GGAS 17
by NiluSeo Taerim and Kim Abang were sitting cross-legged on the floor, facing each other in good spirits, unfolding dozens of paper cranes one by one.
“How in the world did you end up folding this many?”
Seo Taerim asked as he tried to unfold the paper without tearing it.
“Well, I have this habit of folding cranes whenever I touch paper….”
Kim Abang also groaned as he struggled to avoid tearing the paper while he spoke. He explained that he had planned to read the contract while eating chicken, but the chicken was too delicious and the drama he had turned on as a mealtime companion was too entertaining, so he forgot whether the stack of paper in front of him was the contract or scrap paper and ended up habitually folding them into cranes one sheet at a time.
“… From now on, I’ll have to give you all important documents as PDF files.”
Seo Taerim pressed down firmly as he flattened the paper and spoke.
“That would be great for me!”
Kim Abang grinned and said that, then he tapped the clearly creased paper with his fist. Seo Taerim, who had been focused on his own sheet, turned at the sound of the tapping.
“Kim Abang-ssi, right now… what are you doing?”
Seo Taerim asked, thinking, ‘No way, it can’t be.’
“I’m flattening it~.”
Kim Abang said while tapping the paper diligently with his fist. Seo Taerim was struck speechless by the ridiculous act.
“Flattening it…, just give it to me.”
“No, I’ll do it!”
“No. Please, let me do it.”
Seo Taerim practically begged as he took the sheet Kim Abang had been working on into his own hands. Then, with skillful movements, he smoothed it out crisply. Kim Abang’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Wow~ Taerim-ssi, it’s like you have an iron in your hand~”
At Kim Abang’s unfiltered praise, Seo Taerim felt oddly embarrassed, but his hands moved even faster.
“Well, this much is nothing….”
Seo Taerim muttered unconsciously while he focused on flattening the paper. After playing the role of a skillful bear for over ten minutes, Seo Taerim finally came to his senses.
‘Oh no…! I shouldn’t be doing things that make Kim Abang-ssi praise me…!’
Of course, by then, not a single paper crane remained, all perfectly smoothed out.
‘What am I going to do….’
Seo Taerim regretted it too late and made up his mind that from now on he would treat Kim Abang coldly and professionally. In other words, things like smoothing paper flat were strictly forbidden.
However, Seo Taerim’s resolve once again failed to take shape, because most of the exchanges between him and Kim Abang went as follows:
Seo Taerim: If you look at the second sentence in Article 145… Wait a moment, Kim Abang-ssi. What are you writing right now?
Kim Abang: (lifting his head after doodling with a pink pen in the contract margin) Ah, I was writing down your taste, Taerim-ssi.
Seo Taerim: (wondering what exactly he was writing about his taste but forcing himself to act uninterested, keeping a cold tone) Why are you writing that down? Please focus on Article 145.
Kim Abang: (scratching his cheek) But I can remember things better if I write them down, so I can’t help it. We’re going to be a show-window couple now, and if we don’t want people to find out it’s fake, shouldn’t we know each other thoroughly?
Seo Taerim: (feeling tempted) That’s true….
Kim Abang: Ah, I have a good idea! While we’re at it, how about we interview each other, asking and answering questions, and check our preferences? Three hours should be enough to know each other well, right?
Seo Taerim: (startled because his secret plan to go home within thirty minutes was shattered) Three hours?
Kim Abang: Yes! One and a half hours for me to ask Taerim-ssi, one and a half hours for Taerim-ssi to ask me~.
Seo Taerim: That long? I think I already know you pretty well….
Kim Abang: Eh, Taerim-ssi, you don’t even know what kind of macarons I like.
Seo Taerim: (puzzled) Don’t you like blueberry macarons?
Kim Abang: (just smiling as if he thought it was a coincidence) Blueberry macarons from where?
Seo Taerim: From the shop near the university.
Kim Abang: Which university?
Seo Taerim: Of course, your alma mater.
Kim Abang: (feeling a slight sense of strangeness and pausing) …Where is my alma mater?
Seo Taerim: Korea University.
Kim Abang: …You don’t know what department I graduated from, do you?
Seo Taerim: Wasn’t it the History Department?
Kim Abang: G-guess what my minor was?
Seo Taerim: What you did wasn’t a minor, it was a double major.
Kim Abang: Ah, right…. No, wait! Taerim-ssi, did you investigate me?!
Seo Taerim: …What?
Kim Abang: I-I’m calling the police!!! 112, dial 112 without the area code!!!
Seo Taerim: (dumbfounded, wondering who would ever investigate Kim Abang)
Kim Abang: Ah, but what was the area code again?!?! I know 112 but I can’t remember the area code?!??!?!! You idiot!!!! How am I supposed to report it if I don’t know the area code?!?!?!! Taerim-ssi, what’s the area code for 112!!! Do you know?????
Seo Taerim: …Do I have to tell you?
Kim Abang: You thought you could commit such a crime and get away with it?!?! Tell me right now!!!! I’m going to report you!!!
Seo Taerim: …You don’t need to know the area code. You just said it yourself, 112 without the area code. Without. The area code.
Kim Abang: What?!?!?! Without the area code?!??!?! Since when did they remove it?!?! The 21st century is too fast!!!
Seo Taerim: …Kim Abang-ssi, calm down. I never investigated you. I only listened to what you said.
Kim Abang: Listened…? Ah, you wiretapped me?!?!!
Seo Taerim: How does that make sense? Not wiretapping, listening attentively. Attentively.
Kim Abang: …Attentively?
Seo Taerim: Attentively.
Kim Abang: ……Like the one from “Ten Listening Habits for Good Conversation”…?
Seo Taerim: …Yes.
So Seo Taerim ended up showing off nothing but his ability to listen attentively and his law-abiding spirit for the full three hours. Because of this, instead of losing interest in him, Kim Abang came to think that he was the model of a fine neighbor, and as soon as they finished reviewing the contract, he proudly dragged Seo Taerim in front of Lee Jaein and introduced him by saying, “My boyfriend!” It hardly needs to be added that Lee Jaein dropped the coffee cup he was holding as the strength drained from his hand.
***
“Is it really… alright to just leave like this?”
Seo Taerim kept looking back as he spoke. He was very bothered by Lee Jaein, who had left the broken teacup and the dirty carpet behind and hurried off somewhere to make a phone call.
“Eh~ it’s fine!”
Kim Abang waved his hand and opened the front gate.
“My dad always enjoys making sudden phone calls! I think there’s some kind of thrill in it. I don’t really know… but the point where people feel thrill is different for everyone!”
Kim Abang said that, claiming it was only speculation. But because of Kim Abang, Seo Taerim had formed a prejudice against the Kim family, so he easily accepted Kim Abang’s flimsy guess.
“Ah, I see. Then I’ll be going now.”
“Yes, be careful of cars on your way home!”
It was only ten steps from Kim Abang’s gate to Seo Taerim’s, but Kim Abang did not spare his concern for Seo Taerim’s safety.
“Make sure to contact me once you get home~”
Kim Abang waved his hand to say goodbye. But just then, something glimmered at the corner of the alley behind Seo Taerim. Kim Abang stared at it for a moment, wondering what it was, then in the next five seconds, as Seo Taerim was about to quickly leave, he swiftly grabbed him by the collar.
“Ugh….”
“Taerim-ssi, don’t go!”
“Abang-ssi, let go of this, let go….”
As Seo Taerim begged urgently, Kim Abang loosened his grip slightly and gestured with his eyes behind them.
“Sorry. There’s a reporter…! Back there…!”
“A reporter?”
Seo Taerim was about to turn his head to look behind.
“Don’t turn your head!”
Kim Abang grabbed Seo Taerim’s face and made him look at him.
“If you turn, he’ll know we saw him. That would be a problem!”
As Kim Abang whispered quickly, Seo Taerim let out an “Ah.”
“That’s true. Our concept is that we’re secretly dating and then get caught by the paparazzi.”
It had been Chief Kang’s opinion that it would be more convincing that way, rather than Kim Abang and Seo Taerim meeting reporters directly and saying, “We’re dating.”
“That’s what I’m saying. But what are we supposed to do in this situation?”
“Well… if you mean when paparazzi take pictures, usually couples don’t get caught by paparazzi.”
It wasn’t wrong, but it was useless, and Kim Abang shook his head.
“That’s not what I mean. I mean when ordinary couples part in front of their houses, what do they usually do?”
“Uh… hold hands…?”
Seo Taerim, who hadn’t dated because of work, said that.
“Even Gonggong and I do that much, you know?”
Kim Abang frowned slightly as if he didn’t understand and asked again.
“…Then should we hug?”
Seo Taerim offered another option, but Kim Abang looked dissatisfied with that too. He raised one eyebrow and looked at Seo Taerim as if to ask if he was serious.
“Hug? You mean a full embrace?”
“Yes. A hug. Isn’t it very intimate? There is no warmer act for two living beings to share.”
Seo Taerim spoke about the value of a hug with a gentle feeling, recalling a nature documentary, but Kim Abang shook his head slightly as if it made no sense.
“No. Hugging won’t be enough.”
“Hm. Then what should we do?”
“I think we need to take drastic measures.”
“Drastic measures?”
“Yes.”
Speaking with a bit of firmness, Kim Abang glanced over Seo Taerim’s shoulder, then wrapped his arms around Seo Taerim’s neck. At the same time, he pulled Seo Taerim toward him and rose onto his toes.
“…….!”
As Kim Abang’s face suddenly came right in front of his, Seo Taerim forgot how to breathe. But soon there was no need to breathe anyway, because Kim Abang pressed his lips against Seo Taerim’s. Their lips fit tightly together, without leaving a single gap.
“…?!?!”
Seo Taerim’s eyes widened on their own. The soft thing pressed against his lips, the sensation of it moving, and the sound of friction echoing wetly in his ears bleached his mind white. And because Kim Abang didn’t close his eyes, Seo Taerim not only had to feel the touch and hear the sound but also meet Kim Abang’s black, shining eyes, which made the stimulation too much from every angle. On top of that, when their lips trembled, Kim Abang accidentally pulled back his tongue slowly, brushing Seo Taerim’s lower lip once more, and Seo Taerim froze completely.
“Haa…?”
As he parted his lips, Kim Abang let out a low breath, but Seo Taerim was still holding his breath.
“…Taerim-ssi?”
Finding it strange that Seo Taerim was standing motionless, Kim Abang called him.
“Taerim-ssi? Are you okay?”
“…Uh….”
“Taerim-ssi?”
“…..This, what, what, what….”
As Seo Taerim stammered a little loudly, Kim Abang, worried that the reporters might hear, grabbed his sleeve in a hurry.
“Don’t stutter…!”
“…hic!”
“And don’t hiccup either…!”
Kim Abang whispered a warning.
“Hic..! Hup, hic..!”
But when Seo Taerim hiccupped again, Kim Abang made a slightly troubled expression, then placed both hands firmly on Seo Taerim’s shoulders.
“Hic…?”
When Seo Taerim looked at him, not knowing why, Kim Abang winked.
“Just trust me…!”
Seo Taerim suddenly felt uneasy. The last time he winked, didn’t he feed him something rotten…?
“Hic, don’t… hic, do… hic, it….”
Seo Taerim desperately voiced his opposition, but his words were drowned out by hiccups, and Kim Abang only sent him a silent look telling him not to worry and just trust him.
“Hm, hm!”
Kim Abang cleared his throat a couple of times. Then, before Seo Taerim could stop him, he suddenly raised his voice.
“Hahaha, to hiccup at my jeopmun! It seems this body’s skill is not too bad! If I had met you at the age of twenty, we would naturally have had twelve children, what a pity!”
Kim Abang shouted out naturally, but in a loud historical-drama tone. That was right. Kim Abang had majored in history, was an extrovert by nature, and in his university days had acted quite a bit in the drama club, including historical plays. In fact, the role he had played the longest was Byeon Sato1 from The Tale of Chunhyang, so he was exceptionally skilled in sleazy old-man acting.
“Hic…! T-twelve?”
Seo Taerim asked in horror.
“Hahaha, is twelve not enough? Then what about thirteen?”
Kim Abang stroked along Seo Taerim’s jawline with his finger and gave him a ‘provocative’ look.
‘What kind of insane nonsense is this…!’
Seo Taerim screamed inwardly and twisted his body to avoid Kim Abang’s touch. But Kim Abang interpreted it a bit differently.
“Oh ho? Not satisfied even with thirteen? Oh ho, what shall we do! Shall we have fourteen?”
When Kim Abang declared this terrifying child plan, a coughing sound was heard from somewhere. The reporters peeking in seemed startled.
He’s insane! I have to stop him!
Seo Taerim thought, pale with shock. But thinking alone couldn’t stop Kim Abang.
“Or should it be fifteen…”
This time, Kim Abang slid his right hand to grope at Seo Taerim’s waist as he opened his mouth.
“Stop!”
In his panic, Seo Taerim grabbed Kim Abang’s wrist and pulled it away from his waist. Fortunately, once his acting was interrupted, the sleazy Byeon Sato disappeared, and the decent Kim Abang returned. Kim Abang looked at Seo Taerim with his brows curved in worry, wondering if something had gone wrong with his performance.
“Taerim-ssi, what’s wrong? Did it not come across well? Ah, should I raise the number to twenty instead?”
Kim Abang whispered as he asked.
“Hic, the… hic, the acting was enough.”
“Wow, really?”
“Hic, yes.”
“Then should I keep going?”
Keep going, he says! Seo Taerim wanted to change the subject immediately.
“Hic, th-that, hic, that’s enough, wh- hic, what is jeopmun?”
Determined to shift the topic, Seo Taerim asked the question even as he continued to hiccup.
“Uh….”
Kim Abang blinked, then stood on tiptoe and pressed his lips lightly against Seo Taerim’s with a small peck.
“This.”
“Hic!”
This time it was only a brief bird kiss, unlike earlier, but Seo Taerim jumped in shock as if he had been hit. Of course, Kim Abang wasn’t very surprised, since he only meant to give an example.
“What do people call this in modern terms…?”
Kim Abang narrowed his eyes as he asked.
“I definitely know the word….”
He tilted his head and muttered.
“Ki, ki, ki…”
Seo Taerim stammered because of the hiccups that kept bursting out.
“Hul, I didn’t know until now, but Taerim-ssi, you laugh really villain-like.”
“Laugh, hic, I’m not laughing!”
“Really?”
When Kim Abang asked back as if fascinated, Seo Taerim flared up.
“Of course! What I was trying to say was ‘kiss’!”
“Aha~ kiss! That’s right, this is called a kiss! As expected, two heads are better than one.”
“Better, how is it better…!”
“If we add up our IQs, do you think we’ll surpass Einstein’s IQ?”
“I don’t know!”
“I hope we do… Oh, but Taerim-ssi, you’re not hiccuping anymore!”
Kim Abang smiled brightly, pleased.
“That’s really good. The grandma who runs the tofu shop said there was someone who hiccupped until they suffocated and died, you know?”
“…….”
When Seo Taerim looked at Kim Abang’s innocent face, he started to feel like he was making too big a fuss over just one kiss.
‘Right, it’s not like that was the first kiss I’ve ever had in my life….’
Well, even so, he still felt wronged, but since the situation was what it was, he pushed his sighs and resentment down into his throat and awkwardly put his arm around Kim Abang’s back.
“…Just hug. If our faces get photographed too clearly, that’ll be a problem….”
He muttered as he stayed keenly alert to the presence he felt behind them. But unlike Seo Taerim, Kim Abang was carefree. He had already noticed the reporter before things went too wrong, and he had even solved Seo Taerim’s hiccups well, so he felt like he had handled everything like a pro again today and found peace of mind. That was why, as soon as he heard the word “hug,” he quickly hugged Seo Taerim and rubbed his nose against his chest, sniffing.
“W-what are you doing…!”
Seo Taerim whispered in shock. But Kim Abang didn’t care at all and kept sniffing.
“Wow, Taerim-ssi, you smell really good.”
Because of the people secretly taking pictures from behind, Seo Taerim couldn’t push him away and only turned his head slightly. If he didn’t, Kim Abang’s soft hair would keep brushing against his chin, and the feeling was strange.
“…It’s our hotel’s signature scent. It’s 35,000 won for 250ml, so please buy it separately if you want to smell it.”
When Seo Taerim indirectly told him to stop sniffing, Kim Abang lifted his head and gave a small laugh. His breath tickled near Seo Taerim’s neck, making him flinch and look down at Kim Abang reflexively.
“…Why are you laughing?”
He asked, wetting his lips for no reason. Kim Abang was staring straight into Seo Taerim’s wavering eyes, and when Seo Taerim saw his own reflection in Kim Abang’s black, shining pupils, he felt truly unsettled. It was as if the touch and sound from before were coming back to him… Seo Taerim bit his lower lip.
“…Why are you staring at me….”
At Seo Taerim’s muttering, which was unclear whether it was to himself or a question, Kim Abang made a thoughtful sound.
“Well, how should I say this… Taerim-ssi’s….”
“…Mine?”
“Taerim-ssi’s… ah, I don’t know if I should say this.”
“…Go ahead.”
“Mm… that is… my eyes always went to you….”
“…To me?”
“Yes…. to you, Taerim-ssi.”
At Kim Abang’s answer, Seo Taerim’s hand trembled slightly for some reason. He quietly evened his breath so it wouldn’t show, then met Kim Abang’s eyes again.
“…Why is that?”
“Uhm….”
When Kim Abang averted his gaze without speaking, Seo Taerim grew impatient.
“It’s fine, please tell me.”
As Seo Taerim pressured him for an answer, Kim Abang hesitated, then gave a shy smile.
“I, um, well… Taerim-ssi’s…”
What was supposed to come after “Taerim-ssi’s”? Seo Taerim’s brain cells were busy producing different opinions. Hey, maybe it’s because Seo Taerim is handsome! No, it might be because his voice is nice! Don’t be ridiculous, it’s all about the coat making him look good! What? The coat? You brat, look at how Kim Abang’s hand won’t come off his chest, it must be the chest that’s the point!
“…Taerim-ssi’s way of speaking….”
When Kim Abang mentioned his way of speaking, the brain cell that had insisted it must be his voice celebrated. See, it’s because his way of speaking is gentle and his voice is good! That cell was about to dance and beat a gong in celebration. But the words that followed left it so flustered that it hit its own head with the gong.
“Taerim-ssi’s way of speaking, it really sounds like a home shopping host, so I couldn’t help staring…!”
“…What? Like what kind of way of speaking?”
“A home shopping way of speaking! Every time I heard it, it was so, so funny that my eyes followed my ears. Every time you talked like that, Taerim-ssi, I kept wanting to look at you, so it was hard to turn my head away….”
As Kim Abang smiled sheepishly, Seo Taerim felt so dumbfounded that it was enough to bring tears to his eyes. Home shopping way of speaking! He clenched his molars tight to stop himself from crying.
“I… didn’t… know that….”
“It’s fine. It’s good that you know now!” Kim Abang said with a grin.
“Yes… I’m glad I know now….”
“Of course. There’s no such thing as being too late to learn! And all of your traits that you don’t even know yourself, I’ll remember them all for you, so don’t worry. You saw me acting earlier, right? Acting is all about having good observation skills~.”
Kim Abang chattered happily as usual.
“Is that so….”
Seo Taerim replied in a slightly drained voice. There might be no such thing as being too late to learn, but it might already be too late for someone like Seo Taerim to live a normal life. He couldn’t be sure that entering this contract relationship had been the right choice, nor could he be sure that he would be able to carry it through properly in the future….
- “Byeon Sato” is the corrupt magistrate who tries to force Chunhyang (the heroine) to sleep with him while her lover is away. He’s sleazy, greedy, and abusive, and usually portrayed in performances as a comically disgusting older man. ↩︎
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