Gutter Chapter 21.4 - Gutter Extra

“It’s delicious.”

“That’s the dish my mom is best at.”

“Aren’t you eating? Let’s eat together.”

“I already ate breakfast. Ah, oppa. You should drink this tea quickly too.”

In the teacup that Lee Yeonsu abruptly held out, a darkish powder was floating around. Seeing the steam rising in wisps, it seemed like freshly boiled water had just been poured, but the smell was exceedingly foul. He wondered if it was even safe to drink.

“What kind of tea is it that you’ve been so insistent since earlier…”

“This, this is made with medicinal herbs from the lady who runs the herbal medicine shop in town. She said even though it looks nasty, it’s only filled with incredibly good medicine. Mom packed it separately, saying she’d give it to you when you came over later.”

Since he put it that way, Yeonjo couldn’t bring himself to say he couldn’t drink it. Yeonjo cautiously took a sip of the tea, from which a fishy smell rose along with the milky steam. The taste was fishy and bitter, unlike ordinary tea.

“…Thank you, I’ll enjoy it.”

“You have to take it with you when you go home later. There’s a whole basin of it.”

“…”

Watching Yeonjo’s face visibly stiffen, Lee Yeonsu giggled.

“By the way, you’re doing well in school these days, right?”

Yeonjo changed the subject, clearing his throat.

“Well, it’s the same old thing every day. After school, I go to a private academy, do homework… Haaah. I don’t know if I’ll even be able to get into a university.”

“When I saw last time, your grades didn’t seem too bad.”

“But the problem is that I have to compete with the kids in Seoul. Mom insists that I must go, but the university has to accept me for me to go.”

Lee Yeonsu pouted his lips and sighed.

“I still don’t know exactly what I want to do. I heard it’s hard to get a job these days even if you graduate from a university. But then all the adults say you have to go to university. Ugh, it’s so difficult! What do you think, oppa? Do I absolutely have to go to university?”

At the sudden question, Yeonjo put down the teacup he was holding. He had never given this kind of career counseling before, so he was bewildered.

“Still, since the owner and your teacher said it’s better to go… shouldn’t you at least try going to university?”

“I guess so, right?”

The owner of Happiness Dabang was determined to send Lee Yeonsu to university no matter what, so he felt he should give advice that reflected her opinion as much as possible. Yeonjo swallowed all the food left in his mouth and continued speaking calmly.

“Well, looking at the people around me. It seems that people who graduated from university have an easier time when choosing a career. Of course, there are also many cases of people who didn’t go to university finding something they want to do and living well…”

“Really? I see, so it’s not like my life is ruined or anything just because I don’t go to university, right?”

“Of course not.”

It was such a cute question that he almost snickered in front of the deadly serious Lee Yeonsu. Pressing his lips together firmly, Yeonjo tried hard to maintain a solemn expression.

“Anyway, you might find something you want to do while attending university, so you don’t have to worry so much from now on…”

“No, what kind of crazy bastard parked such an expensive car next to the shop?!”

Suddenly cutting off Yeonjo’s words, a thunderous shout, as if someone had swallowed a megaphone, echoed through the place. Startled, Yeonjo and Lee Yeonsu simultaneously turned their heads toward the dabang’s entrance.

The owner, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time, was walking into the hall with a scowl on her face.

“Owner, hello. Have you been well?”

“…My? Who is this. Mr. Cha Yeonjo?”

The owner’s hair, fresh from a perm, was clumped in a frizzier-than-usual style. As Yeonjo greeted her happily, she quickly approached the table and assessed the situation.

“The car in front of the shop is mine… there wasn’t a parking lot nearby, so I just parked it next to the building for now.”

“Oh my, why is Mr. Cha Yeonjo here of all places. Was that your car, Yeonjo? Then you should’ve said so sooner! My, but where did you get such an expensive car…”

“Should I move it somewhere else if it’s an eyesore?”

When Yeonjo asked, embarrassed, the owner waved her hands dismissively.

“No, no. I thought some vagrant who drifted in from who knows where suddenly left his car there. But what brings you here without a word?”

“Ah, that’s…”

“Have a seat first. Want something to drink? Come to think of it, I received the Korean beef and fruit you sent last month. What did you order so much of when it’s just me and Yeonsu, the two of us?”

“Ah. You received them well? I didn’t know what would be good, so I just sent what the department store employee recommended.”

A while ago, when he went to the department store with Boss Gu, he had suddenly thought of them and sent a gift, and thankfully, it seemed to have pleased the owner. The owner rattled on with compliments, saying things like how the Korean beef melted in her mouth and the fruit was sweeter than sugar. Yeonjo thought he had done well to listen to the department store employee and nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

“Oh, right. I have some medicine I got from the herbal medicine shop last week, take some of that with you when you go. The owner there said it’s supposed to be really good for the bronchial tubes…”

“Mom! I already mixed it with water and gave it to oppa. I did good, right?”

Lee Yeonsu chimed in with a proud expression and winked.

“You did? You’re supposed to put that in water and boil it for a good while, how did you manage that?”

“I just put it in hot water and gave it to him.”

“You have to bring it to a rolling boil, what do you mean you just put it in?”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“That girl is talking nonsense again. If you don’t know, you should just stay quiet…”

“Ah, why are you scolding me even when I did something for him! If I put it in hot water, it’s the same thing.”

As soon as the mother and son started talking, a squabble began. Although he knew he should intervene at this point, for some reason, Yeonjo found even that kind of bickering welcoming.

Before he knew it, the dabang owner was nagging Lee Yeonsu about whether he had done his homework properly. Around the time Lee Yeonsu stood up from his seat, covering his ears, Yeonjo belatedly stepped in and stopped the two.

The dabang quieted down for a moment, but then the owner started prying into why Yeonjo had shown up without notice, asking if something had happened. Since he couldn’t truthfully say he had run away from home after a fight with his lover, Yeonjo mobilized all his imagination and vaguely explained that he just happened to have some time.

“Noona. You’re open for business right now, right?”

As they were murmuring and catching up on recent news, a customer came in, and their conversation was interrupted. The customer, who looked like a laborer working in a nearby field, took a seat by the dabang’s window and flipped through the menu.

“Oh, of course.”

“More people will be coming later. For now, I’ll just have a ssanghwa-tang.”

As he said, a group of customers flooded in a few minutes later. Most ordered tea or drinks, but some also ordered meals, and the atmosphere suddenly became boisterous.

Unable to just watch the owner and Lee Yeonsu bustling about, Yeonjo helped with the work as well. Even though it had been a long time since he’d been in the kitchen, he easily remembered the locations of the dishes and ingredients and worked in sync with them.

Lee Yeonsu grumbled about how it was usually quiet but had to be so busy on a day like today, then quieted down after getting a smack on the back from the owner. After that, the three of them silently focused on their respective tasks.

Lunchtime passed in a frenzy, and the owner felt sorry toward Yeonjo, saying she had made him do nothing but work when he came for a visit. She suggested that, although late, they should at least have a proper lunch at a restaurant in town. Ignoring Yeonjo’s protests that it was fine, the owner and Lee Yeonsu briefly closed the dabang and headed into town.

Since Lee Yeonsu had already made him breakfast, Yeonjo couldn’t let them treat him to lunch as well, so Yeonjo paid for the food they ate at the restaurant. The three of them stayed in their seats for a long time even after finishing their meal, resuming the conversation that had been cut off by the customers.

By the time they returned to the dabang, the sky was turning a shade of purple, as if the sun was about to set. In the distance, a flock of birds crossed the horizon. Looking at the tranquil scenery, he suddenly missed Boss Gu.

Yeonjo decided that he should head back home once evening came.

“Oppa! You said you have the day off, so stay the night for the first time in a while! It would be perfect to leave after having breakfast tomorrow morning.”

Just as he had resolved to go home before sunset, Lee Yeonsu, who was wiping a table, chattered away.

“That’s right, our house is small so there’s no room for a guest to sleep, so you can just stay in the container for a day and go.”

“Mom, mom. Then make gamja-tang for breakfast tomorrow.”

“Should I? I think it should be fine if I stop by the butcher’s on my way home from work and buy some ingredients.”

“Yeonjo oppa, do you like gamja-tang?”

For once, the mother and son were in perfect agreement. They were thinking that Yeonjo would naturally stay until tomorrow.

Yeonjo hesitated to answer. It was because he doubted whether it was okay for him to run away from home for a full day. Boss Gu would surely be waiting. Although there had been no contact yet…

“Oing? Oppa, don’t tell me you don’t like gamja-tang?”

“Ah, no, no, gamja-tang is great.”

“Then gamja-tang for breakfast tomorrow.”

“Oh yeah!”

The answer slipped out before he knew it. At the same time, it was naturally decided that Yeonjo would spend the night and return tomorrow.

He thought, oops, but it was awkward to take back his words as soon as he’d said them. When he came to his senses, Yeonjo was already telling the owner every little detail about what time he planned to wake up tomorrow.

As he swept the floor, helping to close the dabang, Yeonjo suddenly wondered what Boss Gu was doing. He took out his phone from his pocket and checked, but there were no new notifications at all.

Not even a single common text message, let alone a phone call. It was dumbfounding. The person who should know better than anyone that he wasn’t at home.

He felt like he would be annoyed if contact came, but now that there was none at all, he was angry in its own way. It wasn’t enough that he spouted nonsense about what he could do by earning loose change, he even broke the ring bought with that collected loose change, ran away from home first, and hadn’t contacted him once until now. There was a limit to turning the tables. This was going too far.

He thought about calling first, but when he recalled the atrocity Boss Gu had committed this time, resentment flared up, and he childishly felt like he would be losing.

“You worked hard today. Sorry for making you do nothing but work when you came to rest. Have some fruit and tea.”

After the dabang’s business hours ended and the closing cleanup was finished, the owner came from the kitchen with washed fruit. And also, the tea brewed from the mysterious medicinal herbs. Perhaps because it had been boiled for a long time, it was much more fishy than what Lee Yeonsu had given him in the morning.

Enduring the nauseating aroma, Yeonjo forced himself to drink a full cup of tea. He wondered if it was just his imagination, but it seemed to be having an effect… If it tasted this foul and had no effect, that in itself would be a problem.

After diligently finishing even the fruit, Yeonjo agreed to meet here again tomorrow morning and came out with the container key for the first time in a while.

“Right, let’s just go tomorrow morning.”

What’s the difference between going now and going tomorrow. Yeonjo muttered in a state of resignation.

The path from the dabang to the container was dark with only a few streetlights, but Yeonjo walked, finding his way with familiarity. For someone who had just come to clear his head for a bit, it had been a much more fulfilling and fun day than expected.

It was nice to see that both the owner and Lee Yeonsu seemed to be doing well. Helping with the dabang work was also rewarding. All the food he ate was delicious, and the residents he had greeted in passing were also welcoming.

As he trudged along the path, the shape of the container began to appear. Yeonjo made a plan to go inside, wash up and sleep, and then return to Seoul tomorrow without delay after just having breakfast.

And when he met Boss Gu, he planned to calmly resolve this conflict through conversation. The feelings of resentment and frustration hadn’t completely disappeared, but he knew in what sense he had said those words. Unlike his uninhibited words and actions, the fact that he always worried about him more than necessary was an unchanging truth. He would say that if he was going to oppose it to the end, he would quit the job. And…

“Huh?”

Amid the surrounding darkness, a faint light flickered from his pants pocket. Yeonjo mechanically continued his steps as he took out his phone to check. Just a moment ago, there had been no notifications, but now several missed calls had piled up. Unsurprisingly, the caller was Boss Gu.

“…”

When did he call. It seemed he hadn’t heard the vibration because he was too focused on the conversation at the dabang. He stared at the notification on the screen for a few seconds before pressing the call button.

In the meantime, Yeonjo, having arrived in front of the container, took out the key he received from the owner. Just as he was about to insert the key into the doorknob, a familiar ringtone began to sound from inside the container.

“What the…”

Yeonjo flinched reflexively and muttered. The owner had said the container was empty. So at first, he thought he had misheard the sound. However, the phone’s ringtone was clearly ringing from inside the completely dark container.

Forgetting that he was in the middle of calling Boss Gu, Yeonjo turned the doorknob with a stiff expression. The heavy door opened slowly with the screech of a rusty hinge.

“Ah, is anyone inside?”

Maybe I should have just turned back. A homeless person could have come in and be living there without permission, or the owner might have forgotten that there was someone originally using the room.

While having all sorts of negative thoughts, Yeonjo moved his steps into the dark container as if possessed. It was because the ringtone coming from inside sounded somewhat familiar.

His hand, trembling slightly with fear and tension, felt along the wall, searching for the switch. Soon, feeling the convex plastic texture on the flat wall, Yeonjo quickly pressed the switch.

“Ack!”

No, he was about to press it. Before the light could even turn on, someone snatched the arm he had extended toward the wall and pulled Yeonjo inside.

Horrified by the sudden grip, Yeonjo let out a scream and shook off his opponent. Then, the person who had grabbed Yeonjo in the darkness was readily pushed back.

“…Gu Muncheon?”

A beat later, Yeonjo recognized the familiar body scent and touch and realized who his opponent was. Moreover, the phone he was clutching tightly in his hand was still connecting the call to Boss Gu, and inside the container, Boss Gu’s phone was ringing so loudly it hurt his ears.

At the fact that he, who should be in Seoul, was in the container, Yeonjo was momentarily at a loss for words.

“How… no, when did you get here?”

“Cha Yeonjo.”

A large shadow obscured by the darkness approached Yeonjo again. As Yeonjo turned to switch on the light first, he was fiercely embraced from behind, his body wrapped up.

Startled, Yeonjo froze, stiff as a board.

“Wait, let go first…”

“Why did you come here without saying anything.”

It was just as he was about to move his lips to say, ‘let go and let’s talk’. Boss Gu spoke in a deeply sunken voice, as if he had just woken from sleep.

“Next time, even if you leave, tell me before you go.”

“…”

“No, just don’t leave. Don’t go anywhere. I was wrong.”

At the words ‘I was wrong,’ Yeonjo’s throat tightened for a moment. He hadn’t left home to punish him or to argue about right and wrong, but his voice was so soft and urgent. They had only been apart for a day, yet he was as exhausted as if they had been reunited after a month.

“Gu Muncheon. I,”

“I’ll fix everything you hate.”

“…”

“I’ll fix it, so even if you hate me and are sick of me, please just endure it a little. I can fix everything until you’re satisfied, as much as you want.”

The words ‘I can fix it’ were so desperate they weighed on his heart.

As Yeonjo stood frozen and motionless, he extended his arm and took Yeonjo’s hand. His large, firm hand, without a glove, completely covered his much smaller, pale hand.

Yeonjo lowered his head. His vision was stained black and he couldn’t see well ahead, but the shape of the ring on Boss Gu’s pinky finger was faintly visible. The ring, which had been snapped in two by the impact of hitting the dining table, had somehow been put back together, albeit clumsily. Although its shape was noticeably bent.

Even though he wasn’t the one who broke it, Yeonjo felt a pang in his heart and was sorry for it. I should have bought a sturdier one. Did I pick one that was too thin? Yeonjo blamed his past self and bit his lower lip.

And he turned around to face him. The man’s eyes were darker than the darkness and shone with persistence. As always, they were blindly focused on Yeonjo.

“…You know I can’t force you to come back.”

Yeonjo wanted to tell the child, who was afraid of being abandoned, that he didn’t need to change anything about himself. But because of the surge of emotions, he couldn’t say anything for a few seconds.

“I knew you’d hate it if I came looking for you, but I couldn’t help it.”

“Gu Muncheon.”

“Sorry. For startling you. I didn’t mean to get angry. I didn’t want to scare you either.”

He spoke awkwardly, breaking off his words in the middle and then continuing them, like someone saying an excuse or an apology for the first time in his life. Yeonjo, who had barely managed to calm his churning emotions, belatedly opened his mouth.

“I was planning to… go home today. I’m sorry for leaving without a word. I should have talked it out more calmly, I.”

“You don’t need to apologize to me. No matter what happens, you never need to do that to me.”

He hastily cupped Yeonjo’s face and cut him off.

“Cha Yeonjo.”

“…Yeah.”

“You’re going home, right.”

He could feel his chest rising and falling heavily. Before Yeonjo could even open his mouth, as if he couldn’t bear even a moment’s gap, the man urged him on.

“Say you’ll go.”

“Of course I have to go.”

This time, Yeonjo placed his own ringed hand on the back of his hand, which also wore a ring, as he replied.

“Let’s go home and talk.”

At Yeonjo’s reply that he would go home, the man’s sharply on-edge nerves finally loosened. He devoured Yeonjo’s lips like a young beast that had been starved for a long time, taking in the breath that came from them. As if to steal it all away.

🚬

When morning came, the sound of birds chirping could be heard from outside. Bright sunlight passed straight through the window, which lacked even a single thin curtain, illuminating the inside of the container.

Yeonjo, who had been asleep, groggily opened his eyes and turned his head. A moment later, he realized he was lying on the hard container floor. Yeonjo rubbed his eyes, his face still drowsy, and sat up.

Although things had been resolved well after Boss Gu came to the container last night, perhaps because he had been tense all day, at some point a sense of exhaustion had washed over his whole body. He had only slept in short naps in the car and even worked at the dabang, so that alone meant he had spent a rather tiring day. Considering that Boss Gu had suddenly appeared and startled him on top of that, it was natural for him to abruptly run out of energy.

In the end, instead of taking Yeonjo home at that hour, Boss Gu had laid out bedding in the container and put him to bed. Yeonjo, who had done too much for his stamina, lay down on the hastily spread-out mattress and fell asleep as if fainting the moment Boss Gu covered him with a blanket.

And when he opened his eyes, the sun was high in the sky. Yeonjo fumbled for his phone on the floor and checked the time. Fortunately, there was still some time left before his appointment to meet the dabang owner and Lee Yeonsu.

“But where did he go.”

It was a relief that he hadn’t overslept, but Boss Gu, who had been next to him all night, was nowhere to be seen. Yeonjo looked around the inside of the container, then opened the door and went outside.

“Hello, Mr. Cha Yeonjo. Are you awake?”

Just then, someone who was standing outside poked his head through the unexpectedly open doorway and acknowledged him. A strange man in thick horn-rimmed glasses, with a friendly impression and a blue shirt, was standing there.

Yeonjo, who had come out to look for Boss Gu, was flustered by the unannounced person and stammered his words.

“Who… are you?”

“Ah, I am Min Seok-woo from the Respiratory Medicine Department at Hankuk University Hospital.”

The man who introduced himself as a doctor offered Yeonjo a handshake. Yeonjo found it hard to accept this situation of being in the middle of the countryside and, upon waking up, being unceremoniously greeted by a doctor from the largest university hospital in Seoul. As he absentmindedly extended his hand for a handshake, Yeonjo looked up at him with a half-dazed expression.

“You must be very surprised. It’s sudden, but would it be alright if I came inside and explained slowly?”

“Ah… but, the person who was with me…”

“The Chief is currently on an urgent phone call nearby. He left so as not to wake you, Mr. Cha Yeonjo, so he will be back soon after his business is done.”

“…”

“You seem very flustered since you just woke up. I will get straight to the point.”

Even without permission, the man entered the container and, as if it were nothing, sat on the floor and opened his briefcase. He looked up at Yeonjo, who was still standing awkwardly, and smiled brightly before taking out a thick bundle of documents.

“These are Mr. Cha Yeonjo’s examination records and doctor’s opinion letters from the hospital, along with other miscellaneous documents.”

“Why are those here…”

Feeling awkward to keep standing, Yeonjo went over to sit down awkwardly across from the man.

“Although I am affiliated with Hankuk University Hospital, I usually have a full schedule of overseas seminars and participate in many studies, so the number of days I spend in Korea is not long. It’s a bit much for me to say this myself, but you could say I am considered one of the top three respiratory specialists in the Republic of Korea. Therefore, I would appreciate it if you would understand in advance that doubting the credibility of what I say would be a waste of time.”

With a face not the least bit embarrassed, he introduced himself as one of Korea’s top doctors.

“I came here on an urgent visit this morning because of a request from Chief Gu Muncheon. Strictly speaking, it was closer to a threat than a request, but I had to come due to various circumstances being intertwined.”

“…”

“And on the way here, in the car, I reviewed all of Mr. Cha Yeonjo’s previous medical records and hospitalization records. Without a single one missing.”

The man spread out Yeonjo’s X-ray, CT, and MRI data, which were organized in chronological order, and scanned them with his eyes. The volume was immense, including recent records as well as medical records from a long time ago when he lived with his grandmother. He wondered how on earth he had found and brought those old records.

“It may be difficult for you to accept as the patient. But currently, for Mr. Cha Yeonjo, while activities like waking up in the morning, eating, and taking a short walk might be manageable, working a full-time job can be considered difficult.”

“…”

“The respiratory system doesn’t get better all at once; it requires a long time for recovery. As you have probably heard. This here is a lung of a normal person that I brought as a sample. And the one on the right is patient Cha Yeonjo’s current lung. First, if you compare the larynx, the right bronchus, and the left bronchus…”

The man pointed out Yeonjo’s realistic situation and explained, without adding or subtracting anything, the current state of his lung function. In truth, it was nothing new. And the conclusion came down to one thing. Having a job was impossible.

Yeonjo knew why Boss Gu had called this man all the way here. It was to persuade Yeonjo based on the opinion of a doctor said to be the best in the country. Not by appealing to emotion-filled worries like how much he was concerned for him, how fragile his body was, or how many times he had collapsed.

Yeonjo, who had almost emptied his mind, solidified his conviction as he listened to the doctor in front of him. It seemed that quitting the resort was indeed the right thing to do.

The biggest problem was that his body couldn’t keep up, and if he forced himself to go to work, it was obvious that Boss Gu would be worried the whole time. Yeonjo also had to accept that he couldn’t be stubborn anymore, knowing how anxious he would be if he were to collapse again.

“I heard that Mr. Cha Yeonjo wishes to continue working.”

The man, who had been explaining his health condition based on the data, adjusted his glasses and looked at Yeonjo.

“As you have probably already noticed, I am here because the Chief asked me to persuade Mr. Cha Yeonjo. Probably because what I, a doctor, say would gain trust more smoothly. This is not something I’m saying reluctantly because it’s a request from Mr. Boss Gu, but a sincere piece of advice as a doctor.”

“…”

“Mr. Cha Yeonjo is not in a condition to work. Of course, this doesn’t mean you should do nothing for the rest of your life… It would be good to focus on convalescence for at least a year or more.”

“…I see.”

Yeonjo nodded calmly. The doctor, judging that he needed time to organize his thoughts, did not add anything else.

After a period of silence, Yeonjo spoke first.

“It feels like it was a useless stubbornness from the beginning. It’s not like I’m getting paid a lot of money for working, just as that person said.”

“If by ‘that person’ you mean Mr. Boss Gu… I hope you haven’t taken what he said too deeply to heart. After all, in the world the Chief belongs to, it’s not very common to make family or a lover work.”

The man paused for a moment before continuing.

“It’s more common to set up a shop for them so they can live comfortably while playing around… so I think the difference of opinion might have been more pronounced.”

He seemed to know what had happened without needing to be told. The man understood Yeonjo’s struggle of not being able to have a conversation with Boss Gu that addressed the proper context due to a clash of values.

Come to think of it, Boss Gu, even setting aside his health, couldn’t understand at all why he insisted on working. He seemed to consistently want him to just do some hobbies at home, spend money, and live idly. As the doctor said, in the world Boss Gu belonged to, that might be the normal and natural thing to do.

“If you really want to do something… hmm. I recommend looking for a part-time job or a job with very low intensity. The best thing, of course, is to focus solely on recovery. Ah, how about something like a flower shop?”

“A flower shop?”

At the out-of-the-blue remark, Yeonjo tilted his head and asked back. The doctor touched his glasses frame as if trying to recall a memory.

“Yes. A few years ago… that is, I heard that right after Mr. Boss Gu seized real power in the Yongho-pa, no, the Yongho Group, he bought a flower field in the countryside.”

Boss Gu owned a flower field. It was the first he’d heard of it. Yeonjo waited for the doctor’s next words with an interested face.

“And an enormously large flower field at that. I remember there was quite a stir internally when it was said that the person who had amassed so much money but still drove a clunker over 20 years old spent a huge sum to buy land, and of all things, it was a flower field. Everyone guessed that he must have bought it to give to his lover. Though no one dared to ask him directly, of course.”

The doctor muttered that unless one had an extraordinary amount of nerve, there was probably no one who could ask the Chief something like that directly.

“This is the first I’m hearing of it.”

“Don’t tell me you don’t like flowers?”

Instead of answering, Yeonjo quickly rolled his eyes.

‘Can I really ask you to buy all the flowers here?’

‘What’s the big deal about that. I can even buy you a flower field.’

It was because he remembered the conversation he had with Boss Gu in front of a flower shop before. At the time, he thought he was just saying it, but to think he actually owned a whole flower field.

How should he take this… The consistency of the man named Gu Muncheon was so good, and at the same time, his face felt so ticklish that a smile unknowingly leaked out. Unable to control his upturning lips, Yeonjo covered his mouth with the back of his hand.

A flower field. A flower field, of all things. When he was young, he would pick flowers for him whenever he had the chance, and now he had bought an entire flower field.

“Thanks to you, I’ve learned an interesting fact. Thank you for the advice about my health as well.”

The doctor’s words were a great help in organizing his thoughts.

“When someone like the Chief calls, you end up going anywhere, even if you don’t want to.”

The man, who had guessed the situation to some extent by looking at Yeonjo’s expression, winked one eye and packed up the belongings he had laid out.

“Seeing as you’ve said this much, I guess I really should quit my job.”

“You’ve made a good decision.”

The man, who had finished his explanation and persuaded Yeonjo, was getting up to leave the container when he turned his head back towards Yeonjo as if he had remembered something.

“Ah, while you’re at it, how about preparing for a qualification exam or studies you’ve wanted to do? Patients undergoing long-term convalescence often attend private academies or get certifications as a hobby.”

At the unexpected advice, Yeonjo’s eyes widened.

“Creating a new hobby or attending a private academy has a moderate amount of activity, and you can always adjust your schedule within a range that isn’t strenuous.”

“…A new hobby. That’s a good idea too.”

“It probably won’t deviate much from the kind of life the Chief wants for Mr. Cha Yeonjo.”

The doctor’s words were appealing. The reason Yeonjo had shown such an attachment to his job might have been because he wanted a meaningful activity of his own. He also didn’t want to give up because he enjoyed working with the colleagues he met at the resort, but he couldn’t continue working with that feeling alone. And it wasn’t as if contact with his colleagues would be completely cut off even if he quit his job.

It might have been impossible in the old days, but in a situation like now where he didn’t have to worry about his livelihood, the desire for new stimulation and activity could be sufficiently fulfilled with a light hobby.

The words the doctor had casually thrown out struck Yeonjo’s head like a tremendous solution.

Not long after the doctor left, Boss Gu, who had finished his phone call, returned. It felt like he hadn’t seen his face for too long, considering he had only run away from home for a day. He felt bad that his unnecessary stubbornness had complicated things more than needed. Even making a doctor, said to be the most famous in respiratory medicine, get called here under threat.

“You’re up…”

Yeonjo, who was deep in thought about the future, heard the sound of Boss Gu entering the container and, without realizing it, ran to him and hugged him. Boss Gu, mid-sentence, froze right at the door.

“What’s wrong, Cha Yeonjo.”

“Where did you go so early in the morning?”

“…I had a call to make.”

“…”

“I went out because I thought you might wake up. It was an urgent call.”

Boss Gu added an excuse, perhaps judging that Yeonjo’s feelings were hurt because he had left without a word.

“I missed you.”

Yeonjo looked up, met his eyes, and said the words he most wanted to say.

“You?”

“…Sorry.”

“I said I missed you. Is that your answer?”

“Yeah.”

Boss Gu gently pushed back Yeonjo’s messy hair.

“What are you so sorry about.”

“Everything. From one to ten.”

“…You don’t have to be like that. Let’s not talk about that anymore.”

“…”

“I’m the one who’s sorry for suddenly leaving. It was a stupid thing to do. …Let’s go home quickly.”

Yeonjo said as he pressed a kiss on the back of Boss Gu’s rugged hand, where the ring was. Let’s go home together.

🚬

Yeonjo contacted the dabang owner to say that something urgent had come up and he had to leave first, and then returned to Seoul with Boss Gu as planned. The thought of eating breakfast at the dabang at the promised time, imagining Boss Gu squeezed between the owner and Lee Yeonsu, was enough to make him feel like the food would get stuck in his throat. But it wasn’t as if he could leave Boss Gu and eat breakfast alone either.

The owner, sad to hear that Yeonjo had to return early, insisted on packing him a full load of the bitter and fishy medicinal herbs. It was that foul medicine he had been given in hot water the day before. The mix of yellow powder and shriveled brown root vegetables smelled like damp tree roots on a rainy day.

When he failed to control his expression and unknowingly furrowed his brow, the owner chided him, saying that medicine that is good for the body is always bitter. Unable to refuse, Yeonjo brought all the smelly medicinal herbs home with him.

As soon as he arrived home, the first thing Yeonjo did was contact the resort to say that he would have to quit his job. However, the resort side said the person in charge was absent and that they should talk about it again later, delaying a clear answer regarding the processing of his resignation.

Satisfied that he had at least clearly stated his intention, Yeonjo had no choice but to end the call on a vague note. He was already feeling great guilt for giving notice that he would eventually resign at the end of his leave of absence, so he had no room to think that the resort’s somewhat dodgy response was strange.

Once he had completely quit his job, his heart felt lighter. Yeonjo did as Boss Gu wanted, taking his medicine regularly and going to bed and waking up at regular times. He also brewed and drank the medicinal herbs from Happiness Dabang once every day.

At a glance, it was a life no different from the past few months, but this time there was a clearly noticeable improvement. Whether the horrible medicinal herbs actually had an effect, or if it was a placebo effect, his stamina had improved beyond recognition.

He rarely woke up at night because of coughing, and he only used his inhaler once a day when he woke up in the morning. Even if he got a little out of breath, the symptoms of hyperventilation or a sore chest, like before, had disappeared. Strenuous movements like running were still difficult, but it was safe to say that his daily life had completely recovered.

Once he gained some confidence in his health, Yeonjo, following the doctor’s advice from their conversation in the container, thought about preparing for the high school equivalency exam.

“The equivalency exam?”

When he cautiously asked Boss Gu after mulling it over for a few days, his eyebrows shot up at once.

“Yeah.”

Yeonjo buttoned up Boss Gu’s shirt as he prepared to go to work in the morning, watching his reaction. As expected, he didn’t seem pleased.

So that he couldn’t just say no outright, Yeonjo gave him no opening and took his hand, leading him to the dining table. The more time he spent with him, the more he was slowly learning how to skillfully handle his fiery temper.

“I thought it would be good to take the equivalency exam while studying at a leisurely pace. It’s not as tiring as having a job, and they say most people pass after attending a private academy for a few months.”

He had been feeling particularly regretful these days that he hadn’t been able to get his high school diploma because he had run away from the orphanage a long time ago. In social life, educational background often became a major obstacle, and even setting aside educational background, he also wanted to take the equivalency exam simply for personal satisfaction.

“You have to go out for that every day too.”

“Still, it’s not work, so I can leave early anytime, and I just sit in one place and listen to the lecture… so shouldn’t it be okay?”

Yeonjo knew Boss Gu would react this way, so he laid out the answers he had prepared in advance. Then he went to the kitchen, placed the pancakes that were cooking to a golden brown on the frying pan onto a plate, and brought it to the table.

“Ah, I made pancakes for the first time in a while. Nowadays, the batter comes out separately, so you just have to add eggs and milk.”

Since Boss Gu forbade him from making any dishes that were too complicated or took a long time, pancakes were a very suitable menu item for Yeonjo to prepare for breakfast. Most of the time, the hired help prepared their meals, but he didn’t seem to mind when Yeonjo occasionally made simple things like pancakes or toast himself.

Yeonjo took out the fruits and vegetables that the hired help had neatly arranged in the refrigerator beforehand and placed them next to the plate of pancakes. Maple syrup and whipped cream too.

“How is it?”

Yeonjo urged, holding out a fork for him to try it quickly. Boss Gu silently took the fork and took a bite of the pancake.

“It’s good.”

It was a dry reaction, as usual.

“Be more specific.”

“It’s sweet.”

“…What else?”

“And so soft you don’t even need to chew.”

Hmm. It was clear that he could taste, but the fact that he had such a lukewarm reaction no matter what he ate was something Yeonjo couldn’t understand. It wasn’t as if Boss Gu was a picky eater or had less of an appetite than others, so it was a mystery how he could eat everything as if he were chewing on rocks. No matter how different his childhood environment was, there were times when he worried that he had made the food wrong.

In fact, because of Boss Gu’s dry reactions, the hired help had even seriously asked Yeonjo a few times if the cooking was bad.

Still, his appetite was incredible. While Yeonjo barely finished one pancake, Boss Gu devoured seven rather large ones.

When he finished his meal and was about to get up from the table, Yeonjo brought out his jacket, which he had ironed himself yesterday.

“You’re trying hard.”

Boss Gu spat out words that could be either a compliment or sarcasm, perhaps thinking his efforts were commendable.

“Then let me go to the academy. Huh?”

Although he had seen through Yeonjo’s intentions from the start, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t fall for them. Whenever Yeonjo acted like the tongue in his mouth, he usually gave him what he wanted.

Boss Gu looked down at Yeonjo, who was clinging to the hem of his clothes, and put on his leather gloves.

“Kiss me.”

As soon as the words fell, Yeonjo stood on his tiptoes and kissed his lips. Chup, chup. The ticklish sound of light touches and retreats echoed several times. As if tantalized, Boss Gu pulled the back of Yeonjo’s head and intertwined their tongues deeply.

“Mm, ugh…”

While they were focused on kissing for a good while, Boss Gu’s phone rang. It meant it was time to leave. At the call from his subordinate waiting outside, he scowled. As if he had no choice, he let Yeonjo go, and Yeonjo rubbed his plump lips, now shiny with saliva, with the back of his hand.

“Are you late today?”

“A little. Have dinner first.”

Boss Gu strode towards the entrance. Yeonjo quickly followed behind.

“I’ll wait until you come.”

“Do as you like.”

Yeonjo stared blankly at Boss Gu putting on his shoes in front of the inner door. He thought he would fly into a rage and tell him not to even think about going to some academy, but surprisingly, his mood didn’t seem bad.

Before he left the house, Yeonjo once again brought up the topic they had left unfinished.

“Can’t you let me go to the academy?”

Boss Gu, who was just about to open the front door, stopped.

“Huh?”

He touched his jawline as if in thought. Then he shifted his gaze to Yeonjo, who was smiling beautifully with the corners of his eyes crinkled.

“I wonder which bastard taught you to smile with your eyes.”

At first listen, his voice was low as if he were angry, but Yeonjo wasn’t scared of him at all.

“You know I only do it for you.”

“If you show it to another guy, I won’t leave you alone.”

“Who won’t you leave alone?”

“The bastard who saw your eye-smile.”

“I guess I’ll have to keep a blank face when I go to the academy.”

Even though Boss Gu hadn’t given permission, Yeonjo spoke as if he were already attending the academy. He held Yeonjo’s chin steady with his gloved hand.

Thinking he was going to kiss him again, Yeonjo naturally closed his eyes. But contrary to his expectation, lips touched and pulled away from his eyelid, not his lips.

At the ticklish feeling, the long, dense eyelashes below his eyelid trembled. It was a shame it ended with just a peck. Yeonjo scrunched the eye that had been kissed and lifted his eyelid.

“If you’re going to go, you must go in Choi Hyun-gi’s car.”

“…Really? I can go?”

At the unexpected words, Yeonjo asked back reflexively. Choi Hyun-gi was a man with the calmest personality and composed features among Boss Gu’s subordinates. Just from his appearance, he had such an upright impression that he seemed completely unrelated to violence. He was also familiar since Boss Gu had recently had him run errands for Yeonjo several times.

Even at Yeonjo’s deeply flushed question, Boss Gu silently closed the front door and left.

“Have a good day!”

Yeonjo belatedly said goodbye to the door that slammed shut with a bang. A faint curve appeared on Yeonjo’s plump lips.

It was a bland and simple permission, much easier than he had braced himself for.

🚬

As soon as Boss Gu’s permission was granted, Yeonjo immediately enrolled in an equivalency exam academy. He had to wait about a week for the academy’s term to start, but in the meantime, he had to buy writing instruments, workbooks, notebooks, and a bag to carry to the academy, so there was no time to be bored.

Boss Gu had laid out several conditions in exchange for enrolling in the academy. First, he was absolutely not to overexert himself to the point of affecting his health while attending the academy; on days he had a check-up, he had to go to the hospital even if it meant skipping the academy; for lunch, he always had to eat a hearty packed lunch prepared by the hired help at home; and he had to travel to and from the academy entirely in the car driven by Choi Hyun-gi. In addition to that, he was absolutely forbidden from wearing clothes that were too low-cut or thin and see-through, and he was also prohibited from wearing tight T-shirts or pants. Lastly, after the academy finished, he had to come straight home without taking any detours.

When listed, it sounds long and complicated, but frankly, they were not very difficult conditions for Yeonjo. He thought they were all easy things to follow and had no complaints either.

However, there was one fact that Yeonjo had overlooked.

It was the fact that among all the students taking the equivalency exam course, no one attended the academy in a car driven by a chauffeur every morning and afternoon.

Not only that, there was also no one who ate a packed lunch that had just been made at home and brought over in real time by a chauffeur during lunch break. On days when there were many handouts or the workbooks were even slightly heavy, there was also no one whose guardian carried their things all the way to their desk in the academy classroom.

Yeonjo only realized after two weeks of classes had started that his entire process of attending the equivalency exam academy was a very conspicuous behavior.

When he came to his senses, Cha Yeonjo had already become the most unapproachable and at the same time the most noticeable student at the academy.

In a way, it was a very natural course of events, yet Yeonjo, who had grown accustomed to Boss Gu’s overprotection, took quite a long time to notice that something was wrong.

It was only when Yeonjo had been diligently attending the academy for about two weeks that a minor incident gave him the opportunity to finally look back on how he was perceived from the outside.

That day too, Yeonjo was sitting in the front seat as usual, organizing his notes. The student who always sat next to Yeonjo stood up from his seat in a hurry that day and knocked over Yeonjo’s pencil case, causing it to fall.

“Whoa! Ah, hey. I’m sorry! I didn’t do it on purpose. Oh, what should I do.”

A male student with hair bleached almost white was startled and watched Yeonjo’s reaction. He immediately bent down and started picking up the writing utensils that had spilled out of the pencil case from the floor.

“I can pick them up.”

“Um… This mechanical pencil lead broke, what should I… do?”

It wasn’t as if he had broken something significant, but the student was apologizing more than necessary. He looked much younger than Yeonjo, to the point of seeming pitiful.

“I can just buy a new one. It’s okay.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Weren’t you about to go out with your friends? It looks like they’re waiting outside, so you should go ahead.”

“Ah, ah! Yes, yes.”

Yeonjo picked up the fallen pens and put them back in their place himself, and the student, not knowing what to do, hovered nearby hesitantly before mustering up the courage to speak.

“Hey, but. Don’t you go out for lunch?”

“Pardon?”

Yeonjo raised his head as if to ask what he meant.

“You always just eat your lunchbox alone in the break room.”

“Ah. I find it more comfortable to eat inside the academy.”

“I see. If… you ever get tired of your lunchbox, you should eat with us. There are five people in our group, so we can even rotate menus.”

“Yes. I’ll be sure to tell you if I get tired of my lunchbox.”

When Yeonjo replied with a smile, the student scratched the back of his head and left the classroom. Yeonjo’s eyes followed his retreating back, and then he realized that the students in the classroom were staring at him.

…Did you see that? His personality is better than I thought.

I know, right? I thought his personality was super weird because he always eats what his secretary packs for him and keeps to himself.

His secretary picks him up in an S-Class. Everything he wears is luxury brand too.

He is being extra. If it’s that much, why doesn’t he get private tutoring instead of taking classes with commoners?

Shh. Hey, you crazy. They’ll hear everything.

We’re not even cursing, so what’s the big deal.

The sound of murmuring from behind flowed over the shell of his ear. Yeonjo was somewhat shocked that people had been observing him quite carefully.

He had thought he was attending quietly without standing out. He only now realized that the students had been watching everything, from him eating a packed lunch every day to someone driving him to the academy. He had been sure that no one had seen since he always got in and out of the car only in the underground parking lot.

Yeonjo sat at his desk as calmly as possible, as if he hadn’t heard anything, and organized the lecture content until the class ended that day.

And as soon as he got home, he clung to Boss Gu and pleaded if he couldn’t go to the academy alone from now on.

“I believe the condition for sending you to the academy was for you to go with Choi Hyun-gi.”

At Yeonjo’s words, Boss Gu immediately showed his displeasure.

“No matter what, I think it’s too conspicuous. The kids all look at me weirdly.”

“They look at you weirdly?”

“Yeah…”

“Which bastard said such a thing.”

Boss Gu placed his hands on his hips as if he would go and beat them up right away if Yeonjo mentioned a name.

“Ah, no, no, it’s not like that. It’s not that someone said something, it’s that the stares bother me.”

“That’s not because of Choi Hyun-gi, it’s because you look the way you do.”

Yeonjo flinched at the sudden criticism of his appearance.

“What, that’s completely ridiculous. As a matter of common sense, who gets chauffeured by car every day as a grown adult.”

“You can’t help it because your body is weak.”

“I’ll drive myself. And I’ve gotten much better these days. I didn’t wake up once at night this week. I didn’t have any seizures either. Huh?”

“Still, sending you alone is…”

“I was fine even on the day after you kept me from sleeping and tormented me all night even though I begged you to stop. Besides my throat being a little swollen and my back hurting, I was really fine. So why can’t I go to the academy alone, Gu Muncheon.”

Boss Gu, who had maintained a firm attitude until now, couldn’t find a retort to Yeonjo’s argument. In fact, Yeonjo’s body had recently become incomparably better than before, and as such, Boss Gu had been thoroughly draining Yeonjo’s stamina.

It had only been a few days since he had cornered Yeonjo, who was crying and begging that he couldn’t do it anymore, and satisfied his lust. His long-suppressed desires had been unlocked, and he had failed to control them. As Yeonjo said, even on the day after he had been pushed to stay up all night, thankfully, Yeonjo’s condition was fine.

“Hurry up and give me a proper reason. You tormented your hyung who was saying he was in pain all night, so what’s the reason for stopping him from driving himself to the academy.”

Noticing that Boss Gu was faltering, Yeonjo pushed him as if to drive a nail in.

“You fucking…”

In the end, even after a long while, he couldn’t find a suitable reason.

🚬

“Yeonjo hyung. What’s with you being late?”

Kim Jaemin struck up a conversation with Yeonjo, who had entered the classroom later than usual. As a student who had attended lectures side by side in the seat right next to him for the past few weeks, he was the person Yeonjo felt most comfortable with at the academy.

After the incident where he dropped the pencil case, which broke the ice, Yeonjo had become much closer to Kim Jaemin’s group.

“I overslept.”

Yeonjo offered the most plausible excuse. In reality, although he had woken up at his usual time, his preparations were delayed because Boss Gu was late for work today.

He had a hard time getting out of bed in the morning as he refused to let go of Yeonjo, who had to get ready for the academy. It was one of Boss Gu’s frequent tantrums since Yeonjo started attending the academy alone.

“Yeonjo oppa! I saved you a seat.”

“Thanks. I was just coming in, worrying about where to sit.”

“The back seats are a real no-go. I saw them in passing the other day, is it for real that they don’t listen to the lecture at all and just play phone games? If you’re stuck there, it’s so noisy you can’t even concentrate.”

Park Eunbin, one of Kim Jaemin’s group, clicked her tongue as if the mere thought was horrifying. Then she moved the bag she had placed on the front seat to save it.

Yeonjo checked that there were only 5 minutes left until the first lecture began and hurriedly took out his workbook. As Park Eunbin said, unlike the front rows of the classroom, the back rows were still noisy with a constant stream of profanity-laced conversations.

The academic performance of the students at the equivalency exam academy varied widely. The atmosphere was generally chaotic, with a mix of minors who had dropped out of school to get their diplomas early and adults who had come after working.

Since Yeonjo’s goal was to pass the exam as soon as possible, he had only spoken a few times with students of a similar disposition. He was sure that if he became too friendly, Boss Gu would have a fit and forbid him from attending the academy or resort to some underhanded means. Therefore, he was consciously maintaining a moderate distance from the students.

Yeonjo needlessly gnawed on his lips, which were slightly swollen from Boss Gu’s kissing and nibbling all morning. The area around his lips tingled. The mock exam is already tomorrow, but he’s no help at all. As he inwardly badmouthed him and reviewed what he had studied yesterday, Kim Jaemin tapped Yeonjo’s shoulder.

“Hyung, hyung. After the mock exam tomorrow, the kids from group 2 are going to eat together, you should come too!”

“That’s right, oppa. No matter how busy you are, we can at least eat together once, right.”

“Uh…”

Yeonjo didn’t answer right away and dragged out the end of his sentence. Until recently, Yeonjo was still eating the lunchbox he brought from home alone in the break room.

He had mentioned that he unavoidably shied away from crowded places where someone might smoke because his health was not good, but that couldn’t be a reason not to have a single meal with the students he had been taking classes with until now.

“I’ll make sure to tell the people I’m eating with not to smoke. They’ll all understand since it’s bad for your body, oppa.”

Boss Gu won’t like it. That was the first thought that came to mind. The condition Boss Gu had set from the beginning when he allowed him to attend the academy was that he had to go home as soon as the academy ended, without straying elsewhere. From Yeonjo’s perspective, it was not a question he could answer right away.

…Still, he also thought that just once might be okay.

“Should I?”

Unable to ignore the expectant gazes looking at him, Yeonjo smiled awkwardly.

“What do you want to eat? We haven’t decided on a menu yet.”

“I…”

Yeonjo closed the mouth he had opened upon seeing the instructor who was just entering through the door.

‘Let’s decide later.’

Park Eunbin mouthed the words and opened her workbook. Yeonjo nodded reflexively while also worrying about how he should bring it up with Boss Gu.

The morning classes passed quickly, and it was lunchtime. Once again, to eat the lunchbox brought from home, Yeonjo headed to the break room. Surprisingly, the break room used by the students was quiet during lunchtime. This was because most of them went out to eat. At most, the number of users did not exceed five, so Yeonjo always sat alone at the end table to eat.

Today, it seemed Yeonjo was the only one using the break room, as the spacious area was empty. Yeonjo familiarly took out the lunchbox packed in a thermal container.

When lunchtime was about to end and he returned to his seat in the classroom, Park Eunbin and Kim Jaemin would surely ask him what he wanted to eat tomorrow. The fact that he hadn’t gotten permission from Boss Gu yet weighed on his mind.

Yeonjo, who was about to use his chopsticks, tapped the table with an anxious face and sighed. It was Cha Yeonjo himself who had agreed to the conditions Boss Gu had set before he started attending the academy. He felt a prick of conscience for trying to break the promise he had made to go in the car driven by his subordinate and to come straight home after class.

But then again, he wondered if there was really a need to refuse the students’ invitation to have a meal together just once. There was also the desire not to be seen as an even stranger person here. Within the academy, Cha Yeonjo already had an image that was close to being an oddball.

After much thought, Yeonjo called Boss Gu.

—What.

For once, Boss Gu answered the phone right away.

“What are you doing?”

—Working.

“Are you outside?”

—I came out because there’s a place I need to stop by for a bit.

“…It’s not a fight or anything dangerous, is it?”

—It’s not. Is something wrong?

Boss Gu answered curtly and immediately pressed him for the reason he called.

“It’s not that something’s wrong… There’s something I want to ask.”

—Say it.

Yeonjo cleared his throat once and got to the point.

“After the mock exam tomorrow, can I have a quick meal with the kids here before I go?”

—What does the end of the mock exam have to do with eating?

He knew he would hate it. A thick layer of distrust was attached to his voice.

“It’s a gathering to acknowledge that we’ve all worked hard studying.”

—Hmm…

“I’ll be home soon.”

—Are there any bastards hitting on you?

“What’s there to hit on at an academy. They’re all kids who only study.”

—I doubt that.

“It’s true.”

—If you finish what we were doing this morning later, I’ll think about it.

“What we were doing this morning, you say…”

Yeonjo naturally recalled what had happened at home before coming to the academy. Boss Gu, who had a leisurely morning because he was going to work later than usual, had interfered with everything Yeonjo did since the morning.

He had kept him from getting out of bed for a long time, stripping him down and kissing and sucking on him, and when he finally managed to escape and went into the bathroom, he had followed him there, saying he needed to wash up too, and tormented Yeonjo. In the end, they repeated the same things they did in bed, and Boss Gu, unable to control his excitement, made a naked Yeonjo lean against the bathroom wall and came by rubbing his dick between his thighs.

Being stimulated from below in a place full of steam, Yeonjo’s energy was instantly depleted. He had barely managed to pull away from Boss Gu to avoid being late for his lecture and finally left the house, but his tone suggested that what they did in the morning was far from enough.

—Your answer?

“Ah, I understand.”

Yeonjo lowered his voice and answered, even though there was no one listening. At the same time, the closed door of the break room burst open. Startled by the sound of someone entering, Yeonjo quickly hung up the phone.

Now that he had permission, his heart felt much lighter, and Yeonjo picked up his utensils again. But the more he mulled over the phone call just now, the more dumbfounded he became. He’d been clinging to and tormenting someone who was supposed to be studying since the morning, and now he was telling him to finish it when he gets home? He had even clearly said that the mock exam was tomorrow.

Boss Gu was rejoicing more than ever in Yeonjo’s improved condition, thanks to the unidentified medicine from Happiness Dabang. He clung to Yeonjo, his body hot at all times, as if wondering how he had managed to be celibate for the past few months.

At first, he thought he was being petulant because he didn’t like him attending the academy, but it didn’t seem like he was acting this way solely for that reason.

“Hyung, hyung. We’re eating together after the mock exam tomorrow, right?”

Kim Jaemin, who had eaten lunch outside, came back up and entered the break room, opening the door. Yeonjo, who was cleaning up his finished lunchbox, nodded. Even though it came with a completely unreasonable condition, he had gotten Boss Gu’s permission anyway.

“Ooh, hyung, what do you like? It’s the first time our whole group is getting together.”

“How about something simple like pork belly?”

Before he knew it, Kim Jaemin’s group was flocking to the break room. Park Eunbin, who appeared holding a takeout coffee, recommended a menu item.

“Pork belly is a bit… Doesn’t it smell too much?”

“Then pasta?”

“How about pho.”

“I can’t eat pho because of the scent.”

“Yeonjo oppa, is there anything you want to eat?”

“I eat anything well, so you guys can choose whatever you want to eat.”

From Yeonjo’s perspective, it didn’t matter what the menu was. He didn’t know much about what restaurants were in this area, so it was more comfortable for him to follow the lead of the students who had been here often.

“Does someone who eats anything well pack a lunch every meal and eat alone…?”

The man in a tracksuit who had been listening quietly from the side muttered, as if displeased with Yeonjo’s answer, which came after a long pause. At his complaint, the students who had been eagerly discussing the menu all stopped talking at once. And they turned their gazes to the student in the tracksuit.

“Hey, Ingyu hyuuung! Why do you have to say it like that. We can just decide together and eat.”

Kim Jaemin said exaggeratedly, trying to smooth over the rapidly awkward atmosphere. Park Ingyu, who was one year older than Yeonjo, was said to have come to the academy reluctantly after dropping out of high school, getting addicted to games, and being pushed by his parents’ threat to cut off his allowance. He was also a particularly sensitive and edgy person in the generally good-natured group of Kim Jaemin.

“I mean… it’s like that. Everyone else is deciding what to eat, and saying ‘anything, anything’ is a bit much.”

“…”

“…”

“Oppa…”

“What? No, am I being sensitive? Honestly, when deciding something like this, someone saying everything is fine on the side isn’t helpful, and, well, it just makes the atmosphere weird.”

The air in the break room grew chilly. Park Ingyu, who had pulled the hood of his black hoodie down low, made eye contact with the other students in turn, as if seeking their agreement. However, the students couldn’t find anything to say and avoided his gaze.

“What’s wrong with eating anything well. It’s not like Yeonjo oppa said he can’t eat it…”

When Yeonjo was about to say something, thinking this had happened because of him, Park Eunbin quickly stepped in.

“Right, right. We can just decide on the menu together.”

“Ah! Should we make a reservation while we’re at it? There might not be seats if we all show up suddenly tomorrow.”

“Shouldn’t we decide what to eat first?”

“Then Mr. Cha Yeonjo, you recommend any menu item.”

At this, Park Ingyu once again picked on Yeonjo. The atmosphere, which had been barely loosening up, froze again. This time, the students’ gazes all turned to Yeonjo at once. Since Park Ingyu was the oldest here, they all seemed at a loss as to how to mediate.

“Ah, then how about fusion cuisine? The only place I’ve been to around here is that one restaurant… It’s the only place I can think of.”

Yeonjo said, recalling the restaurant he had gone to with Boss Gu. It was a good place for a quiet meal, as the food combinations were unique and you could reserve a private room. Boss Gu often took him there, remembering that Yeonjo had said it was delicious when they first came.

“Oh, fusion cuisine is great!”

“I don’t mind either. But where is it?”

When the students’ reactions weren’t bad, Park Ingyu shut his mouth with a displeased face. In any case, after the exam in a few months, he wouldn’t be coming to the academy anymore, so Yeonjo didn’t want to create friction with him. He didn’t want to give him that much attention either.

“It’s called Maison Bleu… it’s the building next to the River Hotel, do you know it?”

“Oh oh, that one. I’ve heard of it somewhere.”

The student across from Yeonjo snapped his fingers as if he had remembered something.

“Isn’t that the restaurant run by Chef Seo Junguk?”

“He’s super famous.”

“Seo Junguk? Hey, oppa. You can’t make a reservation there now. You have to book it months in advance to go.”

“…Is that so?”

It was the first he’d heard that reservations were difficult. Yeonjo recalled the days he had eaten there. He didn’t think there were so many people that you had to call in advance. Although he had never made a reservation himself, there was always a table when he went with Boss Gu on the days he said he wanted to go.

“We don’t know for sure, so should I try calling once?”