By Zephyria 
After finishing the call, Yoon Tae-hee headed back to the front yard where Jae-gyeom was. Jae-gyeom was sitting in the spot Yoon Tae-hee had dug up, playing with the dirt using a hand hoe. As he approached, Jae-gyeom asked.
“What did Seok Ju-ryeon say? I heard he quit as Chief of Exorcism Department.”
“I don’t know. He might have stepped down from the position, but I don’t think he’s completely quit.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. My guess is that he’ll probably stay on.”
Jae-gyeom fell into thought for a moment.
Seok Ju-ryeon is staying at the Exorcism Bureau? If so…
“What is it?”
Yoon Tae-hee asked, noticing Jae-gyeom’s ambiguous reaction.
“Nothing. It’s nothing.”
At that, Jae-gyeom shrugged and shook his head.
“Well, I should go inside and study now.”
Jae-gyeom brushed the dirt off his hands and sprang up. Just as he was about to enter the house, Yoon Tae-hee called out to stop him.
“Jae-gyeom.”
“What?”
“You’ve got something on your face.”
Yoon Tae-hee suddenly pulled off his work gloves and gestured for him to come closer. When Jae-gyeom approached, Yoon Tae-hee tilted his head slightly and unexpectedly kissed Jae-gyeom on the cheek.
Chu.
Startled, Jae-gyeom flinched and looked around left and right.
“Hey! What if the kids see us?”
“There’s no one here. Everyone is inside.”
At those words, Jae-gyeom quickly scanned the surroundings again. Fortunately, as Yoon Tae-hee said, it seemed no one had seen.
“Still, the kids are here, so don’t do that inside the house.”
Yoon Tae-hee replied, “Then what about outside?”
“Of course not outside either. People are walking around.”
“You say no at home because it’s home, and no outside because it’s outside… everything is a ‘no.’ Then what am I supposed to do when I want to kiss you?”
Yoon Tae-hee voiced his complaint. Jae-gyeom found himself speechless. Now that he thought about it, he had a point. After pondering for a moment, Jae-gyeom spoke.
“Fine. Then give me a signal before you kiss me.”
“A signal?”
“If you send a signal that you want to kiss, I’ll check the situation and let you know if it’s okay. When I say it’s okay, then you can kiss me.”
“So I have to tell you every single time before I do it?”
“Exactly. Unless we’re truly the only two people in a space.”
Yoon Tae-hee muttered to himself.
“That seems so mood-killing…”
“What’s ‘mood-killing’?”
“It means the atmosphere is ruined.”
“Why would the atmosphere be ruined? It depends on how you think about it.”
Jae-gyeom added with a serious face.
“That kind of thing is all in your head.”
“…”
After standing in silence for a moment, Yoon Tae-hee suddenly spoke up.
“Kiss.”
“What?”
“Can I?”
Jae-gyeom glanced around once more, then nodded as if exchanging secret information and leaned his face closer. Yoon Tae-hee then gave a light chu near his brow bone.
“…”
It was a simple kiss, but Jae-gyeom felt a burning heat rise to his ears. His eyebrow was what was touched, yet his palms felt itchy.
“Kiss.”
Yoon Tae-hee blurted it out again, as if acting spoiled.
“Again?”
When Jae-gyeom asked, Yoon Tae-hee said, “Will you give me one?”
This time, he was asking for one.
“…”
Jae-gyeom checked the surroundings once more, then lightly held Yoon Tae-hee’s neck and kissed him—once on the cheek, once at the corner of his eye. Then, he haphazardly ruffled Yoon Tae-hee’s hair with both hands. It was a soft touch, a mix of embarrassment and playfulness.
“There, happy? Let’s go eat.”
Jae-gyeom hurried inside the house, touching his flushed ears.
Come to think of it, he realized it had been quite a while since he’d kissed Yoon Tae-hee. Perhaps that was why Jae-gyeom’s heart was fluttering.
Ironically, before they started dating, they had kissed several times and done things even more intimate than that. But once they actually became a couple, they had been somewhat reserved with each other, making even a kiss on the cheek feel new.
The reason their relationship had become so innocent was partly due to the fact that Yoon Tae-hee, who used to act as wild as a colt, had learned to exercise restraint. It was also out of consideration for Jae-gyeom, who was conscious of the family’s gaze.
After entering his room, Jae-gyeom dove into his studies for the day.
After finishing one video lecture, he felt thirsty. Jae-gyeom headed to the kitchen for some water. There, he spotted Jeong-ju making something in a corner of the kitchen. As he got closer, he saw Jeong-ju mixing something that looked like a watery paste.
“What’s that?”
When Jae-gyeom asked while drinking water, Jeong-ju answered.
“This is a modeling mask. The director at the shop I go to gave it to me, so I’m going to try it out.”
“What do you use it for?”
“If you mix this powder with water, it becomes a mask. You apply it to your face, and after some time, it dries. When you peel it off, your skin texture improves. It makes it moist. They say basic skincare absorbs better too.”
Jeong-ju had always put a lot of effort into grooming his appearance. He paid particular attention to skincare; not only did he have a separate vanity in his room, but the bathroom shelves were packed with all sorts of skincare products. Even when Jae-gyeom nagged him to throw away the ones he didn’t use, the answer was always, ‘I use all of them. There’s nothing I don’t use.’
Jeong-ju, who was diligently preparing the mask, asked.
“Jae-gyeom, do you want to try it too?”
Jae-gyeom replied with an indifferent face.
“No.”
“Whyyy. You have to manage your skin early too. Aging happens in an instant, you know? It might not seem to have much effect right now, but it all shows later on.”
“I’m fine. You just do it a lot.”
“Aw, come on, just try it once. I’m telling you, it’s really different after you do it.”
Since Jeong-ju’s profession was a celebrity, it was natural for him to care about his appearance, but from Jae-gyeom’s perspective, it just felt unnecessary. They spent a while bickering back and forth about whether to do the mask or not.
Just then, Yoon Tae-hee, who had been outside, finished tending to the garden and walked into the living room. Jeong-ju greeted him with a bright face.
“Tae-hee, I’m going to do a modeling mask. Do you want to join me?”
Yoon Tae-hee paused and tilted his head.
“A modeling mask?”
“Yes, it’s great for the skin. Basically, it’s…”
Having finished his water, Jae-gyeom set the cup down and snorted.
I mean, you do that kind of stuff, but would Yoon Tae-hee actually do it?
A short while later.
When Jae-gyeom returned to the living room after going back to his room, the two were sitting side by side on the sofa, both wearing headbands and with masks applied to their faces. To make matters worse, the masks happened to be pink.
“…”
Jae-gyeom stared at the sight, speechless.
It was absurd to see two grown men sitting like that. Setting aside the fact that Jeong-ju was a celebrity and his looks were his asset, the sight of Yoon Tae-hee doing it as well was staggering.
Another fact he had learned while living with Yoon Tae-hee.
Yoon Tae-hee cares about self-care more than he lets on.
Of course, compared to Jeong-ju, who was overtly fussy, Yoon Tae-hee seemed relatively easygoing. However, that was only because he didn’t make a show of it; in reality, he was the type to quietly do everything necessary.
For example, he always applied sunscreen before going out, trimmed his eyebrows every time he shaved, applied plenty of cream to his face before bed, used lip balm frequently, and always kept his fingernails short and neat.
In that sense, Yoon Tae-hee and Jeong-ju got along surprisingly well.
There was even an occasion like this once.
It happened when they all went downtown to eat. While walking down the street, Jeong-ju and Yoon Tae-hee spotted a drugstore and asked if they could stop in for a moment because they had things to buy.
Jae-gyeom readily agreed to accompany them. Until then, he thought the two would just buy what they needed and come right out.
Contrary to Jae-gyeom’s expectations, however, Jeong-ju and Yoon Tae-hee began moving from section to section, engaging in a serious discussion about beauty products.
‘Tae-hee, they say this sunscreen is good.’
‘Really? I only use chemical sunscreens for my face…’
‘Ah, you don’t use physical sunscreens? I mostly use physical ones. They have a white cast, so they automatically tone up the skin.’
‘Still, for a physical sunscreen, the texture of this one is quite runny.’
‘Right. Let’s test it on the back of the hand…’
Jae-gyeom didn’t understand even half of their conversation. So, he aimlessly went to the oral care section, picking up and putting down toothpastes and toothbrushes, and walked around the store, but no matter how he looked at it, all the products looked the same, and he felt nothing but boredom.
Thirty minutes passed.
‘Tae-hee, how about this one?’
‘This cream used to be sold only in department stores, but I guess they sell it here now. Try testing it. This one is good.’
‘Hmm…’
‘How is it?’
‘But isn’t this too oily?’
‘Huh? I like it because it’s oily.’
Amidst the feast of incomprehensible words, the soles of his feet began to ache…
‘Tae-hee, do you have dry skin?’
‘Yes, I have extremely dry skin.’
‘Ah, then you should use something like this.’
…By this point, his blood was boiling.
‘Hey, I’m going home first.’
Unable to take it any longer, Jae-gyeom finally snapped.
‘These bastards, I’ve been patient enough…’
Only then did the two finally stop their conversation and buy their items.
At first, he wondered if the two would get along, but it was an unnecessary worry. Even without Jae-gyeom acting as a bridge, the two got along well on their own. They didn’t look awkward at all, even when they were alone.
Jae-gyeom found it fascinating that they got along so well.
Since both were quick-witted and sensitive, he had actually worried that they might clash. However, conversely, it was because of that that they had common ground. Each of them noticed the other’s sensitivity to some extent, so they considered each other in subtle ways.
A relationship where they were close but still maintained their boundaries. This safe distance seemed to provide a sense of comfort.
Jae-gyeom welcomed the fact that the two got along. It was better to see them like this than to see them acting awkward and distant.
It’s just that, occasionally, it was utterly ridiculous.
“Tae-hee, don’t you have any plans to build more muscle?”
“I don’t know. Not particularly?”
“Eh, why? I think you’d look great if you bulked up.”
“I did it before, but it didn’t look pretty, so I lost it again.”
“Wow, you’re so annoying~.”
Leaving the two men behind as they sat side by side with masks on, chatting amiably, Jae-gyeom returned to his room to resume his studies.