Swallow Hunting - Chapter 59.2
Hae-jun quickly checked the clock hanging on the wall. It was already past 3:00 PM.
He had suppressed his hunger with a single triangular kimbap Yohan had tossed him and had been doing deliveries all day. Since that had been his breakfast and lunch combined, Hae-jun was about to reply that he had eaten, but at that moment, his stomach let out a growl, protesting that it wasn’t enough. It was a fairly loud sound, enough to make the secretary tapping away at the keyboard look back.
“I did eat, but…”
Hae-jun clutched his tactless belly. He wondered why he had to cry out so pathetically in front of Lee Kang-ju instead of picking a better time and place.
“That works out. I haven’t eaten yet either.”
“Until this hour?”
“I’ve been a bit busy.”
Lee Kang-ju placed his arm around Hae-jun’s shoulders. The grip on his opposite shoulder was firm, as if he would never let go no matter what happened. Hae-jun’s head slowly drooped like a ripened stalk of rice. The pale back of his neck flushed a pinkish hue.
“Make a reservation for two at Cheongundam. Tell them we’ll arrive in thirty minutes.”
Lee Kang-ju gave instructions to the secretary and leisurely left the office with Hae-jun tucked under his arm. Even in the elevator, the arm resting on his shoulder did not come down. The man simply tilted his head toward Hae-jun and stared blankly at the floor numbers as they descended.
Hae-jun toyed with his fingers, intertwining them, and stole glances at Lee Kang-ju through the polished, mirror-like walls of the elevator.
They hadn’t spent a vast amount of time together, but he could now read the faint changes in the man’s expression. It was a smile no different from usual, but there was a minute difference, like a high difficulty ‘spot the difference’ puzzle. For instance, the angle of the corners of his mouth or the way his gaze had become as thick as honey.
“CEO, did something good happen today by any chance?”
He asked with confidence. While working as a host, Hae-jun had cultivated the ability to sensitively pick up on a client’s expression and mood. Lee Kang-ju was definitely in a good mood.
“No. Why?”
But the answer was unexpected. Hae-jun dejectedly avoided his eyes.
“Just because. You looked like you were in a good mood.”
“Me?”
“Yes. Your smile is a bit different from usual.”
He didn’t know how to explain that expression, which looked as though a hum might leak out at any moment. Instead of a complex description, Hae-jun pushed up the corners of his own mouth with his two index fingers. After making them curl like fiddlehead ferns, he pulled his hands away awkwardly.
“Did I smile like that?”
“With a bit of exaggeration, yes.”
“You’re saying I smiled like a clown.”
“No! It wasn’t like that.”
“It sounds like it.”
Hae-jun waved his hands and denied it vehemently. Lee Kang-ju’s smile deepened. It was a fragrant sort of laughter.
Has he smiled like this before? Was it that he hadn’t noticed, or was Lee Kang-ju just in an exceptionally good mood?
Hae-jun lost himself in the moment as if trapped in time. He stared with his mouth slightly agape before being snapped out of it by the sound of the elevator stopping.
Even as he was led along like a briefcase tucked under Lee Kang-ju’s arm, Hae-jun’s mind was occupied elsewhere. Because he hadn’t put on his seatbelt, Lee Kang-ju personally leaned his upper body toward Hae-jun to fasten it, causing the nape of his neck to burn red.
The road and the time it took to get to the restaurant stretched out longer than a piece of taffy. Hae-jun stared out the window for all he was worth. He knew that if he looked at Lee Kang-ju, he would undoubtedly be helplessly enchanted.
***
The restaurant they arrived at was a quiet Hanok located on the outskirts of the city. Even the sound of treading on the black gravel of the parking lot was different from the sounds usually heard in the city.
After leaving the car for valet parking, they passed through the main gate of the restaurant. A staff member dressed in a beautiful Hanbok took charge of guiding them. She seemed to know Lee Kang-ju. With a bright smile, she offered a greeting, saying it had been a long time. Lee Kang-ju gave a mild smile and simply nodded his head lightly.
Hae-jun looked around throughout the guidance. There was a pond where koi swam leisurely, low stone lanterns, and reddish pine trees lined up like roadside trees. The garden, bathed in the soft afternoon sun, felt like a world apart, completely isolated from the world he lived in.
The staff member left after showing them to a private detached building. It was an independent space where the noise of chatter from outside was blocked, and any conversation they had would not leak out.
As he had said a reservation was made, the food came out without any wait. Upon the table that stretched between Hae-jun and Lee Kang-ju like the Han River, golden brass bowls were lined up endlessly. It was a neat yet lavish spread.
“Eat.”
Even though permission was given, there were so many varieties that he didn’t know which bowl to touch first. Hae-jun just sat there looking at the table awkwardly, like someone sitting on a cushion that wasn’t theirs. His hungry stomach was stinging and his mouth was watering, but it felt like he shouldn’t just touch anything.
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