MYFL | Chapter 1.4

As his mother placed a large dish of braised ribs on the already full table, featuring all of Beomchan’s and Beomjin’s favorite dishes, both brothers responded in unison.

“Yeah.”

“Sure.”

Beomchan, always the more affectionate and friend-like son compared to his elder brother, who was the epitome of a responsible firstborn—excellent in studies and well-mannered, but rather brash towards his younger sibling.

“Anything troubling you these days, Chani?”

“Uh, nope. Same old, same old.”

Beomchan answered his mother’s routine question with a nonchalant shrug.

“Aren’t you going to answer properly?”

Beomjin, who never let even the smallest things slide, glared across the table at Beomchan.

“Didn’t you ask that the day before yesterday over the phone? Right, mom?”

What could have possibly happened in just two days? Beomchan retorted confidently.

“Did I?”

“Yeah. You ask every time you call.”

Realizing her habitual questioning, their mother laughed loudly, struck by her own repetitive concern.

Even amidst the casual family chatter, Beomchan’s attention kept drifting to his phone on his thigh. Today was the day Seungjae was supposed to meet with Boss Im at the real estate office. Seungjae had said he would likely sign the contract if there were no significant issues. Beomchan felt oddly anxious, unable to concentrate on the meal.

“Are you not going to put away your phone?”

“Must be an important call coming, just leave him be.”

After Beomjin snapped again, their father chided him, but just then, Beomchan’s screen lit up—it was Seungjae.

“It’s here!”

Beomchan exclaimed aloud without realizing it and hurriedly got up from his seat.

“I need to take this call.”

Ignoring his brother’s displeased look, he quickly stepped out to the balcony and closed the door. After clearing his throat a couple of times, he pressed the call button and brought the phone to his ear.

“Hello, teacher.”

— Ah, thanks to you, the contract went well. I appreciate it.

“…Thanks to me? I didn’t really do anything.”

— It is thanks to you. Right when I arrived, the landlord asked if you were the friend I mentioned? Despite his stern manner, he was quite accommodating about the construction work, even offering rent-free during the renovations. Just said not to demolish the building. Funny, right?

“Yeah,” Beomchan replied shortly and laughed nervously.

— Anyway, thanks. I should buy you a meal sometime.

“When?”

— Huh?

A loud laugh came from the other end of the phone. It seemed funny to Seungjae that the same person who was quick to deny his help was the first to ask about a meal.

The thought of having a meal alone with Seungjae made Beomchan blurt out the question. His face flushed red, and he swept his hand across it.

— When shall we? When are you free?

“Weekends are always good, and weekdays after 8 PM are fine too.”

— How about Friday evening? Weekends are a bit tough for me.

“That’s fine.”

— Great, let’s meet then.

“Okay.”

With that, the call ended. Beomchan clutched at his wildly beating chest. Had he ever felt so emotionally swollen from such a short conversation?

Seungjae’s café would be on the ground floor of his building. Eating dinner together, just the two of them—it was something he couldn’t have imagined until recently.

“…Crazy.”

Beomchan found himself standing there, dazed and unmoving, long after the call had ended, overwhelmed by the surreal turn of events.

⋆˚🐾˖°

After finishing up at the dojo, Beomchan headed upstairs to get ready to go out. He had been counting down to Friday since he had made plans with Seungjae, and as much as he looked forward to it, time seemed to cruelly slow down. Focusing more on his dojo work only made Friday feel like it would never come.

From their chat, it seemed like Seungjae had already picked a place, but he hadn’t shared the details despite Beomchan’s inquiries. To Beomchan, the fact that they would be spending time together was what mattered most, so he left it as a small joy to look forward to. On the day, after showering, he stood regretting his easygoing attitude in front of his humble wardrobe.

Beomchan scanned his clothes with a frown. Honestly, 80% of them were workout clothes. Given the nature of his job, there was no need to dress up for work, which naturally led to buying fewer casual clothes.

His lifestyle was simple: work, exercise, family, and occasionally meeting a few neighborhood friends. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had dressed up to go out. If he had known where Seungjae was taking him, he could have prepared something more appropriate. But regretting now didn’t magically provide new options.

Beomchan grabbed the two most passable items he owned: a loose-fitting black long-sleeve t-shirt and a gray hoodie. The long-sleeve t-shirt was something he once wore to his parents’ house, which had prompted his brother to comment that he should at least try to dress like that regularly. The gray hoodie was oversized and comfortable, one of his favorites.

After some consideration, Beomchan threw the long-sleeve shirt onto the bed and hung the hoodie back up. The hoodie seemed too childish, and even though the other option wasn’t much better, he had no better alternatives.

He went downstairs at the time he had agreed with Seungjae. Soon, a car slowly rolled up the narrow alley and stopped in front. Beomchan hurried down to the road, opened the passenger door, and climbed in.

“Hi,” Seungjae greeted him casually from the driver’s seat. Even as Beomchan responded, his insides were anything but calm. Entering the confined space, he was immediately struck by Seungjae’s scent.

For those with unique traits, pheromones could be subdued, but personal scents, like body odors, weren’t so easily concealed. Usually, such minute amounts didn’t cause any problems, and everyone managed to live comfortably.

But it was different when it belonged to someone you were hopelessly in love with. Beomchan just hoped he wouldn’t embarrass himself until they parted ways.

“Did you wait long?”

“No, I just came out too,” Beomchan replied, pulling his seatbelt.

At that moment, he felt something odd under him.

“…Huh?”

With a puzzled expression, he lifted slightly and felt around under him. His hand found a cap-style wet wipe. It seemed to have been left uncapped for too long, dried out to the point where calling it a wet wipe seemed questionable.

Only then did Beomchan start to notice the surroundings in the car. He hadn’t realized it upon entering due to being overwhelmed by Seungjae’s pheromones, but now he saw that the car’s interior was a mess. It was so cluttered that he was impressed he had managed to find a spot for his feet. That Seungjae could be this messy was surprising, but it also felt like he was discovering a new side to him.

“Is the car a bit messy?”

“No, it’s… comforting and nice—”

As he stumbled over his words, Seungjae burst into hearty laughter. While he laughed, Beomchan quietly used his toes to push the trash on the floor to one side. Catching this out of the corner of his eye, Seungjae finally stopped laughing and added,

“It’s not my car, so you don’t have to sugarcoat it. I had to leave mine at the shop for repairs and borrowed my sister’s. I’ve told her to clean it, but she never listens. We’ll get there soon, just bear with it for a bit.”

Ah, that explained it. Beomchan had felt a sense of relief upon hearing it was his sister’s car. Though he had initially been pleased to discover what he thought was a new aspect of Seungjae, the relief at the clarification suggested he had been somewhat alarmed.

“Ah, just throw that in the back.”

Beomchan hesitated on what to do with the salvaged wet wipe, unsure if tossing it into the backseat was a good idea given its similar state of disorder. Seeing his hesitation, Seungjae snatched the wipe and nonchalantly flung it to the back.

“Do you like meat?”

“Totally.”

Beomchan’s response was almost reflexive, prompting another laugh from Seungjae.

“Good to hear. Since I moved here not long ago, I don’t really know any good spots yet. So I asked my sister, and she could only recommend barbecue places.”

Is this neighborhood famous for its meat? Seungjae murmured to himself as he followed the navigation’s instructions. A sudden curiosity about why he moved to this area crossed Beomchan’s mind. More precisely, he wondered how it happened that Seungjae ended up in his neighborhood, and now here they were, together in this enclosed car.

“What brought you to move here?”

Halfway through his question, Beomchan realized it might be too personal and quickly added, “Ah… you don’t have to answer if it’s uncomfortable.”

But the words were already out. Seungjae, keeping his eyes on the road, took a moment before responding. Just as Beomchan began to regret his question, Seungjae spoke.

“I quit my previous job. I wanted to start something new and thought a new place would be good for that. Plus, it’s a bit boring not knowing many people, so I moved where my sister lives. I used to come here often during college, so it’s familiar.”

His tone was calm, and he glanced at Beomchan with a slight smile when he mentioned his college days, which made Beomchan retract his fleeting regret. It seemed moving here represented a fresh start for Seungjae, and Beomchan liked that idea.

“Is your mom doing well? I regret that I never got to say goodbye properly when I left.”

“She’s good. Don’t worry, she’s not the type to hold a grudge.”

“I’d like to visit someday to say hello properly. Your mom always packed snacks for us—fruits, rice cakes, even bread. Ah, now I see why you grew up so big,” Seungjae joked.

Beomchan laughed along, but his mind was filled with other curiosities. He wondered if Seungjae ever felt troubled about how he had to hear about the job quitting through his mom.

He almost asked, but seeing Seungjae happily reminiscing, Beomchan didn’t want to spoil his mood. There would be other opportunities to ask.

The car left the city and headed towards the outskirts. As they exchanged trivial stories, they soon reached their destination. Beomchan remembered visiting this place with his family when he was younger. Though not far in distance from the neighborhood, its location made it inconvenient to reach by public transport.

When he first visited, it felt like a slice of the countryside tucked away in a corner of the city. He remembered it as a duck meat restaurant, but it seemed to have changed hands and was now a Korean beef specialty restaurant. The place had been completely renovated; gone was the quaint, friendly vibe, replaced by a modern building clad in what looked like marble.