SMNTCERR, Special Chapter 18: Syntax Error #4. 

The short phone conversation created confusion for Jaehong. Although it’s difficult to say why, it didn’t seem like a normal conversation. What’s more, the other person was too cold. If Jaeyoung didn’t use endearing terms like “myself” or “my love,” it wouldn’t seem like they were a couple at all, but it seemed like Jaeyoung didn’t find it strange.

“How are you doing?”

The person in front changed the subject abruptly. Even though they had just asked each other about their well-being thirty minutes ago, Jaehong wasn’t surprised by this.

“Same as always.”

As Jaehong pulled out his tablet from his bag, Jaeyoung raised his hand to cover his eyes.

“That’s strange… Why do the people around me only talk about work?”

Jaehong ignored the other party’s words and focused his gaze on the table filled with neatly organized numbers.

While explaining to Jaeyoung how he managed his assets, someone from the company called Glenn called twice. After that, Jaeyoung said that he had to go to the company and asked why he was being called on his day off when it wasn’t urgent.

About forty minutes later, a German-made Mercedes-Benz sedan appeared on the road. It was a hybrid model that was fuel-efficient and practical, but it’s design was not favored by the newer generation. The black car parked behind a red sports car, perfectly aligned. Then, ‘he’ got out.

During the time Jaeyoung, who used to be a straight man, started dating men, Jaehong thought that the other party he was dating must be more attractive than women. Furthermore, he had heard that the other party was pure-hearted, innocent, and adorable. However, the person in front of Jaehong now seemed far from his imagination.

If Jaeyoung looked like someone you would meet on the main street in the middle of the day, the man seemed like someone who had just left the library, wearing a black polo shirt and black cotton pants that reached his ankles, with a digital watch on his wrist. The other man had a handsome and straightforward appearance, but not to the extent that it would make one gasp, and even though he had a slender figure, he wasn’t small enough to be considered, “adorable.”

Is that Jang Jaeyoung’s lover?’ 

He had expected a well-dressed, stylish man. However, when the person who looked like an Oxford law student appeared, he couldn’t help but feel confused and turned to ask Jaeyoung, but the other party was no longer in their seat.

Jaeyoung did not know when the man in front of him picked something out of his hair and used both hands to brush his cheeks. The two stood talking for a moment. Then they walked side by side towards Jaehong, with Jaeyoung shoulder to shoulder with the other man.

“This is that person and he is from Korea…”

“Nice to meet you.”

“My partner. Chu Sangwoo, we’re getting married at the end of the year.”

Jaeyoung subtly leaned towards the other side, brushing his cheek against the other man, who remained indifferent. He did not resist the difficult situation. Jaeyoung hesitated a moment before pointing at Jaehong with the same finger, but not wholeheartedly.

“Jang Jaehong.”

Then Jaehong looked at the man. When he looked at the other person closely again, he felt that it wasn’t ordinary like the first time. Even though he had a thin and lean figure, it might be due to the fierce and thick eyebrows that made the other person look strong. Moreover, his eyes gave a strange emotion, and the other side didn’t have a charming appearance like Jaeyoung’s playful style, but rather a cool and calm style.

The young man turned his head to look at the person next to him a couple of times before raising his eyebrows and looking at Jaehong, surprised. His lips, which used to be tightly closed, were now wide open, resembling a startled expression.

“You look surprised.”

Jaeyoung looked at the sky and sighed. Then he nudged the other person with his elbow.

“Do you want to say hello?”

“Hello, Jaehong, Jang, nice to meet you.”

The young man spoke with a Korean accent.

‘He probably thinks I can not speak Korean.’ 

It seemed that no matter what, Jang Jaeyoung did not want to introduce Jaehong to the other side to say something strange. Jaehong responded proudly in fluent Korean.

“I’ve heard a lot about you. Chu Sangwoo. I’m Jaehong, nice to meet you.”

The young man turned to gaze at Jaeyoung. Jaeyoung suppressed a laugh, pretending not to notice.

Jaehong reached into his pocket and took out a business card. As he handed the card over politely, the other party also took out his own business card from his wallet.

[Senior Software Engineer. 

Sangwoo-Chu.] 

‘A hardline person.’ 

The business card, which didn’t even have a name in general English, looked stubborn and the young man’s job seemed more secure than Jaehong had anticipated. Meanwhile, Jaehong gathered information that could be collected from small pieces of paper to estimate the other party’s annual income. In the meantime, he also heard whispers of the couple.

“Hyung, Jaehong and Eric are the same person.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Look, it’s written on this business card, Eric Jaehong.”

“…Oh, right, that’s true.”

“You’ve met Eric five times, but you’ve never told me before, right? My love here, you intentionally hid the truth.”

“Um, well…”

“You said he’s the finance manager from England!”

“I didn’t lie.”

You said he’s better in English than Korean!”

“That’s the truth.”

“But then why do I feel like I’ve been deceived?”

“Come on, don’t be like that, it’s just your imagination, seriously! Oh, I don’t have time!”

At that moment, Jaeyoung grabbed the young man’s shoulder and forced him to turn around. Then he gently kissed the young man’s cheek and neck a couple of times before pushing him away, looking dissatisfied.

“Let’s go together, are you busy?”

“Hurry up.”

“I told him to send the information by email and we can handle it over the phone.”

“He complained already. I have agreed already.”

While wondering if both of them would argue, Sangwoo gave in. There was no doubt about anything.

“Ok, then I will go first.”

The other side kissed lightly on the corner of Jaeyoung’s lips before turning and walking briskly towards the car.

“Please sit straight in the seat next to the driver.”

Jaeyoung spoke to Jaehong before lifting his travel bag from the table and putting it under the back of the car in a hurry.

‘Now it’s starting, right?’ 

Jaehong opened the driver’s side door and sat down on the gray leather seat. The inside of the car was clean and tidy, without any clutter, and there was no unpleasant smell that usually accompanies cars. Jaehong swept his eyes inside the car before being startled when he saw a heart-shaped picture frame placed beside the driver’s seat.

 [F O R E V E R ☆ L O V E.] 

[O N L Y ★ Y O U.] 

The picture inside the frame was a high-resolution photograph of his twin brother, smiling with snow-capped mountains in the background, which didn’t fit the overall atmosphere of the car.

The young man sat in the driver’s seat, asking.

“Is there a place you want to visit?”

“No, there isn’t any.”

While Jaehong shifted his gaze from the rainbow-colored picture frame, the car owner handed him something heavy, and in Jaehong’s hand was a thick travel guidebook.

“I will give you five minutes. After checking quickly, please let me know your top five preferred places. I want to take you in the most convenient and comfortable way, but since we have to consider the route, I can’t go everywhere if you don’t say your preferred location.”

“…”

He began by opening the homepage first, but before he could read anything, he heard a loud knock on the window.

Tap tap tap!

The car owner looked indifferently for about ten seconds before lowering the window as if realizing he had no choice. At that moment, Jaeyoung leaned in and whispered something in his ear.

“Hmm, I love you too.”

The young man responded to his lover, sounding hesitant, before closing the window again. When Jaeyoung’s face disappeared behind the black window, silence crept in.

However, this time, his gaze that had been straight ahead turned sideways and glanced at him, causing a burning sensation on Jaehong’s cheek. Jaehong turned the page of his book but couldn’t concentrate.

When he saw the head turn sideways, the gaze of the other party immediately met Jaehong’s eyes. Their eyes looked fiercely determined, and for a moment, Jaehong even thought that the other party might lean in to kiss him. Jaehong was not unfamiliar with this kind of gaze, but he felt a sense of accomplishment in the low-quality victory of being Jang Jaeyoung’s lover for a long time.

“Chu Sangwoo, right?”

“…Right?”

“Is there something on my face?”

“No, there’s nothing.”

“If that’s the case, why are you staring at me like that?”

He said with a slight smile, so the other party quickly looked forward.

“You look so much like him that I accidentally… I apologize if it doesn’t feel good.”

I don’t feel bad at all.”

“Is that true?”

“Yes.”

The young man slowly turned his gaze back to Jaehong. The other hesitated before speaking.

“If that’s the case, may I take a closer look for a minute?”

“Well… okay.”

“Then let’s begin.”

As he paused, the other party released the safety buckle. Then, Sangwoo extended his hand to adjust the console, moving closer with precision.

‘No touching allowed. No, not closer than fifty centimeters.’ 

The other party was destroying the fifty centimeters rule, before focusing on Jaehong’s forehead with a seductive pose. Then, Sangwoo tilted Jaehong’s head to look at his side profile for a moment. And then, he sighed softly.

“Wow…”

‘Two hours should be enough.’ 

This game will end with nothing else to see. The way Sangwoo approached their loved one and the way he approached Jaehong were as different as the sky and the earth. In this case, he thought that he could comfortably go to the airport after dealing with everything in the car without going to the hotel and ruining the two-year-long wedding preparations.

Now, the other party slightly turned their head to almost touch Jaehong’s nose. Then, they lowered their eyes to closely examine his lips.

Jaehong swallowed hard, the distance between them being close enough to count the number of eyelashes lined up like a fan, the other party’s transparent skin, their black hair and bright eyes making the clear difference even more visible. Under the red lips was a pale and slender neck, the black dot that protruded from the collar of the shirt clearly prominent.

‘Sexier up close.’ 

Jaehong secretly felt curious about the well-groomed young man. Jang Jaeyoung said he was dating the other party because he was ‘adorable,’ but there were many people in this world who were even more adorable than him. Jaeyoung, who could easily date models or actors, must have a reason for being captivated by this man, such as his skills in bed.

The atmosphere shifted and flirtation disappeared without a trace as the young man returned to his seat. He sat down, securely fastening his seatbelt, as if nothing had happened. When he looked at the clock, he realized that a minute had passed.

“You can look again if you want.”

“No, it’s fine. Even though there are still a couple of places I’d like to check…”

The other party hesitated before speaking.

“I have a conscience. I won’t ask for anything inappropriate from my partner’s family.”

“…”

The conversation ended, and Jaehong looked out the window for a moment before brushing his chin with the back of his hand.

“The weather is nice. The sky has been clear like this all day.”

“The maximum temperature today is 26°C, which is slightly higher than the average temperature during the summer here. It’s considered good weather for sightseeing, and there are no forecasts of rain. No need to worry.”

“That’s good to know.”

“Although there is a 7% chance of rain, it’s not a big deal. Most activities are indoors, and there are also two umbrellas in the back seat.”

The direction of the conversation was strangely off, and the young man turned on the air conditioning silently, while listening to a loud noise for a while. Jaehong felt an oddly lonely atmosphere, so he picked a more suitable topic of conversation.

“I heard that you both met at university.”

“Yes.”

“Did Jaeyoung fall in love with you and now he’s chasing after you?”

“He can be annoying at times, but sometimes it may not be love.”

He thought that this could be a topic of conversation for ten minutes, but the conversation ended in three seconds.

“If that’s the case, Chu Sangwoo, you must have fallen in love with him first.”

“No, that’s not the case.”

“Uh.”

The conversation ended instantly, with Jaehong coughing twice before continuing to speak.

Our first impression of each other isn’t very good.”

“Yes. I think it’s like discovering antibiotics.”

“Huh?”

“Penicillin. Initially it was thought to be a harmful mold, but it turned out to be a beneficial living thing.”

“…”

 

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