Pig Government Official

-66-

Did Jeonggwan really go to the hotel? Jihoon was very curious about what happened and how things were going, but with no contact from Jeonggwan since earlier, he thought about calling but decided against it. It’s Kim Jeonggwan, he’ll manage on his own, right?

“Ugh. But why do I have chills?”

Jihoon shivered once, and as usual, asked the manager to close up and left the cafe early.

[Do you know what ‘samgwinda’ means?]

Just then, as if speaking of the devil, Jihoon stopped walking towards the underground parking lot when he received a KakaoTalk message from Jeonggwan. I thought he went to see Junjae, but I guess not? At Jeonggwan’s sudden question, Jihoon thought it was about guessing new slang and replied that this was a piece of cake for him.

[Is it not about being in a situationship?]

Of course, it was the correct answer. It was a very well-known new slang term. Jihoon was proud, thinking “You think I wouldn’t know this? We’re only three years apart-!” But he was a bit taken aback by Jeonggwan’s next question.

[Then do you know what ‘sagwinda’ means?]

“Sagwinda means dating, right? What’s this about?”

But thinking this was also another new slang term, Jihoon stood there for a while just staring at the KakaoTalk screen without sending a reply. Sagwinda…? Does it mean “all’s well that ends well”? That sounds too old-fashioned. Or is it some gaming slang? Like “caused trouble in the jungle and returned”? Something like that…

[What is it?]

Finally, curious Jihoon decided to ask Jeonggwan. But he felt a bit hurt in his pride. He was someone who lived and died by trends, but to think he didn’t know a newly coined term because he’s been busy with cafe work lately.

[It’s a word used when Won Junjae and Kim Jeonggwan are dating. ㅎ]

“Ah, right. That ‘sagwinda’.”

He thought it was new slang, but it was just the original meaning. Then why did he pose it like a question? Jihoon put his phone in his back pocket with a bland expression and opened the clutch tucked under his arm to take out his car remote.

“…Hm?”

Then he tucked the clutch back under his armpit and took out his phone again. He then unhesitatingly pressed Jeonggwan’s name, which was third on his recent call list. His face was quite calm, but his hand movements seemed somewhat urgent.

[Yeah. It’s true.]

“…Shit!”

As Jeonggwan answered the phone slyly, as if anticipating Jihoon’s question without being asked, Jihoon cursed with his last breath and hung up immediately. Then Jeonggwan’s messages flooded in, filled with ‘ㅋㅋㅋㅋ’ (laughter). Jihoon, who had been staring blankly at the chat room with Jeonggwan in a moment of mental breakdown, called Jeonggwan again.

“Is it true?”

[That’s how it turned out.]

“Oh my god, you must be crazy!”

Jihoon was screaming, but for some reason, he soon started laughing out loud, and Jeonggwan followed, laughing until he was out of breath. Jihoon was laughing because he really didn’t know if Jeonggwan would date Junjae, so it was both absurd and impressive, and Jeonggwan laughed along with Jihoon at first, then laughed remembering what had happened earlier.

[Hey. Earlier was really amazing.]

“What, *hiccup* what was it?”

Jihoon tried to suppress his grinning laughter, thinking Jeonggwan was saying it was amazing because Junjae had made an amazing confession, and listened to Jeonggwan’s story.

[Well, earlier…]

“Let’s date.” Junjae’s face and neck turned bright red as he nodded slightly, and Jeonggwan smiled brightly at him. The long (or short, depending on how you see it) situationship had ended, and their relationship officially began.

“…”

“…What is it?”

“…On your lips.”

“Huh?”

“…I think something’s on them.”

Junjae spoke, staring intently at Jeonggwan’s face, or more precisely, his lips. For a moment, Jeonggwan thought there might be crumbs from the pastry he ate earlier and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, but nothing came off.

“There’s nothing…”

“…”

“…Wow.”

Jeonggwan, finally understanding Junjae’s meaning, looked up at him with an expression of admiration, as if thinking, “Isn’t this person a hundred-year-old fox?” But Jeonggwan, a thousand-year-old fox himself, immediately changed his expression to a mischievous one and gently pulled on Junjae’s hand that he was holding.

“Then you should remove it, sir.”

Jeonggwan boldly tempted him, thinking Junjae would hesitate out of shyness and not do it, but there was one thing Jeonggwan overlooked. Junjae’s mind had been dominated by Jeonggwan’s voice saying “possible to remove with mouth” for days, and he had been waiting for a chance to make it happen. So,

“I’ll remove,”

Jeonggwan didn’t expect Junjae to pull his hand towards him, cup his cheek with the other hand, and kiss him. Moreover, Junjae, who had used his body a lot but hadn’t used his lips much, didn’t know how to give a sensual kiss. He just sucked and tasted Jeonggwan’s lips as if devouring them like a starved person. But that actually felt rougher and sexier to Jeonggwan.

“But, ah… This can’t be heard in the front, right…?”

Suddenly remembering where they were, Jeonggwan gently pushed Junjae’s chest and separated their lips. There was a partition between the back seat and the driver’s seat, so Jeonggwan thought they were alone and had confessed and even kissed like this, but he suddenly realized that if only the visual was blocked but sound could be heard, they had just acted like an overly affectionate couple in public, so he asked Junjae in a startled manner.

Junjae smiled, finding Jeonggwan cute. The Jeonggwan he had imagined would have been bold enough to pull him in for a kiss in the middle of a crowded square, but he seemed surprisingly shy in this aspect. The more he got to know him, the more he defied expectations, and that’s why he liked him even more. How can a person be consistent, and how can they always do things as expected?

“…It’s not very audible.”

“Phew. That’s a relief. It would have been embarrassing for Secretary Oh to see.”

As Jeonggwan smiled mischievously, Junjae also smiled along with him. It was truly the sweet smile of a newly formed couple. At the same time, the car stopped, seemingly having arrived at Jeonggwan’s house.

“Huh?”

However, seeing a figure standing in front of the house, Jeonggwan quickly opened the car door and got out with a puzzled expression, wondering if he was seeing things. Usually in such cases, Secretary Oh would get out first and open the door for Junjae’s partner, so it would be normal to just sit and wait, but not knowing this and curious if the person he saw was real, Jeonggwan got out faster than anyone, resulting in both Secretary Oh and Jeonggwan getting out at the same time.

Thus, a sad incident occurred only for Junjae.

“Oh my. Hello.”

“…Ah, yes. Hello.”

“Dad. What’s this?”

In front of Jeonggwan’s house gate was Jeonggwan’s father, Jeongmin, dressed in a sharp suit as if he had just come from a wedding, and he seemed to have been waiting as if he knew Jeonggwan was coming. Jeongmin approached Secretary Oh as soon as he got out of the car and greeted him. Secretary Oh was slightly taken aback at first but soon naturally returned the greeting like a veteran.

“Dad, are you going somewhere?”

“Where would I be going? Son, Dad always dresses like this at home too.”

Huh? I don’t remember that at all? Ignoring his youngest son who was looking at him with a bewildered expression, Jeongmin took another step closer to Secretary Oh.

“Our child is really good and kind.”

“…Ah, yes.”

“The child grew up pampered and without much sense… Sometimes he can be a bit reckless, but he has a really good heart.”

“…I… see.”

“The food expenses… might be quite high, but please take good care of him.”

What’s going on here? As Secretary Oh and Jeonggwan’s faces were filling with confusion, Junjae had just gotten out of the car. Jeongmin, looking more confused than the two with puzzled faces, looked back and forth between Secretary Oh and Jeonggwan’s face and asked.

“You’re dating our Jeonggwan…”

Junjae, who hadn’t heard the previous conversation, knew Jeonggwan’s father’s face from seeing it often on Jeonggwan’s Instagram, so he smiled gently at the words coming from Jeongmin’s mouth. Did he tell his father that we just started dating? Kim Jeonggwan is really unpredictable. With such an expression, Junjae opened his mouth.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Right? Oh my, I thought it wasn’t true.”

At Junjae’s answer, Secretary Oh and Jeonggwan turned to look at Junjae simultaneously, but Junjae, not noticing their gaze, bowed his head to greet Jeonggwan’s father.

“Hello…”

“Oh my, I couldn’t properly greet you when you brought the chocolate last time!”

However, Jeongmin didn’t hear that, and was just excited by the fact that this handsome man, looking even more intellectual with glasses, was indeed his youngest son’s boyfriend. Jeongmin now completely turned his back on Junjae,

“Come, come. Let’s go inside. I’ll make you some homemade berry ade.”

“Ah, that’s… It’s not me, it’s…”

“Don’t be shy. We’re just excited because it’s the first time Jeonggwan has brought home a boyfriend! For our first, second, and third children, I secretly gave each of their partners a jar of our homemade drink without their mother knowing!”

He was pushing Secretary Oh’s back towards the house and heading to the gate together, and even though the flustered Secretary Oh waved his arms saying it wasn’t him, Jeongmin thought he was just being modest out of shyness and told him not to decline.

“…”

And there stood Junjae, frozen as if in disbelief, watching the scene, while Jeonggwan burst into laughter, finding Junjae too cute and the situation too funny.