Like the first morning of the East Sea slowly brightening, a face gradually suffusing with radiant light stirred the heart more than any moving scenery.

Choi Gang-hu, who had been holding his breath for a moment, lowered his head with an expression that didn’t hide the joy blooming like a flower bud.

The next scene seemed to unfold before his eyes. A passionate kiss, a promise of love, the beginning of a relationship. And… an unknown ending.

He stepped back to avoid the approaching lips. Choi Gang-hu immediately stopped his movement, noticing the subtle rejection.

“Did you just confess to me?”

Choi Gang-hu straightened up and lightly caressed his chin as if covering his lips, speaking with a slightly perplexed voice.

His expression was one of retracing the situation, as if wondering if he had misunderstood something. It was hard to lift his head due to guilt. To retreat after being the one to confess first.

This wasn’t meant to be such a hasty confession in the first place. While his brain’s filter was temporarily paused, his lips had blurted out his true feelings without embellishment.

“…That’s right.”

He answered in a faint voice, biting his lip firmly. Once sincere words are spilled, they can’t be hidden again as if they weren’t said. He didn’t want to embarrass Choi Gang-hu by uttering lies that weren’t in his heart.

He couldn’t easily believe what he had heard on the train. But he wanted to believe it. If it was true that the existence of ‘Ryu Seo-ha’ took precedence over the revenge he had yearned for his entire life, he felt like he wanted to muster up courage.

But there were still so many secrets he hadn’t told, and he hadn’t resolved the issue of his remaining lifespan. Was it okay to approach him in this state? If Choi Gang-hu was sincere, wouldn’t this just end up hurting him needlessly?

“Then I’ll ask too.”

Choi Gang-hu, who had let out a long breath as if relieved, murmured softly with a faint smile. While carefully closing Ryu Seo-ha’s half-open collar.

“Is it alright for me to like you, Mr. Ryu Seo-ha?”

It was a question that clearly showed his attitude of trying to match Ryu Seo-ha’s pace, which always started gently and slowly like an incomplete measure. He could no longer ignore his heart flowing helplessly towards him.

Ryu Seo-ha nodded slowly. With the feeling that if Ryu Seo-ha came before revenge for Choi Gang-hu, then for Ryu Seo-ha, Choi Gang-hu should come before survival to be fair.

“I like you.”

Ryu Seo-ha’s face, voicing his sincere feelings, shone as hazily as stars and as brightly as the sun. With the fairy-tale garden of Belvedere Palace spread out under the clear aquamarine sky as a backdrop.

“I like you very much, Mr. Choi Gang-hu.”

An even clearer confession naturally followed. His voice had calmed its slight trembling, as if the tension had been sent away with the water streams spouted by the artistic statues of the fountain.

Choi Gang-hu, who had closed his eyes tightly and opened them as if suppressing something overwhelming, quietly reached out his hand. When Ryu Seo-ha overlapped his hand without hesitation, he felt a force pulling him forward.

Ryu Seo-ha didn’t resist and buried his face in the broad, firm embrace. The deep inhalation and long exhalation transmitted through the solid chest muscles. It was a breath deeply imbued with satisfaction.

“You don’t know, Mr. Ryu Seo-ha. How much I’ve longed for this moment.”

An indescribable sense of fulfillment was felt in the voice that settled softly, as if licking his ear. When he lifted his head, he saw a face beaming with a smile.

“I’m happy.”

“How much?”

Was it because his brain activity, which had stopped due to overload, had resumed, making him conscious of the cult’s eyes that must be watching from somewhere? He unnecessarily nitpicked at the tail of the sentence.

“Several times more than when I came back and ate kimchi stew…”

Choi Gang-hu, who was about to answer with a smile as if finding it cute, paused. It was probably because he belatedly realized that it was a story that could easily be misunderstood as a trivial comparison by someone unaware of the context.

He knew better than anyone how moved Choi Gang-hu had been when he tasted proper food, and spicy stew full of stimulating spices at that, for the first time in 300 years after returning to Earth. That’s why he wanted to say it. He had to say it. Even if it burst the beautiful atmosphere.

“Actually, I have one more thing to confess.”

While gently pushing away the large body that didn’t want to separate from their embrace, Ryu Seo-ha looked up at him with resolute eyes. Then Choi Gang-hu, who had been pushed back obediently, opened his mouth after briefly withdrawing his smile.

“I love you, Mr. Ryu Seo-ha.”

A confession that made his heart drop came from those well-shaped lips. The vast expanse of light green grass filling the garden dazzled his eyes.

“Why so suddenly…”

“Isn’t this what you were going to say? I’m breathlessly happy that you confessed first, but this time I don’t want to give up the lead.”

Choi Gang-hu’s words, accompanied by smiling eyes, shook his heart once again. Amusingly, he looked so lovable showing his characteristic competitiveness even in confessing feelings.

Love. It’s such a difficult emotion. Although he had decided to acknowledge his feelings, however clumsily, he was still cautious about naming those awkward feelings.

If judged solely by the degree of being swept away and the magnitude of emotion, it was no less than his feelings for his only remaining family, his older sister Ryu Jeong-ah.

Was it because they had actually met less than a month ago? Or because it was a same-sex partner? He hesitated to express it as love. Even though he knew there was no law that emotions should be proportional to time, and that gender was a biased excuse.

“If not that, then what confession?”

Choi Gang-hu, who seemed to have noticed his perplexed look, casually brought the subject back to the starting point. Grateful for that natural consideration, Ryu Seo-ha smiled slightly, and a large hand came to gently caress his cheek as if finding it lovely.

“I know more about you than I thought, Mr. Choi Gang-hu.”

“Is that so.”

The overly calm agreement left him feeling slightly deflated. It was content he had revealed after mustering considerable resolve.

“Aren’t you curious about what I know and how I know it?”

“I am curious. About anything regarding you, Mr. Ryu Seo-ha.”

Does that mean he’s not particularly curious about things concerning himself?

“But if it’s a confession that requires such a grave resolution, there’s no need to rush.”

Choi Gang-hu smiled and ruffled his hair.

“It’s okay to tell me slowly, when you feel comfortable doing so.”

His hand, which had slowly moved down, gently touched Ryu Seo-ha’s shoulder. It was an extremely generous expression, as if he would forgive even if Ryu Seo-ha said he had contributed to dropping him into the abyss.

“No matter what the content?”

“No matter what the content.”

I first knew you as a character in a novel. And I’m terminally ill with only 8 days left to live. The words he had tried to somehow voice couldn’t easily leave his lips.

“Actually, I also know more about you than I thought, Mr. Ryu Seo-ha.”

Choi Gang-hu added with a strange smile. It wasn’t such a surprising confession, as he had already guessed that a thorough background check would have been done after their first meeting.

“I see.”

Though he hadn’t intentionally meant to match responses, he ended up giving the same calm reply as Choi Gang-hu. He didn’t dare to ask what he knew or how far he had investigated. To do so, he would have to speak in detail first.

“…Shall we go on a date?”

Putting aside his complicated thoughts, he reached out his hand first. Rationalizing the delay of his truthful confession by focusing on safely concluding the rescue operation first.

“It would be my honor.”

Choi Gang-hu grinned and took his hand, slightly bending his knee as if he were a stage actor.

❖ ❖ ❖

As it was lunchtime, the two visited a restaurant famous for its good food. While waiting for service seated on the outdoor terrace, Choi Gang-hu never once let go of Ryu Seo-ha’s hand.

It was a bit embarrassing how he caressed his hand, seemingly enjoying it, regardless of the glances from around them. Still, he quietly left his hand in Choi Gang-hu’s care. It was unfamiliar and awkward, but not unpleasant or burdensome.

Only after the ordered food arrived did Choi Gang-hu release his hand to personally sprinkle lemon on the Wiener Schnitzel. Not content with just that, he even cut it up so Ryu Seo-ha couldn’t pick up the knife and fork himself, and went as far as to feed him.

The schnitzel, slightly dipped in lingonberry jam made from mountain cranberries, was crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. Though it was said to be a type of cutlet, it felt quite different from the tonkatsu he had eaten as a child.

“Would you like a beer as well?”

Choi Gang-hu, who had been diligently feeding him even the potato salad that came as a side dish, mentioned daytime drinking. Judging by his eyes, it didn’t seem like he was really suggesting alcohol consumption.

“No. I think it’s better not to drink if we’re going to do more sightseeing.”

He shook his head with a slightly exaggerated movement. Enough to be clearly visible from afar.

“We can sightsee tomorrow.”

“That’s true, but… Oh, speaking of which, would it be alright if I look around alone for the afternoon tour?”

When he mentioned something that had already been concluded, Choi Gang-hu smiled as if impressed and gently tidied his hair that had been ruffled by the wind.

“Of course. But I was hoping you’d at least have coffee with me.”

There was a hint of regret in his voice. It seemed he was inwardly disappointed about letting their first date after confirming their feelings for each other pass as an act.

“Sure. How about something sweet? I’ll treat you.”

“Sounds good.”

They held hands again and found a dessert shop. The Sachertorte, a representative Austrian cake, exuded a rich chocolate aroma.

The Einspänner, also famous as Viennese coffee, had an excellent flavor as well. Coffee with bitter Americano topped with plenty of sweet whipped cream. The thought inadvertently crossed his mind that it was like the current state of their relationship. Would the aftertaste also be this plain and clean sweetness?

“Ah!”

Ryu Seo-ha’s meaningless reverie quickly dissipated. It was due to Choi Gang-hu’s playfulness, using telekinesis to lift a bit of whipped cream and dab it on the tip of his nose.

Grinning mischievously and muttering, “I can’t go further because I think you’ll get angry,” he looked just like a young boy teasing someone he likes.

Dumbfounded, a chuckle escaped him as well. As they spent such an enjoyable time together, before they knew it, the time foretold in the invitation was approaching.