TWELVE 59

For now, as far as I could feel, the meal with Yoon Kijun was a success.

Even though Gi Seoin kept kneading me under the table the whole time, he treated Yoon Kijun in a comfortable yet gentlemanly manner. I was surprised to the point of wondering if the guy even possessed this much sociability.

As for Yoon Kijun, he had such a genial personality, was tight-lipped, and was quite skilled at controlling his expressions, so there was nothing to worry about.

“Kijun. Do well with the filming, and don’t get cold feet!”

“I won’t. Thanks. Seoin, it was nice meeting you today too.”

“I’ll be rooting for your debut.”

“Thanks!”

Even after we got into the car, Yoon Kijun stood on the street and continued to wave his hand. I waved back, and only when he was completely out of sight did I roll up the car window. My tension unraveled, and a wave of post-meal drowsiness washed over me, making my eyes close. Burying my back into the seat, I looked at Gi Seoin.

“How was it? Kijun is alright, isn’t he?”

“Better than I thought.”

“What’s with that. He seemed nice.”

I laughed and nudged Gi Seoin’s forearm with my elbow, then brought up the subject suggestively.

“But you were overdoing it a bit.”

“Me?”

Gi Seoin asked back as if it wasn’t the case at all. I let out a hollow laugh.

“You kept picking up food for me and wiping my mouth. Even more than usual, like you were treating a baby.”

“So, did you hate it?”

“No, I didn’t hate it… but I was a bit embarrassed. Why did you do that? I think Kijun would have thought it was strange.”

“I did it so he would think it was strange.”

Well, how should I put it. It was such a Gi Seoin-like answer that I wasn’t flustered. I straightened my body and stared intently at Gi Seoin.

“You did it so he would think it was strange?”

“That was me holding back, too. I wanted to give you a kiss.”

“… Do they put something in the food at that restaurant?”

As I muttered, Gi Seoin snickered.

“The food was perfectly fine.”

“I don’t think so…”

“I did it because I wanted to make it obvious openly.”

“Make what obvious?”

“That Woo Seungkyung is mine.”

Honestly, I thought it was a very childish idea, but I also felt that Gi Seoin was cute.

“Oh my… so that’s why our Seoin did that. But what are you going to achieve by making it obvious to Kijun?”

“Then he won’t like you.”

“Hey, why would he like me.”

“You never know, since Woo Seungkyung is cute.”

I’m afraid someone might hear us, truly. I cleared my throat and continued speaking.

“Then why did you keep touching me under the table? To the point I couldn’t even focus on eating.”

“Because I was holding back wanting to kiss you.”

“You don’t even do it that often at home…”

“Shall we?”

“Huh?”

“Now.”

Suddenly, Gi Seoin stopped the car. Thinking he had gone crazy, I looked ahead, and it was a stop signal. I turned my gaze back to him. His face was too close.

A peck… Since it wasn’t a deep kiss, wouldn’t it be okay to do that much? After hesitating, I closed my eyes and puckered my lips slightly. I heard the guy’s laughter, and something cozy touched my lips before pulling away.

Ah, this is crazy.

The back of my neck is burning. Combined with the heater wind coming from the car, I feel like I’m going to be cooked. My heart was pounding so hard that I felt dizzy, as if my head were shaking. It was like this every time I had skinship with Gi Seoin.

It was only a short while ago that I was stubbornly rationalizing that I must remain only friends with him. That time felt like reality and now feels more like a dream instead, so every time I’m like this with Gi Seoin, I also feel as if I’ve committed a wrong.

I want to just like him since good things are good, but I was too unstable a human for that. I was a coward who couldn’t even shake off worries, and a pathetic guy whose confidence was even dropping.

It’s like that now, too. Even after closing my eyes because I wanted to be touched by Gi Seoin, once it was over, I couldn’t look at the guy. On the contrary, when we were friends, I used to do it just fine while pretending to play a prank. It seemed to be because I was now keeping things beyond a peck or a kiss in mind.

Will such a day ever come, and if it does, what should I do… .

“Seungkyung.”

“… Uh. Huh?”

When I snapped out of it and looked ahead, we were already in the apartment parking lot. I had been lost in thought without even knowing we had arrived home.

“What were you thinking about?”

“Just… I’m a bit tired.”

“Let’s go up and rest.”

Gi Seoin, who spoke in a soft voice as if whispering, unfastened my seatbelt. However, I couldn’t turn my body to go outside. It was because the guy, who had reached out his arm and propped it against the passenger side window, had no intention of moving out of the way.

It wasn’t a playful atmosphere. I held my breath and stared at the guy quietly. As soon as our gazes locked, he dropped his eyes downward. I could tell he was looking at my lips. I swallowed dryly.

“Why…”

Before I could even ask properly, my lips were blocked. The guy’s tongue dug into my mouth without hesitation. At the same time, Gi Seoin lightly grabbed my chin and pulled as if telling me to turn my head more.

When I tilted my head, the guy also tilted his. The tips of our noses, which had touched piercingly, pulled away, and my back of the head was pressed into the seat by the force Gi Seoin was pushing with. I crumpled and grabbed the guy’s shirt. It felt as if my heart would jump out of my mouth and be swallowed by him.

“Haah, ha…”

Even though it wasn’t a long kiss, I was out of breath. As soon as Gi Seoin withdrew his lips, I panted for breath. But why does the guy seem as if he isn’t struggling even a little?

After getting into the elevator, I asked the guy.

“You, aren’t you out of breath?”

“Why would I be out of breath?”

“No… when, we kiss.”

Gi Seoin tilted his head crookedly as if he didn’t understand.

“Not really.”

“Wow, unfair.”

“Is it because I swam?”

“You swam?”

“Yeah.”

“Since when?”

“Since I was about six?”

I knew the guy was good at every sport imaginable, but the fact that he swam was a story I was hearing for the first time.

“Have you swam recently too?”

“Since high school, I’ve done it twice a week.”

“… Wow, I didn’t know.”

Because Gi Seoin tended to speak concisely, saying ‘I worked’ if he worked or ‘I exercised’ if he exercised, I didn’t know his daily routine in detail. Should I have taken an interest in what kind of exercise he did sooner?

“Mister, is your shoulder this broad because you swim?”

I placed my palm on his shoulder while getting off the elevator.

“Let’s do good things together. Don’t just get broad shoulders by yourself.”

“Woo Seungkyung, do you know how to swim?”

“Does the dog paddle count as swimming too?”

Gi Seoin, who let out a snicker, said while pressing the door lock password.

“If you float in the water, it’s swimming.”

“Mister Seoin, your heart is as broad as your shoulders.”

Since Gi Seoin gestured with his chin to go in first, I entered the foyer while giggling. However.

“Uh, whose shoes are these…”

Unfamiliar shoes were visible. When I muttered while looking at the dress shoes placed in the foyer, Gi Seoin suddenly came in front of me and grabbed my arm firmly.

“Seungkyung.”

Unlike just a moment ago, the guy’s expression and the weight carried in his low voice were unusual.

“Would you like to go to the guest room and wait for a moment?”

“Why? Who is it?”

I threw a glance past his broad shoulders. Unfortunately, I couldn’t see as far as the living room beyond the hallway, but I could tell just one thing. The fact that the guest who had made Gi Seoin flustered was a woman. Because the dress shoes belonged to a woman.

“Who is it that even knows your house password and came in?”

“I’ll explain later.”

“Can’t I say hello too?”

I feel as if I’ll only be satisfied if I check the reason Gi Seoin is flustered for myself. I didn’t want to regret glossing over it and tremble in anxiety. I trust Gi Seoin. I trust him, but it’s because I’m a narrow-minded human.

“I’ll later…”

“No, just…”

“Seungkyung.”

Perhaps he found me frustrating for repeatedly being stubborn, but Gi Seoin grabbed my shoulder and shook it. For a split second, I almost backed away saying I understood after checking his face. His complexion was deathly pale. As if he had encountered a ghost… .

And as if a ghost were truly pouncing, a long black shadow stretched out behind Gi Seoin.

“You’re here?”

“… .”

Gi Seoin’s hand fell away from my shoulder as if collapsing. The guy turned around slowly. I faced the guest before he did. For a moment I was dazed and couldn’t even give a greeting right away.

As soon as I saw the woman’s face, I didn’t need to bother asking who she was.

“But who… ?”

She was curious about me, but she couldn’t ask properly because she was blocked by Gi Seoin.

“Who told you to come in as you please?”

It felt as if a cold wind was blowing out from the guy’s voice.

“Get out.”

There were thorns in the low voice that kicked her out without even asking the reason she came. Gi Seoin was clearly in a state of rage.

“How much time have I wasted waiting for you here that you’re telling me to go?”

However, the woman didn’t even twitch an eyebrow. The emotionless expression and the tone of voice, as if the other person’s feelings were not a consideration, were similar to Gi Seoin. But no matter how much they were alike, it wasn’t as identical as that appearance.

‘Who do you take after?’

‘… I think I take after my mother more than my father.’

Even if I had seen her in passing while walking on the street by chance, I would have been able to recognize that she was Gi Seoin’s mother.

“Whew, because of you I…”

She, Gi Seoin’s mother, who scattered a sigh that seemed staged, trailed off and fixed her gaze on me once again. The mother and son were alike even down to that gaze that seemed to intend to look through the other person’s entire inner self.

Receiving that gaze, I froze as if I had fallen into a river in the middle of winter.