F Side Story 3

One, two, three, four… eleven, twelve. Twelve side dishes. The main was blue crab stew.
Yeonho tilted his head. Was it just his imagination, or had the number of side dishes been increasing by one every time he came back from the hospital?

Siwoo’s extravagant dinners always circled back into Yeonho’s own worries over what to make for breakfast the next day. The kinds of food that could be whipped up quickly before work were limited. What on earth was he supposed to prepare tomorrow?

“Hyung, don’t be surprised if I’m not next to you when you wake up tomorrow. I might be up at dawn making dumplings.”

“If you do it alone, I’ll feel left out and lonely. Unless you want to make dumplings with me from the crack of dawn, don’t bother. Who are those dumplings even for?”

Siwoo pinched Yeonho’s cheek and shook it gently, then filled the cup in front of him with water.

Before they started living together, during the private ceremony where they exchanged vows, they made a promise: the no-refusing-to-eat-together pact. No matter how upset or at odds they might be, they would always share meals together.

Because once you can’t even stand the sight of someone eating, there’s no turning back. Even when angry, they would eat together and remember how lovable the other still was.

Yeonho decided on a salmon salad for breakfast, he placed his feet over Siwoo’s large ones and said,

“Thanks. I’ll eat well. I’ll make something delicious over the weekend, so tell me what you want.”

Siwoo nodded. Sometimes Yeonho still found it hard to believe that he and Siwoo had become the kind of family that could sit down to dinner together after work. There had been a time when he was forced to come home early, eat with Seong Junhee, and spend time with him afterward.

But now, with each day spent with Siwoo, those memories were fading. Maybe one day, they would resurface and he’d feel nothing at all.

As he thought about how soft the soles of Yeonho’s feet felt atop his own, Siwoo said,

“I met the new guy who moved in next door earlier. He asked if I could check the water noise because it’s really loud on his side.”

“He hears something from his place even though we don’t hear anything here? That’s odd. Did you go inside?”

“No. I didn’t. It’s dangerous to enter a stranger’s place carelessly.”

“Good. You’re too pretty to be following just anyone around.”

Yeonho rubbed his soles affectionately over the tops of Siwoo’s feet. The endless stream of “you’re pretty”s was finally starting to take effect.

After brushing his teeth, Yeonho, as the head and owner of the house, was about to head out to deal with the potential neighbor dispute caused by wall noise. Naturally, Siwoo trailed after him.

“Let me come with you. A young guy lives there.”

“….”

Just as he was about to slip on his slippers, Yeonho froze and stared at Siwoo as if he were seeing him for the first time. His eyes scanned Siwoo’s handsome face, his gaze screaming, You are definitely not coming with me. Siwoo hesitated, unsure whether he should put on his shoes. But Yeonho quickly chuckled and waved a hand.

“I’ll go alone. Just turn on the water when I call, okay? Please?”

At that, Siwoo’s expression turned sour and he grabbed Yeonho’s face with both hands. When he tilted his head to the right, Yeonho’s face tilted in the same direction. When he tilted it the other way, Yeonho’s face followed again.

Blinking slowly, Siwoo decided to just come out with the thought in his head.

“Yeonho-ya. Do you think I have jealousy issues?”

“What?”

“Like, not letting you go alone for something like this… is it creepy?”

Caught off guard by Siwoo’s sudden self-awareness, Yeonho shook his head and answered calmly.

“I’m not sure if you have a jealousy complex or not. But whenever you’ve been suspicious of me, there was always a reason. If anything, I think you’re the opposite.”

Siwoo smiled in relief at Yeonho’s words. He had no intention of letting go of his clinging obsession with Yeonho, but he did want to stay just within the line, clingy enough to be tolerable. Kim Siwoo was a man who lived with the chronic fear that Joo Yeonho might leave him. He couldn’t help it.

But then, Yeonho’s smile vanished, and his voice turned serious.

“But I definitely do have jealousy issues. That’s why I’m the one going.”

He pushed Siwoo back with both hands and stepped outside alone. Just before the door shut, Yeonho stuck his head back in and shouted,

“I don’t want you showing your face to the neighbors!”

Siwoo hung his head, stifling a laugh as he nodded.

“Alright. I’ll be careful.”

“I’m mentally unstable. Be warned.”

Leaving that message behind, Yeonho turned to ring the neighbor’s bell. A man’s voice came from the intercom, and Yeonho responded,

“Hi, I’m from next door.”

The door opened, and a man stepped out. The moment he saw the unfamiliar face, Yeonho understood immediately why Siwoo had avoided handling this himself. The man who’d moved in next door was, as Siwoo had said, young, and quite good-looking. About Yeonho’s height and build.

Yeonho said,

“My roommate told me about the noise issue.”

“Yes, come on in. But… did you come alone?”

The man peered over Yeonho’s shoulder, clearly looking for Siwoo. Yeonho answered that he was alone and followed him inside.

There was only one pair of shoes at the entrance, and looking briefly at the still-unpacked boxes, it seemed this man lived alone. It was unusual to live solo in a place this size. The home Yeonho had chosen for himself and Siwoo was already a bit too big for just the two of them.

Yeonho’s eyes narrowed slightly. The man smelled… familiar. Musk and vanilla. The same scent Siwoo used.

Then, hearing the music playing from the living room speaker, Yeonho gave a dry laugh. It was an instrumental track Siwoo often played while driving. Had someone with similar tastes to Siwoo just coincidentally moved in next door?

Forcing down his tangled feelings, Yeonho smiled warmly and called Siwoo.

“Hey, hyung. Can you try running the water at the sink?”

While he spoke, his eyes wandered over the scattered belongings. Stacks of English books sat in front of an empty bookshelf, and on top of them, a university graduation album. From the very school Siwoo had graduated from in the States.

If this was all just coincidence, it was the kind that made you cry from jealousy. A painfully enviable kind of fate.

Back at home, Yeonho turned Siwoo away from the sink, pressed his lips to his, and kissed him deeply. Siwoo raised his rubber-gloved hands to avoid dripping water on Yeonho, tilting his head to receive the soft tongue that slid into his mouth. As their breaths and saliva tangled, Yeonho smoothly peeled off Siwoo’s gloves.

By the time Siwoo regained awareness, the gloves were on Yeonho’s hands, and his own hands were grabbing Yeonho’s butt. Yeonho sucked hard on Siwoo’s lower lip, then gently pushed him aside and began washing the dishes himself.

Siwoo didn’t caught Yeonho’s deeper intent, he looked down sheepishly at the hands that had instinctively sought out pleasure. He wanted to say something to Yeonho, who was being cheeky as ever, but ended up pulling out a new pair of gloves and standing beside him. That’s when Yeonho spoke.

“Go rest. You worked hard making all this food.”

“Says the one who piled up this mountain of dishes making a bunch of unscheduled side dishes. I do have a conscience, you know. Just because I act like I don’t doesn’t mean I actually don’t.”

Siwoo playfully bit Yeonho’s cheek. Yeonho gave in with a sigh and stepped aside to give him space. The best part about their newlywed home was the wide kitchen sink.

They fell into a natural rhythm, with Yeonho scrubbing the dishes with soap and Siwoo rinsing them. Their synchronicity was uncanny. Midway through, Yeonho began to tell Siwoo about what had happened next door.

“You can’t hear anything like water noise from over there. He said he probably mistook it for sounds from the unit upstairs. He apologized for the trouble.”

“That’s good. At least we don’t need to get any construction done.”

“But hyung…”

Yeonho didn’t stop washing as he spoke. He planned to tell Siwoo everything odd he had seen in that apartment. From now on, he didn’t want to hide any thoughts that stirred specific emotions in him. It was for his sake, and for Siwoo’s. They had promised to live that way.

“Do you happen to know the guy who moved in next door?”

“Me?”

Siwoo looked at him, genuinely surprised. Yeonho turned off the tap and looked at Siwoo with loving eyes. He wasn’t accusing him. He wasn’t even suspicious. In fact, he was glad that his heart was pounding this wildly with discomfort.

He wanted his emotions to be shaken by the thought that Siwoo might have ties to someone else. Just like when he’d first fallen in love, he wanted to burn with jealousy forever. He wanted to always be that person to Siwoo, too.