Meanwhile, it had become completely dark outside.
After the sun went down, the temperature plummeted. It felt as if a true Winter was right around the corner.
Song Hyunsoo, with his hands shoved deep into the pockets of the Cardigan that Shin Hyojin had given him as a Gift, turned the corner of the restaurant.
“……”
He saw the back of Yoon Jooho standing against the dark Empty Lot, smoking. Song Hyunsoo slowed his pace for a moment.
It was just across Gyungdong Bridge from Yoon Jooho’s Mansion to this place in Seongsu-dong.
During hours with little traffic, it took only ten minutes from the Mansion parking lot to this restaurant.
The two of them stopped by here at least once a month to eat meat or drink.
Even so, whenever he looked at Yoon Jooho smoking in this spot, he still found himself lost in sentiment.
Back then, when he wasn’t even an acquaintance of Yoon Jooho, let alone his Namja Chingu—when he was just an ‘Anonymous Actor 1’ far outside of his notice.
He had grown up imitating the Yoon Jooho in dramas, and he had been such a Fan that he would fall asleep using his voice as ASMR, but he had never imagined he could like him as a romantic partner.
Even after they started working together, while he was conscious of him, that thought hadn’t changed for a long time.
Superstar Yoon Jooho.
An unreachable tree, a rooster on a roof. To Song Hyunsoo, he was even more than that.
A Star in the sky. No matter how much he stretched his arms, stood on tiptoe, or jumped, he could never reach him.
And yet, in the moments he faced him and spoke with him here, he would fall into a state of ecstasy.
His face, flickering under the streetlights, was like a scene from a Movie, and every time his expression or gaze changed, Hyunsoo’s chest tightened, his breath hitched, and a sigh escaped.
Like an audience member deeply immersed in a well-made Movie.
That object of admiration, Yoon Jooho, was now…
Sending an affectionate gaze toward his figure as he smoked with one Hand in his pocket, Song Hyunsoo smiled silently.
Two people who had nothing to do with each other becoming precious to one another.
Despite living for decades without that person, reaching a point where life without them is unimaginable.
Love that changes a life, and changes the very way one looks at and treats life.
Opportunities for such love don’t come often. Having met enough people to know that, he was glad they met each other after all that.
Song Hyunsoo approached and stood beside Yoon Jooho, nudging him with his shoulder.
“It’s cold. Why did you come out without even wearing your Suit?”
“It’s not cold.”
“Is it because you’re upset with me?”
“……”
Without answering, Yoon Jooho simply stopped his hand and stared intently into Song Hyunsoo’s eyes.
Then, he murmured as he brought the cigarette to his lips.
“You’re quick to notice things like this.”
“What is it? Is it really because of me?”
He thought it was probably half a joke, but was he serious?
Perhaps the face looking up at him had unintentionally slumped.
He felt Yoon Jooho’s downward gaze soften immediately.
Taking his Hand out of his Pants pocket, he gently rubbed above Song Hyunsoo’s eyebrow with his thumb.
“Was today fun?”
A nod.
“Are you excited because you got a Gift?”
A nod.
The gentle touch now squished both of Song Hyunsoo’s cheeks.
“Wh-y… Wh-at is it?”
Why. What is it now.
Yoon Jooho’s eyebrows twitched as he turned the captured face this way and that.
“Thinking about it, this isn’t right.”
Having dropped that mysterious remark, he let go of Song Hyunsoo’s face and brought the cigarette to his lips.
“What isn’t right?”
“Seo Hae is Hyung, and Han Jooyoung is Hyung. So why am I Sunbae?”
“……”
“Isn’t it a bit wrong to call your Namja Chingu ‘Sunbae’?”
“Did you want to hear me call you Hyung? Should I call you Hyung?”
“That’s not what I’m talking about.”
Yoon Jooho looked back with a look of horror, as if wondering how he could be so slow-witted.
“If not that, then what? I really can’t tell. Are you saying I should call you Honey or Darling or something?”
“I’d rather die.”
His face crumpled as if he had chewed on a bug, unable to even imagine it.
“Then what do you want me to do?”
“Anyway, it’s not Sunbae.”
Things had been quiet for a while, but it seemed his Prince-like temperament— the tendency to be stubborn and grumpy when things weren’t to his liking— was acting up again.
It was highly likely the true reason for his dampened mood wasn’t the title. By now, Song Hyunsoo understood the human named Yoon Jooho to that extent.
Song Hyunsoo moved behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist. He slid his Hand under the hem of his knit sweater and stroked his firm abdomen.
“What are you up to?”
“Nothing. I just wanted to touch my Namja Chingu.”
“Acting cute won’t help.”
Even as he spoke coldly, saying it wouldn’t help, Yoon Jooho’s mood usually more than half-subsided when Song Hyunsoo clung to him.
Even now, he didn’t push away his Lover who was being a nuisance behind his back.
Resting his chin on his shoulder, Hyunsoo blankly watched the smoke scattering from the edge of his lips.
“I told you not to even give me a Birthday Gift, but seeing me get a Gift from someone else and being happy… Is that why you’re angry?”
“If you don’t give a Gift, you save money, which is good for me.”
“Sunbae, you’ve given me so much already.”
“Does that mean you should tell me not to give you a Birthday Gift?”
“I’ll consider the Bag you bought me last time a Birthday Gift.”
Yoon Jooho looked back with narrowed eyes. His gaze seemed to say, *Are you even serious right now?* He clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“I see why you got dumped by girls every time even with that face.”
“What’s wrong with my face?”
Even in a relaxed state without being pumped up, his abdomen was clearly defined. Song Hyunsoo scratched those furrows with his fingertips.
Yoon Jooho chuckled, bringing the cigarette to his lips.
“It’s… very funny-looking, so it’s never boring to look at.”
“You weren’t exactly great at dating either, Sunbae.”
“It’s not like I even wanted to be good at it.”
“Yes, yes. I’m sure you didn’t.”
Yoon Jooho placed the filter in the mouth of Song Hyunsoo, who was resting his chin on his shoulder.
He took a long drag.
While blowing smoke toward the dark Empty Lot, he toyed with Hyunsoo’s side inside the knit sweater.
“Give me a Gift later.”
“When’s later?”
“When I can do lots of things for you too, Sunbae.”
“You’re going to do lots of things for me?”
“Of course. When I earn money, I’ll send living expenses to my Grandmother and Grandfather regularly, and then I’ll give you many Gifts too. Right now, there’s nothing I can do for you. I’m only receiving…”
“……”
Yoon Jooho slowly turned around to face Song Hyunsoo.
It felt as if the warm orange light of the streetlight was emanating faintly from him. *I really have it bad.*
Yoon Jooho’s dry Hand, which had a low body temperature, reached out and brushed his cheek.
“You think you’re not doing anything?”
“I’m really not.”
“You’re only receiving?”
“The only thing I’ve given you is a single Keyring.”
Looking down into the eyes of Song Hyunsoo, who believed that without a doubt, Yoon Jooho lightly bumped his forehead against Hyunsoo’s. He murmured as if sighing.
“Are you a fool?”
“Why am I?”
“A fool wouldn’t know even if explained.”
“If I’m a fool, then you’re dating a fool, Sunbae. That wouldn’t be good for you at all.”
Song Hyunsoo grumbled and hung onto Yoon Jooho’s back.
Whether it was absurdity or genuine amusement, Yoon Jooho kept chuckling while smoking.
Hyunsoo had never been called smart in his life, nor was he ever particularly skilled at anything.
Perhaps he really was a fool. But even he thought he was a genius at soothing Yoon Jooho’s mood.
Hugging the waist of the man whose mood seemed to have improved, he rubbed his nose against the long nape of his neck.
“Hyung, Jooho Hyung.”
“Don’t mess around.”
“I only have Hyung.”
“You have lots of Hyungs.”
“I only need Jooho Hyung.”
“Are you soothing a five-year-old right now?”
He stood slightly on tiptoe, pressed his lips to his ear, and whispered.
“It’s not that, I’m saying I love you.”
“……”
Yoon Jooho stopped breathing for a moment. His eyelashes, casting long shadows, blinked slowly. He soon flicked the butt with his fingers to extinguish the embers.
“Let’s go to the House.”
“Already?”
“I’ve started wanting to go to the House.”
Seeing Yoon Jooho speak as firmly as a child with a serious expression and tone, Hyunsoo burst out laughing.
The season he met Yoon Jooho was coming back.
The Star that shone alone in the night sky was, unbelievably, by his side.
He was still a Star to Song Hyunsoo, but now, he was also the most familiar warmth, the most reassuring scent.
Being led by his Hand, he looked up at the night sky. The sky, wiped clean without a cloud, was rare with twinkling Stars.
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