TWENTY 7

“…”

“For now, we shouldn’t leak anything to the outside world, and just keep it between you and me, right?”

“…”

“Until Hyung starts liking me, we’ll keep it a secret, and once you do like me, you can just do whatever you want. You can announce that you have a lover, or you can announce it after the wedding is completely over.”

“…”

“But there’s one thing we need to make clear. If it really turns out to be like that, I’ll back down.”

Youngwon, who had been chattering away, took a deep breath and slowly licked his dry lips. Everything about him was cute—the way his little tongue peeked out and went back in, right down to his slightly visible white front teeth.

Seduced by his cuteness, Jiseo asked in a soft tone.

“What is it?”

“You really can’t bring yourself to like me? Do you find my feelings for you unpleasant, or can you absolutely not see me as a romantic partner, or what?”

“…”

“Is any action I take to try and win your heart completely unbearable to you, or do you hate me…?”

“It’s not like that. It’s because you’re young.”

If he truly wanted to make Youngwon give up, he could have just agreed with every reason, but that would have been a lie. Even upon second thought, the biggest reason he couldn’t keep the promise was Youngwon’s age.

Jiseo’s answer simultaneously elicited a deep sigh and bestowed a tremendous sense of relief upon Youngwon.

“You were asked, and Hyung said no, so what can we do now? There’s no reason for me to give up.”

“Hyung is going to fall head over heels for me now.”

“For you to pull that off, you need to grow up more. Around thirty?”

“Now that I think about it, Hyung really phrased that well. Later on, after you start liking me, you won’t have to say you didn’t know it would turn out like this.”

“So what Hyung is saying is that even though we can’t get married right away, you’re coming to that conclusion?”

“Shall I fatten you up a bit more and then snap you up?”

“You’re the baby here, so am I the baby?”

Unable to hold back his utter disbelief, Jiseo finally burst out laughing. Overwhelmed by the absurdity of it all, Jiseo shook his head and straightened his posture.

Because Jiseo kept telling him he was young, Youngwon pushed ahead with this concept, perhaps wanting to look older.

“It’s not like we’re canceling a promise to eat lunch; it’s an important promise that stakes our lives on it. How can it just never have happened with mere words?”

Youngwon continued speaking to Jiseo clearly and deliberately, his voice entirely devoid of playfulness.

Even upon chewing on it and rethinking it once more, they were not the kind of relationship that should be tossing around words this serious. That definitely needed to take priority right away.

Setting aside the promise to get married that they had made when they were young, the other things they talked about were worth chewing over step-by-step one more time.

Firstly—yes, he could accept to a certain extent the argument that since Youngwon was all grown up now, they should get married as promised.

To accommodate Youngwon’s claims, he could even live with him at his own house. He felt confident that he could respond with a stony silence even if their relationship was exposed to reporters digging into his private life. If Youngwon were to propose a breakup later on, he felt he could even accept that.

Despite being ready to drag all of this into his daily routine, the reason Jiseo actually couldn’t carry it out was simply too formidable.

All of this might feel like nothing to him, but to Youngwon, who had just turned twenty, it would likely be an overwhelming burden in many ways. Even without thinking about it too complexly, it was bound to be. There were simply too many things that needed to be done in the process of getting married.

Youngwon was far too young to abruptly experience something like this, and his life experience was far too scarce.

That was why he couldn’t play along with it. That was the most important thing, but the person in question couldn’t accept it at all.

“Right? That’s what Hyung thinks too, isn’t it?”

While that confident question felt a bit absurd, part of him could also understand Youngwon’s feelings. Still, Jiseo could do nothing but burst out laughing.

It wasn’t like he particularly wanted to say things like this, but what could he do? Youngwon might genuinely hate it if he blurted it out directly, but Youngwon had already dropped his disguise right in front of him.

What that meant was that he was blatantly showing his youthful side. The sight of his clear cheeks puffing up in frustration because things weren’t going his way was cute.

In any case, the fact remained that the word “marriage” was an absurdly ill-fitting concept for a face like that.

“What marriage, when you’ve still got baby fat on your cheeks because you’re young?”

Youngwon, who had been proudly asserting what was obvious by his own standards, let out another long sigh. He tried his best to smooth over the current moment as gently as possible.

From Youngwon’s perspective, Jiseo going back on his word was bound to be baffling. Because he had been innocent back then, it seemed his true sincerity when linking pinkies hadn’t been properly conveyed.

He had been fond of Jiseo since back then already. As he had told Jiseo, he was his first love.

They say that childhood first loves naturally change when you grow up and discover better people, but his had never changed even once. After all, there was no reason for him to fold it away.

“What were you thinking when you made the promise to marry me, Hyung?”

“…”

“Don’t lie.”

“Because you were cute. Honestly, it’s true that back then, I didn’t think all the way ahead to when you’d be fully grown.”

“Since when did you want to reject me? Be honest about this too.”

Though they seemed to be continuing a calm conversation, Youngwon appeared to be at peak agitation. Jiseo, thinking that Youngwon simply couldn’t accept his backtracking, gently moved his lips.

Youngwon had always had a sharp, articulate personality and was quite hot-tempered. While he could act smooth and play coy, whenever he made an argument, he was unwavering.

He kept his promises well and respected boundaries. So what good was that? Unable to bear the frustration, the only action he took was to nibble on his lips and release them.

“Take a look at your face. It’s covered in soft downy fluff, isn’t it?”

Jiseo’s hand once again gently tapped Youngwon’s cheek before softly stroking it.

“Hyung’s face is covered in downy fluff too, look.”

“…”

“Making a hundred concessions, I understand that Hyung is still a baby myself. Tying down a baby with so many dreams and so many things to do—let me tell you, I feel a tiny pang of guilty conscience.”

“…”

“Even so, Hyung and I are the same anyway. We’re equally young, and as Hyung gets older, I’ll age right alongside you.”

He simply couldn’t accept that age—of all things—was the biggest stumbling block.

What was a mere ten-year age gap? And besides, he was still a baby himself.

Inside his mind, those were the only thoughts that kept spinning. Moreover, on the outside, there wasn’t even that much of a difference. Put a school uniform on Jiseo, and he was a student through and through.

“Then why did you use face masks so often and apply sunscreen so diligently? You took good care to eat healthy things and worked out hard, too.”

Jiseo was the one who had kept his own appearance looking youthful. He had naturally assumed Jiseo was making an effort just to marry him…!

If he was going to reject him on the grounds of being young, he should have grown a beard like an ajhussi or let his belly fat grow out. If he was going to push him away without even making that kind of effort, it was nothing more than a superficial excuse.

“I’m telling you, I think Hyung is young and too good for me.”

“You never know what life will throw at you. Hyung is just worried that you’re making such a decision way too fast.”

“If I woo you, will Hyung fall for me?”

“When you grow up more.”

Even though he hadn’t fostered those kinds of feelings for Youngwon yet, he couldn’t prematurely lock down a future possibility. Even so, he was merely sticking to his current stance based on objective facts.

If Youngwon had at least been around his own age, he would have decisively cut things off completely or chosen to advance the relationship—one of the two would have been firmly decided.

With a confrontation like this, their opinions weren’t going to narrow easily. For reasons unknown to him, Youngwon treated him like he was young. This was the one part he genuinely couldn’t understand.

“Does Hyung not even want to date, let alone get married?”

“It’s not even a matter of whether I want to or not in the first place. You’re twenty now and an actor receiving a lot of attention right now…”

“Let’s leave out the fact that I’m an actor. Marriage doesn’t affect your career at all, you know.”

“You told me you waited for me because I was young, so I could do whatever I wanted to your heart’s content.”

“Hyung’s goals were only focused on an acting career, but I had two. I’ll keep growing from here on out, but even if I focus on one side, my growth speed isn’t going to slow down.”

Naturally, someone who had been preparing step-by-step for a long time was bound to be ready to handle anything compared to someone who had it thrust upon them immediately.