SYM 138 Side Story End

“Ah, so you’re saying Cheong-un, your friend, went to China with our Eun-hyeon this time?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

I was on edge watching Cheong-un answer with an unconcerned face.

As soon as Noona came home, she left Haneul with me and immediately started cooking.

No matter how much I told her I would order delivery, she wouldn’t budge.

While Noona was cooking, I bathed Haneul and fed him snacks.

Maybe it was because he had so much fun playing in the playground, or maybe it was the effect of the simplified cleansing ritual Cheong-un gave him, but Haneul fell sound asleep before dinner.

I went to the table when I was told dinner was ready and was shocked. The table was set with a twelve-course meal fit for a king.

It seemed she had put extra effort in because there was a guest, but it felt excessive. I was amazed at how she had prepared all of this in such a short time.

“But how did you end up traveling to China with our Eun-hyeon? I couldn’t get in touch with Eun-hyeon, so I was so worried…”

“Ah, I apologize. It seems there wasn’t an opportunity to contact you with the sudden change in schedule.”

“Still, even so… your family at home worries.”

“Haha, I’ll be careful in the future.”

“In the future?”

Noona’s eyebrows furrowed at the words “in the future.”

I was startled and looked at Cheong-un, but Cheong-un, seemingly oblivious, smiled cheerfully and nodded.

“It seems Master hasn’t said anything yet. The sudden trip to China this time was all because of this. Master’s proposal was selected for the joint Korean-Chinese national project this time.”

“Huh?”

I stared at Cheong-un with my mouth open at the words I was hearing for the first time. But Cheong-un began to rattle on.

“I knew Eun-hyeon was amazing, but I didn’t think he was this amazing. I heard that it’s unprecedented for an undergraduate to achieve something like this. However, I couldn’t tell you because the project itself is confidential and it was carried out so suddenly.”

“Is that true?”

“Yes, of course. You’d be even more surprised if you knew how big this project was, but it’s a shame I can’t tell you the details because it’s confidential. This was chosen purely on merit, which makes Master even more amazing.”

I wondered if that kind of story would work, but surprisingly, it did.

“Oh, my, oh, my. Our Eun-hyeon… Eun-hyeon, Noona didn’t even know…”

Noona’s face turned red, and her voice grew louder.

Seeing her glance at me with the high-pitched voice she only showed when she was dating Brother-in-law, I couldn’t bring myself to face her and turned my head away.

Then, Noona looked at Cheong-un instead of me.

“If it’s confidential, you don’t have to say the details. We were just worried about whether Eun-hyeon was safe and if anything had happened. But does that mean you’ll have to go to China again in the future?”

“Since this project itself was made possible by Master’s proposal, it can’t be done without Master. You’ll probably have to stay in China until the project is completed.”

“You mean such a big project can’t proceed without our Eun-hyeon?”

“Of course. This is something that involves several cities in China, including Beijing, Hefei, and Xi’an, and it’s no exaggeration to say that the success of this project depends on Master.”

“Oh, my… Our Eun-hyeon isn’t in good health, I wonder if he can do such a thing. There’s the hospital he goes to, and we have to keep checking on his condition.”

“Don’t worry, Noona. I’ll stick right next to Eun-hyeon and take care of his health. Just trust me.”

“But, while it’s amazing that Eun-hyeon was chosen, how did your friend Cheong-un get to go with him?”

Noona seemed to have fallen for Cheong-un’s words, but she asked a sharp question.

Cheong-un flinched for a moment but smiled as if nothing was wrong.

“That’s because I’m Chinese. I was chosen to provide local guidance and translation in China.”

“Ah…! I see. You’re Chinese. I didn’t know at all because you speak Korean so well.”

I glared at Cheong-un slightly and then let out a sigh.

Cheong-un’s lie was completely unexpected, but thankfully, it made Noona understand.

After that, Noona and Cheong-un talked for a long time.

I felt strange seeing Cheong-un, Noona, and Brother-in-law sitting together, even exchanging jokes.

Cheong-un wasn’t a real-world being, but he blended in naturally as if he had been there from the beginning.

The people I love gathered in one place.

Sharing a meal while chatting amicably with each other.

All of this felt like a dream.

“If Master doesn’t contact you in the future, I’ll contact you, Noona. And even if I can’t contact you, please don’t worry too much. Since this is a matter between countries, there may be times when we can’t contact the outside world at all.”

“Okay, I trust you, Cheong-un. Our Eun-hyeon may not seem like it on the outside, but he’s actually a softie on the inside. He doesn’t talk about it even when he’s having a hard time.”

“I will take good care of Master.”

Cheong-un exchanged all sorts of stories with Noona.

After dinner, Noona even brought out alcohol.

I felt uneasy when someone who barely drank once or twice a year drank alcohol for two days in a row.

I wondered if Noona was drinking like this because of me.

“Eun-hyeon…”

“Noona, you seem drunk. Stop drinking now.”

Noona drank much faster than usual today.

“It’s because it’s hard for me to say it while I’m still sober.”

Noona emptied another glass of alcohol.

I frowned and cleared all the beer bottles in front of Noona.

“What are you trying to say?”

“…Noona understands everything.”

I blankly asked back at the nonsensical words, and suddenly, Noona hugged me tightly.

“You, you, poor thing. Noona understands everything! Noona is on your side! What’s wrong with a man liking a man! It can happen.”

“…Huh?”

“Hey, Cheong-un.”

Noona hugged me and stroked my hair, then suddenly called Cheong-un.

“You! Just because you’re handsome and good-looking, if you make our Eun-hyeon cry, I won’t let you get away with it.”

“Noona, why are you suddenly like this…”

“Hic, Eun-hyeon… Still, Noona is proud of you. You even introduced me to the person you’re dating, how hard has it been for you all this time? Noona understands everything! Even if everyone in the world doesn’t understand, Noona is on your side! Huh? I’m on your side! Only Noona! Is on your side!”

My mind went blank.

How did Noona know?

When I looked at Brother-in-law with a blank expression, Brother-in-law scratched the back of his head with an awkward expression.

“Eun-hyeon, I’m sorry. This person happened to see you and your friend together on the veranda yesterday… She’s been a bit confused since then. Me and Eun-mi don’t hate you for that, so don’t misunderstand.”

“What? Who’s saying something to our Eun-hyeon? Is it you? Did you say something to Eun-hyeon for being gay?”

Noona, who was already a wonderful dog because she was drunk, pointed her finger at Brother-in-law.

My face turned red, and I couldn’t lift my head.

Oh my god.

Did she see me kissing Cheong-un?

It was night, so she wouldn’t have been able to see well.

“Eun-hyeon, and Cheong-un. I’m sorry. This person is too drunk, so I have to put her to bed. You two can sleep here, so do as you please.”

Brother-in-law picked up Noona in his arms. Noona, drunk, mumbled something incomprehensible, but the words “Eun-hyeon is gay” kept coming out.

“W, we’ll get up and leave now. We have something to do…”

“Ah, then just leave it as it is without cleaning up. Eun-hyeon, okay? I’ll put this person to bed first and then clean up.”

I grabbed Cheong-un’s hand and stood up.

I felt sorry for leaving the cleanup to Brother-in-law, but I was too embarrassed to stay here any longer.

“Then we’ll be going now. Cheong-un, let’s go.”

I rushed out as if running away.

I walked aimlessly holding Cheong-un’s hand, and the place I arrived at was the Hangang Park.

I had thought about coming here with Cheong-un once, but I didn’t know I would come like this.

The Han River was full of people even at night.

You couldn’t see the stars in the night sky of the city, but instead, you could see the sparkling night view.

“…The place where Master lived is truly mysterious.”

“Haha, it’s very different, right? But it has a different charm from the Central Plains.”

“That’s right. It’s splendid and beautiful.”

A cool river breeze brushed my forehead.

“Are you alright?”

“Huh? I, I’m fine. It’s just… I’m embarrassed. Sorry.”

I felt like I was going to die of embarrassment a while ago, but after a little time passed, I came to my senses.

“It wasn’t a pretty picture, but still, it became known and acknowledged by Noona and Brother-in-law.”

I chuckled as I looked at the rippling black river water.

I introduced the person I love to Noona.

Thinking that, my heavy heart lightened.

On the one hand, I felt like I had put down a heavy burden.

“All of this feels like a dream. Introducing you, Cheong-un, to Noona, and sitting here with you like this itself feels like an unbelievable miracle.”

“It must be a wish come true. If there’s one time, there’s two times, and then there’s the next time.”

Cheong-un stroked my hair and whispered.

In that moment, I realized that it was time for this amazing magic to end.

When I raised my head, Cheong-un smiled softly.

It was a smile as if he knew all my feelings. I bit my lip tightly as I watched it.

“…Really? Since we met once, could we meet again?”

“Of course. Of course, we will.”

I hugged Cheong-un tightly.

It was time to wake up from the dream.

* * *

“Cheong-un!”

Eun-hyeon woke up from his sleep, opened his eyes, and immediately called Cheong-un.

“What’s wrong?”

Cheong-un’s voice was heard right next to the bed. When I peeked out, I met Cheong-un’s eyes, who was sitting on a chair and writing something.

“Did you sleep well? You were sleeping so soundly that I didn’t wake you up so you could get some rest.”

“Cheong-un, your necklace seems to be really effective.”

Cheong-un smiled at Eun-hyeon’s words.

“Did you have a good dream?”

“Yeah. A really good dream! It was a dream where my wish came true. You came to where I lived and saw Noona and Haneul. You actually gave Haneul a simplified cleansing ritual. And…”

For a moment, Eun-hyeon stared at the air with dreamy eyes, then looked at Cheong-un and smiled.

“I was also able to introduce you to Noona as the person I love. I guess that was what I wanted to do the most. It was such a happy dream that I didn’t want to wake up.”

“You had so much fun there, so now you have to play with me.”

“Hahaha, yeah. You were wearing jeans there, Cheong-un, and you looked really cool. Ah, jeans are…”

Eun-hyeon recalled the dream and chattered for a long time.

It was a long time later that he saw a neatly folded pair of jeans placed on his bed because he was so focused on chatting with Cheong-un.

-Side Story End-