Family Dinners and Secret Couples

Yoon Dae-eon was enjoying some time alone for the first time in a while. It had been exactly one week since Seon Ji-ha claimed he had undergone a “one-sided imprint.”

Since then, Ji-ha had crashed almost every lecture Dae-eon attended. When he couldn’t, he would run over, panting, the moment Dae-eon’s class finished to wait for him. As a result, Dae-eon had been practically living at Ji-ha’s house.

The reason Dae-eon was alone today was simple: Ji-ha’s phone had rung this morning. It was a sight Dae-eon had never seen before.

“Where did you leave Sunbae?”

“He has some family business.”

Perhaps because Dae-eon and Ji-ha had been inseparable for the past week, Oh Dong-cheol and Kim Ye-jun asked this as soon as they saw him alone. Kim Ye-jun, letting out a wide yawn, muttered, “Oh, finally?”

Just as he’d said, Ji-ha had stared at his phone this morning with a look of pure loathing before finally answering the persistent ringing. Afterward, with a deeply annoyed expression, he told Dae-eon he had somewhere he had to go.

Since the Ji-ha Dae-eon knew mostly stayed home and acted as if he had zero human relationships, the idea of him having “somewhere to go” felt foreign. Dae-eon soon realized it was a family matter.

“Hey, what are you guys doing?”

“Oh? We’re going to a famous restaurant after this.”

While Dae-eon was lost in thought about Ji-ha, Ye-jun and Dong-cheol were uncharacteristically close, passing a phone back and forth. As Dae-eon narrowed his eyes at them, Dong-cheol added:

“Why, you wanna come? The wait is two hours, though. You okay with that? You hate waiting.”

Usually, Dong-cheol’s food-hunting invitations were meant for Dae-eon. But within a week, Dong-cheol was naturally seeking out Kim Ye-jun instead.

It was obvious what was happening. Dae-eon ignored the oblivious Dong-cheol and stared at Kim Ye-jun. Ye-jun shifted his gaze and confessed briefly:

“Yeah, we’re dating.”

Quick-witted Ye-jun pinpointed exactly what Dae-eon was getting at. At that statement, Dong-cheol jumped.

“Hey! I told you to keep it a secret for now!”

“He already looks like he knows.”

“……Really? Yoon Dae-eon, since when did you know?”

Dong-cheol finally looked at Dae-eon sheepishly. Dae-eon gave a huff of disbelief as he looked at his friend.

“Even the copier in the student lounge would know just by looking at you two.”

“U-Us? Why? Is something weird?”

“Who wouldn’t notice? You two used to fight every single day, and now you’re stuck together constantly.”

He had only missed it because he’d been so preoccupied with Ji-ha; it was almost funny that he was only confirming it now. Dong-cheol was looking at Ye-jun with eyes full of giddy affection, and Ye-jun was actually watching his habit of speaking rudely around Dong-cheol.

“Since when?”

“Well, uh…… just since the MT.”

“You’ve been hiding it since then?”

“We weren’t hiding it! You were always stuck with Seon Ji-ha Sunbae, so there was no time to tell you…….”

Dae-eon had wondered why Dong-cheol was being so quiet despite Dae-eon only hanging out with Ji-ha. It turned out Dong-cheol had been too busy with Ye-jun to care.

As soon as they admitted they were dating, they subtly linked hands. Dae-eon couldn’t smell it, but he suspected they might be emitting sweet pheromones right now. The atmosphere was that thick.

“I cannot permit this marriage.”

“Hey, who said anything about marriage?”

“Mother-in-law, what must I do to earn your blessing?”

“Throw sand in your own eyes!”

Unlike the oblivious Dong-cheol, Ye-jun grinned and played along with the skit. He even mock-knelt and pretended to look for sand on the ground—even though they were standing on clean asphalt.

Dong-cheol burst out laughing at the absurdity. He realized belatedly that this was Dae-eon’s way of congratulating them.

Dae-eon grumbled quietly to himself.

“They say if three people gather, two of them will be dating……. Who am I supposed to eat with now?”

“What do you mean ‘who’? Just eat with us.”

“Do I look like Oh Dong-cheol? I’m not so clueless that I’d wedge myself between a couple.”

Dong-cheol glared at the comment about being clueless. Dae-eon sighed. He had no complaints about them dating, but he was sad to lose his meal buddies.

“Who are you worried about eating with? You have Sunbae.”

“Right! You ate only with him all last week. Actually, you’re the funny one here. You’re the one who ditched us first.”

“No, that was…….”

Dae-eon opened his mouth to explain but closed it again. How could he tell them that Ji-ha claimed to suffer withdrawal symptoms if they were apart? Especially when it wasn’t even a real imprint.

Moreover, after spending a week together, he noticed a few things that differed from typical imprint symptoms. Ji-ha never asked Dae-eon for pheromones.

Usually, someone suffering from an imprint feels like they’re dying if they don’t receive pheromones from their partner, but Ji-ha didn’t show that specific craving.

……Maybe that’s why he hasn’t asked to sleep together again.

Dae-eon’s face flushed at his own stray thought. Though they’d spent nights together since the Rut, things hadn’t ignited like that first time. Perhaps Seon Ji-ha wasn’t as lustful as he’d thought.

“So, Yoon Dae-eon, you coming to the restaurant today?”

“I told you I’m not Dong-cheol. You two go.”

“This guy, seriously.”

Dae-eon firmly refused—he had no intention of waiting two hours even for a “famous” place—and the conversation ended. While the couple returned to their phones, Dae-eon checked his.

Ji-ha was texting him, but there was no word yet on when they would meet. The family business seemed to be dragging on.

“What should I do after this……?”

It was his first time alone without Ji-ha in a while. When Ji-ha was around, he didn’t even have to think about what to do, but now that he was alone, he felt quite aimless. What did I used to do for fun before Sunbae?

Just then, his phone rang, and a familiar name filled the screen:

[Yoon Ju-myeong]

*********************************************

“Seon Ji-ha, that’s enough.”

Meanwhile, Seon Ji-ha, separated from Dae-eon for the first time in a week, felt even more aimless than Dae-eon. Of course, it wasn’t to the point of the exaggerated breathing difficulties he displayed whenever Dae-eon tried to leave.

The symptoms he’d claimed were partly true, but mostly a lie. While he did find it difficult to breathe if Dae-eon explicitly rejected him, being apart for a short time didn’t actually cause a medical crisis.

But since Dae-eon had accepted his presence with a troubled, sympathetic face, Ji-ha couldn’t help himself. He quite effectively used his quiet, clumsy persona to exploit Dae-eon’s pity.

“Who uses their phone during a meal!”

A thunderous roar erupted from Seon Ji-ho, the eldest son of the Seon family. It was understandable; the youngest sibling had been holding his phone more than his spoon throughout the meal, right in front of their parents.

However, since the parents were incredibly gentle and particularly soft-hearted toward Ji-ha, the eldest, Ji-ho, felt he had to be the one to get angry. The middle sibling, Seon Yeon-jeong, continued eating as if this wasn’t surprising at all.

Only the parents flinched at Ji-ho’s shouting. Ji-ha shot a brief glance at his brother before fixing his eyes back on his phone. Dae-eon hadn’t replied to his text for five minutes.

“Seon Ji-ha!”

Watching Ji-ha’s eyes shift beneath his messy hair, Ji-ho realized he was being ignored. His youngest brother was always like this. If it wasn’t something he was interested in, he didn’t react to others at all.

His parents told him to just be grateful Ji-ha showed up for the monthly family dinner, but as the eldest, Ji-ho couldn’t stand it. It was once a month. Could he not at least pretend to be normal for that short time?

As Ji-ho continued to fume, Yeon-jeong finally set down her spoon. In the icy atmosphere, the parents had stopped eating long ago. Sensing the mood, Ji-ha finally lowered his head and stared at the floor.

Then, a very cheerful sound echoed across the table.

Ding!

Ding!

The loud notification sound Ji-ha had recently set—to ensure he never missed a single text from Dae-eon—shattered the silence.

Ji-ha, who had been submissively bowing his head as if reflecting on his behavior, immediately snatched up his phone.

[Dae-eon: Sunbae, I’m having lunch! The menu is tteokbokki.]

[Dae-eon: What are you eating?] 1:12 PM

At the message that arrived after seven minutes, Ji-ha unconsciously started grinning, his fingers busy on the screen. He looked completely oblivious to the fact that the entire table was staring at him in stunned silence.

Naturally, Ji-ho clutched the back of his neck as if he were about to faint. Yeon-jeong, watching her only brother’s behavior, simply thought, Of course, and picked up her spoon again.