The car stopped in front of an upscale-looking restaurant.
Perhaps due to the earlier incident with the fish head, Yoon Taehee didn't bother asking for Jaegyeom's preference this time and instead chose a place he wanted to go to. It was a Western-style restaurant serving pasta, steak, and such.
He ordered a wood-fired pizza, cream pasta, and a steak, enough for two people even though jaegyeom had said he already ate.
Reluctantly following him in, Jaegyeom took out his phone while they waited for the food, feeling awkward sitting across from Yoon Taehee without much to talk about.
At that moment, Yoon Taehee also pulled out his phone.
"I started playing it too. Friends Pang."
Jaegyeom, staring at his phone, reflexively looked up. He already knew that Yoon Taehee had started playing Friends Pang—he'd sent him a heart for the first time just the other day. The shared interest piqued jaegyeom's curiosity a bit.
"Do you know how to play?"
"Yeah."
"Play a round now."
Pushing aside his awkwardness, Jaegyeom made the suggestion. If Yoon Taehee's skill was similar to or worse than his own, he thought about proposing a bet, just as he had done with Lim Hyomoon before.
Yoon Taehee played the game quietly, his fingers moving briskly as he focused, unshaken. Game over! With a cute voice-over, his score popped up.
1,740,000 points.
"..."
An overwhelming score. Jaegyeom widened his eyes, looking back and forth between the screen and Yoon Taehee's face. To him, even a million points was a daunting wall.
What... How is this jerk so good? He said he'd just started recently...
Reading Jaegyeom's expression, Yoon Taehee smiled.
"Have you ever seen me fail at anything?"
Their gazes met precisely.
"..."
Without realizing it, Jaegyeom shifted his eyes away. For some reason, it was hard to look at Yoon Taehee. Normally, he would have shrugged the words off as annoyingly arrogant, something he'd dismiss with a flippant "Fine, you think you're hot shit." But now, his heart kept racing, both before and after those words. He fiddled with his phone, pretending to play a few more rounds until he ran out of hearts.
"Hey. Send me some hearts."
At the straightforward command, Yoon Taehee wordlessly tapped his screen.
[Yoon Taehee sent you a heart. (Moments ago)]
Staring blankly at the message on his screen, Jaegyeom asked absentmindedly, "Hey, what does a heart mean?"
At the question, Yoon Taehee looked up from his phone. When their eyes met, he tapped his own chest with a finger and answered succinctly.
"Heart."
Ah, Jaegyeom nodded in understanding.
"Symbolically, it means love."
With this plain addition, Jaegyeom paused, glancing at Yoon Taehee.
"It means I love you."
For a moment, words brushed over his heart like a flash, leaving as quickly as they had come.
"..."
A silence settled between them, and the atmosphere grew strange.
"Excuse me."
Right on cue, a server approached with soup and bread. Jaegyeom worked to regain his composure, turning his attention to the bread with a neutral expression. As he spread the jam that came with it on it, he noticed Yoon Taehee watching him with fascination. Jaegyeom lowered his gaze slightly, glaring back.
"What, you think I can only put soybean paste on the bread or something?"
Yoon Taehee looked baffled.
"I like bread and jam too, you know. What, you think I only eat big bowls of rice?"
"I didn't say anything..."
While Yoon Taehee was scolded for no reason, their main courses arrived. Jaegyeom ate very well, despite the fact that he had once pushed away the offer, saying that he had eaten.
"You're enjoying it. Is it good?"
Jaegyeom nodded.
"Yeah."
Even though Yoon Taehee had said he could just watch if he didn't want to eat, he couldn't actually sit there watching him eat, and seeing as Yoon Taehee had ordered so much that at least half would go to waste, he felt he had to pitch in.
Since Jaegyeom was clumsy with his fork and knife, Yoon Taehee occasionally helped him, twirling pasta and handing it over. Each time their hands brushed, Jaegyeom struggled to act unaffected.
"Hey, when are you free?"
"Why?"
"jeongju invited you over for a housewarming."
Wiping his hands with a wet tissue, Yoon Taehee thought for a moment. This month he'd been constantly entertaining guests from Byeoksadan, so his days off were usually taken up with meetings at the pavilion.
"I think I'll be busy until next week... How about the weekend after that?"
"Fine."
After they finished eating, a server came over and asked about dessert. Yoon Taehee ordered an iced tea and cake, while Jaegyeom chose a strawberry bingsu.
As soon as the ordered desserts arrived, Jaegyeom picked out the strawberries and ate them first.
"Try the cake too."
Jaegyeom scooped a piece of Yoon Taehee's cake with his bingsu spoon and popped it into his mouth. The cream melted softly as soon as it touched his tongue. Yoon Taehee, resting his chin on his hand, stared fixedly at Jaegyeom as he ate.
"What?"
"Even the way you eat is pretty."
Startled by the unexpected comment, jaegyeom choked slightly on his bingsu. Being called "pretty" by another guy felt almost absurd. If he let his guard down for even a second, strange remarks would come flying at him, leaving him flustered.
Ah, this is seriously nuts...
Jaegyeom subtly lowered his head and hastily wiped his lips with a napkin, as if trying to rid himself of the aftertaste. His ears felt warm, whether from coughing or something else. His hand, which was holding a spoon, hovered uncertainly above the table before settling down. After a long pause, Jaegyeom finally opened his mouth, as if making up his mind.
"...Hey."
Since the day they returned from the cave, he had tried to ignore things and stay composed, but he felt that this couldn't go on. He decided it was time to clarify things.
"I- I'm a guy."
"I know."
When Yoon Taehee calmly replied, Jaegyeom continued.
"So, are you... a sodomite?"
"Probably?"
The immediate response left Jaegyeom momentarily speechless.
The last time he asked, the other man had said no. Now the answer was different. Besides, either you are, or you aren't. What does
"probably" even mean...?
As he stared, slightly confused, Yoon Taehee suddenly asked him back.
"What about you?"
Jaegyeom frowned instinctively.
"What? ...l- I'm not a sodomite."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Huh? That- because... I've never done anything like that with a guy..."
"Then, how about with a woman?"
Yoon Taehee asked without any change in expression.
"..."
Jaegyeom hesitated, momentarily at a loss for words.
"'ve never done anything like that with a guy either," Yoon Taehee added, as if he didn't need Jaegyeom's response or could already guess it.
"But I'm a sodomite, you're right."
Jaegyeom blurted out.
"...What? Why?"
"I haven't been with a guy, but I wouldn't mind being with one."
Propping his temple on his fist, Yoon Taehee looked at Jaegyeom.
"..."
Hearing that answer made Jaegyeom feel an almost overwhelming urge to get up and walk out. A suffocating tension seemed to tighten around his throat.
He did want to get along with Yoon Taehee. He couldn't deny that he hadn't disliked the kiss, and he knew that he had special feelings for him in some ways. However, Jaegyeom had a hard time accepting the possibility that two men could become like that.
"I'm not a sodomite, and I'm different from you."
Jaegyeom managed to get the words out. This was the conclusion he had reached after days of contemplation. He wanted to escape this uncomfortable tension, but before he did, he felt he had to make his position clear.
I don't feel the same way as Yoon Taehee.
"W- what I'm saying is..."
As he struggled to find the words, the other person nodded.
"I get it."
Jaegyeom was actually the one caught off guard by his calm reaction.
"Then what do you want from me?"
Yoon Taehee gave a small laugh at the awkward question.
"So what if I tell you?"
"What?"
"If I tell you what I want, would you do it for me?"
There was a hint of loneliness in his question. Jaegyeom found himself speechless.
"You don't have to do anything."
After a moment of silence, Yoon Taehee lowered his lashes, murmuring.
"Just eat with me like this, have tea, and sit next to me in the car like today..."
He trailed off. Jaegyeom waited for him to continue, but he didn't.
Yoon Taehee couldn't bring himself to say the words "forever."
Even after everything ended, he hoped they could keep eating together like this and drinking tea. He wanted to glance over in the late night while driving and see Jaegyeom asleep in the passenger seat.
Forever. Forever...
"Really, that's all I need."
He slowly raised his head.
"I'll take care of everything else."
Yes, for now, this was enough.