* * *
The morning of the promised day arrived quickly, as Jiho had been busy.
Even though it was Saturday, Jiho, who often ran into Yejun at school, was annoyed every time Yejun talked about looking forward to their date.
And so, Saturday arrived. Jiho, who was changing clothes to go to a tutoring session, suddenly thought it had been a while since he had planned something with Yejun.
“…Should I dress up a bit?”
Even though they saw each other often at school, it had been a while since they hung out separately.
The thought of hanging out lifted his spirits a bit, so he started picking out clothes but then remembered Yejun’s cheeky face.
“No, if I dress up, he’ll just start talking nonsense about it being a date.”
Recently, Yejun had become unbearably cheeky.
Though he had always been that way, it was getting harder for Jiho to brush off his comments as jokes. It would take a lot of time to get back to not being affected by his words.
In the end, Jiho chose his usual attire: a light cardigan, slightly ripped jeans, and white sneakers.
After finishing his tutoring session around lunchtime, he hurriedly took a bus to the movie theater where they had agreed to meet. He received a call from Yejun.
“Hello.”
“Yes, honey.”
Yejun’s sweet voice came through the phone, carrying a hint of laughter, as if he was enjoying his silly joke.
If anyone else had said something like that, they would’ve been called out for being a creep. But when the handsome Yejun did it, it was seen as charming.
However, Jiho was different. With a cold expression, he quietly muttered a curse.
“…Do you want to die?”
“Haha. I’m here already. Where are you?”
Jiho was genuinely considering it, but Yejun seemed unbothered, laughing as he spoke.
Jiho had just arrived at the stop, so he tapped his card and got off the bus.
“I just got off the bus. Where are you?”
“I’m… Oh, I see you.”
“Where?”
I don’t see him…
As Jiho turned his head, he saw Yejun walking towards him with a smile.
Yejun, with his long strides, quickly closed the distance and stopped right in front of him.
“Here.”
“Hey, you…”
Jiho was startled as soon as he saw Yejun up close.
He ended the call and slowly looked Yejun up and down.
“Is today… some special day?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why are you… dressed up like this?”
He couldn’t bring himself to say “handsome.”
Yejun was wearing a white shirt, jeans, and a light trench coat. A silver Rolex adorned his wrist, and he wore leather shoes.
Above all, Yejun smelled good. It couldn’t be his natural scent; he must have used cologne. The light, fresh fragrance was appealing.
Yejun was always good at dressing up, but he seemed to have really put in effort today. It wasn’t common for a friend to dress up like this just to see a movie and have a meal.
Even in casual clothes, Yejun attracted attention, so seeing him all dressed up like this made people turn their heads.
‘To think I have to walk around with this guy, watch a movie, and eat…’
Jiho never thought of himself as unattractive.
He had received many confessions during school trips and even after joining university, he was often invited to meetups by people who thought he was good-looking.
But standing next to Yejun, who could pass as a celebrity, made him feel inadequate.
Sometimes he wondered why someone with such looks wasn’t a celebrity, but then remembered the company his parents owned, leaving him speechless.
Damn, he has everything…
As Jiho looked at Yejun with a sour expression, Yejun tilted his head as if he didn’t understand.
“You look cool today too.”
“Me? What’s cool about this?”
“Isn’t that a new outfit? I haven’t seen it before.”
Yejun pointed at Jiho’s cardigan.
It was indeed a new piece, bought impulsively a couple of days ago because he felt he needed something light for spring.
But he hadn’t dressed up on purpose.
Even though the mother of his tutoring student had commented on how nice he looked today, he really was just dressed as usual.
Jiho wondered why everyone kept saying that, but then noticed Yejun looking at his hair.
He had some time before tutoring earlier, so he had played with some wax he saw in front of the mirror. It must have been noticeable.
It was a coincidence that he wore new clothes and styled his hair, but it must have looked like he had put in an effort, making him feel embarrassed.
Yejun stared at Jiho’s hair for a moment before smiling with crescent-shaped eyes.
“It suits you. Did you dress up for the date?”
“Do you really want to die?”
“Honey, that’s too harsh.”
“Why are you so fixated on calling me ‘honey’? People might misunderstand if you keep doing that.”
Hearing the mismatched term from earlier gave Jiho the chills.
Jiho had been nagging Yejun to stop calling him ‘honey’, but Yejun just smiled as if he heard something pleasant.
“It’s not bad.”
“What?”
“You don’t plan on dating anyway. Isn’t it better to avoid the awkwardness of giving your number to strangers?”
Yejun said it as if it was no big deal.
He had a point. When they walked around together, Omegas would often ask Jiho for his number, either too shy to ask Yejun directly or because of the “flower bouquet effect.”
Every time, Jiho, who had no intention of dating yet, felt awkward.
Moreover, Jiho preferred natural encounters, ideally progressing from friends to lovers, rather than blind dates or exchanging numbers with complete strangers.
“That’s true, but…”
“Then it’s a good thing.”
“No, it’s not that. I don’t like people misunderstanding our relationship.”
Jiho answered curtly, narrowing his eyes.
Despite the benefits of pretending to be a couple, he wanted to avoid people thinking he and Yejun were actually dating.
When Jiho pinpointed what made him uncomfortable, Yejun responded, “Ah, I see. The problem is that it’s me?”
His voice was unusually subdued.
Normally, Yejun would laugh off such comments, but he seemed somewhat upset this time.
‘Did I go too far? But isn’t it normal to be upset if you’re misunderstood like that with a friend? I don’t think I said anything strange…’
Regardless, if Yejun was hurt by his words, Jiho felt he should apologize. Just as he was about to do so, Yejun checked his watch and spoke first.
“We should head in and get our tickets. Let’s go.”
“Oh? Uh, sure…”
Yejun, acting as if nothing had happened, led Jiho with his usual demeanor.
Wasn’t he upset? If not, that’s a relief, but something still felt off.
Jiho glanced at Yejun as they entered the cinema.
After getting their pre-booked tickets from the self-service kiosk, they were about to head to the screening room when Yejun suddenly grabbed Jiho’s hand.
“Let’s get some popcorn.”
“Huh? I’ll buy it.”
Jiho felt he’d received too much already—dinner and movie tickets. It didn’t feel right to keep freeloading.
‘This time, I really should pay.’
Jiho took out his card, but Yejun shook his head and pulled out his own card.
“Popcorn’s more expensive than the tickets these days. If I wanted you to buy something, I’d have asked you to buy the tickets.”
“If you keep this up, I’ll transfer the money to your account.”
“Hmm. That wouldn’t work…”
Yejun mumbled as if troubled.
Jiho understood why Yejun was persistent about not letting him spend money. Popcorn and drinks could indeed cost as much as the movie tickets these days.
‘Still, this time, I have to pay. Having received dinner and movie tickets, it’s only fair I buy the popcorn.’
Seeing Jiho’s determination, Yejun gave in and didn’t argue further. Feeling somewhat triumphant, Jiho confidently approached the counter and placed the order.
“One combo set, please. Garlic and caramel popcorn, and drinks—a soda and a cola.”
The combo set included two types of popcorn and two drinks. Garlic was Jiho’s preference, and caramel was Yejun’s.
After placing the order, Jiho and Yejun moved aside to wait. Watching the popcorn machine in action brought back memories of past movie outings with Yejun.
Jiho had always chosen garlic popcorn since childhood, not because he disliked caramel, but because, during his rebellious phase, caramel popcorn felt too childish. It was a sort of pretense.
However, over time, spending so much time with Yejun, his preferences began to change. These days, he found that alternating between caramel and garlic made a good combination.
It was funny how even seemingly unchangeable tastes could be influenced by Yejun, just as Yejun’s preferences had been influenced by Jiho. It hit Jiho how long they’d been together.
“Your combo set is ready.”
Lost in nostalgia, Jiho was snapped back to reality by the employee’s call. The theater was stuffy, and the employee’s face was oddly flushed.
“I’ll go get it.”
“Can you manage alone? I’ll help.”
“No, wait here.”
Yejun insisted firmly, almost rudely.
Why is he so stern about this? Jiho paused and watched Yejun.
While picking up the popcorn, Yejun noticed something, frowned, and peeled a yellow sticker off the tub, handing it back to the employee with a cold tone.
“Please throw this away.”
“Oh… I’m sorry.”
The employee, face reddening, took the sticker back, apologizing repeatedly.
What’s going on? Jiho squinted in confusion as Yejun returned with the popcorn and drinks.
Jiho stared at the embarrassed employee and asked Yejun, “What was that?”
“What do you mean?”
“You peeled something off and asked them to throw it away. Did the employee make a mistake?”
“Oh… there was trash stuck on it.”
Yejun clicked his tongue, still looking annoyed.
Trash on the popcorn tub? That seemed strange, but if it was something sticky, it made sense.
It’s busy work, so mistakes can happen, but Yejun seems unusually sensitive today.
As Jiho pondered this, Yejun checked his watch again and changed the subject smoothly.
“The movie’s about to start. Let’s go.”
“Yeah, let’s hurry.”
Before they knew it, it was time for the movie. Jiho and Yejun quickly found their way into the screening room.
* * *
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What did he throw away?
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