* * *

“Then, Lanlord, I’ll work on this at home and be in touch. Thank you!”

“Oh, sure. I look forward to it!”

The fox photographer Saewoo met at Danggui Market gave a friendly smile as he left.

“We’ll be off too, Mr. Sparrow!”

“See you tomorrow.”

“Ah, yes. Take care! Minho, see you as well!”

Minho and the old man waved at Saewoo as they walked away.

They looked more like an actual grandfather and grandson than just neighbors.

“Haa…”

Watching their retreating figures, Saewoo sighed deeply. He already felt drained.

“Is it okay to sign this contract so hastily? They both seem like good spirits, but still…”

Saewoo, dealing with a series of firsts, opened his phone to seek advice from Jinho, but his heart grew heavy when he saw a missed call from Jibeom.

With everything that had happened, he hadn’t had a chance to think about it.

“Should I… reach out?”

[…Jibeom seemed genuine.]

Saewoo hesitated, recalling what Jinho had said.

“Is everything settled?”

“Whoa…!”

Suddenly, Jibeom appeared without a sound.

“What… What are you doing here…?!”

Startled, Saewoo nearly dropped his phone, but Jibeom caught it just before it hit the ground.

“Why? Am I not allowed to come here?”

Jibeom teased, dangling the phone playfully, with his usual laid-back smile.

“No, it’s just… When did you arrive?”

“Since that golden-toothed tiger guy showed up.”

“What…?”

‘Wait… Does that mean he’s been here for a while? And I didn’t even notice?’

Saewoo was puzzled, knowing Jibeom wasn’t the type to just wait around.

‘No way… Does he think I ignored his call on purpose…?’

Feeling guilty, Saewoo quickly tried to explain.

“About the missed call… I was taking photos to list the place at Danggui Market, and then Minho and the old man were…”

“Food.”

“Huh?”

Cutting off Saewoo’s rambling, Jibeom stated firmly.

“We need to eat.”

Jibeom repeated, as if he was confirming rather than asking.

“Oh… Right. Yeah, let’s eat.”

Realizing Jibeom’s intention, Saewoo agreed, still a bit dazed.

‘…Yeah, we’re meal partners, after all.’

Looking at Jibeom’s familiar face, Saewoo reassured himself.

The call was about dinner plans, nothing more. Jinho’s suspicions were wrong.

They were just eating buddies…

“Here.”

Jibeom extended his bandaged hand to Saewoo.

“…You shouldn’t offer your injured hand.”

“Oh.”

Jibeom awkwardly withdrew his hand, only to move closer, nudging Saewoo to walk with him.

“Let’s go somewhere nearby today.”

“Nearby? Where?”

“This time, you choose. Is there anywhere you wanted to try?”

“Oh… I do have a few places in mind.”

Here is the translated text with the tone and nuances retained:

°❀•°❀°•❀°

When he first decided to purchase the building he lived in now, he had carefully researched all the nearby restaurants and cafes, making a detailed list.

He knew he still had to be cautious about what he ate because of his ongoing health issues, but old habits were hard to break, especially when it came to fried foods.

So when he moved in, he had been so excited to explore all the best places to eat… but things hadn’t exactly gone as planned, leaving him in an awkward spot.

‘How could I have known, just by looking at the storefronts, that predators ran those places…?’

Saewoo regretted not stopping by one of the shops at least once, despite always making excuses about being busy or tired.

The realization came too late.

“Then let’s go here. Isn’t this your top pick?”

When he showed the list of must-try restaurants saved on his phone, Jibeom picked one without even a second’s hesitation.

It was a fried food place.

“They say it’s only about a ten-minute walk from here.”

“It’ll be five minutes for me.”

Sure enough, Jibeom was teasing him again.

“What are you talking about? That’s the average time!”

“I’m above average, though.”

“Huh?”

Saewoo let out an exasperated noise, but oddly, what would have sounded annoying if someone else had said it didn’t come off that way with Jibeom.

After all, Jibeom did have long legs, so his stride was indeed bigger.

Besides, even though he talked like that, he was walking in step with Saewoo, matching his pace.

‘…Wait?’

Saewoo couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

Now that he thought about it, Jibeom hadn’t brought his car, and none of his usual bodyguards were around—not even the one with glasses.

Realizing this gave Saewoo an inexplicable feeling.

‘Could it be… because of me?’

He had made his discomfort with Jibeom’s ever-present entourage obvious enough, but he never thought Jibeom would actually pay attention.

After all, this man usually did whatever he wanted, no matter what others thought.

“……”

Saewoo sneaked a glance at Jibeom. It was hard to believe that this was the same intimidating guy he had met at first.

Not that Jibeom had changed much, but still, the atmosphere around him felt different.

‘Our first meeting was undeniably the worst, but looking back, I can’t believe I made such a fuss…’

Saewoo’s feelings toward Jibeom had changed for a reason.

‘These days, he only wears neutral colors… He’s always been tall, but was he this tall? And his hair looks much better half-swept down than all slicked back. He doesn’t even wear cologne anymore…’

Lost in thought, Saewoo’s gaze drifted to Jibeom’s bandaged hand, and his earlier excitement dimmed, replaced by a heavy feeling.

“Is your hand… okay?”

“Yeah, thanks to someone.”

Anyone who didn’t know better might think Jibeom was sarcastically blaming Saewoo for the injury, but that wasn’t the case.

It was Jibeom’s way of subtly expressing gratitude for Saewoo’s insistence on going to the hospital.

Understanding the real meaning behind Jibeom’s words, Saewoo felt proud.

“See? I told you going to the hospital right away was the right call, didn’t I?”

Saewoo smiled warmly and lightly bumped Jibeom’s shoulder with his own. Jibeom paused, narrowing his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah. Looks like listening to the missus really does bring unexpected blessings, even while sleeping.”

“What?”

“Oh, but we haven’t slept together, so I guess we didn’t have to… earn any blessings that way.”

“Wh-what are you even saying! And who’s the missus?!”

“You, the missus.”

Even though Saewoo turned beet red and shouted in protest, Jibeom remained completely unruffled and grabbed Saewoo’s hand.

“I’m hungry. Let’s go.”

“Huh…?”

Saewoo’s heart pounded as he worried whether holding hands would hurt Jibeom, but he followed him anyway, feeling anxious but trying not to let it show.

°❀•°❀°•❀°

“What’s this…?”

About an hour later, Saewoo was in a state of disbelief.

Every single restaurant on his must-visit list was either closed or had a day off.

“How… how is this even possible…?”

He had never experienced something like this before, and it made him feel dejected.

It didn’t help that they had walked for an hour in the cold just trying to find a place that was open, leaving him feeling drained.

His nose had turned red from the freezing air, and his hands, bare of gloves, had gone numb from fiddling with his phone.

“We’ve wandered pretty far from home, haven’t we?”

“Ah…”

The distance wasn’t the only problem.

Their original goal had changed, and now they struggled to find a place that suited both their tastes.

As the day darkened and the temperature dropped, any warm spot began to seem inviting.

“Whew… Maybe we should just take a cab…”

“Baek Saewoo.”

“Yes?”

Just as Saewoo rubbed his hands together, looking for a good place to catch a cab, Jibeom called his name in a gentle tone.

Then, suddenly, Jibeom opened his tightly buttoned coat wide.

“Come in here.”

“What…?”

“It’s cold.”

“……”

Saewoo was stunned by how casually Jibeom offered. He hesitated for a moment.

“Don’t want to?”

Jibeom sounded like there wouldn’t be another chance if Saewoo didn’t hurry up.

“If you don’t, then forget it.”

“……!”

As the coat started to close again, Saewoo leapt forward and nestled into Jibeom’s embrace.

* * *