While drinking warm and sweet milk, Yuwon went back to his room. He picked up the vibrating phone on the bed.
[Gyujin: Ready for bed?]
[Gyujin: It’s not bedtime yet, but…]
[Gyujin: What about you, babe?]
[Stop calling me weirdly.]
[Gyujin: That’s mean.]
[I just showered and came out.]
[Gyujin: You’re drinking honey milk, right?]
Yuwon, truly surprised, put down the milk cup he was drinking and quickly took a picture, sending a message to Hyun Gyujin.
[How did you know?]
[Gyujin: You often drink it when you’re cold.]
[Gyujin: I know everything without even looking.]
[Gyujin: I know everything about Jung Yuwon.]
[Gyujin: Haha, scary, isn’t it?]
If someone said they knew everything about him, it might be a bit scary, but coming from Hyun Gyujin, it wasn’t scary at all. In fact… it was good. Yuwon pondered his reply.
Not scary at all.
Not scary, but good.
Not scary at all.
Because it’s you, it’s okay.
He hesitated between writing various responses, then deleted them. A few minutes passed without any further messages from Hyun Gyujin. Feeling anxious, thinking he should say something, Yuwon was about to type when his phone vibrated. Taking a deep breath upon seeing the name ‘Gyujin’ on the screen, Yuwon pressed the call button.
“Hello….”
– Is everything okay? I was worried because you didn’t reply suddenly.
“Ah… I was thinking about what to send.”
– You even thought about it? Why? Are you worried that if you say you’re scared, I’ll get hurt?
There was a rustling sound on the other end of the line. Hyun Gyujin seemed to have changed his position from lying on the bed. Listening to the sound, Yuwon also pulled up the blanket and covered his legs.
“No, it’s not like that. I’m not scared at all. Why would I be scared of you? I’ve never been scared of you.”
– Then just send it like that, why are you worrying so much?
“Saying it out loud… it’s okay, but if I send it as a text, it might seem unnecessarily serious and… yeah. It’s weird.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
– Oh, I know what you mean. Anyway, I called to check on you. I’ll hang up now so you can think by yourself. I won’t disturb you until morning.
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“…Jjc kf ajix obg 5 wbgf wlceafr?”
– Huh?
“P wfjc… Jjc kf ajix obg pera 10 wbgf wlceafr?”
– It feels like 5 minutes just expanded in a second.
“…I originally said 15 minutes, but I reduced it by 5.”
He couldn’t even understand what he was saying because he felt so embarrassed. Yuwon buried his face into the large cushion.
– Okay, let’s talk for 30 more minutes.
“…Okay.”
Although he mustered the courage to talk for 5 more minutes, Hyun Gyujin returned him 30 minutes. Yuwon lifted his head slightly, his lips stained on the cushion, and listened to the low… pleasant voice of Hyun Gyujin coming from the receiver.
It was a warm and affectionate night, beyond remembering honey milk.
***
Hyun Gyujin, who woke up 30 minutes earlier than usual, tied his hair while looking in the mirror. He usually touches his hair when he goes to school, but today, it seemed a bit more serious.
“What’s all this in your room?”
Hyun Gyujin’s mom, who brought ham and cheese sandwiches to the room, looked surprised at the pile of T-shirts on the bed.
“Why is our Gyujin dressing up so nicely from the morning?”
“Mom, how does my hair look?”
“It’s pretty. But seriously, why dress up like this? Did you take out several T-shirts? Aren’t they all just plain white T-shirts?”
“They’re completely different. The lettering is too big, it’s tacky. And the logo too. Ah, I need to buy some clothes.”
“Should I buy you some?”
“I’ll go buy them myself. Oh, these sandwiches, Jung Yuwon likes them too.”
“I packed Yuwon’s share too.”
Laughing, as he expected, Hyun Gyujin finished his juice and grabbed his sandwich and Yuwon’s sandwich from the kitchen table and headed out.
“You should go after having it.”
“I’m going to have it together with Yuwon.”
“Gyujin, do you have a girlfriend? It’s suspicious you’re dressing up.”
He didn’t have a girlfriend, but he did have a boyfriend. Hyun Gyujin, who just swallowed the words stuck in his mouth, shrugged and left. And quickly took the elevator down to the 6th floor.
“Jung Yuwon. It’s me.”
After pressing the bell and waiting a bit, footsteps were heard. Hyun Gyujin liked the sound of the footsteps approaching the door. It was nice even when they were just friends, and it was nice now. And it was nice to see Yuwon through the opening door. He didn’t know why it was nice, but he just felt happy every time he came to Yuwon’s house.
“Why did you come out so early?”
“My mom gave me sandwiches to eat on the way.”
“Wow, sounds delicious.”
Yuwon unwrapped the paper packaging of his sandwich, neatly folded by Hyun Gyujin to prevent any spillage, and handed it over to Yuwon with care.
“I hope you enjoy it.”
Taking a bite of the thick sandwich filled with ham, cheese, lettuce, and tomato, Yuwon’s cheeks bulged as he chewed.
“It’s really delicious… Aunt’s sandwiches are even tastier than buying.”
Hyun Gyujin felt immensely pleased whenever Yuwon enjoyed something delicious, despite it being an irrelevant thought. He suddenly wondered, watching Yuwon eat with such delight, how delighted his aunt and uncle must feel when he’s happy like this.
“Oh, your hair looks a bit different today?”
Taking another small bite of the sandwich, Yuwon looked at Hyun Gyujin’s hair and moved his mouth thoughtfully.
“It’s pretty. It suits you well.”
Before he could even ask, Hyun Gyujin was momentarily speechless at the unexpected compliment. It suits him? Am I good-looking? He wanted to joke around, but hearing Yuwon call him pretty made his heart skip a beat. The effort he put in to look better since the morning suddenly felt worthwhile.
“Pretty?”
“Yeah, pretty.”
As Yuwon gently brushed his hand over his hair to keep it from getting messy, he smiled. While he had heard compliments about being good-looking many times, being called pretty felt very unfamiliar to Hyun Gyujin.
“Just my hair is pretty?”
He wanted more compliments from Yuwon. He wanted to hear more about being pretty, and he wanted to see Yuwon smile at him more. Even though he had seen his face countless times, it still felt new and nerve-wracking.
“…Your face is pretty too.”
Oh, crazy. Seriously. What do I do?
Jung Yuwon is so incredibly pretty. He’s like… sparkling.
“You’re even prettier.”
“….”
“Why? Don’t you like being called pretty?”
“…It’s not that…”
“Yeah. Is it something else?”
Resting his chin on his hand, Hyun Gyujin listened intently to Yuwon’s voice.
“What do you mean? Did you think we already dated yesterday so we wouldn’t date today?”
“No, I dreamt that I was dating you…so I felt a bit confused waking up.”
“If it was a dream, then starting from today, you’d have to suffer again. Would that be okay?”
Ah… suffering. Yuwon sank into silence for a while, recalling the times when he trembled and fluttered, finding those moments too difficult. He didn’t want to go back to that time.
“It’s not okay. I don’t want to…”
“Yeah, me neither.”
“…”
“You’re not going to dump me again and go around with other people, are you? How would that look? I don’t want that.”
Hyun Gyujin pressed his finger against the furrowed space between his brows, feeling the tension. Yuwon took another bite of his sandwich.
“Eating with me, going to the store only with me, going home only with me. I’ll keep taking you to the academy, and when it’s over, we’ll go home together. Let’s hang out on weekends too. If you’re studying, I’ll study with you. If you want to go to a cafe, I’ll go with you, and…”
“Isn’t that just doing everything with you all day long?”
“Right. Do everything with me.”
Hyun Gyujin, holding Yuwon’s empty hand on the table, gently nibbled at his fingertips to avoid hurting them. Yuwon, who had been staring blankly at Hyun Gyujin’s lips as they nibbled on his fingers, quickly withdrew his hand, folding his fingers away.
“You smell really good from your hands. Your room smells like it, even from the blanket, like this.”
Gently holding Yuwon’s hand that slipped away from his, Hyun Gyujin brought it to his nose and sniffed. It smelled warm and cozy. When he was younger, he thought Yuwon smelled like clouds. Whenever he saw fluffy, white clouds, he always thought of Yuwon.
“This is all mine now. I don’t want other people to know. I’ll take care of it myself.”
Hyun Gyujin, who kissed Yuwon’s palm once on his palm and once on his wrist, watched him blankly. He didn’t want to share this feeling with anyone else but Hyun Gyujin.
“…I don’t want other people to know either.”
“…”
“I just want you to know.”
Hyun Gyujin’s lips, which had been touching Yuwon’s wrist, brushed against the bone, then kissed it gently. As he kissed and nibbled to avoid pain, Yuwon’s fingers curled up.
“It must be tiring to be pretty since morning.”
“…You’re saying strange things again.”
“If you don’t want to hear that, then stop being pretty.”
Kissing Yuwon’s wrist again, Hyun Gyujin lightly tapped Yuwon’s reddening cheek. Everything about him was adorable, from the blushing cheeks and ears to the moving mouth when he ate his sandwich, and even the shy glances that occasionally met his own.
What to do, really. It’s so good. Smiling as he gently stroked Yuwon’s wrist bone, swollen with affection, Hyun Gyujin concluded it was the best morning ever.
