Now I could ask Yeon Woojeong the thing I was most curious about after disclosing his birthday. Last year, on December 12th, I spent the day without knowing it was his birthday. However, when I thought about it, he also didn’t make it obvious. At that time, we weren’t in a relationship to congratulate each other, either.

“I’m not sure. I guess I worked.”

“You didn’t meet anyone?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

The corners of his lips went up slightly at my question. He poked on the chicken meat with his chopsticks and tilted his head.

“Well… I never thought that I had to celebrate it.”

I guess so. It’s hard to imagine Yeon Woojeong celebrating his birthday so fancily. But he has a lot of friends, so wouldn’t he get a lot of congratulations? My only regret is that I wasn’t there to celebrate it. But from now on, I will be the first one to congratulate him. Next year, even though I will be in the army, I will definitely get a vacation. 

While thinking about that, I picked at the chicken, and Yeon Woojeong’s smile suddenly deepened. He leaned his head slightly toward me and asked.

“So, what did you prepare for me?”

“… What?”

“I’m sure you’re so fidgety about it because you’ve prepared something.”

He had no consideration in a case like this. I mean, rather than having no consideration, he must be asking because he deliberately wanted to put me on the spot. I’d have been confident if I had prepared something, but I didn’t, so I felt even pressured.

Yeon Woojeong looked at every corner of my face with a smiling face. It was hard to control my expression if he looked at me like that. I covered my face with a coke-filled cup, but then he spoke.

“Buy a rope. A red one.”

“A rope?”

“Yeah, then tie it around your neck like a ribbon.”

“Why do I tie it around my…”

I closed my mouth since I felt like I knew what he meant by that. I squinted my eyes, and he shrugged, smiling. I didn’t know what he was imagining, but Yeon Woojeong brought the chicken into his mouth with a very joyful expression. 

“You won’t work on Saturday, right?”

“Mhm, I won’t.”

I felt relieved now that I got a definite answer. I could now enjoy the chicken to my heart’s content. I gobbled down the chicken that I had eaten mindlessly because of the thoughts in my mind.

“Is it good?”

“Yeah.”

“It was open when I was on my way home.”

“That place? The one near the bank?”

“Yes.”

Oh, that one was a place I thought to myself to visit later. I didn’t know the restaurant was already operating. The fried chicken was okay, but I felt the seasoned fried chicken was too stimulating for Yeon Woojeong’s palate. I ate most of the seasoned chicken, and Yeon Woojeong only ate a few pieces of fried chicken before putting down his chopsticks and watching me.

“Is your classroom not cold?”

“No. Isn’t your office cold? I remember it wasn’t quite warm.”

“I could turn on the heater, but it makes my skin dry. I turn it off after a moment.”

Yeon Woojeong’s fingers tapped on the table. Watching his fingertips, I finished the last piece of chicken I held and put the bone down. While I was wiping my hands with a tissue, he looked at his hands. 

“I guess it’s really become dry. My hands are chapped.”

“Let me see. They’re not chapped.”

“I applied hand cream.”

He got up from his seat. My eyes chased after Yeon Woojeong’s hands, which were cleaning up the plates.

Gloves. Gloves, it is. I should give him a hand cream and gloves. 

I felt like my stuck mind had been cleared. Yeon Woojeong usually didn’t wear gloves, but I believed he would wear them if I gave them to him like the shawl I gave him. He wouldn’t wear them indoors or in the car, but it would be nice if he could wear them when he walked outside. 

As I was thinking of a pair of gloves for Yeon Woojeong, he cleared the table and suddenly looked at me and smiled. I didn’t know why he was smiling, but I smiled back.

***

As soon as all the lectures were over, I left the institute with Lee Cheolwoo. The sun had set by the time we arrived at the department store. We bought and ate some kkwabaegi in the basement and then headed upstairs.

“What kind of gloves will you buy?”

“Leather ones.”

“Black?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow, it’s so cool picturing your brother wearing those. Wouldn’t he look just like a boss?”

“Boss…?”

Calling a prosecutor a boss? I didn’t think that was a good choice of words. I considered choosing a decent pair of gloves, but once I got to the store, everything looked the same. I looked around without anything catching my attention.

“Or, how about fur gloves? To be honest, I think it’s an unexpected charm and won’t be bad if people like your brother wear something like this.”

The gloves Lee Cheolwoo was holding were fur gloves embroidered with snowflakes. If Yeon Woojeong wore those gloves with his casual outfit that he wore when he was with me, I’m sure he’d look cute in them. I knew that better than anyone, but it would be better to get him a pair of gloves that he could wear when he was with other people. About the fur gloves, he could just wear mine.

Pretending to listen to Lee Cheolwoo, I picked up the other gloves and tried them on. They were all similar in appearance, so I picked the softest, warmest, and most comfortable ones.

I had them wrapped and paid for them. Afterwards, we went to the cosmetics store, and I looked for a hand cream. I bought one that was moisturizing, not too strongly scented, and easy to use at his office desk. With my hands feeling heavy, I felt relaxed. Last, I stopped by the cake shop and picked up the cake I had ordered, and then bought some bread for Lee Cheolwoo, who had accompanied me. 

No one was home when I got back. Yeon Woojeong told me he was working late tonight. I had emphasized that it was his birthday and that we would go to a musical together tomorrow evening, so I was okay with him being a little late. 

It was Yeon Woojeong’s birthday, but I was more excited about it than my own. I had never realized how satisfying it is to give someone a gift before. I would have given it to him even if I didn’t have anything, but I’m glad I can afford it now. 

I should go to bed early tonight; I can’t wait for tomorrow.

.

.

.

It wasn’t that the alarm went off or anyone woke me up, but my eyes flashed open. In front of me was Yeon Woojeong, sleeping. I remembered him coming in at dawn and greeting me in my sleep. I purposely slept in his bed because it was his birthday, and when I saw him in front of me, I was glad I did.

“Happy birthday.”

I muttered quietly, then reached out and cupped Yeon Woojeong’s cheek. He didn’t wake up, even though I touched his soft skin. After touching him to my heart’s content, I slowly slipped out of bed. 

After washing up, I soaked the seaweed and marinated the meat I bought at the grocery store with bulgogi seasoning. I wished I could make it from scratch, but I wasn’t confident enough to do so, so I bought the seasoning ready-made. I then moved the herbs from the refrigerator and japchae, also bought at the grocery store, into bowls. I realized that the only thing I made was seaweed soup, and I felt disappointed, but I couldn’t help it. Instead, I measured out exactly what I would normally have blindly made. 

I put the meat in the refrigerator and cooked the seaweed soup. When the savory smell wafted through the air, I turned off the heat and returned to the bedroom. Yeon Woojeong was still sleeping, and I crawled in next to him without waking him up, hoping he would sleep a little longer. When I snuggled in, he unconsciously raised his arm. I leaned my face against his chest and closed my eyes. 

When I woke up from a blink of sleep, I felt Yeon Woojeong touching the nape of my neck. I lifted my head and opened my eyes, but he still had his eyes closed. I reached out and gently touched his chin, and his eyes fluttered open. I quickly sat up and kissed Yeon Woojeong’s cheek, then pulled away.

“Happy birthday.”

Yeon Woojeong blinked slowly, staring at me absentmindedly, then smiled. My heart skipped a beat at the languid, yet joyous smile on his face.

“You’re the first to congratulate me.”

“In the future, I’ll also be the first to say it.”

“Yes, sir.”

He replied in a playful voice, and I watched him get up. I told him to wash up before going back to the kitchen. After reboiling the seaweed soup, stir-frying the meat, and scooping out the rice, Yeon Woojeong came out with his hair perfectly dried. 

Sometimes he would surprise me with water dripping down his face, claiming that it was a bother to dry his hair, but today his hair was somehow fluffy. He always said that I was nagging him, and it seemed that he didn’t want to hear it the first thing on his birthday. I wouldn’t have blamed him even if he hadn’t dried it, though. It’s his birthday after all.