NOVEL NEXT chapter 131
“Are you actually protesting so I’ll feed you?”
“I do kinda wish someone would just treat me like their kid and feed me, yeah.”
That was half-serious. The older I got, the lazier I became, and now I was even having thoughts like that. If my sister heard, she’d probably smack me in the back of the head and ask how old I think I am to be saying shit like that.
I threw the line out as a joke, but Gang Jaegyung paused like he was seriously thinking it over—then suddenly blurted,
“Isn’t your birthday later {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} than mine? That makes me the hyung, so just think of it as your big brother taking care of you.”
The fuck are you saying… And why is this bastard talking so confidently when he doesn’t even know my birthday?
“You don’t even know when my birthday is.”
“It’s April 28th, right?”
What the hell? A chill went down my spine.
“…How the hell do you know that?”
Did I… ever tell him my birthday? I don’t think so? I mean, Gang Jaegyung’s always the one doing the talking when we hang out—there’s hardly ever a moment for me to share personal details. Unless he brought it up first, which he didn’t.
I shot him a suspicious glare, and he flinched, then rushed to explain.
“I saw it on your SNS. Everyone was losing it saying they found you, and I got curious…”
Ah… that.
For a second there, I thought he was that interested in me and had gone digging through my past. Wouldn’t be surprising—he’s the type to go all-in once he’s fixated on something.
Now that I think about it, there was a commotion about my socials getting dug up after the event. Even though I’d blocked whispers, party invites still went through unless you blocked the person directly, so I got flooded with questions like: are you really from Daehan University, why did you drop out, do you really own two cars, was so-and-so actually your girlfriend… the whole nine yards. I thought about setting my account to private, but I’d forgotten the password, got too lazy, and just left it alone…
Guess I had my birthday set to public too. It was an old account I made ages ago, and after getting into college, I’d barely managed it anymore. After I dropped out, I deleted the app altogether and never looked back.
Well, knowing me, I probably didn’t bother hiding anything.
“When’s your birthday then?”
“April 4th. Same month as yours.”
…April 4th? So he was born just a few weeks before me?
“Bullshit.”
“Why would I lie about my birthday?”
“You’ve got that frosty vibe, I figured you were born in December.”
“Wait, are you seriously refusing to admit your birthday’s later than mine?”
“Show me your ID.”
I held my hand out, and though Gang Jaegyung looked baffled, he fished around in his cardigan pocket, pulled out his wallet, and handed me his national ID without a word.
Hey, what the hell is this guy thinking, showing me his ID like it’s nothing?
“Are you trying to get your identity stolen or what?”
“Didn’t you ask to see it? Why are you mad?”
“What kind of idiot just hands it over the second someone asks, dumbass!”
“I’m only giving it to you ‘cause it’s you, Goyoung.”
He handed it over with this sheepish little smile. I sighed, but I had asked for it, so I took the ID and, with full conscience, only checked the birthdate.
Clear as day: 0404. Just in case, I double-checked the birth year—it matched mine exactly.
“See? Why would I lie about my birthday?”
“You really don’t act your age.”
“For someone who ‘doesn’t act his age,’ I got a job faster than most people our age and started making money early.”
…Yeah, fuckin’ enviable. If I didn’t have trauma hanging over my head, I’d be finishing college around now, busy with job apps too.
I shoved down the creeping bitterness and stretched out my hand to return his ID. Then I caught sight of his ID photo.
His face looked way younger—those cheeks looked like they’d be warm and squishy if I touched them. Maybe because of his age, but his skin looked so lively. His lips, curved faintly into a smile, were a more vivid pink than they are now. His sharp eyes made him look more aggressive than he actually was, but overall, he was cute and sweet-looking.
If current Gang Jaegyung was like a porcelain doll, this past version was… a peach doll? Either way, way rounder and cuter back then.
“Why’d you stop handing it back?”
I’d paused mid-reach, and Jaegyung lightly tapped my fingers. Feeling the contact, I handed him the ID and answered offhandedly,
“Just couldn’t believe it. Had to double-check.”
“Then you admit I’m older now, right?”
This guy.
“Cut the crap and eat your sushi.”
As expected, Jaegyung stuck out his lower lip in a pout.
“You better eat too, Goyoung.”
“Yeah yeah, I’ll eat. Just stop feeding me and focus on your own food.”
This was gonna be an endless loop at this rate. Before he could say anything else, I picked up my chopsticks and moved to grab some sushi. Just as my chopsticks were about to touch the piece, the whole plate vanished from right in front of me. The culprit: Gang Jaegyung.
I glared at him, wondering what the hell he was doing, especially after nagging me to eat so much.
“It got cold. I’ll eat this one—you eat this.”
The now-cold flounder sushi ended up in front of him, while a fresh plate of salmon sushi was set before me. Could’ve just eaten it himself, but no, this guy was out here treating another grown-ass man like royalty.
I opened my mouth to say something but stopped—no point wasting time arguing. Better to just finish up quickly. I shoved the sushi in my mouth. While I chewed, Jaegyung took that as his chance and stacked my side with more plates: fresh flounder, eel, tamago, sea bream, butter-grilled octopus…
“Eat lots.”
As I stared at the flood of plates, Jaegyung grinned and lightly tapped my cheek—puffed out from sushi—with his finger.
Seriously… He’s asking for a beating.
I sighed silently and drove an uppercut into his ribs.
***
I’d meant to just pretend to eat a little, but I ended up eating way more than expected. All Jaegyung’s fault.
Jaegyung said I still needed to eat more, but honestly, that was a lot for me. Sure, he ate forty-three plates, but that’s just him being a human trash compactor. Comparing me to a guy who works out is unfair, right?
“So, what now? Wanna go somewhere else like we talked about earlier?”
While I sat there bloated, Jaegyung asked with that innocent, chipper voice like nothing happened. Up to now, we’d always just eaten and chatted at a cafe, but I guess today he wanted to do something different.
Fine by me. Going to cafes after every meal was starting to get dull.
“Anywhere to go around here?”
I’d only been to this area once before, so I didn’t know the place at all. Didn’t think Jaegyung would know much either.
Sure enough, he said he wasn’t sure and pulled out his phone to look things up. I leaned in to watch him pull up the map app and scan the surroundings.
Unfortunately, the only nearby options were PC bang, karaoke, or pool hall. Anything else would be a bit of a walk. Figures—it’s a run-down area, not the kind of place young people hang out in.
“Um… do you like karaoke?”
“Ah… not really? But if you wanna go, that’s fine.”
“I’m not into karaoke either.”
Karaoke: rejected.
“What about pool?”
“Meh. You?”
“Never tried it.”
“Pass.”
Pool: also rejected.
“PC bang’s too basic, huh?”
He scrolled around the map, searching for other options. Everything fun seemed to be at least a 10-minute walk away… and I didn’t really want to walk through crowded areas.
Still, maybe hitting a PC bang again wouldn’t be so bad. Going with a whole group of friends vs. just with Jaegyung would probably feel pretty different…
“I’m fine with PC bang.”
Jaegyung stopped scrolling and looked at me.
“Really? You’re okay with just going to the PC bang?”
“Yeah. Playing games sounds good.”
That said, we were different races in Dusk, so playing it together for long wouldn’t work. Sitting side-by-side and PvPing might be fun, but no way we’d do that for hours. Not to mention, people were already gossiping about abuse and boosting…
As I wondered if he played any of the same games outside Dusk, Jaegyung decided on PC bang and called for a staff member to tally up the bill. When the server came over to count the plates, Jaegyung pulled out his wallet.
Oh hell no. This bastard still hasn’t learned.
I quickly pulled out my own card and snatched his away before he could pay, then handed mine to the server. The worker looked briefly confused, but took my card. Jaegyung sat there stunned, then exploded.
“What the hell? Why do you keep paying? You paid the day before yesterday and yesterday too!”
“And why are you trying to pay? Stuff like this is for the rich guy to cover.”
“I have money too, okay?! Let’s just split the bill—I ate way more anyway…”
“Split what, you tryna embarrass me? Don’t even think about pulling your card out in front of me again. Just say, ‘Thanks for the meal,’ and be done.”
The server came back and handed my card over. Jaegyung stared at me with a defeated look. I stood up and waved him along.
“C’mon. Let’s go play some games.”
Still, he obediently got up and trailed after me out of the place.