
Having suffered all kinds of teasing since childhood because of his name that closely resembled a specific adjective, Seo-woon was very sensitive to acts of renaming. Not lying, he had heard word plays like “Seo-woon says she’s Seo-woon (sad)” more than a hundred times. Though the case was different now, whatever it was, ‘Deongi’ was not acceptable. It’s not okay!
“Thanks to Seo-woon-ssi, we became family with such a good person like our Misuk, and we even received such a precious gift that Misuk personally made for her family… I’m so happy!”
If Yi-jin’s aunt hadn’t choked up at that moment, Seo-woon would have lost her reason right then and there. Not Deongi. Really not! The aunt was moved and gazing longingly at auntie’s kimchi containers. Seo-woon still couldn’t believe that those kimchi containers were in this house.
“Come to think of it, I don’t know how to repay our in-laws.”
“Giving us three containers of such precious things.”
“How about a new car?”
“I heard their daughter is taking the college entrance exam. How about preparing a university gift too?”
Again, again, again. They’re getting ahead again. It was surprising that kimchi and cars were equivalent, but now even university gifts. Looking at it continuously, he seemed to understand the pattern somewhat. Instead of stopping them, Seo-woon naturally redirected their attention.
“Aunt, I also prepared a gift.”
That one sentence led to quite a commotion. It was a gift that Seo-woon, who had belatedly learned about the aunt’s birthday, had prepared together with Yi-jin after asking him, but all the family members unanimously stopped Seo-woon. They didn’t even let her take it out.
“Actually, we don’t exchange gifts among ourselves.”
“Especially not monetary gifts.”
“Cards are included too.”
The gift Seo-woon and Yi-jin had prepared was a credit card. It was entirely following Yi-jin’s opinion. Yi-jin said he made credit cards in his name every year to give as gifts to family members. He added that creating situations where they could have what they wanted was the most efficient approach. He wondered if that would really work, but since it was a family living in a different world, he had no choice but to accept it. That’s why he was even more worried about auntie’s kimchi gift.
But they said they wouldn’t accept it. Unlike Seo-woon, who didn’t understand, the family members were calm.
“It’s our own effort not to repeat mistakes, so please don’t feel hurt.”
“We don’t want to go back to those times again.”
He could instinctively tell. This was an extremely private area. The truth itself, not all the speculation and rumors surrounding Yi-jin’s family – the most secret story that only they would know. Yi-jin’s uncle, who had somehow become immersed in old memories, added to the story.
“It’s been much more than 10 years already. Back then, whenever we turned on the TV, Seoni appeared.”
“Ah, that’s right. Father, who we couldn’t see at home, appeared on the news every day.”
“That’s right. You still remember it vividly. On days when Seoni couldn’t come home because of the prosecution investigation, we’d sit Jini down and turn on the news first…”
It’s different. Every family has someone reminiscing about old memories, but the weight, the dimension of it is different. It was natural for Seo-woon to close his mouth in alarm. Being startled was one thing, but Seo-woon also knew about this matter, which made him more careful with words. He couldn’t not know. There was a time when every TV channel was talking about Chairman Ahn Yi-sun’s story. Of course, it wasn’t a good story.
“We don’t think we lost it, but it seems different for Jini.”
“Rather, he thinks we suffered extreme losses because of him.”
“Exactly. The important thing isn’t money…”
“Still, he’s changing little by little, isn’t he?”
“Right, right! Although he really did… go on a business trip…”
At this point, everyone’s gaze focused on Seo-woon. Was it his imagination, or did they all seem genuinely sorry toward Seo-woon?
That’s right. Seo-woon answered only in his mind. He really went, that guy. As you know, the crisis of divorce came on the first day of their honeymoon, but somehow they made it to now. The long business trip began less than a week after they returned from their honeymoon. If you count the honeymoon as their fifth meeting, he supposed they’d seen each other at least ten times before he left. It would be a lie to say it didn’t bother him, but since it was a business trip scheduled from before Seo-woon met him, he decided to let it go.
Yi-jin was on a business trip crossing borders, while Seo-woon lived his own daily life. Alone yet not alone, a daily life that had become a bit more chaotic than before. At the center of it was Yi-jin.
[Good morning. I hope you have a good day.]
[I will handle simple work for the next 1 hour and 20 minutes, then finish my morning exercise and move to the meeting location.]
[The meeting is expected to take about 4 hours, and depending on circumstances…]
This guy can’t be a gentleman either. How does he know what I’m thinking and send messages at exactly the right time? Maybe because he knows about Seo-woon’s evening schedule today, it’s earlier than usual. The night before Yi-jin’s long business trip, Seo-woon had told him to contact him before sleep since he’d be too busy once he left, and throughout the entire trip, he’d been sending these survival reports adjusted to Korean time.
This is why he can’t completely hate him. Seo-woon felt self-deprecating as he skimmed through Yi-jin’s past messages. Certainly compared to the beginning, they were much more concise now. At first, they were almost report-level. Actually, it seemed like they could be shortened even more.
“Seo-woon?”
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
Human adaptability was this frightening. Even while thinking they could be shortened more, when a message actually arrived, he’d end up reading every single line. He’d been doing this for a month now, so it had become a habit if anything.
“Could it be…”
“No way…?”
“Jini…?”
Is this really that surprising? “…Yes, that’s right. I got a message from Yi-jin…” When he conveyed the facts as they were while feeling puzzled, everyone lifted their heads like meerkats. They seemed somewhat moved. Even though the table was being filled with food, everyone was only looking at Seo-woon. He could guess what they were curious about, but it seemed difficult to tell them the pink newlywed episodes they wanted. Yi-jin’s message was densely packed with his daily schedule.
[I’m sorry I can’t go with you today.]
Along with an apologetic message considering Seo-woon being alone. It was closer to a survival report than a casual check-in. Still, the reaction was tremendous.
“Good heavens, this is incredible!”
“To think you’re personally communicating with Jini!”
“Exchanging messages outside of work!”
Is this really such an amazing thing? Anyone watching would think he’d received a love letter written in blood. Seo-woon felt a bit dazed by the family’s loud reaction.
“To think you have conversations with Jini!”
“To think conversations with Jini are possible!”
“To think you listen to what Jini says!”
“…That’s only natural…”
They weren’t even teasing – listening to this, they were stating the obvious. Just as Seo-woon was about to feel a bit offended, Yi-jin’s aunt spoke with a humorless face.
“Natural, you say? We failed at what Seo-woon accomplished, how is that natural?”
Failure, she said. The nuance of the word “failure” wasn’t something easily forgotten, and even though he’d only heard it once, its presence was vivid.
“We couldn’t do that natural thing, so we took a long detour. We had to pay with money and honor, many things. We also gained an indelible disgrace that will last a lifetime.”
Following failure, now disgrace came up. After the initial confusion, with negative words coming one after another, he had some vague recollections following the earlier conversation. The first chaebol figure to be ousted from chairman position, the downfall of XX Group that completely ruined one of its subsidiaries. Though it was all past history compared to their current glory, it didn’t seem that way to them. This time Yi-jin’s uncle spoke.
“Even so, we couldn’t turn back time. Probably never will.”
“……”
“It’s sad, but who can we blame? We were the ones who missed the opportunity. That’s why we’re even more grateful and think Seo-woon is amazing.”
Yi-jin’s family had shown unconditional favor toward Seo-woon from the family meeting until now. They hadn’t opposed the marriage of two people with objectively large differences. Seo-woon asked carefully.
“Amazing?”
“Amazing. You recognized Jini.”
Though Yi-jin’s mother answered, no one disagreed. Everyone seemed to think the same.
“You recognized what kind of person Jini is. You worried and thought while having conversations together. We couldn’t do that. Back then we were too greedy, so no one listened to the child. We were just busy.”
What should one say at times like this? At the story that seemed light yet heavy, Seo-woon couldn’t say anything. He couldn’t gauge whether he dared cross this line, and if so, where exactly would be okay.
“Still, to think he’d really go on a business trip… Really, he’s exactly like us when we were young.”
“We tried to stop him somehow…”
“All he saw growing up was just us…”
“We’re truly ashamed toward you, Seo-woon.”
Fortunately, the heavy story didn’t last long. When the conversation found its place again, Seo-woon, who had only been listening quietly, finally spoke.
“Not at all. That can happen. It’s not like he did it on purpose…”
Understanding Jini…! At Seo-woon’s reaction that was generous to the point of being benevolent, the family’s eyes reddened. With those words, Seo-woon, who had been lost in thought for a moment, unconsciously muttered his true feelings.
“…But there won’t be a second time.”
“Of, of course!”, “Naturally!”, “Of course it should be…!”. Yi-jin’s family made a fuss while watching Seo-woon’s reaction. “So, someone should contact Jini right away…!” It seemed like someone shouted that amidst the endearing commotion. “…Don’t do that… if we let the two of them talk directly…” The family’s secret whispers soon turned into action.
“We miss our Jini.”
“We’re going to forget what Jini’s face looks like.”
Is that a face you could forget? Only Seo-woon, who had planned to live his whole life on the strength of that face, was bewildered.
“It would be nice if we could at least hear his voice…”
“When we contact him, he’s busy asking about business first…”
“Or else it’s all work talk…”
So they want me to be a bridge, right? Seo-woon was amazingly quick to catch on. Well, it wouldn’t be difficult. It’s not just anything – it’s his aunt’s birthday, so surely he wouldn’t refuse a phone call. Encouraged by their fervent requests, Seo-woon composed a message to send to Yi-jin.
[If you’re not too busy, want to talk on the phone briefly?]
[Video call.]
He’d never done a video call before, but since he was with the family now, a video call seemed better. Actually, Seo-woon had never had a single phone conversation while Yi-jin was on his business trip. It wasn’t intentional – it was thanks to the perfect written survival reports that made phone calls unnecessary.
Maybe that’s why. When a call actually came in under Yi-jin’s name, he was a bit startled. The three characters of the name on his phone felt strangely unfamiliar. It had been so long that it felt awkward for no reason. Seo-woon subtly cleared his voice and answered the phone amidst everyone’s cheers.
– Seo-woon.
The call connected cleanly without any noise. As always, Yi-jin was wearing a shirt today too. The familiar face he was seeing for the first time in a month filled the screen, looking at Seo-woon. Strange yet familiar emotions crossed.
– Is there something wrong?
It had been a long time since hearing his voice too. Maybe that’s why. He felt strange. The straightforward eyes that never avoided his gaze, the polite manner of speaking that belonged in textbooks, the consistently handsome face from when he first saw him until now – everything was the same, but Seo-woon was alone with his heart fluttering, clearing his throat for no reason.
It seemed like there was a mint scent coming from somewhere. The family members who had been watching Seo-woon attentively just moments before were now holding their breath while making silent commotion among themselves. They’re so obvious. Now he knew. That was clearly the look of planning a surprise.
…Didn’t see it. I didn’t see anything. Seo-woon turned his gaze back to his phone. I repeat, a strange guy I know is better than strange people I don’t know well.
– Seo-woon?
Right. This bastard. The fucking guy who left for a long business trip less than a month after getting married. Still, Seo-woon had been doing well. It was an expected result. The world doesn’t crumble that easily. Seo-woon lived Seo-woon’s daily life. But still…
He’s kind of… glad to see him? When their eyes finally met, he felt the tension gradually leaving his shoulders. Damn, whoever’s husband this is, he’s fucking handsome. It was a collaboration of the instinctive satisfaction from that blessed face and the emotional stability from the strange guy he knew.
Although they hadn’t seen each other’s faces since the honeymoon, since he was still his husband, it was nice to see him after so long. Hmm, or maybe not. Actually, he seemed quite happy to see him.
“…Hi, husband.”
Finally, Seo-woon smiled. It was their first encounter in a month.
Even with their reunion after so long, Seo-woon was busy. He was nervous but hungry so he had to eat, and he had to react here and there while answering questions – his mind was all over the place.
– Seo-woon.
Moreover, Seo-woon wasn’t alone. Taking advantage of a brief lull, he was about to taste the crab he’d been eyeing, but now even that guy was making a fuss. When he looked up, he saw Yi-jin’s face – Yi-jin’s image filled the phone screen that was leaning against a water glass. They’d exchanged greetings with the family and congratulated his aunt, but somehow the call still hadn’t ended. Since he’d answered the phone in the middle of a meal from the beginning, he didn’t know when to hang up. (The surprise failed because Yi-jin recognized the family home kitchen visible behind Seo-woon. The family’s disappointment was great.)
– The angle is wrong.
“Again?”
– The phone seems to have slipped. Could you set it up again?
This marble table won’t work. Maybe because he didn’t put a case on the phone, it kept sliding around on its own. Seo-woon grumbled while adjusting the phone’s position with fingers that weren’t holding crab. Yi-jin’s image looked a bit more straight. Seo-woon immediately picked up a crab leg and asked.
“Is this good?”
– The screen is tilted to the left. Please turn it thirty degrees to the right.
How much is thirty degrees? Seo-woon adjusted the phone angle again.
“This much?”
– That’s too far. Please turn it back to the left. About ten degrees should be enough.
“Ten degrees… this!”
– No. Back to the right again.
“Right…”
– Still not enough.
“……”
– Please turn it a little more…
“Stop. I need to eat my crab, so Yi-jin, you adjust it yourself.”
The flow was interrupted, so it didn’t taste good anymore. Of course, that was just how he felt. Wow, Seo-woon didn’t even listen to Yi-jin’s answer and took a big bite of the plump crab meat. Wow, it’s delicious. Really delicious! Usually soy sauce marinated crab has at least a slight fishy taste, but this wasn’t fishy at all – it was just tasty. And the spicy marinated crab was even better. Seo-woon’s movements in dismantling the crab quickened.
– Aunt. Are you there?
Yi-jin’s voice came from right in front of Seo-woon. Since he’d been absorbed in the crab and had his head buried in his rice bowl, his face wasn’t visible anyway. Hearing the voice made it feel like they were together. But who was he calling aunt? Before his puzzlement could fade, an answer came from behind. It was a staff member who lived at Yi-jin’s family home and took care of household affairs.
“Yes, Executive Director. I’m here.”
– Please pack some soy sauce marinated crab and spicy marinated crab when he goes home. Since he prefers the soy sauce marinated crab more, I’d appreciate it if you could focus on that.
Cough! Startled, Seo-woon choked on the crab he was eating. Could it be that the person who “prefers soy sauce marinated crab more” was…
“Oh my, Seo-woon. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, cough!”
– Seo-woon, are you alright? Someone please bring him water.
He’s not fine at all. When attention focused on him again, his coughing only got worse. Not to miss this opportunity, Yi-jin actively gave advice from the other side of the world. As expected, it wasn’t much help.
– By the way, please bring ice water. Seo-woon only drinks ice water.
“Young people really are different.”
“What happened?”
“Seo-woon only drinks ice water!”
“He likes ice?”
At this point, everyone must be doing this on purpose, right? I wish they would just please shut up. Whether it was from coughing or embarrassment, Seo-woon’s face turned bright red. It’s not that he dislikes ice water, but he doesn’t particularly love it either, where did they even get that information? Still, if he had to choose, he actually did want ice water more right now.
Since his throat was also dry, Seo-woon gulped down the refreshing ice water. He wanted to eat the ice too, but held back.
– Look at this.
Yi-jin said triumphantly. Though it wasn’t very impressive since he was doing it on an 11cm screen. Whatever. Seo-woon snorted. A guy who went on a long business trip right after getting married has a lot of nerve.
“If I had known you liked it this much, I would have prepared it in advance…”
“Sorry, Deongi.”
“Wooni-ya, I’m sorry.”
Wait. I think I just heard a word that shouldn’t have been heard. Seo-woon’s expression, which had maintained a business smile throughout, turned coldly rigid.
– What are Deongi and Wooni?
They say married couples share one mind, Yi-jin was the first to demand an explanation. Right! Well done, my husband! Seo-woon’s hips involuntarily wiggled with excitement.
“They’re Seo-woon’s nicknames.”
“Deongi from Bokdeongi (Lucky)!”
“Wooni from Seo-wooni!”
– Was Seo-woon’s opinion reflected in this?
No! It wasn’t! You asked what I thought but never actually listened to what I said! Seo-woon’s mouth was itching to blurt out his story right away. His hips were also wiggling restlessly. At the same time, he wished Yi-jin, visible through the phone screen, was right next to him.
“Oh my, that’s right. So how was it concluded?”
– It seems Seo-woon’s opinion wasn’t reflected.
Well done, my husband! Seo-woon sent enthusiastic cheers to Yi-jin in his heart. This isn’t even at the level of Jini, it’s like a 2D video hologram, but having Yi-jin together like this is definitely better.
– What nickname would you prefer, Seo-woon?
Yes, all of them. I hate them all! Seo-woon opened his mouth as if he’d been waiting.
“Actually, I…”
“Actually?!”
“…both of them…”
“Both of them?!”
The eyes looking at Seo-woon sparkled with pure innocence. Seo-woon felt a slight, very slight pang of guilt. This feeling like I’ve become cold-hearted somehow. They’re definitely not bad people, but they’re hard to follow. Actually, it seems like I don’t really want to follow them either.
– I see. I understand what you mean.
The phone triumphantly interjected into the humans’ conversation. “Oh my. They say married couples share one mind!” someone said. “Married couples really do understand each other!” excitement was added from all sides. Is, is that so? Seo-woon was helplessly swept up in the atmosphere.
– How about ‘Woodeongi’? It’s a compound word combining Wooni and Deongi.
You fucking bastard! Seo-woon cursed for the first time in a while. With his last remaining rationality, he didn’t say it out loud, but did it with his eyes instead. How do I kill that fucking bastard? He’s not even here so hand-to-hand combat is impossible. Even if they fought, Seo-woon would lose, but he could at least get one hit in, right?
– Since you seemed to like both, I took the liberty of offering my own suggestion.
“……”
– I’m sorry that no one else noticed.
“……”
– Then should I call you Udeong from now on?
Ha, haha… Ha, ha… Seo-woon’s laughter kept breaking from the rising anger. What little rationality Seo-woon had left also snapped.
Thwack! Seo-woon flipped the phone over, slamming Yi-jin’s face into the table. It was even more infuriating that this was all he could do, but he did something anyway. “Seo-woon? I can’t see the screen. Seo-woon? Seo-woon.” Yi-jin, detecting an error, immediately raised questions, but he cleanly ignored him.
“I have something to say.”
Seo-woon was beyond caring now.
“Yes, Udeong. Speak comfortably.”
Once they started calling him Woodeong in earnest, the damage was no joke. I won’t let that fucking bastard get away with this. Seo-woon approached the quest with determination.
“I think Yi-jin misunderstood my intention.”
It wasn’t that I liked both of them… you see. Ha, haha… Negative words must always be accompanied by a smile. If you say bad things while smiling brightly, the weight changes – Seo-woon ambitiously took steps to achieve her original goal. If sighs of relief hadn’t burst out from all around saying “Thank goodness…”, that surely would have been the case.
“So it’s better to call you by just one name!”
“I thought you didn’t like us calling you nicknames…”
“What a relief.”
Seo-woon was now at a crossroads. In this world where he lives alone anyway, should he push forward with his convictions no matter what, or should he reasonably compromise with reality as a member of society living together?
“…I…”
“I?!”
The crab stew he ate after so long was really delicious. Crab stew, food that could never be eaten at home because his youngest cousin was allergic to shellfish. Crab stew, food that was awkward to buy and eat alone and wasn’t commonly sold in regular restaurants.
Seo-woon could see the crabs piled up like a mountain in front of him. The crab stew that had initially been placed around the center of the table, why was it now in front of Seo-woon’s rice bowl? An employee carrying bundles presumed to be crab stew in both hands had just passed by behind them. No, one more passed by. Similarly carrying bundles in both hands.
“You packed the meat skewers too, didn’t you? Our child eats those well too.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ve packed everything you mentioned.”
“Thank you. He’s eating well, so the food must suit his taste. Thank you always for the good food.”
The conversation passing by moved his heart. He remembered the past days when he had to thoroughly maintain titles because of others’ gazes, or for practical reasons like insurance money. His mom called aunt on the family register and his dad called uncle, and cousin siblings who were like real siblings. Even so, they were Seo-woon’s family. Yi-jin’s family, who called him “our child” despite not sharing a drop of blood, probably felt the same way.
“…I prefer Wooni.”
“Oh my!”
“I knew it!”
“You match with Jini!”
Seo-woon. Seo-woon? Then what happens to Woo-dong? Seo-woon. Though only the screen wasn’t visible, the sound didn’t turn off, so Yi-jin persistently asked about Woo-dong’s whereabouts. Seo-woon pretended not to hear and flipped his phone face down.
Fortunately, time didn’t stop and flowed along as if nothing had happened. The aunt’s birthday party that seemed like it would never end finally came to a close. Thanks to that, when Seo-woon came back out amidst the family’s enthusiastic farewell, complete night had arrived.
He had taken a taxi to get there, but for the return trip, the legendary Driver Yoon whom he’d only heard about would personally accompany him. He hadn’t really done much, so why was he so tired? Seo-woon collapsed into the seat as if crumbling. Unlike his heavy body, his mouth was entirely sweet from the port wine they’d had for dessert. He was bothered by not being able to properly greet everyone when he first arrived due to being surprised by the family’s surprise. Instead of enjoying the sweet aftertaste, Seo-woon was busy ruminating over his actions until the very end.
If Yi-jin had been there, it would have been less burdensome than now. He’d lived just fine without Yi-jin for a month, but once he started thinking about it, the thoughts were endless. He’d made resolutions to start something after overcoming even the divorce crisis, but without any such reward, his husband had gone off on a long business trip. While that wounded his pride, the reunion after a month kept making him think of Yi-jin.
The video call eventually had to be ended because of Yi-jin who was just starting his day. After much deliberation, Seo-woon sent another message to Yi-jin. Once was difficult, but twice was nothing.
[Only one month left now.]
[Will you really come back in a month?]
Of course he’ll really come back in a month, or what, would it be fake? Somehow Yi-jin’s reply seemed to draw itself before his eyes. Seo-woon waited briefly for Yi-jin’s reply, then realized the time difference and wrapped up the conversation himself. By the time Yi-jin saw the message, it would be the middle of the night here.
[I’m on my way home now.]
[Then have a good meeting and have a great day today too.]
[Make sure to eat your meals properly too!]
[Then contact me when you go to sleep. Bye.]
For having contacted him based on emotion, it was quite a decent ending.
That’s what he thought, but exactly 6 hours later, Seo-woon received an international call. Naturally, it was the middle of the night in Seoul – no, early dawn.
Yi-jin was calling for a video call.
– Were you sleeping?
Well, wouldn’t I be? Seo-woon who had woken up from sleep put all his energy into being sarcastic. Unfortunately, his voice was hoarse so he could only do it internally. What time is it exactly? He barely managed to turn his head to check the digital clock on the nightstand – it was indeed a time when he should be deeply asleep.
Did something happen? Even after going on the business trip, and even before going on the business trip, there had never been contact at this time. In other words, this was the first time contact had come at an unmuutally agreed upon time.
“…What… happened…”
Seo-woon forced his heavy body up to sit leaning against the headboard. He also turned on the mood light to brighten his dark vision. He was inwardly tense, wondering if something had happened.
– Seo-woon, the screen looks strange. There seems to be a problem with the camera.
…Oh, I know this one. Last night, the phone that had been lying face down on the marble table had made the exact same complaint. Seo-woon, still half-awake, asked in a stupid voice.
“…Is this by any chance a video call?”
– Yes, that’s correct.
“…Why?!”
– What do you mean? Ah, now I can see. Seo-woon, you seem to… have been sleeping soundly.
Unconsciously bringing the phone in front of his face, his eyes met Yi-jin’s. Damn, when did he see that? Through the shaking phone, Seo-woon’s hair sticking up wildly could be seen. It was then that Yi-jin, who had been staring expressionlessly at the camera under the soft hotel lighting, urgently sat up.
Ah, he’s handsome. Even seeing him after waking up from sleep, he’s handsome. Looking at that blessed face gradually woke him up.
– Seo-woon, I can’t see the screen again.
“Of course not. I turned off the camera.”
– Why did you turn off the camera?
“What kind of video call when I’m sleeping? Just talk.”
– I wasn’t sleeping…
“Not you, Yi-jin. Me. So what’s the matter?”
Seo-woon placed a pillow on his knees to properly appreciate Yi-jin. Speaking of this pillow, it was Yi-jin’s pillow that Seo-woon had been using well, having long lost its original owner. This large bed that had been too wide to sleep in at first had now reached the point where it would be uncomfortable for two people. Seo-woon had gotten used to living alone again. To the extent that Yi-jin’s appearance in a strange hotel room rather than beside him felt natural.
– I’ve finished all my preparations for sleep. I ate dinner 2 hours and 30 minutes ago.
“Ah… yes. So?”
So why did he contact me at this time? Seo-woon rubbed his sleepy eyes while listening to Yi-jin’s voice.
– I also ate lunch during the day, so as a result, I ate all three meals today.
“…Yes…”
– And I checked my schedule again too.
Could it be that the schedule was moved up…? He suddenly woke up completely. Seo-woon waited tensely for Yi-jin’s next words.
– Exactly one month remains until I return to Korea.
Of course that couldn’t be it. Seo-woon replied indifferently.
“…What a coincidence.”
– What do you mean?
“Nothing. So what did you want to say?”
– That’s all.
No way. That can’t be right. Seo-woon desperately denied reality. While it was true that Seo-woon had said to contact him when going to sleep, surely he didn’t call just because of that. Seo-woon asked directly.
“Nothing happened, right?”
– Except for eating all my meals, it wasn’t much different from the schedule I sent you this morning. If you need the schedule, I can send it again…
Of course, expecting Yi-jin to understand the subtle feelings in Seo-woon’s message was too high-level a quest. Seo-woon familiarly set about correcting the error.
“No, it’s fine. You don’t need to send it.”
– Understood. Will you keep the camera off like that?
Despite only listening well to what Seo-woon said, Yi-jin had been going on about the camera from earlier. This makes it seem like he really wants to see me. That couldn’t be right, but just in case, Seo-woon asked slyly. If he didn’t do at least this much, he’d feel a bit wronged.
“Why? Do you want to see me that badly?”
– Yes, I want to see you.
“…Huh?”
– I want to see you, Seo-woon, so I’d be grateful if you could turn on the camera.
Even though the camera was off so there was no way Seo-woon could be visible, Yi-jin’s gaze was still directed toward him. This made it feel like their eyes were meeting. Seo-woon tried to steady his fluttering heart. Yi-jin’s answer from just now likely meant he wanted to see him literally “with his eyes.” Ah, how frustrating. He almost got excited.
To be honest, he actually did get excited. He got excited over him! Somehow that hurt his pride.
– Thank you for granting my request.
There’s a lot to be thankful for. Seo-woon mumbled his response. “Is that so,” Yi-jin quickly picked up on it and responded accordingly. He’s always good with words anyway. Seo-woon glanced at Yi-jin. He made eye contact with Yi-jin, who had been looking at him from the start. Now that the camera was on, there was nowhere to avoid his gaze, so Seo-woon just looked at Yi-jin.
There wasn’t much conversation. The two of them silently looked at each other like that. The room where the dark blue dawn had settled was quiet, and the soft mood lighting was warm. It was quite different from the previous day when there hadn’t been a moment of quiet.
Would there come a day when he’d feel lonely when this person left the house empty? He wasn’t sure yet. He was already past the age where loneliness would feel unfamiliar. Yi-jin was the first to break the silence.
– You seem to have lost weight.
“Really?”
– Yes. Your neck looks thinner.
“Does it?”
– Didn’t you notice?
“Um… I’m not sure…”
If it was visible to the naked eye, wasn’t that serious? Seo-woon slightly lifted his pajama top to look down at his bare chest. As expected, he couldn’t really tell from this angle.
– Don’t worry about it. I must have seen wrong.
“…That must be it?”
– Don’t you think so?
People naturally become more interested in health once they hit their thirties. They worry more too. Eventually Seo-woon sluggishly got up from his spot. He turned the mood light to maximum brightness and even sat cross-legged while he was at it. Seo-woon brought his phone close to his face and asked.
“Does it look the same even in bright light?”
– I’m not sure. I can only see your eyes, Seo-woon.
“How about this?”
– It’s shadowed so I can’t see well.
“Ah, this is frustrating. Wait a moment. How about now? Can you see well?”
– Now I can see clearly.
Seo-woon placed his phone on the nightstand altogether. He hadn’t noticed while holding the phone continuously, but now that his hands were free, he finally understood. So light! So comfortable! His arms didn’t hurt! When his body was comfortable, his quality of life naturally improved. Seo-woon massaged his stiff wrist as he spoke.
“I have been getting cramps frequently lately.”
– Is that so?
Since he didn’t exercise at all, there was no way his blood circulation would be proper.
“…I think I’ve been eating less too.”
He couldn’t eat his fill of crab stew yesterday. It was probably mostly because the situation was uncomfortable, but such rational thoughts didn’t occur to him right now.
– That’s serious. Are you eating meals on time?
If he counted the meal he ate right after waking up as breakfast, he was eating three meals a day regularly, but the problem was that Seo-woon ate breakfast not in the morning but at other times.
– How many hours do you sleep on average?
“……”
– How many minutes a day do you invest in exercise?
Yi-jin’s questions began as if he was seriously trying to assess Seo-woon’s condition. Like most modern people, his answers were a complete mess. “I’ll make an appointment for tomorrow,” Yi-jin said in a deliberately serious tone.
– Let’s go get a check-up.
“It’s not that serious…”
– Though there’s an order to being born, there’s no order to dying.
That, that’s true. He’s right. It was even more credible since someone younger than Seo-woon was saying this. Seo-woon began seriously retracing her symptoms. Depending on how you think about it, it could be something or nothing at all.
“How do I look from the outside? Do I seem different from before you went on your business trip?”
He needed an objective perspective. Seo-woon asked for Yi-jin’s opinion.
– It’s hard to tell from this angle.
“Then should I adjust the phone more…”
– Take it off.
“Huh?”
– If you just take off your top, we should be able to tell for sure, shouldn’t we?
This wasn’t wrong either. Besides, considering that Seo-woon was wearing a t-shirt under his pajamas, there was no particular reason he couldn’t take it off. Seo-woon casually took off his pajama top.
“Will the t-shirt make it hard to see?”
– No. The t-shirt is thin so everything shows through. I can see clearly.
“Huh?”
– I can see your nipples, Seo-woon.
Gasp. Startled, Seo-woon reflexively started to raise his hands but stopped. It would look even stranger to cover his chest, so he stopped, but hearing this made him unavoidably self-conscious. Was this outfit that thin? Since there was no one to see him anyway and he was alone, he’d been wearing the same clothes as before without realizing.
“…What are you doing?”
This was somewhat embarrassing. It was even more so because Yi-jin was silently staring at him. To his question thrown out from embarrassment, Yi-jin responded seriously.
– I was trying to gauge what your waist was like compared to before. If I grabbed it with both hands… it would be about this much, I think.
There were too many obvious reasons to ask how he knew his waist size. Their sexual experiences, which could be counted on one hand but were remembered with precise accuracy, proved this. Yi-jin was already gauging Seo-woon’s waist size with both hands. Whether it was because his hands were large, Seo-woon’s waist, which would be average size, looked particularly thin.
– Is this all there is?
“…If you ask me that…”
– You must have a naturally small frame, Seo-woon.
“No, I don’t. I’m probably just average.”
– But your hands are small too. I was surprised that one fit entirely in my hand.
“That’s because you’re big. My hands aren’t that small.”
– You’re also short.
“…Are you good at fighting, Yi-jin?”
– I’ve never fought anyone, so I’m not sure.
Don’t you think about the fact that you’re an alpha over 188cm tall? Seo-woon felt a bit indignant.
“Not all Alphas are big, but you’re lucky to be big, Yi-jin. Tall and broad shoulders and your dick is big…”
– …….
“…too…”
– …….
What era are we living in where words once spoken can’t be taken back? Breaking the silence, Yi-jin asked.
– Is my dick big?
Ah, fuck. I really did it this time. Yi-jin’s honest question let him know he’d crossed a river of no return. Right. Water already spilled, handle it as briefly and quickly as possible. Seo-woon answered honestly.
“Yes, it’s big.”
– I see. Is that a good thing?
“Of course it’s good! What use is a small one?”
Too much sincerity had slipped out. “Then that’s fortunate.” Yi-jin seemed to accept this readily. As expected, Seo-woon was mistaken. Seo-woon’s husband wasn’t a normal guy. He was a strange guy.
– So Seo-woon likes big penises.
“Ha, haha. ‘The more the better’ isn’t a saying for nothing.”
– …Seo-woon.
“What?”
– In this case, ‘the more the better’ refers to multiple penises, not a big penis.
“…Oh.”
– Did you mean it that way?
Is it his imagination? The low voice sounded quite ominous. Seo-woon obediently shook his head.
“I made a mistake. I’ll correct it. Not ‘the more the better’ but ‘the bigger the better.'”
– …….
Even at Seo-woon’s legendary ad-lib, Yi-jin showed no reaction. Thanks to that, Seo-woon had to struggle with the loneliness of feeling like humanity’s last survivor.
“Yi-jin…?”
– I’m sorry. I was a bit confused because you used a four-character idiom I don’t know. Excuse me, but could you explain the meaning of ‘the bigger the better’?
Dad jokes are ruined the moment they need additional explanation. Therefore, Seo-woon’s dad joke was ruined.
“…I just made it up. To rhyme with ‘the more the better,’ using the character for ‘big’ to make ‘the bigger the better.'”
– I see. I understand. I didn’t know you had talent in songwriting as well, Seo-woon.
“…What talent…”
– No. Looking at how you compose lyrics to match rhymes, you might have aptitude for rap too…
“Stop, that’s enough. Let’s talk about something else now.”
Seo-woon brought Yi-jin, who was extending endlessly, back to his place. Of course, it was unrewarding.
– Then I’ll ask the next question. What is your standard for a big penis, Seo-woon?
“…Can you please stop with all the penis talk?”
After sending one guy away, now the penis talk came. It was mountain after mountain of obstacles.
– Ah, I’m sorry. Since you brought up penis talk first, Seo-woon, I didn’t think you’d dislike it. I’ll be more careful in the future.
“How thoughtful of you.”
– Then may I finish my question?
“What now?”
– What is your standard for what you consider a large male organ?
He seems to have called the wrong person. Penis talk doesn’t stop coming from Yi-jin’s mouth. Waking up from sleep to do this – I don’t know what I’m doing. Thanks to that, Seo-woon became a bit detached, and his detached mouth naturally spewed harsh words.
“Among the people I’ve seen, Yi-jin is the biggest, so let’s use you as the standard.”
At least that’s fortunate. I didn’t say “measured” people. Yi-jin looked at Seo-woon silently with an unreadable expression. In the subtle silence, Yi-jin readily opened his mouth.
– I see.
“Mm, yes…”
– …It’s an honor to be the standard.
“…Honor is a bit much…”
– No. It’s an honor. Having a standard means there are also people who fall below the standard.
“…That’s true.”
– …….
“…Yi-jin?”
– Yes, please speak.
He did open his mouth readily, but… his voice was strangely subdued. His tone also seemed a bit stiff… Seo-woon thought this but couldn’t find anything particular to say, so he just changed the subject. Considering the two people were physically far apart, cute jealousy like “Are you jealous right now?” was out of the question.
“But why did you ask that? You’d know if you have eyes, wouldn’t you, Yi-jin?”
– If you’re talking about male organs, that’s the first compliment about male organs I’ve heard from you, Seo-woon.
Just going to a sauna, you can commonly see each other’s naked bodies. Don’t friends talk about such things? He was puzzled for a moment, but the question quickly subsided. Ah, he doesn’t have friends like that… Seo-woon quickly understood.
– The reason I asked about the standard was to ask you a question, Seo-woon.
“What?”
– When I insert, I see your opening stretches to its limit – doesn’t it hurt?
I take back my apology. I’m not sorry at all. Unlike Yi-jin who was holding his head up straight without an ounce of shame, once again the embarrassment was Seo-woon’s share. Seo-woon looked at the corner of the bed instead of Yi-jin. Even if he tried to gloss over it, it was a video call so there was no way to avoid it.
“It’s not, not painful… well… it’s okay, hmm.”
– I thought so. I’m sorry that pain accompanied an act where mutual physical and emotional satisfaction should be prioritized.
“No, well… nothing to be sorry about…”
– No. It’s my oversight for not noticing beforehand. It’s late, but I’ll try to find a solution from now on.
A solution? What solution? His head shot up in surprise. What can you do about having a big dick? Are you going to reduce it?
Then he realized. Come to think of it, penis reduction surgery exists in the world. It might be unlikely, but there’s no harm in preventing anything.
“Don’t you know ‘No pain, no gain’?”
Above all, Yi-jin’s hobby was talking nonsense. Seo-woon hurriedly set about prevention.
“People, huh? You can’t try to get things for free. Any worthwhile thing comes with corresponding pain.”
While it’s true that Yi-jin’s penis was burdensome, except for the initial insertion, only advantages remained. As an omega, Seo-woon released lubricant from his inner walls regardless of his will as he felt good, and to feel good, he first needed the fullness of being completely filled and the pleasure of inner wall stimulation. In that sense, Yi-jin was quite compatible with Seo-woon.
Not just good – it was too good. So much so that Seo-woon had climbed on top of Yi-jin himself during their first time together.
…Thinking about it makes me want to do it. Their last time together was during the honeymoon. For newlyweds who supposedly overturn dinner tables at the sight of each other, it’s been over a month since he’s even smelled alpha pheromones. Before meeting Yi-jin, he’d lived just fine without sex, but now that the floodgates had ambiguously opened, unfulfilled desires ambiguously tormented Seo-woon.
“Don’t think useless thoughts and just take good care of what you have. Others are going crazy from not having any.”
– Yes, I’ll take good care of it. You really are wise, Seo-woon.
“…Again?”
– That’s right. Thanks to you, I’ve had another opportunity for realization. You have an exceptional insight into viewing the world, Seo-woon. At best, I could only think about putting more effort into foreplay… You’re truly admirable.
There was. A much more common and much more normal solution than penile reduction surgery. I thought only he was strange all this time, but it seems I’m not exactly normal either. Seo-woon tried hard to avoid the truth.
– So ultimately, is it bearable for you?
“Yeah. It doesn’t hurt continuously, just a little at first. About 2 out of 5 points?”
– …I see.
Yi-jin’s face became serious again. He wondered if this was really something to be so earnest about, but he didn’t stop Yi-jin from worrying. Worrying about something meant there was that much affection behind it. Though the conversation that seemed like dirty talk but not quite dirty talk was a bit embarrassing, Seo-woon decided to cooperate more actively than ever.
This is all for me. Seo-woon’s face, dreaming of a happy sex life, looked rather devious.
“Ask me anything you’re curious about while we’re at it!”
There was one fact Seo-woon overlooked here. Namely, Yi-jin’s background and tendencies. Yi-jin was a member of the question-mark serial killer family and had high academic enthusiasm as well.
– You said both sucking and licking the hole feel good, but I’m curious if they really feel exactly the same.
– I’m also curious about why you show reluctance toward those acts despite saying you like them.
He wasn’t sure whether to call this good memory or strong obsession. Seo-woon immediately shut his mouth after just one question. The questions didn’t end there.
– So far, you’ve ejaculated 3 times from genital and prostate stimulation combined, and 3 times from prostate stimulation alone. Do you have a preference between the two ejaculation methods?
– Additionally, the latter had longer ejaculation times. Is ejaculation duration also related to pleasure?
– There’s relatively little foreplay involving the upper body, do you agree with this? I’d like to ask if this is fine as is, or if balancing upper and lower body would be better.
– At some point you ask me to go harder, what’s the criterion for that? Is there a specific point when you want to be penetrated hard?
– Also, you seem to like having your tongue sucked while being penetrated, is that correct?
The speaker was completely nonchalant, but Seo-woon’s face listening was red as if about to burst. Fortunately the mood light bulb was orange. He almost would have been tormented by that pure question-mark serial killer asking why his face color looked strange.
What am I doing after just waking up? Half of him came to his senses in sage time, while simultaneously a vague half-hearted emotion of “he’s more interested in me than I thought” washed over Seo-woon. He wondered if this was really something to be moved by, but quickly gave up since he couldn’t make a clear judgment.
Do I like kissing during sex? This was a fact even Seo-woon didn’t know. He’d never paid attention to such details, and no one had told him. Sex was perfectly possible without observing the other person’s reactions this closely.
The principle of sex itself is actually simple. Insert, move, ejaculate. He’d never thought about it this carefully before, so it was difficult to answer each question. It was embarrassing too. Seo-woon couldn’t help but ramble excuses to Yi-jin, who was dutifully waiting for his answers.
“Well, self-directed learning is all the rage these days.”
– Self-directed learning?
“Yes. Literally, learners studying voluntarily on their own…”
– Yes.
“If Yi-jin also…”
– Yes, please continue.
“…directly confirms it…”
Seo-woon’s face was red as if about to burst as he threw his pathetic attempt at flirting. Though embarrassed, Seo-woon continued his words to the end.
“…wouldn’t that help with studying more…”
– …….
“…? What do you think?”
A moment of silence passed. Seo-woon waited for Yi-jin’s answer with a trembling heart. Finally, Yi-jin’s lips opened.
– Seo-woon…
“Mm-hmm.”
– You’re really… amazing.
“Again?”
– Flexible thinking that isn’t limited to one topic but incorporates other fields.
“Huh?”
– Even thoughtful consideration for others’ growth.
“What?”
– It’s moving.
“Suddenly?”
– I’m sincerely moved by your macroscopic perspective, Seo-woon.
Wait, this isn’t right. Her flirting had returned as textbook-level life lessons.
“That’s not what I meant…”
– I’m reflecting. I’ll work harder to have wise and flexible thinking like yours, Seo-woon.
“…So…”
– Thank you for the teaching.
Flustered Seo-woon rushed to correct this, but it was useless. Yi-jin had already completed his self-reflection admirably. Yi-jin looked up at Seo-woon with a moved expression and said.
– You really are wise, Seo-woon.
Ah… A sigh naturally escaped from Seo-woon. If Seo-woon was guilty of anything, it was only wanting to create that kind of atmosphere with her husband who’d been away for nearly a month. Was the problem the husband who couldn’t take what was offered, or was he the problem for marrying such a guy? Even after brief consideration, the conclusion was the same.
This bastard who can’t eat even when fed. Seo-woon’s flirting came to an end like that. His body that had ambiguously heated up, his masterful flirting that ended anticlimactically, everything felt utterly futile.
“…Let’s just sleep now.” Seo-woon, having encountered all the reality checks in the world, announced the end of the conversation himself.
“Are you sleepy?” Yi-jin asked.
“Yeah, well. I’m sleepy.” Seo-woon crawled under the covers and nodded without even looking at Yi-jin.
– I’ll schedule the medical appointment for the day after tomorrow. My executive secretary will contact you with the details.
Oh right. This had started from talking about health. Seo-woon just nodded silently with an indifferent expression, covered up to his neck with the blanket.
– It’s probably nothing serious. Don’t worry too much.
“Okay. Well, good night.”
– Have a good night, Seo-woon.
“Yeah.”
– …….
“……”
– …….
“What is it?”
Even though they’d finished saying goodbye, Yi-jin didn’t seem to have any intention of hanging up. He waited thinking he might have something left to say, but that didn’t seem to be the case either.
“Do you have something to say?”
– No. No, I don’t. I’m sorry for the late hour. Please go to sleep now.
How bland. Seo-woon picked up the phone he had carefully positioned. Yi-jin seemed about to hang up too, as the screen beyond the phone shook back and forth. That’s when he saw it. He couldn’t help but see it.
His front seemed a bit… bulging? His unnecessarily quick fingers pressed the end call button, so there was no way to confirm further. Except for the fact that Yi-jin was also in pajamas like Seo-woon, and that his bulging front was particularly noticeable through his thin pants, it was an ordinary phone call. Except for the fact that Seo-woon was also half-erect. Fuck.
I must have seen wrong. Seo-woon casually shook off the afterglow of the video call. Seo-woon’s husband was the type who would even spit out the nonsense that Seo-woon fed him himself. Such a guy wouldn’t have gotten adorably erect. Even if he had gotten erect, it would be equally hopeless – there was nothing he could do about it right now anyway. At best, phone sex? Since they wouldn’t meet for another month anyway, nothing would change immediately.
Despite this dawn incident that had troubled Seo-woon, he quickly fell into deep sleep as if nothing had happened. Not only had his energy been completely drained from visiting his in-laws the previous day, but waking up once in the middle made him very sleepy.
Seo-woon barely opened his eyes well past lunchtime. And it wasn’t even by his own will. He was forced to wake up because he kept hearing buzzing sounds from somewhere.
Caller: Aunt. His aunt was calling. No matter what happened, he absolutely couldn’t seem like he’d just woken up. Seo-woon desperately cleared his voice. You can do it, Jeong Seo-woon! Let’s go! Seo-woon answered the phone more solemnly than ever.
“Hello…”
– Oppa!
What a shock. He thought his ear would fall off. There was only one person in the world who called Seo-woon this way.
“Oh, Min-young.”
Having just woken up and answering the phone three times more cheerfully than usual, Min-young appointed herself as a loudspeaker. “Mom! Dad! Oppa answered the phone!” Soon after, several people’s voices could be heard mixed together.
– Seo-woon! Did you know? No, this morning! Our in-laws!
– Wait! Stay still for a moment! Are you busy now? Are you working?
“No. It’s fine, so please tell me. What’s wrong? Is everything okay?”
In-laws – his heart sank at this unexpected word. It seemed contact had already been made to his uncle and aunt even though it hadn’t been 24 hours since they’d eaten together. Should he say they’re really prompt? Not knowing what conversation had taken place, his heart immediately became heavy.
Fortunately, what Seo-woon worried about didn’t happen. It was just a slightly different matter.
– Well, our in-laws kept saying they were grateful and wanted to give us something, so we refused, but they went ahead and placed an order at the shop.
“An order?”
– Yes! An order! And your uncle said it was good and accepted it. Oh really, what is he trying to do when he can’t handle it!
– Oppa! Is brother-in-law there too? Can you switch later? Let’s do a video call together!
– Yeo Min-young! Aren’t you going to the reading room? You said you’d go after lunch!
– Ah, it’s Saturday! Let me rest a bit too!
Video call. Even amidst the noise, one word particularly stuck in his ear. The unpleasant call with Yi-jin naturally came to mind, but he immediately erased it. …What an ungrateful bastard. Even thinking about it again, the conclusion was the same.
“How many orders are there?”
The surroundings were still chaotic, but he had things to do. Seo-woon began seriously assessing the situation. Seeing his aunt like this, it didn’t seem like just one or two orders.
– Five thousand! Five thousand units! Our in-laws ordered five thousand! And! You know that one! That, XYZ brand’s WW479 model! The expensive one that doesn’t even sell in our neighborhood! The bicycle we brought in one unit as a display item and I got scolded by your aunt for over a month! They ordered five thousand of those!
Ah, what is this now? This is the start of another incident.
* * *
“Are you calling that reasonable?”
An emergency meeting was held. The location was his uncle’s house where Seo-woon had lived until a few years ago, with three attendees total: his uncle, aunt, and Seo-woon. (Min-young was eventually kicked out to the reading room.)
“Well… an order came in, so shouldn’t we… do it?”
“You were planning to do it? How is a neighborhood bicycle shop supposed to handle that! Seo-woon, try to stop your uncle. I’m really going crazy!”
The atmosphere was more serious than ever, but he could understand both his uncle and aunt. The pure passion to personally service the dream bicycle with his own hands clashed with the realistic worry that something might go wrong and negatively affect the family – it wasn’t easy to choose sides.
“…When is the deadline?”
“Oh my, this kid! Even you!”
So he had to look at it as objectively as possible. If he hastily took either side at a time like this, it would be the end. When Seo-woon responded calmly, his uncle’s face also brightened.
“I’m supposed to talk with the supplier first and contact them back.”
“So there’s no set deadline yet?”
“Right. Not yet.”
“…What if it’s urgent? Can we meet it? No, more importantly, does the supplier even have that much stock? Have you made the call?”
After his uncle seriously injured his back, Seo-woon had helped with shop work from time to time, but he didn’t know that experience would be helpful in this way.
The longer the conversation went on, the more grim his aunt’s face became. The same was true for Seo-woon. Speaking it out loud made him increasingly certain. No. This isn’t right. A mere neighborhood shop couldn’t handle this level.
“The conversation’s over. Call right now.”
“They said they’d contact me, so if we wait a little…”
“Unless those guys are out of their minds, would they have bicycles worth tens of millions stacked up like mountains? Ah, that could be possible. We have one of those out-of-their-minds guys in our family too, don’t we?”
“…When did I stack them up like mountains? I only put exactly one in the shop…”
“Never mind that, make the call. What kind of embarrassment would it be if we can’t do it later? You’re one thing, but Seo-woon. Seo-woon!”
He was right. If things went well, it would be good for everyone, but in the opposite case, Seo-woon would undoubtedly be in the most difficult position. His uncle’s thoughts weren’t much different, as he made no further objections. Perhaps “couldn’t” would be a more accurate expression.
“Tangerines came out early this year.”
His aunt suddenly brought a basket full of tangerines. It was a silent indication that she wouldn’t continue the conversation any further.
“Until the supplier contacts us, at least…”
“How are they? Despite how they look, they’re quite sweet, right?”
“Yes. They’re delicious. Uncle, would you also like some…”
“Aren’t you going to work? Just like Yeo Min-young, as expected of the Yeo family.”
His uncle shuffled toward the entrance. The claim about hurting his back didn’t seem to be a lie, as his posture while putting on shoes was quite awkward. This was all because of that stubborn streak.
Seo-woon glanced at his aunt and quietly got up from his seat. As always, his aunt didn’t stop Seo-woon this time either. Seo-woon spoke first to his uncle, who was unusually slow in putting on his shoes.
“Is your back okay?”
“Of course. It’s fine. It’s nothing serious.”
“I bought some patches. Just wait a moment. I’ll put one on for you.”
After buying them and bringing them home, he was so distracted that he didn’t even think to take them out. When he stopped eating tangerines to get the pain relief patches, his uncle’s eyes were glistening as he looked at Seo-woon. His aunt, watching the two of them, shook her head disapprovingly.
“Seo-woon, what are we going to do? That person who loves you so much fearlessly accepted an order.”
“Ha, haha… It is a rare opportunity though. I would have been tempted too.”
“The patch is on well. You can go out now.”
There was no taking it back. At the monotone, ominous voice, his uncle hurriedly rushed out of the house. A sharp smell of pain relief patches followed his uncle’s path. It smelled somewhat like mint too. The conversation continued even after his uncle left.
“Goodness, I sent some kimchi thinking he was threatening never to see us again if we gave him gifts, but what is all this fuss about? Maybe I should have accepted the car instead. Five thousand units, how much money is that exactly?”
“A car? You don’t mean an actual car?”
“Yes! A car! Are all wealthy people like this? I’m too scared to say anything.”
Indeed. I’m curious too. The people who had been eating soy sauce marinated crab with him just a day ago now felt infinitely distant. People who lived in a different world from him- he thought he’d gotten somewhat used to it, but that was a laughably naive thought.
Does Yi-jin know about this situation too? Calculating the time difference roughly, it was just about to become morning over there. Seo-woon had also just woken up not long ago, but sitting alone in an empty house in broad daylight made it feel exactly like morning.
His aunt, who had been peeling tangerines together, left the house saying she had an appointment, and Min-young went to the study room. Since the youngest, Young-min, had left for a 2-day-1-night taekwondo camp, Seo-woon would be alone until evening.
Seo-woon quietly looked around the house for the first time in a while. At one time, he had also lived in this house with his family. That fact remained unchanged now, but Seo-woon’s old room naturally disappeared when Min-young’s sibling was born. He moved out right after that, so it had already been over 10 years since he’d lived alone. There was no longer any space for Seo-woon left in his family home.
How strange. Seo-woon wandered around the empty house and picked up the box of tangerines his aunt had prepared for him. Whether at her newlywed home or family home, being alone was the same, but being alone at his family home felt uncomfortably wrong. Despite all the time he’d spent here, he felt like he was in someone else’s house without permission. Seo-woon now wanted to go back to his own home. Even if there was no one to welcome him when he returned, at least there was someone he would welcome back in a month. That person being legally “Seo-woon’s,” namely his husband who was currently on a long business trip.
His aunt insisted he take all the remaining tangerines, so the trip back inevitably required taking a taxi. The box of tangerines was added before the aftereffects of three containers of aged kimchi had even worn off.
Not a single part of his arms or legs didn’t ache. Inside the moving taxi, Seo-woon had to suffer from belated muscle pain. He sincerely just wanted to rest now. Incidents and accidents had been continuous since yesterday.
– Seo-woon!
Why does he keep making video calls? Just now seeing Seo-woon’s contact, Yi-jin called him while he was in the taxi. Seo-woon grumbled but quickly checked his own condition. Ahem, ahem. He also cleared his voice.
– I’m sorry. I just saw the message now.
Yi-jin shouted urgently through the phone. This much was as Seo-woon had expected.
“Ah, it’s okay. I figured as much. You said you had an event today…”
– No. This is my oversight. At this time, and especially since you’ve rarely asked about call availability, I never imagined there would be contact waiting. I apologize for the delayed confirmation.
“Come on, it’s not that rare. It’s not that extreme.”
– No, it’s very rare. Excluding your aunt’s birthday, it’s virtually nonexistent.
“No way.”
– No, I’m certain.
“Then, you can talk now, right?”
Seo-woon, who was ghostly quick at detecting what was unfavorable to him, quickly changed the subject. “Yes, that’s right. Please speak.” Having successfully changed the topic, Seo-woon told Yi-jin about the morning bicycle incident. If he had contacted him in the morning to get some hint from Yi-jin, now that he understood the situation, there was no particular purpose or reason. It concerned both of them, so that’s why he mentioned it.
– I see.
Still, he hadn’t expected such a reaction at all. Unlike Seo-woon’s family who had held an emergency meeting, Yi-jin was excessively calm. But why? Once again, it was Seo-woon who was confused.
“That’s it?”
– What do you mean?
“Didn’t you hear what I just said? That bicycle costs-”
– Yes, I heard. Since it’s not a mainstream model, imports would be urgent. If the total quantity is 5,000 units, transportation costs will be high, would you like to use the ships we have contracts with? There’s a shipping company contracted with XX Trading.
He was ready to introduce ships immediately regardless of context, so he first made him calm down. Seo-woon doesn’t get easily flustered by most things anymore.
“Even roughly calculating, it’s over a billion.”
– Total sales or net sales?
This bastard. Even in this situation, Yi-jin was needlessly good at making distinctions. He’d probably be disgustingly good at work. Seo-woon’s voice naturally got louder from frustration.
“Both! Whether total or net sales, it’s still in the billions. All we gave as a gift were three containers of kimchi, but this doesn’t make sense.”
– Transactions are concluded based on mutual agreement. Even if the catalyst was three containers of kimchi, there must be reasons why the two parties decided that way.
“Isn’t the catalyst too modest?”
– Value is ultimately relative. Even monetary value isn’t absolute in the face of relativity. Kimchi is no different.
It was a coldly rational answer with not a single wrong word. Seo-woon somehow found herself at a loss for words.
– Above all, we’re not parties to the transaction, so we have no right to intervene in that deal.
“It’s not like I don’t know that.”
– Then why are you bringing it up?
“Well, obviously…”
– Yes, please continue.
“…Obviously…”
Having a conversation with Jini! Being able to have a conversation with Jini! Why did Yi-jin’s family suddenly come to mind here?
Even after brief consideration, no grounds to persuade Yi-jin came to mind. Is this how it ends? Then suddenly he had this thought.
Is this really something to have differing opinions about?
Seo-woon naturally assumed Yi-jin would think the same as him. He expected him to chime in with “The transaction scale definitely doesn’t make sense.”
Yes, Yi-jin was right. Everything is relative. Yi-jin’s argument about the relativity of value wasn’t fundamentally wrong. Even just the two of them had such different opinions about the same situation. Seo-woon also knew that not everyone in the world could be like him. He knew, he couldn’t help but know, but even so, he could be certain of this one thing.
Yi-jin is not ordinary. How could the value of a billion not be absolute? Seo-woon truly couldn’t understand Yi-jin. Until now, he thought they only differed economically, but now he could see they were on different dimensions even in their thinking. Someone who lives in a different world from him, Seo-woon once again felt the distance between himself and Yi-jin.
At this point, it didn’t seem like bicycles were the only problem. Seo-woon moved his lips several times in frustration but ultimately said nothing. No, he couldn’t. So what would he say? When it came to actually bringing it up with Yi-jin, he didn’t know what to say. He had a lot he wanted to say, but couldn’t figure out where or how to start.
“…It’s not confirmed yet, so let’s wait and see for now.”
Ah, what is this? Something feels unsettling. Even as Seo-woon thought this, he wrapped up the conversation appropriately at this point. He wanted to argue back but couldn’t think of anything.
– Yes, understood. If you need a shipping company, please let me know anytime. I’ll contact them right away.
Though he hated to admit it, as Yi-jin said, the two of them were ultimately just third parties. No matter what they did here, there was nothing Seo-woon or Yi-jin could decide. They were just quite involved with the parties to the transaction. They were also at the center of the aftermath this deal would bring.
For the time being, they’d just have to wait for his uncle’s contact. Already feeling tired, Seo-woon spoke complainingly.
“Ah, I’m tired. I’m on my way home now. I was called and summoned after being woken up from sleep.”
– You were summoned?
“Yeah. After receiving father’s contact, he seemed quite surprised and said he wanted to see me right away. Thanks to that, I had to wake up from sleep this morning…”
Precisely, it was when the sun was high in the sky, but Seo-woon didn’t bother to correct it. If you wake up from sleep, that’s morning. That concludes Seo-woon’s theory.
– I see… Because of us, Seo-woon had to wake up early in the morning…
“…It wasn’t that early though…”
– …I’m sorry, Seo-woon.
Yi-jin suddenly apologized. Then he made a devastatingly sorrowful face.
– In the end, this kind of thing happened to us too…
“What?”
– But don’t worry. I’ve prepared a manual since before marriage for times like this. Just leave it to me. I’ll take responsibility for resolving conflicts with in-laws as the intermediary.
Why are in-laws coming up here? Seo-woon was flustered. He couldn’t follow Yi-jin’s conversational flow. This is strange. I was good at language arts though… While Seo-woon was mulling over their recent conversation, Yi-jin added more.
– For reference, “si-world” is a neologism meaning the world of people with the character ‘si’ (媤), referring to all in-laws. Of course, even one person is possible.
Today too, Yi-jin was unnecessarily kind. Seo-woon still didn’t understand this situation.
– Since we caused physical loss by waking Seo-woon, I’ll compensate for this as much as possible and take definitive measures to prevent this from happening again. I should contact father right away.
…Oh, wait. I think I know. The reward for carefully listening to well-meaning nonsense. Finally, Seo-woon succeeded in understanding the context.
“Having seen so many things… Why are you applying this to in-law conflicts?”
– But…!
“No ‘but.’ I’ll judge whether it’s in-law conflict or not myself, so don’t cause trouble and stay still.”
– The physical loss to Seo-woon…
“What kind of loss is that!”
This is why you shouldn’t learn about dating from books. Same goes for married life. Having learned married life from books, the cognitive dissonance is beyond imagination. Seo-woon sternly corrected the malfunction.
“Answer.”
– …Is that so?
“That’s so.”
– …….
“……”
– …I see. I’m sorry.
Still, to think he’d surrender so meekly. He had no thought of defying Seo-woon further, and his dejected eyebrows were adorable. Acting cute like that. Somehow he wanted to tease him. Seo-woon deliberately put on a serious expression.
“Now isn’t the time for Yi-jin to be worrying about in-law conflicts.”
– What do you mean?
“Didn’t the mom cafe tell you that going on long business trips right after marriage is divorce material?”
– …Excuse me?
“Common sense – what husband goes on long business trips without consultation right after marriage? That’s totally divorce material.”
– What do you mean…
“If you can’t believe it, ask the mom cafe.”
When he brought up the mom cafe that Yi-jin believed in blindly, Yi-jin’s eyes shook like an earthquake. At this rate, there’ll be a tsunami too. Without knowing Seo-woon was holding back laughter, Yi-jin’s face gradually hardened seriously. “Customer, we’ve arrived.” The taxi driver timely announced they’d reached their destination.
“Yi-jin, I have luggage so I think I need to hang up now.”
– …….
“Yi-jin?”
– …….
“Yi-jin!”
– Yes! Seo-woon! What’s the matter!
You seem to be the one with something going on. Unlike his vigorous answer, Yi-jin seemed distracted somewhere. Having had a packed schedule since morning, he seemed to be getting busy. Seo-woon bid farewell to Yi-jin.
“I’m hanging up now. Have a good event. You’re working hard since morning.”
– Yes, Event-san is working very hard.
“What?”
– Ah, no. Then please go in safely.
…He seemed to stumble terribly just now. Seo-woon was about to hang up but looked at Yi-jin again. On the phone screen was an alpha in a perfect suit who looked like a chaebol third generation to anyone. Haha, I must have misheard!
So Seo-woon hung up casually and arrived home safely with the box of tangerines his aunt had prepared for him.
After that, Seo-woon spent an ordinary evening as usual. A day that started grandly but ended weakly with nothing special happening. Still, being tired was being tired, so Seo-woon went to bed earlier than usual. The midday commotion had a very good effect on his sleep.
That’s why he thought it was a dream. He was sleeping frantically when he felt someone’s gaze from somewhere. Even with his eyes closed, the surroundings were distracting. Something large was busily moving back and forth, and movements that ambiguously circled around Seo-woon continued.
Annoying. Seo-woon swung his body greatly. Thunk! Whatever had been circling nearby was hit by Seo-woon’s foot.
“Are you awake?”
Then it spoke. It even seemed happy. What is this now…? Seo-woon forced his eyelids up. A handsome alpha he’d seen many times before was standing in front of Seo-woon in a three-piece suit. What a windfall. The playful thought was brief, Seo-woon quickly returned to reality.
“…Are we getting divorced now…?”
Yi-jin, who had been on the other side of the world until yesterday, suddenly said this. The power of the small ball Seo-woon had launched was tremendous. …What an ungrateful bastard. Seo-woon closed his eyes again. He was right to kick him.
* * *
“Whoa! You scared me!”
He was startled. It was already awkward having another person in the house he’d lived alone in for nearly a month since morning, but he was even more startled to see a large figure standing right in front of the bathroom door. Seo-woon, who had just finished showering, clutched his surprised chest.
“I’m sorry.”
“Ah, no it’s okay. I was just startled for no reason… I just showered so it might be a bit humid, is that okay? Do you want to use the second floor bathroom? Should I show you where it is?”
Still, he wasn’t angry, unlike Seo-woon who had just woken up, because of Yi-jin looking down at him dressed in a full suit. Not just any suit either, he was wearing a vest and tie. It truly was something to be grateful for.
The surprise was brief, and Seo-woon, who was about to naturally guide him to the second floor bathroom, suddenly stopped in place. It was because he made eye contact with himself in a frame hanging on the living room wall.
In the photo, Seo-woon was wearing a tuxedo. It was a photo taken at Seo-woon’s wedding. Next to him stood a familiar-looking alpha wearing the same tuxedo as Seo-woon.
Ah, right. I’m married. After spending a month alone during the first month of marriage, he kept forgetting the fact that he was married. Seo-woon stopped heading upstairs and returned to the living room. Yi-jin followed him around and asked.
“Weren’t you going to the second floor?”
Huh. That’s right. I was going to show you the way… Turns out he wasn’t an uninvited guest but a legal cohabitant. Moreover, since Yi-jin had purchased this house himself, he would know the layout better than Seo-woon. Seo-woon sat on the sofa and said.
“You know where it is. I’ll be here, so go ahead.”
“Where do you mean?”
“Weren’t you going to the bathroom?”
“No, I wasn’t.”
Then Yi-jin quickly claimed the seat next to Seo-woon. …Don’t people usually sit facing each other? With the two of them sitting closely together, the already spacious sofa was left mostly empty. This was almost wasteful use of space.
It was a bit confusing, but where to sit was personal freedom. Yi-jin seemed to want to sit in this spot. Thinking this, Seo-woon quietly made room by moving aside. Just as Yi-jin had given up his seat for Seo-woon during their honeymoon, he also considerately gave up his spot for Yi-jin. Of course, back then Seo-woon had just wanted to be close to Yi-jin, but anyway, Seo-woon was someone who knew gratitude.
“…Huh?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Huh? No…”
But Yi-jin was acting strange. After he had made room for him, instead of sitting comfortably alone, he again closed the distance with Seo-woon and stuck right next to him. …Why is he doing this? Seo-woon looked at Yi-jin suspiciously. Could it be he wants to sit next to me?
The fact that he felt suspicious even about ordinary displays of affection was probably due to Yi-jin’s usual behavior. Having been lifted bodily while sitting next to Yi-jin before, Seo-woon found his actions quite dubious.
“Um… Yi-jin?”
“Yes, Seo-woon.”
“……”
“Please speak.”
Seo-woon had a lot to say to Yi-jin. From Yi-jin’s nonsense that woke him from deep sleep to his sudden return to Korea, there was much he was curious about and wanted to ask. Is today your return date? Didn’t you say you’d come back in a month? You didn’t say anything until yesterday. Even after showering and coming out, Seo-woon was still very confused by this situation. But… it was close. The distance between him and Yi-jin was excessively close.
Seo-woon paused and quietly looked at Yi-jin. They were so close he felt like he could hear his breathing. It wasn’t just Seo-woon who thought so, Yi-jin also looked at Seo-woon without saying anything.
Though they had a video call in the taxi yesterday, video and reality were different. He could touch him if he reached out, and he could feel subtle warmth from parts that brushed against each other. Seo-woon’s knee was touching Yi-jin’s thigh.
An unidentifiable tickling sensation bloomed throughout his body. He couldn’t pinpoint exactly where or how it tickled, but he wanted to scratch everything vigorously. It seemed a bit awkward too. That made sense since it had been quite a while since they’d met. Seo-woon couldn’t bring himself to act on it and just fidgeted with the leather sofa instead.
Buzz, a short vibration came through the tickling sensation. It wasn’t strong, but he could definitely tell. Buzz! A vibration was ringing from nearby. The source was Yi-jin. There was no way Yi-jin didn’t notice the vibration that Seo-woon could feel too. On behalf of Yi-jin who was strangely frozen, Seo-woon spoke first.
“Yi-jin, you have a call.”
“…It’s probably not.”
“But it’s buzzing?”
Buzz! As if responding, the vibration rang again, and Yi-jin reluctantly took out his phone. Don’t mind me, answer comfortably. Thinking it might be a work call, he tried to be considerate, but Yi-jin quickly put his phone away and said.
“It’s just a simple alarm, so you don’t need to worry about it. I turned it off so it should be quiet now.”
As Yi-jin said, no more vibrations rang. There would be no more interruptions, now was the time to start a conversation. “Well, then…” Seo-woon started first, but he didn’t know what to say. Just yesterday, he hadn’t heard anything about Yi-jin coming to Korea today. That aside, what was this talk about divorce, there were more than a few puzzling points.
“…Did you eat?”
That was all, nothing special about it. At this ordinary greeting meant to break the ice in conversation, Yi-jin suddenly bit his lips tightly.
“Even in this situation, you’re thinking about my meals… Seo-woon, you’re really amazing.”
“Um… what situation?”
“Divorce.”
“Ah, divorce. Do you want to divorce me?”
“No. No, I don’t. That’s not it.”
So it seeSeo-woon-ssi responded without batting an eye.
“But?”
“I thought… you would want a divorce, Seo-woon.”
“Oh, me?”
“…Yes. Am I right?”
That was true. On the second day of marriage and just yesterday too. Whatever the case, he couldn’t say no. When Seo-woon didn’t answer immediately, Yi-jin’s eyes shook wildly. The sound of his eyeballs rolling was loud. Seo-woon chuckled and said.
“You asked on a mom cafe.”
“…Why aren’t you answering?”
“Did people say that? That I’m divorce material?”
“You still haven’t answered.”
“What did you ask? What about the comments? Were there many? Can’t you show me too?”
“Since I asked first, an answer to my question takes priority.”
How incredible. Jini had been upgraded. He even demonstrated high-level technique by applying exactly what Seo-woon had said before. He wanted to tease him more, but it was disappointing.
Seo-woon decided to back off appropriately at this point. He should let him feel the reward of being upgraded, so he’d work hard to upgrade next time too. Even with the uninvited guest’s appearance waking him from deep sleep, Seo-woon wasn’t displeased at all. Rather, it was the opposite.
“When you first said you were going on a long business trip, I thought ‘what kind of thing is this?’ On the second day of our honeymoon, I really thought about just divorcing right then and there.”
“……”
“It would be a lie to say it didn’t bother me… Yi-jin? It looks like your lip is bleeding…”
“No. Please continue speaking.”
“You’re bleeding!”
“It’s fine. You don’t need to worry about it.”
How could you not worry about it! A big guy like you is biting his lip hard enough to bleed right in front of me – how could I not worry? Especially when that guy is your husband, the situation is even more different.
“What a waste…”
His beautiful lips had gotten scratched. At the careful touch exploring around the wound, Yi-jin’s mouth twitched greatly.
“Does it hurt?”
“No.”
He really answers well. Seo-woon’s finger began confidently exploring Yi-jin’s lips. He pressed the soft lower lip with his fingertip, and traced along the entire lip following its texture with his fingerprint.
“…You didn’t do this on purpose, did you?”
Yi-jin’s lips gradually parted as Seo-woon’s finger moved. At the ticklish touch exploring his mouth, Yi-jin answered half a beat slow.
“What do you mean…?”
“The long business trip and… just everything.”
Seo-woon gently stroked Yi-jin’s lips. Ah, finally Yi-jin released the tension from his lips. Then Seo-woon’s finger, having admirably completed its job, withdrew from Yi-jin’s mouth.
Yi-jin’s gaze urgently followed Seo-woon’s finger. “Yi-jin?” At Seo-woon’s prompting, Yi-jin slowly raised his head. Yi-jin’s eyes when they met again were hazily unfocused as if lost in a dream. Oh… Seo-woon unconsciously swallowed dry saliva when their gazes met. Yi-jin spoke in a slightly hoarse voice.
“Again… could you say it again?”
“Huh? Oh… so… have you ever lied to me?”
“No.”
“Hidden anything?”
“Yes.”
“What?!”
“On our wedding day, father told me to keep it secret from you and congratul…”
“Let’s skip that. Nothing else besides then?”
“No. Nothing.”
“In the future too?”
“Yes, that’s right. As I mentioned before, your satisfaction is my top priority, Seo-woon. I won’t do anything that would harm you in the future either. I swear it.”
What’s with the swearing again? Even as Seo-woon thought this, he let his heart loosen as it pleased. He didn’t even think about tying it back up. Yi-jin’s detoxifying ability had already been verified. Yi-jin had an incredible track record of making Seo-woon, who wasn’t generous to others, infinitely generous with just a few pink post-it notes.
“…Make sure you keep that promise.”
“I don’t make promises I can’t keep.”
He was unnecessarily serious about everything, never letting even one of Seo-woon’s words pass by carelessly.
“We’ll see.”
“Yes, please watch over me.”
Someone who lived in a different world, and sometimes he couldn’t understand what he was thinking at all, yet somehow even that in itself was okay – this complacent thought came to him. This is my husband. Seo-woon felt strange and stared blankly at Yi-jin.
Even though Seo-woon’s piercing gaze staring at him might have been burdensome, Yi-jin seemed completely unbothered. Rather, he looked straight at Seo-woon and, as if he’d been waiting, finally asked what he’d been curious about.
“So do you want to divorce me, Seo-woon?”
“…I keep hearing you talk – why have you been going on about divorce since earlier?”
From Yi-jin’s sudden return to his inexplicable divorce talk, he was getting a bit displeased. Seo-woon grumbled loudly enough to be heard.
“If you were coming today, you could have at least given me a hint. Suddenly appearing like this – what is this?”
“I’m sorry. My schedule changed suddenly so I couldn’t tell you in advance. From next time, I’ll definitely contact you beforehand.”
“Until yesterday, you didn’t say anything about it.”
“Yes, that’s correct. Even when I was talking with you, Seo-woon, this wasn’t the plan. I decided to come to Korea about 12 hours ago.”
He must have been on the plane for at least 10 hours. So he really did change his schedule urgently… Wondering if something had happened, Seo-woon asked worriedly.
“Did something happen? Isn’t that level an emergency?”
“Yes, that’s right. So this time, please answer clearly. Do you want to divorce me, Seo-woon?”
Uh… huh? Seo-woon asked back stupidly. “I asked if you wanted to divorce me.” Yi-jin repeated the same words precisely like a machine. Wait, wait. So right now he’s… Seo-woon barely managed to assess the situation. Because I said he was divorce material… he was really worried about getting divorced… so that’s why…
Having thought that far, Seo-woon stopped thinking further. No, his head wouldn’t work anymore.
“Seo-woon, what’s wrong?”
“……”
“Are you hurt somewhere?”
Seo-woon was silently burying his face in his palms. The heat from his face transmitted to his palms was burning hot as if it would explode.
What kind of situation is this? Seo-woon wanted to shout loudly right away. Absurd but cute, infuriating but cute. Ridiculous but cute, amazing but cute. Just everything leads to cute. What is this? What the hell is this! They say it’s all over once something looks cute, but he couldn’t understand how it came to this.
“…I need some water for a moment…”
Seo-woon unsteadily got up from his seat. He couldn’t manage his expression, so it was difficult to look directly at Yi-jin’s face. Honestly, it was a bit embarrassing too. That’s when it happened.
“Ugh!”
Seo-woon was getting up from his seat but fell back onto the sofa. “Are you alright?” When did he suddenly grab Seo-woon’s knee, and now the surprised Yi-jin belatedly checked on Seo-woon. Seo-woon was awkwardly sprawled on the sofa with one knee against it. One knee was still caught by Yi-jin.
Most of the alphas Seo-woon had experienced tended to act with their hands first, so he wondered if Yi-jin was ultimately like that too. Forgetting about blushing, Seo-woon worried about his own safety more powerfully than anyone.
What are you doing? I almost fell over!
“Sorry, I’m sorry.”
Even though he’s apologizing like a machine, the fact that he won’t let go of his hands on his knees looks like a premeditated crime no matter how you look at it.
I’m not sure either…
Huh? If Yi-jin doesn’t know, who does?
“…Just…”
Just because?
Yi-jin hesitated in his answer, which was unusual for him. Then, instead of answering, he slowly reaches out his hand. Yi-jin gently stroked Seo-woon’s knee. The hand gently stroking the protruding kneecap with the palm feels completely awkward. Yi-jin said, meeting Seo-woon’s gaze directly.
I did it because I wanted to touch it.
“…Huh?”
What did I just hear? Seo-woon slowly blinked his eyes. What I see before me is my husband, whom I haven’t seen in a while, and he has the same expressionless face he usually does.
I wanted to keep touching Seo-woon, so my hand just reached out without me realizing it. I’m sorry if I startled you.
Even so, the hand touching Seo-woon’s knee doesn’t stop. Seo-woon, unable to stop Yi-jin, just sat there repeating “Ah, uh, um.” The anger that had flared up when I slammed my knees into the sofa and fell forward had long since subsided on its own. Seo-woon finally spoke after a long silence.
“…from now on, let’s talk.” Hey, don’t just grab it.
Understood.
The conversation ended there. The two of them sat side by side on the sofa, looking at each other like that. Yi-jin, who had been touching Seo-woon’s knee, gently grasped it. Seo-woon’s leg was slowly pulled toward Yi-jin. Yi-jin pulled Seo-woon’s knees back and sat with them against her thighs again.
Seo-woon, who tends to talk a lot when things get awkward, quickly opened his mouth. I didn’t even know what I was saying.
“Chu, is the business trip all over now?”
No. Not yet. I will return to my home country as scheduled at the end of November.
Oh… Then when do you go out again?
I’m departing in 5 hours and 20 minutes.
Huh? When Seo-woon, who hadn’t understood it at once, just blinked his eyes, Yi-jin looked down at his wristwatch and said,
No, it’s not. That’s in 5 hours and 14 minutes.
“…You don’t mean you’re leaving right away today, do you?”
Yes, that’s correct.
That’s too tight, isn’t it?
Certainly… I see.
The hand that had been on his knee had now moved up to his thigh. Wherever his palm passed, the forgotten itchiness instantly flared up. Yi-jin was slowly getting closer.
I have a question for Seo-woon-ssi.
Huh? Well, what is it?”
You mentioned self-directed learning before. You told me to check it myself…
Oh, yes. I told you so. I did that. Seo-woon answered incoherently. Before I knew it, Yi-jin was right in front of me, and he said as he loosened his tie himself. Wow, I… Seo-woon swallowed hard. It was a sight that made my mouth water.
Perhaps…
Yeah.
“…May I check it now?”
I think something like this happened before. For a moment, I thought of our first nite in Hawaii, but soon my cluttered mind was completely cleared.
“…Absolutely.”
Before the big event, you shouldn’t think about anything else. Whatever it is, good is good. The two of them instantly became one and rolled around on the sofa. The heat surged without any reason, just from the warmth of another person’s body I hadn’t felt in a long time.
I saw you had a cut on your lip. I only worried in my head. A person doesn’t die just from a cut on their lip. When their lips met and their tongues naturally intertwined, Seo-woon realized. I guess I like kissing.
Just a touch of lips, and it’s this good. It’s definitely more than just liking, it’s crazy about it. Seo-woon naturally tilted his head, encouraging a deeper kiss. Following Seo-woon’s lead, Yi-jin obediently pushed his tongue in deeply.
Two sensitive, highly sensitized pieces of flesh met and frenziedly bit and sucked at each other. Seo-woon sucked on Yi-jin’s tongue and moved his hands frantically. I ruffled Yi-jin’s hair on the back of his head and hugged him with all my might.
Yi-jin was the same. Hugging Seo-woon, Yi-jin collapsed onto the sofa and busily moved her hands. Seo-woon’s t-shirt had rolled up to his chest. The loose pajama pants are precariously hanging just below his hips. Just as Yi-jin was about to take off Seo-woon’s pants, he suddenly stopped his hand and pulled his lips away.
Through the thin stream of saliva, He saw Seo-woon’s face flushed with excitement. Seo-woon shifted his hips, trying to follow his lips that had pulled away. Yi-jin said, suppressing his disappointment.
“Seo-woon, -ssi.”
“Uh-huh.”
“…Why weren’t you wearing underwear?”
I only pulled down my pants, but soft bare skin was already wrapped under my palm. Yi-jin squeezed Seo-woon’s butt hard and then let go, burying his face in the back of his neck. Her lips, slightly swollen from being kissed and sucked on just moments ago, pressed warmly against Seo-woon’s neck, gently weighing him down. Ha, ah… Seo-woon gasped softly beneath Yi-jin. I just went to the bathroom half-asleep and didn’t grab extra underwear, but sometimes a white lie saves the world.
“…I was afraid this would happen.”
While I was at it, I lifted my waist, pressed my buttocks against Yi-jin’s palm, and rubbed a few times. Immediately, both of my buttocks were grabbed. It hurt a little because he was gripping my hand so tightly, as if he were about to burst, but now even that feels exhilarating. Seo-woon couldn’t contain his excitement and instinctively wrapped his legs around Yi-jin’s waist.
Yi-jin’s breathing, with his face buried in the back of his neck, is getting increasingly rough. Irregularly scattered breaths trickled down Seo-woon’s neck. This time, expecting to go straight for the lower body again, Yi-jin lifted Seo-woon’s t-shirt with her nose, exposing his chest completely. Yi-jin’s hands were still gripping Seo-woon’s hips.
With her knees on the sofa and her upper body slightly raised, Yi-jin quietly looked down at Seo-woon. The way he was looking at her was so blatant that Seo-woon felt a little embarrassed. Seo-woon, a hoarse, raspy voice called out to him. Instead of answering, Seo-woon looked up at Yi-jin. His eyes, glazed over and unfocused, were scanning me.
I sincerely apologize for neglecting upper body caressing until now.
Do you really have to do that right now…? Seo-woon said with his eyes.
The first day I video-called Seo-woon-ssi, I was actually a little surprised.
“…What is it, again?”
Seo-woon-ssi’s nipples were erect even though he wasn’t excited.
At the sudden remark, Seo-woon’s legs, which had been wrapped around Yi-jin’s waist, lost their strength. Yi-jin easily lifted Seo-woon’s legs with both arms, allowing him to wrap his waist again.
“Thanks to you, it brought back old memories.”
“What…?”
“On our first night of sex, didn’t Seo-woon-ssi get on top of me?”
“…That’s right.”
Yeah, that’s right. Seo-woon reluctantly replied, subtly avoiding Yi-jin’s gaze. I don’t regret my actions, but I don’t particularly want to hear it from Yi-jin’s own mouth. Anyone would be like that. Whether he knew about my hurt feelings or not, Yi-jin’s gossip continued.
From then on, I thought nipples were beautiful. It looked like it would be fun to suck on.
“…Yi-jin, stop it…”
“I wanted to suck and bite it, but I was so captivated by the pheromones that I couldn’t do anything.”
The way Yi-jin’s voice was filled with a sigh as he said that made Seo-woon blush for no reason. Yi-jin’s pranks are excessive today.
“It was like that until the wedding night.”
“Oh, could it be that you’re not joking?” Yi-jin’s voice gradually softened.
“…Even thinking about it again, it’s truly regrettable.”
Bowing his head, Yi-jin rubbed his lips against Seo-woon’s nipple and said, As the moist lips rubbed against the nipple, it felt like a soft sound would be made. Seo-woon, who almost let out a sound of disappointment without realizing it, quickly covered his mouth.
“From your nipples to your lower hole, Seo-woon-ssi, your whole body looks like it’s begging to be sucked.”
Shivers ran down and Seo-woon’s hands instinctively tightened. I want to scream right now because of Yi-jin, who is seriously saying something embarrassing.
“And…”
“……”
“It smells delicious.”
It smells very sweet and delicious… The nipple, stiffened by external stimulation, was sucked into a wet mouth. Ah, ouch! Despite being a perfectly predictable stimulus, Seo-woon was greatly surprised and let out a single scream. Knowing this would happen, I was even covering my mouth, but it was surprisingly no help at all. The pleasure disguised as shame is too intense for Seo-woon to handle.
“Are you in pain?”
As Seo-woon struggled, Yi-jin pulled away his lips and asked. It didn’t hurt at all, but Seo-woon quickly nodded her head anyway. I wasn’t at all used to the immense pleasure that made me feel like I was losing myself.
Yi-jin rested his chin on Seo-woon’s chest and quietly looked up at him. Seo-woon, who had been freed from the unfamiliar sensations as he wished, looked much more comfortable. Yi-jin stood with a somewhat smiling face and lightly patted Seo-woon’s bottom. Where did the struggling Seo-woon from just a moment ago go? Now I see a Seo-woon quietly accepting my touch. Usually, he’s so mature, but when you see him like this, he’s just a kid. Seo-woon was more of a crybaby than he looked.
“Didn’t you say, “No pain, no gain”?”
“…I don’t remember.”
“That’s alright. I remember.”
“Okay, wait! Ah!”
Immediately, the nipple was bitten. As he grimaced at the tingling sensation, he licked and gently sucked on my nipple. It’s itchy and thrilling at the same time. As I subtly arched my back in response to the complex pleasure, he now sucked on my nipple with even more force. Uh, uh…! As the sucking force intensified, the moans grew louder. Of course, the sound I made wasn’t because I didn’t like it.
As if trying to make up for all the chest caressing he hadn’t done until now, Yi-jin buried his face in Seo-woon’s chest for all to see. I wanted to touch it with my hands instead of my lips or tongue, but the feeling of her hips cupping in my palms was just too good to resist. The plump nipple that brushed against the tip of her tongue felt so good that Yi-jin started sucking on it continuously from a certain point. As the nipples swelled further from the continuous pressure, the sensation against the tip of my tongue also became even more exquisite. The tiny areola, no bigger than a hole, wasn’t enough, so later he gathered the breast tissue around the nipple and repeatedly sucked and licked it.
“…Seo-woon-ssi. Please stretch your legs for a moment.”
“Why, why…?”
When I told them not to do it, they were all over me, and now that I’ve stopped, they’re making a fuss about why I’ve stopped. Yi-jin forcibly shook off Seo-woon, who was following him.
My pants are soaked.
“……”
“It must be uncomfortable like that, so I’ll take it off for you.”
Seo-woon, who was quick to notice anything disadvantageous to himself, silently stretched his legs and helped Yi-jin. With a splash, the soaking wet pajama pants made an embarrassing sound as they fell to the floor. Judging by that embarrassing sound, it seemed like it had fallen behind the sofa. I had just put down a rug in front of the sofa, and I couldn’t understand why it had to fall and land on the bare floor.
“Ah!”
His still lips moved toward the nipple again. The swollen nipples sensitively conveyed external stimulation. Mwah, Yi-jin made a delicious sound and sucked on my chest again. With no cumbersome pants to get in the way, it seemed he was finally ready to savor her breasts to his heart’s content.
“…No.”
I didn’t say anything.
“…it’s not quite this bad, though…”
Both of them had an unexpected problem, which was that Seo-woon was wearing bare legs. Unaware that I had diligently shielded them with my own body, desperately trying to stop the gushing vaginal discharge, one person took off their pants while the other willingly spread their legs.
The thighs of Yi-jin, pressed against Seo-woon’s lower body, were damp. The situation with the sofa wasn’t much different either. Seo-woon’s face looked like it was about to burst. Yi-jin lowered his head and looked at Seo-woon’s lower body. My lower body was soaked with vaginal fluid that had flowed from my inner walls.
Seo-woon-ssi. I really want to suck it.
“…Um, please don’t say things like that…”
“Can I suck it?”
“…if it’s just using my tongue, just my tongue.”
“You said I could wash it when I got to Korea, didn’t you?”
Me? I think I might have said something like that, but it was over a month ago already. That didn’t cause any problems, though. This time, Yi-jin remembered it again.
Oh! As Yi-jin buried his face in the wet entrance, a groan escaped Seo-woon’s lips involuntarily. Having gotten used to the nipple in the meantime, Yi-jin unconsciously tightened his grip and sucked the hole.
Ah, uhng…!
Seo-woon, at a loss, scratched the leather of the sofa. The tip of Yi-jin’s nose repeatedly touched and then pulled away from the area where the penis meets the perineum. Every time that happened, the reality of where Yi-jin was burying his face right now hit me, making it even harder to bear.
Tasting the overflowing lubrication, Yi-jin licked around the entrance before sliding his tongue inside the hole. His thick tongue pushed deep into the opening, gliding on the slick fluids. Unable to endure it any longer, Seo-woon gripped Yi-jin’s hair. He thought holding onto something might help, but it only made Yi-jin’s head movements more pronounced. Whenever Yi-jin’s head tilted back, his tongue licked the inner walls as it slid out; whenever his head pushed forward, the thick tongue forced its way back in as if carving a path through the walls.
It felt like he was going to die. Seo-woon helplessly poured out lubrication every time the tongue entered and exited. There was no way Yi-jin, with his tongue buried inside, wouldn’t notice. The pleasure, accompanied by a sense of shame, stripped away every last shred of his reason. Seo-woon let out a moan that sounded like a scream.
“Ah, ah! No…!”
“…….”
“Ah, what do I, ah, aaah…!”
His member, which hadn’t been touched once, was already standing erect on its own. Swollen tight beyond mere erection, it swayed painfully from side to side. Instinctively, Seo-woon reached down for it. It was the instinct of an Omega wanting to be stimulated both in front and behind simultaneously.
“You may not.”
Yi-jin, his lips moistened with a liquid that could have been either Seo-woon’s lubrication or his own saliva, stepped in to stop him.
“I must verify whether you prefer genital stimulation or internal wall stimulation.”
“I don’t… want to. I want to do it. I’m doing it now.”
“This time, you will ejaculate through internal wall stimulation, and next time, you will ejaculate through simultaneous stimulation.”
“No, no.” Seo-woon shook his head frantically. Yi-jin’s reaction was cold.
“No. You can do it. Up until now, you have always ejaculated through both genital and internal stimulation on the first round, so this time I intend to change the order.”
“I don’t want to…! Why should I…!”
“You said it yourself, Seo-woon-ssi. This is all part of self-directed learning. Therefore…”
Take responsibility for the words that came out of your own mouth.* Seo-woon remembered Yi-jin saying that he didn’t make promises he couldn’t keep, though he didn’t know why. If that were true, Seo-woon had to take responsibility for his words with his body.
What questions had Yi-jin asked? How many questions were there in total? Even just thinking vaguely, there were more than three. Considering those variables alone, he could tell how many times he would have to ejaculate over the course of five hours and fourteen minutes.
However, Seo-woon had no composure left. He didn’t care about any of that; he just wanted to ejaculate right now. He wanted to quickly fill the emptiness behind him and pour out the semen that had risen all the way to the glans. Whether he knew how urgent it was for Seo-woon or not, Yi-jin was only now taking off his jacket. Even while his mind was clouded, Seo-woon faithfully followed his instincts. This time, Seo-woon was the one to stop Yi-jin.
“Are you taking everything off?”
“…….”
“…Can’t you just take off the jacket?”
Yi-jin didn’t answer. He simply pulled a condom out of the inner pocket of his jacket in silence. Rip. Yi-jin tore open the condom wrapper and lowered his trouser zipper. Unfortunately, because of the bulge in his crotch, it didn’t go down in one go.
“Understood. I will do so.”
Yi-jin pulled out only his member from inside his clothes. As if it had been waiting, the member sprang out and slapped against his lower abdomen before he could even react. As Yi-jin forced the condom on, the vein-bulged member writhed and struggled. Seo-woon’s hole writhed along with it. Lubrication surged and gushed from the inner walls once again.
Thanks to that, insertion became much easier. Although the shaft caught for a moment in the middle, it was the smoothest insertion so far. Even after the member had been pushed in all the way to the root, the two remained still. Seo-woon, whose only clothing was a t-shirt rolled up above his chest, lay with his back against the sofa, while Yi-jin stood with his knees on the sofa, his member buried deep inside Seo-woon. Seo-woon’s legs were spread wide and tucked against Yi-jin’s sides; aside from having loosened his tie and tossed aside his jacket, Yi-jin was still dressed in his suit.
Seo-woon’s eyes, looking up at Yi-jin, were completely glazed over. Yi-jin looked down at him silently for a long while before finally moving his hips. Slap! A loud sound erupted from the point of connection with a single thrust. The excessive amount of lubrication was one reason, but there was another. It was the sound of Seo-woon’s lubrication-soaked buttocks sticking and peeling away from the leather sofa.
Slap, slap! Every time his buttocks pressed against the leather seat, it created a strange off-beat rhythm with Yi-jin. Yi-jin’s grip on Seo-woon’s ankles tightened repeatedly.
“Ugh, ah!”
Suddenly, Seo-woon’s body was lifted. Startled, Seo-woon clung to him, and Yi-jin held him firmly. Moving off the sofa, Yi-jin lifted Seo-woon and sat him on his lap. Seo-woon could feel the back of the sofa against his spine.
“Uh, ugh, too, deep…”
“Ha… does it hurt?”
“No, it’s not, that it hurts, ah!”
Seo-woon’s buttocks, which had been perched on the tip of the glans, swallowed the entire shaft as he was slammed down at once. As expected, there was no pain. It was thanks to the slick lubrication spread across the inner walls, which allowed his body to accept the Alpha’s member completely.
Ha, ah, haa, haa… Seo-woon panted softly on Yi-jin’s lap, pierced from below. It didn’t hurt, but his lower abdomen felt uncomfortable because the member was inserted so deeply. What if a hole opens up in my stomach? As if he were the only one thinking that, Yi-jin’s gaze shifted downward.
Yi-jin looked down at Seo-woon without a word. More accurately, he was looking at Seo-woon’s lower abdomen. The flat stomach was bulging slightly in the center, starting from the navel. It was a clear mark of insertion.
The large hand that had been gripping Seo-woon’s waist slowly covered his lower abdomen. Flinch. Frightened without realizing it, Seo-woon reflexively tightened his hole. There was no pain, but the feeling of his lower abdomen being filled to an uncomfortable degree made him fearful even of a light touch.
Sensing Seo-woon’s fear, Yi-jin withdrew his palm and carefully traced the lower abdomen with his fingertips. It was a touch so light that Seo-woon could feel every single ridge of his fingerprints. Feeling a ticklish sensation, Seo-woon tried to lift his hips slightly, but the large hand holding his waist pushed him back into position. Yi-jin continued to stroke Seo-woon’s lower abdomen in that state for a long time.
“…How fascinating.”
Finally, Yi-jin’s fingers moved past the lower abdomen to a more intimate place. There, the entrance, stretched to its limit, was barely managing to hold the member.
“To think it all fits inside, even though it’s this small.”
“Of course… it does. I can even… raise a baby, so…! Ah! If you keep touching there…!”
Yi-jin’s hand, which had been tracing the stretched entrance and the point of connection, stopped instantly. Thinking about it, it was somewhat strange, but Seo-woon was too busy feeling relieved that the subtle stimulation that had been tormenting him had vanished.
“…Ba…”
Yi-jin muttered something. Seo-woon, who had been leaning against the sofa and lying diagonally across Yi-jin’s lap, belatedly lifted his head to look at him.
Yi-jin’s pupils, meeting his, were dangerously dilated. It was then that the faint mint scent surrounding them exploded into a thick intensity. He felt the member, which had been forcing the inner walls open, grow even larger inside.
“A baby…”
The muttering voice was eerie. Suddenly, Yi-jin’s pheromones leaked out explosively. His entire body, his very gut, became drenched in the Alpha’s pheromones. The inner walls, having swallowed the Alpha’s pheromones, began to heat up forcibly. Being pleasured inside his body against his will made it difficult to keep his senses.
“…A baby…”
Ah. By the time he realized it, it was already too late. Yi-jin’s pupils were wide with arousal. Pheromones surged everywhere. Along with them were Seo-woon’s pheromones, which had lost control following Yi-jin’s lead.
Thud! The heavy leather sofa, which several furniture store employees had struggled to move together, was pushed back helplessly. With one hand bracing against the sofa, Yi-jin gripped Seo-woon’s waist and began to thrust his hips frantically. Uh, uh! Ah, ugh! Ha-eu, ah! Seo-woon let out scream-like moans as he was relentlessly pierced from below.
The sofa kept sliding back, leaving him with nowhere to lean. The only things he could rely on were Yi-jin’s thighs and the large hands gripping his waist. Even then, because of the unstoppable thrusting, he was practically floating in mid-air.
To avoid falling to the floor, Seo-woon reflexively tightened his hole, trying to grip the member that connected the two of them. In response, Yi-jin forced Seo-woon’s waist down, pulled his member out to the head of the glans, and then slammed back in all at once. Splat! Even though his buttocks were no longer sticking to the leather sofa, wet sounds continued to erupt from the point of connection. The obscene sound of wet flesh colliding felt as if it would deafen him.
Everything was stimulating. Even the sight before his eyes was so. To see him thrusting frantically with glazed eyes, dressed in clothes that wouldn’t look out of place in an office. In contrast, Seo-woon was wearing a thin t-shirt that might as well not have been there, his lower half completely exposed. Yi-jin’s vest was stretched tight, as if the neatly fastened buttons were about to pop off. Seeing that only intensified the urge to ejaculate. With the continuous insertions that felt like he was being hammered from top to bottom, his member was spitting out pre-cum countless times.
He felt like he was about to ejaculate soon. He wanted to come so badly, but he had never ejaculated while being stirred up from below like this. Thud! He was pierced deeply again, hammered from top to bottom. Ah, eunng…! As Seo-woon twisted his waist and moaned, Yi-jin firmly gripped his waist once more.
It felt good, yet it was agonizing. With the violent pleasure rushing in without a moment’s respite, proper thought was impossible. Seo-woon clawed at Yi-jin’s clothes.
“Stop, stop! Put me, down…!”
“Stay… still. You’ll… ha… fall…!”
He was rejected instantly. No. I can’t, in this position, I can’t. No, ah, no, ah! Seo-woon’s moans rose endlessly. From above, Yi-jin pressed down on his waist, and from below, the rock-hard member surged in, stirring the inner walls in one go.
It felt like he was going to die. His body didn’t feel like his own. Having his bottom sucked and his nipples bitten felt cute in comparison. The body with its hard, defined muscles showed no sign of stopping.
“Ah, aaah!”
“Hu, eu…”
“Nng, ah! I feel like, I’m gonna, die, ah!”
Eventually, unable to even moan, Seo-woon reached a climax in an instant while clinging to Yi-jin. His member, which hadn’t been touched once, shot out dark-colored semen. It was an intense pleasure that left his limbs trembling and his vision flickering black. He had never had sex like this before.
It was over. Having finished ejaculating, Seo-woon’s body went limp. Yi-jin held him tightly. Leaning against Yi-jin, Seo-woon barely managed to lift his head to look at him.
Ah. Yi-jin’s pupils were still hazily dilated. The same went for the rock-hard member filling his gut. Yi-jin had not yet ejaculated. Once again, by the time he realized it, it was already too late.
“Ah, no. I can’t do more. I really…! Ah!”
“As expected, Seo-woon-ssi, ha…”
“Ah, don’t do it inside. Don’t do that…! Ah!”
“You seem… to be exaggerating… quite a bit…”
Seo-woon was immediately stimulated in his freshly ejaculated member while his inner walls were stirred up. This was because of Yi-jin’s logic: since he had just ejaculated through internal stimulation alone, this time he had to ejaculate through both genital and prostate stimulation.
There were still many variables left.
* * *
The aftermath was devastating. The soft rug that had been pleasantly tickling bare feet was now soaked with some unidentifiable liquid, its fur matted and tangled beyond recognition in places. The leather sofa, which had rubbed against Seo-woon’s bare skin even more than against Yi-jin’s, had developed a suspicious shine in one particular spot. Since the sofa was only a month old, it couldn’t possibly be worn down already—the reason lay elsewhere.
“Shiny” was putting it nicely; the sofa, pushed far back against the wall, clearly showed signs of someone hastily wiping something off it. Whatever had been spilled there was making it gleam brilliantly. It was the majesty of omega slick.
Apart from the mess around the sofa area, the house was generally well-organized. In truth, the place was so spacious that a little disorder barely showed. Wherever you went in the house, there was excellent natural lighting and an open view. When Seo-woon had nothing to do, he usually spent time in the living room. He’d expected today to be another such day, but Seo-woon wasn’t in the living room.
He’s currently sprawled out on the bed. With his face buried in the sheets and lying prone, it’s hard to tell whether he’s awake or asleep, but seeing him lying naked across the middle of the bed, his condition doesn’t look particularly good.
That was the same reason Yi-jin stopped in his tracks upon entering the bedroom. Seo-woon was lying there literally like the dead. Having been unable to even drink a sip of water before being dragged off to build the Great Wall of China, it was understandable. Of course, he’d been willing to be dragged away, but the large handprints on his back and his bright red buttocks evoked sympathy from any observer.
It was a scene ripe for misunderstanding in many ways. Therefore, Yi-jin misunderstood. Yi-jin rushed anxiously to Seo-woon.
“Seo-woon! Are you alright?”
Gasp! Thanks to that, Seo-woon’s neck was suddenly grabbed while he was sleeping. Yi-jin seemed to be trying to check his pulse, but in his surprise, he failed to control his strength, making the whole thing look rather strange. What is he doing right now…? He’d only been napping briefly, yet his husband had grabbed him by the neck. Not only that, but now he was even lifting his eyelids to examine them. How fucking romantic, really… Seo-woon mumbled in a completely hoarse voice.
“…Let go…”
“Are you conscious?!”
“I said let go…!”
Well, what, did you think I was dead? His throat hurt, making it difficult to speak properly. He waved his hand dismissively, filled with annoyance, and the clumsy hands that had been checking Seo-woon’s vital signs fell away. What time it was now, where his phone might be—none of it mattered anymore. He didn’t have the strength to lift even a finger.
If only he could sleep deeply like this. Seo-woon closed his eyes again. He would have fallen back asleep if not for the unfamiliar sensation he felt on his exposed back.
“Ah, no! I can’t do any more! I won’t do it!”
Human survival instinct was truly magnificent. Seo-woon, who had been lying there like the dead, sprang up from where he lay. Making an X with both arms, he raised his cracking voice as high as he could. He made all that fuss, but Yi-jin was just standing there holding a fluffy bathrobe, staring at Seo-woon blankly.
“I was worried you might catch a cold…”
“…Ah.”
“…I thought you should cover yourself with something while sleeping…”
Ha ha ha, I see. The one offering the rice cake never thought of it, but I was the one who misunderstood? Although he’d been naked the whole time, Seo-woon now felt a bit embarrassed. It absolutely wasn’t shameful though. Seo-woon was confident.
“What are you doing? Didn’t you bring it to give to me?”
“That’s correct.”
Feeling embarrassed and trying to change the subject, Yi-jin politely held out the bathrobe. That look was somehow familiar. Oh, I know this. This was exactly how Seo-woon looked when going to get approval from his department head.
Well, whatever. Can a person be perfect? At least the sex is perfect, so that’s fine. Seo-woon obediently accepted the bathrobe. Still lacking strength, he fumbled to put on the robe while sitting on the bed, but just lifting his waist slightly made him feel like his bottom might fall off.
“Ugh…”
“Are you alright?”
At the shallow moan that escaped, Yi-jin asked helplessly, not knowing what to do. Seo-woon watched him quietly, then flopped down on the bed. However Yi-jin interpreted this, an earthquake occurred in his pupils.
“We should definitely move up that medical examination…!”
“How can I go to the hospital like this? Never mind, come here. Help me put it on.”
“What do you mean?”
“The robe, I mean.”
Even after receiving the command, Yi-jin remained unmoved. He literally seemed not to know what to do. “What are you doing?” When Seo-woon peeked his head up and asked, wondering how long he’d stay like that, Yi-jin hurriedly climbed onto the bed. Perhaps because the mattress was so good, even with such a large frame climbing up, no shaking was felt at all. Having such a good bed and rolling around on the living room floor instead—what a waste of resources.
Having regained his original expressionless face, Yi-jin looked as consistently neat as when they’d met that morning. Instead of the suit soaked with bodily fluids of unknown origin, he had changed everything fresh from shirt to tie. Compared to such an Yi-jin, the current Seo-woon was like a scoundrel, but compared to when he had been unilaterally biting and sucking earlier, lying naked now was much less embarrassing.
The hands that had left handprints all over Seo-woon’s body due to poor strength control were now overly careful as they helped him into the bathrobe. Thanks to that, he dozed off briefly. When he opened his eyes to a tickling sensation, Yi-jin was hesitating, not knowing how to lift Seo-woon’s waist. Should putting on one robe really take this long? Even thinking this, Seo-woon didn’t stop or rush Yi-jin. He just watched quietly.
Clumsy. There were definitely no signs that he’d been touched by another person’s hands in this regard. In what could be considered a romantic situation, that was Seo-woon’s first thought.
At some point, I became unable to view others’ kindness with pure innocence. With just a passing tone of voice or a meaningless habitual action, I easily judge people and arbitrarily assign value to their goodwill based on these judgments.
What if Yi-jin had been a more skillful person? Perhaps this whole mess wouldn’t have happened. Someone who has such a nice house and perfect exterior but doesn’t know how to use it properly—it’s frustrating, and that’s why I married him.
Yi-jin is someone that even the moderately worn-down Seo-woon can’t easily judge. Even now, I never expected to meet Yi-jin overnight. And what about how he looks so worldly smart but can’t even properly put on a gown?
I like this person who sidesteps my hasty predictions and judgments. Once I acknowledged my feelings, what came next was surprisingly easy. Yes, I like you. I like you. I like you. For the first time in a very long while, Seo-woon let his thoughts flow as his heart desired. Setting aside uncertain futures and formless worries, he looked only at his own heart.
“It’s all done.”
I can see Yi-jin solemnly reporting the progress as if he’d accomplished something remarkable.
“Do you like the ribbon? I didn’t know what style you prefer, so I tied it in the standard way.”
How unnecessarily serious. Normally I would have laughed it off, but somehow I can’t laugh right now. Seo-woon said:
“I like it.”
“I’m glad you’re satisfied.”
…Huh, I just now… I didn’t realize when I was saying it, but now I understand. Seo-woon wasn’t talking about the ribbon just now. It’s nice to see Yi-jin looking proud, but he didn’t even look at the ribbon.
“Are you cold?”
“Huh? Oh, a little, yes, it’s cold.”
Seo-woon burrowed into the blankets, wriggling to hide his reddened face. He wasn’t particularly cold, but being buried under the blankets while wearing a gown felt much more cozy and nice. It was psychologically comforting too. Being warm made him even sleepier. When his body, faithful to instinct regardless of his embarrassment, yawned again, Yi-jin quickly told him to sleep and got down from the bed. “Where are you going?” Seo-woon asked with a drawn-out yawn.
“I’m going to the airport.”
“What?”
“I still have about 12 minutes to spare, so I’ll put away the rug before I go. Please sleep comfortably.”
…He really came because of me. I knew it, but hearing it again feels even better. No, I think it would feel good no matter how many times I heard it. Seo-woon stared intently at Yi-jin. He wanted to touch that alpha right now. If he leaves now, he won’t see him for another month, and he wanted to hold onto this husband who was going to put away a rug instead of staying close and cuddling.
“Is there anything else you need?”
“Uh, yes.”
“Please tell me.”
You, you dense fool. From then on, Seo-woon started saying whatever came to mind.
“Cover me with the blanket.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Pull it down a little. It’s stuffy.”
“Yes. Is there anything else you need?”
“…Where’s my phone?”
“I’ll call it.”
Seo-woon’s phone was on the nightstand beside the bed. Thanks to that, he found it right away. “Found it!” Yi-jin looked thoroughly pleased, having brilliantly completed this mission too. Honestly, it didn’t even take 10 seconds. Damn, what’s with this? Seo-woon deliberately gave him a more challenging mission.
“My throat hurts…”
“Perhaps we should go to the hospital…”
“No. Could you get me some water?”
“Please wait a moment.”
At this point, he’s like an errand boy. This time I’ll just honestly tell him to stay beside me. Feeling shy, he was fluttering the blanket when something sparkled and shone beside him. Turning his head, he saw two phones lying side by side. Seo-woon’s and Yi-jin’s phones—it was Yi-jin’s phone screen that was lit up. Some kind of alarm kept going off, but the sound and vibration seemed to be turned off.
If it was an important contact, he would have left the sound on, so he was about to turn his head away without much interest. Something caught his eye. Seo-woon’s hand naturally moved toward the phone. He had no awareness of opening someone else’s phone without permission. His hand moved on its own. It was irresistible.
The phone wasn’t locked. Thanks to that, Seo-woon too easily accessed the cafe. It was the legendary mom cafe that Yi-jin had been getting help from even before marriage. So this thing really existed—it was almost wondrous. Seo-woon scanned the screen with a trembling heart.
‘One-month newlywed couple divorce possibility inquiry.’
Just from the title, I can tell. This is definitely a post written by Yi-jin. No doubt about it. Absolutely right. So he really did ask the mom cafe! A small thrill arose at this secretly glimpsed inner world.
Not only the post title, but why are there so many comments? Actually, maybe this number of comments is normal. Seo-woon doesn’t know the atmosphere of this cafe. He didn’t particularly want to know either. That was true until just now.
Yi-jin, who left the bedroom to get just a glass of water, still hasn’t returned. Between the half-closed bedroom door and the unlocked phone, Seo-woon hesitated before quickly moving her fingers. Ah, whatever. It’s not like I’ll get divorced over this, right? If he’s the type to ask for divorce over something like this, I’d rather refuse. The rationalizations were varied. And so Seo-woon entered the mom cafe.
What is this? Seo-woon momentarily doubted his own eyes. It wasn’t in a foreign language and there weren’t any unfamiliar words, yet the content didn’t register at first glance. He wasn’t the only one who felt this way—the comments showed similar reactions.
Eun-dal: A 2-month business trip?.. That’s too long. Still.. you’re newlyweds.. wouldn’t it be better not to go if possible..
└ Anti-duplicate-IDs: Didn’t he already go?
└ Eun-dal: No.. it’s only been a month since the wedding but the business trip is for 2 months..
└ MangoMangoAppleMango: Yes~ So it seems like he’s on the business trip now~>
└ Eun-dal: The numbers.. don’t make sense.. How can you go on a 2-month business trip when you’ve only been married for a month..ㅎㅎ
└ Sky-room: ?? What do you mean..
└ Iced-coffee: No.. excuse me… who doesn’t know that… Ah this is frustrating;;;;
└ …
└ …
Fine-drink62: If every couple divorced when someone went on business trips, which couples would be left.. Don’t worry and have a good trip~ ㅎㅎ
Tiger-ya: My wife also had a job with frequent business trips, but she quit decisively saying she couldn’t live being apart like this even though the money was good.
└ Cooking-jjoon: Could I possibly know what field that was.. I’m really struggling with this these days too.. ㅠㅠ
└ Tiger-ya: I sent you a message.
kahhhhh: You’re going on a 2-month business trip? Just 5 days after the wedding…? You did go on your honeymoon, right?
└ Jini4321: Yes. We went.
Baking-mix: You must be very busy with work. We all do this to make a living, but why can’t we have both leisure and money.. ㅠㅠ As the person above said, does it make sense to divorce just because someone goes on a business trip.. I think what’s most important is how you brought it up to your spouse and what your spouse thinks about it. When you return, treat them twice as well to make up for the time apart.
└ Winter-bird: 222 Don’t mind the other comments. Member management has been lacking lately..
└ How-old-am-I: 3 We all do this to make a living~! They’ll understand. Have a good trip. Fighting!
└ Amor-farina-it: Truly wise advice… This is why I can’t quit our cafe ㅠㅠ
└ Go-go-heaven: Speaking from experience.. I understood it intellectually but emotionally it didn’t make sense. I felt so hurt.. I trust you explained it well.
The confusion was brief, followed by practical advice. Well, whatever. They were right. They were right, but an important fact hadn’t emerged yet. Seo-woon had learned about Yi-jin’s business trip on the airplane to their honeymoon. That sneaky bastard, how could he leave out just that part! Seo-woon’s fingers trembled with rising anger again.
Fortunately, all misunderstandings were cleared up before scrolling down much further. As Seo-woon thought, Yi-jin wasn’t a sneaky person. Yi-jin’s replies changed everything.
Hoodie-likes-hu: Of course your spouse’s feelings are most important. How did your spouse react?
└ Jini4321: They asked if I didn’t want to try getting divorced.
└ Hoodie-likes-hu: When you said you were going on a business trip..?
└ Jini4321: Yes.
└ Hoodie-likes-hu: That’s serious… How did you bring it up, Jini…? When discussing these things, the mood and situation are also important.
└ Jini4321: I told them on the airplane to our honeymoon.
└ Hoodie-likes-hu: ? Yes..?
└ Explorer-jeon: ??? What did I just read???
└ Honey-honey-canola-honey: You’re going on a 2-month business trip and you mentioned it for the first time on the airplane to your honeymoon?
└ Jini4321: Yes, that’s correct.
└ Honey-honey-canola-honey: Wow~ Just because you can talk doesn’t mean you should say anything~ That’s not what your mouth is for~ ㅎㅎㅎ
└ Don’t-wait: Oh my goodness….
└ Caramel: What did you say???
└ Don’t-buy-lens-cleaner: Sigh… So that’s why your spouse asked if you wanted to get divorced….
└ I-am-man: Wow, people like this really exist;;;;;
└ Our-dog-totally-cute: Seeing that you haven’t been divorced yet, your spouse must be a saint;;;;
└ Happiness-mom-ID: How can you decide such an important thing without consulting your spouse..
└ Jini4321: It was decided before the marriage, so there was no need to consult.
└ Rich-unemployed: Excuse me??? No need???
└ Pure-pure: ????????????
└ Captain-americano: A perfect specimen! A perfect specimen has appeared!!!!!!
└ Catfish: No need?? Then what, do you get married because you need to??
└ Close-eyes-Kim-Minji: Legendary…… ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ Heat-don’t-come: What did I just see..?
└ What-to-do-twist: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋCrazyㅋㅋㅋㅋ No need he saysㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ Jini4321: Marriage falls within the realm of things that can be done, so it’s appropriate to carry it out. I didn’t do it out of need.
└ August: What kind of bullshit is this..? Am I the one lacking comprehension;;
└ Strawberry-juice: Wow… seriously…….. This is legendary…………
└ Milk-uncle: Everyone, don’t respond to them. It’s trolling, so let’s go straight to reporting.
└ Ding-dong-deng-dong: Jini4321’s spouse.. run away ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
└ Jini4321: Why should they run away?
└ Monthly-medley: You’re asking because you don’t know that…….
└ Apocalypse-button-press: Total madness^^!!!!!!
♥Eugene♥: 2-month business trip just 5 days after marriage ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ But telling them on the airplane to the honeymoon ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Isn’t this fraudulent marriage at this point
└ Celsius-100: 222222222222 Fraudulent marriage level..
└ Yeonho-discharge: High probability of sham marriage.
└ Jini4321: It’s not fraudulent marriage and not a sham marriage.
└ Yeonho-quit-job: That’s what you think.^^
└ Whipped-cream-stone-pagoda: Do scammers introduce themselves as scammers? ㅠㅠㅠ
Fortune-teller: What about that spouse ㅠㅠㅠ They probably won’t even grant a divorce ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
└ Our-Hyeon: 2 I completely agree with this person’s opinion. You speak so well. So is that you in your profile picture?
└ Unlucky-manager-Park: Person above ㅡㅡ Check the notice. Our cafe prohibits socializing.ㅡㅡ
└ Seoul-prosecutors-office: 33333 Definitely won’t grant it.. Could they have even gotten married if it weren’t for their current spouse..
└ Speck-gather-speck: 44 I’m genuinely worried ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
└ Take-away-keyboard: 5555 What to do ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
└ Survival-diary: 6666666 You need to be able to communicate to get divorced…..
└ …
└ …
└ …
└ …
Comments Section:
└ ChickenGirl: 1919191919191919
BarleyBarleyHairTie: Still doesn’t want to get divorced despite everything, huh ㅎㅎㅎㅎㅎㅎㅎㅎ
└ PomeranianGirl: Of course she wouldn’t want to. Do you think she could get remarried after all this? ㅋㅋ
JellyBoss: The part about “no need to discuss” was the killer point^^! That insane confidence
└ NyomNyom: That’s really not normal-world level confidence…
└ TravelingIndefinitely: Why is she so confident, seriously ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ JellyBoss: Right? It’s not just me who felt that way, right? So confident ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Friendship2: Looking at it again, the idea of going on a 2-month business trip doesn’t make sense from the start. What company sends an employee on a business trip for 2 months? Especially overseas.
└ AnSaeMom: 222 The more I think about it, the more suspicious it gets ㄷㄷㄷ
└ blackintheroom: 33333333 This is so true. Anyone who’s worked in corporate knows this doesn’t make sense.
└ JjingRoom: Wow, getting chills…………
└ ChunshikDottir: Crazy, it must really be a marriage scam ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
└ MilitaryMomma: 5555555555555555
└ DoubleShot: Got chills… What should we do…..
└ ChanhyukMom232: I’m.. this year.. let’s just say it’s a well-known mid-sized company that everyone knows.. 11 years there.. (details.. pass.. my position is executive..) Not overseas assignment but overseas business trips for 2 months..? Impossible.. Maybe if you’re a major corporation executive..
└ HarmoniousLife: Even major corporations aren’t that easy. Such opportunities are rare, and what executive would move between branches doing hands-on work..
└ ㅇㅅㅇ=3: Must be the company president’s son….. A president’s son doing hands-on work at a major corporation…
└ HandCreamMakesWantWashHands: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Really, it would have to be that level to make sense ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ NicknameInUse: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Was looking seriously but burst out laughing here
└ KkudakKkudak: Right? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ CoolWaterLemonHair: If it’s the president’s son, I accept!! ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ ThereAreBadPeopleInWorld: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ President’s son doing hands-on work ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ WornWornYeon: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ The story’s credibility has been secured!
└ HingguIngguBonggu: Then it makes sense but still should get divorced.. ㅠㅠ
└ PumpkinPie: Absolutely should divorce. What’s the point if he’s the president’s son. Money isn’t everything..
ArtBoxBoss: Your spouse.. please have a safe breakup…
└ What’sThe112Number: 222 Really worried ㅠㅠㅠ There are so many crazy people these days ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
└ HealthIsTheBest: 3333 Safe breakup please ㅠㅠㅠ
Right. This was normal. It was a post that was bound to get flooded with comments from the beginning. Yi-jin’s replies that had been appearing intermittently also disappeared at some point. He must not have seen them because he was on the plane. Seo-woon easily deduced Yi-jin’s last 24 hours. While Yi-jin was on his flight, word spread quickly, and eventually everyone was unanimously calling for Yi-jin’s divorce. It felt somewhat satisfying. The corners of Seo-woon’s mouth twitched excitedly as he checked the comments.
“Seo-woon-ssi. I brought water.”
The controversial protagonist, Yi-jin, appeared with ice water. What kind of huge cup did he bring – that big glass was full of ice. Just looking at it made his bones feel cold. Well, since he brought it with good intentions, he was about to at least wet his lips when a new notification appeared on Yi-jin’s phone that he had hurriedly set down.
“…Oh….”
This couldn’t be. Flustered, Seo-woon looked back and forth between Yi-jin and the phone. The ice water was already forgotten. Finding this strange, Yi-jin came closer and asked.
“What’s wrong?”
“……”
“Is something the matter?”
“…Well…. I was sitting next to it so I saw by accident….”
Seo-woon hesitated, and Yi-jin quietly waited for her to continue. Then came the shocking news.
“…You’ve been demoted.”
“…Pardon?”
“Mr. Yi-jin, you’ve been demoted. It says you’ve been demoted for accumulating 2 warnings…”
Seo-woon didn’t know that ‘Orange Terrace,’ the community where Yi-jin was active, required proof of marriage through wedding invitations and marriage certificates to become a special member. They managed membership that thoroughly, but complaints had been pouring in from existing members due to the cafe’s 5th anniversary event implemented a few days ago. Thanks to that, a notice had been posted postponing indefinite special member promotions for the time being. And yet…
“Are… are you okay?”
“……”
“Mr. Yi-jin!”
Yi-jin had been demoted. The newlywed husband who had depended on the internet for everything without a single friend had his world collapse.