Sangwoo hesitated and then coughed a few times. He then looked at Jaeyoung again and said:
âYou⌠donât take my comments as a joke.â
âWhat do you mean, joke? Iâm carefully paying attention to everything you say.â
âThen why do you keep making the same mistakes?â
âIâll be careful, hyung.â
âDid the space bar on your keyboard break? Why does a guy whoâs even good at English keep making typos? Itâs not rocket science. Letâs make an effort, yeah?â
âBringing work even to a drinking party , you disgustingly persistent bastard.â
Jaeyoung picked up a fish cake skewer and pushed it into Sangwooâs mouth.
âEat this, hyung.â1
Sangwoo diligently chewed the fish cake and swallowed it.
âAnd⌠you keep sneakily trying to hand work over to me, but youâre behind on work because you didnât follow your schedule.â
âIt can be that way once youâve started working on something. Give me a break, please. Iâll take responsibility, and Iâll do it all later.â
âAre you just saying it?â
âNo. I even came after having worked on it today.â
That was a lie. Jaeyoung couldnât do anything today because he had been focused on Sangwoo. However, it was true he was confident that could do it all at once.
âYou wanted to scold me so you said that we should play the Informal Talk Game.2 Our Sangwoo hyung said that.â3
Sangwoo frowned. Jaeyoung immediately scooped up some okonomiyaki with a spoon and shoved it into Sangwooâs mouth. He looked fine at first glance, but seeing him this way made him look drunk as well. His eyes were slightly closed, and he obediently kept receiving and eating the appetizers he was given, so he looked far from his usual machine-like appearance.
âI wanted to hear you speak formally to me, thatâs why. You unmannerly bastard.â
âAh. Did you know, hyung? Take a shot.â
Jaeyoung picked up Sangwooâs shot glass and put it on his lips. Sangwoo drank it well. He swallowed everything in his mouth and pointed his finger at Jaeyoung.
âHey, Jang Jaeyoung.â
âYes. Go ahead, speak.â
âYouâre a nut job⌠you know that, right?â
âOf course. Iâm well aware.â
Sangwoo snorted and leaned back with his arms crossed.
âCR. A. ZY bastard. Just scribbles on someone elseâs face like that.â
âOf course. I should be killed. How dare I do that to Your Highness Hyung-nim?â
âDonât stock up on beverages⌠Thatâs a snack bar. Itâs like Heo Saeng Jeon, you know?â4
âOf course. Itâs something that should be reported to the Consumer Rights Association. Iâm reflecting on myself.â
âThis trash-likeâŚâ
âIâm human trash that canât even be recycled right away. Do you want me to kneel down or something?â
Sangwoo, who was leaning against the chair, suddenly raised his upper body. He laid his arms on the table, and his chin on his arm. The plate with okonomiyaki on it was pushed aside by his elbow. If Jaeyoung hadnât caught it quickly, it wouldâve fallen to the ground.
Jaeyoung was also sitting close to the table, so their faces were very close to each other. The brim of the cap was about to touch Jaeyoungâs forehead. He lowered his body and put his chin on his arm like Sangwoo. His heart beat faster when the eyes that had been covered by the brim were revealed. Every time Sangwoo blinked, his thick eyelashes went up and down. His lips slowly moved.
âYou⌠If you were ugly, there wouldnât even be an answer.â
âScum like me should just go and die if they canât even be born with a handsome face.â
âSo you do know.â
The eyes that were slightly unfocused because of the alcohol, tore Jaeyoungâs face apart. It seemed his gaze would heat up wherever it landed. Sangwooâs gaze, which stayed focused on his forehead, turned in the direction of his nose, then passed over his ears, neck, and chin, before falling to his lips. Sangwooâs eyes narrowed. His lips slightly moved, which didnât escape Jaeyoungâs notice.
âYouâre going to burn a hole in my face, Sangwoo hyung.â
Sangwooâs eyes narrowed even further and seemed almost closed at this point. He raised the bottle of soju to fill Jaeyoungâs glass while avoiding making eye-contact. Jaeyoung accepted the glass, emptied it in one go and said: âAm I good-looking?â
Sangwoo pretended not to have heard and filled Jaeyoungâs glass again. Instead of answering Jaeyoung, he didnât hesitate to finish the shot he got in return in one go.
âAm I.. good-looking, hyung?â
Jaeyoung spoke slowly while looking straight into Sangwooâs black eyes. His small eyes didnât feel as sharp as they usually did.
âWhat do you think of me? If Iâm correct, youâre into me.â
Sangwoo quietly answered shortly after.
âYes.â
Jaeyoung slowly blinked. The tingling sensation that was rooted in his chest had come to dominate his entire body at some point. His goal of appraising the risks of this relationship had faded. Jaeyoung drank quite a bit of alcohol. Perhaps that was the reason he only had one thought on his mind.
He raised himself by putting his hands on the table. His body was slightly trembling, but he kept his balance. He pushed the table that was in between them to the side and took a step closer to Sangwoo. Sangwoo turned his head and looked up, so he was able to get a good look at his face.
âSangwoo.â
âWhat?â
âCan I take it off?â
ââŚâ
Was Jaeyoungâs red face simply due to the alcohol? The sense of feeling out of place made the answer an undeniable âno.â
Footnote:
1. Jaeyoung said this in formal (respectful) language, the way a junior would to a senior.
2. The Informal Talk Game is played so that formalities are dropped and players speak using informal language, even if they are of lower rank, younger, etc.
3. Jaeyoung refers to Sangwoo as âour Sangwoo.â When you refer to someone as our in this way, our is used as a possessive adjective. It is usually used when referring to your spouse or close family member. You can find more info here.
4. The story of Heo Saeng Jeon was mentioned in Volume One.