Side story 1 Encore Exhibition

—The military abuse that we thought had subsided has resurfaced, this time in the Marines…

It was 9 p.m. on a Saturday, and we were sitting next to each other after dinner, engaged in conversation. When the discussion paused, Yeon Woojeong rested his head on my thigh and turned on the news. Honestly, I didn’t find the news particularly interesting, so I didn’t pay it much attention. From time to time, I would glance down to check if Yeon Woojeong was watching attentively, and he seemed quite absorbed.

When I saw his eyes blinking periodically, I absentmindedly reached out to touch him. My fingers grazed the corner of his eye, and he glanced up at me, offered a brief smile, and returned his focus to the TV.

I trailed my fingers down and touched his earlobe. My heart tickled whenever I touched such a soft, delicate part of his body. It was a personal pastime of mine that he remained unaware of. Touching him helped pass the time, so I didn’t mind if he didn’t focus on me when we were alone.

The news segment came to an end. I watched the weather forecast and realized I was hungry, craving something to eat. The thought of ramyeon crossed my mind, but it was likely we were out of it

“Mr. Yeon. Do you want to eat?”

As the news program transitioned to commercials, Yeon Woojeong shifted to lie more comfortably and looked up at me. Smiling, he gently touched my chin with his fingers.

“What do you want to eat?”

“Ramyeon.”

“Ramyeon? Will that be enough?”

“Yeah.”

Yeon Woojeong got up from his spot. I headed to my room to grab my phone and wallet, and as I made my way to the front door, I glanced back.

“Are you going to wear that?”

“Of course.”

I stared at the hem of the pants that covered his feet, and then I walked over to him and put one of my knees down. I folded the hem so that it wouldn’t sweep the floor, but then I heard laughter over my head. Yeon Woojeong caressed my head gently. With his ankle exposed as the hem had been folded, I clasped it once, then got up.

Even though he didn’t easily feel cold, the day was quite chilly and it was autumn. After taking a light coat from my room and putting it on him, we went out.

We strolled leisurely before reaching the grocery store. I had nothing to buy except for ramyeon. We headed straight to the cashier, and Yeon Woojeong requested a pack of cigarettes. We left the store with me holding the ramyeon and Yeon Woojeong tucking the cigarette pack into his pocket.

“Are you going to smoke first?”

“Hmm, no.”

We passed the smoking booth. Yeon Woojeong wasn’t the type to smoke frequently, especially not on weekends. It seemed that he didn’t want to step out to smoke because his reluctance outweighed his desire. When he was with me, he always inquired if it was alright for him to smoke before doing so.

Truthfully, when he was smoking, Yeon Woojeong was so captivating that it was hard to look away, but his decision now wasn’t bad because smoking wasn’t good for his health.

It was quiet around the complex. I didn’t know well because this was my first time living in an apartment, but I felt this was quite peaceful. I hadn’t heard noisy neighbors or witnessed people arguing outside. When I first met Yeon Woojeong, I had never imagined that I would live like this with him. I suddenly felt overwhelmed.

I slid my hand into Yeon Woojeong’s pocket and clasped his hand there. Yeon Woojeong smiled even though he didn’t know what was going on in my mind.

“Are you going to eat too?”

“No.”

After taking off our coats, I immediately went to the kitchen while Yeon Woojeong went to the living room. When the ramyeon was done, I put the pot on the table, took out my cutlery, and sat down, and Yeon Woojeong wandered over and sat down in front of me. He watched me eating and then suddenly opened his mouth.

“Ah~”

Didn’t you say you weren’t going to eat? I scooped up the soup with a spoon, piled the noodles on top, and put it in Yeon Woojeong’s mouth.

Listening to stories from those with brothers, they often mentioned how annoying it was when their brothers asked for a bite after declining food. However, I didn’t feel that way at all. I was rather pleased to see Yeon Woojeong eat heartily, and I didn’t mind sharing my food with him. Well, actually, I didn’t think there was even a concept of him taking what was mine.

I took a spoonful and then I tried to put another spoon in Yeon Woojeong’s mouth, but he shook his head. He had eaten once though, what a shame.

“Is it good?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s not good to eat this at night.”

I wondered about his sudden comment and continued to chew quietly. He smirked.

“I’m following you.”

“When did I ever do that?”

Yeon Woojeong annoyingly shrugged at my question. I didn’t bother to respond and focused on my ramyeon. Propping his chin, Yeon Woojeong watched me eating.

Once I had finished my meal, Yeon Woojeong poured water into a glass and handed it to me. The meal concluded with a sip of water, and my stomach felt pleasantly full.

After cleaning up and washing, I emerged from the bathroom to find that Yeon Woojeong was already lying in bed. I approached, turned off the light, and lay down beside him. Yeon Woojeong shifted closer to me, and I curled up, embracing his waist. In response, he rested his head on my chest and asked.

“Are you going to sleep?”

“I will sleep.”

“…”

“Why?”

“I don’t feel like sleeping.”

No wonder it felt weird that he went to bed early. When I patted him on the back, my eyes closed, he laughed faintly.

“Sing me a lullaby.”

This time, I opted to cradle his head. His laugh deepened, and his fingers tickled my chest. I pressed my lips against Yeon Woojeong’s hair. It carried a faint scent of shampoo, and even though we used the same product, the scent on him felt nicer.

I fell asleep as I breathed in the scent. As my mind faded, I felt Yeon Woojeong’s hand patting me on the back. 

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.

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When I woke up and saw Yeon Woojeong’s face, I always felt full in my heart. His hair, which immediately turned into a magpie’s nest when he slept alone, was quite calm in comparison to when he slept with me.

I carefully reached out to remove the hair covering his forehead. While I tend to sleep early, I was a light sleeper, but Yeon Woojeong didn’t fall asleep quickly. However, once he did, he slept soundly. So on mornings when I woke up before him, I often touched him like this.

It was fascinating and exciting that time moved fast when all I did was watch Yeon Woojeong’s face. While I was busy touching his cheeks, earlobe, and eyebrows, he slowly opened his eyes.

Since we started living together, I woke up later, and he woke up earlier than we used to. His drowsy eyes gradually found their focus, then quickly squinted. I observed him, and he burst into laughter before asking me.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Puffy.”

Yeon Woojeong gently pressed the back of his hand against my cheek. Maybe it was because I had eaten ramyeon before bed. I concluded as much, but he continued to laugh. Is it that bad? I turned my head and buried my face in my pillow, and Yeon Woojeong snuggled closer, planting a kiss on my ear.

“Why are you covering it?”

“You’re laughing.”

“It’s because you’re cute.”

“…”

“Did you sleep well?”

I turned my head back at his tender question, and I found Yeon Woojeong offering a soft smile. I nodded and returned the question.

“What about you?”

“Me, too.”

I looked at his still-sleepy face and kissed the bridge of his nose before sitting up. The next thing I knew, he was hugging my waist and resting his head on my thigh. He would hold me like this when he wanted to lie down more, but couldn’t fall back asleep.

I stroked Yeon Woojeong’s hair gently without saying a word. He closed his eyes and docilely welcomed my touch. The sunlight streaming through the cracks in the blinds was warm.

After staying like that for a while, Yeon Woojeong got up. We brushed our teeth and washed our faces side by side in the bathroom and then went to the kitchen.

“What to eat?”

Yeon Woojeong opened the refrigerator and asked. I reached over his bent shoulder and pulled out eggs.

“Egg rolls?”

“Yeah.”

“Then should I make kimchi-jjigae? We have tofu, so I’ll put it in.”

“Okay.”

While I beat the eggs on the table, Yeon Woojeong prepared the jjigae on the induction stove. Initially, when we cooked together like this, we often bumped into each other, but now we had developed a smooth rhythm.

Doing it together, the food was quickly finished. As always, food made by Yeon Woojeong was tasty.

“How about we go out tonight?”

“Where to?”

“Just for a drive. We could also visit a drive-in theater.”

“A drive-in theater?”

“Do you want to go?”

“Yeah.”

I had never been to a drive-in theater before. I nodded, and a small smile formed on his lips.

After having breakfast, Yeon Woojeong sat on the sofa, while I sat on the floor and leaned my head on his legs. He caught my hand and lifted it.

“Your nails need trimming.”

I looked at my nails and noticed they had grown quite long. I retrieved a nail clipper from the drawer. Yeon Woojeong got off the sofa and positioned himself across from me with the table between us.

Once, I had carefully trimmed the nails on the hand that would go inside him and roughly trimmed the nails on the other hand, then ended up scratching his shoulder. Back then, Yeon Woojeong had teased me that I couldn’t cut my nails properly and had cut my nails. After that, he seemed to enjoy it and would cut my nails like this.

He took my finger and delicately handled the nail clipper. At first, he cut my nails too short because he had never cut someone else’s nails. I still clearly remembered the day when he smiled sheepishly and sucked my fingertips. He said sorry, but actually, I liked that. I even hoped my nails wouldn’t grow because they looked like badges.

Clip, clip. Listening to the sounds of my nails getting cut, I watched Yeon Woojeong who was focusing on my hand. It was kind of cute to see Yeon Woojeong absorbed with this.

“It’s done.”

He released my hand and motioned with his eyes for me to check if he had done a good job. I didn’t mind if he hadn’t cut them perfectly. The outcome didn’t matter as long as he wasn’t hurt.

“Give me yours.”

This time I took the nail clipper and grabbed Yeon Woojeong’s hand. Well, truthfully, I was better at cutting nails.

Yeon Woojeong propped his chin and watched me. I cut his nails prettily, not too short and not too long. When I finished cutting his nails and put down the nail clipper, he grabbed my wrist and kissed me briefly.