S#3. The Prodigal Son Returns
Yoon Jooho picked one of the dozens of jackets hanging in the closet.
It was a dark gray Suit jacket that gave off a polite and trustworthy vibe.
He stood in front of the Dressing Room Mirror and held the hanger against his shoulder.
It seemed like a good choice.
Song Hyunsoo, who was hugging Monroe, met Yoon Jooho’s eyes in the Mirror over his shoulder.
“I’m telling you, a Suit is too much.”
“It’s the first time I’m greeting them, so I should be formal.”
“It’s not like you’re asking for permission to marry me. Let’s not be so stiff.”
Yoon Jooho tried on the jacket over his bare upper body.
Then he looked at himself in the Mirror from various angles.
“I’m introducing myself as the ‘man’ their grandson is dating.”
“……”
“From an adult’s perspective, it might be a more serious matter than asking for permission to marry.”
Stroking Monroe’s small head, Song Hyunsoo said nonchalantly.
“If that person is Yoon Jooho, most Parents in the Republic of Korea would think differently, wouldn’t they?”
“Why? Because I’m rich and famous?”
It was such a clean, innocent question that Song Hyunsoo didn’t even feel like taking issue with it.
“No, it’s because you’re the Prince. There aren’t any adults who dislike the Prince.”
Watching Yoon Jooho’s back, which seemed uninterested, Song Hyunsoo muttered to himself.
“Well, I guess being the Prince means you’re rich and famous. So you’re not wrong.”
Yoon Jooho began picking a Shirt and a tie this time.
He pulled out a white Shirt with a narrow collar.
“There are plenty of adults who dislike me because I sent my own Parent to Prison.”
“Not at our House. Even now, they’re more excited about the Prince coming than their own grandson.”
“That’s because they don’t know I’m your Namja Chingu yet.”
Today was Song Hyunsoo’s Birthday.
At the same time, it was the day they were going to greet his Grandmother and Grandfather.
As soon as they returned from Paris, Song Hyunsoo had tried to push things forward, but unexpectedly, Yoon Jooho needed time.
The reason was that he needed time to prepare his heart.
Both the visit to greet the Grandparents and the trip to Choi Hongseo’s Columbarium were postponed like that.
Because neither of those was something they wanted to just close their eyes and rush through.
Putting Monroe down, Song Hyunsoo snatched the Shirt from Yoon Jooho.
Instead, he held up a warm brown knit sweater under Yoon Jooho’s face.
“Let’s just aim to make a good impression today. Okay?”
Though he twisted his lips with a reluctant look, Yoon Jooho took the knit sweater.
Wearing beige Pants and the cozy knit, with his hair neatly styled, he asked Song Hyunsoo with a clearly nervous expression.
“How do I look?”
Crossing his arms and stroking his chin, Song Hyunsoo looked at him askance.
“I think the world is unfair.”
“I wore what you told me to. What else don’t you like?”
“Honestly, on the inside, you’re a total wre—”
Song Hyunsoo, who was chatting comfortably, belatedly shut his mouth.
Yoon Jooho stepped right up and grabbed Song Hyunsoo’s cheeks tightly with his large Hands.
“A total wreck? A total wreck to your Sunbae, who is like the heavens, and your Honey Sugar and Darling?”
“The words slipped out. Honey Sugar Darling.”
After biting and licking Song Hyunsoo’s fish-like lips to tease him, Yoon Jooho finally let go of his cheeks.
“But I’m right. Honestly, you’re quite twisted on the inside.”
“But seeing you dressed like this, you look like the sweetest, most reliable young man in the world.”
This time, Yoon Jooho leaned down and quietly met his eyes.
When he intentionally gave a soft smile, a warm light seemed to radiate from deep within his eyes.
Many people might not believe it, but people who are handsome beyond a certain level really do have that talent.
When looks reach that point, they become a talent.
“That total wreck is yours, though. Are you still that frustrated?”
“……”
Ah… I’m a lost cause.
To fall for it every time even though I know it’s a tactic.
Meow.
Perhaps finding their flirting pathetic, Monroe let out a meow like a yawn and left the Dressing Room.
Thanks to that, Song Hyunsoo snapped out of it and checked the wall Watch, his heart racing.
“I need to change my clothes too. We have to leave within 30 minutes to not be late.”
About to turn away, Song Hyunsoo immediately turned back and hugged Yoon Jooho tightly from behind.
“Still, Sunbae, the way you’re trying to look good for my Grandmother and Grandfather is sweet.”
Then, he stretched his neck and gave Yoon Jooho a loud kiss on the cheek.
“Sweet?”
“You’re so sweet I could die.”
“Look at you.”
Even while saying that, Yoon Jooho stroked Song Hyunsoo’s arms crossed over his chest.
“So, my Grandmother and Grandfather will definitely adore you too, Sunbae.”
“Since you’re being so confident, I’m even more nervous.”
“Why?”
“I feel like a huge trap is waiting for me.”
Treating it as just a joke, Song Hyunsoo burst into laughter.
Even after he left the front of the Mirror, Yoon Jooho continued to look at his reflection.
Of all days, today was that day.
The day one somehow looks ugly.
■
A neighborhood with both apartments and rice paddies.
It was exactly as Song Hyunsoo had described.
There was a bit of a disorganized atmosphere because developed areas coexisted with areas that still retained their old appearance, but that made it feel more natural and diverse.
The sky was clear.
Everywhere the bright, unblemished sunlight reached looked friendly and peaceful.
The light of the Sun had that kind of power.
From the dusty old Car parked next to the park to the blue gates with peeling paint and the rusty, dented signs.
When the sunlight of a clear day touched them, they seemed as if they were reborn.
Yoon Jooho took in every corner of that scenery.
Once they entered the area he knew well, Song Hyunsoo became busy.
That’s the elementary school I went to, that’s the middle school, and this is the high school.
The site where my regular PC Room used to be.
The fruit shop run by the parents of a local Nuna who was my first love.
The playground where I got dumped by a girlfriend I dated for six months, which was my record back then.
Busy sharing the memories filled in every spot with Yoon Jooho, he pointed everywhere and chattered in a raised voice without stopping.
Yoon Jooho, holding the steering wheel, would occasionally ask questions and sometimes show childish jealousy.
“So this is the place.”
“Yes?”
“The neighborhood where boy Song Hyunsoo used to play around with his Hands with a neighborhood Hyung, right?”
“Seriously, the way you talk…”
“If you happen to see that bastard while passing by, tell me.”
“If I tell you? What are you going to do?”
“I’ll show him my face.”
Pfft.
Before he could resist, Song Hyunsoo burst into laughter.
“Why show him your face?”
“So he feels a sense of defeat.”
Yoon Jooho continued in a matter-of-fact tone.
“Because he might be thinking of trying something with you again. It’s to make him face reality.”
“Ah, so you’re saying that just by showing your face, he’ll lose his will to fight? Is that what you mean?”
“Exactly.”
“Hahaha. Oh, that’s funny. Is Sunbae’s face really such an insurmountable wall?”
Turning on the blinker and stopping the Car in the left-turn lane, Yoon Jooho looked back at Song Hyunsoo.
His gaze was unnecessarily poignant.
“Isn’t it?”
When he met Yoon Jooho’s eyes, Song Hyunsoo’s laughter died down.
He avoided his gaze and stammered while scratching his cheek.
“Y-yeah, it is…”
Following the Navigation’s instructions, Yoon Jooho turned into an alley, leaving a small-sized Phone dealership on the left.
To the right was a long park that seemed newly developed, and to the left was a residential area with a mix of villas and multi-family housing.
“Oh! Sunbae, over there! You see it? The House with the green awning.”
Song Hyunsoo fidgeted, pointing somewhere again.
Slowing down the Car, Yoon Jooho leaned forward to look in the direction his fingertip was pointing.
“That’s my Grandmother and Grandfather’s Bunsik Restaurant.”
“It’s a cute shop.”
“Right? Even if it’s small and humble, the two of them run it very neatly.”
“I want to visit the Bunsik Restaurant next time too.”
“If word gets out that it’s the Bunsik Restaurant visited by Yoon Jooho, won’t my Grandmother and Grandfather become rich in no time?”
Yoon Jooho chuckled and checked the Navigation screen.
The destination, the Home, wasn’t far from the Bunsik Restaurant.
“You said they usually only rest on Sundays, right? Did they specially close the doors today because their grandson is coming?”
“They closed because the Prince is coming, not me.”
Drinking Coffee through a Straw, Song Hyunsoo spoke as if it were obvious.
No sign of tension could be seen in him at all.
Five minutes away from the destination, Yoon Jooho stopped the Car for a moment in front of a photo studio that wasn’t open.
He took off his Sunglasses and did a final check of his appearance through the Mirror above his head.