Side Story 1: Long Take : Part 6

<Dissolve> —that world.

It took Song Hyunsoo more than a month to recover from the aftereffects of escaping the imaginary realm of Myeonghaeri.

Yoon Jooho, too, felt emptiness and a sense of loss, but for Song Hyunsoo, this was his first major role since debut, and so the intensity hit him even harder.

He was endlessly optimistic if you put it nicely, but to be blunt, he just lacked delicacy—so even Yoon Jooho hadn’t expected him to struggle this much for so long.

He didn’t make it obvious on the outside, but Yoon Jooho couldn’t help but notice.

He knew the sound of Song Hyunsoo’s breathing, the look in his eyes, the warmth and tremble he felt when he entered him.

Song Hyunsoo missed <Dissolve> and Myeonghaeri, the winter, spring, and summer he’d spent there, and found it hard to let them go.

And Yoon Jooho simply stayed by Song Hyunsoo’s side through it all.

Because they had each other, the shock was softened, and slowly, healthily, they were able to let go of the world called <Dissolve>.

Not only did they share the world of <Dissolve> together, but even the process of leaving it became a special experience just for the two of them.

They had dreamed together, and suffered together.

That bond could never be replaced by anything.

Seo Hae, wordlessly watching Yoon Jooho drink a non-alcoholic beverage, shook his head in disbelief.

“Yoon Jooho, who couldn’t last three months with anyone, is now looking after a younger lover… Even refusing drinks just to drive his boyfriend. I never thought I’d live to see this day.”

“I just don’t want to suffer through a long flight with a hangover.”

Seo Hae snorted.

“I hear you’ve become a driver these days, Yoon Jooho.”

“What are you talking about now?”

“You two don’t just do pilates together, do you?”

“……”

“Acting, English, tennis lessons. I hear you drive him around yourself. Then why did you even buy him a Porsche?”

Yoon Jooho tapped his cigarette in the ashtray, brushing it off like it was nothing.

“If the lessons are at the same time, why bother driving two cars?”

“There’s no reason you have to take lessons at the same time, either.”

“……”

Yoon Jooho looked down, inhaling his cigarette deeply.

“Hyunsoo’s just someone I love unconditionally, so if that’s how it is, then fine. But you can’t fool Sangho or me.”

“What did I even try to fool you about?”

“You sly bastard.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Are you still that anxious?”

“……”

“You’re just trying to keep him by your side.”

“……”

“Without a single breath of air, twenty-four hours a day.”

Yoon Jooho, wearing an unreadable, cryptic smile, looked up at Seo Hae and downed the rest of his drink.

He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, picked up the jacket he’d taken off, and stood up.

“Leaving already?”

“I have to leave home by 9 tomorrow. He hasn’t even finished packing.”

“I wanted to try one of Hyunsoo’s cocktails for the first time in a while.”

“If you want to drink his cocktails, pay me.”

“Why would I pay you and not Hyunsoo? You’re such a weirdo.”

“Whatever. Just pay me. 100,000 won per glass.”

“What? That’s outright robbery.”

Yoon Jooho hooked the Shopping Bag on his finger and lifted it to eye level.

“Thanks. I’ll put it to good use.”

Leaving Seo Hae’s shout to bring back a present behind him, Yoon Jooho exited the bar.

He’d just been smoking, but now his mouth already felt empty—maybe because he hadn’t been able to drink even a drop of alcohol.

“Oh? Why are you coming out?”

Just then, Song Hyunsoo, who was coming in through the first floor entrance, stopped at the top of the stairs and looked down at Yoon Jooho.

“I got what I came for, so I’m leaving.”

“I didn’t even get to say goodbye to hyung.”

Song Hyunsoo looked down the stairs with regretful eyes. Yoon Jooho wrapped an arm around his waist.

“You don’t need to.”

And with that, he closed the glass door completely in front of Song Hyunsoo’s eyes.

“What about your call? Finished?”

Song Hyunsoo nodded, and Yoon Jooho gently pinched and shook the tip of his nose.

“Who keeps calling you so much? Is it your lover?”

“We’re meeting soon. We just set the meeting spot.”

“Where did you decide to meet?”

“It’s supposed to be somewhere not crowded with tourists. He said he’ll send me the Google Map coordinates.”

Even though he tried not to show it, Yoon Jooho quietly gazed at his lover’s obviously excited face.

“It’s the last day, right?”

“Yeah.”

Yoon Jooho had suggested a few times that it might be better to meet Jung Jin first, then spend the last day just the two of them together.

Song Hyunsoo wanted that, too, if possible. But the day before was the sentencing for Yoon Jooho’s parents’ case.

Whatever the verdict, he wanted to spend that day with Yoon Jooho, all day long.

“You get two hours. Just two.”

“I know.”

Song Hyunsoo suddenly hugged Yoon Jooho’s waist, beaming up at him with a happy face.

“Even two hours… I don’t want to be apart from you.”

Yoon Jooho looked down at Song Hyunsoo hanging on his waist, then wrapped his arms around him and pulled him toward where the car was parked.

“Let’s go home, quickly.”

■

Packing was going nowhere.

Standing in front of the mirror, Song Hyunsoo picked up two jackets from their hangers and held them up alternately under his chin.

“Ah… this one’s nice, but that one has cute pockets.”

It was a tough decision. Song Hyunsoo glanced down at the chaos on the dress room floor.

Two large suitcases, wide open. And inside, piles of clothes already stuffed to the brim.

It didn’t look like there was any space left at all.

Feeling overwhelmed, Song Hyunsoo spotted Monroe occupying a corner of the suitcase and burst out laughing.

“Monroe, you rascal, what are you doing in there? Huh?”

Meoww.

The cat lifted his chin and let out a high-pitched cry as if to show his displeasure.

Even as he scolded Monroe, Song Hyunsoo’s face was filled with the happy smile of someone looking at something precious.

He took out his phone and snapped several pictures of the cat’s adorable pose.

“Do you want to come with us, too?”

Meow~

Whether Monroe understood and was replying, or just making sounds.

From today, he’d have to be away from Monroe for six days and five nights. Just thinking of it, separate from the excitement of this trip—no, business trip—left his heart uneasy.

Song Hyunsoo bent his knees and picked up Monroe, smothering him with kisses and scratching under his chin and on his forehead—his favorite spots.

Maybe it wasn’t Monroe who didn’t want to be separated, but Song Hyunsoo himself.

It was Yoon Jooho who’d pushed him to adopt this little one, and after living together as a family for nearly half a year, their bond had only deepened.

Since the film’s Crank-Up, the three of them had spent every day together at home.

“Director Bang uncle will come by. Your favorite Director Bang uncle. You’ll be fine, right?”

“What’s with that weird title?”

At the sudden voice, Song Hyunsoo looked up.

Yoon Jooho had just come out of the bathroom, barely wrapped in a towel around his waist.

It had been nearly half a year since they officially started living together in this house.

Yet, seeing him like this still shocked Song Hyunsoo’s heart, and for a moment, he didn’t know where to look.

“…What?”

Even though he said he didn’t know where to look, Song Hyunsoo tried to act unfazed with a sulky tone, glancing over the lines of Yoon Jooho’s body.

“If it’s Director Bang, just call him Director Bang, and if it’s uncle, just uncle. What’s with Director Bang uncle?”

Yoon Jooho had already finished styling his hair.

It was a strange contrast—primal in just a towel, yet his hair was perfectly civilized—which gave off a decadent impression.

“But… Why is the dress room still a mess?”

Yoon Jooho’s gaze at the untidy space was displeased. He added,

“It’s just like before I went to shower.”

“Ah, sunbae. Take a look at these. Which should I bring?”

Putting Monroe down, Song Hyunsoo picked up the two jackets he’d been agonizing over earlier.

In the meantime, Monroe wandered over to Yoon Jooho and rubbed against his calf, and Yoon Jooho picked him up to his bare chest. He frowned a little.

“That’s enough. The free schedule’s only two nights and three days. How many outfits are you planning to wear?”

“But it’s my first ever overseas trip, and… it’s our first trip together, sunbae. I want to bring this and that…”

“It’s not a trip. It’s a business trip.”

Yoon Jooho put on a stern, senior-like voice.

“But those two nights and three days are our trip.”

“So?”

“So, as I kept tossing in what I wanted to bring…”

Mumbling excuses while scratching the back of his neck, Song Hyunsoo’s eyes dropped gloomily to the floor.

Haah. Yoon Jooho sighed, put Monroe down, and spoke as if there was no helping it.

“Then take another suitcase.”

Then he dragged out another large suitcase from the corner of the dress room.

Song Hyunsoo’s lips twitched, struggling to hold back a smile.

Yoon Jooho had always taken good care of him, even before they started dating—his words were just a bit sharp.

But since getting back together, there were moments he clearly felt a difference from before.

The old Yoon Jooho would suddenly hit a wall and hide away, even when things were going well.

But now, even in small things like this, Hyunsoo could feel Yoon Jooho putting him first. Just like now.