I Became the Lousy Side Top - Chap 82
A cool breeze caressed his cheek. Jaewoo shivered at the cold and clung to the warmth he could feel in front of him. As he hugged the object closer to himself, he felt the heat soaking into his body, making him feel better. He smiled to himself before slowly opening his eyes and spotting tousled black hair right in front of his nose.
He blinked and then glanced down. He saw eyes with fine lines at the edges, still closed, and a straight nose. It was Hyunjin.
‘Why is he in my arms?’
Jaewoo was surprised, and quickly lifted up the arm that had been wrapped around Hyunjin. But as he did, Hyunjin’s long eyelashes fluttered, and his dark eyes suddenly opened. He blinked at Jaewoo hazily, clearly still half-asleep, before his face crinkled in a smile.
“Jaewoo.”
Hyunjin raised his head slightly and kissed him on his chin.
“Did you sleep well?”
Jaewoo honestly didn’t know if he’d slept well or not. Now that he was awake, his head felt like it was about to explode. After a moment, the memory of how much he’d drank the night before came back to him. The hangover had caught up.
‘So is my hangover causing me to hallucinate?’
Jaewoo closed his eyes tightly. When he next opened them, he got a shock – Hyunjin had shifted himself around so that he could lean over him and was smiling prettily right in front of his face. He reached out and ran his fingers through Jaewoo’s hair, asking him.
“Do you have a headache?”
“Yeah, a small one.”
“This is why you shouldn’t drink too much.”
“I know, I know. I messed up.”
What had happened yesterday? Why was Hyunjin smiling at him so contentedly? From the atmosphere, someone might have thought that they had spent the night as lovers, but Jaewoo didn’t feel sore at all. He smiled awkwardly and tried to get up, but almost immediately collapsed back onto the bed. His head hurt so badly that even sitting up was too much.
“Wait a moment.”
Hyunjin stood up and headed to the small kitchen area. After a moment he returned, passing a cup of lukewarm water over to Jaewoo. When he took a sip, he was surprised to find it was sweet.
“Where did you get the honey?”
“They sell a few staples at the little store nearby. I went there early this morning and bought some, just in case.”
What a meticulous guy. Jaewoo drank the cup of honey water willingly. As the sweetness entered his stomach, he felt his nausea begin to subside a little.
“I also got some hangover drinks too.”
“Thank you.”
“No thanks needed.”
Hyunjin smiled softly. When Jaewoo had first met him, Hyunjin had never smiled this much. When had that changed?
‘I like you too.’
Just as he was about to open the hangover drink, memories from the night before came back to him. He remembered everything: the moment Hyunjin arrived, their kisses, and finally the last thing he said before falling asleep.
‘W-Why can I still remember it all?!’
Normally when you drank that much, you wouldn’t remember anything the next day! Instantly Jaewoo’s face turned as red as an apple.
“Jaewoo? What’s wrong?”
Hyunjin asked him, but Jaewoo couldn’t answer. He slapped his hand over his mouth and froze, unable to move. As Hyunjin stared at him, the atmosphere between them began to shift. The worry on his face faded as he figured out what was going on.
“Do you remember last night?”
Jaewoo desperately shook his head.
“You really don’t remember?”
This time he nodded.
“That’s okay, I remember. Should I tell you?”
“No, don’t!”
Jaewoo shouted in horror, but Hyunjin seemed to have no intention of stopping.
“Last night, we kissed.”
‘Oh my god, oh my god. Please, God, save me.’
Jaewoo calmly put down his hangover drink and covered his face with both hands.
“I liked it a lot. Your lips were so hot and soft. I wish you had opened up a bit more, though.”
How could he say that?! If anyone had overheard it they would have completely misunderstood things. Shocked, Jaewoo slapped his hand over Hyunjin’s mouth. After a moment, he felt a small tremor under his palm as Hyunjin started to chuckle.
“Stop laughing!”
It was no use. Jaewoo felt like slapping himself. He might be forced to leave soon, so why had he done that? He regretted his actions, but he couldn’t show that openly. He looked away, trying to hide.
Hyunjin reached up and held Jaewoo’s hand in his own, leaning over him. He asked.
“Are you embarrassed?”
“Yes.”
Jaewoo answered, trying to remain calm.
“How can you say something like that with no shame?”
“That’s not it. I’m embarrassed too.”
“Don’t lie.”
“Really. Would you like to kiss again? Then you can see for yourself whether I’m embarrassed or not.”
Blushing, Jaewoo shook his hand free of Hyunjin’s grasp.
“K-Kids, you’re going to wake the kids!”
“They woke up a long time ago. They’re on the beach now.”
“Breakfast?”
“Of course I fed them breakfast. I made fried eggs and grilled ham, and they ate it up. Oh, I added some of the pickled garlic, too.”
“But shouldn’t someone be watching them?”
“They took their cell phones with them, and they promised not to go too far.”
Hyunjin blocked all of Jaewoo’s escape routes.
“We should eat too!”
“We can eat afterwards. Why are you trying to avoid me? You seemed to like it last night.”
Hyunjin’s voice was grumpy. He cupped Jaewoo’s cheeks with both hands then leaned forward and kissed his scrunched-up eyes, his wrinkled-up nose, and finally his tightly-closed lips.
Hyunjin’s tongue lapped at his lips sensually, as if requesting entrance.
‘Where did he learn to do this?!’
Jaewoo felt like crying.
“Jaewoo…”
Hyunjin spoke, their lips barely separated. Jaewoo could clearly feel Hyunjin’s breath washing over his skin. He opened his lips and started to lean forward…
Just then, the door to the RV slammed open. As soon as he heard that, Jaewoo quickly pushed Hyunjin away. Almost instantly, Woohee came rushing inside.
“Bro! Bro! Look at this!”
Woohee ran towards the two of them, a bunch of slimy green plants held in his hands and an excited look on his face.
“I found some seaweed! We can have seaweed soup for dinner!”
Behind him, Hyeonu was holding a small bucket containing even more plants. He looked resigned.
“Good job. But is it really seaweed?”
“It looks like seaweed to me.”
“How can we tell?”
Jaewoo was sweating as he accepted the bucket from Hyeonu. He could feel someone staring at him from behind him, but he tried to ignore it.
It turned out that the kids really had found seaweed. Jaewoo didn’t know if it was safe to eat it as it was, so they decided not to use it. Still, the kids seemed really excited.
“I also found some more seashells with holes in them. I’m going to use them to make a bracelet!”
Woohee revealed his grandiose plans.
“I’ll make something for you and Hyunjin too.”
“Thank you.”
“Eheh.”
Seeing him rubbing the tip of his nose as he spoke was adorable.
“Let’s all make lunch together!”
“Okay.”
Jaewoo couldn’t help but laugh at the innocence of the children. Of course, there was one person he definitely couldn’t laugh at, but he didn’t care. Thanks to the kids’ interruption, he’d been able to avoid him.
Once Jaewoo’s hangover subsided, they made lunch. Jaewoo grilled fish that they’d bought at a nearby supermarket, soaked some dried seaweed, and made seaweed soup.
“Shall we go to a raw seafood1 restaurant for dinner? After all, we came all the way here to the beach.”
“Raw seafood? Sounds good.”
“Do you like raw fish?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never tried it.”
Hyunjin said calmly. For kids, trying different foods was only possible if the parents made an effort. Since Hyunjin’s parents never bothered, it made sense that he had never had it before.
‘Raw seafood isn’t cheap, either.’
That was even more reason to try it now.
“Then let’s go to a raw seafood restaurant for dinner!”
“Do they serve sliced raw fish?”
Woohee asked Jaewoo to clarify.
“They do.”
“Does it taste good?”
“Hmm, it’s kind of rich, very savory.”
“Like peanuts2?”
“No, not exactly. It’s got its own flavor.”
Hyeonu scolded Woohee for constantly asking questions.
“You’ll find out once we try it.”
“Okay!”
The four of them ate lunch and then took a leisurely nap. After that, they went back to the beach again. Although they didn’t play like they had before, just walking together was fun. The trip had really been good for their souls.
In the evening, they visited a nearby raw seafood restaurant that Jaewoo had looked up ahead of time.
To be honest, Jaewoo didn’t eat raw seafood very often, so he was a bit lost on what to order. He finally decided on the sliced flounder, which seemed like a safe choice, and accompanied it with some other raw fish and squid meat. It was going to be rather expensive, but he decided not to worry about that for now.
First the side dishes were brought out. Then, once they’d begun eating, the raw fish plates began arriving one by one.
“Wow!”
Woohee poked at the still-squirming squid with his chopsticks, curious. Hyeonu merely sat at the table quietly and stared down at the seafood. Carefully, the children started with the ones that looked the tastiest.
“It’s good!”
Woohee seemed to enjoy everything he tried. On the other hand, Hyeonu stuck out his tongue, saying it was too fishy.
“Would you like me to order something else? Or do you want to try this?”
Jaewoo pushed the raw squid closer to Hyeonu.
“I’ll try it!”
He couldn’t come all the way there and then leave without eating anything. Thinking that, Hyeonu dipped the raw squid in vinegar and put it in his mouth. He chewed it a few times, his expression relaxing.
“I like this!”
He began taking more pieces, his chopsticks moving quickly. Now that the children were settled, Jaewoo turned his attention towards Hyunjin.
“How is it? Do you like it?”
“Yes, it’s fine?”
Hyunjin ate a bit of everything, without discriminating. It seemed like he and Woohee had similar tastes. Seeing him enjoying himself made Jaewoo push the food closer towards him.
“You should have some too.”
“I’ve already had a lot. If we run out I’ll order more, don’t worry.”
“Okay.”
Seeing Hyunjin eating well made Jaewoo feel like it was worth every penny. He wished they’d had more time to spend together. He could have looked up seasonal restaurants and traveled to them, teaching Hyunjin as they went.
‘Salt-grilled shrimp and snow crab would have been delicious.’
Not just those. There were countless delicious foods everywhere.’
‘There are so many things I haven’t tried yet.’
Jaewoo couldn’t help feeling regretful.
Footnotes
회 – hoe – hoe. A traditional raw seafood dish, usually eaten with ssamjang, sesame oil with salt, soy sauce, wasabi, vegetables, and various side dishes. It’s similar to Japanese sashimi. Restaurants that specialize in serving hoe are called hoe restaurants, or raw fish restaurants. Wikipedia, TikTok
고소한 – gosohan – Savory or nutty. Jaewoo uses this word to describe the flavor of raw fish. I don’t know why he chose it, but that’s why Woohee asks if it tastes like peanuts.
