Chapter 71: Lunch at Home

“What are you doing this weekend?”

He rubbed his head against Han-geon’s stomach as he asked, looking exactly like a cat begging for affection.

Han-geon quietly accepted Eun-gyeol’s touch and was about to answer when words he hadn’t expected at all followed.

“You know, your birthday’s coming up soon.”

“Ah….”

A dazed reply slipped out.

Come to think of it, his birthday really was just around the corner.

Han-geon had never been the type to place much significance on birthdays.

Usually, he’d stop by his parents’ place for a meal, or spend it having a drink with Eun-gyeol—nothing more than that.

If anything, Eun-gyeol was always the one who took the initiative to remember and celebrate it every year, far more than Han-geon himself ever did.

“I was planning to go to my parents’ place.”

“Your parents’ place?

To eat with them?”

“Yeah.

I want to rest a bit too.

And my body’s been feeling kind of chilly and off lately…”

To be honest, things had been a little overwhelming recently.

The lingering chills and body aches that had started days ago refused to fully go away.

There had also been a lot of stressful things on his mind.

And if he said he was staying home to rest, it was obvious Eun-gyeol would drag him straight to his own place.

So for once, Han-geon wanted to rest quietly at his parents’ home.

“You’re not feeling well?”

Eun-gyeol’s tone sharpened in an instant.

Han-geon quickly shook his head.

“No, it’s nothing serious.

Just a light bout of body aches.

Anyway, I’ll rest a bit and come back.”

“Then I’ll go with you.”

“Huh?

You’re coming too?”

“Yeah.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen your dad.

It’d be nice to have a meal together for once.”

Watching Eun-gyeol make the decision all on his own and smile brightly, Han-geon nodded with a complicated expression.

In truth, lately being around Eun-gyeol—mentally, and recently even physically—had been exhausting, and he wanted a bit of distance….

“…Okay.

Then let’s do that.”

He couldn’t bring himself to show it.

Lately, Cha Eun-gyeol had been growing increasingly obsessive.

On set, he insisted on keeping Han-geon by his side at all times, and if Han-geon stepped away even briefly, Eun-gyeol would search for him excessively.

Seeing him even try to follow Han-geon to the restroom made the head manager and Yujin click their tongues in disbelief.

He wouldn’t even let Han-geon go to morning workouts alone anymore.

Using the excuse that Yoo Jun-seong might cause trouble, Eun-gyeol accompanied him everywhere.

Watching Eun-gyeol try to be together with him twenty-four hours a day, monitoring his every move, Han-geon grew more and more confused.

It had always been like this, but recently Eun-gyeol seemed especially intent on gripping and shaking Han-geon until nothing made sense anymore.

As a wave of mild nausea crept up, Han-geon slowly closed his eyes.

***

The car sped smoothly down the road.

Having handed over the wheel after a long time, Han-geon sat in the passenger seat, staring blankly out the window.

Now and then, he would sneak glances at Eun-gyeol driving, careful not to be obvious.

Eun-gyeol looked effortlessly cool behind the wheel, sunglasses on, and Han-geon—uselessly—found himself wanting to keep looking.

It had been a while since he’d ridden in Eun-gyeol’s personal car instead of the van.

This was a car Han-geon had never ridden in before.

With a hobby of collecting cars, Eun-gyeol frequently acquired new ones.

The speed and ride quality felt completely different from the van they usually took, to the point it was almost fascinating.

Han-geon wrapped his arms around himself.

It had already been a week since the chills had started.

He’d gone to an internal medicine clinic and explained his symptoms, but all he’d gotten back was that it was probably stress-related.

Since it wasn’t severe enough to disrupt daily life, he’d quietly continued working beside Eun-gyeol all week.

“Want to stop at a rest area?”

Eun-gyeol asked, glancing over.

Han-geon hesitated for a moment.

They didn’t really need to stop on the way to his parents’ place, but he was feeling a bit hungry.

“Hmm, what about you?”

“I want that.

Sausages.”

“Really?

Then pull over.

I’ll go buy them.”

A smile naturally spread across his lips.

For someone with a small appetite, Eun-gyeol oddly liked snacks like this.

Thinking it was perfect timing since he was hungry anyway, Han-geon got out of the car after they parked in a corner of the lot.

It was around lunchtime, so the rest area was crowded with people.

It would’ve been fun to browse food together with Eun-gyeol—back when they were students on school trips, they’d always done things like that….

Reminiscing over those old memories, Han-geon bought two freshly grilled sausages and two iced coffees.

“I’m back.”

When he got into the car and handed over the sausage, Eun-gyeol accepted it happily.

He slowly parted his red lips, took the sausage into his mouth, and bit down hard.

The way he chewed was unnecessarily sensual.

Han-geon’s ears burned red as he hurriedly looked away.

“…Drink your coffee too.”

Just as Eun-gyeol was about to take another bite, he shot Han-geon a playful look.

“Why are you staring so lewdly?”

“When did I?”

“You turned red staring at me the moment I put the sausage in my mouth.”

“…Stop saying stupid things and just eat.”

Chuckling, Eun-gyeol gestured arrogantly toward Han-geon’s lower half.

“Want me to suck something else instead of the sausage?”

“…Don’t say ridiculous things.”

It felt like steam was about to pour out of his ears.

Despite his sulky reply, his face kept turning red anyway.

Watching Han-geon’s words and expressions completely fail to match, Eun-gyeol snorted in amusement.

“You were fine with it in the van last time.

All dressed up in a suit, moaning and everything.”

“…Go home.

I’ll get off and take the bus.”

With his face burning red, Han-geon punched Eun-gyeol’s shoulder.

Only then did Eun-gyeol stop teasing and finish his sausage and coffee.

After gathering the trash together, wiping his hands and mouth with tissues, Eun-gyeol took the wheel again.

“Alright, let’s go.”

“Yeah.”

Staring blankly outside, Han-geon couldn’t help but recall what had happened that day.

Stopping the stalker, getting into the van, what he’d done with Eun-gyeol afterward.

That memory itself wasn’t all that bad.

But still….

‘Be honest?

I like that you’re a beta.

I don’t have to worry about you getting pregnant no matter how much I come inside.’

Those words Eun-gyeol had said in a sharp voice were still lodged in his heart like a thorn.

The thorn festered, leaving behind a dull, lingering ache.

But afterward, Eun-gyeol had contacted him nonstop and even shown up at his place as if he’d lost all reason, and the whole thing had been glossed over.

Neither of them had said a single word about what they’d said to each other that day.

Maybe to Eun-gyeol, that memory was nothing more than casual amusement.

That must be why he could talk so lightly about it.

Just seeing the suit he’d worn that day brought the pain back, while Han-geon lay awake at night, replaying Eun-gyeol’s words over and over like a fool.

‘…Stop thinking about it.’

His whole body already felt feverish and his head hurt; he didn’t want to torment himself further with complicated thoughts.

Han-geon silently swallowed the cold coffee.

The smoothly running car entered a familiar neighborhood.

Seeing the two houses standing side by side, still warm and unchanged despite the years, a gentle smile spread across Han-geon’s face.

Eun-gyeol seemed the same way—his expression softened as he glanced at the rearview mirror and parked the car.

“Your uncle’s home, right?

Should we say hello separately and meet at my place in a bit?”

“Okay.”

But the moment he stepped inside, Han-geon burst out laughing.

The living room table was already loaded to the point of collapse with food, and his parents—still in their hiking clothes—were sitting together with Eun-gyeol’s father.

“Uncle!

You were here?”

“Oh my, our son’s here!”

“Why is he your son?

He’s my son.

Han-geon!

Welcome!”

“If he’s your son, then he’s my son too.”

“Well, that’s true.

I go around telling people Eun-gyeol’s my son too.”

Laughter erupted noisily.

As Han-geon hugged his mother, who bustled over to embrace him, the front door opened behind them.

Seeing Eun-gyeol walk in as naturally as if it were his own home, his mother beamed and pulled him into a hug as well.

Eun-gyeol returned it with a faint smile.

“You’ve been well, right?”

“Of course, our superstar.

How do you keep getting more handsome every time I see you?”

“Haha.

You’ve gotten even prettier too, Auntie.”

“Oh my, look at this kid.”

His mother blushed, covering her face with both hands.

When his father remarked, “Are you trying to make me jealous?” another round of laughter burst out.

It was always warm here, no matter when he came.

Thinking that, Han-geon washed his hands with Eun-gyeol one after the other.

“Alright, sit down.

I heard our boys were coming today, so I went all out.

You’re not going to say something like ‘We can only stay for lunch,’ are you?

That’d hurt Mom’s feelings.”

“We’re staying over.”

Eun-gyeol answered with a bright smile.

“Han-geon wants to sleep in his room tonight.

That’s okay, right?”

“Why are you asking for permission?

I figured that might happen and cleaned the room already.”

Han-geon’s heart dropped.

He discreetly nudged Eun-gyeol beside him.

When Han-geon shot him a warning glare, Eun-gyeol responded with a shameless What did I do? expression.

Even after coming all this way, Cha Eun-gyeol had no intention of putting even a little distance between them.

‘You said you’re sick.

I have to take care of you.’

Taking advantage of a moment when their parents weren’t looking, Eun-gyeol whispered into his ear.

Soft, warm lips brushed his earlobe teasingly before pulling away.

It was clearly intentional.

‘Don’t joke around.’

Han-geon glared at him, struggling to rein in his flushed face.

He clenched the fist resting on his thigh.

Don’t react to everything.

Don’t let it show in front of Mom and Dad…
Telling himself to stay sharp, Han-geon gulped down cold water.