“What’s with that ugly face?”
Muheon tilted his chin, not understanding the disgruntled expression on Kang Hakyun’s face.
He’d heard that places like this were supposed to be even more popular with younger folks than pizza school-type joints.
They had driven all the way here because of Gi Sang-oh’s big talk, but it clearly didn’t suit Kang Hakyung’s tastes.
“Wanna go to Pizza School instead?”
Muheon had thought, ‘It’s too complicated, the owner can just choose something good,’ and that had been his mistake.
Hakyung pulled off a slice of pizza piled high with bright green vegetables and placed it on the man’s plate.
But wasn’t this way too much spinach?
There was so much on it, it hadn’t even wilted.
Finally, Hakyung’s lips, full of complaint, started to chatter away.
“Excuse me, sir, what kind of pizza did you order? There’s just way too much spinach. It’s not like I’m a picky eater, but pizza’s supposed to be all about cheese and strong flavors, right? This just feels like I’m eating a salad. I don’t get the point.”
“Spinach? That’s arugula.”
“Arugula?”
What even is that…?
Hakyung’s pupils trembled.
It was an ingredient he had never heard of back in the countryside.
He had just assumed it was some soft spinach, but it turned out to be something entirely different.
Flustered, Hakyung clamped his mouth shut, which had been moving non-stop.
Watching the now-blushing Kang Hakyung, Muheon had to clench his fist under the table to keep from laughing.
“Hillbilly.”
Of course, he wasn’t about to pass up a chance to tease the kid.
“I-It’s just because we didn’t have places like this where I lived!”
“You could’ve just looked it up online, though?”
“How am I supposed to search up a vegetable I’ve never even seen on a pizza before?!”
…Fair point.
Muheon found himself nodding as if hypnotized by Hakyung’s indigent defense.
He copied Hakyung’s earlier action and placed a slice of pizza on the boy’s plate.
“Then take this opportunity to try it. You’ll go, ‘So this is arugula.’”
A laugh escaped him, unable to be held back.
Hakyung, chewing the pizza, puffed his cheeks like an angry baby pufferfish.
Muheon ended up laughing out loud.
His booming laugh was too much, and Hakyung really did get upset.
Trying to appease the grumpy Kang Hakyung, Muheon broke into a sweat for the first time in a while.
Only after he promised to buy him hot chicken pizza next time did Hakyung start eating the rest of the pizza happily.
He really was a little prince.
Still, oddly enough, Muheon didn’t mind coaxing and doting on him—he even enjoyed it.
After finishing the entire pizza and a spicy rosé bacon pasta, Hakyung patted his full stomach.
The happiness from stuffing himself made his shoulders wiggle.
People are at their happiest with a full belly.
After two days of crouching and starving, he had felt like he was in hell—but just being full made it feel like heaven.
“Thank you for the meal today.”
“Yeah. Judging by your belly, I’d say you ate well.”
Still teasing to the end, Muheon climbed into the driver’s seat.
Hakyung, who had been pouting behind him, hurriedly opened the passenger door, worried he might get left behind.
***
Back at the company, it was already evening.
Hakyung was told he could clock out early, so he headed straight to the rooftop room.
As always, the dorm was quiet.
He passed the empty living room and kitchen and entered his room.
When he opened the door to the Whale Room, the wind chime he had hung earlier chimed a crisp, refreshing note in welcome.
Smiling, Hakyung opened and closed the door again.
The chime rang again, clear and bright.
Being able to hear such a pretty sound every time he came home—it made him so happy.
His boss might not have great taste in clothes or food, but he definitely knew how to pick gifts.
Going up on tiptoe, he tapped the wind chime once before finally stepping into the room.
“Phew!”
Shoving his shopping bags into a corner, Hakyung let out a deep breath.
He had never gone shopping so aggressively before in his life.
It was on par with the time he went to buy kimchi-making ingredients with his grandma.
He tapped his sore shoulders and elbows, then opened the shopping bag with the hat.
The yellow hat, neatly packaged flat, seemed to twinkle in anticipation.
He quickly unwrapped it, placed his old hat on the floor, and pressed the new yellow one onto his head.
The small mirror on his nightstand didn’t show it well, so he dashed to the bathroom to look in the big mirror.
“Knew it! It looks great!”
Hakyung bounced with joy.
He was thrilled that his hunch had been right—and proud that he managed to snag the last one before it was gone.
Striking various angles like someone taking selfies, he admired his reflection.
No matter which angle he looked from, the hat suited him perfectly.
A goofy grin kept slipping from his lips.
With the hat as a starting point, Hakyung’s personal fashion show began.
There was no audience, but he gleefully changed clothes and danced around the room.
“Pretty.”
At the sound of a low voice behind him, Hakyung flinched.
Still holding the shirt he hadn’t put on yet, he turned around.
The boss, leaning against the doorway, slowly scanned Hakyung from head to toe with his eyes.
“S-Sir?”
“Yeah.”
“What brings you here…?”
Hakyung, who had hurriedly pulled the T-shirt over his head, quickly took a step back.
As his footsteps grew more distant, Muheon, who had been watching him, shrugged his shoulders.
“Just because. Can’t I come?”
“Huh…?”
“I was just curious what Kang Hakyung was up to.”
“Ah, I see…”
Hakyung, inwardly grumbling, “What’s there to be curious about? Why doesn’t he just go home? Why’s he barging into another guy’s room late at night?” awkwardly smiled as he slipped his other arm into the shirt.
He wasn’t curious about what the boss was doing at all.
An uncomfortable air swirled around the two of them, but only Hakyung seemed to notice.
He fidgeted with the hem of his T-shirt to distract himself.
“Haven’t tried on the hat?”
“The hat?”
“Yeah, it’s not a new one.”
Muheon shifted his gaze toward Hakyung’s head as he asked.
At that, the dullness in Hakyung’s eyes instantly vanished, and they sparkled.
The fact that someone had appeared who could share in his excitement about the new hat thrilled him.
Hakyung picked up the hat placed neatly on top of the folded clothes.
The soft texture fit snugly into his palm.
“Boss, are you curious how I look in this hat? You are, right? That’s why you came, isn’t it?”
Come on, say you’re curious, ask me to show you!
Even his inner voice seemed audible.
Muheon, as if responding to Hakyung’s wish, nodded.
“Then I’ll show you!”
Hakyung swapped his hat for the yellow one.
In that moment, the curly pink hair that appeared looked as sweet as cotton candy.
A sudden urge to mess up that hair with his own hand surged within Muheon.
He barely managed to suppress it by shoving his hands into his pockets as Hakyung confidently stepped closer.
Maybe it was because he was still a kid.
Kang Hakyung found it so easy to retreat in fear when startled, and just as easy to approach again with a bright, excited expression.
Not that Muheon disliked it—it gave him an excuse to speak with him a bit longer.
“What do you think? Looks good, right? I told you it would!”
Come on, compliment me.
Say I look good with the pink dolphin theme.
Say it was a great purchase!
Once again, Muheon could almost hear the unspoken plea.
Suppressing a chuckle, he tilted his head, pretending not to get it.
“I think I need to see the back too.”
“Oh, come on!”
Hakyung let out a surprised laugh at the teasing comment, spinning his finger in the air.
Then he quickly covered his mouth.
But seeing the man’s unbothered expression, he reached out hesitantly.
Following the request, he turned in place to show his back.
“Looks good from the back too, right?”
Turning back around, Hakyung stepped even closer than before.
As he looked up at Muheon from up close, the brim of his hat lifted, revealing his face.
The first thing that caught the eye was the deep dimple created by his bright, cheerful smile.
Muheon raised a finger and poked Hakyung’s cheek.
“Ow!”
Caught off guard by the unexpected poke, Hakyung frowned.
He asked for an opinion on the hat, not to get jabbed in the cheek!
What does he think this is, checking if a fruit is ripe…?
Muheon blinked, surprised by the now-sullen look in Hakyung’s eyes.
Even he didn’t understand why his finger had ended up on Kang Hakyung’s cheek.
More shocked than Hakyung, who’d just been poked, Muheon quickly pulled his finger back and tried to escape the situation by reciting the compliment Hakyung had been waiting for.