Table Manners

The house, which had grown quiet after the grown children moved out and only the couple and the youngest remained, was bustling for the first time in a while.

Jaeyoung kept his head lowered so he wouldn’t meet Saheon’s eyes across the table, his fingers twitching restlessly instead.

Haewoon had vanished somewhere, leaving three people from one family on one side and three from the other.

They sat facing each other as if deliberately paired, a strangely awkward sight.

More than that, Jaeyoung couldn’t understand why Saheon, who was supposedly too busy to even visit his own home, had rushed over just to sit there staring him down.

Brrrt—

At that moment, the smartphone placed face down at the edge of the table vibrated.

Jaeyoung grabbed it reflexively, relief washing over him.

It was the same number that had left dozens of missed calls since morning and annoyed him to no end, but right now it felt like an oxygen tank.

“Kim Jaeyoung!

How many times have I told you not to touch your phone at the table?”

His mother’s gaze snapped toward him immediately, sharp and merciless.

He had let his guard down, thinking the parents on both sides were too busy catching up to notice him.

“No, it’s just that some unknown number keeps calling…

I was going to mark it as spam.”

Startled, Jaeyoung scrapped his plan to use the call as an excuse to leave.

Instead, he hurriedly marked the number as spam while piling on excuses.

“Kids are all like that.

Our Haewoon can’t even focus on eating because he’s always on KakaoTalk at the table.

I wonder if his fingers ever get sore.”

Dohwa, who was especially fond of Jaeyoung, took his side even while badmouthing her own son.

Jaeyoung looked at her with eyes full of gratitude.

“Honestly, sister, you really go all out over things you’re supposed to do anyway.”

Dohwa deliberately exaggerated her words and turned Sukhee’s attention toward Jaeyoung.

“And when has the obvious ever been easy?”

Her intention landed perfectly.

Sukhee began lavishing Saheon with overly detailed praise, saying that it had been so long since she’d seen him that she was struck by how tall he’d gotten, how sharp his jawline looked, how high his nose was, like a whole mountain range had flipped over.

“Thank you so much, Saheon.

You must be hungry after working so hard.

Eat up.”

“Yeah.

My wife went all out in the kitchen for the first time in a while, just for you.”

Once the praise finally ended, Jaeyoung’s father, Changhyun, nodded briskly.

Dinner had run far past their usual mealtime, and he looked genuinely starved.

“Yes, thank you for the meal.”

At last, they began eating.

Jaeyoung kept his head down and only reached for the dishes closest to him, afraid he might accidentally meet Saheon’s eyes.

Then he suddenly stopped chewing and tilted his head.

“What?

Does it taste weird?”

Sukhee, wearing a ‘that can’t be right’ expression, picked up the spinach side dish Jaeyoung had been eating and took a bite herself.

“No.

It’s just really good.”

Sukhee chewed with a puzzled look, then glared at him like he was ridiculous.

“I was just thinking, wow, has Mom’s cooking gotten this good all of a sudden?”

“This kid, honestly.

He says the silliest things sometimes.”

Embarrassed by her son’s praise, Sukhee muttered quickly while glancing around.

She looked flustered, but not displeased.

“How did you raise a son who speaks so sweetly?

And his face is so delicate, unlike the men in our house…

Ah, is that not a compliment but an insult to say to a boy?”

Dohwa rattled on enviously, then checked Jaeyoung’s expression.

“I like it when people see me as pretty.

Please keep doting on me.”

Jaeyoung replied with an easygoing smile.

Being looked upon fondly was all gain and no loss for him.

“How did you end up with a son like this?”

“What did I even do?

If you look at him kindly, he turns out kind, and that’s all his own good fortune.”

Clearly pleased by the praise, Sukhee couldn’t hide her smile.

If his mother was happy, there was no reason for Jaeyoung not to be.

Still smiling, he lifted his head—

And met Saheon’s eyes.

The corners of Saheon’s mouth were curled upward.

His gaze looked like he was watching a small animal’s antics, curious to see how far it would go.

A sudden chill ran down Jaeyoung’s spine, freezing him stiff.

“If Jaeyoung were a girl, that would’ve been perfect.

He’s exactly four years younger than our Saheon.”

At that moment, Dohwa dropped a bombshell of a comment.

‘Thank god I’m a guy.’

Jaeyoung exhaled in relief, like someone barely escaping hell.

“These days, what does it matter if it’s a man or a woman?

If they like each other, that’s all there is to it.

Right?”

The brothers’ father, Seokwoo, was unnecessarily open-minded.

Jaeyoung shot a nervous glance at Saheon.

There was no way he’d be happy being linked with another guy.

Honestly, Jaeyoung couldn’t imagine Jin Saheon liking anything at all.

‘If I really had to pick, maybe creatures.’

It wasn’t hard to picture Saheon alongside a creature.

Nodding to himself, Jaeyoung thought that made sense—

Then locked eyes with Saheon again, who was watching him with a strange expression.

“Well, I wouldn’t exactly oppose it.”

Even his father, Changhyun, chimed in as if encouraging a relationship between the two, and Jaeyoung’s face twisted in horror.

This was all the fault of Espers and Guides.

Normally grateful for their existence, Jaeyoung now burned with misplaced resentment toward them.

As same-s*x skinship became normalized, negative perceptions of same-s*x couples had faded quickly too.

“I guess he thought Jaeyoung was different from my younger brother…”

Dohwa trailed off, deliberately building suspense.

Jaeyoung was seized by the urge to abandon his meal and flee to his room.

Whatever was coming, it wouldn’t be anything he wanted to hear.

“What?

What happened?”

“He carried Jaeyoung out of the water like this, like this.”

“Oh my, oh my!”

At the mothers’ excited voices, Jaeyoung’s face flushed bright red with shame.

He’d rather have been dragged out by the scruff of his neck on shaking legs.

The dinner continued without major incident, with only the four parents talking back and forth.

“He’s not a kid anymore.

What are you doing?”

But then Sukhee, lowering her voice, poked Changhyun in the side.

Changhyun bent forward, scanning under the table with a serious expression.

“No, it feels like something’s there.

It keeps tapping my leg.”

“Kim Jaeyoung.

You…”

At Changhyun’s words, Sukhee glared at Jaeyoung, who had been quietly eating.

Faced with her suspicious stare, Jaeyoung shook his head quickly.

“It’s not me.”

Ever since he was little, Jaeyoung had a habit of bringing home stray animals he found on the street.

But because Changhyun had a fur allergy, they could never keep them.

Each time, Sukhee had to go through the trouble of finding good homes for them.

“I told you I stopped bringing them home.

Look, there’s nothing here.”

If only it had ended there.

But after Changhyun, Sukhee also insisted that something brushed against her leg.

“You’re really sure it’s not you?”

“I swear, it’s really not.”

Under the mounting suspicion, Jaeyoung shook his head, looking like he might cry.

As sorry as he felt toward his father, he found himself hoping the culprit really was an animal.

“This is enough to drive you crazy.”

“What, don’t tell me it’s actually a ghost?”

As the adults traded jokes tinged with laughter and irritation, Jaeyoung sat frozen, his face drained of color.

‘It can’t be a ghost.

Anything but a ghost.’

Jaeyoung didn’t really fear people.

But when it came to ghosts, he was a total coward—no matter how cute they might be.

He stayed seated, waiting while the adults finished eating amid their conversation.

Then something tapped against the tip of his foot.

Jaeyoung stiffened so hard he could barely breathe.

As if to prove it wasn’t his imagination, it tapped his leg again.

‘There really is something.’

His breathing turned ragged, like he was on the verge of crying.

Almost as if enjoying his reaction, whatever it was grew bolder.

At first it tapped lightly, like a bird pecking.

Then it began brushing over a wider area of his leg.

It slid slowly along the inside of his knee.

This time, the sensation lingered.

Trembling, Jaeyoung lowered his gaze.

If he tilted his head just a little, he’d be able to see under the table, see his knee.

He’d always wondered why horror movies insisted on characters checking things at moments like this.

Experiencing it himself, he felt like he’d die if he didn’t look.

Jaeyoung squeezed his eyes shut and tilted his head.

Still too afraid to look, he reached out and grabbed it instead.

Feeling a warm body temperature—too warm for a ghost—he relaxed just enough to open his eyes.

And then he snapped his head up, eyes blown wide in shock far greater than seeing a ghost.

“No way.”

Murmuring like he was possessed, Jaeyoung alternated between looking under the table and looking straight ahead.

Across from him, Saheon was watching with eyes full of amusement.

The culprit that had thrown everyone into confusion wasn’t a small animal.

And certainly not a ghost.

It was Saheon’s foot.

At this point, a ghost would have been better.

‘Why is he doing this…?’

Unable to ask out loud, Jaeyoung stared blankly at Saheon, mouth hanging open.

When the meal ended, the parents naturally began preparing to head out for a second round.

“Jaeyoung, are you really sure you won’t come with us?”

Dohwa asked with concern and regret in her eyes.

She didn’t spare Saheon, who stood beside her, even a glance.

“Yes.

You four go enjoy your date.”

Jaeyoung forced a smile, doing his best not to look at Saheon.

Embarrassed by the word date, the mothers chatted cheerfully as they walked away.

Jaeyoung waved lightly until they disappeared from sight.

When he turned back, Saheon was still standing there.

“Th-then, hyung, please get home safely too.”

Leaving Saheon outside the front door, Jaeyoung hurried back inside.

Bang!

It was loud enough to warrant a noise complaint.

Jaeyoung waited until he heard the click of the lock.

Then he sprinted toward his room.

But the moment he opened the door, he froze in shock, unable to even scream.

“Hy-hyung, h-how did you…!”

Saheon, whom he’d left outside, was standing right in the middle of Jaeyoung’s room.

At the sight of a panicked Jaeyoung, Saheon’s brows twitched in irritation.

“N-no, you’re supposed to come in through the d-door…”

Instinctively backing away, Jaeyoung pressed himself flat against the door.

He reached behind him and grabbed the doorknob.

He didn’t want to know why Saheon had touched his leg with his foot during dinner.

He just wanted to be alone.

But clearly, Saheon had other plans.

“Sit.”

At Saheon’s curt command, Jaeyoung tilted his head, wondering if he’d misheard.

Because what Saheon tapped twice was Jaeyoung’s thigh.