* * *
The two paid for the suitcase along with Jihoon’s chosen items and left the store.
Jihoon pulled up a notes app to check the rest of their shopping list.
“Sandals, sunscreen, and sunglasses… Definitely need sunglasses. The sun’s too bright.”
Their next stop was an eyewear store.
As soon as they walked in, Jihoon was drawn to a pair of black-rimmed glasses near the entrance and tried them on.
“How do I look?”
“You look stupid.”
Yeongdeok’s blunt response made Jihoon put them back and try on a pair of round silver-rimmed glasses.
“And now?”
“You look dumb.”
“Hey.”
“Glasses don’t suit you.”
To put it bluntly, Jihoon in glasses looked like a delinquent trying to impersonate a studious kid.
Yeongdeok took the glasses off Jihoon’s face and placed them on his own.
Jihoon wanted to retort with the same insult, but he couldn’t bring himself to lie.
Damn it, glasses actually made Yeongdeok look intelligent.
“…Annoying.”
“Hmm…”
Yeongdeok carefully removed the glasses and picked up a pair of sunglasses with orange-tinted lenses, placing them on Jihoon’s face.
Jihoon looked at his reflection in the mirror.
“This looks like something a scam artist would wear. Pair it with that shirt, and I’d look like a con man.”
Jihoon placed identical sunglasses on Yeongdeok’s face and burst out laughing.
“You seem to like them. Let’s go with these.”
“Hey, when did I say I liked them? I said they’d make us look like con men.”
“That’s not necessarily a bad thing. If we look like con men, weirdos won’t bother us.”
“Unbelievable.”
Despite his grumbling, Jihoon didn’t actually dislike the sunglasses Yeongdeok had picked.
After buying the sunglasses, the two continued shopping for sandals and sunscreen.
Exactly an hour later, they descended to the mall’s first floor, their shopping done.
“We bought so much.”
Jihoon’s observation was accurate; they had definitely spent more than they planned.
Seeing Jihoon’s hands full of shopping bags, Yeongdeok gestured for him to share the load, but Jihoon shook his head.
“They’re not heavy. But I’m thirsty from walking around.”
“Let’s stop by a café.”
They entered the nearest café, but it was too crowded to find seats.
“Should we get takeout and drink it on the way home?”
“With all this stuff? How would we carry drinks?”
“We’ll share one. Problem solved.”
“…Fine.”
Yeongdeok ordered a large iced tea, remembering that Jihoon had said he liked it.
When the drink was ready, he handed it to Jihoon, who eagerly took a sip.
As they walked home, sharing the iced tea, Yeongdeok found himself enjoying the sweetness and coolness of the drink.
“It’s sweet. Refreshing.”
“Right? It’s good, isn’t it?”
Jihoon asked for another sip, and Yeongdeok held the cup closer to Jihoon’s lips without hesitation.
To prepare for their trip, they visited a shopping mall to pick up essentials, and Yeongdeok thought it turned out to be a pretty enjoyable day.
“Shopping was fun,” he remarked.
“Yeah, it was fun. I can’t wait for the trip,” Jihoon replied eagerly.
Yeongdeok felt the same.
The excitement coursing through his chest made the remaining week stretch endlessly in his mind.
ꔚ
On the day of the trip to Busan, Jihoon hadn’t slept a wink.
His uncontrollable anticipation had kept his adrenaline flowing all night, making it impossible to rest.
Starting at 2 a.m., he checked the time every 30 minutes until, by 5 a.m., he finally sat up in bed.
‘I might as well get up and prepare leisurely,’ he thought.
After washing up, brushing his teeth, and getting dressed, he double-checked his packing to ensure nothing was left behind.
But even after all that, it was only 5:30 a.m.
‘Why is time crawling like this?’
He blamed the slow-moving clock, but of course, that didn’t make the minutes tick faster.
‘Maybe I should try sleeping a little.’
Jihoon flopped back onto the bed like a rag doll, attempting to catch some rest.
It was late enough that his eyes finally began to close.
ꔚ
Unlike Jihoon, who had barely slept, Yeongdeok woke up refreshed at 6:30 a.m.
After a shower, he changed into the Hawaiian shirt they had bought together and completed the look with a straw hat and sunglasses.
With his personal bag in hand, he left for Jihoon’s house, where the suitcase was.
He rang the doorbell.
Ding-dong.
The cheerful sound echoed in the hallway, but Jihoon didn’t answer.
Surely he wouldn’t still be asleep at this hour… Yeongdeok pressed the doorbell again, but there was still no response.
‘He can’t still be asleep, can he?’
Muttering to himself, Yeongdeok eventually unlocked the door and entered.
There he found Jihoon sprawled awkwardly on the bed in his Hawaiian shirt, fast asleep.
“Seo Jihoon.”
He called Jihoon’s name, but the latter only stirred slightly, still lost in slumber.
“Seo Jihoon.”
With no choice left, Yeongdeok grabbed Jihoon’s shoulder and shook him awake.
Jihoon, half-asleep, clung to Yeongdeok’s waist and pulled him onto the bed.
“Mmm… Hyung…”
“This isn’t the time to be mumbling Hyung. We’ll miss the train because of you.”
“Train…?” Jihoon mumbled, still dazed.
But the word “train” jolted him awake, and he shot up in bed.
“Shit! The train! What time is it… Oh, crap! 7:15?!”
Watching Jihoon scramble to get ready, Yeongdeok shook his head in disapproval.
“Pathetic.”
“Don’t say that. Let’s just hurry!” Jihoon grabbed his pre-packed suitcase and quickly slipped on his shoes.
Together, they rushed out of the house and hailed a taxi.
“To Gwang-eo Station, please.”
As they rode toward the train station, Yeongdeok’s disapproving gaze never left Jihoon, even behind his sunglasses.
Jihoon, trying to ignore the weight of that stare, finally spoke up when he couldn’t take it anymore.
“…Can you stop looking at me like that?”
“Looking at you how?”
“I’m sorry for oversleeping, okay? But for the record, I woke up at 5:30 and just fell asleep again.”
“Hard to believe.”
“This is so unfair.”
Only Jihoon knew the truth of his earlier awakening, and no one could vindicate his sense of injustice.
Luckily, the roads weren’t congested, and they managed to board the train just in time.
Seated in their reserved spots, Jihoon felt the excitement he’d lost to exhaustion come flooding back.
“Wow, I can’t believe I’m actually traveling with you, Hyung. This feels like a dream.”
“You’re happy?”
“Of course!” Jihoon grinned, beaming with pure joy.
Soon, the train began to move.
Jihoon excitedly exclaimed, “Hey, look! We’re starting!”
Yeongdeok, unimpressed, muttered under his breath, “Getting this excited over a train moving… How childish.”
“But it’s exciting! Aren’t you excited, Hyung?”
“We’ve got three more hours ahead. Just get some sleep.”
“Geez, you’re no fun.”
To conserve energy for the day ahead, Yeongdeok leaned back and closed his eyes.
But barely 15 minutes passed before he felt Jihoon shaking his shoulder.
“What is it?”
“Look over there.”
Following Jihoon’s pointing finger, Yeongdeok saw a vibrant green rice field stretching outside the window.
“It’s a rice field.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“So?”
“Just… it feels so peaceful, doesn’t it?”
“…Go back to sleep.”
Yeongdeok firmly pushed Jihoon’s forehead back, making him laugh before turning his attention back to the scenery.
“Isn’t train travel nice?”
Initially, Yeongdeok had planned for them to fly, but Jihoon had insisted on the train.
While Yeongdeok still thought flying would’ve been more efficient, seeing Jihoon so thrilled made him concede, albeit reluctantly.
“It’s not bad.”
“Right?”
The verdant view soothed their minds.
As Yeongdeok relaxed, he felt something heavy on his shoulder.
Turning, he saw Jihoon fast asleep, leaning against him.
‘So much for enjoying the scenery,’ Yeongdeok thought, pressing his temples with a sigh.
But he didn’t push Jihoon away.
Translator: Please support the new Novel that I’m translating. The title is ‘Judging you as pitiful because you don’t know love!’
* * *
Jihoon is so cuteee staying awake all night excited for his trip just like a kid on their 1st trip
Thanks