Chapter 29

The late autumn morning was rather chilly. Naru, asleep on the sofa, pulled the thick blanket up to his chin and shivered. Perhaps because the house was so large, the empty living room felt cold.

Gyu-yeon woke at the whining sound and came into the living room. He walked over casually, grabbed the quilt he had been using, and draped it over Naru’s body. The whimpering sound finally subsided.

Leaving Naru sleeping, Gyu-yeon went alone to the kitchen and made a simple breakfast. He sliced tomatoes, made scrambled eggs, and toasted bread, and a fairly decent breakfast was set out.

A cup on the table was filled with milk, and another had coffee brewed. With the drinks perfectly prepared, a little over thirty minutes had passed.

“Hey, wake up.”

“……”

Gyu-yeon, having come into the living room, poked at Naru sprawled on the sofa to wake him. Sometimes he would get up at dawn and make a mess in the kitchen, and last night he watched TV until late and slept like this.

Staring at Naru’s face, Gyu-yeon wondered whether he should just leave his sleeping. He breathed softly like a baby, and his peaceful, cute appearance made him want to leave him alone.

Ah, what am I thinking.

Lately, every time he looked at Naru’s face he kept thinking he was cute. It wasn’t simply that his face was cute, but rather his actions and the atmosphere he gave off had a strangely compelling pull.

Snapping back to himself, Gyu-yeon slapped his own cheek a couple of times. Lately it was a problem how easily he lost his composure over Naru.

“What are you doing?”

“Whoa! Shit, you scared me.”

“……”

Naru, who had opened his eyes without him noticing, stared at Gyu-yeon with a blank expression. He was flustered to see him as soon as he woke, but it was a pleasant fluster. Grinning, he grabbed the hem of Gyu-yeon’s clothes and stood up. A delicious smell had been teasing his nose for a while—apparently Gyu-yeon had made breakfast.

“What are you staring at? Come and eat breakfast. I have to leave early.”

“Where are you going? Can’t you take me with you?”

“I’m going to take you, so eat quickly.”

Now he no longer needed to plead to be taken; he would just take him along. Naru was genuinely happy. He had always worried that Gyu-yeon might leave him behind, so he felt proud that such incidents had decreased recently.

Sitting across from each other at the table, the two began to eat. Naru focused solely on his food, busy moving his spoon, while Gyu-yeon leisurely sipped his coffee and checked his phone.

His schedule visible on the screen was quite full. Today was the first day for the new employee, Do-min, so he needed to get there early. It had been a while since hiring a new person, so Gyu-yeon resolved to treat them well. Busy season was coming soon, and it would be troublesome if they quit and left.

As Naru scooped a heaping spoonful of scrambled eggs into his mouth, he darted his eyes around to steal a look at Gyu-yeon’s phone. Naru didn’t have a phone yet, so he was curious about what he was staring at so intently.

“What are you looking at?”

“My schedule.”

“Why are you looking at that?”

“To check today’s tasks.”

“What are you doing today?”

A barrage of questions fell again today. Gyu-yeon answered cynically without taking his eyes off his phone. Naru, not satisfied, asked more questions. Only after asking several times did Gyu-yeon avert his gaze from the phone.

Now he’ll get mad and say I’m doing it on purpose, right? Gyu-yeon always did that.

Waiting for scolding to come, Naru counted in his head. One, two, three, four, five. But even after five, Gyu-yeon’s irritated voice did not return. He usually got annoyed at this point—why was he quiet now?

“It’s the new employee’s first day, so I’m going to stop by briefly.”

“……”

Yu Gyu-yeon had become strange.

He had become strange exactly after returning from the Cafe tour. He, who was usually irritated as a matter of course, for some reason answered gently and even gave a faint smile. It wasn’t that she disliked this behavior, but it was awkward because he couldn’t get used to it.

Naru began to watch for signs. Was he simply in a good mood? No matter how he looked, there didn’t seem to be anything that would make him happy. It was strange.

“New employee?”

“Yeah, the one we saw the other time.”

“Ah……”

That cat-like person. For a moment Naru’s face twisted. If it’s a new employee, he must mean Do-min, whom they saw at the Cafe last time. There was something annoying about his behavior.

Naru hoped Gyu-yeon wouldn’t work with Do-min. Do-min gave off a familiar vibe that oddly provoked irritation. Seeing Do-min felt like facing a haughty cat.

Would Gyu-yeon chase that cat-like man away? Hmm.

If he didn’t fire that employee, Naru would have no choice but to follow closely and keep watch himself. As he shoveled food from his plate with his spoon, he set a determined expression as if making a vow. Gyu-yeon noticed that face and couldn’t help but crack a small smile.

“Why are you smiling?”

“Did I just smile?”

“You did.”

“I didn’t. And I’m asking out of curiosity—why do you always use informal speech at times like this?”

Frowning at Naru’s informal speech, Gyu-yeon asked in disbelief. He had never brought it up before, but Naru habitually used informal speech at odd times. It wasn’t rebellious or anything.

Hit in the nerve, Naru clamped a zipper over her mouth and showed she wouldn’t answer. At times like this she was unusually stubborn. Gyu-yeon gave up on getting a response and cleared the plates. It was obvious she’d do it anyway, so he had no intention of nagging.

Misunderstanding his action, Naru quickly jumped up and grabbed Gyu-yeon. She usually timidly held only the hem of his clothes, but this time she was so urgent she wrapped her arms around his waist.

Startled by Naru’s sudden skinship, Gyu-yeon froze without moving. Every time her small body pressed against his back he felt warmth, and the feeling made him oddly soft and fuzzy, to the point that he found it hard even to swallow.

“Hey, why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”

“I’ll keep using polite speech……”

“What are you saying? You won’t stick to it anyway. Do whatever you want.”

“Really?”

“You talk as if you ever ask for permission.”

Feigning annoyance, Gyu-yeon carefully removed the arms wrapped around his waist. Naru, who had been hugging him without realizing it, belatedly felt disappointed and smacked his lips.

Why the lip-smacking fuss? If you look closely, the kid has a lewd little side.

Glancing at Naru, Gyu-yeon tried to empty his mind and turned on the dishwasher. Naru, oblivious to Gyu-yeon’s unsettled feelings, calmly went to wash up. His relaxed back made Gyu-yeon, lost in various thoughts, put on a hollow expression.

Having washed clean in the bathroom, Naru picked out the neatest and prettiest clothes he could and got dressed. Wearing the outfit Gyu-yeon had bought his at the department store before, he nodded at himself in the mirror.

This is good enough. I won’t be embarrassed even if Gyu-yeon is next to me!

Having finished getting ready, Naru sat on the sofa and watched a dog documentary. He was waiting for Gyu-yeon to finish getting ready. As this routine repeated, the pattern had naturally become familiar.

“Why do you keep watching that?”

“They’re pitiful, the dogs……”

Gyu-yeon, heading to the dressing room, glanced at the TV and shook his head. He couldn’t understand why Naru always cried watching that dog documentary. He couldn’t see what’s so appealing about a program that deliberately shows only pitiful scenes.

Today, watching another heartbreaking scene, Naru sniffled. Gyu-yeon, having changed his clothes, looked genuinely fed up and handed him a tissue.

“Don’t watch that. You cry every time you see it.”

“Ugh, still, watching it makes me feel at ease……”

“Someone who says it makes them feel at ease cries? Are you crying? Anyway, wipe your tears and come out quickly.”

“……”

“Don’t look at me with that face, okay?”

Naru’s crying face was a little dangerous. His eyes and nose were flushed red like a peach, and her moist, tear-filled eyes were so mournful they tugged at the viewer’s heart. On top of that, his round face added an extra cute charm.

Gyu-yeon felt he couldn’t handle that face. So when Naru cried, he would intentionally grumble more and avoid looking at him. He had just done that.

Oblivious to the reason, Naru roughly wiped his tears and clung to Gyu-yeon like a piece of gum. His still-moist face reminded him of a soft peach. Gyu-yeon turned his head sharply and drove straight to the parking lot.

Naru, much shorter than Gyu-yeon, had to half-run to match his stride. With the subdued sound of his running steps, Gyu-yeon shortened his stride so it wouldn’t be obvious and opened the car door.

“Get in.”

Naru climbed into the passenger seat and waited for Gyu-yeon to get in beside him. He knew he wouldn’t leave him, but it had become a habit to obsessively watch his movements, so he couldn’t help himself.

As soon as he sat in the driver’s seat, Gyu-yeon leaned his upper body toward Naru and naturally fastened his seatbelt. Previously he used to wait for Naru to put it on himself, but now he would do it for him without being told.

Naru’s mouth curled into a smile at his increasingly affectionate behavior. They used to spar over who would fasten the seatbelt every time they got in the car, but even that had become a memory now.

Gyu-yeon started the car smoothly and glanced at the passenger seat throughout the drive. Watching the scenery outside, Naru noticed Gyu-yeon’s reflection in the window and quietly turned his head. Gyu-yeon then looked forward as if nothing had happened.

What is this? What is Gyu-yeon doing?

Naru averted his gaze, pretending to look out the window, but stared intently at Gyu-yeon. Sure enough, it wasn’t his imagination that their eyes met. Gyu-yeon was glancing at him again.

“Did I do something wrong…?”

“Ah shit, you scared me.”

“Because you keep staring at me.”

“When did I?”

Oh, Gyu-yeon is lying.

Naru stifled a giggle quietly enough not to be noticed and shook her head. Whether it was a lie or not, he was happy just knowing Gyu-yeon had been looking at him, so he decided to let it go.

When Naru looked away, Gyu-yeon broke into a cold sweat. Not long ago he had bulldozed through his emotions, and now he was suddenly indifferent—he felt awkward about it.

Why is he like that all of a sudden? When was he all over me? Now he pretends not to know me?

Gyu-yeon, misinterpreting things on his own and scowling, stomped on the accelerator. He had purposely been slowing down thinking they might talk a lot before arriving at the Cafe, but Naru staring out the window upset him.

Startled by the sudden increase in speed, Naru glanced over and silently burst into laughter. Gyu-yeon’s sulky expression was somehow cute.