“Bye! Thank you. See you tomorrow. I’ll see you again!”
Luke waved and bowed with all the greetings he knew as soon as he stepped out of the car.
“Get some rest and see you tomorrow.”
Jiheon watched him run towards the hotel building for a moment, then rolled up the driver’s side window. Just as he was about to restart the car, Jaekyung suddenly spoke from the passenger seat.
“Hyung, you really have a way of seducing people without even trying.”
“What?”
Startled by the sudden comment, Jiheon momentarily forgot to press the accelerator and turned to look at Jaekyung.
Jaekyung wasn’t making eye contact. He rested his elbow on the window frame and gazed straight ahead, speaking in a nonchalant tone.
“Lucas couldn’t snap out of it.”
‘……Is this guy blind? Are his eyes just for show, or is it because he’s always wearing goggles in the pool?’
“Hey, he came all the way to Korea just to see you. Do you think I’m trying to seduce him?”
Jiheon finally stepped on the accelerator as he started the car, throwing out that response. At that moment, Jaekyung turned his head and gave Jiheon an incredulous look.
“Hyung, did he say that?”
“No.”
“Then what makes you think that?”
“You’ll understand when you see it.”
Jaekyung’s expression seemed to convey that he had no clue at all.
“Hyung, I didn’t do anything wrong, okay? Even back in Australia, I wasn’t really close to him. We hardly even talked.”
‘Back in Ilsan, we weren’t close either, and we hardly even talked.’
—Those words were the first thing that came to mind, but Jiheon didn’t say them out loud. He just didn’t want to do that. He didn’t want to delve into their past in this situation. So, he simply sighed and replied.
“A crush is called a crush for a reason. It’s because he can’t talk about it; he just keeps it to himself. And it seems that he learned Korean because of you.”
“Didn’t he just learn that at school?”
“No. He learned it over the past year. At a tutoring center.”
“How the hell do you know so much, hyung……?”
Jaekyung squinted his eyes. Jiheon was taken aback by Jaekyung’s somewhat meaningful reaction and retorted.
“That’s what he told me earlier! Did you even listen?”
When he asked that, Jaekyung made an expression as if saying, “Did he?”
Jiheon thought this guy was listening but pretending not to, but he really didn’t.
“I don’t know. I don’t really care.”
Jaekyung muttered as if he really didn’t want to do that. Eventually, he clicked his tongue in annoyance. Looking at his cold expression, Jiheon couldn’t help but wonder, “What the hell does Luke see in this guy?”
Jaekyung often said things that could hurt others when he opened his mouth, his social skills were a wreck, and there was nothing to see other than his face and body. Oh, and of course he was good at swimming. And he was sometimes cool and cute. That was all he had.
‘But well…… Isn’t that enough?’
Jiheon’s thoughts meandered in confusion, and suddenly, Jaekyung called him.
“Hyung, just to be clear, don’t even think about doing anything about me and Luke.”
Jiheon was taken aback by this unexpected statement, his eyes widening.
“What? Do I look that nosy?”
“Rather than nosy, you’re overly responsible in a strange way. I’m afraid you’ll push me around, saying he’s a better fit for me than you.”
“No way.”
Jiheon chuckled.
“I’m not that selfless. I know myself better than anyone else.”
At that Jaekyung rested his chin on the back of his hand, looking at Jiheon gently.
“You really don’t know yourself very well, hyung.”
“You’re wrong.”
“I’m not. I could write a whole thesis about you.”
Jaekyung stubbornly insisted.
“It’s obvious without even seeing it. That title won’t pass.”
Jiheon said it while laughing as much as he could, but when he thought about it, he wondered if Kwon Jaekyung understood him halfway, if not 100%.
Because there was a strong possibility that, at some point, he might have encouraged Jaekyung to try things out with Luke for two—no, for just one month.
Well, back then, all Jiheon could think of was how to get Jaekyung tired of him and make him fall out of love. Or if someone else showed up—not necessarily Luke—he would’ve asked Jaekyung to go out with him half-heartedly.
However, when he looked at Luke today, he hadn’t thought of anything like that at all.
On the contrary, when Luke asked if Jiheon had a boyfriend, he couldn’t bring himself to say he didn’t have one, fearing it might hurt Jaekyung’s feelings. He ended up causing Luke unnecessary distress for no reason.
It was at that moment.
“But I felt pretty good about that earlier.”
“What?”
“You didn’t tell him you didn’t have a boyfriend.”
Jiheon was startled by Jaekyung’s words that seemed to have read his mind, making him glance at him. Jaekyung was also looking at Jiheon. When their eyes met, Jaekyung smiled so deeply that the corners of his eyes slightly wrinkled, which was rare.
“It would’ve been better if you had said you did have a boyfriend, though.”
Jiheon was so stunned that his heart started thumping loudly. How could he not be? This unbelievable timing was astonishing, but the fact that Jaekyung knew his intentions was even more mind-boggling.
But the most surprising thing of all was Jaekyung’s smile. To be precise, he was deeply agitated by that smiling face.
Maybe a few days ago, Jiheon would have reacted differently. Even though it might have been embarrassing that Jaekyung had seen through his intentions, he would have probably said something like, ‘Hey, even if I had a boyfriend, you think it would be you?’ and tried to spoil his plans for no reason.
No, he wouldn’t even have said that he had a boyfriend.
Regardless of whether Jaekyung was upset or not, Jiheon would’ve simply said that he didn’t have a boyfriend and didn’t do such things.
But now…… he didn’t know. It felt ridiculous that he held himself back from saying such things out of fear that it might upset Jaekyung, but he was also happy that Jaekyung had realized his intentions.
The fact that Jaekyung knew and was even happy about it… he was so happy that he smiled in a way that made Jiheon’s heart beat so fast.
‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me.’
Jiheon hadn’t been able to understand himself for the past few days.
One thing was certain, though. Since Jaekyung was happy, it made Jiheon happy too. He liked seeing Jaekyung happy, especially when he smiled with such joy at his simple words. It filled Jiheon’s heart with joy, and he wanted to make Jaekyung smile more if he could. He wanted to make him happier. The guy smiling so lovingly and happy even at his trivial words.
The traffic light ahead changed, and Jiheon slowly brought the car to a stop before saying:
“Next time.”
“Yes?”
“Next time Luke asks me that question again, I’ll say that.”
For a moment, Jaekyung had a puzzled expression as if he was wondering what Jiheon meant. But then he realized belatedly that it was the answer of his comment, “It would’ve been better if you had said you did have a boyfriend, though.”
His eyes widened as if he was baffled.
“What’s this all of a sudden?”
He acted as if seriously asking, “Why are you doing this now?” but he secretly showed a hint of joy in the midst of that.
“What do you mean ‘all of a sudden’? I already said that to Yeonho. What’s the big deal if there’s another person like Luke added to it now?”
Jiheon grinned and brushed it off, saying it was no big deal. But his grip on the steering wheel was tight, and his heart was racing even faster than before. He hadn’t felt this elated in a long time, and the whirlwind of emotions left him struggling to breathe properly.
He knew this feeling. He couldn’t say it was exactly the same, but there were times in the early days of relationships when he was overflowing with the desire to be nice to his lover. ‘Because you’re my lover, my boyfriend, my girlfriend, we belong to each other,’ etc. When he thought about it that way, he wanted to make them feel happy and satisfied with this relationship.
Even though it was closer to a sense of debt arising from a sense of obligation, he was still happy when the other person smiled. He felt like he was doing a great job. He felt confident that he wouldn’t fail this time, and he had hope that he could continue to do so until the end, just like everyone else.
But that was, after all, the feeling he felt towards his lover at the height of their relationship. Yet, Jaekyung was not his lover. What they had wasn’t even close to dating; it was more like a transaction.
Therefore, there was no need for him to have such a sense of obligation; he just wanted to get this deal over with quickly.
Not too long ago, he genuinely wished that Jaekyung would quickly lose interest in him and grow to dislike him.
But why did he feel such happiness now when he saw Jaekyung so happy? Why did he want to make Jaekyung even happier and see him smile more? Why did he hate the thought of hurting his feelings? Why did his heart feel like shattering at the mere thought of Jaekyung being upset and hurt? Jiheon had never felt this desperate, not even in his countless previous relationships.
He wondered why, but somehow, he already knew the reason. It wasn’t even something he had just realized. He had been vaguely aware of it for some time. Maybe that was why he was so scared. He guessed he hated it and felt scared of it.
The traffic light switched, and cars began to move in unison. The vehicle ahead gleamed in the midday sunlight, and it wasn’t just that car; every vehicle on the road seemed to be racing with their headlights and taillights gleaming. Even the asphalt road appeared a brilliant white under the midday sun.
It was so dazzling and painful that Jiheon wanted to cry a little.
“Bye! Thank you. See you tomorrow. I’ll see you again!”
Luke waved and bowed with all the greetings he knew as soon as he stepped out of the car.
“Get some rest and see you tomorrow.”
Jiheon watched him run towards the hotel building for a moment, then rolled up the driver’s side window. Just as he was about to restart the car, Jaekyung suddenly spoke from the passenger seat.
“Hyung, you really have a way of seducing people without even trying.”
“What?”
Startled by the sudden comment, Jiheon momentarily forgot to press the accelerator and turned to look at Jaekyung.
Jaekyung wasn’t making eye contact. He rested his elbow on the window frame and gazed straight ahead, speaking in a nonchalant tone.
“Lucas couldn’t snap out of it.”
‘……Is this guy blind? Are his eyes just for show, or is it because he’s always wearing goggles in the pool?’
“Hey, he came all the way to Korea just to see you. Do you think I’m trying to seduce him?”
Jiheon finally stepped on the accelerator as he started the car, throwing out that response. At that moment, Jaekyung turned his head and gave Jiheon an incredulous look.
“Hyung, did he say that?”
“No.”
“Then what makes you think that?”
“You’ll understand when you see it.”
Jaekyung’s expression seemed to convey that he had no clue at all.
“Hyung, I didn’t do anything wrong, okay? Even back in Australia, I wasn’t really close to him. We hardly even talked.”
‘Back in Ilsan, we weren’t close either, and we hardly even talked.’
—Those words were the first thing that came to mind, but Jiheon didn’t say them out loud. He just didn’t want to do that. He didn’t want to delve into their past in this situation. So, he simply sighed and replied.
“A crush is called a crush for a reason. It’s because he can’t talk about it; he just keeps it to himself. And it seems that he learned Korean because of you.”
“Didn’t he just learn that at school?”
“No. He learned it over the past year. At a tutoring center.”
“How the hell do you know so much, hyung……?”
Jaekyung squinted his eyes. Jiheon was taken aback by Jaekyung’s somewhat meaningful reaction and retorted.
“That’s what he told me earlier! Did you even listen?”
When he asked that, Jaekyung made an expression as if saying, “Did he?”
Jiheon thought this guy was listening but pretending not to, but he really didn’t.
“I don’t know. I don’t really care.”
Jaekyung muttered as if he really didn’t want to do that. Eventually, he clicked his tongue in annoyance. Looking at his cold expression, Jiheon couldn’t help but wonder, “What the hell does Luke see in this guy?”
Jaekyung often said things that could hurt others when he opened his mouth, his social skills were a wreck, and there was nothing to see other than his face and body. Oh, and of course he was good at swimming. And he was sometimes cool and cute. That was all he had.
‘But well…… Isn’t that enough?’
Jiheon’s thoughts meandered in confusion, and suddenly, Jaekyung called him.
“Hyung, just to be clear, don’t even think about doing anything about me and Luke.”
Jiheon was taken aback by this unexpected statement, his eyes widening.
“What? Do I look that nosy?”
“Rather than nosy, you’re overly responsible in a strange way. I’m afraid you’ll push me around, saying he’s a better fit for me than you.”
“No way.”
Jiheon chuckled.
“I’m not that selfless. I know myself better than anyone else.”
At that Jaekyung rested his chin on the back of his hand, looking at Jiheon gently.
“You really don’t know yourself very well, hyung.”
“You’re wrong.”
“I’m not. I could write a whole thesis about you.”
Jaekyung stubbornly insisted.
“It’s obvious without even seeing it. That title won’t pass.”
Jiheon said it while laughing as much as he could, but when he thought about it, he wondered if Kwon Jaekyung understood him halfway, if not 100%.
Because there was a strong possibility that, at some point, he might have encouraged Jaekyung to try things out with Luke for two—no, for just one month.
Well, back then, all Jiheon could think of was how to get Jaekyung tired of him and make him fall out of love. Or if someone else showed up—not necessarily Luke—he would’ve asked Jaekyung to go out with him half-heartedly.
However, when he looked at Luke today, he hadn’t thought of anything like that at all.
On the contrary, when Luke asked if Jiheon had a boyfriend, he couldn’t bring himself to say he didn’t have one, fearing it might hurt Jaekyung’s feelings. He ended up causing Luke unnecessary distress for no reason.
It was at that moment.
“But I felt pretty good about that earlier.”
“What?”
“You didn’t tell him you didn’t have a boyfriend.”
Jiheon was startled by Jaekyung’s words that seemed to have read his mind, making him glance at him. Jaekyung was also looking at Jiheon. When their eyes met, Jaekyung smiled so deeply that the corners of his eyes slightly wrinkled, which was rare.
“It would’ve been better if you had said you did have a boyfriend, though.”
Jiheon was so stunned that his heart started thumping loudly. How could he not be? This unbelievable timing was astonishing, but the fact that Jaekyung knew his intentions was even more mind-boggling.
But the most surprising thing of all was Jaekyung’s smile. To be precise, he was deeply agitated by that smiling face.
Maybe a few days ago, Jiheon would have reacted differently. Even though it might have been embarrassing that Jaekyung had seen through his intentions, he would have probably said something like, ‘Hey, even if I had a boyfriend, you think it would be you?’ and tried to spoil his plans for no reason.
No, he wouldn’t even have said that he had a boyfriend.
Regardless of whether Jaekyung was upset or not, Jiheon would’ve simply said that he didn’t have a boyfriend and didn’t do such things.
But now…… he didn’t know. It felt ridiculous that he held himself back from saying such things out of fear that it might upset Jaekyung, but he was also happy that Jaekyung had realized his intentions.
The fact that Jaekyung knew and was even happy about it… he was so happy that he smiled in a way that made Jiheon’s heart beat so fast.
‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me.’
Jiheon hadn’t been able to understand himself for the past few days.
One thing was certain, though. Since Jaekyung was happy, it made Jiheon happy too. He liked seeing Jaekyung happy, especially when he smiled with such joy at his simple words. It filled Jiheon’s heart with joy, and he wanted to make Jaekyung smile more if he could. He wanted to make him happier. The guy smiling so lovingly and happy even at his trivial words.
The traffic light ahead changed, and Jiheon slowly brought the car to a stop before saying:
“Next time.”
“Yes?”
“Next time Luke asks me that question again, I’ll say that.”
For a moment, Jaekyung had a puzzled expression as if he was wondering what Jiheon meant. But then he realized belatedly that it was the answer of his comment, “It would’ve been better if you had said you did have a boyfriend, though.”
His eyes widened as if he was baffled.
“What’s this all of a sudden?”
He acted as if seriously asking, “Why are you doing this now?” but he secretly showed a hint of joy in the midst of that.
“What do you mean ‘all of a sudden’? I already said that to Yeonho. What’s the big deal if there’s another person like Luke added to it now?”
Jiheon grinned and brushed it off, saying it was no big deal. But his grip on the steering wheel was tight, and his heart was racing even faster than before. He hadn’t felt this elated in a long time, and the whirlwind of emotions left him struggling to breathe properly.
He knew this feeling. He couldn’t say it was exactly the same, but there were times in the early days of relationships when he was overflowing with the desire to be nice to his lover. ‘Because you’re my lover, my boyfriend, my girlfriend, we belong to each other,’ etc. When he thought about it that way, he wanted to make them feel happy and satisfied with this relationship.
Even though it was closer to a sense of debt arising from a sense of obligation, he was still happy when the other person smiled. He felt like he was doing a great job. He felt confident that he wouldn’t fail this time, and he had hope that he could continue to do so until the end, just like everyone else.
But that was, after all, the feeling he felt towards his lover at the height of their relationship. Yet, Jaekyung was not his lover. What they had wasn’t even close to dating; it was more like a transaction.
Therefore, there was no need for him to have such a sense of obligation; he just wanted to get this deal over with quickly.
Not too long ago, he genuinely wished that Jaekyung would quickly lose interest in him and grow to dislike him.
But why did he feel such happiness now when he saw Jaekyung so happy? Why did he want to make Jaekyung even happier and see him smile more? Why did he hate the thought of hurting his feelings? Why did his heart feel like shattering at the mere thought of Jaekyung being upset and hurt? Jiheon had never felt this desperate, not even in his countless previous relationships.
He wondered why, but somehow, he already knew the reason. It wasn’t even something he had just realized. He had been vaguely aware of it for some time. Maybe that was why he was so scared. He guessed he hated it and felt scared of it.
The traffic light switched, and cars began to move in unison. The vehicle ahead gleamed in the midday sunlight, and it wasn’t just that car; every vehicle on the road seemed to be racing with their headlights and taillights gleaming. Even the asphalt road appeared a brilliant white under the midday sun.
It was so dazzling and painful that Jiheon wanted to cry a little.
