CG | Chapter 1.4

Anyway, Lane says things like that without knowing this tragic backstory. He wanted to just blurt it out, but even with a close friend, this kind of story was a bit much.

Unlike the typical image of a flirtatious blonde white guy, Sean was surprisingly shy. Unlike friends who kissed in public, he only kissed or pecked when they were alone.

Given the circumstances, he couldn’t talk about explicit topics with Lane. Especially not a topic that could be a significant flaw.

“Got it.”

Sean backed off. It’s Lane’s business, so respecting his opinion is the right thing to do. It’s a shame, but it’s his problem. Lane can’t always share every little thing with him. As he said himself, he’s become an adult. An adult whose life is distinctly separate.

Maybe that’s why he felt so off.

With the slow realization, Sean closed his mouth. He suddenly felt the passage of time, realizing that their friendship couldn’t always remain the same. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t disappointed, but it was an emotion he had to accept.

Silence descended again. Unable to lift the mood as usual, Sean hesitated for a moment before speaking to Lane.

“I think I ruined the holiday morning. I cut my hand for no reason. You’ve already had breakfast, so don’t bother because of me. I’ll eat at home.”

Lane didn’t respond. He had slightly turned his head and lowered his gaze, making it hard to see his expression. But this was also familiar. Lane usually kept quiet unless he wanted to express a clear opinion, so it was Sean’s job to figure it out.

Lane’s parents had a lot of concerns about his personality when he was younger, but after he became friends with Sean, they were relieved to find out he was just a quiet kid, as his mother often said.

Normally, Sean would have stayed by his side regardless, but today he wasn’t in the mood.

“Then I’m going.”

He waved at Lane, who didn’t respond, and headed for the door. He had been looking forward to spending the weekend with Lane, so he felt a bit reluctant, but his mind was too unsettled, and he might end up bothering Lane like before. He was sure he’d keep asking questions if they stayed together.

After coming down to the living room, he picked up the shoes he had left by the door and was about to put them on when Lane called out to him from behind.

“You were preparing ingredients. Eat before you go.”

Sean turned around at the quiet voice holding him back. Lane was staring intently at him, and when their eyes met, he looked away as if embarrassed. His cheeks turned slightly red, and he spoke softly.

“Sorry about earlier. It was just an awkward topic.”

“…You’re not mad?”

“I’m not mad, just surprised.”

With that, Lane walked towards the kitchen. Watching his back as he walked briskly, Sean eventually laughed silently at Lane’s reddened earlobes.

He’s really cute.

One of the reasons Sean wanted to be friends with Lane was because of this. Sometimes he was so blunt it was almost disappointing, and he rarely initiated contact, but when Sean seemed genuinely hurt, Lane always apologized. Seeing him blush awkwardly and shyly made it impossible to dislike him.

“Then I’ll hang around all day today. I endured this week just thinking about playing with you.”

Having quickly gotten over his disappointment, Sean put down his shoes and ran to the kitchen. Lane glanced at him as if to say not to run and gestured towards the dining table.

“Sit down. Don’t cut your finger again.”

“Yes, Dad.”

“What do you mean, Dad?”

“You sound like my parents.”

“I have no intention of being your dad.”

As the light-hearted conversation continued, Lane quickly finished preparing the ingredients he had left earlier. With familiar knife skills, he finely chopped the vegetables and bacon, then melted butter in a frying pan and started sautéing the bacon and onions. The filling was soon ready with his skilled hands. The delicious aroma was already wafting through the air.

“Then do you want to be my little brother?”

Sean, resting his chin on the table and watching the scene, made another suggestion. Lane replied with a serious face.

“You know I’m older than you, right?”

“But you’re cute, so being a little brother suits you.”

Lane, who was about to take out another frying pan, paused for a moment. He turned his head slightly to look at Sean and said casually.

“Your ‘cute’ doesn’t have much credibility.”

“Why?”

Sean asked in an aggrieved voice, feeling wronged that his sincere compliment was dismissed.

“You say that to everyone. Your other friends, your football teammates, and even your ex-girlfriends.”

That’s true. He was caught off guard and momentarily lost for words. But compliments never hurt, and Sean genuinely liked most people. As long as they didn’t bring weird rumors, that is. “Cute” was just one of the compliments he often used.

“I do say it often. But you’re the only one I’ve called cute the most in my life.”

“I’m not cute.”

“Then should I say you’re adorable?”

“Tiring.”

As Sean’s teasing continued, Lane cut him off. While his reaction was cute, he decided to hold back to avoid a repeat of earlier. Clicking his tongue, Sean smiled slyly as Lane resumed cooking.

Lane poured the beaten eggs into another frying pan and quickly made scrambled eggs with chopsticks. He placed the sautéed ingredients in the center of the softly cooked eggs. In the blink of an eye, he folded the ends into an oval shape and placed the finished omelet on a pretty plate.

“Wow.”

Sean clapped his hands and stuck close to Lane. Holding out his hands as if asking for it, Lane looked at him intently before handing over the plate. With a delighted face, Sean placed the food on the table and took out a cup from the cupboard.

“What do you want to drink, Lane? Want some warm milk?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright.”

As a gesture of thanks for the breakfast, Sean prepared the drinks. Lane had a subtle sweet tooth, so he enjoyed drinking warm milk with honey, and he rarely touched coffee or alcohol.

Sean took out a bottle of milk from the fridge and poured it into a kettle. Meanwhile, Lane brought out the cutlery, and Sean turned off the heat just before the milk boiled and added two spoons of honey. They sat across from each other at the table. Despite the minor commotion, it was a typical weekend. His mood finally improved.

“Thanks for the meal. Seeing the food makes me really hungry.”

Suddenly, hunger surged. Sean picked up a fork and knife, cut the omelet into three large pieces, and devoured more than half of it in the blink of an eye. Lane, quietly sipping his milk and watching the scene, commented.

“Eat slowly.”

Ignoring him, Sean finished the plate in less than five minutes. The food disappeared faster than it took to cook. Leaning back in his chair with a satisfied sigh, Lane put down his mug.

“You really don’t listen.”

“I was just too hungry.”

“Come here.”

“Huh?”

Curious, Sean leaned closer to Lane, who was gesturing for him. Lane picked up a napkin from the table and wiped Sean’s mouth. Accepting the gesture quietly, Lane gently scolded him.

“You eat like a kid, getting it all over your face.”

After softly wiping his lips, Lane folded the napkin. With an embarrassed smile, Sean slumped onto the table. It was a bit embarrassing.

“I only do that in front of you. It doesn’t happen usually.”

It wasn’t a frequent occurrence, but when he ate in a hurry like today, he sometimes got food on his lips. Having been taught table manners since childhood, he rarely spilled or made noise, but he sometimes made mistakes in front of Lane, perhaps because he relaxed around him.

“I’ve never seen you not do it.”

“I don’t do it when eating with your parents.”

Lane seemed to recall the past for a moment, rolling his eyes to the side, then nodded.

“Hmm.”

It was an affirmation. Sean laughed softly and, lying on the table, propped his chin up and looked up at Lane. As the green eyes stared intently at him, Lane also looked down at him. The expressionless blue eyes stared back at him. It wasn’t awkward; it was peaceful.

The silence continued. Lane wasn’t someone with a wide range of conversation topics, and Sean often talked enough outside, so they often spent long periods in silence like this. But as they stared at each other like usual, a strange thought occurred.

Would that Dion kid find moments like this comfortable?

Ah, I forgot for a moment, but I’m really curious. I’ll meet him on Friday anyway, but the overwhelming curiosity made it hard to hold back the questions. There was so much he wanted to know. When did he start liking him, what did he like about him, and how did he realize he liked guys?

With a face full of things to say, Sean kept his mouth shut, and Lane noticed. His dark eyebrows, hidden under his hair, twitched as he spoke first.

“You’re…”

“What?”

“You look like you’re dying of curiosity.”

“How did you know?”

“Why are you so curious? You’re not usually one to care about others’ business.”

“It’s your business.”

He didn’t care who others dated or broke up with, but since it was Lane’s business, he was curious about everything. Sean had known everything about Lane his whole life and was used to acting that way. As Lane quietly observed him, he explained in a slightly softer voice.

“As you might have heard…”

“Yeah.”

“Dion is a boy.”

“Right.”

“You’re not gay, but the person who might become my boyfriend could be bothered by how close you and I are. Keep that in mind.”

Ah.

Being pointed out something he hadn’t considered, his eyes widened. With a surprised expression, Sean lay there as Lane continued.

“In short, if I start dating someone, some of your usual actions might be seen as uncomfortable.”

Sean was at a loss for words. It was an obvious fact, but perhaps because he wasn’t fully aware of Lane liking guys, he hadn’t thought of this. As his golden eyelashes blinked silently, Lane asked.

“Are you okay?”

No.

He almost said it impulsively. Barely holding onto his rationality, Sean took a deep breath and slowly gave a positive response.

“Of course.”

Forcing a smile, Sean sat up.

“I hadn’t thought of that, but thanks for pointing it out. I’ll be careful from now on.”

He said this, but he didn’t really know what to be careful about. Having been together for so long, it was hard to imagine what actions would be on the forbidden list.

“But I might make mistakes, so let me know each time.”

Lane met his gaze with blue eyes as if trying to read his mind. Smiling as if nothing was wrong, Sean met his gaze until Lane looked away.

“…Okay.”

Then, after a short silence, Lane answered the question Sean had asked earlier.

“Dion is a calm and cautious kid. Like me, he doesn’t talk much and doesn’t meet a lot of people. So it’s comfortable being with him. It seems he hasn’t dated anyone before either.”

The Dion Lane described seemed like the complete opposite of Sean. As Lane listed their similarities and explained about him, his expression seemed very shy, making Sean truly realize that Lane had found someone he liked.

In that moment, a strange sensation brushed the inside of his chest. An uncomfortable feeling, like a cramp, briefly arose and then faded, leaving a subtle afterimage.

“That’s great.”

Sean said with a smiling face. But strangely, it didn’t feel like he was genuinely smiling.

“You ended up telling me. Thanks, Lane.”