A9 13

At a glance, the fluffy bread, the fresh cream melting softly over it, and the strawberries prettily dusted with powdered sugar made his mouth water. He didn’t love the idea of having to share this, but he still carefully divided the bread into bite-sized pieces, neatly placed a strawberry on top, and brought it to his mouth.

He opened his small mouth as wide as he could to eat the sweet soufflé in one big bite, but at that moment, his eyes met Minhyuk’s.

“……”

He froze before he even realized it. Suho slowly closed his open mouth and frowned in displeasure.

“Hey, let me eat comfortably too. Huh? You said you’d let me go after I finish this.”

“When did I ever tell you not to eat?”

“Look at your eyes. It’s not like you poisoned this or something. Do you really need to be that persistent?”

“……”

Instead of answering, Minhyuk took a sip of his Americano. He set his cup down and crossed his arms again, staring off at an employee in the distance, as if declaring that he had no intention of responding.

What an infuriating person. Suho irritably shoved a piece of soufflé cake into his mouth and glared at Minhyuk.

To end this situation as quickly as possible, he chewed diligently and sipped at the cold Earl Grey tea, and before he knew it, half of the soufflé cake was gone. Feeling both pleased and regretful, he twitched the corner of his mouth.

Buzz— Buzz—

His once-quiet pocket vibrated. Suho pulled out his phone with a bored expression and checked the screen.

[Lee Jaeyoung]

…Why is this guy calling me? Suho frowned faintly at the unwelcome name and stared at the screen. Even as he did, he neatly swallowed the remaining cake in his mouth and took a couple of sips of Earl Grey tea. He considered ignoring it, but with the college entrance counseling matter and the thought of settling the karma he had built up, he figured exchanging a few words would not hurt. It would probably last no more than thirty seconds anyway.

Only after his mouth felt clean did Suho raise his thumb toward the screen. But then—

“What are you doing?”

For some reason, Minhyuk’s sharp voice halted his movement. As if that weren’t enough, Minhyuk even uncrossed his arms, which had seemed glued in place, and leaned toward him. But Suho was not someone who would back down because of that.

“What do you think?”

Suho showed the phone screen to Minhyuk without hesitation. Being held here by him was annoying, so this small act of rebellion felt satisfying. And sure enough—

“Im Suho.”

Minhyuk furrowed his brows in displeasure and warned him in a low voice. Suho ignored him completely and brought the vibrating phone to his ear. Then, as if taunting him, he extended his index finger and pressed it lightly to his lips, scrunching his nose.

“Shh, be quiet. I’m going to take the call.”

The call connected at that exact moment.

“Hello?”

[…Huh?]

A startled voice came through, as if he had never expected Suho to actually answer.

[S-Suho, it’s Jaeyoung… Hi.]

“Yeah, why’d you call?”

[…Can you talk right now?]

His voice was as cautious as ever. Suho did not even have to imagine it. He could clearly picture Jaeyoung gripping his phone with both hands and nervously gauging the reaction he could not see. It was not particularly welcome, but reminding himself once again that this too was for settling his karma, he nodded.

“Yeah, I can.”

[…Ah… Thank god. Are you maybe doing something right n—]

It happened then.

“If you need more drinks or cake, order more. You’ve almost finished it.”

Out of nowhere, Minhyuk lifted his fork and gathered the mangled pieces of the soufflé cake together in the center. His tone was flat, yet somehow grating. Instantly, Jaeyoung’s voice on the other end cut off. It seemed that the fact that Suho and Minhyuk were together on Christmas Eve bothered him. Suho had a feeling a headache was coming. He scrunched up his face and silently mouthed words at Minhyuk.

‘Shut up.’

“I do not know what you are whispering, but is it not rude to answer a call without first excusing yourself to the person in front of you? What country’s etiquette is that supposed to be?”

‘Hey, quiet…!’

“Speak properly, Im Suho. I can’t understand a word you’re mumbling.”

Minhyuk, who had been poking at the cake, set his fork down and looked at Suho. His gaze was sharper than before, the kind that made people lose their words. Suho confronted him with a glare and pulled the phone slightly away from his ear. As if waiting for this moment, Jaeyoung’s voice came through again.

[Suho.]

“…Lee Jaeyoung. I’ll call you back in a bit, so hang up for a momen—”

[That voice just now, who was it?]

“…Huh?”

[Is it Kang Minhyuk?]

He spoke in a voice that was no longer gentle, one Suho was hearing for the first time. Even over the phone, it was clear his face was expressionless. Who knew he could get angry, this Jaeyoung who was always busy gauging Suho’s mood.

“Say something that makes sense. Why would I be with Kang Minhyuk…”

[So it is.]

“…It’s not.”

[You talk ridiculously fast when you’re flustered, you know. Like right now.]

At the sudden sharpness in his voice, Suho clamped his mouth shut, clearly taken aback. He hadn’t expected Jaeyoung to react like this at all. Meanwhile, Minhyuk, seemingly pleased by Suho’s fluster, raised both corners of his mouth in a rare smile.

“It sounds like an important call. Go outside and take it.”

“……”

“Babe.”

…F*ck. This crazy bastard.

“Lee Jaeyoung, I’m hanging up for a moment.”

With an icy glare fixed on Minhyuk, Suho ended the call.

“Kang Minhyuk.”

“What?”

“What the hell are you doing?”

“What do you mean?”

Minhyuk tilted his head as if he truly had no idea. The sight was so infuriating that Suho clenched his teeth.

“Why are you butting into my call out of nowhere, and calling me ba… Ha, seriously, I’m speechless.”

“Maybe the problem is that you answered the call first.”

“…Why are you acting like this. Huh? What exactly is your problem? You’re doing things you’ve never done before.”

“And you. What do you think you’re doing, with your fiancé sitting right in front of you?”

Minhyuk stared straight at Suho without blinking.

“If you want to cheat with some other guy, then do it out of my sight. At the very least, go outside to take the call. Even if it’s just a relationship in name only, how do you think it makes me feel when you answer a call like that right in front of me?”

“…Ha.”

“Don’t just glare. Answer me, Im Suho.”

He leaned forward, lifting one corner of his mouth.

“And didn’t I tell you to behave yourself? If you keep acting like this, I won’t have a choice but to step in.”

At those words, anger surged up in Suho. He wanted to punch that relaxed-looking Minhyuk right this instant, but the fact that he couldn’t made him bite the inside of his cheek in frustration. His breathing grew rougher than before. Minhyuk let out a small laugh, as if he liked seeing Suho fuming.

“Be out in front of your house by eleven tomorrow morning. I’ll come pick you up.”

“You’re saying something like that even now?”

“You’re the one who agreed when I said we’d spend the whole day on a date with me. You need to take responsibility for what you said.”

“…Crazy bastard.”

Unable to hold it in any longer, Suho shot to his feet and glared down at Minhyuk. His small clenched fist trembled, and at this rate, he really might hit him. Still brimming with anger yet unable to swing that fist, Suho glared at him once more before hastily fleeing the spot.

“Just show your face tomorrow and see what happens. I’ll sock you the moment I see you.”

“You sure know how to joke now.”

“If it sounds like a joke, try me.”

“I will.”

See you tomorrow, Im Suho.                                                                 

Responding casually, Minhyuk followed the retreating Suho with his eyes. At some point, Suho had already strode far away, swinging the door open roughly and stomping his feet as if to take his anger out somewhere. Even with all that bristling displeasure, Minhyuk didn’t stop him. Instead, he spoke quietly to Secretary Kim, who had been waiting.

“Secretary Kim, please take Suho home first. I’ll leave in a little while.”

“Yes, young master.”

“If Suho leaves the house again after getting home, contact me immediately. And also inform me if the light in his room goes off.”

As always, without Im Suho knowing. Minhyuk watched Suho hail a taxi by himself and took a sip of his Americano, whose ice had completely melted. The bitter yet watery taste lingered on his tongue. It was a taste he should have found unpleasant, but somehow it felt refreshing.

* * *

Tap tap—

Suho tapped the tired corners of his eyes and flopped onto the bed without care. Normally, he would have changed into pajamas the moment he got home, but after being tormented by Minhyuk for hours, he didn’t have the energy to care. He wriggled out of his coat and tossed the crumpled heap under the bed. Then, out of habit, he pulled out his phone to check the time.

9:45 p.m. It was later than he expected. Realizing he had spent nearly four uncomfortable hours in that place drained the strength from his body. Maybe he should just sleep. Yeah, that didn’t sound so bad. Suho rolled onto his side and dropped his phone beside his pillow. And then—

Bzz— Bzz—

As if perfectly timed, the phone vibrated. He lifted his gaze slightly and saw Lee Jaeyoung’s name filling the screen. Even as the vibration continued over and over, Suho simply stared at the display without showing any intention of actually answering. Right now, whether it was Lee Jaeyoung or Kang Minhyuk, he wanted to forget all of them and just rest. …But he shouldn’t do that, should he, not after already ignoring one call. That one time alone had probably piled up enough karma for not just today but an entire month.

Suho let out a deep sigh and had a staring contest with the screen. In the end, Suho was the one who lost.