ASD 45

“Gawon!”

He could see Gijun waving his hands energetically from a distance. He had a cool, sharp look in his eyes and a huge, well-muscled build. His impression could be quite cold when he was still, but when he looked at him with such delight, he was just like a big dog.

He paid no mind to the glances from the girls who were sneaking peeks at him. Gijun always rushed towards Gawon like the wind. Even with his hair flying in the wind and getting all messy, he still looked handsome. Gawon greeted Gijun with a smiling face.

“Don’t run, it’s hot. You’ll sweat.”

“What can I do if I’m happy to see you?”

If we were a male-female couple… could I have run into your arms when we met like this on the street? It was a regret he felt every time he saw Gijun, who was always just as happy to see him even after a year of dating. Pushing that feeling down with effort, Gawon gently reached out and poked Gijun’s face.

“Did you have a good visit with your father?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“What’s that in your hand?”

“Ah, this? Bread and ramen. The bread is from Director Hwang.”

It was indeed a huge amount. Perhaps because he always took such good care of Gijun, Director Hwang was also engraved in Gawon’s mind as a good person. The sense of pressure he had felt when he first saw him was now gone without a trace.

“Let’s hurry and go. You’re hungry, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll go and make you some amazing ramen right away.”

Gijun couldn’t cook. If there was one thing he was good at, it was ramen. Since last night, Gijun had been singing about wanting to eat ramen. He had barely managed to placate him by saying they’d eat together today, and Gijun had even bought the ramen himself, saying he was going to eat a lot.

The weather was too hot to walk. They boarded the bus together side by side. Perhaps because it was midday, the inside was spacious, and they were able to sit together in a two-person seat. Gawon patted the long thigh pressed tightly against his with the palm of his hand.

While enjoying the firm feeling that filled his hand, he could also feel Gijun’s knee twitching on its own. It was cute to hear Gijun’s voice muttering for him to stop, his earlobes and the nape of his neck turning red. The corners of Gawon’s mouth drew an arc.

They got off at the bus stop near his house, side by side with Gijun. Once they left the main road and entered the deserted back alley, it was okay to hold hands. Gijun, knowing this, quickly took his hand first.

“Gijun, your hand is so hot.”

“It is, isn’t it? But I’m not letting go.”

“Who said anything about letting go? You’d better not let go.”

The two of them bickered childishly and laughed like a couple of fools. As they opened the familiar front door, the musty smell of mold hit them as always. Until a year ago, he had felt like dying of embarrassment at the thought of showing Gijun his old house, but now he had become much more composed about it.

After washing his hands, Gijun confidently took out a pot and cooking utensils as if it were his own home. Because he was so tall, he always had to stoop in the low-ceilinged kitchen, but he showed no signs of discomfort.

“Alright, the cooking shall begin. The guest may rest comfortably.”

“Yes, sir.”

The way he moved diligently while humming, the well-balanced limbs extending from below his shorts. The sight of his handsome boyfriend cooking for him was always heartwarming to see. After watching Gijun for a moment, Gawon set the table and put out the kimchi he had bought in advance from the convenience store yesterday and a pair of chopsticks.

Soon, the bubbling, spicy smell filled the house. “It’s ready,” he said, and seeing him place a pot with a ladle stuck in it and another, bigger pot—a total of two pots—on the table, Gawon laughed out loud.

“Just how many are there?”

“I neatly cooked everything I bought.”

He said the unbelievable words as if they were nothing and picked up his chopsticks. Gijun had bought two packs earlier, so that was a total of ten packs of ramen… Gawon rubbed Gijun’s stomach as if he were flabbergasted.

“You’re really something. Just where in here does all that go?”

Even though he usually ate this much, this boy’s stomach was as flat as a board, to the point where you could feel the uneven contours of his abs. That fact was newly amazing.

“What’s the big deal about this much. More importantly, hurry up and eat, Gawon.”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

It must have been hard to control the water when cooking in such a large quantity, but the ramen Gijun made was incredibly delicious. In contrast to Gawon, who silently chewed his noodles, Gijun slurped down his ramen.

It was unsightly when other guys made noise while eating, but he didn’t know how Gijun managed to make such an appetizing sound without it being too much.

“Phew— it’s hot.”

“It is.”

They sat sprawled out for a while, patting their full stomachs. The whirring breeze from the fan was endlessly lukewarm and insufficient to cool the sweltering heat. Still, he just liked this moment of sitting facing each other and laughing with full bellies.

“I should probably get going soon.”

Suppressing his disappointment, Gawon spoke first. Gijun bit his reddened lips and made a pitiful face.

“Just a little longer—. I’ll go in exactly 15 more minutes.”

“Make yourself comfortable. I don’t mind.”

In any case, Gawon himself had been studying since early in the morning, so he was planning to rest at home for a bit. After lunch and some housework, leaving around 2 PM seemed just right. It was Gijun who needed to hurry and go. The match was in two weeks, and he had to go to a training camp the day after tomorrow.

It was a match he was participating in for the first time in a year and a half. Last year, he was banned not only from matches but also from entering the gym for the entire year. That was the punishment his father had given Gijun for the crime of hitting Heo Yeonggyu and the sunbaes.

‘That’s ridiculous. Why are you… because of me!’

Moreover, Gawon only found out about it weeks later. It was because Gijun had intentionally hidden the fact from him.

Gijun had actively helped Gawon get a large settlement and a restraining order from Heo Yeonggyu. And yet, he himself had received such a harsh punishment from his father. When Gawon found out, he was so sad and felt so wronged that he couldn’t bear it.

‘I told you it’s not because of you. It was my choice. So it’s right that I should take responsibility.’

‘Still…’

‘It’s okay. If I can’t go to the gym, I can just do it at home. I can manage somehow, so don’t worry.’

Gijun, who had said that a year ago, seemed resolute. He seemed like a person who calmly accepted the situation and was used to taking responsibility for the weight of his actions.

But to Gawon, he just looked pitiful, and he also felt sorry. Because he knew how sincere and passionate Gijun was about sports.

So for this match, he was planning to go with him, give him water, and wipe his sweat. He said that was the dream Gijun desperately wanted.

“But… are you sure you have the time?”

Was it telepathy? Since he had been thinking the same thing, Gawon immediately understood what Gijun was saying. He had worried several times about Gawon, who had readily agreed to come to the match. It was because he knew Gawon studied by splitting his time into smaller and smaller pieces.

“Of course. I’m studying an extra hour a day to go see your match, so it’s fine.”

“Ha… damn. I don’t know if I’m making it harder for a kid who’s already studying while cutting back on sleep…”

Gawon grinned at Gijun, who was sighing and muttering.

“You promised to put a medal around my neck. If I don’t get it, I think I’ll be too upset to study.”

“A medal? That’s no problem.”

Gijun playfully raised an eyebrow.

“The day I collect a hundred trophies and medals, I’m going to propose to you formally. Not much longer now, you know?”

Propose… Gawon’s ears turned red, and he turned his head, pretending not to have heard. But he couldn’t help the way his heart swayed gently like a cosmos flower. Just hearing the words made his toes wiggle for no reason and his heart pound.

“Come to think of it… it’s less than a year now until we’re supposed to live together.”

Gawon’s voice also trembled slightly with anticipation. The physical education university Gijun wanted to go to and the university he wanted to go to were about a 20-minute walk apart. Gijun had said that he would buy a car, so they should get a place to live near Gawon’s university.

Being able to live with Gijun. That unbelievable assumption could become a reality if they both just got into the universities they wanted.

Gijun would easily get in through the special admission for talented students since he had a brilliant record of awards anyway, and he himself was maintaining high grades, so as long as he didn’t make a mistake, it was quite possible.

That was Gawon’s only hope these days, and the future he could hold on to and move forward with. Even when it was so hard that he got nosebleeds amidst his packed schedule, just thinking about it made him smile faintly.

“Ha, how great would that be. Eating at the same table as Yoon Gawon, doing assignments together, watching TV together. Washing… together. Sleeping together…”

Gijun’s voice gradually trailed off and then suddenly died down. Gawon glanced sideways at Gijun. Sure enough. With a reddened face, he cleared his throat with a khmm, and then suddenly and awkwardly crossed his outstretched legs.

“Pervert.”

At the sharp criticism, Gijun slyly lowered his hands and placed them politely between his thighs.

“…It’s physiological. It’s an age where blood runs hot.”

He suddenly shot up to his feet. Then, with a hwoo—, he let out a big exhale, enough to puff out his cheeks, and then abruptly dropped to the floor and started doing push-ups.

It was funny to see Gijun filling up the already small room and doing push-ups like a madman. Gawon giggled and laughed.

“What are you doing?”

“Hoo. This way. The pooled blood gets distributed a bit.”

“Where did the blood pool?”

“…Are you really going to do this to another guy?”

In the end, Gawon burst out laughing, saying, “Ahaha.” Even while continuing to do push-ups, Gijun pleaded in a wronged voice. Saying what was he supposed to do when he gets excited just thinking about it.

He was just like a young groom looking forward to his wedding night. Well, it was telling that in the one year they’d been together, all Gijun had done to him was hold his hand or give him a peck on the cheek.

He had once asked him outright. Why he didn’t do more. At that time, Gijun had hesitated for a long time and then said with a reddened face.

Because you’re too precious to me.

Because I don’t want to be a hindrance to you.

Because he knew how much he was focused on his studies. Because he had said he was living just waiting for the day they would live together. Because they had promised to enter the top-ranked schools in their respective fields side by side, so as not to be ashamed of each other.

They already knew how much they liked each other. On top of that, if their body heat were to overlap. It was obvious they would both get lost in the act. That was why Gawon was very grateful to Gijun, who, while maintaining a thrilling distance, never tried to cross the line.

“Haa, haa… I, I’ll go now.”

The boy shot up to his feet with a flushed face.

“Okay. Contact me later after your workout.”

Gijun, who stood up first, quickly cleared the table with nimble hands. When he tried to wash the dishes with a scrubber, Gawon hit him on the back and stopped him. As Gijun stood in front of the shoe cabinet and kissed Gawon’s cheek, Gawon gently stroked the nape of his neck.

“Be careful not to get injured. Take it easy.”

“You too. Don’t overdo it, and take breaks while you study. Oh, and I just sent you a gift coupon, so buy coffee and go in.”

“Why did you send something like that again. …Anyway, thanks.”

His gaze, filled with deep regret, showed no signs of leaving Gawon. After stroking Gawon’s head several times, burying his face in the nape of his neck, and kissing the crown of his head and his bangs, Gijun finally pulled away.

“I’ll just walk you. Just to the bus stop.”

“No, it’s hot. Don’t come out. I’m going!”

He was only firm at times like these. Worried that he might come out, Gijun hurriedly opened the door. Gawon watched his back for a long time as he ran off cheerfully, waving his hand.

Gawon also waved his hand at Gijun, who kept turning back several times as he reached the end of the alley. They saw each other every day anyway, and they would see each other again tomorrow. He didn’t know why he felt so regretful.