Kwon Taekjoo reached out to brush his fingers through Zhenya's fine hair. Zhenya tilted his head to nuzzle into,
Kwon Taekjoo's outstretched hand.
"…Damn bastard. I'll admit, you really do have a pretty face,"
Kwon Taekjoo muttered under his breath. It was an unconscious thought that slipped out. He felt relieved that he had spoken in Korean, because that meant Zhenya had no way of understanding what he had just said.
Or at least, that's what he thought. For some reason, Zhenya, who had been watching him intently, broke into a wide grin.
"Taekjoo, Do you really think I'm that pretty?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Oh, pretending ignorance, huh? Unfortunately for you, I remember that little woman always calling me with that Korean word. At first, I thought she was mispronouncing my name, but I soon realized she wasn't."
Zhenya had an irritating smile on his face. It was obvious that he had figured out the meaning of the word king ago.
Now that Kwon Taekjoo thought about it, there had been a similar situation with the word "Saekki" Zhenya had made a mental note of the word to look it up later, only for the unfortunate situation to arise where, due to the limitations of online translators, Zhenya had come to believe that "Saekki" meant 'baby.'
Ever since then, whenever Kwon Taekjoo called him "Saekki" Zhenya couldn't help but wear a smug expression.
Kwon Taekjoo had only recently realized this misunderstanding. One night, while out drinking with Yoon Jongwoo after work, Zhenya had unexpectedly shown up in front of them. With no other option, Kwon Taekjoo had to let him join and fooled Yoon Jongwoo into thinking that he had invited Zhenya.
Kwon Taekjoo's mother had called, reminding him not to stay out late and to drink in moderation. Yoon Jongwoo insisted on greeting her, so Kwon Taekjoo put the call on speaker for the rest of the conversation.
"Ma'am! It's Jongwoo. How are are you?"
["Oh, jongwoo. It's been a while since I've seen you. Are you busy these days?"]
"No, not exactly.."
["Really? Then should come visit me one of these days. You can come with Taekjoo, or just come alone when you're free. I'll make your favorite dishes. How about that?"]
"I'd be happy to visit anytime you invite me, ma'am."
["Oh, dear Jongwoo, you're such a sweetheart. It's not an empty promise, so you have to come, okay?"]
"Yes, ma'am. I'll make sure to drop by soon. Don't worry about us, you should go to bed— it's getting late. I'll make sure to get Sunbae home before dark."
Yoon Jongwoo chatted politely with Kwon Taekjoo's mother, as he always did, before finishing the call and picking up a lettuce wrap. Just as he was about to take a bite, he hesitated, his eyes darting nervesly under the weight of a piercing gaze from across the table.
When he looked up and met Zhenya's eyes, he froze. Zhenya was glaring at him in disapproval, arms crossed. His stare was so intense it looked like he might kill Yoon Jongwoo on the spot.
Kwon Taekjoo elbowed Zhenya.
"What's your problem now?"
"Why does that idiot keep calling the little woman 'mother'?"
"Oh, so now you know what 'mother' means in Korean? When did you learn that?"
"It'd be harder not to learn it, Taekjoo, since it's the word you say the most gently."
"Oh, we'll…. Don't worry about it. It's just a common way of adressing someone. In Korea, a friend's mother is considered your mother, and their father is your father, and so on."
"How does that even make sense?"
"In the past, we used to consider even our neighbors as cousins."
"How ridiculous."
"If it bothers you so much,then you can call her that too. Seriously, you always pick fights over the most insignificant things."
To a still-frozen Yoon Jongwoo, Kwon Taekjoo said.
"Ignore him and keep eating."
Yoon Jongwoo shoved the lettuce wrap into his mouth, chewing slowly while sneaking quick, nervous glances at Zhenya.
"Stop glaring at him and finish eating the meat's burning."
"Mm."
Zhenya scooped some rice onto his spoon with a look of disdain, but that was all. He didn't touch the meat or even bring the spoon to his mouth. instead he just continued to watch Kwon Taekjoo.
When Taekjoo frowned and asked what was wrong, Zhenya slightly tilted his head toward his spoon, clearly waiting for Kwon Taekjoo to add some side dishes to his rice.
The whole situation was embarrassing with Yoon Jongwoo watching.
"Damn it, you're acting like a kid again. Don't you have your own hands? I even gave you a fork, so use it, you bastard."
"Taekjoo, your colleague is here. Show some decency."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Kwon Taekjoo frowned and looked across the table to see that Yoon Jongwoo was staring intently into his bowl of noodles. The way Yoon was slowly picking at the noddles made it obvious he felt guilty.
Kwon Taekjoo crossed his arms and started at him. Yoon's eyes lifted for a second put quickly averted when their gazes met. He was acting so suspicious that Kwon Taekjoo decided to press him for an explanation.
"Hey. You know what's going on, right? Why is he acting like this?"
"What? A-Acting like what?"
"Can't you see how puffed up his shoulders are? He looks so damn proud of himself, walking around with his head held high."
"I-I-I don't know what you're talking about."
"You look like you do."
"No, I don't."
"Yes, you do."
"Ugh… this isn't fair, Sunbae. If you think about it. It's not even my fault!"
"I'll be the judge of that. So, what's the story."
"Well, here's the thing… Do you remember the last time when you left the two of us together to go to your university meeting? He mentioned how you kept calling him 'Saekki' and he looked it up in an online translator, and it come up as 'baby.' He asked me if that was right, and so I…."
"So, you what? Did you really tell him it was true."
"Well, how was I supposed to tell him that it actually means 'bastard' when he was asking so excitedly? It was just a little white lie. Besides, that's what the translator told him, and technically 'Saekki' can mean 'baby.' So really, I didn't lie at all."
Yoon Jongwoo kept offering excuses with a pitiful expression, on the verge of tears. Kwon Taekjoo was so bewildered that he leaned back, struggling to contain his frustration. Yoon anxiously glanced at Taekjoo and continued to defend himself.
"Anyway, Mr Yevgeny was super happy with that explanation, and I didn't think he'd ever find out the truth unless you told him. Plus, you don't mean it in a bad way when you call him that, right? Don't you think it'll be fine?"
"Yeah, yeah you did great. It's not even a big deal. All I have to do now is put up with this bastard's unbearable attitude every time I call him that."
"Taekjoo, what are you whispering about over there?"
Zhenya asked, his voice carrying a clear note of irritation. At this rate, he was going to take out his frustration on poor, innocent Yoon Jongwoo, so Kwon Taekjoo gave a vague answer and tried to change the subject.
"I told him not to be so picky about the side dishes and just eat what's given. You should eat too."
Meanwhile, Kwon Taekjoo placed a piece of well-cooked meat onto Zhenya's rice. Only then did Zhenya finally take a spoonful of rice and meat into his mouth.
Feeling comforted by Taekjoo, he shot another threatening look at Yoon Jongwoo.
Even recalling the whole experience made Kwon taekjooo's cheeks flush with embarrassment. He often scolded Zhenya to learn some Korean if he wanted to stay in the country. Ironically, the more Korean Zhenya learned, the more trouble he caused Taekjoo, especially because Zhenya had a knack for interpreting words however he pleased.
Reluctantly, Kwon Taekjoo tried to pull his hand away, but Zhenya caught it, pulled it toward him, and turned to place a kiss on his palm.
"If you think this face is so pretty, then look at it and touch it as much as you want.Taekjoo, I'll only allow you to."
Kwon Taekjoo realized for sure that no one had ever touched Zhenya the way he was now. It wasn't just his face… Zhenya only let Taekjoo reach his vulnerable places, like his neck and his penis.
For a a man with countless enemies who didn't hesitate to punish those who crossed him, Zhenya was utterly defenseless when it came to Taekjoo. The thought sent a helpless tingle through him. The center of his palm throbbed with a heated energy.
"Damn it, you pretty little bastard."
Kwon Taekjoo muttered irritably, pulling Zhenya closer. Zhenya willingly complied as Kwon Taekjoo peppered his face with kisses, letting out soft, satisfied moans between breaths. They spent a long time stroking each other's hair and ears, exchanging tender kisses before pulling slightly apart.
The sun had already dipped lower in the sky, casting an orange glow over Zhenya's pale cheeks and Kwon Taekjoo's dark eyes. They looked at each other for a moment before leaning in for another deep kiss.
What had once been a clear sky now lit up with streaks of red and blue as the final rays of sunlight shone. Zhenya's broad shoulders and back were bathed in the glow of the setting sun, taking on a warm, rosy hue.
The two of them interviewed, rolling together as they went.The hot breaths brushing against Kwon Taekjoo's lips felt incredibly loving, and even the the salty air felt gentle as it touched his skin.
It was all like a sweet, sweet dream.
.
.
.
.
End of chapter.