Pig Government Official

-54-

“How did you do it? They clearly said earlier that they couldn’t confirm anything until a cancellation came up and we’d have to wait?” Jeonggwan chattered excitedly on the phone to Junjae. When Junjae messaged him to get a ticket for the next flight, Jeonggwan initially thought, “Huh? What kind of nonsense is this?” But soon, he approached the counter again with excitement. He remembered that Won Junjae wasn’t just an ordinary person or just a rich person, but the son of the CEO of Won Electronics. While Park Jihoon had given up and decided to take the Monday flight next week, how did Won Junjae manage this? Sure enough, when he went to the counter, the staff who had said earlier that they couldn’t confirm anything now quickly helped with mobile ticketing for the 6 PM flight, without any change in expression.

[…It’s just a workaround.]

“What kind of workaround? Is there such a thing? Are there hidden seats? Am I going to sit next to the pilot or something?”

[No… It’s really just a workaround.]

So what is it…! Jeonggwan excitedly pestered Junjae to tell him, but Junjae’s lips remained sealed. Though very curious, since Junjae was reluctant to explain, Jeonggwan didn’t press further and just laughed it off. Although he wouldn’t be able to meet today as he’d arrive home past 1 AM, they could meet tomorrow and go for French cuisine. The call ended with Junjae telling him to travel safely, and Jeonggwan messaged his family that a cancellation had come up and he could come back in the early hours of the morning.

“What could the workaround be?”

“Money, of course.”

“…What money? You have money too.”

“I just don’t bother. And I don’t have the power.”

So what exactly is it? Jeonggwan questioned Jihoon, urging him to answer. Jihoon, looking annoyed, chewed his gum loudly and took off the sunglasses he had been wearing to cover his puffy eyes after waking up.

“Overbooking.”

“What’s that?”

“So, airlines take reservations for more people than the actual seats on the plane. There are always no-shows or cancellations. But when that doesn’t happen, it’s called overbooking. The people who arrive last can’t board due to overcapacity. Instead, the airline compensates by upgrading their seats on the next flight or providing a hotel stay before the next flight. But your boyfriend paid the airline to do this. Since they don’t know if there will be no-shows on the next flight, they’re forcing an overbooking to make sure we can board. Got it?” Jihoon explained, looking disgruntled, with an expression that clearly said, “Won Junjae is really showing off.”

“Wow. That’s impressive.”

“It’s a tactic often used by Won Group’s secretaries. It is impressive.”

“I guess he must really want to see me that badly.”

“This is really ridiculous. You…” Jihoon put his sunglasses back on with a slightly disgusted look and sank deeper into his chair. Regardless of Jihoon’s reaction, Jeonggwan was in an extremely good mood.

* * *

Jeonggwan’s eyes slowly opened from a deep sleep. He had slept so well that there was even a drool mark on the airplane pillow he had been leaning on. Feeling embarrassed, Jeonggwan sat up. Outside the airplane window, it was pitch dark. When he turned his head to look at the seat across the aisle, Jihoon was sound asleep, even wearing an eye mask. Jeonggwan quietly stretched his legs, leaned back in his seat, and looked out the window.

On the way to Hong Kong, they had flown business class because they had to get tickets urgently, but he thought they’d barely manage to get economy seats on the return flight due to lack of availability. Instead, they were flying first class. He was newly amazed by Won Junjae’s wealth and power, and thought that it really was a world where money could do anything. And Jeonggwan realized that he was truly materialistic. Because he could tell how Junjae thought about him from these thoughtful details. Although it was only about a five-hour flight, feeling that Junjae wanted him to travel comfortably made Jeonggwan, in a very materialistic way, extremely happy. Of course, it could be that he arranged first class because Jihoon was there too, but Jeonggwan felt that Junjae had exerted his power to the maximum extent possible at the moment.

That’s what excited him. Not that he was excited by money, well, that too, but the fact that Junjae did his best within his means to act for Jeonggwan’s benefit. That’s what made Jeonggwan’s heart flutter. Even among the wealthy, more people wouldn’t go this far. Jeonggwan dared to be certain that more rich people would have just booked an expensive hotel and told him to come on Monday. What he had said to Jihoon earlier wasn’t a joke; Won Junjae really seemed to want to see him. Well, of course, you can’t be certain about people’s feelings, but… That’s how Jeonggwan felt.

“…Am I overreacting?”

Well… It could be an overreaction. Maybe Junjae just knew about this workaround through his secretaries and solved it that way. Wait a minute. Thinking about it this way, it really seems like that might be the case… Ah, am I really overreacting? Jeonggwan felt embarrassed at his own thoughts and pulled the blanket up to his neck.

Still, it’s nice. Even if it’s an overreaction, he was happy that he could see Won Junjae tomorrow. It had only been about 4 days since they last met, but being abroad made it feel like he was going to see him after a particularly long time. It probably felt that way because they hadn’t talked much or even looked at each other properly during that time. When they meet tomorrow, it might be good to be a bit more proactive than usual. He should give the cowardly Won Junjae a bit more courage and make sure he can’t run away by delivering a decisive blow.

But would Won Junjae actually confess? Jeonggwan could be certain that Junjae liked him, but he didn’t think he would confess. Even if Jeonggwan grabbed Junjae’s face and kissed him first, he felt that it would end there without leading to a confession. He seemed like someone who had never even uttered such words before. But for Jeonggwan to confess first would severely damage his pride. If someone were to ask, “Who confessed first?”, and he had to say “I did!”, he felt everyone would respond with “Of course you did.” So he had to make sure Junjae confessed first if possible. This was a matter of pride.

* * *

“Hey, the air feels different somehow.”

“Just hurry up and get your luggage so we can go. I’m really tired.”

“You were sleeping well on the plane, even snoring.”

“Stop talking nonsense. I don’t snore or anything like that.”

Sadly, you really did. Jeonggwan looked at Jihoon with pitying eyes. Jihoon thought he was a perfect prince who appeared once in a thousand years and didn’t grind his teeth or snore, but earlier on the plane, Jihoon, wearing an eye mask and in deep sleep, had both ground his teeth and snored.

“…What? Did I really snore?”

“No, I’m just kidding.”

Of course, Jeonggwan decided not to tell the truth, letting Jihoon face extreme embarrassment in front of someone he loves later. Jeonggwan passed by Jihoon with an innocent face, smiling ‘hehe’, and Jihoon followed with a very uneasy expression.

Perhaps because they arrived at the airport at midnight, there weren’t many people, so immigration checks finished quickly. And Park Jihoon’s obviously luxurious suitcase and Jeonggwan’s overstuffed suitcase that looked like it might burst at any moment also appeared quickly on the conveyor belt, allowing them to exit the arrival gate faster than expected.

“Should we eat something before we go?”

“What more do you want to eat? Let’s just go home quickly.”

“But still…”

“What do you mean ‘but still’? Where did I park again…”

Jihoon flatly refused Jeonggwan’s suggestion to eat something and dragged his friend, who kept lingering near the arrival gate, to the parking lot. Jihoon was also very tempted by Korean food, but he wanted to get home quickly. However, seeing Jeonggwan constantly looking back, Jihoon wondered if he was really that hungry and asked.

“Are you really that hungry? Why can’t you let it go?”

“…No. Actually, I thought Won Junjae might be here to pick me up.”

“…Oh my? I think this kid has really gone crazy. That’s a disease, you know.”

It turned out this troublesome pig wasn’t hungry but was lingering because he thought Won Junjae might be there to pick him up. Jihoon suspected that Jeonggwan was seriously suffering from delusions. Come on, why would Won Junjae come to the airport at 1 AM to pick you up?

“Stop talking and get in the car.”

“…Was I overreacting too much?”

“Hey, even newlyweds don’t do that.”

Come to think of it, if it were him and Won Junjae was arriving at the airport at 1 AM, he probably would have just sent a text saying “Okay, travel safely” and been deep in dreamland. At Jihoon’s sharp rebuke, Jeonggwan agreed, thinking “I guess so,” and got into Jihoon’s car, but Jihoon’s nagging didn’t end.

“And what? You’re not even dating, and he’d come to see you at 1 AM? Not even in front of your house, but at the airport? Hey, even if he came to your house, that would be over the top. You’re sick, really sick. You’re saying nonsense. Hey, and Won Junjae? That Won Junjae? If that happens, I’ll change my surname from Park to Kim. No, I’ll become Gwan-Jihoon.”

Okay, I get it, so stop. Jeonggwan gave Jihoon a cold look, trying to make him shut his machine gun-like mouth, but Jihoon didn’t stop talking the entire way home. Ah- He’s really making a fuss just because I misspoke once. Jeonggwan turned towards the passenger window and closed his eyes irritably.

* * *

“Hey, Gwan-Jihoon.”

And Jihoon changed his surname.

“…Wow.”

In front of Jeonggwan’s house, where they came to drop him off first, at 1 AM, not even midnight.

“…”

Wearing a casual trench coat instead of his usual suit, “that” Won Junjae, Jihoon’s cousin who would never do such a thing, was standing there.