Chapter 144: Dissolve: His Last Choice

The two humans seemed barely to notice him, engrossed in their own business, so he let his guard down and stepped further out into the hallway.

He looked up at the high ceiling, sniffed the floor, suddenly flattened himself against the ground, then jumped back, inching a little closer toward the kitchen.

“Damn… He’s coming this way, hyung.”

“I see him too.”

“This is the first time he’s come this far out, right?”

“It’s the first time he’s left the room at all.”

Even if it wasn’t as obvious as with Song Hyunsoo, Yoon Jooho was clearly excited as well.

“Try filming him.”

“Me?”

“You’ve got the perfect angle.”

“I left my phone in the room. Give me yours, hyung.”

Yoon Jooho pulled his phone from his gown pocket, unlocked it, and handed it to Song Hyunsoo.

Not wanting to miss any cute moments, Hyunsoo quickly opened the camera app, zoomed in, and started filming Monroe.

“Ha, damn, he’s so adorable. This isn’t just any cat cuteness. He’s coming, he’s coming. Hyung, he’s almost at the dining table now. Coming this far all by himself, isn’t our Monroe a genius cat or what?”

Looking down at the side of the ecstatic Song Hyunsoo’s face, Yoon Jooho clicked his tongue.

“I thought you said don’t get so worked up.”

Though he said it teasingly, he reached out, placed a hand on Hyunsoo’s crown, and ruffled his hair. Still leaning forward in the same posture he’d used while filming, Song Hyunsoo looked up at him.

Yoon Jooho’s face, his expression and eyes, were soft.

It was the kind of look that said he was happy to be here, to be sharing this moment with him. The look of someone gazing fondly at the one they like.

Come to think of it, Yoon Jooho had been looking at him like this for quite some time already.

“When did you start liking me?”

“What’s with the sudden question?”

“When people start dating, isn’t that the kind of thing you wonder about?”

“Well, I’ve never really had that experience.”

“Oh, right.”

“Why don’t you say it first then?”

“……”

“Why am I ‘ㄱㅇㅈㅎㅅㅂ’?”

“Huh? What?”

“What does ‘F*cking Yoon Jooho’ even mean?”

Yoon Jooho asked casually, but Song Hyunsoo almost dropped the phone in surprise.

“H-How did you know that?”

“I happened to see it when you were checking your messages.”

Nyaaah, nyaaah. A faint meow came from under the table. Both looked down simultaneously.

Monroe was biting on Hyunsoo’s slipper, nibbling his ears just like always.

“Is ‘F*cking Yoon Jooho’ really your thing?”

“No, it’s not??”

“You didn’t stick that on me just because I seemed annoying when we first met, did you?”

“Don’t pin that on me!”

“Whatever it is, F*cking Yoon Jooho’… isn’t that a bit much for a boyfriend?”

“Ah, that’s not what I meant!”

“Then explain it.”

“Well, that’s because…”

“It’s definitely ‘F*cking Yoon Jooho.’”

Leaving Song Hyunsoo unable to respond, Yoon Jooho declared the conclusion himself. Hyunsoo had no choice but to confess, even if feeling wronged.

“The very top!”

“……”

“I put that syllable there to make your contact appear at the very top.”

Yoon Jooho still looked puzzled as he sipped his water and glanced sideways at Hyunsoo.

“I was so surprised and didn’t believe it when I got your number. I wanted it to show up first every time I opened my contacts.”

Yoon Jooho’s hand, holding the glass, froze for a moment.

“What about the rest?”

“What else could it be? Of course, it’s Yoon Jooho hyung.”

Avoiding Yoon Jooho’s lingering gaze, Song Hyunsoo slid under the chair and took off one of the slippers for Monroe. His face felt like it was burning up.

It would’ve been easier to just say “I like you” or “I love you.” He really didn’t want to talk about this, but here he was.

Yoon Jooho’s hand came over and swept back Hyunsoo’s bangs with a playful force enough to tilt his head slightly backward. It was the kind of skinship Hyunsoo liked.

Pulling the heel of the slipper away from Monroe, who was biting his rabbit ears, Hyunsoo glared up at Yoon Jooho and asked sulkily,

“Then what do I have written?”

“……”

“If it’s not Bibitan, it’s just plain old ‘Song Hyunsoo.’ Pretty obvious.”

“Are you sure he came out to see me? I think he’s actually looking for that slipper.”

Instead of answering, Yoon Jooho turned his attention back to Monroe, just like he always did when cornered.

Yeah, yeah. I wasn’t expecting an answer anyway.

Yoon Jooho stood up by the dining table and took out Monroe’s favorite snack. Monroe, who had been playing with the slippers, stopped the moment he spotted the treat in Yoon Jooho’s hand.

His triangular ears perked up as his nose twitched. Still biting the rabbit ears, he dragged the slipper along the floor and scampered toward Yoon Jooho.

Leaning his back against the countertop, sitting on the floor, Yoon Jooho gave a smug look and raised his eyebrows at Song Hyunsoo.

“Don’t act all proud. It’s not because he likes you more, it’s the snack.”

“But he was crying earlier, looking for me.”

“That’s true. Monroe really is a genius cat.”

“What’s so genius about him?”

Sitting in front of Yoon Jooho, who was opening a stick-shaped snack along its tear line, Monroe quietly stared only at Yoon Jooho’s hand without moving.

Song Hyunsoo crawled over to Monroe.

“I told him that if he comforted you when you were sick, you’d feel better. He must have understood and came out because of that. So he’s a genius, right, Monroe?”

When Monroe was eating, it was the perfect chance to touch him freely. As expected, the little tongue flicks meant he didn’t mind at all when Hyunsoo touched his ears and belly.

“Am I Dad?”

“You’re not Mom.”

“If I’m Dad, then what am I to you?”

“Um… Dad’s boyfriend, and since I’m younger than you… little uncle?”

After some thought, Yoon Jooho chuckled, trying to stifle a laugh at the idea.

Monroe, who was still eating the snack, stared at Yoon Jooho, who gently scratched the spot with a mole on his head with his thumb.

The cat squinted contentedly and rubbed his face against Yoon Jooho’s hand. Ah, I should’ve taken a video of that.

“Why? I want to be Monroe’s dad too.”

“Little uncle is just too funny.”

“Then hyung, got a better idea?”

“Don’t you want to be Mom?”

“No way. I’m a guy, so I want to be Dad.”

“A kindergartener who insists on playing house roles?”

Monroe unexpectedly stopped eating and glanced back and forth between the two, who were bickering over such trivial matters above his head.

“Maybe he’s worried we’re fighting.”

“You said ‘little uncle’ should only use kind words around kids.”

Glancing at Yoon Jooho with a smirk, Song Hyunsoo snatched the snack from him and took his seat.

“Just hand me your phone. I want to film more Monroe.”

“Is it okay to treat a patient like this?”

“The patient can lie down in the room. We’re going to have some quality time here.”

Yoon Jooho unlocked his phone, opened the camera app, handed it to Song Hyunsoo, then walked over to the coffee machine.

“Want some coffee? Brush your teeth and lie down after. I’ll do it for you.”

“I’m fine. I can manage.”

“Don’t drink iced coffee, drink it warm.”

As Song Hyunsoo enthusiastically filmed this historic moment—Monroe eating a snack for the first time in the kitchen—an idea suddenly flashed through his mind.

He glanced at Yoon Jooho’s back as he operated the coffee machine, opened the phone app, and tapped on the contacts.

He was determined to find out what name Yoon Jooho had saved him under. Why else wouldn’t he tell him? Could it possibly be some embarrassingly cheesy nickname?

But the list was long, and without knowing the exact saved name, it seemed impossible to find it quickly.

Swiftly switching to recent calls, Song Hyunsoo couldn’t believe his eyes.

Country code 33, followed by a string of numbers.

It was definitely Jung Jin’s France number. His heart suddenly started pounding wildly, as if insisting on being noticed.

“Does that Peach thing deliver too?”

Yoon Jooho, holding a mug of coffee, turned toward him.

“P-Peach? It’s probably on the app. Want to try it?”

Yoon Jooho nodded, wrapping his hands around the mug as he approached. After taking a sip, he raised the mug slightly and said,

“I need to wash up after drinking this. Want to join me?”

“Uh… I’ll order the Peach and come in later.”

Watching Song Hyunsoo shyly but not refusing, Yoon Jooho chuckled.

He bent down briefly, petted Monroe a few times who was focused on his snack, then stood up and ruffled Song Hyunsoo’s hair.

The sound of slippers dragging grew fainter.

Leaning back against the island countertop, Song Hyunsoo’s face bloomed into a full smile—the expression of someone who wanted to burst into cheers right then and there.

“Monroe, maybe he’s trying to make up with hyung.”

No matter how much he thought about it, there was only one reason Yoon Jooho had called Jung Jin.

If there was a stubborn, gruff middleman in the way of their connection, maybe that guy was the first to reach out and try to reconcile.

Maybe the two of them would make up.

Thinking that, Song Hyunsoo couldn’t stop smiling.

Like a kid who had just guessed the huge birthday present their parents had secretly prepared, he hid under the counter, hugged Monroe, and tried to calm his fluttering heart for a long while.