A9 11

What’s wrong with this guy? …Ah, whatever. Eat or don’t, do what you want.

Deciding he would no longer bother with Minhyuk, who still hadn’t touched his food, Suho straightened his posture and resumed eating. Just then, the sound of clattering dishes broke out, and a plate of japchae was placed in front of him. Wondering what was going on, Suho widened his eyes and followed the hand that had set the plate down. At the end of his gaze was Minhyuk’s expressionless face.

“Eat plenty.”

“…Huh?”

“You like japchae.”

‘Eat a lot of what you like.’ Only then did Minhyuk place a sheet of seaweed over his rice and start his meal. Suho, dumbfounded, set his spoon down and stared at Minhyuk.

He couldn’t make sense of his behavior. Why was he acting like this? He could understand him putting on an act in front of their parents, but still, if he was going to behave this way, staying indifferent like usual would be more helpful. Acting out of character like this all of a sudden felt strange in more ways than one.

Overwhelmed, Suho couldn’t even swallow the food in his mouth and stole a glance at the adults to gauge their reactions.

As expected—

“Oh my, go on. Don’t mind us.”

“Haha, it’s nice to see you two getting along so well again.”

As if proud of their son, they smiled broadly, alternately looking at the two of them. The japchae in Suho’s mouth felt like it was stuck halfway down his throat. Helplessly, he forced himself to empty his bowl, enduring a far more uncomfortable meal than usual. Even as he cautiously scooped up the dessert, a bowl of iced persimmon, he had to stay mindful of the adults’ eyes.

Before long, the dessert was nearly gone.

“By the way, Suho.”

Minhyuk’s mother, Hyunju, set down her spoon after eating a bit of persimmon and spoke. When Suho met her gaze, she smiled gently, her eyes glinting with curiosity.

“You and our Minhyuk still get along well, right?”

“…Yes, of course.”

“Then shouldn’t you start preparing soon? I think it’s about time you two made things official. What do you think?”

“Official…?”

Suho trailed off with an awkward smile. Even so, Hyunju continued without hesitation.

“There’s a Christmas charity event tomorrow hosted by the Goun Foundation. You’ll attend with Minhyuk. How about it? Think of it as just saying hello to a few people.”

“Ah…”

“Is it too much pressure? Or do you already have something planned for tomorrow?”

Hyunju smiled faintly, gazing straight at him. It was that silent pressure she had always used. Suho couldn’t bring himself to respond easily. During that pause, Minhyuk’s words from before dinner flashed through his mind.

“No matter what you hear in there, just let it pass. Don’t agree or disagree. Be vague, like you always are.”

Was this what he was talking about? If so, that meant Minhyuk already knew this would come up and had warned him beforehand.

As thoughts tangled in his head, Suho bit the soft flesh inside his cheek and looked back and forth between Hyunju and Minhyuk. Once again, Minhyuk only laced his fingers together on the table and showed no particular reaction.

Realizing he wouldn’t be getting any help from him, Suho slowly lowered his head.

He knew exactly what kind of answer they wanted. A positive one. What they expected was a compliant response from his lips. This wasn’t something he could avoid just by dodging it for now. No matter how gentle and kind they seemed, their words—those of people who led an entire group—carried the cunning of at least a hundred snakes. To lure in an ordinary high school student would be nothing to them.

With an awkward smile, Suho slowly lifted his head. Just as he was about to nod as they wanted—

“Suho already has plans.”

Minhyuk released his clasped hands, gripped Suho’s wrist tightly, then let go. For some reason, he stopped Suho from answering.

“Plans?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm… But surely nothing could be more important than this event.”

“It’s much more important.”

“What kind of plans could possibly take precedence over the foundation’s event?”

“I don’t quite understand.” Hyunju smiled faintly, but her eyes darkened as she looked at her son, showing she had no intention of backing down. It was no wonder people often said Minhyuk resembled his mother more than his father.

Under that sharp gaze, anyone else might have faltered, but Minhyuk didn’t take a single step back.

“I promised to go on a date with him. From morning until late at night.”

He looked straight at Hyunju with an expressionless face.

“Really?”

“Yes. So please stop making things difficult for Suho.”

Minhyuk’s firm voice cut cleanly through the tense atmosphere that had been quietly pressing down on Suho. Hyunju tilted her head slightly as she gazed at her son, who was boldly standing up to her.

“…A sudden date between you two, huh.”

Raising one eyebrow, Hyunju shifted her gaze to Suho.

“Suho.”

“…Yes?”

“Why don’t you answer me? I didn’t quite catch it earlier. Did you really promise to go on a date with our Minhyuk that day?”

As if something about it displeased her, she shifted her focus with a noticeably different air. Suho instinctively hunched his shoulders and avoided her gaze. Though she was an Omega like him, authority seemed to flow from her naturally. It was only fitting for the head of a major foundation to carry that kind of imposing presence.

For a moment, Suho’s lips twitched as he hesitated, unsure which tune to dance to. Either choice was unpleasant, but to avoid the worst, he had to pick the lesser evil.

Just then, Minhyuk lightly tapped Suho’s thigh and pointed at himself with his index finger. He meant for Suho to choose him, not Goun’s event. It was unlike him to help, but Suho didn’t have the luxury to question his motive. He didn’t have the experience or standing to face Goun’s elders alone, so despite his reluctance, he had no choice but to cooperate with Minhyuk.  

“…Yes.”

Suho immediately followed his lead and nodded.

“I promised to spend the whole day with Minhyuk.”

…It’s Christmas, after all.

Even after saying it, Suho’s lips trembled faintly in embarrassment as he stole a glance at Minhyuk. Of course, he was acting, playing the part of a shy boy flustered by his first love. But the opponent was Goun. There was no way people who knew his every move and dealt with dozens of shameless types on a daily basis, people far bolder than him, would be fooled so easily.

A dry gulp escaped his throat from the tension. Suho lowered the shy smile tugging at the corner of his lips and looked at Hyunju. For some reason, she didn’t ask any further questions. Leaning back against her chair, she gazed fixedly at him, arms crossed, as if mulling something over in silence.

After a long pause, Hyunju finally broke the silence, her expression easing with satisfaction. Junseong, who had remained silent the whole time, also wiped his mouth with the linen napkin resting on his knee and gave a small nod.

“It’s definitely more important than the event. It’s your last Christmas before becoming an adult, after all.”

“Now that you mention it, introducing them during the New Year’s event wouldn’t be bad either.”

“Right, that would be a better atmosphere for something family-oriented.”

“You’ll come that day, won’t you, Suho?”

As the adults spoke, Suho found himself nodding before he even realized it. Then, mimicking Junseong, he used his napkin to cover the awkward twitch at the corner of his mouth and let out a quiet sigh of relief. Fortunately, even though they clearly knew their son was lying, they chose to turn a blind eye with benevolent smiles. Whether that leniency would end up digging his own grave was still uncertain, but well… better to let sleeping dogs lie. If anything happened, Kang Minhyuk would handle it somehow.

“By the way, dinner ended earlier than expected. You’re not going straight home, are you? We should probably head back to the company… Ah, yes, why don’t the two of you grab a cup of coffee together?”

Hyunju spoke, her gaze lingering meaningfully on Suho. Junseong, too, smiled faintly, clearly pleased with how the meal had gone, as he looked back and forth between Minhyuk and Suho. As always, Suho nodded at their suggestion. They had a habit of ending every meal with coffee, and today, he thought, would be no different. If anything, it was even better since the adults wouldn’t be there. After all, Minhyuk wasn’t the type to sit down and have a cozy cup of coffee with him.

Once Suho agreed, the gathering was wrapped up in no time. Especially Hyunju, who said it was a shame to part ways so soon, pulled Suho into a firm hug before getting into the car. The car carrying the adults left the restaurant as if they suddenly had urgent business. Suho waved diligently until their vehicle disappeared from view.

“Let’s go.”

Minhyuk walked past him and headed toward his car. Suho nodded at his words but still pulled out his phone to call a taxi home. Just as he habitually opened the taxi app and entered the pickup location—

“What are you doing?”

“What do you think? Calling a taxi to go home.”

“Why are you calling one?”

“What, are you gonna drive me home yourself?”

If that’s the case, then I’d save money, so thanks.

Suho chuckled faintly, assuming that’s what Minhyuk meant, and hurried toward his car, careful not to give him a chance to change his mind. Minhyuk raised one eyebrow and tilted his head slightly, looking somewhat displeased by Suho’s quick reaction, but Suho ignored it and climbed right into the car.

When Minhyuk sat beside him and signaled toward the driver’s seat, the car began to glide forward smoothly. Suho rubbed his full stomach, smiling in quiet satisfaction. Minhyuk, watching the slight curl of his lips, finally spoke.

“We’re not going home.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You heard her say we should go to a café, even if it was just the two of us.”