* * *
Pyo Yoontae, looking down at him, bit his lower lip hard, as if swallowing down something painful.
After a long silence, he barely managed to speak in a small voice.
“……I’m sorry.”
His dry eyes were filled with sorrow, making him look like he would be better off crying.
Jeongseo felt his heart ache in response and reached out to cup one side of Pyo Yoontae’s face.
“Yoontae, you have nothing to be sorry for. Not even a little.”
“……Did my grandmother say anything strange?”
Various things Jung Soonja had said flashed through Jeongseo’s mind, but he couldn’t bring himself to say them out loud.
That alone seemed to be enough of an answer.
Pyo Yoontae let out a sigh filled with certainty and roughly rubbed his face with one hand.
“I didn’t think you’d come find me so soon. If I knew things would turn out like this, I would’ve told you beforehand. I didn’t want to make you worry……”
I didn’t want you to see me like this, either.
The last sentence was barely a murmur, much quieter than the words that came before it.
Until now, Pyo Yoontae had never shown such a miserable expression, no matter what happened.
His golden eyes trembled slightly as they darted between Jeongseo and the empty space in front of him.
His lips, once pressed shut, showed no sign of opening again.
“Yoontae, you know it’s okay for us to show each other even the parts we think aren’t good. I won’t ever blame you or be disappointed over something like this—you know that, right?”
His trembling eyelids caused his dark eyelashes to quiver as well.
The warmth of Jeongseo’s hand, still resting against his cheek, seeped into his skin.
Pyo Yoontae placed his hand over Jeongseo’s, gently wrapping around it before pulling it down.
“Your arm…… It must be hurting. Let’s go home first. I’ll call a taxi……”
As he pulled out his phone from his pocket, Jeongseo’s gaze was drawn to a passing bus.
Now that he thought about it, he had never really taken a bus in Seoul before.
Unlike taxis or the subway, there was a unique atmosphere and scenery that only buses had.
“How about we take the bus instead? What do you think?”
“The bus?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected suggestion, Pyo Yoontae hesitated for a moment.
But before he could properly process it, Jeongseo’s eyes curved into a smile as he tugged on his hand.
“Let’s take that one!”
“That one?”
Even as Pyo Yoontae blinked at him in surprise, Jeongseo quickly ran toward the bus stop.
Left with no choice, Pyo Yoontae was dragged along, and they reached the bus just as the doors were about to close.
“Two tickets, please!”
Before Pyo Yoontae could even take out his card, Jeongseo had already tapped his on the reader.
With a beep, the machine accepted the fare, and Jeongseo looked around the bus with a bright smile.
Luckily, there were plenty of empty seats.
Jeongseo walked toward a two-person seat and gestured at Pyo Yoontae with his eyes.
“Yoontae, sit by the window.”
“Oh, uh, okay.”
As the bus started moving, Pyo Yoontae continued to stare at Jeongseo with a puzzled expression before checking the bus number.
Looking it up on a navigation app, he realized that while the route wasn’t completely opposite to their destination, it was quite a detour and required a transfer.
Did Jeongseo know that? Apparently not.
Still unable to understand why they had taken the bus, Pyo Yoontae held out his phone to Jeongseo.
“We have to transfer at the next stop to get home. It’s going to take about an hour and a half……”
“Wow, I’ve never been to this area before! Have you?”
His innocent excitement cut off whatever Pyo Yoontae had been about to say.
Pyo Yoontae hesitated, then shook his head.
“No, it’s my first time here too.”
“Then it’ll be a completely new view for both of us.”
“……Yeah, I guess so.”
Pyo Yoontae still didn’t understand why they had taken this bus.
But the gentle hum of the engine and the soft vibrations of the ride slowly unraveled the tangled frustration, embarrassment, and resentment he had been feeling just moments ago.
At 1:37 PM on a quiet weekday afternoon, in a nearly empty bus, Pyo Yoontae absentmindedly gazed out the window.
Sunlight, partially blocked by buildings, spilled in and landed softly on his eyelids.
The warmth was comforting.
Without thinking, he tilted his head, resting it against Jeongseo’s.
In a quiet whisper, he murmured:
“When I was little, I got lost in the mountains and cried because of my grandmother. She didn’t just dislike me…… It’s more accurate to say she resented and hated me. That’s why I always dreaded visiting my mother’s side of the family—there was never a single person on my side there.”
A past he had never wanted anyone to see.
A truth he had always kept hidden.
For the first time, Pyo Yoontae spoke about it, yet he didn’t feel nervous or uncomfortable.
Maybe it was because the steady hum of the engine ensured that only Jeongseo could hear him.
Or maybe it was because, at some point, a small hand had reached out to gently hold his.
“Just being near my grandmother made me want to run away. I never knew what would set her off, and the anxiety made me feel sick. Every time I went there, I felt like I didn’t belong. Like I shouldn’t exist.”
Pyo Yoontae let out his most painful truth in a low, steady voice.
He paused frequently, sometimes glancing at Jeongseo to gauge his reaction.
By the time he had said everything, as if it had been perfectly timed, they arrived at his home.
They locked eyes at the door, but neither spoke.
Now that the moment had passed, a faint awkwardness crept in.
Pyo Yoontae punched in the door code and spoke as the lock clicked open.
“So, Jeongseo… If my mom or grandmother ever asks to meet you without me, just say no and blame it on me. My mom might be a little upset, but…… she’ll understand.”
Jeongseo followed him inside.
Pyo Yoontae had always seemed so much taller and stronger than him, but today, he looked strangely fragile.
“I’ll find my first love and have a family right away.”
Back then, Jeongseo had thought that was an absurdly mature thought for a high schooler.
But now, he understood.
“I’ll build a family, be with my partner for the rest of my life, and we’ll be happy together.”
“That’s why I go to school and work—to make that happen.”
It wasn’t just an obsession with having a family.
It wasn’t just because of a brief childhood crush.
Pyo Yoontae had been trying to fill something missing inside him all along.
As Jeongseo recalled the image of a young Pyo Yoontae crying, a lump formed in his throat.
At the same time, he felt an overwhelming sense of admiration for him.
When Jeongseo froze in the entryway without taking off his shoes, Pyo Yoontae looked at him curiously before chuckling softly.
“Why do you look like you’re about to cry? Don’t cry, Jeongseo. It hurts my heart.”
“You must have struggled so much… but you still grew into such a kind person. If it were me…… I think I would have been too consumed by resentment to love anyone.”
Despite his loneliness, Pyo Yoontae had never let bitterness define him.
Instead of envying others’ happiness, he had chosen to love.
If it had been Jeongseo in his place, he would have grown up bitter, never knowing how to give or receive love.
Pyo Yoontae dropped his gaze briefly before looking up again.
“My childhood, and even now… I’m lucky to have you by my side, Jeongseo. You were always kind to me.”
My kindness comes from you.
Jeongseo couldn’t answer right away.
Really… Pyo Yoontae was someone impossible not to love.
Overwhelmed, Jeongseo stepped forward and wrapped his arms tightly around him.
“I’ll always be on your side, Yoontae. I love you.”
Caught off guard, Pyo Yoontae stiffened for a moment before smiling slightly and whispering back.
“I love you too, Jeongseo. So much.”
Their warmth seeped through the fabric, reaching each other’s skin.
Just before Jeongseo could pull away, he rubbed his cheek against Pyo Yoontae’s and stepped back.
But at that moment, a hand gently cupped his chin, tilting it upward.
Before he realized it, Pyo Yoontae’s face was right in front of him.
There wasn’t even time to say he was going to take off his shoes before their lips met.
Pyo Yoontae brushed against Jeongseo’s lips softly, then lightly nipped at his lower lip before letting go.
Jeongseo shivered as the scent of pheromones filled the air, sending a tingling sensation down his spine.
Taking advantage of his slightly parted lips, Yoontae’s tongue slipped inside, carrying a rich, intoxicating taste.
The hand that had been gripping Jeongseo’s chin slid down, wrapping around his back, pulling him closer until he had to rise onto his toes.
His tongue, which had been teasingly flicking at the tip of Jeongseo’s, now pressed against the soft roof of his mouth.
“Mm….”
A slow stroke over the ridges sent a strange ticklish sensation through him, making his lower abdomen clench.
Their tongues tangled, heat spreading through his entire body.
Every time Jeongseo let out a breathless sigh, the sweet scent of cocoa lingered in the air.
Yoontae pulled away for a brief moment before diving in again, swallowing his lips urgently.
Jeongseo, who was being steadily pushed back, felt his back hit the wall of the entryway just as—
Thud.
The sound of the door closing echoed clearly, snapping Jeongseo back to his senses with a sharp jolt.
* * *
