Vol 5 Ch 23

“The traffic seems a bit heavy.”

“It’s Friday evening and it’s raining.”

Wooyeon responded casually and turned on the radio. Quiet music started playing. The cars in the tunnel were moving slowly, stopping and starting repeatedly.

“Um, I heard this on the radio before.”

“Yeah.”

Although Wooyeon thought another useless conversation might start, he responded affectionately.

“They say if you hold your breath and make a wish when passing through a tunnel, it comes true.”

“Haha.”

Wooyeon laughed briefly and reached out, placing his hand under Inseop’s nose.

“…I’m not doing it.”

Inseop quickly shook his head.

“You’re right. It would be disastrous to do it here.”

Wooyeon added playfully as he glanced at the line of cars ahead.

As they exited the tunnel, rain splattered against the windshield, and the wipers pushed it away with a sound echoing inside the car. The darkened sky was now raining more than before. The radio forecasted that the rain would continue for a while. Inseop looked up at the dark green sky filled with raindrops, his expression slightly worried, but then turned his head at Wooyeon’s voice calling him.

“Why are you staring at the sky like that?”

“Because it’s going to keep raining.”

“What’s wrong with that? It’ll stop soon anyway.”

Wooyeon pulled his lips into a smile as he said that.

“I’ve been thinking since I came.”

“…”

…Did he say it again?

Starting with “I’ve been thinking,” Wooyeon’s words could lead to an absurd demand. Inseop waited anxiously for Wooyeon’s next words.

“Put it back on.”

Wooyeon pulled the ring hanging around Inseop’s neck with his finger.

“Huh? Uh, well…”

“Who hangs their wedding ring on their neck?”

“Well, that’s…”

“Isn’t that being unfaithful to your spouse?”

Wooyeon said that while he himself faithfully wore the wedding ring they both had agreed on. Wooyeon’s ring on the fourth finger of his left hand was a constant topic of discussion. Rumors circulated daily about his engagement to a conglomerate heir, his marriage to a famous actress having already taken place, or marrying an ordinary American woman with a child, and so on.

Wooyeon didn’t respond to any of the rumors. When reporters asked such questions, he would put on a sweet smile that could melt the stoniest of hearts and simply say, ‘Oh, is that so?’

COE Kim was the only one who was upset.

‘I’m just interested in fashion and like to wear accessories that I like. It doesn’t mean anything special,’ he officially stated from a company standpoint, but the rumors persisted.

Regardless, Wooyeon always wore a ring on his fourth finger. Inseop also always carried a ring with him, though he couldn’t wear it. He was worried about unnecessary rumors dragging Wooyeon into trouble.

Every time, Wooyeon grilled Inseop.

Why aren’t you wearing the ring?’

‘Where’s your ring?’

‘Why would a married person casually go around without a wedding ring on their finger?’

Unable to resist, Inseop ended up carrying the ring around his neck. Even that didn’t seem to satisfy Wooyeon, who occasionally snatched the ring from Inseop’s clothes.

“…Didn’t we agree to carry it around my neck?”

Inseop cautiously mentioned the promise they had made before. Though reluctant, he had understood Wooyeon’s nod in response to his earnest request. Of course, on days when something seemed amiss, Wooyeon would sometimes strip Inseop down to just the ring and have s*x.

“I said I understood, not that it was agreed upon.”

“…”

Clearly, when making agreements with this person, he should be more explicit. Inseop made up his mind again and fiddled with the ring around his neck.

“Put it on. The ring.”

“… Wooyeon.”

“You wore it when you came to see me yesterday.”

“Well, that was…”

Wooyeon interrupted him.

“…Still, I think it’ll be okay…”

At that moment, he simply wanted it to be so. The more he thought about it, the more he realized he had acted thoughtlessly and recklessly. Inseop’s face flushed red.

“You’re right. It’s okay.”

Wooyeon tapped his fingers on the steering wheel and said,

“If it’s not okay, then what? Even though I’m a guy like this, you agreed to live with me for the rest of your life. Haha.”

Only then did Inseop realize he was comforting him.

It might be okay or it might not, but let’s just live like that, like ordinary people do.

Inseop took off the ring from around his neck and put it on his finger.

“…I’ll take it off in formal settings.”

“Do as you please.”

Wooyeon replied calmly. Then he placed his hand on Inseop’s belly and asked if he was hungry.

“A little.”

The belated hunger caused by worry had crept up on him.

“Is there something you want to eat? Should we stop somewhere?”

Inseop hesitated for a moment, then called Wooyeon’s name.

“It seems like you want to eat something expensive. I can tell just by the way you’re calling me.”

“Oh, no. It’s not something expensive. Just…”

“What is it?”

Wooyeon mischievously asked.

“…I want to eat pancakes.”

“Pancakes? Should we go to that café we went to last time? It’s a bit far, but the coffee there was good.”

As Wooyeon started to turn the car, Inseop quickly shook his head.

“…Wooyeon, you make them.”

“Me?”

Wooyeon knew that Inseop liked pancakes. Whenever a brunch menu included pancakes on lazy weekend mornings, Wooyeon would make them for Inseop. With a gleam in his eye, he always enjoyed them. Of course, Inseop never demanded that he make pancakes first; Wooyeon just often baked them.

“I don’t mean I want to eat them right now. You must be tired now, so we’ll eat them tomorrow morning. It’s fine to have them late in the morning, or even in the afternoon. So… what I mean…”

Inseop lowered his head deeply and spoke in a small voice.

“…Let’s go home.”

“Ahahaha.”

Wooyeon burst into laughter. At the ordinary and common phrase “Let’s go home,” the man laughed for a while with a mischievous gleam in his eyes like a naughty boy, then nodded his head. Inseop gathered his courage and asked him to make pancakes.

“Alright. Let’s go to our house. I’ll make pancakes.”

Inseop looked silently at the man holding the steering wheel.

He probably hadn’t slept a wink all night. Even on the airplane, with Wooyeon sitting next to him, he turned his body toward him and stared at him silently. Although he threw a lingering gaze, Wooyeon didn’t reveal his anxiety.

‘It’s going to be fine. It’ll get better. It’ll be okay. Don’t worry. Because I’ll help you. …I’ll manage somehow. Please….’

He remembered the man’s voice that comforted him, holding him tightly. He said he had never prayed before, but those words from Wooyeon then seemed like a prayer to Inseop.

He wanted to go home and fall asleep with him. This time it was his turn to pray for him.

“Do you want whipped cream on it?”

“Yes.”

“And syrup?”

“…Just a little.”

Wooyeon let out a light laugh and said, “Got it.” Inseop looked out the window.

Maybe there will be bad days. The forever happiness ending was only possible in fairy tales. But it will be okay. When the rain stops someday and the stalled cars find their places one by one, the ordinary daily life he will enjoy in the future will be just like that.

Inseop quietly reached out and intertwined his finger with Wooyeon’s hand.

The sound of rain lightly tapped the late evening.

<Love Story: A Love Marriage, The End>