A9 18

In the first place, he did not even know the address of Minhyuk’s house, where he was staying, so how could he afford to order delivery, let alone food from Goun’s restaurant.

Finding something odd, he looked over the paper again, and that was when the name in the payment information caught his eye. Even with asterisks in the middle, it read naturally.

“So that’s where you went… A nearby hotel, huh.”

Suho lifted the paper to eye level and tapped lightly over the name. The fact that he was doing something so unlike himself struck him as oddly amusing. Dropping the paper back down, Suho picked up the neatly arranged trays on the trolley with both hands and walked into the room. He set the trays on the table and pulled away the linen covering them, and an array of appetizing dishes appeared in all their splendor. It seemed some thought had been put into them; every dish was made up entirely of things that suited his tastes.

After wiping his hands with the wet tissue provided, Suho picked up the cutlery, then hesitated and set it back down. He wanted to eat right away, but there was something he needed to do first. He took out his phone and neatly photographed the food. Then he opened his gallery to check the pictures and, apparently pleased, gave a small nod.

“The presentation’s clean, so it’s not bad.”

As expected of Goun. Murmuring softly, Suho tapped on his phone screen. Then, as if something was bothering him, he let out a quiet “Hmm” and, with a reluctant expression, pressed the contacts icon. Thanks to the name, Kang Minhyuk appeared right on the first page. After hesitating several times, Suho pressed and held his number, bringing up the message and call icons.

“…Forget it. We’re not close enough to be making friendly phone calls.”

Especially not after what had happened earlier. Suho shuddered slightly and lightly tapped the message icon. A clean, empty message window appeared, as if proving that they had never exchanged a single message before. Suho stared at Minhyuk’s message window for a long while, frowning. When it came to actually sending him a message saying he would enjoy the meal, his fingers refused to move.

“Still, I should send something out of courtesy. …If it weren’t food, I wouldn’t even be contacting him.”

No matter how strained their relationship was, this was basic courtesy. Suho puckered his lips, clearly unwilling. But since he was unexpectedly serious when it came to food, he also wanted to show proper manners for being treated to such a meal. After several rounds of hesitation, Suho loaded the photo he had taken earlier into the message window and immediately pressed send. 

He had not written a single word, but this should be enough. Why bother writing something like ‘I will enjoy the meal’ when things were awkward between them anyway. Either way, he had sent the photo, so now it was finally time to eat in peace.

Suho pulled out the chopsticks and spoon from the rolled-up linen. He took a spoonful of dried radish soup, then picked up a piece of soy sauce marinated grilled ribs and carefully took a bite. The moment he did, he had no choice but to nod, brows deeply furrowed. It was far better than he had imagined. The rich meat juices and soy sauce seasoning flooded his mouth to the point that it was hard to believe it was delivered food.

“Wow… It’s really delicious.”

Moved by the taste, Suho clapped his hands a few times and kept his chopsticks moving without rest.

He could not even remember how long it had been since he last ate without bothering with table manners. Stuffing his mouth full of food and chewing felt this blissful. On top of that, it tasted incredible. This was practically a feast straight out of a fantasy.

It was when he had emptied about half of his rice bowl—

Bzzz—

The phone he had left on the table vibrated. When he glanced at the screen, he saw that a message had arrived.

[Kang Minhyuk: If it’s not enough, order more.]

“…Does he think I’m some kind of pig?”

Suho glared at Minhyuk’s message and set his chopsticks down with a sharp clack. After swallowing the food he had been chewing, he tapped the screen with his index finger and sent a reply.

[Me: ㅗ^^ㅗ]

There was no way warm, friendly messages would exist between them. After finishing dinner, Suho spent his time leisurely sipping iced tea. He wanted to go home right away, but he could not, knowing the adults’ watchful eyes would still be lingering. He figured it would be fine if he hung around until about nine o’clock before leaving. By then, there would be no repercussions. Having wrapped up his thoughts lightly, Suho moved his feet toward the bed. He shoved the heavily wrinkled blanket aside and sat down, took a sip of the iced tea in his hand, then flopped down onto the bed. Passing time like this, he oddly felt as if he were on a solo hotel vacation. Even though the location itself was unpleasant, it was not too bad after eating. Ah, of course, excluding the part where he had rubbed lips with Minhyuk. 

As Suho lay on the bed, spacing out, he suddenly felt like he was forgetting something. Judging by the fact that he couldn’t remember it until now, it probably wasn’t something important.

…What was it that he was forgetting? Staring up at the spotless ceiling, Suho narrowed his eyes slightly. Just as he continued to think hard—

“Whatever, it’s probably nothing.”

He brushed aside whatever he could not remember as something trivial.

…Unfortunately, that was exactly when he should have remembered.

* * *

Before he knew it, the new year had arrived, and he was turning twenty for the first time in his life. If he had not transmigrated, he would have been twenty-three. Still, maybe because he had gone through his senior year of high school twice, the feeling of getting older was not so bad.

Becoming an adult did not change anything in particular. Until the college acceptance results came out, all he did was laze around in bed with desperate determination, as if making up for all the time he had not been able to fool around before. He thought he must have looked pathetic. When his parents returned home after a year away, they called him over, sat him down, and seriously asked for his opinion. They said things like how about doing something, if he wanted, they could arrange an office part-time job at Dayul Hospital, and that studying management would not be a bad idea, so he should give it a try. Suho, of course, listened with one ear and let it all pass out the other. He justified himself thoroughly, thinking that after going through the entrance exam grind twice, it would be unfair if he could not even rest this much. Fortunately, after that day, there was no further interference. Perhaps it was because it was the new year, the hospital was busy internally, and there were many events to attend.  

Time passed like that, and January 16 arrived. Now well into mid-January, Suho was once again rolling around on his bed with full enthusiasm. Then, suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. Was he being too carefree? And why was everything around him so quiet? Times like this were usually when something tends to happen…

“…Is it really okay for me to be eating and fooling around like this?”

Feeling inexplicably uneasy, Suho rolled onto his side and pouted.

“I don’t know, it’ll work out somehow. It’s just one month of slacking off, so let’s relax and enjoy it.”

Yeah, if the author had any conscience, they would leave him alone. What could possibly happen just because he played around a little? Forcing himself to calm down, Suho pulled the blanket toward him. Just as he dragged it all the way up over his head, as if trying to erase his stray thoughts—

Bzzz— Bzzz—

The phone he had set beside him vibrated. Lowering the blanket and checking the screen, Suho tilted his head in confusion. The caller was none other than his older brother, Im Suhyeon, who should have been extremely busy.

“…What the. Why is hyung calling at this hour?”

Suho stared at the screen, head tilted. It made sense for him to be confused. Suhyeon was a second-year medical student, constantly buried in studying. He was the kind of person who would not even look at his phone at this time, yet here he was calling out of the blue. Wondering if something urgent had happened, Suho answered the call with a serious expression.

“Hello?”

[Hey, Im Suho. Are you all ready? I’ll be heading over to pick you up in a bit.]

At the unexpected words, Suho tilted his head to the side.

“Why would hyung come pick me up when I’m just staying put?”

[You’re having a meal with Kang Minhyuk today, just the two of you, right?]

“…What?”

[And since Secretary Park can’t make it, I’m the one taking you there.]

“……”

What did I just hear? Who’s eating with whom? Me, with Kang Minhyuk? No, what kind of nonsense is that?

At the sudden notice, Suho scrunched up his face in confusion. Oblivious to this, Suhyeon continued in an indifferent tone.

[What do you mean ‘what’? Why are you reacting like that? Didn’t you hear anything about it?]

“…There’s no way I would have. I’ve been holed up in my room all day, just rolling around doing nothing.”

[Whatever. I’m driving, so I’m hanging up. Get ready quickly, at least now.]

“Hyung, wait…!”

Click—

The moment the call ended, Suho lowered the phone from his ear and let out a hollow laugh as he stared at the ended call screen.

What the hell had been discussed without him? And what was with this sudden talk about a meal? Was this their way of messing with him just because he had been keeping a low profile these past few days? Even so. Kang Minhyuk, and alone with him at that? It was already awkward enough seeing Kang Minhyuk after what happened last time, so what, a meal together? 

“…Damn it.”

Suho crumpled his face and quickly opened the message window to send Minhyuk a text.

[Me: Hey.]

[Me: Hey.]

[Me: Kang Minhyuk.]

[Me: Hey.]

No matter how many messages he sent, there was no reply, even though the read receipt clearly appeared.

“…Huh. Is he really leaving me on read right now? How dare he?”

Suho, who had been abusing his innocent phone, let out a dry laugh and glared at Minhyuk’s name on the screen. He had never been left on read by anyone before, and now it was happening with Kang Minhyuk. Feeling both indignant and stubborn for no good reason, Suho straightened his posture and started tapping the keypad again.

[Me: If you leave me on read again, I’m telling Lee Jaeyoung that we rubbed lips, ㅇㅇ¹Casual internet slang meaning “yeah,” “okay,” or “got it.”.]

[Me: I’ll make sure everyone everywhere hears about it ^^!]

Ending with a cringeworthy emoticon, he quickly pressed the send button. It was petty, but so what? There was no method more effective than this.

Sure enough.

[Kang Minhyuk: What.]

A reply came back from Minhyuk immediately.

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  Casual internet slang meaning “yeah,” “okay,” or “got it.”