“Are you leaving work, Chief? Please be careful on your way in.”
“Yes, Team Leader Kang. See you at the meeting tomorrow. Please go ahead.”
As soon as they got off the elevator, Yigyeom turned his head towards the direction where another greeting was heard while looking at the person who was greeting Kwon Taejung.
“Chief, are you ready to go in now?”
Feeling a bit strange for some reason, Yigyeom thought deeply about why that was. It was only when he heard the employee he met in the parking lot addressing Kwon Taejung as ‘Chief’ that he realized the subtle sense of discord coming from using the title people in professional relationships used, too casually.
The title ‘Chief’ was Kwon Taejung’s position, so it was only natural for people in the company to call him that. It wasn’t wrong or strange for Yigyeom to call him ‘Chief’ either. However, considering they were getting married, and Piyak would be born soon, he wondered if he could keep calling him ‘Chief’ indefinitely.
“……”
Even now, whenever he spoke to Piyak in his belly, Yigyeom might unknowingly refer to Kwon Taejung as ‘Chief’.
But that shouldn’t happen… What if Piyak later calls him ‘Chief’ instead of Dad?
“Yigyeom, Yigyeom? Darling.”
As the faint voice reached his ears, Yigyeom turned to see Kwon Taejung sitting in the driver’s seat, looking at him with a surprised expression.
“Ah….”
“What were you thinking so deeply about? Is something bothering you?”
“No, it’s nothing. I just had a moment of different thoughts….”
“What thoughts?”
“…Whether it’s okay to keep calling you ‘Chief.'”
Kwon Taejung, glancing at the sign on the navigation that read ‘House of Kimbap’ as they left the parking lot, looked at Yigyeom with a glimpse of surprise at the unexpected words.
“Why did you suddenly think that?”
“Well… hearing people at work calling you ‘Chief’… It seemed like I was being too stiff or maybe I’ve gotten too used to calling you ‘Chief’ myself…. When I talk to Piyak, I might unconsciously say ‘Chief.’ But it doesn’t seem right. Piyak shouldn’t think of you as ‘Chief’ instead of Dad.”
Listening to the soft-spoken explanation of his thoughts, Kwon Taejung found it incredibly cute just hearing the voice. Parking the car on the side of the road, he moved to the passenger seat, suppressing the urge to hug and kiss. Then, looking at Yigyeom, who he had missed so much, he turned his head.
“Right. Piyak shouldn’t know me as ‘Chief.’ I’m their dad.”
Curious about what title Yigyeom would use for him, he nodded in agreement, and Yigyeom continued speaking.
“But… I don’t know what would be the best way to address you. When talking to Piyak, I guess it would be appropriate to say ‘Dad’…?”
Ah, Dad. Hearing these words, Kwon Taejung wondered how he had survived until now. Grateful that the traffic light turned red, Kwon Taejung took a deep breath and waited for the next words. Today, he was thankful for the long signal.
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.
“Po la’r pera ajixlcu ab Ulsjx, atfc sfr, P’ii mjii sbe atja. Dea ktja lo kf mtjcuf la mbwqifafis? Pa vbfrc’a tjnf ab yf j mbwqifaf mtjcuf, jcv fnfc lo kf wlz la ja olgra, la wluta yf ubbv ab qgjmalmf erlcu vloofgfca alaifr.”
Qtlif atfgf kjr cb vlrrjalrojmalbc klat mjiilcu tlw ‘Jtlfo’ lc cbgwji rlaejalbcr, cbk atja atfgf kjr jc bqqbgaeclas ab tfjg j vloofgfca alaif, tf vlvc’a kjca ab wlrr la.
“I also think that way. So, what do you think would be a good way to address you… Oh, Chief. The signal changed.”
“Hey? Ah, right. Well then, take your time to think. There’s no rush.”
“Yes….”
Driving slowly on the busy road during the evening rush hour, Kwon Taejung glanced at the pensive Yigyeom. He found it adorable when Yigyeom bit his lips, puffed his cheeks, and let out a small exhale. Madness, can’t I just go home and have dinner with Yigyeom?
However, the desire for the tonkatsu from the snack restaurant Yigyeom visited before was too strong to ignore. Kwon Taejung, trying not to be swayed by the sound of Yigyeom’s contemplative breaths coming from the passenger seat, had no choice but to focus on driving. That’s all I can do for now.
The name “House of Kimbap” still didn’t sit well with Kwon Taejung. However, perhaps due to synchronization with Yigyeom, his feelings were somewhat different from the last time he visited. Strangely, he was drawn to the tonkatsu that he wouldn’t normally eat, even when hungry. How can this even happen?
“Student, it’s been a while. Are you not working here anymore?”
“Ah…. Yes, I quit my job.”
“No wonder I haven’t seen you. Did you come here today just to eat?”
“Yes, I was craving the tonkatsu I had before.”
“I see. Whether it’s our tonkatsu or kimbap, once you taste it, you can’t forget.”
After casually speaking, the owner, who had previously complained, now looked at Kwon Taejung as if welcoming him. Kwon Taejung politely greeted him with an external smile.
“Since there are many delicious items in our store today, please try them. You didn’t have them last time.”
The owner, who expressed the order entering the kitchen, greeted Kwon Taejung with a warm glance. Kwon Taejung, still smiling externally, glanced at the endless menu items and used the pen in his hand to mark a line next to handmade tonkatsu, omurice, and naengmyeon.
“Please give us these.”
“Yes! I’ll make it delicious for you. We’ll start with udon soup. And gimbap is on the house!”
The owner, telling the kitchen about the order, then warmly looked at Kwon Taejung, holding out two glasses of water and placing them in front of Yigyeom and himself. Grasping Yigyeom’s hand as he struggled to place the chopsticks, he replaced them with his other hand and didn’t forget to tear off a piece of tissue.
“Still, I’m glad you want to eat something.”
“It just suddenly came to mind. The tonkatsu you bought for me before was really, really delicious.”
“You made me eat it back then. Honestly, I was surprised that it tasted better than I expected. Just now, when Yigyeom mentioned tonkatsu, I immediately thought of it.”
“Will you eat together today?”
“Yeah, honestly, I’m looking forward to it now. It’s amusing.”
Watching Kwon Taejung smile, Yigyeom, who also smiled beautifully, took a small sip of the udon soup in front of him. Thankfully, it was delicious, not too salty or overpowering.
“Is it to your liking?”
“Yes, it’s really delicious. Chief, please try it too.”
“Uh… should I?”
Honestly, not everything about this snack restaurant appealed to Kwon Taejung, but still, he wanted to make Yigyeom comfortable and began to eat a little of the udon soup. Despite thinking it would be ordinary, the savory soup, different from what he had expected, stimulated his taste buds and drew Kwon Taejung in.
“Chief, is it okay for you too?”
“Yeah, it’s delicious.”
“I’m glad.”
Seeing Yigyeom smiling continuously at how well he eats udon soup, Kwon Taejung felt a tingling sensation in his heart. It was agonizing to resist the urge to go over and caress, puff up his cheeks, and give him kisses.
“Your cold noodles and omurice are ready. The tonkatsu will be out soon.”
“Thank you….”
Alternating between bites of the kimchi-covered omurice and the refreshing-looking cold noodles, Yigyeom glanced at Kwon Taejung.
“Chief, please eat.”
“Yeah, Yigyeom, enjoy your meal too.”
“Yes.”
After Yigyeom carefully scooped up a spoonful of omurice and brought it to his mouth, Kwon Taejung followed suit. Even the omurice was quite tasty, contrary to his expectations.
Observing Yigyeom enjoying the cold noodles, Kwon Taejung, impressed, cut the tonkatsu that was placed on the side into bite-sized pieces. He picked up a piece and brought it to Yigyeom’s mouth.
“Since you treated me last time, I’ll treat you today.”
Yigyeom looked at Kwon Taejung sitting across from him, reminiscing about that day. Laughing at the memory of Kwon Taejung, who sat awkwardly with crossed legs, even finding the situation unpleasant, Yigyeom couldn’t help but smile.
Actually, he didn’t dislike Kwon Taejung back then. Well, was there ever a time when he truly disliked him? He just thought it was strange to think positively, but in reality, he had never disliked Kwon Taejung. How could he dislike such a lovely person? Yigyeom leaned forward with an open mouth.
“It’s so delicious.”
“I’m so happy that Yigyeom enjoys it. Just watching you eat makes me happy.”
“I’m happy too, being able to eat deliciously with Chief.”
Kwon Taejung smiled, and seeing his smile, Yigyeom smiled too. A small, unique happiness that only the two of them could share filled the small snack restaurant on a midsummer night.
On the way back home, Kwon Taejung chuckled while watching Yigyeom lost in thought, sipping on an iced chocolate. It seemed like the dilemma about what to call each other continued.
“Haven’t decided what to call me yet?”
“Ah… no…. I’m still thinking. There’s a phrase that seems okay, but I don’t have the confidence to call you that way yet…”
“It’s not urgent, so don’t stress about it, okay?”
“Yes… I’ll do that. By any chance… do you have a preferred way for me to address you?”
“Well, anything is fine. Darling, dear, hyung… Ah, hyung is a bit shameless. I guess it’s a bit awkward calling someone twelve years older hyung. Honestly, I’m okay with you calling me by my name.”
Kwon Taejung imagined Yigyeom calling him by his name. In fact, due to the age gap, Yigyeom rarely called him by his name. There was no occasion for him to say, “Taejung-ah,” or even address him as Kwon Taejung.
“I want to hear you call me by my name.”
“…T-That’s not appropriate. It’s too disrespectful.”
“Then, can you do it once when I ask you later?”
“When?”
“Well, when I’m in a daze because of you and ask you to do everything.”
Seeing Yigyeom’s face, which understood Kwon Taejung’s intention, light up, Kwon Taejung secretly whispered, as if someone might overhear.
“When me and Yigyeom are having sex.”
Yigyeom’s face brightened at Kwon Taejung’s intention. Yigyeom tilted his head with the iced chocolate straw in his mouth. The cold chocolate drink touched Yigyeom’s tongue as it rose through the straw, and then descended again.
“But still…. It’s a bit… if I call you only by your name….”
“If you ever feel like it, you don’t have to. If you want to, just do it. Ah, why do I feel like you might call me like that? Taejung-ah, quickly, suck it deeper.”
From ‘Taejung-ah’ to ‘suck it deeper,’ there wasn’t a single shocking word in their conversation. Yet, Yigyeom, surprised once again, stared at Kwon Taejung without saying a word. It seemed like Yigyeom was so surprised because he thought that if he loved someone so much, he would say such things.
“…Can I really… say such things?”
“You never ask me to suck it deeper, but just by looking at your face, I know what you want.”
Even though Yigyeom was relieved to hear that he didn’t say such things directly, he let out a long sigh. Kwon Taejung, looking at Yigyeom, was intoxicated by the pleasure, recalling the soft, clinging figure of Yigyeom.
Whether he spoke explicitly or not, Yigyeom probably didn’t realize how excessively suggestive it was. He had never experienced it. If the opportunity arose, he wanted to let Yigyeom see his face immersed in pleasure while doing it in front of a mirror.
“You don’t even need to say those things; you’re suggestive enough, babe.”
While holding the cold drink, Kwon Taejung playfully touched the cold fingertips and, in the process, his hand was grabbed by Yigyeom. The gentle force that held his hand was adorable. Kwon Taejung pulled that hand and pecked it. It seemed ticklish as a small laughter emerged from the side. The sound of happiness that made Kwon Taejung breathe was audible.
