They sat in silence for a while. Then Yeonjun spoke, his voice curious.

“Earlier, you said you used to hate being alone. What did you mean by that?”

Seojun looked a little surprised that Yeonjun asked so easily, but something about the way they were talking now felt nice. He put down his chopsticks, crossed his arms, leaned back in his chair, and looked up at the ceiling.

“How do I even explain…” he said, his face thoughtful.

He glanced at Yeonjun and saw him watching, clearly waiting for an answer.

“From the time I was five until I started university, I always had a bodyguard with me. I wasn’t allowed to be alone.”

Yeonjun looked shocked.

“Why? Did some jopok¹ threaten your dad or something?” he asked, grinning.

Seojun turned to him with a serious expression. 

“Yeah… something like that. I was really young, so I don’t know the details.”

But the way he said it made it a little obvious he was holding something back. Yeonjun noticed and didn’t push.

“Oh. Okay.” His voice dipped as if he wasn’t sure what else to say.

Seojun saw it and smiled to put him at ease.

“My bodyguard was amazing, though. I still call him my second dad. We’re still close.”

“You were lucky,” Yeonjun said softly.

Seojun nodded and went on, careful not to let the ease between them fade. 

“But I guess a bodyguard wasn’t enough. They also sent me to taekwondo. I’m a third-dan black belt.”

Yeonjun straightened a little.

“Seriously? I’m second-dan.”

Seojun laughed.

“So did jopok threaten your dad too?”

Yeonjun looked at him and said, completely deadpan,

“I wish they did. Maybe they would’ve kidnapped him and made him disappear.”

They both went still for a second. Then Yeonjun let out a short, helpless sound through his nose.

“Pffft.”

That was it.

They burst into laughter, not the polite kind but the kind that knocked the tension off their shoulders. It spilled out of them without warning, like something they had both been holding back. It wasn't even about the joke. It was just something about sitting there together, with the food between them and nothing else in the way. For a moment, neither of them tried to stop.

Seojun watched him longer than he meant to. He hadn’t expected to feel this warm just from hearing Yeonjun talk about his father like it was nothing. It made him happy in a quiet, selfish way. 

He wanted to hear more. Not just about his family. About everything. He wanted to know all of it.

Seojun smiled as he tapped the edge of his bowl with his chopsticks.

“So, don’t you have any secrets? I mean... you already know about the ramen stash and the bodyguard.”

Yeonjun set his chopsticks down and kept his eyes on the bowl, his expression shifting just enough to make it clear he didn’t want to go there.

“No,” he said. “Let’s just say... it’s not all light.”

Alright. I won’t push it, Seojun thought. 

Yeonjun felt a little awkward. He hadn’t meant to shut things down, but he also didn’t know how to open up. He was a bit mad at himself for not saying more. He looked up.

“Hey,” he said. “After we finish eating... gonna keep drinking?”

Seojun thought for a second that Yeonjun didn’t really want to drink more. Maybe he was tired, or sleepy.

“We don’t have to,” he said. “I’ll get the bed ready for you, don’t worry. I’ll sleep downstairs in the guest room.”

Yeonjun looked at him.

“Really? I didn’t expect someone like you to end the night this early,” he said, half-joking.

Seojun looked surprised. 

“Oh? So you do want to keep drinking?”

“Yes. Of course,” Yeonjun said. Then he reached for a napkin on the table, picked one up, and leaned over. Gently, he tried to wipe a small drop of ramen broth from Seojun’s hoodie.

“Hey, I really had a good time tonight. Thank you again.”

His hand paused for a second on the fabric. Then he looked at Seojun.

“I was honestly in a bad place today. I didn’t even feel like I could go back to the hotel. But you found me tonight. You really helped. Like therapy.”

Seojun’s cheeks turned red. 

God... if you only knew how beautiful your hands are, Yeonjun, he thought.

Yeonjun set the napkin aside and looked at him again with a smile.

“And I really don’t want to take your bed. Let me be the one who sleeps in the guest room. You’ve already treated me too well.”

Seojun looked at him and smiled back.

“Whatever makes you comfortable.” Just then, he got up and grabbed two beers from the fridge. But as he set Yeonjun’s beer down on the table, his elbow knocked into Yeonjun’s bowl.

The bowl tipped over and spilled onto Yeonjun. He jumped to his feet.

“Aish!² Seriously?!”

“Fuck! I’m so sorry! Go run to the bathroom, I’ll get you some clean clothes! Did you get burned?” Seojun said in a panic.

“No, but it’s disgusting.” Yeonjun laughed, grimacing as he hurried to the bathroom.

By the time he closed the door, his hoodie was already off.

Seojun pulled out a clean T-shirt and pair of shorts from the drawer. His feet carried him toward the bathroom on their own. When he got to the door... it wasn’t fully closed.

Yeonjun stood in front of the mirror, wearing only briefs. He was trying to wash the leftover ramen from his hoodie in the sink. Seojun’s eyes trailed down his back, over the quiet curve of his shoulder blades, the slight tension in his arms as they moved, the way his upper body tapered into his waist. His skin looked pale under the bathroom light, but it was firm, lean, cut with definition. The kind of body you’d never guess was hiding under buttoned shirts and polite distance. He kept staring, unmoving now, like a predator watching something he shouldn’t want. Like he was angry, but… why would he be?

His fingers loosened. The T-shirt slipped from Seojun’s hand and dropped to the floor.

Yeonjun didn’t notice. He stayed focused on rinsing the fabric, lost in thought. He finally set the damp hoodie in the sink and turned around, casual, unaware. He had already picked up the towel and started drying his hands. He saw Seojun standing there, still and silent. There was something unreadable in his eyes, but Yeonjun didn’t think much of it.

“Hey… are you okay?” he asked.

Seojun stepped forward. His hand reached out and grabbed the back of Yeonjun’s neck, fingers pressing in hard.

He yanked him closer without warning, eyes locked on his.

As their faces neared, Seojun’s lips parted. He ran his tongue slowly across his own lips, like he already knew how Yeonjun would taste.

And he kissed him.

¹ Jopok (조폭) is a Korean term referring to organized crime groups, similar to the concept of “mafia.” It is short for jojik pokryeokbae (조직 폭력배), meaning “organized violent gang.” Unlike the Japanese yakuza, jopok groups are less ritualistic and more pragmatic, often associated with street-level crime, extortion, and underground business operations.