Ho-jin Loved Ji-hun

Ji-hun looked over the table he had prepared so carefully, checking whether anything was missing. 

No, of course not. 

Everything Ho-jin liked was there, as fresh as he could get it. Setting the table for his sunbae and doing it properly was the only household job that was actually Ji-hun's responsibility.

Well, actually not the only job, Ji-hun had also taken charge of checking their supply of condoms, lube, and toys and making sure they had whatever materials they needed.

Keeping the place clean and organized was naturally a responsibility too, but Ji-hun did not care much about things like that. 

Ho-jin did not expect too much from him either. He did not want to pile too many duties onto someone who had spent so much of his childhood taking care of a blind father.

Deep down, Ho-jin loved spoiling Ji-hun.

Because Ho-jin loved Ji-hun very, very much.

When he came out of the bathroom and walked into the kitchen, he watched Ji-hun carefully pouring tea into their cups. "Ji-hun-ah... wanna kiss before we sit down?"

Without taking his eyes off the cup, Ji-hun grinned. "Someone's feeling romantic again." He set the teapot down and wrapped his arms around Ho-jin. "Good morning, sunbae. Let's eat fast, okay? I don't wanna be late for class."

Ho-jin held him close, cupped the back of his head, and brought Ji-hun's face against his own. "Won-hee's coming to pick us up. He's probably already on the way. Come on, let's eat."

Their breakfast conversations were usually about ordinary things: school and work, what they had to do that day, sometimes what was happening in the country. Both of them knew how hard they had fought to earn this kind of peace and normal life. The ugly side of the fashion industry, the competition, career battles, and gossip had never interested either of them.

Ji-hun did not even consider modeling a real career. What he wanted was to open an agency of their own with Ho-jin one day. Cha In-soo might have been the best boss in the world, but Ho-jin dreamed of building a company where he could work not only in fashion photography but across several different branches of photography.

All their savings went into a bank account under Ji-hun's name. If anything ever happened to Ho-jin, or if Ji-hun decided one day that he wanted to leave, Ho-jin did not want his hoobae struggling on his own again. He had also been saving money for his mother, who had been managing a factory in China for quite a while. 

Neither Ho-jin nor Ji-hun cared much about luxury or showing off, so they were very good at managing their money.

"I want you to read the agreement you're signing today carefully," Ho-jin said, spreading honey over his pancake.

"I will, sunbae."

"I already read it. There's nothing tricky in there, but you're still gonna read every single word. You need to make that a habit, Ji-hun-ah."

"Okay, sunbae."

"You're working with Yoon Bada. You know she's a little difficult sometimes, so please behave yourself during the campaign, Ji-hun-ah."

"Yoon Bada?" Ji-hun leaned back and took a sip of tea. "What brand is this campaign for?"

Ho-jin looked pleased. "Wersace..."

"Holy shit! Sunbae, did you arrange this, or was it Won-hee?"

"Won-hee and I both worked pretty hard on it, Ji-hun-ah," Ho-jin said. "Please take this seriously, okay? You're only signing for one year, and it might get difficult sometimes, but career-wise, I'd say you've pretty much secured the next ten years for yourself. The contract is worth two million dollars, and you're getting fifty percent."

"Okay. Don't worry, I'll be careful."

"Ji-hun, they chose you when they could've picked from a thousand idols. You understand what that means, right?"

"Yeah. This is a really good surprise, by the way. Thanks."

"That wasn't the surprise," Ho-jin muttered.

"What do you mean? What else is there?"

Ho-jin took another bite of his pancake, looked at Ji-hun, and continued chewing. "I'm the lead photographer. I'm shooting you."

"SUNBAE!" Ji-hun got up from the table so fast that tea sloshed out of the cups and onto the table. "I'm so happy! I'm so fucking happy!"

Ho-jin started laughing. "Come here."

Ji-hun dropped to his knees in front of him and rested his head against Ho-jin's thighs. "I'm so happy, Ho-jin sunbae. Thank you."

"There's nothing to thank me for. They picked me for two reasons. First, Mr. Cha thinks nobody photographs you better than I do."

"True. Boss is a very smart man."

"Second, he put me in charge of you so you don't start acting up and fuck up the entire campaign. So, Ji-hun, if you cause trouble, both of us are fucked. I don't want any problems. Do you understand?"

"I understand. I promise there won't be any trouble."

"Good. Finish your food. Are you coming to the company like that after school to sign the contract?"

"What's wrong with this?"

Ho-jin looked at Ji-hun's plain black sweater and loose gray pants. Whenever cameras were not around, Ji-hun wanted to look simple and ordinary. The reason was obvious, and Ho-jin was never going to make him do something he did not want to do. "Nothing. You look good. Yoon Bada's coming in this afternoon too. Be nice to that girl, okay, Ji-hun?"

"Okay, sunbae."

Ho-jin turned back toward the table, and Ji-hun returned to his seat. Then Ho-jin picked up a napkin and wiped the tea Ji-hun had spilled in front of himself. "Now let's get to the real issue. Moon Ji-hun, why did you describe me on live television yesterday?"

Oh, shit... He didn't forget.

And right then, the doorbell rang.

Hehehe.

"Fuck. Perfect timing, Won-hee. Ji-hun-ah, if you think Mr. Cha isn't gonna make you answer for this, you're wrong."

"Okay, I get it!" Ji-hun said on his way to the door. "I told you I'll be careful."

"You better be! We haven't even looked at the newspapers yet. Who knows what the hell they wrote!"

"Damn, he's so cute when he's mad and he doesn't even know it," Ji-hun muttered before opening the door. "Won-hee, perfect tim—"

"Hello. Is Shin Ho-jin home?"

Ji-hun looked at the woman standing in the doorway. She looked incredibly familiar, but he could not remember where he knew her from. "Yes, one second. I'll get him," he said, dipping his head politely. "Sunbae! Someone's asking for you!"

"Who is it?" Ho-jin leaned out from the kitchen. Then he just stared. A second later, he was already hurrying toward the door. "Mom? What are you doing here?"

Ji-hun watched quietly while they hugged. Mom...